‘Get Out’ Leads 2017 Gotham Award Noms—Is an Oscar Next?

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Photo Source: Courtesy Universal Pictures

Just in time for Halloween, “Get Out,” Jordan Peele’s horror-comedy hit that premiered to raves back in February, finds itself in prime position for the coming awards season frenzy.

The Universal Pictures film came away with the most 2017 Gotham Independent Film Award nominations (announced Oct. 19), totaling four: best feature, breakthrough director, screenplay, and actor for Daniel Kaluuya. Also nominated for best indie feature of the year were “Call Me by Your Name” (Sony Pictures Classics), “The Florida Project” (A24), “Good Time” (A24), and “I, Tonya” (Neon).

Netting three nominations apiece were Greta Gerwig’s “Lady Bird” (A24), including its star Saoirse Ronan and director Greta Gerwig; “Call Me By Your Name,” including breakthrough actor Timothée Chalamet; Kagonada’s “Columbus” (Sundance Institute) including leading lady Haley Lu Richardson; and “The Florida Project,” the only title recognized for two acting contenders, Willem Dafoe and Brooklynn Prince.

“Mudbound,” Netflix’s family drama epic, will receive Gotham’s special ensemble honor. The award will be presented jointly to Carey Mulligan, Garrett Hedlund, Jason Clarke, Jason Mitchell, Mary J. Blige, Rob Morgan, and Jonathan Banks.

Presented annually by the Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP), the largest indie film membership organization in the country, the Gotham Awards have been recognizing the best independent film artists since 1991. The 27th annual IFP Gotham Awards will be hosted by John Cameron Mitchell Nov. 27 and will include special tributes to Nicole Kidman, Dustin Hoffman, Jason Blum, Ed Lachman, Al Gore, and Sofia Coppola.

The first of several major predictors of film awards season, the Gotham Awards just last year gave top honors to eventual Oscar Best Picture winner “Moonlight”: best picture, screenplay, an audience award, and the juried ensemble award. Leading last year’s nominations list was “Manchester by the Sea,” which also scored with the Academy. If “Get Out” follows the same trajectory, it would make for an unusual best picture candidate; genre-specific films including horror rarely make it that far and films that premiere early in the calendar year are almost never recognized. Could Peele go all the way?

See below for a full list of Gotham Award nominations. For more, check out Backstage’s awards coverage!

Best Feature
“Call Me by Your Name”
“The Florida Project”
“Get Out”
“Good Time”
“I, Tonya”

Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award
Maggie Betts for “Novitiate”
Greta Gerwig for “Lady Bird”
Kogonada for “Columbus”
Jordan Peele for “Get Out”
Joshua Z Weinstein for “Menashe”

Best Screenplay
“The Big Sick,” Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani
“Brad’s Status,” Mike White
“Call Me by Your Name,”James Ivory
“Columbus,” Kogonada
“Get Out,” Jordan Peele
“Lady Bird,” Greta Gerwig

Best Actor
James Franco, “The Disaster Artist”
Willem Dafoe, “The Florida Project”
Daniel Kaluuya, “Get Out”
Robert Pattinson, “Good Time”
Harry Dean Stanton, “Lucky”
Adam Sandler, “The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)”

Best Actress
Haley Lu Richardson, “Columbus”
Melanie Lynskey, “i don’t feel at home in this world anymore.”
Margot Robbie, “I, Tonya”
Saorise Ronan, “Lady Bird”
Lois Smith, “Marjorie Prime”

Special Jury Award For Ensemble Performance
“Mudbound,” presented to Carey Mulligan, Garrett Hedlund, Jason Clarke, Jason Mitchell, Mary J. Blige, Rob Morgan, and Jonathan Banks.

Breakthrough Actor
Mary J. Blige, “Mudbound”
Timothée Chalamet, “Call Me by Your Name”
Harris Dickinson, “Beach Rats”
Kelvin Harrison, Jr., “It Comes at Night”
Brooklynn Prince, “The Florida Project”

Best Documentary
“Ex Libris – The New York Public Library”
“Rat Film”
“Strong Island”
“Whose Streets?”
“The Work”

Breakthrough Series – Long Form
“Atlanta”
“Better Things”
“Dear White People”
“Fleabag”
“Search Party”

Breakthrough Series – Short Form
“555”
“Inconceivable”
“Junior”
“Let Me Die a Nun”
“The Strange Eyes of Dr. Myes”

Want to star in the next “Get Out”? Check out Backstage’s horror film listings!