'Call Me By Your Name,' 'Get Out' top Gotham Awards

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‍The 27th annual Gotham Awards seemed to be heading for a sweep for Jordan Peele's social thriller "Get Out," but the sensual coming-of-age tale "Call Me By Your Name" swooped in to take best feature film at the first major soiree of Oscar season.

Luca Guadagnino's film about a 17-year-old's first love in northern Italy also scored best breakthrough actor for newcomer Timothee Chalamet.

Actor Timothee Chalamet accepts the breakthrough actor award at the 27th annual Independent Film Project's Gotham Awards at Cipriani Wall Street on November 27, 2017, in New York. /AP Photo

The wins, following the film's box-office success in limited release over the weekend, confirmed "Call Me By Your Name" – co-starring Armie Hammer and scripted by James Ivory – as one of the year's top independent film candidates for the Academy Awards. The last three best feature winners at the Gothams have gone on to win best picture at the Oscars: "Moonlight," ″Spotlight" and "Birdman."

"Above all, 'Call Me By Your Name' is about compassion and transmission of knowledge," said Guadagnino, accepting the award.

A poster of "Call Me By Your Name" /Photo via mtime.com

But "Get Out" was equally triumphant Monday night at the star-studded ceremony, held at Cipriani Wall Street in Lower Manhattan. It came in with a leading five nominations, including Best Feature, and it left with the largest haul. Peele, a comedy veteran but first-time feature filmmaker, won for best screenplay and breakthrough director. The film also took the audience award.

"It's so important that we support these voices from the outside," said Peele, accepting the screenplay honor. "If you help tell these stories, they will resonate."

While early, this year's awards season has been especially slanted toward independent film, with a few notable exceptions. Analysts consider "Call Me By Your Name," ″Lady Bird," ″The Florida Project," ″Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri," ″Mudbound" and "The Darkest Hour" as among the leading favorites.

But also among the front-runners are Christopher Nolan's World War II summer blockbuster "Dunkirk," and "Get Out," which has grossed 254 million US dollars worldwide for Universal Pictures. The Gotham Awards, presented by Independent Filmmaker Project, also honored with a tribute award "Get Out" producer Jason Blum, the successful horror-film producer of Blumhouse Productions.

A poster of "Get Out" /Photo via mtime.com

Best actress went to Saoirse Ronan for her leading performance in Greta Gerwig's "Lady Bird." In more of a surprise, James Franco took home best actor for his performance as the infamous Tommy Wisau, maker of the cult film "The Room," in "The Disaster Artist."

Several of the top contenders in each acting category, including Frances McDormand ("Three Billboards") and Gary Oldman ("The Darkest Hour"), weren't nominated at the Gothams, which are selected by a handful of juries.

A special jury prize was awarded to the ensemble cast of Dee Rees' Jim Crow epic "Mudbound," a Netflix release.

Hollywood's awards season heats up considerably this week with annual awards coming Tuesday from the National Board of Review, Thursday from the New York Film Critics Circle and Sunday from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.

Source(s): AP