If there was any doubt that La La Land has front runner status this awards season, the just announced nominations for the Broadcast Film Critics Association's Critics' Choice Awards should put that to rest.

With a huuuuuuge 12 nominations the Lionsgate/Summit original musical dominated the field nailing nods for Best Picture, Director, Actor Ryan Gosling, Actress Emma Stone and two Best Song nominations among other categories. This is good news for the film which has been largely shut out this week in early, but minor, East coast awards shows like the Gothams and the National Board Of Review. The New York Film Critics announce their choices later today.

In the runner-up spot there was a tie between A24's little engine that could, Moonlight and Paramount's cerebral sci-fier Arrival, each receiving 10 nominations including Best Picture and Director. Among other Best Picture nominees that also won a corresponding Director nod, thus giving them a leg up for the finals, are Hacksaw Ridge and director Mel Gibson, Manchester By The Sea and director Kenneth Lonergan, Hell Or High Water and director David Mackenzie, and Fences and director Denzel Washington who also got a Best Actor nom for his film, along with its ensemble cast and Supporting Actress Viola Davis. The other Best Picture slots went to Lion, Loving and Sully. Joining Gosling  and Washington in the Actor race are NBR and Gotham winner Casey Affleck for Manchester By The Sea, Joel Edgerton for Loving, Andrew Garfield for Hacksaw Ridge, and Tom Hanks for Sully.  Actress nominees in addition to Stone include Arrival's Amy Adams, Annette Bening of 20th Century Women, Isabelle Huppert in Elle, Ruth Negga in Loving and Natalie Portman for Jackie whichmissed out on the other top categories but did receive 5 technical nods.

The BFCA (of which I am a member), the largest film critics group in the country, and generally one of the best in matching eventual Oscar nominees and winners (Spotlight took Best Picture last year and the org matched Oscar as well for Actor, Actress and Supporting Actress), really likes to spread out the love (which helps sell tables) and includes categories like Best Action Film and Acting, Best Sci Fi Horror Film, Best Comedy Film and Acting, Best Actor under 21 and on and on. This is why you see popcorn movies like Doctor Strange, Deadpool, Captain America, Central Intelligence, The Nice Guys and others of that ilk getting their due in the nominations along with the usual suspects more prevalent in other awards contests. Nowhere to be found on the long list were upcoming December releases like Martin Scorsese's Silence, Passengers, Rogue One and Collateral Beauty, which all passed up the chance to screen for the over 300 members of the group. Last year, due to early deadlines as is the case this time, Star Wars:  The Force Awakens did not screen in time for the group, but it was awarded a controversial Best Picture nomination later when it could be seen. Don't look for that kind of mistake, which drew loud complaints, to happen again anytime soon.

This year's three hour long  awards ceremony to be broadcast on A&E is coming up faster than usual, a full month before last year's ceremony, on Sunday December 11th  in order to try and blunt the Golden Globes which don't even announce their nominations until the next day. Television nominations were previously announced.

Here is a list of the motion picture nominees:

BEST PICTURE

Arrival

Fences

Hacksaw Ridge

Hell or High Water

La La Land

Lion

Loving

Manchester by the Sea

Moonlight

Sully

BEST ACTOR

Casey Affleck – Manchester by the Sea

Joel Edgerton – Loving

Andrew Garfield – Hacksaw Ridge

Ryan Gosling – La La Land

Tom Hanks – Sully

Denzel Washington – Fences

 

BEST ACTRESS

Amy Adams – Arrival

Annette Bening – 20th Century Women

Isabelle Huppert – Elle

Ruth Negga – Loving

Natalie Portman – Jackie

Emma Stone – La La Land

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Mahershala Ali – Moonlight

Jeff Bridges – Hell or High Water

Ben Foster – Hell or High Water

Lucas Hedges – Manchester by the Sea

Dev Patel – Lion

Michael Shannon – Nocturnal Animals

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Viola Davis – Fences

Greta Gerwig – 20th Century Women

Naomie Harris – Moonlight

Nicole Kidman – Lion

Janelle Monáe  – Hidden Figures

Michelle Williams – Manchester by the Sea

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS

Lucas Hedges – Manchester by the Sea

Alex R. Hibbert – Moonlight

Lewis MacDougall – A Monster Calls

Madina Nalwanga – Queen of Katwe

Sunny Pawar – Lion

Hailee Steinfeld – The Edge of Seventeen

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE

20th Century Women

Fences

Hell or High Water

Hidden Figures

Manchester by the Sea

Moonlight

BEST DIRECTOR

Damien Chazelle – La La Land

Mel Gibson – Hacksaw Ridge

Barry Jenkins – Moonlight

Kenneth Lonergan – Manchester by the Sea

David Mackenzie – Hell or High Water

Denis Villeneuve – Arrival

Denzel Washington – Fences

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Damien Chazelle – La La Land

Barry Jenkins – Moonlight

Yorgos Lanthimos/Efthimis Filippou – The Lobster

Kenneth Lonergan – Manchester by the Sea

Jeff Nichols – Loving

Taylor Sheridan – Hell or High Water

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Luke Davies – Lion

Tom Ford – Nocturnal Animals

Eric Heisserer – Arrival

Todd Komarnicki – Sully

Allison Schroeder/Theodore Melfi – Hidden Figures

August Wilson – Fences

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Stéphane Fontaine – Jackie

James Laxton – Moonlight

Seamus McGarvey – Nocturnal Animals

Linus Sandgren – La La Land

Bradford Young – Arrival

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

Arrival – Patrice Vermette, Paul Hotte/André Valade

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – Stuart Craig/James Hambidge, Anna Pinnock

Jackie – Jean Rabasse, Véronique Melery

La La Land – David Wasco, Sandy Reynolds-Wasco

Live by Night – Jess Gonchor, Nancy Haigh

BEST EDITING

Tom Cross – La La Land

John Gilbert – Hacksaw Ridge

Blu Murray – Sully

Nat Sanders/Joi McMillon – Moonlight

Joe Walker – Arrival

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Colleen Atwood – Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Consolata Boyle – Florence Foster Jenkins

Madeline Fontaine – Jackie

Joanna Johnston – Allied

Eimer Ni Mhaoldomhnaigh – Love & Friendship

Mary Zophres – La La Land

BEST HAIR & MAKEUP

Doctor Strange

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Hacksaw Ridge

Jackie

Star Trek Beyond

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

A Monster Calls

Arrival

Doctor Strange

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

The Jungle Book

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Finding Dory

Kubo and the Two Strings

Moana

The Red Turtle

Trolls

Zootopia

BEST ACTION MOVIE

Captain America: Civil War

Deadpool

Doctor Strange

Hacksaw Ridge

Jason Bourne

BEST ACTOR IN AN ACTION MOVIE

Benedict Cumberbatch – Doctor Strange

Matt Damon – Jason Bourne

Chris Evans – Captain America: Civil War

Andrew Garfield – Hacksaw Ridge

Ryan Reynolds – Deadpool

BEST ACTRESS IN AN ACTION MOVIE

Gal Gadot – Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Scarlett Johansson – Captain America: Civil War

Margot Robbie – Suicide Squad

Tilda Swinton – Doctor Strange

BEST COMEDY

Central Intelligence

Deadpool

Don't Think Twice

The Edge of Seventeen

Hail, Caesar!

The Nice Guys

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY

Ryan Gosling – The Nice Guys

Hugh Grant – Florence Foster Jenkins

Dwayne Johnson – Central Intelligence

Viggo Mortensen – Captain Fantastic

Ryan Reynolds – Deadpool

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY

Kate Beckinsale – Love & Friendship

Sally Field – Hello, My Name Is Doris

Kate McKinnon – Ghostbusters

Hailee Steinfeld – The Edge of Seventeen

Meryl Streep – Florence Foster Jenkins

BEST SCI-FI/HORROR MOVIE

10 Cloverfield Lane

Arrival

Doctor Strange

Don't Breathe

Star Trek Beyond

The Witch

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Elle

The Handmaiden

Julieta

Neruda

The Salesman

Toni Erdmann

BEST SONG

Audition (The Fools Who Dream) – La La Land

Can't Stop the Feeling – Trolls

City of Stars – La La Land

Drive It Like You Stole It – Sing Street

How Far I'll Go – Moana

The Rules Don't Apply – Rules Don't Apply

BEST SCORE

Nicholas Britell – Moonlight

Jóhann Jóhannsson – Arrival

Justin Hurwitz – La La Land

Micachu – Jackie

Dustin O'Halloran, Hauschka – Lion