Moonlight, La La Land separate from award season pack
In Hollywood's early but rapidly solidifying awards season, two films radically different in tone and tune have separated themselves from the pack: Moonlight and La La Land.
Moonlight, Barry Jenkins' lyrical coming-of-age tale, added to its already hefty haul on Sunday, taking best picture from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. The group also gave best director to Jenkins, best supporting actor to Mahershala Ali and best cinematography to James Laxton.
Those three awards mirrored the picks last week by the LAFAA's East Coast corollary, the New York Film Critics Circle. But the New York critics ultimately chose Damien Chazelle's La La Land as the year's best film, whereas the LA critics had La La Land, a colorful ode to the group's hometown, as runner-up for best picture and best director.