National Board Of Review 2019 Honorees Include Brad Pitt, Renée Zellweger & More

Happy awards season! The National Board of Review has revealed their 2019 honorees, which include Brad Pitt for Best Supporting Actor!

Congratulations to Brad Pitt, Adam Sandler, Renée Zellweger, Kathy Bates and many more of this year’s leaders on the screen and off! This year’s class of honorees by the National Board Of Review are celebrated icons in film who are being recognized for their major contributions to the big screen in 2019. At the awards ceremony on Jan. 8, 2020 in NYC, The Irishman will received the honor of Best Film, while Quentin Tarantino will be recognized with Best Director following the success of Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood. Brad Pitt will also be honored for his role as Cliff Booth in Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood, receiving the Best Supporting Actor nod.

Adam Sandler is going to be recognized as this year’s Best Actor by this National Board Of Review for his portrayal of a jeweler to the rich and the famous in the upcoming Safdie Brothers film Uncut Gems. This honor fits right into the Oscar buzz the actor has received surrounding the role — a recognition Adam has never received in his long career. “Just to hear people talking about it, I’m so happy for him,” Benny Safdie told HollywoodLife.com in an EXCLUSIVE interview at the IFP Gotham Awards about the critical praise surrounding Adam’s performance. “The guy is one of the hardest working people I’ve ever met and a real mensch. He really put a lot of himself into this. A lot of time and it’s a really complicated performance and I’m happy to see people are responding.” The Safdie Brothers will also be honored by the National Board of Review, along with Ronald Bronstein, for Best Original Screenplay for Uncut Gems.

Continuing with the National Board of Review honorees, Renée Zellweger will be recognized for her stunning performance in Judy. Kathy Bates is receiving her award for her portrayal of Barbara “Bobi” Jewell in the film Richard Jewell, which tells the story of the Centennial Olympic Park bombing. See below for the rest of this year’s incredible honorees!

Best Adapted Screenplay: Steven Zaillian, THE IRISHMAN
Breakthrough Performance: Paul Walter Hauser, RICHARD JEWELL
Best Directorial Debut: Melina Matsoukas, QUEEN & SLIM
Best Animated Feature:  HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD
Best Foreign Language Film: PARASITE
Best Documentary:  MAIDEN
Best Ensemble: KNIVES OUT
Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography: Roger Deakins, 1917
NBR Icon Award: Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino
NBR Freedom of Expression Award:  FOR SAMA
NBR Freedom of Expression Award: JUST MERCY

Top Films (in alphabetical order)
1917
Dolemite is My Name
Ford v Ferrari
Jojo Rabbit
Knives Out
Marriage Story
Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood
Richard Jewell
Uncut Gems
Waves

Top 5 Foreign Language Films (in alphabetical order)
Atlantics
Invisible Life
Pain and Glory
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Transit

Top 5 Documentaries (in alphabetical order)
American Factory
Apollo 11
The Black Godfather
Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese
Wrestle

Top 10 Independent Films (in alphabetical order)
The Farewell
Give Me Liberty
A Hidden Life
Judy
The Last Black Man in San Francisco
Midsommar
The Nightingale
The Peanut Butter Falcon
The Souvenir
Wild Rose