The 3rd Annual ScreenAge Wasteland Awards Nominees: ‘Dune’ & ‘Licorice Pizza’ Lead the Pack

The nominees for the 3rd Annual ScreenAge Wasteland Awards have been announced!

Last month, the SAW team submitted nominees for the best films of 2021. A lot of films and performances were submitted, but at the end of the day there can only be 5 nominees per category (and 10 for Best Picture and Best Movie Moment).

Any 2021 movie released on streaming, television, or in theaters was eligible as long as the film was widely released by the end of January 22 (to take into consideration late-December limited releases).

That means that for films like Cyrano, which won’t see a wide release until later this month, they will be considered 2022 movies and be eligible for next year’s SAWards.

With all that out of the way, here are your nominees…

Best Picture

  • Dune
  • The French Dispatch
  • The Last Duel
  • Licorice Pizza
  • Minari
  • Nightmare Alley
  • Pig
  • Shiva Baby
  • Spider-Man: No Way Home
  • Titane

Best Animated Film

  • Belle
  • Encanto
  • Luca
  • The Mitchells vs. the Machines
  • The Summit of the Gods

Most Overlooked Film

  • The Card Counter
  • Malignant
  • Mass
  • Shiva Baby
  • The Tender Bar

Best Director

  • Denis Villeneuve – Dune
  • Wes Anderson – The French Dispatch
  • Ridley Scott – The Last Duel
  • Paul Thomas Anderson – Licorice Pizza
  • Zack Snyder – Zack Snyder’s Justice League

Best Breakout Film Direction

  • Shaka King – Judas and the Black Messiah
  • Fran Kranz – Mass
  • Lee Isaac Chung – Minari
  • Michael Sarnoski – Pig
  • Emma Seligman – Shiva Baby

Best Actor

  • Will Smith – King Richard
  • Steven Yeun – Minari
  • Nicolas Cage – Pig
  • Benedict Cumberbatch – The Power of the Dog
  • Andrew Garfield – Tick, Tick… Boom!

Best Supporting Actor

  • LaKeith Stanfield – Judas and the Black Messiah
  • Bradley Cooper – Licorice Pizza
  • Jason Isaacs – Mass
  • Andrew Garfield – Spider-Man: No Way Home
  • Vincent Lindon – Titane

Best Actress

  • Nicole Kidman – Being the Ricardos
  • Rebecca Ferguson – Dune
  • Jodie Comer – The Last Duel
  • Alana Haim – Licorice Pizza
  • Kristen Stewart – Spencer

Best Supporting Actress

  • Florence Pugh – Black Widow
  • Anya Taylor-Joy – Last Night in Soho
  • Martha Plimpton – Mass
  • Youn Yuh-jung – Minari
  • Cate Blanchett – Nightmare Alley

Best Breakout Film Performance

  • Alana Haim – Licorice Pizza
  • Cooper Hoffman – Licorice Pizza
  • Rachel Sennott – Shiva Baby
  • Daniela Melichor – The Suicide Squad
  • Troy Kotsur – CODA

Best Onscreen Movie Ensemble

  • Dune
  • The Last Duel
  • Nightmare Alley
  • Spider-Man: No Way Home
  • The Suicide Squad

Best Adapted Screenplay

  • Dune
  • The Last Duel
  • Nightmare Alley
  • Shiva Baby
  • The Suicide Squad

Best Original Screenplay

  • The French Dispatch
  • Licorice Pizza
  • The Mitchells vs. the Machines
  • Pig
  • Titane

Best Cinematography

  • Dune
  • The Green Knight
  • Last Night in Soho
  • Passing
  • The Power of the Dog

Best Score

  • Beckett
  • Dune
  • Last Night in Soho
  • Shiva Baby
  • Spencer

Best Visual Effects

  • Dune
  • Eternals
  • Godzilla vs. Kong
  • The Green Knight
  • The Suicide Squad

Best Movie Moment

  • Final Duel – The Last Duel
  • First ‘60s Dream Sequence – Last Night in Soho
  • Prison Cell Fight – Malignant
  • Bond & Paloma Take Cuba – No Time to Die
  • Bus Fight – Nobody
  • Opening Flashback – A Quiet Place Part II
  • Bus Fight – Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
  • Meme Come True – Spider-Man: No Way Home
  • Peacemaker vs. Rick Flag – The Suicide Squad
  • Knightmare Epilogue with Joker – Zack Snyder’s Justice League

Dune was the most nominated film this year with 8 nominations. Licorice Pizza took second place with 7 nominations while The Last Duel and Shiva Baby tied for third with 6 nominations apiece. The Suicide Squad rounded out the top five with five nominations.

Here’s how the nominations broke down for the rest of the films:

  • 4 – Last Night in Soho, Mass, Minari, Nightmare Alley, Pig, and Spider-Man: No Way Home
  • 3 – The French Dispatch and Titane
  • 2 – The Green Knight, Judas and the Black Messiah, Malignant, The Mitchells vs. the Machines, The Power of the Dog, Spencer, and Zack Snyder’s Justice League
  • 1 – Beckett, Belle, Black Widow, The Card Counter, CODA, Encanto, Eternals, Godzilla vs. Kong, King Richard, Luca, No Time to Die, Nobody, Passing, A Quiet Place Part II, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, The Summit of the Gods, The Tender Bar, and Tick, Tick… Boom!

A shout out should also be given to Andrew Garfield and Alana Haim for each snagging two acting nominations. Garfield was nominated for his performances in Tick, Tick… Boom! and Spider-Man: No Way Home while Haim got both nominations for her work in Licorice Pizza.


Voting is open to everyone until midnight March 6, 2022.

To access the voting slip for the 2022 SAWards, CLICK HERE.

The winners will be announced Sunday, March 13, 2022 on our Twitter @SAWasteland with a post going up on the site shortly thereafter.


Let us know down in the comments who you hope wins. Please feel free to share the voting slip with your family, friends, and on social media! Let’s blow this up!

Happy voting, screenagers!

Author: Marmaduke Karlston

"Wait a minute. Wait a minute Doc, uh, are you telling me you built a time machine... out of a DeLorean?"