And the HFCS winner is: Lady Bird

OK, I had promised myself I would resist any and all temptation to make bad puns about the movie’s title, but… Well, to quote my late father’s favorite author, Oscar Wilde: I can resist anything but temptation. So…

Writer-director Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird continued to feather its nest as a dominant awards-season presence Saturday evening when it received no fewer than three awards  —  Best Picture, Best Screenplay and Best Director — at the 11^th annual Houston Film Critics Society Awards.

Among the other winners:

ACTRESS — Sally Hawkins, The Shape of Water.

ACTOR — James Franco, The Disaster Artist.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS — Allison Janney, I, Tonya.

SUPPORTING ACTOR — Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.

ORIGINAL SCORE — Alexander Desplat, The Shape of Water.

ORIGINAL SONG — “Remember Me,” Coco.

CINEMATOGRAPHY — Roger Deakins, Blade Runner 2049.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM — Thelma.

ANIMATED FILM — Coco.

VISUAL EFFECTS — Blade Runner 2049.

MOVIE POSTER — The Shape of Water.

TEXAS INDEPENDENT FILM — A Ghost Story.

TEXAS INDEPENDENT FILM VISIONARY AWARD — The Secret Life of Lance Letscher, directed by Sandra Adair.

HFCS HUMANITARIAN AWARD — Jim “Mattress Mac” McIngvale.

OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO CINEMA — Q-Fest.

It was my distinct honor and privilege to offer a HFCS Lifetime Achievement Award tribute to Harry Dean Stanton. But wait, there’s more: When I was introduced prior to that presentation, I was identified as “Variety film critic and stable genius Joe Leydon.” So, again, I could not resist: When I later announced that the winner of the Best Documentary award was Brett Morgen’s Jane, I told the awards show audience at MATCH: “I look forward to this film’s premiere on The Gorilla Channel...”