'Mad Max: Fury Road' leads Chicago film critics nominees

Mad Max has no reason to be angry with the Chicago Film Critics Association.

Its members Monday gave George Miller's science fiction thriller "Mad Max: Fury Road" seven Chicago Film Critics Awards nominations, including best picture, director (Miller), actress (Charlize Theron), cinematography, score, editing and art direction/production design.

Jennifer Jason Leigh doubled her chances at winning best supporting actress with duel nominations for her animated lover in "Anomalisa" and her animallike villainess in "The Hateful Eight."

Todd Haynes' 1950s-set romantic drama "Carol" earned Cate Blanchett her sixth best actress nomination from the CFCA.

"Carol" also received nominations for best cinematography (Edward Lachman), score (Carter Burwell) and art direction/production design (Judy Becker/Jesse Rosenthal).

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's harrowing tale of survival "The Revenant" (opening here Jan. 8, but qualifying as a 2015 release) followed with five nominations, including picture, director, actor (Leonardo DiCaprio), cinematography (Emmanuel Lubezki) and editing (Stephen Mirrione).

Pixar's popular "Inside Out" pulled off unusual double nods for best animated feature plus best picture, as well as noms for original screenplay and score.

The fact-based drama "Spotlight" also competes for best picture, along with direction (Tom McCarthy), original screenplay (McCarthy and Josh Singer) and editing (Tom McArdle).

Winners of the 2015 Chicago Film Critics Awards will be announced at the group's annual awards banquet at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 16, at Zia's in Chicago. You can follow real-time announcements at @ChicagoCritics on Twitter.

The 2015 CFCA nominees:

PICTURE: "Carol," "Inside Out," "Mad Max: Fury Road," "The Revenant," "Spotlight."

DIRECTOR: Todd Haynes for "Carol," Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu for "The Revenant," Tom McCarthy for "Spotlight," Adam McKay for "The Big Short," George Miller for "Mad Max: Fury Road."

ACTOR: Christopher Abbott for "James White," Leonardo DiCaprio for "The Revenant," Michael Fassbender for "Steve Jobs," Eddie Redmayne for "The Danish Girl," Jason Segel for "The End of the Tour."

ACTRESS: Cate Blanchett for "Carol," Brie Larson for "Room," Charlotte Rampling for "45 Years," Saoirse Ronan for "Brooklyn," Charlize Theron for "Mad Max: Fury Road."

SUPPORTING ACTOR: Benicio Del Toro for "Sicario," Sam Elliott for "Grandma," Mark Rylance for "Bridge of Spies," Michael Shannon for "99 Homes," Sylvester Stallone for "Creed."

SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Jennifer Jason Leigh for "Anomalisa," Jennifer Jason Leigh for "The Hateful Eight," Cynthia Nixon for "James White," Kristen Stewart for "Clouds of Sils Maria," Alicia Vikander for "Ex Machina."

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: "Bridge of Spies" (Matt Charman and Joel & Ethan Coen), "Ex Machina" (Alex Garland), "The Hateful Eight" (Quentin Tarantino), "Inside Out" (Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve and Josh Cooley), "Spotlight" (Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer)

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: "Anomalisa" (Charlie Kaufman), "The Big Short" (Adam McKay and Charles Randolph), "Brooklyn" (Nick Hornby), "Room" (Emma Donoghue), "Steve Jobs" (Aaron Sorkin).

CINEMATOGRAPHY: "Carol" (Edward Lachman), "The Hateful Eight" (Robert Richardson), "Mad Max: Fury Road" (John Seale), "The Revenant" (Emmanuel Lubezki), "Sicario" (Roger Deakins)

SCORE: "Carol" (Carter Burwell), "The Hateful Eight" (Ennio Morricone), "Inside Out" (Michael Giacchino), "It Follows" (Disasterpeace), "Mad Max: Fury Road" (Junkie XL).

ART DIRECTION/PRODUCTION DESIGN: "The Assassin," "Brooklyn," "Carol," "Crimson Peak," "Mad Max: Fury Road."

EDITING: "The Big Short" (Hank Corwin), "Mad Max: Fury Road" (Jason Ballantine and Margaret Sixel), "The Martian" (Pietro Scalia), "The Revenant" (Stephen Mirrione), "Spotlight" (Tom McArdle).

FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM: "The Assassin," "The Look of Silence," "Phoenix," "Son of Saul," "White God."

DOCUMENTARY: "Amy," "Cartel Land," "The Hunting Ground," "The Look of Silence," "Where to Invade Next."

ANIMATED FEATURE: "Anomalisa," "The Good Dinosaur," "Inside Out," "The Peanuts Movie," "Shaun the Sheep Movie."

MOST PROMISING PERFORMER: Christopher Abbott in "James White," Bel Powley in "The Diary of a Teenage Girl," Geza Rohrig in "Son of Saul," Amy Schumer in "Trainwreck," Jacob Tremblay in "Room."

MOST PROMISING FILMMAKER: Alex Garland for "Ex Machina," Marielle Heller for "The Diary of a Teenage Girl," Josh Mond for "James White," Laszlo Nemes for "Son of Saul," Bill Pohlad for "Love & Mercy."