Broadcast Film Critics’ Nominations
The deeper we get into awards season, the greater the danger Living in Cinema will be drawn away from what I really want it to be all about. Critical awards are great, especially when they bring attention to movies I’m excited about, but awards that are attached to a televised ceremony are automatically suspect. There is too much danger that the demands of a mass TV audience are being pandered to.
I like the Oscars as much as the next person, and I fully intend to wallow in them as much as I can in other venues, but there’s a tendency for the hoopla to suck the air out of a room and distract us from other important things. It’s easy to lose perspective on what we really love about movies.
Somehow I’d like to be an oasis from the madness, but not ignorant of it. The madness is a part of the beast and it can be a fun part as long as people keep their heads. I just don’t want it to take control and I can already feel that happening.
It’s a slippery slope so for now I’ll report on each announcement on a case-by-case basis as it relates directly to the handful of movies I’m already championing. I’m guessing you already know this isn’t the place to look to decide what picks you should be making in your office Oscar poll (though for the record, my money is on Atonement). For that info, you can’t do any better than Awards Daily. I couldn’t compete if I tried.
This brings us to the nominations of the Broadcast Film Critics’ Association. These are for the televised Critics’ Choice Awards so I’m taking them with a grain of salt (and perhaps a splash of lime and tequila), but I think you’ll find they made some interesting choices. I’m especially glad to see more accolades for No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood. And hey, at least there’s no Bucket List.
You can find the full list of nominations at the BFCA website.
Filed under: Awards, News
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- Awards-a-go-go
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is it all just a blur by now ???
anyway putting the king of kong in the best doc is..well an orginal choice. :)
I’m glad you added a note of rationality to what’s quickly becoming a blur of awards-season craziness and we’re nowhere near the Golden Globes! HAH! It would really be silly to get too bogged down in that, especially since half the regular posters here probably won’t see some of the late nominees until mid-January.
It’s a mad blur, but wait. Pretty soon the knives will start coming out.
As always, I appreciate your well-written and very balanced commentary on these things.
At least no “Bucket List”. Amen to that.
Good to see you here Alison. I’ve got my fingers crossed for your favs - Sweeney and Johnny. Based on the film’s clips both are likely to constitute worthy nominations.
Hi, sartre!
Actually my faves change from week to week. After seeing Diving Bell, I’m torn between that and No Country for Old Men. Still haven’t seen TWBB or Sweeney.
I would really hate to be an Academy voter. It would be like choosing one child over another.
I’m still looking forward to catching Diving Bell, I’m Not There, Savages, Juno, Sweeney, Lars, Rat, Away From Her, and Waitress. But I like having so many quality films ahead of me, even if one or two don’t suit my taste. Not interested in CWW and Enchanted. I think Craig has now seen all the major contenders and the best of the remaining. With this in mind I’m looking forward to his updated top ten list (even though I know his top 3 already). The question is which way will that coin flip after he sees TWbB for a third time? I suspect that for a day he’ll call TWbB (he lasted that long after seeing it a second time), but his heart will always take him back to NCfOM.
A note of rationality I hope Joel, but not snobbery. I loves me some awards, but I could feel myself staring into the kudos abyss and it frightened me. I don’t know how Sasha Stone does it year in and year out.
There Will Be Blood here Alison, but no knives. Remember: everyone leaves with all their parts attached and still friends!
You could be right about my #1 favorite Sartre. I’ll have to keep you in doubt so you’ll be sure to come back when I make a list.
I haven’t managed to see Kite Runner, but somehow that one feels like it’s falling by the wayside already. I was supposed to check out Persepolis tonight, but I wanted to be well rested for TWBB. I’ll catch Persepolis when it opens.
I was actually speaking of knives on other parts of the web, Craig, not here. :-)
All parts attached and still friends is the way to go. I’ll probably retreat here for sanctuary when things get crazy everywhere else.
I look forward to seeing you back here again and I can’t wait until you can see TWBB. I love that people are excited about it and I hope they’re not disappointed.
speaking of diving bell does this work for anyone….
http://www.miramax.com/screenings/?
and kite runner by the wayside ???? oh well this review didn’t seemed awed. and i didn’t have kite runner on my buzz list. but you know how i have to keep it real(geeky) ha ha.. :)
http://www.villagevoice.com/film/0750,taylor,78579,20.html
I’m not sure about Kite Runner, but it doesn’t seem like I’ve been hearing about it anywhere in terms of awards
It might still be great, but I wonder what’s up with it Oscarwise.
That link didn’t point me to any screenings in LA, probably ’cause its’ already out.
The delayed release seems to really be hurting the Kite Runner awards-wise.
craig… but try any city. from the miramax thing and you get nothing.
well i tried a few and got nothing.i guess the entire list is like that ???
Kite Runner may be suffering a bit of the same War on Terror ennui that has plagued all the Iraq war-oriented movies of late. People just don’t want to hear about it. Plus, it looks like a foreign film, which automatically seems to limit some of the buzz.
They should have cast Brad Pitt to star in it.
OK, kidding. But it does look like one of those overwrought message movies the studios love to trot in time for awards season and without the draw of major name talent or biopic storyline, that kind of movie is going to struggle against the other seasonal fare.
Course, I’ve been wrong before. Maybe if the Kite Runner were in CGI it would have a better chance?
No, wait…make the Kite Runner a musical and get some annoying half-rate cine-bloggerati to declare it an Oscar contender while it’s still in pre-production.
Clearly that’s a recipe for success.
and without the draw of major name talent
This is where Johnny Depp would have helped The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. Box office and attention.
But, no respect to Mr. Depp, who I’m sure would have done an admirable job, I think he would have been miscast. Amalric was the right man for the role.
And Diving Bell isn’t doing too badly without him. And even not being an English-language film.
Glim, I think all the preview screenings are past because Diving Bell is officially in theaters. You missed the boat on the freebies, friendo.
I didn’t check Alison, did the BFCA give it any loving?
Either way, I think Paramount Vantage should ignore Margot and Kite and Mighty Heart and throw all their time and money into TWBB :)
The thing is Joel, this should be a tonic for the ennui over Iraq because it’s uplifting and feel goody. Or so I’ve heard.
You’re right Alison, Diving Bell would’ve been in danger of becoming a Johnny Depp movie if he’d been in it. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it would’ve kind of buried the remarkable story which should be at the center.
Craig, Diving Bell got a Foreign Language Film nomination and it is in their list of 10 best pictures. Also, Schnabel was nominated for Director.
I meant Kite Runner. Sorry, we’ve split off on two different conversations.
Kite Runner is in the list of top 10 Pictures, Craig.
And it also got a Young Actor nomination for Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada.
As you can see I’m very Diving Bell-centric.
I haven’t seen Kite Runner yet.
Yes I t hink it’s a little soon to count Kite Runner out. I was just wondering aloud.
You have every reason to be Diving Bell-centric Alison, it was pretty great.
I wonder about Amalric though. Will he be embraced for having given a great performance even though he couldn’t move?
If Oprah would give the Kite Runner her seal of approval, it could do quite well. Otherwise, I’m counting it out for now.
I’m surprised she hasn’t.
Craig, Amalric should be acknowledged, but he will sadly be overlooked, I fear.
But look at just how much emotion he conveyed with only one eye and his voice over.
I keep going back to the shaving scene with Amalric and Von Sydow. Quiet, simple and deeply deeply touching.
joel….movies oprah has championed this season have done to well box office or shots at awards have they… ??
wasn’t she behind ‘things we lost i fire’ and ‘love in the time of cholera’
craig… hmm diving bell isn’t out in my area. hint i live in the south.
and how often to big guys/girls care about us ???
i’m sure i’ll get diving bell eventually(sp?) but not today or this weekend….or…
no one ever thinks about the south do they ????
oh well if it’s not footbal so no one cares. ah the south….
the trailer i saw for diving bell. (yeah the one i saw before no country)
had no subtitles.and an english voice over way to fool the audience.(hell they may as well just have said johnny depp was in it)
maybe they only showed this trailer/preview in the south.because no one ever mentions it.
i know my memory ids horrible.but that’s how i remember it.
east coast/west coast i think i hate them both. oh and i hate the south too ! :)
re the johhny depth effect. there’s this female who’s going to see sweeney tood or whatever it called. yes i’m horrible.thank you…
only because mr.depth is in it. does she like musicals ?? nope ?? if you mention the plot or whatever to her and no depth was involved she’d dismiss it as maybe to weird, too boring…and if worse if the film had subtitles… or no big name ’star’
but put johnny’s name on it and suddenly it’s cool.
and she’ll be ther opening weekend.
and i bet despite her fondness for more ‘escapist’ slant of cinema. i bet if johnny was in this she’d be there opening weekend.
see craig this is what happens when i talk to someone…. :(
*sigh* i’m not ‘indie’ /i’m not mainstream either..
‘no one knows what going on/no one knows where geeks belong.’
going for the slighly modified song quote to keep my loser cred. thank you….
I saw that trailer too Glimmer. I remember thinking “Oh they’re just trying to fool people into thinking it’s not a foreign film.”
They kind of did the same thing with Pan’s Labyrinth if memory serves. There were just a lot of images and an English voice over.
Ditto with the new creepy movie from Spain. The Orphanage.
And don’t be knockin’ the Depp! Just because he’s more handsome than either of us times 10 on a good day, doesn’t mean the boy can’t act.
Also, there are no losers here. Just movie fans.
With all due respect to the film, they did the same thing with Sweeney Todd. Bad, recycled music with that guy who always does the voice overs on movie trailer. Almost no hint of Sondheim’s music and no singing except for a little out of place, awkward bit where Depp breaks into song.
*Nope. It’s not a musical. Really, it isn’t.*
:-)
I remember the trailer now Alison…very little singing.
I’m on record somewhere as saying I mostly hate trailers. I’m as excited about what’s coming as the next guy, but trailers lie. Or they give away too much. And too often they have to have that awful trailer voice that usually wrecks it.
I love a good teaser trailer. And when I went back and watched the trailers for NCfOM, those were pretty cool. Glad I didnt see them before I saw the movie though.
Your legendary discipline when it comes to avoiding trailers and reviews prior to seeing a much anticipated film always leaves me wondering whether you were a Father Gabriel type Jesuit missionary in a former life :-)