Awards Season 2008

[Jeff]

David Edelstein, New York

1. Rachel Getting Married
2. WALL•E
3. Happy-Go-Lucky
4. Cadillac Records
5. The Class
6. Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
7. Waltz With Bashir
8. Shotgun Stories
9. Doubt
10. Trouble the Water

[souvenir]

One thing I don't understand is the boundaries of the critic's top ten. They can apparently cherry pick from the film festival selections of the current year that haven't yet opened in release (The Class), but then some critics also choose films that debuted prior to this year in festivals but didn't open in theaters until the calendar year (4 months, 3 weeks, 2 days). It certainly allows for a freedom in the critics' selections, but I'm not entirely sure it's helpful to include a movie that hasn't had an official release.

[Jeff]

I'm not entirely sure it's helpful to include a movie that hasn't had an official release.

If it helps, The Class is getting an Academy qualifying run in NY and LA beginning December 19. 4 Months had a similar run last December, but I guess it's up to individual critcs' discretion whether or not to honor that.

[Jeff]

I'm not entirely sure it's helpful to include a movie that hasn't had an official release.

If it helps, The Class is getting an Academy qualifying run in NY and LA beginning December 19. 4 Months had a similar run last December, but I guess it's up to individual critcs' discretion whether or not to honor that.

The big precursors happen this week. BFCA is first out of the gate, L.A. critics are later today. New York and Chicago critics announce tomorrow, and Golden Globe noms are Thursday.

The Broadcast Film Critics Association (The Critics' Choice Awards - Jan. 8 on VH1)

BEST PICTURE

Nominees:
• Changeling
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• The Dark Knight
• Doubt
• Frost/Nixon
• Milk
• The Reader
• Slumdog Millionaire
• Wall-E
• The Wrestler

BEST ACTOR

Nominees:
• Clint Eastwood - Gran Torino
• Richard Jenkins - The Visitor
• Frank Langella - Frost/Nixon
• Sean Penn - Milk
• Brad Pitt - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler

BEST ACTRESS

Nominees:
• Kate Beckinsale - Nothing But the Truth
• Cate Blanchett - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Anne Hathaway - Rachel Getting Married
• Angelina Jolie - Changeling
• Melissa Leo - Frozen River
• Meryl Streep - Doubt

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Nominees:
• Josh Brolin - Milk
• Robert Downey, Jr. - Tropic Thunder
• Philip Seymour Hoffman - Doubt
• Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight
• James Franco - Milk

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Nominees:
• Penelope Cruz - Vicky Cristina Barcelona
• Viola Davis - Doubt
• Vera Farmiga - Nothing But the Truth
• Taraji P. Henson - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Marisa Tomei - The Wrestler
• Kate Winslet - The Reader

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE

Nominees:
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• The Dark Knight
• Doubt
• Milk
• Rachel Getting Married

BEST DIRECTOR

Nominees:
• Danny Boyle - Slumdog Millionaire
• David Fincher - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Ron Howard - Frost/Nixon
• Christopher Nolan - The Dark Knight
• Gus Van Sant - Milk

BEST WRITER (Original or Adapted Screenplay)

Nominees:
• Simon Beaufoy - Slumdog Millionaire
• Dustin Lance Black - Milk
• Peter Morgan - Frost/Nixon
• Eric Roth - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• John Patrick Shanley - Doubt

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Nominees:
• Bolt
• Kung Fu Panda
• Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
• Wall-E
• Waltz With Bashir

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS (Under 21)

Nominees:
• Dakota Fanning - The Secret Life of Bees
• David Kross - The Reader
• Dev Petal - Slumdog Millionaire
• Brandon Walters - Australia

BEST ACTION MOVIE

Nominees:
• The Dark Knight
• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
• Iron Man
• Quantum of Solace
• Wanted

BEST COMEDY MOVIE

Nominees:
• Burn After Reading
• Forgetting Sarah Marshall
• Role Models
• Tropic Thunder
• Vicky Cristina Barcelona

BEST PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

Nominees:
• John Adams
• Recount
• Coco Chanel

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Nominees:
• A Christmas Tale
• Gomorrah
• I’ve Loved You So Long
• Let the Right One In
• Mongol
• Waltz With Bashir

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Nominees:
• I.O.U.S.A.
• Man On Wire
• Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
• Standard Operating Procedure
• Young At Heart

BEST SONG

Nominees:
• "Another Way to Die" (performed by Jack White and Alicia Keys, written by Jack White) - Quantum of Solace
• "Down to Earth" (performed by Peter Gabriel, written by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman) - Wall-E
• "I Thought I Lost You" (performed Miley Cyrus and John Travolta, written by Miley Cyrus and Jeffrey Steele) - Bolt
• "Jaiho" (performed by A.R. Rahman, written by A.R. Rahman and Gulzar) - Slumdog Millionaire
• "The Wrestler" (performed by Bruce Springsteen, written by Bruce Springsteen) - The Wrestler

BEST COMPOSER

Nominees:
• Alexandre Desplat - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Clint Eastwood - Changeling
• Danny Elfman - Milk
• Hans Zimmer/James Newton Howard - The Dark Knight
• A.R. Rahman - Slumdog Millionaire

[rs98762001]

BEST DIRECTOR

Nominees:
• Danny Boyle - Slumdog Millionaire
• David Fincher - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Ron Howard - Frost/Nixon
• Christopher Nolan - The Dark Knight
• Gus Van Sant - Milk

I'm sure the Broadcast Whatever Critics are often wrong, but if these 5 nominees are the precursor to the Best Film Oscar nominations, I think this might be one of the worst years in history. It really says something when The Dark Knight, for all its numerous flaws, is the best of the bunch. Of the rest, one (Button) is a sappy, overlong bore; two (Milk, Slumdog) are overrated button-pushers whose reputations will quickly diminish, and the last (Frost/Nixon) is a stage play brought to "life" in the most moribund way. Depressing.

[Barmy]

Who knew The Dark Knight had an "acting ensemble"?

[reno dakota]

LA Film Critics (according to MovieCityNews):

Picture: “Wall-E”
Runner-up: “The Dark Knight”

Director: Danny Boyle, “Slumdog Millionaire”
Runner-up: Christopher Nolan, “The Dark Knight”

Actor: Sean Penn, “Milk”
Runner-up: Mickey Rourke, “The Wrestler”

Actress: Sally Hawkins, “Happy-Go-Lucky”
Runner-up: Melissa Leo, “Frozen River”

Supporting actor: Heath Ledger, “The Dark Knight”
Runner-up: Eddie Marsan, “Happy-Go-Lucky”

Supporting actress: Penelope Cruz, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” and “Elegy”
Runner-up: Viola Davis, “Doubt”

Screenplay: Mike Leigh, “Happy-Go-Lucky”
Runner-up: Charlie Kaufman, “Synecdoche, New York”

Foreign-language film: “Still Life”
Runner-up: “The Class”

Documentary: “Man on Wire”
Runner-up: “Waltz With Bashir”

Animation: “Waltz With Bashir”

Cinematography: Yu Lik Wai, “Still Life”
Runner-up: Anthony Dod Mantle, “Slumdog Millionaire”

Production design: Mark Friedberg, “Synecdoche, New York”
Runner-up: Nathan Crowley, “The Dark Knight”

Music/score: A.R. Rahman, “Slumdog Millionaire”
Runner-up: Alexandre Desplat, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

New Generation: Steve McQueen, “Hunger”

Douglas E. Edwards independent/experimental film/video: James Benning, “RR” and “Casting a Glance”

[Jeff]

LA Film Critics (according to MovieCityNews):

Picture: “Wall-E”
Runner-up: “The Dark Knight”

Fucking brilliant! Way to shake up the race, LAFCA. The fact that they're absolutely right that WALL•E is the best pic of the year is just icing on the cake.

[domino harvey]

My Best Pic nom guesses, very subject to change given no one's awarded anything yet:

Updated predictions:

Frost/Nixon
Milk
Rachel Getting Married
Slumdog Millionaire
Wall-E -OR- the Dark Knight -- The Oscars are for sure going to include one of these two "popular" titles, but I think they'll both be playing for the same fifth slot

[Antoine Doinel]

I think Rachel Getting Married as a best pic nom is a longshot at best. I think it'll get Best Actress and Best Screenplay at most. Outside shot at Best Director.

[domino harvey]

I think Rachel Getting Married as a best pic nom is a longshot at best. I think it'll get Best Actress and Best Screenplay at most. Outside shot at Best Director.

It's the only "hip" film that has a shot of being nominated and I think they'll latch onto it, especially if they bother to nominate a huge-grosser like the Pixar or Batman film. Milk is the topical social picture the Academy is fond of, Frost/Nixon is another shoo-in from an established Academy favorite (and is the only film that skews older), and Slumdog has such blind critical momentum at this point that they somewhat begrudgingly wouldn't dare not nom it

[swo17]

I think this year's Best Picture will come down to which film voters feel most guilty about not having won--Brokeback Mountain or 2001.

[Barmy]

Wall E is NOT getting a BP nom. Duh squared. It is winning best animated so it doesn't need a nom. Batman gets the nom here.

[swo17]

Well not with that attitude it won't. Disney is pushing for it though. And if ever there were a year where it had a chance, this seems to be the one.

[Antoine Doinel]

I think Rachel Getting Married as a best pic nom is a longshot at best. I think it'll get Best Actress and Best Screenplay at most. Outside shot at Best Director.

It's the only "hip" film that has a shot of being nominated and I think they'll latch onto it, especially if they bother to nominate a huge-grosser like the Pixar or Batman film. Milk is the topical social picture the Academy is fond of, Frost/Nixon is another shoo-in from an established Academy favorite (and is the only film that skews older), and Slumdog has such blind critical momentum at this point that they somewhat begrudgingly wouldn't dare not nom it

I dunno, there seems to be little FYC push behind Rachel Getting Married that I think it will seriously hamper its Best Pic potential. If we're talking "hip", I think The Wrestler has a better chance at taking a Best Pic slot, and it will be more current (coming into theaters, instead of being long gone) and has a great story (Mickey Rourke) behind it.

Also, I have to agree with Barmy re: Wall-E. I think Academy members are going to be hesitant to give that film the chance to win both Best Animated and Best Picture.

[exte]

My Best Pic nom guesses, very subject to change given no one's awarded anything yet:

Updated predictions:

Rachel Getting Married

:-&

[lacritfan]

Wall E is NOT getting a BP nom. Duh squared. It is winning best animated so it doesn't need a nom. Batman gets the nom here.

Also, I have to agree with Barmy re: Wall-E. I think Academy members are going to be hesitant to give that film the chance to win both Best Animated and Best Picture.

Crouching Tiger got both Best Pic and Best Foreign Film noms so I think Wall-E has a chance.

Updated predictions:
Frost/Nixon
Milk
Rachel Getting Married
Slumdog Millionaire
Wall-E -OR- the Dark Knight -- The Oscars are for sure going to include one of these two "popular" titles, but I think they'll both be playing for the same fifth slot

I'd say Rachel won't get it so both Wall-E and Dark Knight will get in.

[exte]

I'm predicting ten nominations for Dark Knight:

BEST PICTURE
BEST DIRECTOR
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
BEST EDITING
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
BEST MAKEUP
BEST SOUND
BEST SOUND EFFECTS EDITING

It will probably win:

BEST PICTURE
BEST DIRECTOR
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
BEST EDITING
BEST SOUND
BEST SOUND EFFECTS EDITING

[domino harvey]

Would you like to put money on the table about that?

[Jeff]

I'll stick with my predictions from a couple of weeks ago:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Milk
Revolutionary Road
Slumdog Millionaire

Revolutionary Road's chances are plummeting though, and I suppose it looks like Frost/Nixon (or maybe Doubt) will take its place.


Exte's predictions about The Dark Knight aren't that far-fetched. His nomination tally is probably about right. Only the best pic win remains highly unlikely. Nolan is still a long shot for the win, but I wouldn't be terribly surprised to see a pic/director split at the Oscars this year with Slumdog and Nolan.

[John Cope]

Revolutionary Road's chances are plummeting though, and I suppose it looks like Frost/Nixon (or maybe Doubt) will take its place.

That's too bad. Sight unseen I just can't imagine that it isn't ten times better than either of those. The early reviews of RR have been very strong. Where is the momentum behind this thing?


Still, I suppose I know already. Given the cultural attitudes post-election this is just not the year for such fare (that would have been last year). Milk, Slumdog and The Wrestler are the ones to beat. The fact that Button has been so curiously omitted from this group really surprises me too.

[Grand Illusion]

LA Film Critics (according to MovieCityNews):

Picture: “Wall-E”

Director: Danny Boyle, “Slumdog Millionaire”
Runner-up: Christopher Nolan, “The Dark Knight”

It's a good thing their Best Picture of the year wasn't directed by anyone, otherwise they might've had to leave someone out.

[rs98762001]

The fact that Button has been so curiously omitted from this group really surprises me too.

You won't be surprised once you see the film.

[THX1378]

I was way off about LA giving best film to Milk. The win for Wall*E really shakes things up now, but I don't see it getting a best picture nom. The more it looks at the rate that the critics are going is that Slumdog or The Dark Knight has the best chances at wining best picture. Benjamin Button I hear doesn't stand a chance at best picture, but will get a nom none the less. Doubt has been getting mixed reviews from the start, so thats out of the picture. Revolutionary Road is getting great reviews, it will get a nom and fill the spot left by Doubt, but with it not winning any critics awards it doesn't stand a chance. And that leaves Milk and/or Frost/Nixon. I think that Milk will get the will get the nom, but I don't think there will be that much Brokeback guilt for it to get best picture. So that leaves Slumdog, which right now is the front runner, and Dark Knight, which people need to stop lying to themselfs about it not getting a best picture nom. It's going to get a nom and has a chance to win it for best picture. Along with Slumdog it will be the only film up for best picture that everyone will agree deserves the award. The way I see it, with Button not being the surprise people thought it was going to be, and none of the other films I can see them giving the award too, the fight is going to be between Slumdog and Knight.

[exte]

Cartography for your viewing pleasure!

2007!
2006!
2005!
2004!
2003!