BFCA Reactions

Well, the first major awards show has announced their nominees, in comparison to the HFPA or AMPAS, this diverse group is made up of critics including yours truly. There are arguments to be made that the organization votes for the likely Oscar contenders rather than the actual film craft. I can only speak for myself, but I vote for the craft itself. I don't let the "likely" contenders sway my vote. I knew when I voted, there were going to be some throw away votes on my list as I realized they probably had no chance but I was fine with that. I did my job and my job was done.

Best Picture -

• Avatar
• An Education
• The Hurt Locker
• Inglourious Basterds
• Invictus
• Nine
• Precious
• A Serious Man
• Up
• Up In The Air

These could easily be the predicted ten. There my predictions as of now. Are these my voted ten? No. I was a little surprised by Nine given the lukewarm reception by the critics. I'm just glad to not see Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones, even though showing up with 6 nominations anyway.

Best Director

• Kathryn Bigelow – “The Hurt Locker”
• James Cameron – “Avatar”
• Lee Daniels – “Precious”
• Clint Eastwood – “Invictus”
• Jason Reitman – “Up In The Air”
• Quentin Tarantino – “Inglourious Basterds”

Go Daniels! Go Bigelow! Go Cameron! I think Tarantino still has an uphill climb ahead of him to nab a Director nomination, screenplay hurts enough. Eastwood's nod, though bugs some people, I'm fine with. Rob Marshall may find himself missing come Oscar time if stuff like this keeps up.

Best Actor

• Jeff Bridges – “Crazy Heart”
• George Clooney – “Up In The Air”
• Colin Firth – “A Single Man”
• Morgan Freeman – “Invictus”
• Viggo Mortensen – “The Road”
• Jeremy Renner – “The Hurt Locker”

These six guys are in contention. Bridges, Clooney, Firth and Freeman are looking locked and loaded for Oscar. Renner is very likely. Mortensen is a dark horse. It's a pity not to see Michael Stuhlbarg, if everyone basing the performance on actual quality, he should be in there.

Best Actress

• Emily Blunt – “The Young Victoria”
• Sandra Bullock – “The Blind Side”
• Carey Mulligan – “An Education”
• Saoirse Ronan – “The Lovely Bones”
• Gabourey Sidibe – “Precious”
• Meryl Streep – “Julie & Julia”

Whoa, no Helen Mirren or The Last Station for that matter. Ronan deserves the mention here no matter how bad the film is, everyone agrees she's good enough. Emily Blunt was a surprise but may just be in the realm of Kate Beckinsale's mention last year for Nothing But the Truth. Bullock gets another mention to add to her armor and is looking good for the Oscar nod.

Best Supporting Actor

• Matt Damon – “Invictus”
• Woody Harrelson – “The Messenger”
• Christian McKay – “Me And Orson Welles”
• Alfred Molina – “An Education”
• Stanley Tucci – “The Lovely Bones”
• Christoph Waltz – “Inglourious Basterds”

Matt Damon's mention puts a real bad taste in my mouth. Considering the voting method of the BFCA's, I find it perplexing that anyone would pick Damon. Surprising to not see Christopher Plummer and it might sting harder then people might think, or maybe not enough voters saw The Last Station.

Best Supporting Actress

• Marion Cotillard – “Nine”
• Vera Farmiga – “Up In The Air”
• Anna Kendrick – “Up In The Air”
• Mo’Nique – “Precious”
• Julianne Moore – “A Single Man”
• Samantha Morton – “The Messenger”

It is absolutely awesome to Marion Cotillard in the right category for the right film. Hopefully AMPAS and the Weinsteins pick up on this and switch her categorization. Farmiga, Kendrick, and Mo'Nique are locked and loaded. Moore is a safe bet. Morton is surprising, pleasant, and helps in the campaign. This may hurt Penelope Cruz's campaign as people thought she was considered the most likely to be recognized of the cast.

Overall, the nominations didn't offer anything too distinctive. Bright's Star's absence is significant. No love for Brothers outside of Bailee Madison (which is very deserving). Original Screenplay may be the Oscar final five. Adapted screenplay is eh, a bit uninspired if you ask me. Where is Where the Wild Things Are? The Last Station? In the Loop? Oh well. And all that Avatar love! Fantastic to see.

Who do you think will win? Remember to watch the Critics Choice Awards on January 15, 2010 on VH1

The Broadcast Film Critics Association let loose with their nominees!

Behold:

Best Picture

“Avatar”
“An Education”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Invictus”
“Nine”
“Precious”
“A Serious Man”
“Up”
“Up in the Air”

Best Directing
Kathryn Bigelow, “The Hurt Locker”
James Cameron, “Avatar”
Lee Daniels, “Precious”
Clint Eastwood, “Invictus”
Jason Reitman, “Up in the Air”
Quentin Tarantino, “Inglourious Basterds”

Best Actor
Jeff Bridges, “Crazy Heart”
George Clooney, “Up in the Air”
Colin Firth, “A Single Man”
Morgan Freeman, “Invictus”
Viggo Mortensen, “The Road”
Jeremy Renner, “The Hurt Locker”

Best Actress
Emily Blunt, “The Young Victoria”
Sandra Bullock, “The Blind Side”
Carey Mulligan, “An Education”
Saoirse Ronan, “The Lovely Bones”
Gabourey Sidibe, “Precious”
Meryl Streep, “Julie & Julia”

Best Supporting Actor
Matt Damon, “Invictus”
Woody Harrelson, “The Messenger”
Christian McKay, “Me and Orson Welles”
Alfred Molina, “An Education”
Stanley Tucci, “The Lovely Bones”
Christoph Waltz, “Inglourious Basterds”

Best Supporting Actress
Marion Cotillard, “Nine”
Vera Farmiga, “Up in the Air”
Anna Kendrick, “Up in the Air”
Mo’Nique, “Precious”
Julianne Moore, “A Single Man”
Samantha Morton, “The Messenger”

Best Young Actor/Actress
Jae Head, “The Blind Side”
Bailee Madison, “Brothers”
Max Records, “Where the Wild Things Are”
Saoirse Ronan, “The Lovely Bones”
Kodi Smit-McPhee, “The Road”

Best Acting Ensemble
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Nine”
“Precious”
“Star Trek”
“Up in the Air”

Best Adapted Screenplay
“District 9”
“An Education”
“Fantastic Mr. Fox”
“A Single Man”
“Up in the Air”

Best Original Screenplay
“(500) Days of Summer”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“A Serious Man”
“Up”

Best Animated Feature
“Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs”
“Coraline”
“Fantastic Mr. Fox”
“The Princess and the Frog”
“Up”

Best Art Direction
“Avatar”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“The Lovely Bones”
“Nine”
“A Single Man”

Best Cinematography
“Avatar”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“The Lovely Bones”
“Nine”

Best Costume Design
“Bright Star”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Nine”
“Where the Wild Things Are”
“The Young Victoria”

Best Editing
“Avatar”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Nine”
“Up in the Air”

Best Makeup
“Avatar”
“District 9”
“Nine”
“The Road”
“Star Trek”

Best Score
“The Informant!”
“The Princess and the Frog”
“Sherlock Holmes”
“Up”
“Where the Wild Things Are”

Best Song
“The Weary Kind” from “Crazy Heart”
“(I Want To) Come Home” from “Everybody’s Fine”
“Cinema Italiano” from “Nine”
“Almost There” from “The Princess and the Frog”
“All is Love” from “Where the Wild Things Are”

Best Sound
“Avatar”
“District 9”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Nine”
“Star Trek”

Best Visual Effects
“2012″
“Avatar”
“District 9”
“The Lovely Bones”
“Star Trek”

Best Action Movie
“Avatar”
“District 9”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Star Trek”

Best Comedy
“(500) Days of Summer”
“The Hangover”
“It’s Complicated”
“The Proposal”
“Zombieland”

Best Picture Made for Television
“Gifted Hands”
“Grey Gardens”
“Into the Storm”
“Taking Chance”

Best Foreign Language Film
“Broken Embraces”
“Coco Before Chanel”
“Red Cliff”
“Sin Nombre”
“The White Ribbon”

Best Documentary Feature
“Anvil!: The Story of Anvil”
“Capitalism: A Love Story”
“The Cove”
“Food, Inc.”
“Michael Jackson’s This Is It”

-Inglourious Basterds and Nine led the way...thoughts?

BFCA Predictions and Announcement

In a few hours, the Broadcast Film Critics Association will announce their nominees with some new categories added. The organization has been doing ten Best Picture nominees for years now, so it will crucial as ever to see what films they choose. Their top ten rated films of this year are:
100 – Me and Orson Welles
100 – Up
97 – Up in the Air
95 – An Education
93 – The Hurt Locker
93 – Star Trek
92 – (500) Days of Summer
91 – Inglourious Basterds
91 – Fantastic Mr Fox
tied>
89 – Avatar
89 – Precious

Are these ten the Best Picture nominees? I think not. The locks seem to be Up in the Air and The Hurt Locker. It's hard to determine where certain critics' loyalty lies. It'll be interesting to see what's changed their minds. Me & Orson Welles at 100 speaks more for Christian McKay then it does for the film itself. There are more possibilities and this is all a guessing game. Here they are...

Predictions are:
BEST PICTURE
The Hurt Locker
Up in the Air
Avatar
Nine
Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire
A Serious Man
Up
An Education
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek

Alternate: Invictus

BEST DIRECTOR
Kathryn Bigelow-The Hurt Locker
James Cameron-Avatar
Joel Coen & Ethan Coen-A Serious Man
Clint Eastwood-Invictus
Quentin Tarantino-Inglourious Basterds

Alternate: Lee Daniels-Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire

BEST ACTOR
Jeff Bridges-Crazy Heart
George Clooney-Up in the Air
Colin Firth-A Single Man
Morgan Freeman-Invictus
Jeremy Renner-The Hurt Locker

Alternate: Michael Stuhlbarg-A Serious Man

BEST ACTRESS
Abbie Cornish-Bright Star
Helen Mirren-The Last Station
Carey Mulligan-An Education
Gabourey Sidibe-Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire
Meryl Streep-Julie & Julia

Alternate: Sandra Bullock-The Blind Side

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christoph Waltz-Inglourious Basterds
Christian McKay-Me & Orson Welles
Alfred Molina-An Education
Christopher Plummer-The Last Station
Anthony Mackie-The Hurt Locker

Alternate: Stanley Tucci-The Lovely Bones

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Mo'Nique-Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire
Julianne Moore-A Single Man
Anne Kendrick-Up in the Air
Vera Farmiga-Up in the Air
Penelope Cruz-Nine

Alternate: Marion Cotillard-Public Enemies

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
A Serious Man
The Hurt Locker
Up
Inglourious Basterds
(500) Days of Summer

Alternate: The Messenger

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Up in the Air
An Education
Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire
In the Loop
Invictus

Alternate: The Last Station

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Max Records-Where the Wild Things Are
Saoirse Ronan-The Lovely Bones
Jae Head-The Blind Side
Abigail Breslin-My Sister's Keeper
Dakota Fanning-Coraline

Alternate: Martha West-Creation

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
The Hurt Locker
Up in the Air
Nine
Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire
An Education

Alternate: Inglourious Basterds

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Nine
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Bright Star
Avatar

Alternate: The Lovely Bones

BEST ART DIRECTION
Bright Star
Inglourious Basterds
The Last Station
A Serious Man
Where the Wild Things Are

Alternate: Avatar

BEST FILM EDITING
The Hurt Locker
Avatar
Inglourious Basterds
Nine
Star Trek

Alternate: Up in the Air

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Nine
Bright Star
Inglourious Basterds
The Young Victoria
The Last Station

Alternate: Public Enemies

BEST MAKEUP
Star Trek
The Imagainarium of Dr. Parnassus
District 9

Alternate: Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Avatar
Star Trek
District 9

Alternate: The Lovely Bones

BEST SOUND
The Hurt Locker
Avatar
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Nine
Star Trek

Alternate: District 9

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Up
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
The Princess & the Frog

Alternate: Ponyo

BEST ACTION MOVIE
Avatar
Star Trek
District 9
The Hurt Locker
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Alternate: Terminator: Salvation

BEST COMEDY
The Hangover
Up in the Air
It's Complicated
Julie & Julia
(500) Days of Summer

Alternate: In the Loop

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
The White Ribbon
A Prophet
Broken Embraces
Coco avant Chanel
Mother

Alternate: Samson & Delilah

BEST DOCUMENTARY
The Cove
Food Inc.
Under our Skin
Capitalism: A Love Story
Valentino: The Last Emperor

Alternate: Tyson

BEST SONG
"The Weary Kind" - Crazy Heart
"Cinema Italiano" - Nine
"Take It All" - Nine
"All is Love" - Where the Wild Things Are
"(I Want to) Come Home" - Everybody's Fine

Alternate: "I Can See in Color" - Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire

BEST SCORE
Avatar
Up
The Lovely Bones
Crazy Heart
Where the Wild Things Are

Alternate: The Last Station

KRISTIN CHENOWETH TO HOST BFCA

AWARDS CEREMONY TO BE BROADCAST LIVE ON VH1

FRIDAY, JANUARY 15 AT 9:00 PM*

(Santa Monica, CA - December 9, 2009) - The Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) has announced that Emmy and Tony Award winning actress Kristin Chenoweth will be taking the stage as host for the 15th Annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards gala on Friday, January 15, 2010 at the Hollywood Palladium.

Kristin Chenoweth effortlessly transitions between stage, film and television. Chenoweth recently received the 2009 Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her memorable performance in the ABC series Pushing Daisies. On the stage, Chenoweth is best known for her show-stealing, Tony Award winning performance in You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown and her triumphant star turn when she originated the role of Glinda the Good Witch in Wicked, which earned her a leading actress Tony Award nomination. Chenoweth will next be seen starring in the all new Lifetime Original Movie The Twelve Men of Christmas as well as Disney's 2010 release of You Again with Jamie Lee Curtis and Kristen Bell. She will also return to Broadway in Spring 2010, starring alongside Sean Hayes in the much-anticipated revival of Promises, Promises.

"We are delighted to have a triple threat such as Kristin Chenoweth, a multiple award-wining star of the stage, film and television as host for our show," said Tom Calderone, President of VH1. "Kristin is hugely talented with broad appeal and will bring a tremendous energy to the live ceremony."

The 15th Annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards gala will air live for the third straight year on VH1 on Friday, January 15, 2010 at 9:00 PM*. The awards are bestowed annually by the BFCA to honor the finest in cinematic achievement. Since its inception in 1995, the Critics' Choice Movie Awards has been a star-studded bellwether event of the awards season and historically, the most accurate predictor of the Academy Award nominations.

Nominations for the 15th Annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards will be announced on Monday, December 14, 2009.
The 15th Annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards is executive produced by Bob Bain for Bob Bain Productions, Joey Berlin for Berlin Entertainment and Lee Rolontz for VH1.


About Broadcast Film Critics Association

The broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) is the largest film critics' organization in the United States and Canada, representing more than 200 television, radio and online critics. BFCA members are the primary source of information for today's film going public. The very first opinion a moviegoer hears about new releases at the multiplex or the art house usually comes from one of its members.

About VH1

VH1 connects viewers to the music, artists and pop culture that matter to them most with TV series, specials, live events, exclusive online content and public affairs initiatives. VH1 is available in 95 million households in the U.S. VH1 also has an array of digital channels and services including VH1Classic, VH1 Soul, VH1 Mobile, VH1Games and extensive broadband video on VH1.com. Connect with VH1 at VH1.com.

The BFCA changes up its awards show!

From Variety:

Fifteen years after its start, the Broadcast Film Critics Assn. is giving its big show a complete makeover.

Org, which is sending out ballots to its 240 members today, is doing everything from changing the name of its awards to adding eight categories (mostly tech) to get more in line with Oscar.

And that's not all. Org has decided to move its show across town as well. Kudocast had been held at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium for the past four years and will now take place at the Hollywood Palladium.

When the Critics' Choice Movie Awards -- formerly the Critics' Choice Awards -- air on Jan. 15, film professionals who work below the line will be given their due by critics. Although winners may not get a chance to go up on the podium for their moment of glory due to the telecast's two-hour window, categories such as art direction and cinematography were added to give the awards more of an Oscar-like feel.

Show is in the third and final year of its contract with cabler VH1. Both VH1 and sister net MTV will simulcast red carpet coverage before VH1 goes it alone for the kudocast at 6 p.m., live for the East Coast, delayed until 9 for the West Coast. Previously, the awards were broadcast on the WB for two years and E!.

BFCA president Joey Berlin said the name change was to make sure the public was aware that this was a night dedicated solely to film.

"It dawned on us that for a show that's broadcast on VH1 and called the Critics' Choice Awards, we had to let them know it was a movie awards show," he said. "It was a slap-on-your-forehead moment."

VH1 president Tom Calderone said the cabler, which caters to an 18- to 49-year-old pop culture demo, originally got involved in the kudocast in 2008 to establish its place in the movie awards season and realized it was better to attach itself to a existing show rather than creating a new one.

"We felt it would've taken a longer time to get to that place (in starting up a new show), and we wanted to have the respectability in the Hollywood community now," Calderone said.

Ratings aren't huge -- 649,000 viewers tuned in last year -- but, according to the VH1 topper, the show has been a hit with advertisers.

Berlin, who also acts as the exec producer, said the kudocast is audience friendly as it is widely attended by high-profile nominees. Event is held just two days before the Golden Globes and actors are already in town.

-Thoughts?

Broadcast Film Critics Assocation expands Categories

Here's the full list:

BEST PICTURE
BEST ACTOR
BEST ACTRESS
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
BEST DIRECTING
BEST WRITING (Original Screenplay)
BEST WRITING (Adapted Screenplay)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
BEST ART DIRECTION
BEST EDITING
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
BEST MAKEUP
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
BEST SOUND
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
BEST ACTION MOVIE
BEST COMEDY
BEST PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION (Network or cable, including mini-series)
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
BEST SONG
BEST SCORE

Using the Broadcast Film Critics Association as a Best Picture Barometer...

Awards Daily posted that graph a few days ago, and it's interesting enough for me to want to post as well. These are a decent smattering of the highly praised films so far this year, and of this group, we might see as many as 5 get a Best Picture nominee (though that's a real stretch, but who knows at this point).
-Which BFCA top picks do you think will go far this year?

We will reveal BFCA Winners...

We will LIVE Blog but not each post, on this post. It will be edited through the night. Enjoy and refresh your page!

Best Comedy Film: Tropic Thunder (YAY!)
Best Acting Ensemble: Milk
Best Young Actor: Dev Patel-Slumdog Millionaire
Best Writer: Simon Beaufoy-Slumdog Millionaire
Best Action Film: The Dark Knight
Best Composer: A.R. Rahman-Slumdog Millionaire
Best Song: "The Wrestler" - The Wrestler
Best Documentary: Man on Wire
Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger-The Dark Knight!!!!!!
Best Foreign Language Film: Waltz with Bashir
Best Supporting Actress: Kate Winslet-The Reader
Best Animated Feature: WALL-E
Joel Siegel Award: Richard Gere
Best Picture Made for Television: John Adams
Best Actress: Meryl Streep-Doubt & Anne Hathaway-Rachel Getting Married
Best Director: Danny Boyle-Slumdog Millionaire
Best Actor: Sean Penn-Milk
Best Picture of the Year: Slumdog Millionaire

Not including Alternates: 13/18
With alternates: 17/18

Not too shabby but I have to say, this might be getting a little boring and predictable with the exception of the tie for actress and Winslet's win.

BFCA: The One that Matters...

There are many awards given out during this season but Oscar-wise, very few are significantly relevant. The Critics' Choice Awards is part of this selected group of precursors.

My reactions to today's nominations:

Into the Wild has received a huge boost, if it takes this award (likely, with 7 nods); expect the Sean Penn indie hit to turn into a Best Picture nominee. If the HFPA also nominate the film in the Drama category, then it's on its way to the Kodak!

Emile Hirsch, Viggo Mortensen and mostly, Amy Adams benefit a lot from their respective nominations. The BFCA nominees in the leading categories usually match with Oscar's.

Jolie, Cotillard and Christie are looking more and more likely to become Best Actress nominees... Sadly, things are not looking that great for Laura Linney or Keira Knightley.

Vanessa Redgrave and Catherine Keener could become Best Supporting Nominees as well (but the same cannot be said about Romola Garai and Julia Roberts).

Johnny Depp finally makes a Best Actor lineup but the race has turned now into a Day-Lewis vs. Clooney showdown!

Michael Cera and Nikki Blonsky will probably take the Young Actor/Actress awards.

Expect a complete Predictions Update after the Golden Globe nominations are announced...

Your thoughts on the BFCA noms?