..Gary Dretzka
..Noah Forrest
..Leonard Klady
..R.J. Matson
..David Poland
..Douglas Pratt
..Ray Pride
..Michael Wilmington

8 Weeks To Go
Meet The New Boss...
Same As The Old Boss

So… what have we learned while away from school?

Well, as of January 1, Juno has made more money than Sweeney Todd, it made more than Atonement’s total in this last weekend alone, it will pass Michael Clayton’s total gross this weekend, and it will pass No Country For Old Men next weekend. 

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association could make a very interesting legal case for bias in the offering of waiver deals, arguing that the guild should allow the group, which owns the Globes privately and licenses TV rights to Dick Clark and NBC, to get a waiver as well. Like Worldwide Pants, they have little downside in doing a deal giving WGA anything they want.  But of course, no go with WGA… because none of the waiver decisions have much of anything to do with a consistent strategy.  Oh well.   HFPA is unlikely to have the guts or the high powered legal counsel necessary to make this interesting… and it will go away, making next weekend’s drama all the more dramatic.

Before we even get to resentment in the WGA ranks over some writers being given waivers to return to work, we’ll see just what impact there is as it becomes clear that the talk shows other than Letterman’s are being produced to appear quite the same as they were before the strike.  WGA making claims against Leno, O’Brien, and, starting Thursday, Colbert and Stewart will ratchet things up further, especially with Stewart slated to host the Oscars again.  And if they don’t… a different set of problems. 

Oh… did I get off track?

Well the irony of the moment is that this is one of the most legitimately competitive awards season in a long, long time… and the entire mechanism of the season is kablooey.  The discs are out and the shows will start in earnest in the next week with BFCA’s Critic Choice Awards on VH-1 next Monday followed by LAFCA’s dinner on Saturday, followed by whatever the Globes end up being on Sunday, 10 days from now.   

The great pleasure of the potential of this season is that voters will go unmanipulated and simply vote their guts.  Great.  And next year, same old same old.  This town just doesn’t have any institutional memory for embracing its better self.

Really, I am more interested in how David “The Bagger” Carr covers the Globes for the New York Times than I am in the awards show itself.  Someone will win.  Someone will lose.  Booze will be flowing at the parties.  And when we all wake-up the next morning, the Oscar strategy will emerge within 72 hours and two board meetings. And we little doggies in the media will lap it all up… especially the ones who claim not to care.

There is little left to say about the season.  A dozen films, up and down, will fill out the nominations and wins in the months to come.  And while we all have our personal favorites, it will be hard to argue that anyone missed by too very much.

Thank God for Sundance.

The Charts

December 20, 2007
December 13, 2007
December 6, 2007
November 29, 2007
November 15, 2007
November 8, 2007
November 1, 2007
October 25, 2007
October 18, 2007
The Post-Toronto Chart - September 21, 2007
The Pre-Toronto Chart - September 6, 2007
The First Chart - June 21, 2007

- Email David Poland