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

National Boring Review

It's all happening.

(Editor's Note: It's not all happening quite as fast anymore. National Board of Review has delayed their announcement until Monday, Dec 12 since this story was written because of mistakes on their ballot.)

Last week the ISA Award Nominees were revealed, but that announcement was met with a rather deserved yawn, I feel. And the annual "let's nominate EVERYONE" Golden Satellite nominations came and went. Tomorrow, however, the awards season ought to really kick off as the New York-based National Board of Review announces their increasingly beside-the-point list of winners. NBR is beside the point because the influence isn't what it may have been in the past, but is also important nonetheless because we get our first major taste of singular notices, rather than grouped nominations.

On Sunday, the Broadcast Film Critics Association announces their nominations. Next Tuesday, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association rattles off their nominations announcement for the 63rd Annual Golden Globe Awards. The weekend brings the Los Angeles Film Critics Association announcement, as well as the American Film Institute nominations. The New York Film Critics Circle will then dive into the new week with their annual list of winners.

Time to take that last deep breath.

The National Board of Review always stakes their claim at the start, insisting on being the first out of the gate. The group finally had its teeth kicked in this year when several members filed a complaint against the NBR with the New York State Attorney General, citing it as having morphed into a self-serving club at the whims of then president Annie Schulhof, with plenty of inquiries about who the "not-for-profit" fundraising ultimately profited.

This year things may get back on track for the 96 year old organization, as Eileen Newman, newly appointed executive director, hopes to pull the reins in, though her entrance in no way assures Schulof's exit.

The NBR's annual awards sometimes include real left field-level awardees. Edward Zwick won the Best Director prize in 2003, while his film, The Last Samurai, received the #2 spot in the group's top ten list. The film didn't receive any such major Oscar recognition a month later.

The year before (a year curiously dominated by Miramax product at the NBR), Campbell Scott took the Best Actor prize for his stellar work in Roger Dodger. No way was he going to land a nomination from the Academy, however. Philip Noyce also won Best Director for his work on The Quiet American and Rabbit-Proof Fence. Nothing doing with Oscar.

On the other hand, however, being "first" can afford the opportunity to hail potential Oscar hopefuls before anyone else - which may or may not assist in creating steam for Oscar campaigns.

In 2001, the NBR revived the Best Picture hopes of Moulin Rouge! in the eyes of many when it marked the film at the top of their top ten list. The very same year they awarded Halle Berry the first of a series of Best Actress awards that would lead to her eventual three hour Oscar acceptance speech.

Last year they gave Laura Linney the award for Best Supporting Actress in Kinsey, considered a Best Picture contender at the beginning of the awards season. She would be the only aspect of the film to survive all the way to an Oscar nomination.

So what can we expect this year? The long-running joke of "it depends on who has the best catering" may be drawing to a close, but a nearly 100-year-old organization provides a nice lineage of patterns to draw upon for speculation.

Given the NBR's strange penchant for awarding sexuality (Quills, Closer, Kinsey), and moreover, homosexuality (Gods and Monsters, Chuck and Buck, The Hours), I would expect Brokeback Mountain to be well received, possibly taking the Best Picture award.

Given that the organization can also have an affinity for theatrical representations, (adoration of Moulin Rouge! in 2001, Annette Bening's Best Actress win last year), Mrs. Henderson Presents or The Producers could certainly find room for notices.

Speaking of which, the NBR top ten list looks to be something of a litmus test for how a musical will fare in the Oscar Best Picture race. It seems more often than not, as history builds, if the group ignores a musical in their list, things may not be looking up.

In the modern era, Chicago and Moulin Rouge! received mentions, going on to Best Picture placement. However, when Phantom of the Opera, an adaptation of the immensely popular Broadway stage production, was absent from the list last year (keeping in mind the NBR is a New York organization), it may have been the first major sign that the Best Picture buzz around Joel Schumacher's film might not come to pass.

Tomorrow, should The Producers (another adaptation of a popular Broadway production) turn up missing as well, it might be time to mark it down as an also-ran.

If I had to take a stab here, I'd say Brokeback Mountain, Good Night, and Good Luck. and Walk the Line will be the big winners. And top ten placement for Cinderella Man could be the first step toward renewed consideration of that film amongst the prognostication community.

Also, given the overall forgiveness of Match Point (anyone with me in considering it quite lacking?), Woody Allen's latest could land some major scores. The helmer himself might even take Best Director for Match Point in conjunction with his spring effort, Melinda and Melinda. Who knows? The NBR likes to notice multiple achievements from the year.

As such, Jake Gyllenhaal could be neck and neck with Terrence Howard in the Best Breakthrough Actor category, both with multiple films this year. If Cillian Murphy's output weren't largely dominated by genre films, I would be inclined to include him in the hunt as well.

Other actors with multiple projects in 2005 include Jeff Daniels, Nicolas Cage, Reese Witherspoon, Liam Neeson, Johnny Depp and Ralph Fiennes, which could be beneficial to them in the other acting categories.

George Clooney will surely find his way to some kind of recognition, perhaps in the form of the NBR's "Freedom of Expression" award. Ditto Stephen Gaghan and Syriana. Clooney could even snatch the Best Director prize, which would assuredly cause people to jump on that wagon.

And the first press screening of Munich was last night, the second will be tonight (and it can't get here soon enough), so not many are able to educationally comment on that film's potential here. The group did, however, move their deadline in order to screen Steven Spielberg's latest for inclusion in their ceremony, but the assumption that it will fare well with them is still as good as the long-running assumption that it will fare well with Oscar, I suppose.

Then again - I could be totally off base here. It's a funny year.

Regardless, as of tomorrow, we're off. Predictions will change and further assumptions will be made, right or wrong. But at the very least, the season will have finally hit its stride.

December 6, 2005

Previous Oscartown Columns
11.29.05 - Breakthrough Gents
11.22.05 - Money Talks
11.15.05 - Where Have All The Cowgirls Gone?
11.08.05 - Imitation of Life
11.01.05 - Suggestion Card
10.25.05 - Youthful Digression
10.18.05 - Nothing New, Nothing Old... A Whole Lot of Nothing
09.01.05 - A Brave New 'Wood?

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