On Sunday night, the 84th Academy Awards ceremony answered, once and for all, all of the questions that we have been pondering on this blog since September. Here’s a category-by-category look at why things turned out the way they did.
At the 23rd annual Producers Guild of America Awards, which took place last night in Beverly Hills, the presumptive best picture Oscar frontrunner The Artist passed its biggest test yet by holding off nine other films –Bridesmaids, The Descendants, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Hugo,The Help, The Ides of March, Midnight in Paris, Moneyball, and War Horse – to win the Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures (aka “the PGA Award”), the guild’s top prize. (The honor was accepted by the film’s producer, Thomas Langmann.)
I’m very pleased to bring you the eleventh episode of “Feinberg & Friends,” THR’s weekly podcast about the awards race.
Nine awards seasons ago, two op-eds — both involving the Miramax film Gangs of New York (2002) — motivated the Academy to begin cracking down on “distasteful” Oscar campaigning, an effort that continues to this day.
Early this morning, the Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) — of which I am proud to be a voting member –revealed its nominations for the 17th annual Critics’ Choice Awards, which will take place on January 12 in Hollywood.
In recent years, the BFCA’s choices have correlated with the Academy’s as often as any of the early awards groups’. Last year, the two agreed on nine out of 10 best picture nominees and 18 acting nominees (though, in fairness, the BFCA sometimes includes six nominees in each acting category, whereas the Academy always has just five), and for the past two years they agreed on the same four acting winners. It is a pattern that is hard to explain, since they have literally no overlap — the BFCA is composed of roughly 250 journalists, while the Academy is made up of over 6,000 filmmakers — but it is also one that is hard to ignore. Consequently, people like me who try to predict the Oscars pay very close attention to what the BFCA has to say.
So what are the big trends and take-aways from today’s announcement?
By Samuel Negin
A long-awaited but highly unexpected casting decision has finally been made. The role of Monsieur Thenardier in the upcoming film version of Les Miserables will be played by comedian and actor Sacha Baron Cohen. Geoffrey Rush had previously been in talks to take on the role, reuniting with his The King’s Speech costar Helena Bonham Carter in the role of Madame Thenardier.
By Josh Abraham
The Producers Guild of America (PGA) announced today the Television Series nominees that will advance in the voting process for the 23rd Annual Producers Guild Awards.
By Sean O’Connell
At this point last year, Colin Firth had waded up to his waist into the Oscar pool for his courageous work as stuttering King George in Tom Hooper’s “The King’s Speech.” Firth and the film were beyond the point of treading water, but few would definitively state (in early December) whether the prestigious, inspiration period drama would sink or swim.
By Sean O’Connell
“Pulp Fiction.” “The English Patient.” “Good Will Hunting.” “Shakespeare in Love.” “Chicago.” “The Aviator.” “Gangs of New York.” “The Reader.” “The King’s Speech.”
For decades, Harvey Weinstein’s name has been synonymous with the Academy Awards, and his influential fingerprints have been all over the Oscar season.
In no particular order…
1. THE IDES OF MARCH
Why It Could Win: It’s hard to imagine that SAG members won’t get behind this drama starring Ryan Gosling as a political operative surrounded by an incredible assemblage of actor’s actors, most in the prime of their careers. Added bonus: They were directed by an actor, George Clooney, who earned four SAG TV drama ensemble awards during his run on ER.