BFCA 'Critics Choice' Nominees: It's Hugo vs. The Artist

As you may or may not know, I am a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association. So this weekend, I rushed to turn in my ballot hoping against hope that my tiny voice will save them from their own relentless interest in predicting the Oscars above all else. I hoped, for example, that here is where you'd see a bit of Off Oscar movement for some of the interesting divisive movies such as Melancholia or critical hit only performances like Olivia Colman's in Tyrannosaur or things only critics have seen but that they lovedlovedloved like A Separation (Trust: I'm far from the only one.) While hope springs eternal, this year they held on tight to just what you'd expect: Oscar predictions! There are about 250 members of the BFCA -- you can see a list here --  and remarkably none of us are named Peter Travers though as a group we seem to collectively share his Oscar-hewing choices under the guise of "My opinion - screw Oscar!" (teehee). But what can you do?!

Movieloving duo The Artist and Hugo led the nominations with 11 nods apiece. Let's look at each category. The "Critics Choice" Awards will be held on January 12th, 2012 and broadcast on VH1 as per usual. This year's hosts will be Rob Huebel and Paul Scheer.

BEST PICTURE

• The Artist
• The Descendants
• Drive
• Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
• The Help
• Hugo
• Midnight in Paris
• Moneyball
• The Tree of Life
• War Horse 

(SOLE) SURPRISE / BAD NEWS FOR: I really thought Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 would place her given that so many media types (many of them BFCA members) are obsessed with those massive franchises - especially when/because they're ending. Otherwise this is just what you'd expect for an Oscar prediction + DRIVE which, yes, I voted for. Duh!
THREAT TO WIN: I think you're looking at Hugo vs. The Artist and not just due to the nomination count. 
COMPLETELY 100% SNUBBED IN NOMINATIONS: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Coriolanus 
ALMOST 100% SNUBBED IN NOMINATIONS: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo... might this year have been even more "too crowded" for late bloomers and one week qualifiers than other years?

It's HUGO vs. THE ARTIST, each with 11 nominations

BEST DIRECTOR

• Stephen Daldry, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
• Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
• Alexander Payne, The Descendants
• Nicolas Winding Refn, Drive
• Martin Scorsese, Hugo
• Steven Spielberg, War Horse

SURPRISE: Refn's genre effort paid off. And Spielberg's schmaltz-a-thon? That's not a surprise but: Yikes. I guess the BFCA really thinks War Horse will score big with Oscar. Perhaps it shall. Otherwise, it's exactly as you'd expect though I'm pleased to see Refn squeeze in to the Oscar predictions.
BAD NEWS FOR: Woody Allen for Midnight in Paris. He hasn't been nominated for Best Director at the Oscars in a very long time. One wonders if they'll want to welcome him back this year given the "comeback" story with his film's surprise hit status. 
THREAT TO WIN: I'm assuming the BFCA members will swerve towards Scorsese with a combo of hero worship and genuine love for his new film. 

BEST ACTRESS 

• Viola Davis, The Help
• Elizabeth Olsen, Martha Marcy May Marlene
• Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
• Tilda Swinton, We Need To Talk About Kevin
• Charlize Theron, Young Adult
• Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn

SURPRISE: This is good news for Olsen and Swinton who are both still in the fight for an Oscar nod despite films that are more alienating than Oscar goes for. 
BAD NEWS FOR: From an Oscary standpoint this is another nail in Glenn Close's Albert Nobbs coffin. From the needed a boost file, this is a tough blow for Olivia Colman and Kirsten Dunst.

THREAT TO WIN: The BFCA likes to give Meryl Streep best actresses wins and, extraordinarily, they like to do it with ties. It keeps happening (tied with Anne Hathaway in 2008, tied with Sandra Bullock for 2009). so expect her to win her third in 4 years in January... but...

poll by twiigs.com

COMPLETE NOMINATIONS AND MORE COMMENTARY AFTER THE JUMP.

BEST ACTOR

• George Clooney, The Descendants
• Leonardo DiCaprio, J. Edgar
• Jean Dujardin, The Artist
• Michael Fassbender, Shame
• Ryan Gosling, Drive
• Brad Pitt, Moneyball

SURPRISE: Ryan Gosling's mask-like brilliance in Drive got a nod!
BAD NEWS FOR: Woody Harrelson (Rampart) and Michael Shannon (Take Shelter) who needed this boost but I guess the mainstream types needed their Leo even whilst drowning in prosthetics and a bad movie.
THREAT TO WIN: The BFCA will try to predict Oscar here but does that mean Clooney, Pitt or Dujardin.... it's tough to say right now.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• Bérénice Bejo, The Artist
• Jessica Chastain, The Help
• Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
• Carey Mulligan, Shame
• Octavia Spencer, The Help
• Shailene Woodley, The Descendants 

SURPRISE: None... though this is good news for Carey Mulligan given how infrequently she seems to show up in Shame honors despite the turn being so revelatory. Who knew she had that in her?
BAD NEWS FOR: Vanessa Redgrave. Someone this year will fall victim to the strange pile-up of one-week qualifiers (more than usual this year). It's sad if it's her given the quality of the performance but I can't ever 100% root for films that aren't really in theaters.
THREAT TO WIN: I'm assuming they'll want to be cute and go for a big moment like (TIE) Melissa McCarthy & Octavia Spencer.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

• Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn
• Albert Brooks, Drive
• Nick Nolte, Warrior
• Patton Oswalt, Young Adult
• Christopher Plummer, Beginners
• Andy Serkis, Rise of the Planet of the Apes

SURPRISE: Andy Serkis! Yay. It's category fraud (Cesar is the lead of the film. Or at least he becomes it with Franco as the other lead) but we still dig it since Serkis is to MoCap as Lillian Gish was to silents or Marlon Brando was to the Method.
MILDLY BAD NEWS FOR:  Max von Sydow (Extremely Loud) and Ben Kingsley (Hugo) but they both need coattails from their growing films to pull them into the discussion and that still could happen since both films are still picking up steam.
THREAT TO WIN: I'm guessing Albert Brooks in a walk.

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS

• Asa Butterfield, Hugo
• Elle Fanning, Super 8
• Thomas Horn, Extremely Loud
• Ezra Miller, We Need To Talk About Kevin
• Saoirse Ronan, Hanna
• Shailene Woodley, The Descendants

SURPRISE: None... unless you expected to see Chloe Moretz, a perennial, here again.
BAD NEWS FOR: Any young performance who isn't already famous or headlining a picture. That's how it goes every year. I spend a lot of time on my ballot thinking about this one since you *have to* since there's no Oscar punditry or buzz to help you. This generally results in consensus picks that are fame or lead character driven (Butterfiled for Hugo. Really?) which I think is sad. I don't usually share my ballot (since you get all my favorites at the annual Film Bitch Awards but only one of my choices made it. I also voted for Taissa Farmiga from Higher Ground and Kaden Leos from Drive. Though if I had remembered that Ronan was underage I would have voted for her. It's funny how young actors who have adult sized talent like Saoirse Ronan never seem like teenagers. You want to group them in the with the adults and not leave them at the kiddie table. Shailene gets to sit at both this year.
THREAT TO WIN: I assume this is Shailene's to lose by virtue of The Descendants and with Horn vs. Butterfield splitting the "led the movie we love" votes.

ACTING ENSEMBLE

• The Artist
• Bridesmaids
• The Descendants
• The Help
• Ides of March

SURPRISE: Ides of March is the only thing that qualifies as a surprise here. 
THREAT TO WIN: I'm guessing... actually I have no idea. What'cha think?

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

• The Artist - Michel Hanavicius
• 50/50 - Will Reiser
• Midnigth in Paris - Woody Allen
• Win Win - Thomas mcCarthy
• Young Adult - Diablo Cody

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

• The Descendants
• Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
• The Help
• Hugo
• Moneyball

You'll notice with the screenplay categories and from here on out the BFCA limits themselves to 5 nominees. I really would implore them to be more consistent. This is a transparent display of the unseemly desire to predict the Oscars correctly rather than voting on the best of the year, else why would the "important" (in mainstream eyes) categories get an extra slot to make your prediction ratio better? (Sigh). The big shocker here might well be that Bridesmaids couldn't manage a screenplay nod despite love for the ensemble and Melissa. Do people feel it's too ad-libbed for screenplay honors?

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

• In Darkness
• Le Havre
• A Separation
• The Skin I Live In
• Where Do We Go Now?

Such is the power and name brand recognition of Pedro Almodóvar that the BFCA will nominate him even though he isn't eligible for the Foreign Film prize with Oscar. We need more foreign auteurs with name brand recognition in the States. Not that Pedro Almodóvar's are regular occurences. Go Pedro! For what it's worth I voted for A Separation in more than one category but this is the only place it showed up. I really blame Sony Pictures Classics on this one for not knowing what they have. It's the type of film where had they released it properly it would have become a cause and could have nabbed Screenplay nods and the like. Instead they're sitting on it until New Year's Eve practically, trusting that Oscar will give it a foreign film nod. Why settle for one when you're movie is good enough to compete in more than one category?

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

• The Artist -Guilliaume Schiffman
• Drive - Thomas Newton Sigel
• Hugo - Robert Richardson
• The Tree of Life -Emmanuel Lubezki
• War Horse - Janusz Kaminski

ART DIRECTION

• The Artist
• Harry Potter  and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
• Hugo
• The Tree of Life
• War Horse

Hmmmm. I'd love to see Drive repeat this cinematography nod though I think it's unlikely with Oscar -- they tend not to like the excessively theatrical and night time city stuff and prefer big landscapey epics (see War Horse... though if you ask me that tilts into parody of what constitutes "best cinematography").  They don't pass these awards out at the ceremony (boo!) but I assume Hugo is taking both.

COSTUME DESIGN 

• The Artist - Mark Bridges (WOOT!)
• The Help - Sharen Davis
• Hugo - Sandy Powell
• Jane Eyre - Michael O'Connor (YES!)
• My Week With Marilyn - Jill Taylor

MAKEUP

• Albert Nobbs
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
• The Iron Lady
• J Edgar
• My Week With Marilyn

VISUAL EFFECTS

• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
• Hugo
• Rise of the Planet of the Apes
• Super 8
• The Tree of Life

BEST SOUND 

• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
• Hugo
• Super 8
• The Tree of Life
• War Horse 

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

• The Adventures of Tintin
• Arthur Christmas
• Kung Fu Panda 2
• Puss in Boots
• Rango

If you're wondering why this list is so mainstream friendly given such an interesting field of possibilities that are up for Oscar please to note that screenings are hard to come by for the foreign films that have qualified for Oscar. I'm dying to see Chico & Rita and Wrinkles and A Cat in Paris. 

BEST ACTION MOVIE

• Drive
• Fast Five
• Hanna
• Rise of the Planet of the Apes
• Super 8

My drawring of Drive. I had to illustrate my review, don'cha know.

Take that dumbass Michigan woman who sued Drive for false advertising when she expected another Fast and Furious style movie! It's nominated alongside Fast Five. 

BEST COMEDY

• Bridesmaids
• Crazy, Stupid, Love
• Horrible Bosses
• Midnight in Paris
• The Muppets

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

• Buck
• Cave of Forgotten Dreams
• George Harrison: Living in the Material World
• Page One: Inside the New York Times
• Project Nim
• Undefeated 

BEST SONG

• “Hello Hello” – performed by Elton John and Lady Gaga/written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin – Gnomeo & Juliet
• “Life’s a Happy Song” – performed by Jason Segel, Amy Adams and Walter/written by Bret McKenzie – The Muppets
• “The Living Proof” – performed by Mary J. Blige/written by Mary J. Blige, Thomas Newman and Harvey Mason, Jr. – The Help
• “Man or Muppet” – performed by Jason Segel and Walter/written by Bret McKenzie – The Muppets
• “Pictures in My Head” – performed by Kermit and the Muppets/written by Jeannie Lurie, Aris Archontis and Chen Neeman – The Muppets

 WHOA. Score for The Muppets with three songs nominated.

BEST SCORE

• “The Artist” – Ludovic Bource
• “Drive” – Cliff Martinez
• “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” – Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
• “Hugo” – Howard Shore
• “War Horse” – John Williams

Strange selections to an extent here. Reznor and Ross's score doesn't feel like an original revelation the way their work on The Social Network did. Are people responding to Martinez's music in Drive or the synth pop songs? At the Oscars this list will look somewhat different of course as they'll have to make more room for the new John Williams and the old John Williams (That's Alexander Desplat who scored a bajillion things including Extremey Loud and John Williams who could double dip via Tintin)

How are you feeling about these nominations? 

• Extremely Loudly Satisfied
• Satisfied
• "neutral. What if you just feel neutral?"
• Disappointed
• Incredibly Close to Irritated 

Related:
All Oscar Discussions | Oscar Prediction Charts | 

Comments

[Mareko]

Indeed, Best Young Actor/Actress should minor league. Does the BFCA even understand its own age range rule? It's strange that Shailene Woodley made the BYA shortlist this year when then 20-year-olds Keira Knightley and Ellen Page were not included in their respective years (2005 and 2007). (Best Young Actress to Julia Roberts for Pretty Woman!)

[Philip]

Melissa also won Las Vegas' critics award! Damn. She really is in this race.

[John-Paul]

As of now, I still think Drive is primarily a critics' hit and not a big Oscar contender, but we'll see. I don't see the PGA or DGA nominating it, but if either of them do, then I'll start to really take it seriously as far as Oscars are concerned. I think it could definitely get in for something like Best Film Editing though.

I'm also not sold on Melissa McCarthy, despite her showing up in a few crucial places. I think she'll get in at the Golden Globes and probably SAG as well, but watch her miss out on the BAFTA and then ultimately the Oscar nom as well.

As far as acting categories go, I have them pegged like this:

BEST ACTOR- Clooney, DuJardin, and Pitt are IN. Fassbender probably is too, but I'm still not quite confident enough to call him a lock. The fifth slot is basically between Oldman and DiCaprio, but there is definitely room for Shannon or Gosling to sneak in depending on SAG, Golden Globe, and BAFTA nominations. Unfortunately, I think Harrelson is probably out, barring an unexpected swell of mentions from here on out. I'd say Oldman gets the fifth slot as of right now, since I think his film will do well and he's definitely going to have the BAFTA heat on his side.

BEST ACTRESS- Davis, Streep, and Williams are IN, with Swinton being the Fassbender of this category. I'd guess Theron for the fifth slot at this point, but I'm definitely not confident about her. Close is still in it unless she misses out on SAG and Golden Globe nods. I don't see it happening for Olsen, but I'm not counting her out either.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR- Brooks and Plummer are the only two locks, I think. It's still a fairly open category. Branagh would be in the third slot, but there is still a chance that he could fall out if other contenders start to pick up steam. As much as I would love him to be nominated, I'm iffy on Oswalt's chances just because the film isn't going to be a big Oscar hit, and there's also the snobbery towards comedians that might come into effect with some (not all) voters. Nolte was a bit of a surprise here, but this might be his one big mention this season. Serkis seems unlikely, but then again, you never know. A lot of people think he's overdue already, and it could become a "cause" vote to get a MoCap performance nominated. Beyond these choices, I think Kingsley is still a big possibility even if only as a coattail nomination for a Hugo sweep. I expect Von Sydow to gain momentum in the coming weeks as his movie starts being screened, so he's still a major player. And I'm also still holding on to the notion of Brad Pitt possibly scoring a double nomination this year, so I'll throw him into the mix as well. If I had to guess right now, I'd say Brooks, Plummer, Branagh, Kingsley, Von Sydow. Which I think would be the oldest group of nominees in quite some time.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS- Despite Redgrave's absence here, I still think she's a frontrunner. Bejo and Spencer are also locks. I'd say Woodley for the fourth slot, but she's vulnerable. Part of me wants to say Mulligan for the fifth slot, but ultimately I think Chastain will get in both as a recognition of her amazing year and as a coattail nomination for The Help. McCarthy is really the only other possibility outside of the six already mentioned.

[Poppy]

I honestly have know idea who created those things that actually think rose byrne should get all the attention instead of Mccarthy. How you could look at both performances and prefer rose to represent the film as the standout supporting performance is bullshit. like, subjectivity is cute and all, but in this case I'm sure it's actually possible to scientifically prove why that's such a crock of shit.

[Richter Scale]

For one, Rose Byrne doesn't do comedy very often, but also her role is more subtle, a woman you want to hate because our protagonist hates her with all her guts, and yet you don't. Bridesmaids is, more than anything, a battle of wits between two women who are fighting it out to get the affection of a third woman and Rose Byrne is so subtle in playing Helen, a woman with the best intentions to create a perfect wedding, but also so conniving and so alert to which of Annie's buttons she's pushing and yet at the end of the day she can't replicate what Lillian (Maya Rudolph) has with Annie. Let's be honest, Melissa McCarthy is a lot of fun, she is a scene stealer and she does have one really important beat, but she doesn't really drive this story as much as Rose Byrne does. Also, Byrne is known mostly for dramas so it's great to see her branch out like this. Anyone who has ever seen Gilmore Girls knows McCarthy can be hilarious and knew before coming into this film, but with Byrne, it was a surprise on all accounts (she's not known for being funny). So, I honestly do think Rose Byrne deserves a lot of credit for what she does in the movie (I also feel she has the better written character to work with).

[Poppy]

I know Mccarthy from Gilmore Girls but that show has such a different style of humor that i doubt many people were really expecting that character from her. The writers didn't even intend to write the character this way, this was just Melissa's interpetation. Melissa's character is the exact opposite of subtle which turned out absolutely perfect, she handled this huge character but what what was so impressive is how she created Megan as real person, she's the most confidant character and just the most well rounded of the group. she's the only one with her shit together. actually, she's a very impressive character that worked perfectly in this film. She almost saves kiig's character so i'd say she's just as important to the story.

It's fun to see rose byrne as the sneaky bitch but as im writing this im thinking both actors just reach big heights with their characters showcasing more of their range(its just that people are only seeing one do that and not the other; vice versa) , they just so happen to be representiing different personality volumes, you know? It's just preference, of course, but it's easy to see how hugely funny melissa makes her jokes. it's not just the writing, for her character you have to bring that Huge personality for real, the more authentic she made everything made everything that much more funnier.i think a lot of the complaining is that the whole cast is great but melissa is being singled out but yeah, its common thought among most people that she was the funniest, most memorable woman from the film, aside from kristen wiig. she's even become a defense in the arguement of " are women funny?" I also think basic comedic acting is being mistakenly underestimated, and this is being seen as just an outrageous character and nothing else.This film's heart is in the friendship and strength between the characters and Mccarthy offers that bite in the ass to bring everything back together.

I mean just think, how many people can do what mccarthy did and pull off these kind of results and think of all the people that can do what Byrne did and do just as impressively?

[Bruno]

Bye Glenn. I guess that Baba Wawa interview you did almost 25 years ago is still haunting you amongst your peers. Find a role where you have to kill an animal or wipe a lot of make-up around your face again and maybe you'll get another chance.

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