As you have undoubtedly heard the Broadcast Film Critics Association yelled "do over" this weekend, seeing the response to Star Wars: The Force Awakens from both audiences (with those record breaking numbers) and critics. The organization had voted before the film screened as had literally all of major Oscar precursors. Instead of accepting that deadlines are deadlines -- which all other organizations did because who the hell doesn't? -- they asked members to vote on whether it should be added into the Best Picture lineup after the fact.
Some of us were angry to even be asked. The question was surely rhetorical for after it was asked it was clear that by even asking the BFCA would add the picture, breaking all semblance of standard operating procedure and sound voting practices. [More...]
NO @CriticsChoice - there are no do-overs in awards. That's what internet forums are for in perpetuity pic.twitter.com/ADXaYI4TwY
— Nathaniel Rogers (@nathanielr) December 21, 2015
Everyone I know within the organization (admittedly a small probably non-representative sample) voted "No" -- since most thoughtful journalists realize that this type of thing just isn't good for perceptions of your legitimacy or professionalism -- but the film has nevertheless been added to the Critics Choice Best Picture slate. Kris Tapley wrote an excellent editorial on why this surely big trouble for the organization (to which we both belong) so I won't agonize over their decision for more than one two more paragraphs though I would like to note some places I wish the film had been honored if we had merely delayed voting a few days to screen it.
Everyone knows where I stand on THE RULES. Awards are often called frivolous and judging art will always be an exercize in subjectivity. But that's what makes awards so special. They are important reflections of popular culture and of what is valued at a given point in time or what is perceived as quality in the field. They also have physical consequences: few Oscar nominated films are lost to the world which is far less true of early films that received no honors in the early days of prizes. But awards mean nothing or at least far less when rules are broken to determine them or the spirit of particular honors are gamed to the point of unrecognizability ("Supporting" now being a useless term for acting prizes, since everyone thinks that means "Second Billed Lead"). Even the silliest of children's games have rules. If you don't have them you're just having fun and the game is meaningless and the very next day you can't play it again since it only existed righ then, continually morphing. This should be anathema to any organization that wants to be an "institution" as it were. You have no worth even as a time capsule if there are no rules of calendar in play!
The decision to break the rules has already resulted in some members resigning...
Got an email 1 hr ago & just resigned from the #BFCA https://t.co/acXwUlsUFg @kristapley #CriticsChoice #StarWars pic.twitter.com/2DpnFPc9zV
— Eric Melin (@SceneStealrEric) December 22, 2015
Sent. Buh-bye, BFCA. pic.twitter.com/Ptth6Ng2Pq
— Scott Renshaw (@scottrenshaw) December 22, 2015
I admire these guys. I'm not actually sure I have the strength to join them for the simple reason that I don't write for a paper but for myself and my only pay (aside from a handful of kind readers who set up monthly $2.50 donations -- see right hand sidebar) comes from studio advertising built around the Oscars. The catch being that I'm not entirely sure I could run this blog affectively from November through January if the FYC screeners were to end. The studio practice of backloading so many films into the last three months of the year makes seeing everything so difficult. But I'll think it over because I probably should.
FOR NOW LET'S MOVE ON...
Here are the 5 categories where I would have been happy to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens honored had we screened it in time. The Critics Choice Awards added categories like Sci-Fi and Action and Comedy specifically to get a wider spread of films (and celebrities... and ratings) but even that was done clumsily since you can appear in more than one category (unlike at the Globes where it's partitioned) and some genre categories (well, sci-fi/horror only) don't have matching acting categories, making it all haphazard.
BEST ACTION MOVIE
This category contains three very good films (Mad Max, Rogue Nation, and Sicario) but surely Furious 7 and Jurassic World could step aside and leave worthy room for The Force Awakens
ACTOR IN AN ACTION FILM
It's sometimes difficult to come up with a full spectrum of nominees for these prizes. The nominees Daniel Craig, Tom Cruise, Tom Hardy, Chris Pratt, and Paul Rudd are all doing solid work in their films (for the record I voted for Pratt, Hardy & Rudd) but I'd be happy to see Harrison Ford in that lineup had we but waited a few days.
ACTRESS IN AN ACTION FILM
Here's where The Force really could have helped out. While Emily Blunt, Rebecca Ferguson, Charlize Theron and Jennifer Lawrence are all highly deserving nominees (FTR I voted for Charlize, and two who weren't nominated: Shu Qi in The Assassin and Melissa McCarthy in Spy) , what the hell was Bryce Dallas Howard doing there for Jurassic World?!? Dump her for Daisy Ridley's future Jedi and you have a category worth talking about across the board.
VISUAL EFFECTS
This category currently has six nominees Ex Machina, Jurassic World, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Martian, The Revenant and The Walk. And while Star Wars visual effects are pleasingly low-fi they aren't the perfection of Ex Machina or Mad Max or The Martian... but you could probably jettison one of the others without weeping to carve out a space for the ongoing adventures of Luke, Han and Leia and their new young friends
SCI-FI/HORROR MOVIE
While you can argue that Star Wars is not sci-fi but "space fantasy" that argument is for true geeks. Most people, including mainstream broadcast critics, probably wouldn't quibble with the sci-fi designation and you surely would have seen The Force Awakens knocking out It Follows since The Martian, Mad Max, and Ex Machina probably weren't budging. But that would have been sad because It Follows is really good (and the only horror film nominated in a category for horror films). I'd like to think Jurassic World would have fallen because it's NOT a good movie but the BFCA is not all that discerning about their "this one's for the TV ratings!" categories.
If all of this depresses you here's a great tonic for a crazy Dark Side filled week -- GQ's hilarious essay "10 Haunting Questions I Have After Watching My First Star Wars Movie"