The American Film Institute has announced their top 10 of the year... well top 11 since they did a bit of cheating this year. Well, more than a bit of cheating. Though their raison d'etre is to honor American films (see: their name), they included The Favourite, which is clearly a UK/Ireland production with a Greek director (even if some of the money is American). They also felt the need to give Mexico's Roma a special award. Can you blame them? Otherwise those two movies would have gone without awards this season. [Editor's note: Sarcasm!]
Their top ten is as follows...
- BlacKkKlansman
- Black Panther
- Eighth Grade
- If Beale Street Could Talk
- The Favourite (UK)
- First Reformed
- Green Book
- Mary Poppins Returns
- A Quiet Place
- A Star is Born
SPECIAL AWARD!
- Roma (Mexico)
It reads almost like an Oscar prediction list so it's terribly disappointing! Listen I love Roma and The Favourite but AFI should stay in its self-proclaimed lane. All awards bodies should embrace what makes them them otherwise they just look like they're desperate to be "predictive". The only Best Picture hopefuls they left out were probably-won't-happens like First Man, Crazy Rich Asians, Vice... and the only film they included that seems like a true longshot is Eighth Grade. Eighth Grade is a wonder but Oscar is resistant to funny movies and films about teenagers and it happens to be both of those things.
While we're ranting. Where, pray tell, is Crazy Rich Asians? AFI's official statement always goes something like so:
AFI AWARDS honorees are selected based on works that advance the art of the moving image, enhance the rich cultural heritage of America's art form, inspire audiences and artists alike and make a mark on American society.
Since cultural significance is given equal weight to artistry in all their self-descriptions, shouldn't Crazy Rich Asians inarguably be among the top ten?
The Film Institute also honors television each year and for that top ten they went like so...
- The Americans
- The Assassination of Gianni Versace
- Atlanta
- Barry
- Better Call Saul
- The Kominsky Method
- The Marvelous Mrs Maisel
- Pose
- Succession
- This is Us
I miss the days when the AFI was a little rowdier, don't you? Remember when they honored Emmy-shunned awesomeness like Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Here's who they enlist for their juries:
This year's juries — one for film and one for television — were chaired by AFIBoard of Trustees Vice Chairs Tom Pollock (former Vice Chairman of MCA, Chairman of Universal Pictures) for film and Richard Frank (former Chairman of Walt Disney Television, President of Walt Disney Studios, President of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences) for television. The juries featured acclaimed artists such as David Benioff, Joan Chen, Courtney B. Vance and Alfre Woodard; renowned authors and scholars representing prestigious universities with recognized motion picture arts and television programs; film historian Leonard Maltin; the AFI Board of Trustees; and film and television critics from media outlets such as the Los Angeles Times, NPR, Rolling Stone, TV Guide, Vanity Fair, Variety and The Washington Post.