Wednesday, January 03, 2007

PGA Nominations (+ Linkage)

fourfour hates on Dreamgirls, nominates JHud for canonization
NY Times on the Oscar Documentary race.
Hollywood Bitchslap names Superman Returns #1 on a top ten. Cajones.
GreenCine Daily points to a few interesting roundtables around the web.
Reuters French critics boo at Russel Crowe and Ridley Scott's A Good Year.
crumb by crumb Leo SAG confusion for The Departed. Uh oh.
film ick Todd Haynes Dylan pic goes to The Weinsteins. This is not good news folks. The Weinsteins only understand one type of release pattern: platform with qualifier for Oscar and this is not the kind of movie that Oscar will love no matter how great it is. I now fear that I won't see this movie until December 30th. Ugh.

And finally, regarding the Producers Guild Nominations for Best Picture. They chose
  • Babel
  • The Departed
  • Dreamgirls
  • Little Miss Sunshine
  • The Queen
Maybe Clint Eastwood fever will die out prior to the Oscar nominations? (he said, with desperate hope catching in his throat). But speaking of relating things to closely to Oscar, I read a really annoying thing over at EW's popwatch (which I shan't link to) which is a perfect embodiment of why awards season is so miserable and sycophantic these past few years. After a brief history of recent PG winners (which did not go on to win the BP Oscar) Whitney Pastorek asks "have they lost their mojo?" argh. Can we PLEASE stop viewing the worth of all awards giving bodies as how they do or do not predict Oscars? How about whether or not they make good choices? The last two PGA winners are better than the last two Oscar winners so why does this signify "losing their mojo?" I blame the BFCA for this new awards bodies as prediction bodies problem. I've said it before and I'll keep on saying it: If the only thing that matters is an awards' Oscar predictive power than there should be no awards. None. Either abolish all awards giving entities outside of the Oscars or accept that they should be judged by the quality of their own choices.

19 comments:

Andy Scott said...

Preach it. I really wish they'd stop televising the BFCAs altogether. At least this year's ceremony airs over a week after the awards are actually handed out. That's a start.

Anonymous said...

I adore the Producers Guild's choices.

Carlos Reyes said...

I like their choices... but Letters should be there! really! is better than all the 5 nominated films... but still they are all great...
* Babel *****
* The Departed ****
* Dreamgirls ****
* Little Miss Sunshine ****1/2
* The Queen ****

adam k. said...

I guess I overestimated the cojones of the Producers' Guild. I thought we'd see Prada and/or Borat in there. Oh well. This helps Babel and a good deal. I think it owns the 5th spot.

And I applaud the Superman Returns love. Maybe now I'll have the cojones to put it on my own list when the time comes. Not at the top, but somewhere...

Paxton Hernandez said...

This means very good news for Babble. Bad news for Letters from Iwo Jima who looks weaker that eveybody thought.

I could see the final Best Picture nominees at the Oscars replicate the 5 films that were nominated today.

If United 93 doesn't get some love via DGA and Guilds is out of the race.

J.D. said...

YAY!

Babel is back in the game!

WHOO!

I'm very happy. Yet to see Dreamgirls and The Queen, but Babel (My #1,) The Departed (My #5,) and Little Miss Sunshine (My #7, but #1 among musical/comedy genre) are all great choices in my mind.

Letter from Iwo Jima looks very dicey at this point. It could, but it probably won't. Dreamgirls and now officially locks The Departed, The Queen and Babel seem incredibly likely. The 5th spot is who knows. Little Miss Sunshine, Letters from Iwo Jima, United 93 (however unlikely at this point,) and maybe Little Children, which is doomed by non-expansion, like China pre-Japanese invasion.

Who knows what'll happen? We are playing God here. So, ????

QUESTION: Which is better, The Queen or Letters from Iwo Jima?

Craig Hickman said...

Way to go Producer's Guild. You at least included the best film I've seen this year.

Anonymous said...

Letters from Iwo Jima is a trillion times better than The Queen.

No, wait.

It's a ZILLION times better.

It's also a zillion times better than Babel and Little Miss Sunshine. And Dreamgirls, too.

Glenn Dunks said...

These nominations are fine and all as these things go, but... blah.

Where's the reward for The Devil Wears Prada or Borat? How exactly are Babel and The Queen better produced than other titles this year?

Yet again, it just appears that a guild is mistaking their main award for "Best Picture". At least SAG's reward "Best Ensemble" and not "Best Picture".

And, seriously, the BFCA are a revolting cretenous society and they should be weasled out of existence sooner rather than later.

"Relevant"? I'd rather be irelevant and choose titles that encite passion in me than nominate the same 5-7 titles just so I can be sure that I am predicting the Oscars correctly.

Michael Parsons said...

Hear hear!!!

Rob said...

The Queen is about 2.5 times better than Letters from Iwo Jima.

Iwo Jima is being praised entirely for the achievement of it, and not for the actual content of the film (don't believe me? read the reviews).

It's extremely well made, but it's not the least bit compelling, or emotionally stirring, and the thing just goes on FOREVER.

If an unknown's name was attached to this rather than Clint, it would be getting polite praise, not getting jizzed all over as a masterpiece.

Glenn Dunks said...

If it didn't have Eastwood's name on it it'd get the same sort of reaction that pretty much every non-american war movie gets.

Anonymous said...

Nat, why are you worried about the Weinstein's handling of "I'm Not There"? They did a great job with "Velvet Goldmine."

Oh, wait. I meant to say, "they had no fucking clue what to do with Velvet Goldmine".

Anonymous said...

Reading "Down & Dirty Pictures" and the problems Todd Haynes had with the Weinsteins over Velvet Goldmine and Poison, I don't know why he went with them for "I'm Not There". Bit of a stupid choice on his part.

NATHANIEL R said...

especially considering that he got so much support from FOCUS for Far From Heaven.

Paxton Hernandez said...

Speaking again of the PGA Nominations, kind of funny to see 2 musicals nominated in their respective categories. When was the last time that happened?

NATHANIEL R said...

isn't this the first year of two categories ?

Paxton Hernandez said...

Then, 3 Musicals were nominated,

1. Dreamgirls
2. Happy Feet
3. High School Musical

Forgot all about Happy Feet. Oops.

Glenn Dunks said...

Perhaps Focus didn't think of it as something they'd be able to sell?

Another strange reasons for it going to the Weinsteins: Bob Dylan is planning to sue over the Weinstein release Factory Girl. Perhaps they're trying to soften the blow in regards to Dylan?