SAG and Golden Globe noms out!!

Didn't think it was worth mentioning but John Madden's Best Exotic Marigold Hotel was up for major awards at both, but I don't think it will be up for any Oscars except maybe Maggie Smith for Supporting Actress (BOOM!)

CCA's out, causes sigh of relief to no one

It seems every year all the award spectators (myself incuded) sit back and utter the comment, “this is a weak year for movies*.”

*(muvies if you’re a valley girl)

This comment is actually quite masochistic as a film goer.  It means that we think our job is hard.  But in reality, good films come out every year, and any award race is not short of any competition and last minute guessing.  So out duty as award followers is fun, but still stressful.  Picking the right films, when we know it’s sooooooo easy, having to spend several hundred dollars on movie tickets.  I guess it’s a more mild version of filmmaking itself.

However, if you’re playing along at home, chances are you have seen the Critics Choice Award nominations, which has become the first major ballot of nominations to come out over the last few years.  Unfortunately, the CCA is pretty much the same as the HFPA, just as eye-poking-ly pretentious, often times nominating movies the Oscars would shut out, and awarding prizes to films they want to push for Oscar.

So that means Lincoln is a lock, right?  Well I can’t of many things that would be potentially nominated for Oscar, and supposedly, the CCA couldn’t think of many other things to nominate.  So they nominated Lincoln.  For everything.  So, let see what has no chance of winning then…

Ok, so maybe, if Les Miserables is well received in the states, it might have a shot, but I would look for the little random movie at this point that may get pushed by the CCA and othes.  My bet was already Moonrise Kingdom, although Wes Anderson’s lack of a director nomination hurts it.  So we turn to Silver Linings Playbook, a movie I called dead in the Oscar race until the National Board of Review decided to give Bradley Cooper Best Actor.  David O. Russell being up for another CCA after his follow-up to The Fighter helps it a lot, but look for The Weinsteins to push Cooper ahead of the movie.  Beasts of the Southern Wild is also one to watch.

That leaves the fourth-coming Zero Dark Thirty.  A little movie that has swept the NBR and the New York Film Critics Circle, and does not look to stop with it’s highly anticipated wide release.  This maybe tied for the favorite with Lincoln, however, although anticipated, it comes out at the same time as several other huge blockbusters.  It's limited release won't have anything on The Hobbit coming out this weekend, and the wide release isn't scheduled until January.  The gap in release date from the early wins may hurt it, but Los Angeles is littered with ZDT ads, so that might be good for its award stock.

Check the noms in the award section, until then, I'm out.