13th Critics Choice Awards are Topped by ‘Into the Wild’

The Hollywood Reporter and Variety are going bat shit over how Into the Wild received seven nominations from the Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA), but when they nominate 10 films for best picture, six fellas for best actor, director and writer it becomes obvious how one film could squeeze out a few more nominations. I really don’t think Emile Hirsch is going to get an Oscar nom for best actor and I think the Keener nom for best supporting actress is going to be a 50/50 move even though I think it is a good call. I do think it is odd though how Into the Wild can get nommed for best actor, supporting actor and supporting actress and then not be considered one of the best acting ensembles. I really think it just goes to show that not a lot of logic goes into critical awards, and if you take TIME’s Richard Corliss to heart it is just critics fighting over which hardly seen movie they want to call the best of the year.

Lucky for me I am fascinated by what other people like and dislike and I do believe that several of these films are the best of the year. It does confuse me though how films like The Bourne Ultimatum, Once, Knocked Up and Hairspray get ignored come critical award time. Of those four films just mentioned the lowest RottenTomatoes score is 90% for Knocked Up, yet Once is the only one to get a nom and it was for best song. Does that make any sense?

If you are thinking that the numbers are skewed because RT takes into account plenty of other critics that “don’t matter” let’s just take a look at the “Cream of the Crop” scores for those four movies:

  • Knocked Up (97%)
  • The Bourne Ultimatum (97%)
  • Hairspray (97%)
  • Once (100%)

Yeah, Once is sitting at 100%, so why was it ignored? It certainly is obscure enough that only critics know about it. It only made $9,433,149 at the box-office so it fits that mold. Is it because it was made by three people that no one has ever really heard of? Perhaps, but that would mean The Diving Bell and the Butterfly would also be ignored for the most part yet it managed to score three noms including Picture.

It has also become apparent that it you are a crass comedy you are going to get ignored no matter how much people liked your movie. Judd Apatow needs to just be happy that everyone likes his movies and they make hundreds of millions of dollars because it doesn’t appear any gold hardware is coming his way any time soon.

However, as Corliss says, “[Critics] give prizes to whom they damn well please. No problem with that; it’s their gig, and obviously they should pick their favorites.”

That said, here is the list of the BFCA nominations:

Best Picture

American Gangster

Atonement

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Into the Wild

Juno

The Kite Runner

Michael Clayton

No Country for Old Men

Sweeney Todd

There Will Be Blood

Best Actor

George Clooney – Michael Clayton

Daniel Day-Lewis – There Will Be Blood

Johnny Depp – Sweeney Todd

Ryan Gosling – Lars and the Real Girl

Emile Hirsch – Into the Wild

Viggo Mortensen – Eastern Promises

Best Actress

Amy Adams – Enchanted

Cate Blanchett – Elizabeth: The Golden Age

Julie Christie – Away From Her

Marion Cotillard – La Vie en Rose

Angelina Jolie – A Mighty Heart

Ellen Page – Juno

Best Supporting Actor

Casey Affleck – The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Javier Bardem – No Country for Old Men

Philip Seymour Hoffman – Charlie Wilson’s War

Hal Holbrook – Into the Wild

Tom Wilkinson – Michael Clayton

Best Supporting Actress

Cate Blanchett – I’m Not There

Catherine Keener – Into the Wild

Vanessa Redgrave – Atonement

Amy Ryan – Gone Baby Gone

Tilda Swinton – Michael Clayton

Best Acting Ensemble

Hairspray

Juno

No Country for Old Men

Sweeney Todd

Gone Baby Gone

Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead

Best Director

Tim Burton – Sweeney Todd

Joel Coen and Ethan Coen – No Country for Old Men

Sidney Lumet – Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead

Sean Penn – Into the Wild

Julian Schnabel – The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Joe Wright – Atonement

Best Writer

Diablo Cody – Juno

Joel Coen and Ethan Coen – No Country for Old Men

Tony Gilroy – Michael Clayton

Nancy Oliver – Lars and the Real Girl

Sean Penn – Into the Wild

Aaron Sorkin – Charlie Wilson’s War

Best Animated Feature

Bee Movie

Beowulf

Persepolis

Ratatouille

The Simpsons Movie

Best Young Actor

Michael Cera – Juno

Michael Cera – Superbad

Freddie Highmore – August Rush

Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada – The Kite Runner

Edward Sanders – Sweeney Todd

Best Young Actress

Nikki Blonsky – Hairspray

Dakota Blue Richards – The Golden Compass

AnnaSophia Robb – Bridge to Terabithia

Saoirse Ronan – Atonement

Best Comedy Movie

Dan in Real Life

Hairspray

Juno

Knocked Up

Superbad

Best Family Film

August Rush

Enchanted

The Golden Compass

Hairspray

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Best Picture Made for Television

“The Company”

“Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee”

“Tin Man”

“The War”

Best Foreign Language Film

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days

La Vie en Rose

Lust, Caution

The Orphanage

Best Song

“Come So Far”, Queen Latifah, Nikki Blonsky, Zac Efron, Elijah Kelley – Hairspray

“Do You Feel Me”, Anthony Hamilton – American Gangster

“Falling Slowly”, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, Jesse L. Martin and Cast – Once

“Guaranteed”, Eddie Vedder – Into the Wild

“That’s How You Know”, Amy Adams – Enchanted

Best Composer

Marco Beltrami – 3:10 to Yuma

Alexandre Desplat – Lust, Caution

Clint Eastwood – Grace Is Gone

Jonny Greenwood – There Will Be Blood

Dario Marianelli – Atonement

Alan Menken – Enchanted

Best Documentary

Darfur Now

In the Shadow of the Moon

The King of Kong

No End In Sight

Sharkwater

Sicko

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