Over the last week or so I’ve received several press releases announcing awards that will be handed out at a variety of gala events including the Producers Guild Awards, Gotham Awards and this morning the Hollywood Film Awards. And not so strangely each is featuring a name high on my Oscar predictions lists in a variety of categories.
Over at the PGA awards Steven Spielberg will receive the 2012 David O. Selznick Achievement Award in Motion Pictures, an award said to recognize a producer’s outstanding body of work in motion pictures. As far as Spielberg’s producing work goes this year, I have a feeling it won’t be Transformers: Dark of the Moon or Cowboys & Aliens he’s remembered for, but by the time the awards are held on January 21, his latest Oscar contender War Horse will be in theaters, hoping to mount a serious run at Oscar. This, however, is a late to the party award, which will be announced the day after the Golden Globe Awards, but the effect I’m seeing won’t be on the Globes, but the Oscars. However, these next two galas may play a part in all of the races.
Finally, this morning’s announcement brought word Christopher Plummer, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Felicity Jones and Jessica Chastain will each be honored with awards on October 24, 2011.
The Hollywood Awards Gala Ceremony will also be recognizing the complete cast of The Help with the Hollywood Ensemble Acting Award. Additionally, cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki (The Tree of Life), editor Stephen Mirrione (Contagion, The Ides of March), production designer James Murakami (J. Edgar) and visual effects supervisor Scott Farrar (Transformers: Dark of the Moon) will be recognized as will Gore Verbinski’s Rango. And additional honorees are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
So do these early awards mean anything? Personally, I don’t really think so, but I’ve never looked too closely at them so perhaps I’ve been missing out. The Hollywood Awards are certainly looking to put a stamp on things by recognizing several of the year’s major players and perhaps starting campaigns for a few others. They even stretch into the below-the-line categories with people who are sure to be top contenders in their specific categories, and they are doing it in October, which is quite early.
Maybe this is a sign I need to keep a closer eye on these early awards galas, they’ve certainly have caught my attention this year.
