Indiewire reports that the NBR will take place December 5, 2012, two days after the New York Film Critics and three days after their announcing date last year. What is the significance of this? There isn’t one except that the NYFCC will be the ones with their asses hanging out first. That’s a good thing for them, as Glenn Whipp reported earlier, “An NYFCC press release notes that the group’s awards are often viewed as harbingers of the Oscar nominations’. The circle’s awards are ‘also viewed — perhaps more accurately — as a principled alternative to the Oscars, honoring aesthetic merit in a forum that is immune to commercial and political pressures.”
Whipp then adds, “It’s curious that the author of the press release somehow fails to grasp that if you view yourself as a sort of (ahem) “principled alternative to the Oscars,” you probably shouldn’t mention the Oscars at all in your press release, much less tout your prizes as a precursor to those very same awards.”
December 3, 2012 – NYFCC
December 5, 2012 – NBR
December 7 – LAFCA (LA Film Critics)
NYFCC lost whatever respect it had last year. These awards are not for predicting Oscar and for giving due honors to films who may not have a shot at the Oscars later.
Usually the NBR is kind of ignorable since their tastes are fairly mainstream. But this year, they might be more influential/informative than years past, especially with their list of the ten best films of the year. If something like The Master gets on that list, it will show that they have a real shot at a BP nod. If something like The Impossible gets on the list then maybe that might be the push it needs to get discussed.
It’s a crowded year and with the Oscar noms being pushed up, every little bit of help is needed, and every oversight gets magnified.
This could be a fun year. And it will be definitely unlike anything we normally experience.
We were saying the same thing last year, although then it was because the NYFCC moved themselves forward. This year, it looks like it’s the NBR who have moved back a little. Normally, the NYFCC and LAFCA announce more towards the middle of the month – maybe they want a little more distance from the Academy. I might have preferred it had they not come forward at all – they might have more influence on AMPAS’ choices that way.
The NYFCC’s obnoxiousness from last year lingers still. It’ll be a long while before they redeem their silly selves!
Good on Whipp for the last comment. Oscar is used by so many award-giving circles to validate their own selections. If you want to stand on your own merit, drop the crutch. NYFCC certainly doesn’t need the reference.