The State of the Race — Now is the Winter of Our Discontent

Posted by Sasha Stone on Dec 6, 2011 in BEST PICTURE, State of the Race | 80 comments

Every year, hope springs eternal until the awards actually start being handed out. The disappointment of not seeing your favorite film remembered and awarded is probably the worst part of the year. And of course, the flipside, when you see a movie you loved honored what could be better. Last year when The Social Network swept the National Board of Review it was not only like Christmas morning for me but it was like that one Christmas where you got the really great Barbie doll camping kit? You know, the one on TV like all the rich people have? You know, the thing that makes you forget the miserable reality of your day to day life?

I digress.

Yes, it was a beautiful moment. And we awards watchers, crazy though we may be, ruining the film industry though we may be (the fanboys are ruining it MORE!) cling to every win like a Christmas treasure. For me NOW, every Christmas is staring at my computer screen, bleary-eyed, half-frantic, half-awake as I wait for another piece of the awards puzzle to drop. Though we bought our Christmas tree over the weekend, my daughter and I had a naked tree for the last few days until I couldn’t stand it anymore and had one of those single parent moments where I drove to the Walgreens at 10pm and plunked down my debit card for a few boxes of cheap Christmas lights, pushing my unwashed hair out of face and trying to find some Christmas cheer. And now, those lights, so optimistic, the Christmas tree still not totally dried out yet — indeed, there is hope.

Winter’s Bone – Jennifer Lawrence Shines

Posted by Sasha Stone on Jun 11, 2010 in AWARDS CHATTER, BEST PICTURE, featured, THE ACTRESSES | 0 comments

Metacritic currently has Winter’s Bone at a whopping 92, with rave reviews from all of the major outlets. ¬†Directed and co-written by Debra Granik, Winter’s Bone becomes the first of two films directed by women to be strong early contenders out of Sundance (The Kids Are All Right being the other).

Kenneth Turan at the LA Times:

Intense, immersive and in control, “Winter’s Bone” has an art house soul inside a B picture body, and that proves to be a potent combination indeed.

High praise for the film’s breakout star, who is being laid out on a silver platter for slobbering men — as an Esquire hottie, and then an interview with Hollywood-Elsewhere’s Jeff Wells where he was so enraptured by her beauty he could hardly make it through the interview. ¬†Such is the way of the world. ¬†Younger actresses simply can no longer be sold on talent alone.

Where I Draw the Line with the NBR

Posted by Sasha Stone on Dec 3, 2009 in AWARDS CHATTER, National Board of Review | 0 comments

Take it from me, Oscar watchers, the National Board of Review doesn’t mean THAT much. What it is good for is launching a film into the race by giving it a form of legitimacy. It’s kind of funny that this group would be in that position, but nonetheless, there they are. However, it’s a mistake to start saying things “so and so deserved it” or to take it as some bad omen that a few films were left off — or, and I hate to rain on folks’ parade, to put any stock into their winners. It is mostly bad news to win an NBR, for the most part, great for nominations, not so great for winners but for a few films or stars here or there who would have won anyway. The thing about the NBR is that they do come with their share of controversy.¬† I don’t think I’ve ever read a funnier description of them, though, than Roger Friedman’s, “a scandal-plagued freak show composed of wealthy fans and no actual reviewers, have issued their annual list.