The Gothams are best understood by the people chosen to judge them. No explanation is necessary when you look at the list. It hardly matters to the rest of the awards punditry because they are treated as legit when, in fact, they are anything but. Before I give you the nominations, here are the judges (courtesy of Next Best Picture), and thus, all to be taken with a HUGE grain of salt.
But here’s the thing to know about them. They virtue signal with their gender-free acting categories, then turn around and give Sinners just one nomination. They then slathered love all over One Battle After Another, a film that cost $130-$150 million and has barely made its money back. I can’t think of anything that reflects today’s “independent” film industry better than that.
But even more absurd is that they are lavishing love and praise on the movie about racism directed by a white man and snubbing a movie about Black history directed by a Black man. If you want an example of woke virtue signaling that somehow keeps the ruling class in power, there you go. I will keep calling them out on it because no one else will.
Here are the judges:
Best Feature and Best International Feature:
Peter Debruge, Chief Film Critic, Variety
Justin Chang, Film Critic, The New Yorker
Kate Erbland, Editorial Director, IndieWire
David Fear, Senior Film Critic, Rolling Stone
Tomris Laffly, Freelance
Best Documentary Feature:
Eric Hynes, Film Curation and Programming, Jacob Burns Film Center
Eric Kohn, Artistic Director, Southampton Playhouse
Karen McMullen, Senior Programmer, Features and Shorts, DOC NYC
Tania Ahmadi, Editor Director & Curator, Docunight
Sky Sitney, Festival Director and Co-Founder DC/DOX
Original Screenplay and Adapted Screenplay:
Tim Grierson, Senior U.S. Critic, Screen International
Jon Frosch, Reviews Editor and Film Critic, The Hollywood Reporter
Monica Castillo, Critic and Film Programmer, Freelance
Carlos Aguilar, Freelance
Esther Zuckerman, Freelance
Best Director and Breakthrough Director:
David Ehrlich, Head Critic and Reviews Editor, IndieWire
Guy Lodge, Film Critic, Variety
Lindsey Bahr, Film Writer, Associated Press
Beatrice Loayza, Film Critic, Freelance
Brittany Luse, Host of NPR’s It’s Been A Minute
Outstanding Lead Performance, Outstanding Supporting Performance, and Breakthrough Performer:
Brian Tallerico, Managing Editor, RobertEbert.com
Robert Daniels, Associate Editor, RobertEbert.com
Douglas Greenwood, Entertainment Editor, i-D; Contributor to GQ Magazine and New York Magazine
Alison Wilmore, Film Critic, New York Magazine
Jourdain Searles, Critic, The Hollywood Reporter
And here are the nominations:
Best Feature
Bugonia
East of Wall
Familiar Touch
Hamnet
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Lurker
One Battle After Another
Sorry, Baby
The Testament of Ann Lee
Train Dreams
Best Director
Mary Bronstein – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Jafar Panahi – It Was Just an Accident
Kelly Reichardt – The Mastermind
Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another
Oliver Laxe – Sirât
Outstanding Lead Performance
Jessie Buckley – Hamnet
Lee Byung-hun – No Other Choice
Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Sopé Dìrísù – My Father’s Shadow
Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon
Jennifer Lawrence – Die My Love
Wagner Moura – The Secret Agent
Josh O’Connor – The Mastermind
Amanda Seyfried – The Testament of Ann Lee
Tessa Thompson – Hedda
Outstanding Supporting Performance
Benicio Del Toro – One Battle After Another
Jacob Elordi – Frankenstein
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas – Sentimental Value
Indya Moore – Father Mother Sister Brother
Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners
Adam Sandler – Jay Kelly
Andrew Scott – Blue Moon
Alexander Skarsgård – Pillion
Stellan Skarsgård – Sentimental Value
Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another
Best Original Screenplay
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
It Was Just an Accident
The Secret Agent
Sorry, Baby
Sound of Falling
Best Adapted Screenplay
No Other Choice
One Battle After Another
Pillion
Preparation for the Next Life
Train Dreams
Best International Feature
It Was Just an Accident
No Other Choice
Nouvelle Vague
Resurrection
Sound of Falling
Best Documentary Feature
2000 Meters to Andriivka
BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions
My Undesirable Friends: Part I – Last Air in Moscow
The Perfect Neighbor
Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk
Breakthrough Director
Constance Tsang – Blue Sun Palace
Carson Lund – Eephus
Sarah Friedland – Familiar Touch
Akinola Davies Jr. – My Father’s Shadow
Harris Dickinson – Urchin
Breakthrough Performer
A$AP Rocky – Highest 2 Lowest
Sebiye Behtiyar – Preparation for the Next Life
Chase Infiniti – One Battle After Another
Abou Sangaré – Souleymane’s Story
Tonatiuh – Kiss of the Spider Woman
They signal their virtue with their dumb gender-free categories while screwing over Ryan Coogler — if that doesn’t say it all. It does say it all. You should never take them seriously, ever, not for one minute in their efforts to make things equal and equitable. THEY DO NOT GIVE A SHIT.
One upside to this mess is that Sean Penn was snubbed by these folks. Not that it really matters with so few judges in each category, but still — they went ass over elbow for One Battle and yet left off the one guy who is supposedly the frontrunner.
The headlines are all that matters. Ultimately, there is very little crossover with the Oscars. Anora did well last year but it was expected to do well because it was a small-budget independent film. So this is all kind of funny. I expect the critics to continue lavishing awards and praise on the film. Maybe the Oscars will go that way. I’ll prepare myself for that.
