Wednesday
10Dec2008
Start Spreadin' the News: New York's Best of '08
Wednesday, December 10, 2008 at 2:19PM
Critics on the coasts seem to have a few things in
common when it comes to their end-of-the-year lists: Film journalists in both
Los Angeles and New York are doing backflips over
Happy-Go-Lucky and
Milk.
Sally
Hawkins and
Sean Penn won both lead acting awards, while
Jenny Lumet's
screenplay for
Rachel Getting Married and
Penelope
Cruz's work in
Vicky Cristina Barcelona were both winners in
the two showbidness capitals of the U.S.
Best Director - Mike Leigh, Happy-Go-Lucky
Best Actor - Sean Penn, Milk
Best Actress - Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky
Best Supporting Actor - Josh Brolin, Milk
Best Supporting Actress - Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Best Screenplay - Jenny Lumet, Rachel Getting Married
Best Cinematographer - Anthony Dod Mantle, Slumdog Millionaire
Best Foreign Film - 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
Best Animated Film - Wall-E
Best First Film - Courtney Hunt, Frozen River
Best Documentary - Man on Wire
I have not been too vocal about my opinions on any of these lists, because I've got my own list on the way soon. I will say, on behalf of Penelope Cruz, that her performance in Elegy, in my mind, is much more memorable than her appearance in Vicky Cristina Barcelona. I enjoyed both movies very much, but Elegy showed me more.
This also seems like a perfect time to remind everyone that none of these critics lists are actually indicative of anything the Oscars might do. Sure, we'll see a lot of the same names when those nominations are announced (as well as the Globe nominations tomorrow morning), but there might be a handful of writers across the country who have Oscar votes. The industry people can see things much, much differently.
Take two years ago, for example: United 93 was the overwhelming choice by groups of critics as Best Picture, and it wasn't even nominated for that Oscar. So that's just something to keep in mind as these things start rolling in.
Colin Boyd | Permalink | in Awards Shows, Critics | Print Article | Email Article | Post a Comment | Share Article
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