Dallas, Houston Critics Split on Best Picture

Why should you care what a bunch of critics in Dallas-Fort Worth think? Well, eight out of the last ten years, they've accurately predicted the Oscar winner for Best Picture, and in the two years they got it wrong, they voted for United 93 and Brokeback Mountain. That's a good track record. In fact, it might be the best in the country among major film critics groups. So when they say Slumdog Millionaire is their winner for Best Picture, you may not want to order a whole lot of Dark Knight balloons for your Oscar winding.Also unlike a lot of societies of film journalists, DFWFCA or whatever the acronym is lists the four runners-up in each category, expanding that list to nine runners-up for Best Picture. Hell, I vote for the Phoenix awards, and I have no idea who came in second for anything. I think it's a great resource for the readers, because they have a more concrete measuring stick, but it's also valuable for the filmmakers and studios to see how their movies play in certain parts of the country. For example, here in Phoenix, all the critics liked Happy-Go-Lucky, but it didn't win anything, so you'd never know.Yes, Dallas does tend to be more mainstream than a group on the coasts, but you almost never look at their awards and nominations and ask, "Who the hell is that guy?" They do a good job every year. Now, because they list the runners-up, we won't give you the full list of awards; for that you can go to Variety. Best Picture:
Slumdog Millionaire
Milk
The Dark Knight
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Wrestler
The Visitor
Frost/Nixon
Doubt
Wall-E
Happy-Go-Lucky

Best Actor:
Sean Penn - Milk
Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler
Frank Langella - Frost/Nixon
Brad Pitt - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Richard Jenkins - The Visitor

Best Actress:
Anne Hathaway - Rachel Getting Married
Meryl Streep - Doubt
Sally Hawkins - Happy-Go-Lucky
Kristin Scott Thomas - I've Loved You So Long
Kate Winslet - Revolutionary Road

Best Supporting Actor:
Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight
Josh Brolin - Milk
Eddie Marsan - Happy-Go-Lucky
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Doubt
Robert Downey, Jr. - Tropic Thunder

Best Supporting Actress:
Viola Davis - Doubt
Penelope Cruz - Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Marisa Tomei - The Wrestler
Taraji P. Henson - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Rosemarie DeWitt - Rachel Getting Married

Best Director:
Danny Boyle - Slumdog Millionaire
David Fincher - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Christopher Nolan - The Dark Knight
Gus Van Sant - Milk
Ron Howard - Frost/Nixon


Down I-45 a few hours, the critics in Houston made their picks, as well, and there's quite a bit of symmetry between the two lists, only varying on the biggest prize:


Best Picture:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Director:
Danny Boyle - Slumdog Millionaire

Best Actor:
Sean Penn - Milk

Best Actress:
Anne Hathaway - Rachel Getting Married

Best Supporting Actor:
Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight

Best Supporting Actress:
Viola Davis - Doubt

Best Ensemble Cast:
Doubt More awards from Houston available at the e'er-reliable Awards Daily.

Comments

[MRPigg]

After two years of overdue "body of work" recognition, it is nice to see four relatively young and compelling directors (Fincher, Boyle, Nolan, and Aronofsky) getting a good amount of OscarTM buzz.