Thursday, March 28, 2024

Why Wait? Give Clint Eastwood the National Board of Review Award Now

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Let’s get it over with now. Clint Eastwood, you’ve won the 2011 National Board of Review for your new movie, “Herafter.” It’s already been chosen to close the New York Film Festival.

I mean, why wait til January or even early December for the NBR nominations? Eastwood–whom I like a lot, don’t get me wrong–has never failed to win an award from the NBR for the last decade or more. Every year. And in a year when he didn’t have film, they gave him a Lifetime Achievement Award.

This past season, the NBR–which is a group  fee paying fans, and not reviewers–skipped over “Precious” except for handing Gabby Sidibe a breakthrough performance award. “Precious” went on to get six Oscar nominations.

However: the NBR nearly tripped over itself to give Clint’s movie, “Invictus,” whatever it could including Best Actor for Morgan Freeman who tied with George Clooney).

Jeanine Basinger, who teaches at Wesleyan and brought Eastwood’s archives there, is of course a leading member of the NBR.

The NBR also loves, besides Eastwood, his studio, Warner Bros., George Clooney and one other studio, Paramount. You can expect something to acknowledge Clooney’s “The American,” which gets released on September 1st.  only Alexander Payne could get his “Descendants” out this year, Clooney would win the NBR’s Best Actor Award again.

As it is — and I tell you this on August 19th–my money is on the NBR to go big time for “Inception” (a Warners movie) as well as “Hereafter,” with Leonardo DiCaprio picking up Best Actor (for “Shutter Island” as well–a Paramount film) and Clint getting Best Picture and Best Director.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.
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