The New York Film Critics Circle will vote and announce their awards this year on December 3rd. Smartly, they’ve decided to move ahead of the ridiculous National Board of Review, a group of fans who pay $600 a year or more to see movies and throw a party. The New York Film Critics last year made the move to go first, thus blunting the annoying NBR.
Recently, the Oscars took their cue from the NYFCC and moved their nominations announcement ahead of the Golden Globes. These moves were all necessary so that actual film groups could establish authority in what has become a crazy atmosphere of politicking to get celebrities to come either to televised events (Globes) or expensive ticket galas (NBR).
I’ve written a lot about the hijinks of Annie Schulhof and the NBR, their lack of expertise, their friendships with certain studios, and their focused interest on certain celebrities. Alas, they have no George Clooney movie this year. But Schulhof’s interest in Warner Bros. combined with Clooney having produced “Argo,” means the Ben Affleck thriller is a shoo-in for lots of NBR attention. What will the NBR do about Clint Eastwood? His “Trouble with the Curve” tanked. But the group is slavishly devoted to him. NBR nominations and long lists of “winners” are the source of endless amusement, so December 5th can’t come fast enough!
