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.
