Will the guilds agree with the Oscars' final five?
What's so strange about the guild nominations this year is that there's already a strong industry consensus around five films. The producers and directors guilds line up perfectly: "Babel," "The Departed," "Dreamgirls," "Little Miss Sunshine" and "The Queen," all of which did well at SAG, too. Four of those five got ensemble nods at the actors' guild. The only shut-out, "The Queen," isn't really an ensemble pic so the positioning isn't a reflection of what guild members think of the film. Obviously, they admire it — Helen Mirren is nominated.
Such early agreement is extremely rare. Now consider the fact that the films nominated at DGA have gone on to be the final five nominated for best picture at the Oscars for the past four years and you realize that it's starting to look pretty stupid to bet on any others as the Oscar high five this year.
What went wrong with the Children of Men campaign? Such a shame this brilliant film is being virtually ignored by the major groups.
Posted by: nancy | January 12, 2007 at 11:19 PM
Why do you say that The Queen isn't an ensemble picture? My pal Devin of CHUD started a bit of a running joke during the NYFCO meeting cause during the discussion phase, he complained about the movie's nomination for the same reason. I always saw the Ensemble category as one given to strong casts made up of 4 or more members, all contributing something to the film, and in that sense, The Queen couldn't be any more of an ensemble piece than it is. Sure, it's all about Helen Mirren yadda yadda, but there's also the circle of actors around her like James Cromwell and the actor who played Prince Charles, and MIchael Sheen and his group. I don't think the film would have been half as enjoyable if these two parties didn't have other characters to bounce ideas off of. I would say it's more of an ensemble piece than Babel, which really is four separate stories with only 2 to 4 characters in each story. Or maybe I'm wrong and someone can explain why. Thanks!
Posted by: EDouglas | January 12, 2007 at 05:47 AM
The Departed
Posted by: Jocelyn D Foster | January 12, 2007 at 03:44 AM