Awards Season Schedule: Movie Year 2010

Here are the dates for all the film awards announcements— from The National Board of Review to the Oscars— (dates with circa [c.] in front of them are approximations based on last year):

Dec. 2: The National Board of Review (generally announced by 3PM EST)
Dec. 4: European Film Awards
Dec. 4: Washington D.C. Area FC Noms
Dec. 6: Washington D.C. Area FC Wins
c. Dec 9: Women Film Critics Circle Wins
Dec. 10: Detroit FIlm Critics Noms
Dec. 12: Los Angeles Film Critics Assn.
Dec. 12: Boston Society of Film Critics
Dec. 12: AFI
Dec. 13: New York Film Critics Circle
Dec. 13: Broadcast Film Critics (BFCA) Noms
c. Dec. 13: New York Film Critics Online
c. Dec. 13: St. Louis Film Critics Noms
c. Dec. 13: Alliance of Women Film Journalists Wins
Dec. 14: Golden Globe (HFPA) Nominations
c. Dec. 14: African-American Film Critics Assn
c. Dec. 14: Indiana Film Journalists Assn
c. Dec 14: San Francisco Film Critics Circle
c. Dec. 14: Southeastern Film Critics Association
c. Dec. 15: Austin Film Critics Assn.
c. Dec. 15: Chicago Film Critics Assn. Noms
c. Dec 15: San Diego Film Critics Society
Dec. 16: SAG Nominations
Dec. 16: Detroit Film Critics Winners
c. Dec. 16: Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Assn.
c. Dec. 16: Toronto Film Critics Association
c. Dec. 17: Las Vegas Film Critics Society
c. Dec. 18: Florida Film Critics Circle
c. Dec. 18: Utah Film Critics Association
c. Dec. 19: Houston Film Critics Society
Dec. 19: Golden Satellite Awards
c. Dec. 21: Chicago Film Critics Assn. Wins
c. Dec. 21: St. Louis Film Critics Winners
c. Dec. 22: London Film Critics Circle Nominations
c. Dec. 22: Phoenix Film Critics Society
c. Dec. 23: Oklahoma Film Critics Circle
c. Dec. 31: Online Film Critics Society Noms
Jan. 1: One Line Review [this blog!]
Jan 2: Kansas City Film Critics Circle
c. Jan. 3: National Society of Film Critics
Jan. 4: USC Scripter Award Noms
c. Jan. 4: Vancouver Film Critics Circle Noms
Jan 4: PGA Nominations
Jan. 4: WGA Nominations (film)
Jan. 5: Art Directors Guild (ADG) Noms
Jan. 6: Cinema Audio Society (CAS) [Sound Mixing] Noms
c. Jan. 6: NAACP Image Awards Noms
c. Jan. 7: Central Ohio Film Critics Association
c. Jan 9: North Texas Critics Association
Jan. 10: DGA Nominations
Jan. 10: Visual Effects Society Noms
Jan. 11: American Society of Cinematographers Noms
c. Jan. 12: Vancouver Film Critics Circle Wins
Jan. 14: American Cinema Editors Noms
Jan. 14: Critics Choice (BFCA) Awards
Jan. 16: 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards
Jan. 18: BAFTA Nominations
c. Jan. 19: Online Film Critics Society Winners
Jan. 21: Costume Designers Guild (CDG) Noms
Jan. 21: Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSE) Noms
Jan. 22: PGA Awards
c. Jan. 22: Iowa Film Critics Association
Jan. 24: Razzie Awards Noms
Jan. 25: OSCAR NOMINATIONS
Jan. 28: Visual Effects Society Wins
Jan. 29: DGA Awards
Jan. 30: SAG Awards
Feb. 4: USC Scripter Award Winner
Feb. 5: WGA Awards
Feb. 5: Art Directors Guild (ADG) Noms
Feb. 5: ASIFA's Annie Awards Wins
Feb. 13: BAFTA Winners
Feb. 13: American Society of Cinematographers Winners
c. Feb 18: London Film Critics Circle Winners
Feb. 19: American Cinema Editors Winners
Feb. 19: Cinema Audio Society (CAS) [Sound Mixing] Wins
Feb. 20: Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSE) Wins
Feb. 22: Costume Designers Guild (CDG) Wins
c. Feb. 26: NAACP Image Awards Winners
Feb. 26: Independent Spirit Awards
Feb. 26: Razzie Awards Wins
Feb. 27: 82nd ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS

Wednesday, December 1st another highlight of “Pre-Awards” Season, is the announcement of the Satellite Awards nominations, a sort of precursor to the Golden Globes. Link to the International Press Academy website.

Time to Lobby the Library of Congress About the National Film Registry

Happy Thanksgiving!

In one month, the Library of Congress will announce the next 25 films to be added to the National Film Registry.  Last year's list spanned the years 1911-86, and included: Little Nemo (1911), Jezebel (1938), Pillow Talk (1959), Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), The Muppet Movie (1979), and Chuck Workman's love letter to film Precious Images (1986).  Also included were historically important films such as The Exiles (1961), "one of the few non-stereotypical films that honestly depict Native Americans." Unfortunately, the NFR decided to put music video "Thriller" in the mix--a can of worms that should not have been opened.  "Thriller" should be a choice for the National Television Registry (that doesn't exist).  Are we supposed to add significant music videos each year?  To what end?  And if the argument is that it was filmed that's why it's a "film", well so was I Love Lucy.  And if the argument is that it was filmed "like a movie" than so is every single TV movie: are we adding those too?


The National Film Registry started in 1989, and there are currently 525 films on the list.  Although the obscure films and historically important documentaries fulfill the mandate of the Registry, there does seem to be a movement, at least in recent years, to include those fictional feature films that are great films (more of a Sight and Sound approach) or cult films (such as The Incredible Shrinking Man last year) and not just historically or culturally important ones (there are still many Oscar-winning Best Pictures not on the list, for example).

You can e-mail your list to the Library of Congress and they'll consider your choices.  Link to their website.

Below are my picks for what should be added to this year's list (I only do the narrative feature films: I'll let the Library of Congress decide on the obscure works).  To me, the film that most needs to be added above all (my choice last year as well) is Blue Velvet.  I have made a change to my approach this year... The NFR allows any movie so long as it is at least 10 years old-- dutifully I have added one film from 10 years ago... which the NFR OUGHT to do so as not to "fall behind."  But they don't.  And it seems that they almost never have films from the last 20 years (unless they are the obscure or historically significant ones).  So I decided, when NONE of my choices made it last year, to have my most recent film be 20 years old instead.  Why waste the votes?

My choices for this go-round, by year:

1910s-20s-30s (4 titles)

A Tale of Two Cities (1917)

The Sheik (1921)

The Guardsman (1931)

Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)

1940s (5 titles)

Bambi (1942)

First Comes Courage (1943)

Lifeboat (1944)

The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)

The Lady From Shanghai (1948)

1950s (10 titles)

Harvey (1950)

The Red Badge Of Courage (1951)

Strangers on a Train (1951)

Limelight (1952)

The Quiet Man (1952)

Stalag 17 (1953)

The Seven Year Itch (1955)

The Killing (1956)

The King and I (1956)

Auntie Mame (1958)

1960s (10 titles)

The Guns of Navarone (1961)

101 Dalmatians (1961)

Lolita (1962)

The Birds (1963)

The Great Escape (1963)

Cheyenne Autumn (1964)

The Naked Kiss (1964)

Seconds (1966)

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)

Rosemary’s Baby (1968)

1970s (10 titles)

Love Story (1970)

Two Mules for Sister Sara (1970)

Carnal Knowledge (1971)

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)

The Poseidon Adventure (1972)

The Exorcist (1973)

The Sunshine Boys (1975)

All the Presidents Men (1976)

The Front (1976)

Kramer Vs. Kramer (1979)

1980s (10 titles)

Coal Miner’s Daughter (1980)

The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Arthur (1981)

The World According to Garp (1982)

A Christmas Story (1983)

Aliens (1986)

Blue Velvet (1986)

Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)

Raising Arizona (1987)

Die Hard (1988)

1990s (1 title)

Awakenings (1990)

Taking the Oscar Bait-- 2010

Thanksgiving week ushers in the first wave of the serious Oscar hopefuls, which run to Christmas Day. They can turn out to be all hype, but it's still the case that the biggest Oscar films come out this time of year. Below is the slate of this year's major Oscar bait of the upcoming releases, roughly in order of current "buzz":






1. The King's Speech
2. The Fighter
3. Black Swan
4. True Grit
5. Blue Valentine
6. Another Year
7. How Do You Know
8. Rabbit Hole
9. Frankie & Alice
10. Biutiful

Here's links to my previous blog entries on end-of the-year Oscar bait:
Awards Season 2009
Awards Season 2008

Pre-Awards Season Begins 2010

The announcement of the National Board of Review's picks on December 2nd, as is tradition, will bring down the checked flag for the start of Awards season. Here at One Line Review, Pre-Awards season begins with the simultaneous publication in the first weekend of November of the Los Angeles Times's "Holiday Movie Sneaks," Entertainment Weekly's Holiday Movie Preview Issue [see note, however] (which contains their early guesses in Oscar's Best Picture, Directing, and Acting races), and Awards-Season Previews in the trades.  However, this year, The EW Holiday Movie Preview issue was pushed a week throwing the whole system off.  I think next year my blog entry for "Pre-Awards Season Begins" will be for the L.A. Times/ EW/ or the announcement of the Cecil B. DeMIlle— whichever comes out first.  But with all three out now, on Monday, I feel we can safely stand around the water cooler and say the word "Oscar" without fear of "already?" (These year-round Oscar websites, though, to me, are the equivalent of playing Christmas music in July.  There is a chart of Oscarists' predictions of what will WIN Best Picture currently online... this is SO weird.)

EW lists their Oscar nominations predictions, separating a "top five" for Best Picture (lest we forget AMPAS in their infinite wisdom decided to expand BP to ten noms) in their Holiday Movie Preview.  This year, curiously, four of the five are not upcoming releases: Inception, The Kids Are All Right, The Social Network, Toy Story 3.  The lone upcoming title is: The King's Speech.

There are several acting "locks" it seems coming into the season, leaving little wiggle-room for surprise.  Take Best Actor, for example: Leonardo DiCaprio (Inception), Robert Duvall (Get Low), Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network), Colin Firth (The King's Speech), and James Franco (127 Hours)... that's five... but of course, we'll see how it all pans out.

Films I look forward to seeing this holiday season include: Black Swan, How Do You Know, The King's Speech, Narnia: Dawn Treader.

Robert De Niro to Receive the Cecil B. DeMille Award

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has announced the recipient for this year's Cecil B. DeMille Award: Robert De Niro. After a two year director hiatus from actors (Scorsese, Spielberg) the HFPA is getting back to honoring the actors.  The press release was posted early this morning on the HFPA website... glad they are prompt (even though it's PST, sorry New York). 

De Niro was certainly among the most probable picks (especially given that Scorsese received it last year), and, of course, deserving. They're so many great De Niro performances: The Godfather, Part II; Taxi Driver; Raging Bull; The King of Comedy; Goodfellas; Cape Fear; Jackie Brown; Analyze This; Meet the Parents; and Machete... to name a few.

Who Will Receive this Year's Cecil B. DeMille Award?

This year "Pre-Awards" season won't begin for me with Entertainment Weekly's Holiday Movie Preview issue which presumably will come out on Thursday (it's generally the first issue of November— but oddly wasn't this year).  So the flip-flop will have Pre-Awards start with the announcement of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's Golden Globe Award for lifetime achievement, the Cecil B. DeMille Award. The timing of the announcement has changed a lot recently— it was traditionally on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving week, and last year, it was the Thursday of the second week of November.  This year it will be tomorrow, Tuesday, November 9th.

The Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Golden Globe was first given in 1952, to namesake Cecil B. DeMille himself. Producer/Director DeMille was one of the most successful filmmakers of Hollywood's Golden Age and in 1952 he made the film that would win Oscar's Best Picture, The Greatest Show on Earth. Who won the second DeMille award? Walt Disney.

In the early years of the award, the recipient was generally a producer/studio head, but starting with Maurice Chevalier (1959's recipient) performers have worked their way up, to the point that the award has been given exclusively to them since 1978 (with a few "hyphenates" among them, such as Clint Eastwood), until Steven Spielberg's 2008 win.

So, who do you think will be given this year's Cecil B. DeMille Award? The most likely candidate of the last several years has certainly been Meryl Streep. Streep has received the most career nominations (at 25). Plus she's had a string of high profile hits as of late critically and commercially, too.

Here is a link to the Cecil B. DeMille Award on the HFPA's website.

And here is a handy one-page list on Wikipedia.

What is your guess for this year's DeMille?

Notables who have yet to receive the honor include: Woody Allen, Julie Andrews, Kenneth Branagh, Michael Caine, Glenn Close, Tom Cruise, Daniel Day-Lewis, Robert DeNiro, Gerard Depardieu, Robert Duvall, Sally Field, Jane Fonda, Jodie Foster, Morgan Freeman, Tom Hanks, George Lucas, Helen Mirren, Peter O'Toole, Michelle Pfeiffer, Julia Roberts, Sylvester Stallone, Meryl Streep, John Travolta, and Denzel Washington.

... My perennial guess is HFPA favorite (12 noms, 3 wins) Michael Caine, but the wind has blown toward non-actors.   When Spielberg won in 2008/09, my pick for '09/10 became Francis Ford Coppola, however the HFPA went with Martin Scorsese. With Coppola as one of this year's Honorary Oscar recipients, it's unlikely that he'll get it due to the double-up factor... Therefore, I'm going to go with Woody Allen (if they can convince him to accept) as my prediction for this year.