Awards season has kicked off and the first to announce anything is the Gotham Awards. These are the most obscure of the awards, next to the Independent Spirit Awards, and they really mean the least in terms of Oscar prognosticating (I still remember getting my hopes up last year when they showered Beginners with love) but they are fun to take a gander at.
Best Picture:
Bernie
The Loneliest Planet
The Master
Middle of Nowhere
Moonrise Kingdom
I’m kind of shocked to see Bernie showing up here. I guess I really do need to see that. I had a feeling that The Master would wind up here, and I’m sure this isn’t the last place we’ll see it gracing the Best Picture ballot. I’m still skeptical of its Oscar chance in that category, but whatever. It will certainly be a critical darling, and we all know that the Gothams are a good place to gage just what is going to get critical attention. The Master and Moonrise Kingdom I expect to see gain some steam thanks to the critics’ awards soon to follow. I’m SHOCKED that Beasts of the Southern Wild didn’t land on this ballot, like REALLY SHOCKED. I don’t think it means much at all (Silver Linings Playbook also missed) but it’s odd.
Best Documentary:
Detropia
How to Survive a Plague
Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present
Room 237
The Waiting Room
Best Ensemble:
Bernie
Moonrise Kingdom
Safety Not Guaranteed
Silver Linings Playbook
Your Sister’s Sister
It’s nice to see Moonrise Kingdom land here as well. I have a sneaking suspicion that we could actually see Moonrise Kingdom land on SAGS ballot this year. It is a very large ensemble and while I don’t see it generating Best Picture buzz at this point, SAG has been known to think outside of the box some of the time (like, 2007 as a whole). Silver Linings Playbook is a given, and it’ll get that SAG nomination too, but I’m wondering if Moonrise Kingdom can actually win this here, since it also landed on the Best Picture ballot!
Breakthrough Director:
Zal Batmanglij/Sound of My Voice
Brian M. Cassidy & Melanie Shatzky/Francine
Jason Cortlund & Julia Halperin/Now, Forager
Antonio Mendez Esparza/Aqui y Alla (Here and There)
Benh Zeitlin/Beasts of the Southern Wild
The only one here with a smidgen of Oscar potential is Zeitlin, who is still in my top ten despite being bumped. If Beasts gets a good resurrection with the critics, he could manage a surprise nomination.
Breakthrough Actor:
Mike Birbiglia/Sleepwalk with Me
Emayatzy Corinealdi/Middle of Nowhere
Thure Lindhardt/Keep the Lights On
Melanie Lynskey/Hello, I Must Be Going
Quvenzhane Wallis/Beasts of the Southern Wild
Despite the fact that Wallis is the only nominee here with a shot at Oscar, I don’t know if I see her winning this. I’d love to see Lynskey win. I haven’t seen her film, but I’ve loved her for a long time, so I really hope she gains some momentum and snags some critics mentions. Is a Globe nomination too much to ask for? Probably. But, how about an Independent Spirit mention?
Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You:
Kid-Thing
An Oversimplification of Her Beauty
Red Flag
Sun Don’t Shine
Tiger Tail in Blue
So, of all the nominated films here, I’ve seen…NONE. Wow, I really need to get to watching some films! The season is upon us, and if last year is any indication I’ll be walking into the Oscar ceremony with having seen roughly five of the nominated films (that’s talking all categories) and by this time next year I’ll be posting my 2012 Fistis. When you have a full time job and two children you live on Netflix Instant Stream. I do know this, these Gotham Awards nominations have certainly added a slew of films to my Netflix queue!
