BFCA 'Critics Choice' Nominees: It's Hugo vs. The Artist
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 at 8:37AM 
As you may or may not know, I am a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association. So this weekend, I rushed to turn in my ballot hoping against hope that my tiny voice will save them from their own relentless interest in predicting the Oscars above all else. I hoped, for example, that here is where you'd see a bit of Off Oscar movement for some of the interesting divisive movies such as Melancholia or critical hit only performances like Olivia Colman's in Tyrannosaur or things only critics have seen but that they lovedlovedloved like A Separation (Trust: I'm far from the only one.) While hope springs eternal, this year they held on tight to just what you'd expect: Oscar predictions! There are about 250 members of the BFCA -- you can see a list here -- and remarkably none of us are named Peter Travers though as a group we seem to collectively share his Oscar-hewing choices under the guise of "My opinion - screw Oscar!" (teehee). But what can you do?!
Movieloving duo The Artist and Hugo led the nominations with 11 nods apiece. Let's look at each category. The "Critics Choice" Awards will be held on January 12th, 2012 and broadcast on VH1 as per usual. This year's hosts will be Rob Huebel and Paul Scheer.
BEST PICTURE
- The Artist
- The Descendants
- Drive
- Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
- The Help
- Hugo
- Midnight in Paris
- Moneyball
- The Tree of Life
- War Horse
(SOLE) SURPRISE / BAD NEWS FOR: I really thought Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 would place her given that so many media types (many of them BFCA members) are obsessed with those massive franchises - especially when/because they're ending. Otherwise this is just what you'd expect for an Oscar prediction + DRIVE which, yes, I voted for. Duh!
THREAT TO WIN: I think you're looking at Hugo vs. The Artist and not just due to the nomination count.
It's HUGO vs. THE ARTIST, each with 11 nominations
BEST DIRECTOR
- Stephen Daldry, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
- Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
- Alexander Payne, The Descendants
- Nicolas Winding Refn, Drive
- Martin Scorsese, Hugo
- Steven Spielberg, War Horse
SURPRISE: Refn's genre effort paid off. And Spielberg's schmaltz-a-thon? That's not a surprise but: Yikes. I guess the BFCA really thinks War Horse will score big with Oscar. Perhaps it shall. Otherwise, it's exactly as you'd expect though I'm pleased to see Refn squeeze in to the Oscar predictions.
BAD NEWS FOR: Woody Allen for Midnight in Paris. He hasn't been nominated for Best Director at the Oscars in a very long time. One wonders if they'll want to welcome him back this year given the "comeback" story with his film's surprise hit status.
THREAT TO WIN: I'm assuming the BFCA members will swerve towards Scorsese with a combo of hero worship and genuine love for his new film.
BEST ACTRESS
- Viola Davis, The Help
- Elizabeth Olsen, Martha Marcy May Marlene
- Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
- Tilda Swinton, We Need To Talk About Kevin
- Charlize Theron, Young Adult
- Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn
SURPRISE: This is good news for Olsen and Swinton who are both still in the fight for an Oscar nod despite films that are more alienating than Oscar goes for.
BAD NEWS FOR: From an Oscary standpoint this is another nail in Glenn Close's Albert Nobbs coffin. From the needed a boost file, this is a tough blow for Olivia Colman and Kirsten Dunst.
THREAT TO WIN: The BFCA likes to give Meryl Streep best actresses wins and, extraordinarily, they like to do it with ties. It keeps happening (tied with Anne Hathaway in 2008, tied with Sandra Bullock for 2009). so expect her to win her third in 4 years in January... but...
BFCA, Oscars (11), critics awards, precursor awards 
