Holiday Podcast Part 1: The Ballot Rush

Nathaniel, Nick, Katey, and Joe all return for a two part discussion -- something you can listen to while you're travelling for the holidays, a gift from us to you. This was recorded on December 13th (apologies for the delay) so it predates the Critics Choice nominations and subsequent Star Wars kerfuffle which is why we don't discuss those. But we're here to talk precursors and more. (Part Two will be up tonight)

42:30 minutes 
00:01 The Big Short is suddenly a factor. Why?
07:30 Helen Mirren in Trumbo and Woman in Gold
11:00 Sarah Silverman and Best Actress
15:00 Randomness and SAG voters
22:00 Spotlight and the Globes
24:30 Rooney Mara & Alicia Vikander & BFCA
32:00 Best Director & Picture Possibilities
35:00 Original Song Contenders
40:20 Weird Stats plus Hair and Makeup

Further Reading for Context:
SAG Nominations
Globe Nominations
Original Song's 74 Contenders
Oscar Charts

You can listen to the podcast here at the bottom of the post or download from iTunes. 

Holiday Podcast Pt 1

Tweetweek: Clue, Star Wars, Awards Silliness

We weren't allowed to say this for fear of screening crashers but as you're reading this I'm probably watching the credits crawl at the end of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. More soon obviously.

The past week has been just crazy with awards announcements and it's easy to drop usual columns on accident but I can't not share these choice tweets that amused on actressexuality,.

Clue, Sir Patrick Stewart, Golden Globes and a lot of Star Wars silliness after the jump...

When Darwin wrote The Origin of Species, he really skimped on explaining the whole gays-and-actresses thing

— Tim Robey (@trim_obey) December 9, 2015

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Critics Choice Nominations: "Fury Road" Leads and Category Fraud Refuses to Die.

Furiosa is coming to devour your Critics Choice AwardsThough I am a member of the BFCA, the organization behind the Critics Choice Awards, I can't say I'm often too pleased with their choices. Their penchant for attempting to predict the Oscars rather than voting based on earlier reviews continues to be the source of endless frustration. For example: everyone thought the SAG nominations were insane when they were announced but just a week later, the BFCA is repeating them despite lukewarm reviews (at best) for films like Trumbo. And though the reviews for Joy have been anything but great they gave it two major nominations, surely based on a year of Oscar expectations for it. Their difficulty in looking past mainstream pictures even in categories ripe for invasion from indies is also truly unfortunate (Tangerine and What We Do in the Shadows for example have 96% and 97% approval ratings from critics on Rotten Tomatoes and NONE of the BFCA's nominees for Best Comedy come anywhere close to those scores. Hell, Joy is currently at only 56% which is not good. And BFCA members are part of the Tomatometer so what does that tell you?

Unfortunately the members also embraced all the Category Fraud contenders in their studio preferred categories despite the BFCA endorsing a lead vote for Rooney Mara before voting began and somewhat suggesting that maybe Alicia Vikander didn't belong in supporting either. I understand from voting members of the OFCS that this exact situation preceded their vote. It's tough to root out Category Fraud when people have been so conditioned by the studios to believe that anything goes.

The complete list of nominees for film and television (with commentary is after the jump)

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35 Days Until the Critics Choice Awards. Nominations Tomorrow.

Actor/comedian TJ Miller (Silicon Valley and "Tuffnot Thorston" in the How to Train Your Dragon franchise) is hosting. Though I usually attend funds are low this year so I haven't yet made the travel decision. (It will be tough to beat last year's experience with Jessica Chastain at any rate.)

Do you think these films will get the boost they need tomorrow?The nominations for the 21st annual Critics Choice Awards will be announced tomorrow. Since there are six nominees in each acting category (which you'll know annoys the purists like me and probably many of you -- the correct number is always FIVE) you can safely bet that most of the Oscar frontrunners will be accounted for so what's interesting is the fifth and sixth free-for-all spots in each lineup. I'm perhaps most curious to see how films on the bubble perform  (like Steve Jobs, Bridge of Spies, and Creed) or whether films that risk being forgotten (like Sicario) come roaring back to life. This is the second to last clue in precursor season about which films and performances are well loved as we approach Oscar nominations (the last clue being the various guild nominations to come).

I shan't predict these BFCA "Critics Choice" nominations since I vote but rest assured that I did my part for Carol, Mad Max, Room and the other movies we've showered love on here. But how about you? Any predictions.

Best Celebrity Reactions to SAG or Globe Nominations

Normally the press release soundbytes involving celebrities being thankful for their nominations are as dull and even more flavorless as an trophy winner reading names from a piece of paper in monotone. It's usually along the lines of "this film is special to us and I am so genuinely grateful. Thank you" So it's worth noting any reactions that display even a little bit of personality or say something more specific. Here are our favorites this year after the jump...

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