Critics Choice Awards Show and Winners

[Mister Tee]

It was assumed all the other categories were spoken for: Bridges was grabbing Actor, UP had score in the bag, of course INGLORIOUS BASTERDS was taking original screenplay, and AVATAR would dominate in every single cinematic category it was competing for. In the end, THE HURT LOCKER won Best Picture and 5 additional awards, illustrating how wide-spread the love for the film was.

I wouldn't quite agree here. I thought the film, with its many tense will-the-bomb-go-off scenes, was a clear contender for editing, as you can see in this discussion: viewtopic.php?f=77&t=7267&start=15.

The other awards it won were indeed in the grey area -- it was hardly a dialogue-centered film, so its winning screenplay was a sign of strength in the end, but I don't think people were being dismissive to think it could lose there. And the sound awards often went to big blockbusters, so Avatar was clearly in the running. The fact that Hurt Locker beat it for both was the solid indicator a best picture win was on the way.

It's quite possible The Power of the Dog -- which, recall, did better with AMPAS than it did at any of these aggressively precursor-y spots -- will do the same: win more of these undercard categories than people are projecting, which will indicate the film is a greater favorite with the Academy electorate than people are assuming based on these other organizations.

Having seen THE POWER OF THE DOG twice, I believe Campion deserves accolades for both her writing and directing. The dialogue is sparse, but what is said cuts like a scalpel. Much like DRIVE MY CAR, it tells us so much without ever being obvious (unlike some of the other scripts nominated this year). Reportedly this left some audiences confused, but they are the same folks who loved GREEN BOOK and DON'T LOOK UP so that seems more like a problem with them than Campion's screenplay.

Hold the phone, here. As I indicated when I wrote about the film, I reached the end of Power of the Dog and had no idea what happened. I had to do an Internet search to have it explained to me: a search that turned up a multitude of links, because a whole lot of people are having the same issue. It's rather condescending of you to lump all of us as Green Book lovers. (Feel free to search my response to THAT movie.) I've found that there's basically no rhyme or reason to those who grasp the ending of Dog and those who don't -- two friends I'd describe as not spectacularly literary (one watches a ton of Marvel movies; another loved CODA and Belfast) had no issues with it; on the other hand, an actor friend-since-college/one of the smartest guys I know had the same "I didn't get it reaction" I did. And one more: Kodu Smit-McPhee said he reached the end of the script, thought he'd missed something, went back and read it again, still didn't get it, and had to have Jane Campion explain it to him. (Which might have given her a clue some people were going to have a problem with it, but apparently she didn't much care.)

Now, I suppose it makes sense that, for those who picked up on it without trouble, those who didn't might appear simply dense. But, hey: I thought the "surprise" ending of The Sting was obvious from the get-go, and I've always found it curious more people didn't pick up on it. I didn't, however, dismiss them as low-perception dolts whose opinions don't matter.

As it happens (if you read what I wrote in The Power of the Do thread), though I think this (for me) lack of clarity was a flaw in the film, I think it's otherwise an impressive piece of writing as well as directing. I'd easily vote for Drive My Car in the category, but Power of the Dog without question over any of the remaining 3. I'd guess the CODA thing is going to get louder over the next few weeks -- it'll (sadly, but likely) win WGA, thanks to low-calibre competition, and might take PGA, as well; the folks who swooned over Little Miss Sunshine should really go for it. But, let's remember: Sunshine was, as some of us pointed out at the time (and like CODA), without directing or editing nods, and it fell in the end before The Departed. (It did, yes, win supporting actor and screenplay, but without competing with Scorsese's film in the latter.) I dislike CODA far more than rolotomassi (maybe, as he notes, because I saw it as a top awards contender, not a little sleeper), and think it would be the worst best picture winner in forever; it's hard for me to believe an Oscar electorate that gave Power of the Dog an over-achieving 12 nominations could really decide CODA is a better script or film.

As for the Broadcasters overall (I still refuse to flatter them by calling them Critics Choice), I didn't exactly watch the show -- I had it on mute while I did other things, and looked over any time they were about to present an award I cared about. (Even muted, the hosts looked insufferable, and Taika Waititi looked like the world's biggest ham.) I'd always thought there was nothing worse than this group kicking off the TV awards season and trying to set a template, but, it turns out, placing them near the end of the season was worse, as they clearly tried to lock in the slate of winners proposed by SAG. I have zero doubt that, had their January results been announced, Kristen Stewart and Kodi Smit-McPhee would have been their winners, and we'd have a far more interesting race. But all they want to do is get in line and "predict correctly". (In this context, their sticking to Power of the Dog for cinematography, and Mitchells for animated, amounted to bold acts of rebellion.) I don't think their choice of Chastain will have much effect -- it simply means THEY think she'll win; it might sway more of the lemmings to predict her, but that race remains as inscrutable as it was before yesterday.

For the rest...the only hope for the Oscars to be interesting in this environment is for their newly-fortified group of voters -- 40% or so added in just the past 6-7 years -- to swerve around the template and make an unexpected choice or two in a big category. If they fail to do that, these predecessor awards will continue to do their best to drain the life out of the races.

[OscarGuy]

Sabin, I wouldn't say Campion really stepped in it with her Venus/Serena comment. The cut to that table saw them ecstatic with the statement. Strong women don't have to tear others down to boost themselves up and are often significantly more supportive of one another even when something is misconstrued. That said, I find it interesting that she trended for the BITCH comment about Sam Elliott. I remember her pre-DGA statement saying he hit the trifecta of misogyny and xenophobia and homophobia was a great line. I thought the BITCH comment might be a bit too snotty and might hurt her chances with Oscar voters. If it was widely applauded, then it just goes to show that we don't know how something's going to be taken without hearing out it's taken first.

[rolotomasi99]

I think The Power of the Dog is still in the running for Best Original Score but it isn't looking promising at this point.

Nor are its screenplay chances, considering that CODA just took the BAFTA. I've thought for a moment now that The Power of the Dog might be seen as more a feat of Jane Campion's directing than her writing.

I think the likeliest scenario is that it walks away with Best Picture, Director, and Cinematography.

Comparing the only other two Best Picture winners directed by a woman, it is interesting to note how the movies are generally seen (even by their detractors) as achievements of directing rather than writing. I understand this sentiment a little more with NOMADLAND since it utilized mostly non-actors for supporting roles and had more of a documentary feel to it. Many of us (myself included) thought it would win Best Picture, Director, and Cinematography. It surprised quite a few when the Academy swapped Cinematography for Lead Actress.

With THE HURT LOCKER, I recall at the time folks were doubting its Best Picture chances since they thought the only other award it would win that night was Director. It was assumed all the other categories were spoken for: Bridges was grabbing Actor, UP had score in the bag, of course INGLORIOUS BASTERDS was taking original screenplay, and AVATAR would dominate in every single cinematic category it was competing for. In the end, THE HURT LOCKER won Best Picture and 5 additional awards, illustrating how wide-spread the love for the film was (despite some truly deplorable statements from folks I thought were better than that).

Having seen THE POWER OF THE DOG twice, I believe Campion deserves accolades for both her writing and directing. The dialogue is sparse, but what is said cuts like a scalpel. Much like DRIVE MY CAR, it tells us so much without ever being obvious (unlike some of the other scripts nominated this year). Reportedly this left some audiences confused, but they are the same folks who loved GREEN BOOK and DON'T LOOK UP so that seems more like a problem with them than Campion's screenplay.

I am so glad I saw CODA before it was ever seriously in the Oscar conversation (the only thing I was hearing back then was Kotsur maybe being nominated). I was able to enjoy this slight but sweet story without any of the scrutiny that comes from winning major awards. I mostly watched it because I know ASL and love Marlee Matlin. You can already see the backlash growing against it, and I truly hope for this poor little film's sake it does not win Best Picture. DUNE, WEST SIDE STORY, or even BELFAST may be able to survive the scrutiny, but CODA would be immediately shoved into the worst Best Picture winner crowd along with CRASH and GREEN BOOK.

There are certainly worse Best Picture nominees this year, but the creators of DON'T LOOK UP or KING RICHARD could avoid being fatally wounded by the blowback of winning. The knives would be out for poor Sian Heder, and I fear it would be a incredibly unpleasant experience. Hell, Paul Haggis is still apologizing for his unexpected and (according to him) underserved win.

I hope Kotsur is the sole Oscar win for CODA because it will be a great moment for the telecast, a huge boost to his career, a spotlight on utilizing marginalized communities in every aspect of filmmaking, and great promotion for folks to check-out the film. However, winning Best Picture or even Adapted Screenplay would be a White Elephant that I would not wish on anyone, but especially this heartfelt little gem of a film. It deserves to be enjoyed as the lovely bit of schmaltz that it is, but should never be confused for great art.

[Sabin]

Big Magilla wrote
Four for The Power of the Dog may be all we can hope for at this point, with Cumberbatch, Smit-McPhee, and Dunst likely to lose to Smith, Kotsur, and DeBose.

I think The Power of the Dog is still in the running for Best Original Score but it isn't looking promising at this point.

Nor are its screenplay chances, considering that CODA just took the BAFTA. I've thought for a moment now that The Power of the Dog might be seen as more a feat of Jane Campion's directing than her writing.

I think the likeliest scenario is that it walks away with Best Picture, Director, and Cinematography.

[Sabin]

Jane Campion had quite a weekend. The Power of the Dog came back with Best Picture/Director wins from the DGA, BAFTA, and Critic's Choice Awards. She went viral for her yasss girl moment where she called Sam Elliott a B-I-T-C-H on the red carpet, but then stepped in it the next night by telling Venus and Serena Williams that they're amazing but they don't "have to play against the guys like [she has] to."

I'll say this in her defense: it's not like she wrote that speech. It was a pretty rambling assortment of thoughts. It wouldn't kill her to write something out next time. But it was still a pretty dumb thought. "Y'know who had it easy? Venus and Serena Williams." Or an unfortunate window into her mind.

I don't anticipate any significant blowback.

[Big Magilla]

I have never been a fan of these awards, but this year's show was a good one. It takes away the bad taste of this year's nadir of awards shows, the sickeningly awful mess that was this year's Spirit Awards.

Highlights included Jimmy Kimmel's tribute to Billy Crystal, Crystal himself, the classy presentation of Venus and Serena Williams, and Jane Campion's speeches.

As to the awards themselves, if this is a preview of what's going to happen in two weeks at the Oscars, it's certainly a better one than the one BAFTA gave us earlier in the day with Dune grabbing five to Power of the Dog's two.

Four for The Power of the Dog may be all we can hope for at this point, with Cumberbatch, Smit-McPhee, and Dunst likely to lose to Smith, Kotsur, and DeBose.

An Oscar win for Jessica Chastain is now within her reach. Let's hope she makes it.