Judging by Matt Mazur's reaction to the news, this may have a material effect on their strategy and force them to alter their screening and promotion schedule for Blood & Honey. Which in turn could mean we may see more of the film and get critical reaction to it sooner.
Blood and Honey screened Oct. 4 in NY but other than the feminist blogger who couldn't handle the graphic scenes of atrocities, no reactions have emerged from that screening. Brooklyn-based blogger Ken Adams earlier wrote that he had spoken with several people who had seen it and spoken highly of it so there clearly were other NY-area screenings. But there must be an airtight embargo in effect because none of the NY writers I follow (who almost certainly would have been invited to an early screening) have so much as tweeted about it.
There are reports of an additional screening scheduled in LA this week. L.A.- based movie writers like Anne Thompson, Jeff Wells, Sasha Stone, Greg Ellwood and Tony Breznican usually tweet brief reactions after a screening (even with an embargo) so they could give us our first reliable feedback -- unless GK Films and FilmDistrict succeeds in putting the fear of God in them as well.
At some point, presumably when the film screens for movie cognescenti, Angelina will have to appear to do Q & As. The decision of the NYFCC may effectively force Angelina, Graham King and Bob Berney to advance their schedule and she may have to leave Budapest earlier than expected.
Blood and Honey screened Oct. 4 in NY but other than the feminist blogger who couldn't handle the graphic scenes of atrocities, no reactions have emerged from that screening. Brooklyn-based blogger Ken Adams earlier wrote that he had spoken with several people who had seen it and spoken highly of it so there clearly were other NY-area screenings. But there must be an airtight embargo in effect because none of the NY writers I follow (who almost certainly would have been invited to an early screening) have so much as tweeted about it.
There are reports of an additional screening scheduled in LA this week. L.A.- based movie writers like Anne Thompson, Jeff Wells, Sasha Stone, Greg Ellwood and Tony Breznican usually tweet brief reactions after a screening (even with an embargo) so they could give us our first reliable feedback -- unless GK Films and FilmDistrict succeeds in putting the fear of God in them as well.
At some point, presumably when the film screens for movie cognescenti, Angelina will have to appear to do Q & As. The decision of the NYFCC may effectively force Angelina, Graham King and Bob Berney to advance their schedule and she may have to leave Budapest earlier than expected.
New York Film Critics Jump The Gun, Announce New November Awards Voting Date
| Wednesday October 19, 2011 @ 10:29am PDT
There’s
new intrigue surrounding the race to be first among critics groups in
announcing film awards. In a pre-emptive move that should send shudders
down the spines of the National Board of Review — normally always first
to announce — and the Los Angeles Film Critics — which normally gets a
one-day jump on their New York counterparts — the New York Film Critics
Circle has just announced that it will vote for their choices of the
year’s best films on Monday, November 28, immediately after the
Thanksgiving holiday. “As the nation’s pre-eminent critic’s group, we
are excited about kicking off the annual end-of-year discussion with our
new early voting date,” says new Chairman John Anderson, who replaced
Armond White as head of the group. (See the full release below.)The surprise chess move puts the other groups racing for influence in the Oscar race in a tough position as they would likely have to advance their voting dates to pre-Thanksgiving to beat NYFCC to the punch, a tough task when studios and distributors probably haven’t screened all year-end contenders at that point, especially those with tight post-production schedules. It’s known that some of them rush contenders just to meet the early December voting date of the National Board of Review, so anything before the 28th could be stretching it.
New York Critics were likely frustrated last year following the gang of groups crowning The Social Network Best Picture and thereby looking like they were following the pack. The National Board of Review chose the film first on December 2 and the LAFCC followed suit on December 12 ,a day before NYFCC announced it as their choice on December 13. In between all that the Broadcast Film Critics Association announced their nominations.
It will be especially interesting to see what The National Board of Review does now. This is not a critics group but rather a “film society” which is placated by studios with special treatment because they are always first to announce. Even officials of this group have admitted to me in the past the reason their choices get so much scrutiny in the entertainment media is because they are first. LA’s critics also like beating their East Coast rivals but from what I hear have already planned to select their picks that weekend of December 10th.
With lots of talk about the Oscars moving up a full month as early as 2013 (although I am told until they figure out how to do electronic voting no decision is being made) this move of the NYFCC will only add to the discussion. Is it only a matter of time before one of these organizations announces their nominees on Halloween?
Here’s the NYCFF release that came out this morning:
New York, NY – October 19, 2011 — The New York Film Critics Circle announced today they will hold their annual vote for the 2011 Film Critics Circle Awards on Monday, November 28th, at The Walter Reade Theatre at Lincoln Center. The awards will be handed out at a ceremony to be held on Monday, January 9, 2012.
Says this years Chairman John Anderson, “As the nations pre-eminent critic’s group, we are excited about kicking off the annual end-of-year discussion with our new early voting date. On the basis of the films we have seen thus far, we are looking forward to another passionate debate amongst our members.”
Founded in 1935, the New York Film Critics Circle is the oldest and most prestigious in the country. The circle’s membership includes critics from daily newspapers, weekly newspapers, magazines and the Web’s most respected on-line publications. Every year the organization meets in New York to vote on awards for the calendar year’s films. The Circle’s awards are often viewed as harbingers of the Oscar nominations. The Circle’s awards are also viewed — perhaps more accurately — as a principled alternative to the Oscars, honoring aesthetic merit in a forum that is immune to commercial and political pressures.
Joining Chairman John Anderson in leading the group is this year’s Vice-Chairman, Time Out New York Senior Film Writer Joshua Rothkopf, who will assume the duties of Chairman for 2012. Additions to the group are returning voting member Amy Taubin of Film Comment and a new member, Salon film critic Andrew O’ Hehir.
