Let the 1999 Academy Awards Season Begin!
Well, it's November, and that means it's time to begin focusing on the upcoming awards season for the film achievements of 1999, and specifically begin predictions and analysis for the 72nd Annual Academy Awards.
Even though the nominees for the Oscars will not even be announced for a few months -- February 15, 2000 -- there are a variety of other organizations that award honors to film at year end and this column will announce the nominees and winners for those organizations on a weekly basis all the way up to the Oscars.
These organizations, particularly the Screen Actors Guild awards and the Golden Globes, are often good precursors for what films and what individuals end up receiving Oscar nominations, so they help contribute to the ongoing discussion and predictions for filmdom's ultimate night, the Academy Awards!
So as awards season begins, we'll be discussing the honors bestowed by the New York Film Critics Association, the aforementioned Golden Globes, the National Board of Review, the Director's Guild of America, the Screen Actor's Guild, the Writer's Guild, the National Society of Film Critics, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the Chicago Film Critics Circle, the American Society of Cinematographers, the Golden Satellites, the Online Motion Picture Academy, the Online Film Critics Society, and much more.
This week, it is our first early attempt at making some predictions for who will get nominated for the Academy Awards. Keep in mind that a number of the films mentioned have not even be released yet, so the predictions are solely based on advance buzz on the films as well as knowledge of the Academy and its past Oscar choices.
There are some front runners so far ... the critical darling and my choice for the year's best film thus far:
- American Beauty is still a heavy favorite, and could be a top choice in the other various critics' organizations.
- The Insider, starring Al Pacino and Russell Crowe, opens nationwide this weekend and is another potential Oscar favorite.
- And based on advance buzz, the other front runners look to be The Green Mile, Any Given Sunday, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Man on the Moon, and possibly Fantasia 2000.
- Three Kings had some initial momentum, but it seems to have lost steam ... it will need some critics' honors to stand a chance for Oscar nominations.
So with that, those are our first round of predictions ... it will be interesting to come back to these selections on February 15, and see how my very early predictions did ... and remember, these are not our personal choices (that list will come later), but predictions as to who will get nominated for the 72nd Annual Academy Awards.
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