OFTA Nominations

ITALIANO
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Post by ITALIANO »

OscarGuy wrote:It's no one's fault, others just happen not to agree.
Or maybe they don't see many movies...
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Post by OscarGuy »

Work to do for what? I don't see any problems with our nominations or the process. I think it works quite well. The weighted system allows people who want to place a little-seen film at the top of the list to encourage more votes. If those films don't get nominated, then it's not the fault of the individual voter who submitted them. It's no one's fault, others just happen not to agree.
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Post by ITALIANO »

Sabin wrote:I ask again: who are deez peepul?
Like with the Golden Globes at the time of the infamous Pia Zadora win, I'd also be so curious to see the names of the members :)

But seriously, Sabin said it better than I could. I think Oscar Guy has some work to do before next year's voting, and I feel that he will do it.
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Post by Sabin »

Aside from the dubious selection of Nine in Best Cinematic Moment, I don't find anything to be embarrassed about in this year's selections, as has not always been the case.

It's not about embarrassment. It's about bland conformity. This isn't a terrible lineup by any means. The only year this decade where I have liked every movie nominated for Best Picture by the Academy was in 2007, and even then they opted for Atonement, Juno, and Michael Clayton over The Assassination of Jesse James..., Diving Bell, and Into the Wild. I like all five movies this group has nominated, but they're so boring! It makes you wonder who are these people and why don't they venture forth and cultivate more eclectic sensibilities!

The real problem is that these "Left Field" choices (Peter Capaldi, Christian McKay, Tilda Swinton, and Ben Foster whose performance really isn't that great) aren't really Left Field. They've been discussed to death as "Perfect World" nominees. The Academy System is broken, as products of awards-jockeying hype like Matt Damon, Morgan Freeman, and Helen Mirren are "Sure Things" but find someone who actually likes them, while performances that are universally praised and would be otherwise sure things like McKay and Swinton are frustratingly left out. This marginalizes true Left Field choices that should find favor in groups like these. No Summer Hours for Best Picture. No Michael Haneke for Best Director. No Joaquin Phoenix for Best Actor. No Charlotte Gainsborough for Best Actress. These nominees feel like congenially consensual pulpit rather than anything truly exciting that would, to quote Nuke LaLoosh in Bull Durham, announce this group's presence with authority.

It's not JUST Nine's nomination for Most Cinematic Moment. That nomination is exactly what's wrong with this group and the balloting process. It just SOUNDS like a sure thing whether you've seen the film or not, whether it's a front-runner or a disaster. I ask again: who are deez peepul?




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Post by OscarGuy »

Rex Reed is part of the Broadcast Film Critics Association to my knowledge. He is NOT a member of the Online Film Critics Society. And, Damien, the OFCS is the group of which I am also a member.

We also do a 5/4/3/2/1 system for selecting the nominees, but the winner is selected by a straight vote (each person picks one winner in each category and the one with the most votes win). While a majority can often get a lesser-seen film in the list (like the In the Loop mentions), sometimes the films with the most recognition are the ones best represented. But that's they way with most groups like the Academy, Golden Globes and so forth.




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Post by Big Magilla »

I believe Rex Reed belongs to the Online Film Critics Association.
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Post by Damien »

Which is the online group that Rex Reed belongs to -- someone mentioned it here once. Wes, don't you belong to another online group?

With my gang's awards (the IRAs), we do it on a 5-4-3-2-1 point basis, and then if a majority doesn't like the winner, the award is rescinded. We seem to annoint pictures that get nowhere nearr the Academy (L'Enfant, Decasia, Mysterious Skin).
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Post by Big Magilla »

Aside from the dubious selection of Nine in Best Cinematic Moment, I don't find anything to be embarrassed about in this year's selections, as has not always been the case.

One of the things we get to do this year is rank members' best picture recommendations to come up with a ten best list. There are some very interesting submissions on the list that don't conform to what may be perceived as herd mentality.

I suspect our votes would have been similar if we had been the first or second group to announce rather the last, but because we don't get screeners and often have to go out of our way to find films in theatres we can't possibly do it any earlier and do it objectively.

Ideally there would be a cut-off date as of October 31st as with the Grammys for all voting organizations so that by December we would all have had an opportunity to have seen everything in contention and could all submit our secret ballots on the same day to avoid the appearance of influence. That, of course, would be impractical and contrary to awards history which as we all know is full of dirty dealings, especially in the critics' groups.

And while OFTA may have no "famous" members, we do have a number of film buffs, historians and currently working critics.
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Post by OscarGuy »

I know only a handful of the people in the group (the ones from this board, mostly). And I don't necessarily like or dislike any of them. And I disagree with more of them than you might think. I tabulate the ballots, so I see some of the choices that come from members and even I'm embarrassed by some of them at times, but that's not my business. My business is to tabulate and announce and ignore the rest.

It's one of the reasons we modified the Hall of Fame selection. It's a small group that submit choices, watch all available selections and discuss before coming up with our final list. It has resulted in a far more interesting slate of submissions each year. The core membership still votes on the inductees, but they can't vote in things of little historical importance.
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Post by ITALIANO »

You are right, Oscar Guy. The problem is only the selection of the members, like in any other voting group. The fact that you may personally like them, or generally agree with them, doesnt necessarily make them qualified. But of course it's your group so you can do whatever you want, it's none of my business.
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Post by OscarGuy »

There are no "famous" members in this organization, Damien. This is the one I run.

And people vote for what they like. There are eclectic choices, but in a system where everyone's ballots are on equal footing and their ranked choices are added together, if a film like say Up in the Air receives a mention on multiple ballots whereas a film like Moon appears on only one, the multiple wins even if the placement on those ballots is lower than the one selection of moon.

That's one of the reasons the Academy's nominations are often homogenized. Now, if it were a system where everyone selects X films, then everyone votes only from those lists, then it might turn out differently, but maybe not. People vote how they like and one individual's eclectic choices aren't easily going to emerge as nominees.
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Post by ITALIANO »

Okri wrote:
ITALIANO wrote:Very true. Yet, if more people like you (or even me) joined such groups the results would be probably different, more varied and certainly more interesting.
Only to a certain extent. Individual ballots are largely more ... individual, for lack of a better word (I couldn't spell idiosyncratic). I mean, Armond White votes in New York, but his batshit craziness doesn't change the fact that they voted fairly middle of the road.
But I'm referring to the individuals on this board, at least those who post more frequently - including you. The results would be different for sure.

A voting group must, or should, have its own character, otherwise it doesn't have a reason to exist, there are already so many. This one comes so late in the season, and all it does is copying the most popular and predictable choices.
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Post by Damien »

Big Magilla wrote:Not everyone on this board is a member of OFTA and vice versa but in general terms the nominations probably do reflect the majority of members of the UAADB, just not the most vocal ones.
If this is they're taste, then it's probably best that they remain quiet. :D
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Post by Damien »

Is this the Online group that Rex Reed and Armond White belong to?


I just can't comprehend how 50 individuals can cite their favorites and the results are a sheep mentality in step with just about every other group.
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Post by Okri »

ITALIANO wrote:Very true. Yet, if more people like you (or even me) joined such groups the results would be probably different, more varied and certainly more interesting.
Only to a certain extent. Individual ballots are largely more ... individual, for lack of a better word (I couldn't spell idiosyncratic). I mean, Armond White votes in New York, but his batshit craziness doesn't change the fact that they voted fairly middle of the road.
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