THE 12th GOLDEN MOON AWARDS
By Bob Felton
So the 12th Edition of the GMA came and went… I mostly agreed with the list of nominees. I think that the list reflected in an accurate way what the Season had been. But I cannot disagree more with some of the winners…
I have contacted my deep throats at CMP to know what has happened. And my confidants confirmed me my suspects. Usually, there is always a slight change in what voters choose at Nomination Phase (I’ll call it here N-Phase) and then at winners phase (W-Phase). Not this time. This time it wasn’t a slight change. This time votes have completely turned upside down. Many voters completely changed their choices from N-Phase to W-Phase and that has made that ‘American Tabloid’ has gone from 9 nominations – supported almost unanimously by voters, by the way – to only 4 hard wins, among other things that have taken place.
What can I say in general about ‘American Tabloid’. Was it the winner or the defeated movie of the night? Everybody expected it to be the new most awarded movie ever. So it’s difficult to answer that question. 4 awards is a remarkable achievement. But after its 9 nominations, I can understand the disappointment that Winston Claypool, producer of the movie, hardly tried to hide on stage when he picked up the Best Picture award…
I have the feeling that the ‘Let’s Not Be Predictable’ factor has worked stronger than any other time this edition.
So analyzing this GMA edition is more interesting than ever. I’ll go category per category and I will give you not only my very personal opinion but also some of the inside information I have about the voting process. Follow me!
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
I liked the three choices here. ‘American Tabloid’ and ‘Edge Of Human’ were the big contenders and ‘Under The Gun’ was the underdog. Both deserved the win and I have no complaints about ‘Edge Of Human’ finally making it.
MOST WANTED SEQUEL
For what I know, ‘Edge Of Human’ won at this category by far, although ‘West Flashman’ was the most voted one at N-Phase. Voters were beginning to change their choices from N-Phase to W-Phase…
BEST ADAPTATION
No surprise here. ‘American Tabloid’ had got an amazing amount of votes at N-Phase and that was repeated at W-Phase. I fully agree with this decision.
BEST ORIGINAL CONCEPT
No change of votes here neither. ‘Teenage Wasteland’ arrived to the ceremony as the favorite in this category and it finally won. Ok. I had nothing to say yet at this point of the ceremony.
BEST CAST
Again, voters completely changed their mind in this one. ‘American Tabloid’ had been the most voted at this category by far and finally ‘The Beatles’ won. But I must say that, besides that change, I agree with this choice. Chad Taylor and Sam Mendes succeeded in a very complex casting process that was essential to make the movie believable. They found the right guys to play the Beatles and that extremely difficult task deserved the award.
BEST STARRING COUPLE
Another radical change from N-Phase to W-Phase. In N-Phase, Michelle Pfeiffer and Emile Hirsh were the most voted ones with a wide margin. And, suddenly, in W-Phase, almost every voter moved to MacKie and Luke, who then won with a wide margin of votes while Pfeiffer and Hirsh were surprisingly ignored.
The cruel night for Michelle Pfeiffer had just begun…
BEST VILLAIN
It was a duel between Tom Hanks and Evan Rachel Wood. They arrived almost tied to the ceremony and Hanks finally won by a slight difference. It’s ok. I voted for Evan Rachel Wood, but I can accept the majority’s decision here.
BEST SCREENPLAY
Ok, let’s stop here.
I am not going to say that ‘Running On Empty’ is not a nice and correct screenplay. It is.
But, please… Can it really be considered as a better one than the wonderful writing works that are ‘American Tabloid’ and ‘The Beatles’? The drama here is that ‘Running On Empty’ did not win by a slight difference of votes. It completely and absolutely pulverized its two rivals.
And the funniest thing is that ‘Running On Empty’ hardly entered into the final trio while ‘American Tabloid’ and ‘The Beatles’ were widely supported by voters at N-Phase.
An explanation? Well, I guess this could be the reason: ‘Running On Empty’ was the only original screenplay of the three nominees. Voters may have wanted to support original screenplays. Nobody remembered that that was the reason why the Best Adaptation and the Best Original Concept categories were created for. In Best Screenplay should be voted the best writing work, no matter if it’s original or an adaptation…
Well, at this point of the ceremony, I was just feeling really mad and knew that anything could happen from now on…
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Ok with Rachel Weisz’s victory. Deserved. I just felt sorry for poor Rosario Dawson: third nomination and third defeat… The wonderful ‘Storm At Home’ was mistreated in a tough and undeserved way at this GMA Edition.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Matt Damon, with his creation of a disturbing Bobby Kennedy, had been the most voted talent in N-Phase by an enormous difference of votes. It looked as a clear – and highly deserved – winner. But again the same voters that strongly supported ‘American Tabloid’ in so many categories at N-Phase abandoned him here.
I can live with Daniel Radcliffe’s victory. He made a solid John Lennon. But again it is remarkable how voters changed their mind in their way from N-Phase to W-Phase.
BEST ACTRESS
As Charlie Kiggs wrote in his predictions, this one was expected to be a deadly duel between Michelle and Keira: almost every voter had supported one or another or both at N-Phase.
Well, the curiosity here is that, according to my inside information, there was no real duel at all at the end. Voters just forgot about Michelle at W-Phase. In fact, I can reveal that it ended up in a tight duel between Michelle and Judy Davis for the second position.
Keira is an everybody’s favorite in CMP and that, together with her solid work in ‘The Princess And The Captain’, probably counted so much in her victory. I am sorry for Michelle. She was so close to take two statues home and finally went home with empty hands.
BEST ACTOR
Ok. Let’s stop here too.
What is the GMA's Gala? An awards ceremony or a nursery school? Ok, I could live with Abigail Breslin stealing Kate Beckinsale the Best Actress award past Season. But this is too much…
Tom Hanks made a top quality acting work in ‘American Tabloid’. In fact, he should have won here and leave Best Villain for Evan Rachel. Same goes for Anthony MacKie. Both, Hanks and Mackie, built up two epic bigger-than-life characters.
Lerman played a convincing tormented teenager. Ok. Correct. Even applauded. Congratulations, Logan. But that’s all.
I just can’t believe he defeated Hanks and Mackie.
After ignoring Alan Arkin at this category, I had lost all interest in it. But my interest revitalized just to feel angry for this undeserved victory.
BEST DIRECTOR
According to N-Phase’s votes, Martin was not going to have any problem to win here. But he did have it. And no. It wasn’t Clint Eastwood who gave him the hard times. Matt Kubrick became the unexpected big contender for Marty and I’ve got to know that only one vote made the difference between Scorsese and Kubrick.
Again, a radical change of votes from one phase to the other.
BEST PICTURE
At this point, the Best Picture award for ‘American Tabloid’ almost tasted as a consolation prize after the terrible night for this movie.
In conclusion…
Don’t misunderstand me. I love surprises. I think it is reasonable and fair to change your mind when voting for the nominations and then for the winners. It makes it all unpredictable and fun. The problem is that I particularly disagree with the final result, particularly at the Best Screenplay and the Best Actor categories, where the two defeated candidates in both seemed to me much deserved winners than the final one.
You know me. I am a mean guy. I enjoy watching how people lose and try to fake they don’t care. The problem is that this time it was me the one who felt disappointed to see some decisions I did not agree with at all.
But, well, that’s democracy. Majority rules, doesn’t it?
By Bob Felton
So the 12th Edition of the GMA came and went… I mostly agreed with the list of nominees. I think that the list reflected in an accurate way what the Season had been. But I cannot disagree more with some of the winners…
I have contacted my deep throats at CMP to know what has happened. And my confidants confirmed me my suspects. Usually, there is always a slight change in what voters choose at Nomination Phase (I’ll call it here N-Phase) and then at winners phase (W-Phase). Not this time. This time it wasn’t a slight change. This time votes have completely turned upside down. Many voters completely changed their choices from N-Phase to W-Phase and that has made that ‘American Tabloid’ has gone from 9 nominations – supported almost unanimously by voters, by the way – to only 4 hard wins, among other things that have taken place.
What can I say in general about ‘American Tabloid’. Was it the winner or the defeated movie of the night? Everybody expected it to be the new most awarded movie ever. So it’s difficult to answer that question. 4 awards is a remarkable achievement. But after its 9 nominations, I can understand the disappointment that Winston Claypool, producer of the movie, hardly tried to hide on stage when he picked up the Best Picture award…
I have the feeling that the ‘Let’s Not Be Predictable’ factor has worked stronger than any other time this edition.
So analyzing this GMA edition is more interesting than ever. I’ll go category per category and I will give you not only my very personal opinion but also some of the inside information I have about the voting process. Follow me!
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
I liked the three choices here. ‘American Tabloid’ and ‘Edge Of Human’ were the big contenders and ‘Under The Gun’ was the underdog. Both deserved the win and I have no complaints about ‘Edge Of Human’ finally making it.
MOST WANTED SEQUEL
For what I know, ‘Edge Of Human’ won at this category by far, although ‘West Flashman’ was the most voted one at N-Phase. Voters were beginning to change their choices from N-Phase to W-Phase…
BEST ADAPTATION
No surprise here. ‘American Tabloid’ had got an amazing amount of votes at N-Phase and that was repeated at W-Phase. I fully agree with this decision.
BEST ORIGINAL CONCEPT
No change of votes here neither. ‘Teenage Wasteland’ arrived to the ceremony as the favorite in this category and it finally won. Ok. I had nothing to say yet at this point of the ceremony.
BEST CAST
Again, voters completely changed their mind in this one. ‘American Tabloid’ had been the most voted at this category by far and finally ‘The Beatles’ won. But I must say that, besides that change, I agree with this choice. Chad Taylor and Sam Mendes succeeded in a very complex casting process that was essential to make the movie believable. They found the right guys to play the Beatles and that extremely difficult task deserved the award.
BEST STARRING COUPLE
Another radical change from N-Phase to W-Phase. In N-Phase, Michelle Pfeiffer and Emile Hirsh were the most voted ones with a wide margin. And, suddenly, in W-Phase, almost every voter moved to MacKie and Luke, who then won with a wide margin of votes while Pfeiffer and Hirsh were surprisingly ignored.
The cruel night for Michelle Pfeiffer had just begun…
BEST VILLAIN
It was a duel between Tom Hanks and Evan Rachel Wood. They arrived almost tied to the ceremony and Hanks finally won by a slight difference. It’s ok. I voted for Evan Rachel Wood, but I can accept the majority’s decision here.
BEST SCREENPLAY
Ok, let’s stop here.
I am not going to say that ‘Running On Empty’ is not a nice and correct screenplay. It is.
But, please… Can it really be considered as a better one than the wonderful writing works that are ‘American Tabloid’ and ‘The Beatles’? The drama here is that ‘Running On Empty’ did not win by a slight difference of votes. It completely and absolutely pulverized its two rivals.
And the funniest thing is that ‘Running On Empty’ hardly entered into the final trio while ‘American Tabloid’ and ‘The Beatles’ were widely supported by voters at N-Phase.
An explanation? Well, I guess this could be the reason: ‘Running On Empty’ was the only original screenplay of the three nominees. Voters may have wanted to support original screenplays. Nobody remembered that that was the reason why the Best Adaptation and the Best Original Concept categories were created for. In Best Screenplay should be voted the best writing work, no matter if it’s original or an adaptation…
Well, at this point of the ceremony, I was just feeling really mad and knew that anything could happen from now on…
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Ok with Rachel Weisz’s victory. Deserved. I just felt sorry for poor Rosario Dawson: third nomination and third defeat… The wonderful ‘Storm At Home’ was mistreated in a tough and undeserved way at this GMA Edition.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Matt Damon, with his creation of a disturbing Bobby Kennedy, had been the most voted talent in N-Phase by an enormous difference of votes. It looked as a clear – and highly deserved – winner. But again the same voters that strongly supported ‘American Tabloid’ in so many categories at N-Phase abandoned him here.
I can live with Daniel Radcliffe’s victory. He made a solid John Lennon. But again it is remarkable how voters changed their mind in their way from N-Phase to W-Phase.
BEST ACTRESS
As Charlie Kiggs wrote in his predictions, this one was expected to be a deadly duel between Michelle and Keira: almost every voter had supported one or another or both at N-Phase.
Well, the curiosity here is that, according to my inside information, there was no real duel at all at the end. Voters just forgot about Michelle at W-Phase. In fact, I can reveal that it ended up in a tight duel between Michelle and Judy Davis for the second position.
Keira is an everybody’s favorite in CMP and that, together with her solid work in ‘The Princess And The Captain’, probably counted so much in her victory. I am sorry for Michelle. She was so close to take two statues home and finally went home with empty hands.
BEST ACTOR
Ok. Let’s stop here too.
What is the GMA's Gala? An awards ceremony or a nursery school? Ok, I could live with Abigail Breslin stealing Kate Beckinsale the Best Actress award past Season. But this is too much…
Tom Hanks made a top quality acting work in ‘American Tabloid’. In fact, he should have won here and leave Best Villain for Evan Rachel. Same goes for Anthony MacKie. Both, Hanks and Mackie, built up two epic bigger-than-life characters.
Lerman played a convincing tormented teenager. Ok. Correct. Even applauded. Congratulations, Logan. But that’s all.
I just can’t believe he defeated Hanks and Mackie.
After ignoring Alan Arkin at this category, I had lost all interest in it. But my interest revitalized just to feel angry for this undeserved victory.
BEST DIRECTOR
According to N-Phase’s votes, Martin was not going to have any problem to win here. But he did have it. And no. It wasn’t Clint Eastwood who gave him the hard times. Matt Kubrick became the unexpected big contender for Marty and I’ve got to know that only one vote made the difference between Scorsese and Kubrick.
Again, a radical change of votes from one phase to the other.
BEST PICTURE
At this point, the Best Picture award for ‘American Tabloid’ almost tasted as a consolation prize after the terrible night for this movie.
In conclusion…
Don’t misunderstand me. I love surprises. I think it is reasonable and fair to change your mind when voting for the nominations and then for the winners. It makes it all unpredictable and fun. The problem is that I particularly disagree with the final result, particularly at the Best Screenplay and the Best Actor categories, where the two defeated candidates in both seemed to me much deserved winners than the final one.
You know me. I am a mean guy. I enjoy watching how people lose and try to fake they don’t care. The problem is that this time it was me the one who felt disappointed to see some decisions I did not agree with at all.
But, well, that’s democracy. Majority rules, doesn’t it?
posted by Harry at
4:19 AM
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