I served on the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) award TV committee that nominated performances for 2011. I saw every performance whether I was invited to a screening in Hollywood or had gotten a DVD screener in the mail. It was a tough decision because there were so many good acting performances. It came down to which performer had moved me through their characters within the story. I chose the best with whom I thought was deserving of recognition. My nominee ballot was tallied along with the other SAG committee members in December 2011.
I can only imagine what the voters go through while nominating for The Academy Awards (Oscars.) Many critics have complained that the voters have a small attention span. They nominate for films that come at the end of the year. Movies that premiere in January are all but forgotten. They are also criticized by not voting for comedies. The list of complaints is a long one. This is 2012 and the nominations were announced for the films of 2011. The Academy has again surprised us with glaring omissions in the best acting and picture categories.
I am a moviegoer who has only two complaints. One is that Andy Serkis wasn’t recognized for his work as ‘Caesar’ the monkey/ape in The Rise of the Planet of the Apes. We never see Andy as a person on the screen. His body is replaced in monkey form with special effects. Through his eyes we see a strong emotional performance. Time magazine even bought a poster ad in The Hollywood Reporter praising Serkis. That film was only nominated in the category of ‘best special effects.’
My other complaint is that Drive wasn’t nominated for ‘best picture.’ This year the Academy voters recognized only nine nominees. Several films could have filled that tenth spot and I wished that it went to Drive. Ryan Gosling who played the lead role was not recognized. Neither was Albert Brooks who had a great supporting role in the film. It did however receive a ‘best sound editing’ nomination for Lon Bender and Victor Ray Ennis.
Drive went to the top of my list as the best movie of 2011. I was not alone. Film critic Richard Roeper chose Drive as his top movie pick of the year. I like movies that are set in the city of Los Angeles (LA). There are so many fascinating stories to tell. I saw Woody Harrelson in another LA film called Rampart. Critics have lauded his performance as one of the best in his career. I totally agree. Unfortunately, he too was not nominated for a best actor Oscar.
According to the website Box Office Mojo that tracks movie profits. Drive grossed $35,011,330 in the United States and $35,629,488 in other foreign countries. Nicolas Winding Refn was voted as best director at the Cannes Film Festival 2011. The British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards (BAFTA) nominated the film in four categories. They include; best picture, best director for Refn, best supporting actress for Carey Mulligan and best editing for Mat Newman.
The BAFTA awards will be held on February 12, 2012 at London’s Royal Opera House. The Academy Awards will be broadcast on ABC February 26, 2012 with Billy Crystal as host of ceremonies. The Screen Actors Guild Awards will be broadcast on TNT January 29, 2012. You can scroll down my list of articles here for my full movie review of Drive.