The Vaguest Ideas

My annual BAFTA annoyance 2009

Last year I had a small email argument with BAFTA personnel over the barely eligible "There Will Be Blood" (disregarding the merits of the film, which amongst other things contains a "spoiler" in its title).

This year I've decided to take my beef to a higher authority, I've sent an email to the BBC Simon Mayo and Mark Kermode BBC Radio Live 5 Film Review show, in the vain hope that they'll give the argument airtime and publicly bollock BAFTA for their weaselly unprincipled distributor led inclusion of films up for OSCARs(tm) but not properly released in the UK within the awards year.

The letter reads as follows

Dear Charters & Caldicott,

As you no doubt remember a few years ago the BAFTA's were moved to occur after the Golden Globes but before the Oscars, in a desperate/transparent/pointless (delete as appropriate) attempt to seem more relevant and boost their profile as a supposed predictor of Oscars (the position queasily held by the Golden Globes). Along with that BAFTA then bent the eligibility rules to include films that were released theatrically in the States (i.e.. up for Oscars), but which hadn't actually had a proper UK release within the awards year:

"Films that open between 1 January and 6 February 2009 inclusive may be 'qualified' by Distributors by being screened to Academy Film Voting Members by Thursday 18 December 2008."

That means that films released two days before the actual ceremonies may qualify. However, another eligibility rule states:

"To be eligible, a feature film must be exhibited publicly to a paying audience within a commercial cinema in the UK for no fewer than seven consecutive days."

By that logic the following three nominated films should be disqualified, as they won't have fulfilled this obligation by the time of the awards ceremony:

(UK Release Dates according to IMDB:)
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (6th Feb)
Doubt (6th Feb)
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (13th Feb -- this actually fails both tests)

Now we all know that the timing and use of the BAFTA's by the distributor's is merely to give these films a marketing bump. They probably will have had small pseudo releases in some small cinema for a preview week to qualify.

The real point of all this nitpicking (which leaves the merit of these films in the dust): Nominated films should have received their release in the year in question in the UK. The public, including idiots like myself, should have had a proper chance to see the films, so that there is interest in the supposedly laudatory outcome of the awards, not an opportunity to have trailers for coming attractions foisted on us. By bending the rules to account for the North American release schedule, the BAFTA's seem less relevant, more like a "me too" exercise. If the distributors wanted their pictures qualified over here as well, they should release them at the same time in the UK as in the US.

Meanwhile on the other side of the pond AMPAAS, are allowing Brad Pitt his Best Actor Nomination for Benjamin Button when they denied Andy Serkis a chance at the Best Supporting for Gollum on the basis that his performance was altered through digital manipulation. I may enjoy Benjamin Button when I can finally see it if I just imagine Gollum in the place of Pitt (theory: is every other film by Fincher rubbish/genius?)

Perhaps Pointlessly Pedantic,

Cheers,

Brian Tarnoff, the New Forest.

PS. This is the whole eligibility bit from the BAFTA website:
ELIGIBILITY

Films must be released theatrically in the UK, within the Academy awards year,
1 January to 31 December 2008. Films that open between 1 January and 6 February 2009 inclusive may be 'qualified' by Distributors by being screened to Academy Film Voting Members by Thursday 18 December 2008.

To be eligible, a feature film must:

* be feature-length, i.e. with a running time exceeding 60 minutes;
* receive its first public exhibition or distribution in the UK as a theatrical release;
* be exhibited publicly to a paying audience within a commercial cinema in the UK for no fewer than seven consecutive days.

Whether this reaches the airwaves is to be seen....

Labels: BAFTA, My Tasteless Opinions

posted by Brian R Tarnoff @ 1:07 pm