Liberal HFPA foreign-pic rules

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Unlike the Academy, the Hollywood Foreign Press likes to keep things simple. If a movie is spoken in a foreign language and is also, you know, set somewhere off these shores, it's a contender for a Best Foreign Language Golden Globe award....even if a L.A.-based distributor funded it. The result, says Hollywood Reporter guy Gregg Kilday, is that Mel Gibson's Apocalypto and Clint Eastwood 's Letters From Iwo Jima "could" be in the running against Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's The Lives of Others, Pedro Almodovar's Volver and Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth in the 64th annual Golden Globe Awards.

The Academy, Kilday explains, "gives a certain weight to the country of origin, allows only one film to be submitted per country and has no mechanism for the U.S. to submit a movie. But the HFPA considers any film in a foreign language that screens for its members by its deadline. Does that mean a fantasy film using a made-up foreign language that takes place, say, on the ice planet of Hoth is eligible? How about a film set entirely in a U.S.-run Japanese internment camp in the early '40s and spoken entirely in Japanese?

By the way, the online version of Kilday's story mis-spells Henckel von Donners- marck's first name -- they left out the "l" in Florian.

comment #1

T.H. says ...

And HR explains it this way, "In its initial list of eligible titles, the HFPA listed "Letters" as representing Japan, though the movie -- produced by Warners and DreamWorks -- was primarily shot in California, with some location work on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima.

The HFPA identified "Apocalypto" as a U.S. entry. Filmed in Mexico by Gibson's Icon Prods. and set for release by Buena Vista, the period action/adventure movie uses a Mayan dialect."

And yesterday, V explained it this way: "It's far rarer for an American to work in a foreign tongue, but this year features two high-profile offerings. The Globes list the Mel Gibson-helmed "Apocalypto" and Clint Eastwood's "Letters From Iwo Jima" as being from, respectively, the U.S. and Japan."

If Letters is from Japan, isnt' Apoc from Mexico or possibly Guatemala, the country ABC News Nightline did a segment on (Thanksgiving night in their one hour Gibson special), to report on Mayan decendents? What gives? Icon speak out if you're serious about your intention to boost Mayan heritage, at least, if not awareness.

comment #2

T.H. says ...

The report from Guatemala, BTW, showed an impoverished, orphaned, drug adicted people, while some others, seemingly more fortunate, were exploring their Mayan roots.

comment #3

noodleswoo says ...

Hey Jeff, nice dig at the Kilday article. Maybe you should check the spelling of FloriaN (notice the N)'s name on your OWN Oscar Balloon.

comment #4

Hallick says ...

So was "The Passion of the Christ" nominated in that category back whenever?

comment #5

T.H. says ...

Like this year's GG shortlist being discussed here, POTC was eligible for Best Foreign Language Golden Globe award, but not nominated. (Because as a movie, it sucked.)

comment #6

RoyBatty says ...

There's keeping it simple and keeping it simple minded...

Neither group can claim a prize for best approach, however. The HFPA's problem is that the whole point of having a foreign language award is to draw people's attention to those films they might not otherwise hear about or see. Gibson's and Eastwood's films should be nomimated as if they were any other two movies made by American white male directors using American money.

With the Academy, not only do they trip up filmmakers with anti-cosmopolitan, Byzantine rules about country-of-origin vs. primary language, but they also open up a whole can of worms regarding politics by taking the lazy way out by not selecting the films themselves. Sure, once it gets down to the selections made by each country they then whittle it down.

Yet more reasons why I give a rat's ass about the Oscars, can pick my own "bests" and if I want to watch an awards show that will not only draw my attention to films I might have missed in release but also provide moments of genuine, unscripted emotions I watch the Indy Spirit Awards.

comment #7

NYCBusybody says ...

If I lived in Mexico, I would NOT want to see Mexican movies made by Mexican directors. If I lived in France, I sure as hell wouldn't want to see French movies made by French directors, men or women.

I think all countries should be FORCED to watch only movies made by ethnic filmmakers from countries other than their own, at gunpoint if necessary. Otherwise, I'll accuse them of being anti-cosmopolitan racists.

Shut the fuck up RoyBatty, you're a stereotype of an idiot of a cliche.

comment #8

NYCBusybody says ...

If I lived in Mexico, I would NOT want to see Mexican movies made by Mexican directors. If I lived in France, I sure as hell wouldn't want to see French movies made by French directors, men or women.

I think all countries should be FORCED to watch only movies made by ethnic filmmakers from countries other than their own, at gunpoint if necessary. Otherwise, I'll accuse them of being anti-cosmopolitan racists.

Shut the fuck up RoyBatty, you're a stereotype of an idiot of a cliche.

comment #9

RoyBatty says ...

Thanks for the shout out NYCBusybody. That was a pretty clever way to agree with me, just wonder how many people won't get the joke and think you really are that obtusely stupid. Or worse, agree.

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