Friedman disses NBR

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"Hilarious and sad -- that's what the National Board of Review has become in the last several years," Fox 411's Roger Friedman has written in response to yesterday's announcement of the NBR Awards. "The hilarious part is because the movie studios hate it but keep it going so they have an award to tout in newspaper ads. The sad part is that the members don't know what they're doing, and no one respects them.

"When the NBRMP snubbed Dreamgirls, The Queen and several other excellent 2006 films Wednesday, they were finally revealed for what they are: bickering fans and not professional film critics. Their choices instead for the 10 Best Pictures of 2006 included two Clint Eastwood films, The Devil Wears Prada, Blood Diamond and Little Miss Sunshine.

"But who makes the final selections for those 10 films? It's not the whole membership of the NBRMP, people who pay $600 (more than I had previously understood) to be part of this gang. It's just a group of 12 called the Exceptional Photoplay Committee. That's it.

"The committee is led by Annie Schulhof, sister-in-law of former Sony CEO Mickey Schulhof. Her qualifications? She's wealthy and has the time to run the organization. After Schulhof, the committee list is harder to place. It's a secret organization, kept that way because the members -- with the exception of one, possibly two -- are not film professionals. They are just rich fans.

"This column reported last year that Annie Schulhof had close ties to Warner Bros. But we could never have imagined those ties culminating in these results."

Manhattan pics #4<< previous | next >>Diana Ross& "Dreamgirls"

Posted by Jeffrey Wells on December 7, 2006 at 10:02 AM

comment #1

Gabriel says ...

Somebody get Kirby Dick on the phone.

Posted by Gabriel at December 7, 2006 10:17 AM

comment #2

Walter Sobchak says ...

"Fox 411", eh?! Typical White House/KKKarl Rove talking points spin machine babble. 'Fair and Balanced'...right. Right-wing facist generator of propaganda! Creator of a hostile, racist, sexist enviroment of hate!

oh...... my bad... I saw the word "Fox" and the Anti Fox News Auto-Diatribe machine kicked on. Nevermind.

-D.Z.

Posted by Walter Sobchak at December 7, 2006 10:34 AM

comment #3

Edward says ...

But I thought the media was lef-wing?

Posted by Edward at December 7, 2006 10:40 AM

comment #4

Edward says ...

But I thought the media was left-wing?

Posted by Edward at December 7, 2006 10:41 AM

comment #5

Edward says ...

And my fingers aren't working today!

Posted by Edward at December 7, 2006 10:41 AM

comment #6

Mr. Gittes says ...

Roger liked The Good Shepherd...

Posted by Mr. Gittes at December 7, 2006 10:50 AM

comment #7

Craig Kennedy says ...

Imagine that. A corrupt and biased movie award selection process. I'm shocked...shocked I tell you. Who's to blame? The NBR or the saps who've taken such awards seriously all these years?

Now if FOX could just get to the bottom of this Santa Claus and Tooth Fairy business.

Posted by Craig Kennedy at December 7, 2006 10:53 AM

comment #8

NYCritic says ...

The really sad part is that at one time The National Board of Review had some class -- back in the 60s and early 70s when they produced FILMS IN REVIEW, which not only published reviews but also terrific articles on actors and directors -- sometimes people who had fallen out of favor or were forgotten. Yeah, like the Academy and all the other awards, there was always some conflcts of interest, but back then, the organization did mean something. Now it just borders on being a joke.

Posted by NYCritic at December 7, 2006 10:56 AM

comment #9

le corbeau says ...

NYCritic, I would say it was a very mixed bag even in the 60s and 70s-- very reactionary tastes, you read the festival reports and it couldn't be more dismissive of things like Bergman or L'Avventura. That said, yes, there were good things written by Bill Everson, Dewitt Bodine, etc., and sometimes the reactionaries could be a lot of fun to read-- who was the music guy, Paige Cook? He could be hilariously vicious (I seem to recall the phrase "loathesome visage" being applied to Meryl Streep's looks, which might have given pause to John Simon).

For real significance you have to go back to the 30s, when there was some real intellectual heft to the membership (it was headed by Dr. A.A. Brill, Freud's translator) and it played an important role in fostering the historical appreciation of film-- the imptus for the Museum of Modern Art film dept. basically came out of the NBR circle. It's been an obscure organization of upper west side socialites for half a century, though, there's no reason except mindless tradition when anyone pays it any attention now.

Posted by le corbeau at December 7, 2006 11:17 AM

comment #10

joe says ...

Mgmax,

It was Page, not Paige, Cook that you are thinking of as the critic who wrote about film composers in "Films in Review." He died sometime around 2003, I believe. I remember reading him, because he was one of the few critics who wrote specifically about film scores. He was very controversial, but at least he took film music seriously.

Posted by joe at December 7, 2006 12:55 PM

comment #11