O'Neil goes on the attack

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Yesterday I suggested that standard Gurus of Gold and the Envelope Oscar-season predictions "should be given minor attention until at least the passing of Thanksgiving," and that the prognosticators should "spend the next seven or eight weeks primarily championing the right movies and the right stuff, and not in some elitist, off-in-their-own-realm Village Voice sense of that term." In response, The Envelope's Tom O'Neil is half-seriously suggesting that "the Film Snob Moonies have kidnapped Jeffrey Wells over at Hollywood-Elsewhere.com and put a hex on him." Go figure. I was mainly saying that for the next eight weeks everyone should double-track -- keep on with the blah-blah Academy predictions if they have to (i.e., if O'Neil and David Poland insist), but between now and 12.1 they should mainly push the year's best according to their own core passions.

comment #1

MiraJeffAICN says ...

Kind of an arbitrary date, no? What happens on 12.1? Why don't you and Poland put your differences aside and join the chart, if only to provide a voice of reason. I mean, you are a Guru, are you not? Won't it ultimately benefit Poland's chart, and get you to stop posting negative things about it. Sounds like it'd be a win-win for all parties if you guys could just agree to disagree... Just saying, give peace a chance, boys. All in the name of better, more honest discourse.

comment #2

BurmaShave says ...

I was going to say yesterday that you should exempt Tom O'Neill from this because he's a sick sick man and we love him for it.

comment #3

gruver1 says ...

I stopped Guru-ing with Poland's gang sometime in early '06. I got sick of it. I was an Enveloper last year. There are no exclusive memberships this year...the L.A. Times has let all that go.

comment #4

Crow T Robot says ...

The O'Neil piece is hilarious. He's so right on.

You should be proud, Wells. If you weren't a Film Snob like us, you'd probably be a Film Cynic or even worse, a Film Poser.

comment #5

Pinko Punko says ...

I think I get what J was saying- the point is people are starting to talk about who they think will WIN so early, it isn't even about who they think SHOULD be nominated, just who WILL be nominated. At some point the entire process will become a self-fulfilling prophecy, and I expect nominations to get worse not better as we go along.

comment #6

Hallick says ...

"but between now and 12.1 they should mainly push the year's best according to their own core passions."

12.1.2297

(Don't forget the year, Jeff)

comment #7

corey3rd says ...

"There is no such thing as a best picture of the year, after all."

Really? I think Smokey and the Bandit proves that wrong.

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