This is a short reaction, mostly because the Sunset Circle Awards are included in Red Carpet Rosters not because they are an established regional critics association (they’re not) but because the principal voting members put out Oscar predictions that I rely on to generate pre-draft rankings (Erick Weber’s Awards Ace and Sasha Stone’s Awards Daily.) The second reason is these awards are slightly more mainstream and make a nice addition to the quirkiness of Matchup #1 being so documentary and independent film heavy, giving teams who drafted more mainstream films, cast, and crew at least a fighting chance. This is especially true this year because the Satellite Awards nominations were postponed right out of Matchup #1 and into Matchup #2.
Now I’m beginning to wonder my justification for including the Sunset Circle Awards is longer than my actual reaction. Meh, so what if it is?
Tár is the big winner
Tár went a perfect five for five win to nomination ratio. Tár is a fine film, and wins in Picture, Actress (Cate Blanchett), Director and Screenplay (Todd Field), and Cinematography (Florian Hoffmeister) will happen throughout the season, but maybe not at the same ceremony like it did here. Tár is a character study that also delves into the complexities (or lack thereof) of the so-called cancel culture. Twitter is often to blame for cancel culture, so it’s not surprising that Tár struck a particular chord with this body of voters, who are frequent contributors to the informative, albeit toxic, Film Twitter corner. (Red Carpet Rosters relies on Twitter because sometimes it’s the only source of ceremony announcements, both points and the dates they’re announced.) After all, who gets “cancelled” the most if it’s not entertainers? Tár will also strike a chord with other voting bodies as we all try to navigate from everything being black and white to everything being shades of gray, whether it be dark gray or light gray.
From a fantasy perspective, four of these five should be in starting lineups throughout the year, especially because they were all early round draft picks. The fifth?…
Florian Hoffmeister is a worthy waiver add
I’ve said it before in a previous post that Florian Hoffmeister can fill a void in your CIN/EDIT slot. The win here over Roger Deakins (Empire of Light) and Grieg Fraser (The Batman) will indicate that, but I’m willing to bet that by season’s end, the latter two will score more points. However, if you’re iffy about your CIN/EDIT slot, you can do worse than Hoffmeister.
Austin Butler wins Best Actor
I’m not saying this is a surprise, but anyone with Austin Butler has to be relieved that he can at least steal a few wins away from Brendan Fraser, this one being the first. I know I’m very bullish on Brendan Fraser, seemingly ignoring the snub from Indie Spirit Awards and no wins heretofore while wins went to Danielle Deadwyler (Gothams, who have genderless acting categories) and now Austin Butler. I’ll reassess when New York Film Critics Circle announce their winners on December 2, the last day of Matchup #1. For now, managers owning Austin Butler should enjoy the bonus point.
Runners-Up don’t get points, but how did Nope not get runner-up for Best Horror?
I can understand X getting Best Horror. I might’ve voted for it myself if given the opportunity, but Nope just solidified the status of Jordan Peele being our latest master of horror. The Black Phone is a fine film and Ethan Hawke is amazing in everything he’s in, including this, but I need a lot of convincing how it’s a better film than Nope. To each his own opinion, and that’s the beauty of film, but…well…c’mon!
Speaking of runners-up, they don’t get points if they were already previously nominated. The Rules Committee might take this on in the off-season, perhaps awarding half points for runners-up. If no nominations were previously announce, and the ceremony awards a runner-up prize, those players will get points, but the fact that the Sunset Circle Awards had already announced their nominations, no bonus points for runners-up.
Are X, Nope, and The Black Phone worthy of waiver adds? Probably not. They’ll get a couple points here and there for ceremonies that honor Best Horror, but that’s it. The Horror bias is real not just for Oscars.
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