On Sunday, members of the Indiana Film Journalists Association (myself included), gathered over lunch at Mesh on Mass Ave. to passinately argue the merits of 2010 films.
The end game: Add our voice to the list of Best Of awards being announced around this time of year.
After the discusson, each filled out a weighted ballot, with the results tabulated and converted into a press release--which already has gotten coverage on blogs and websites across the country. The process is a fun, honest one. And it's great to debate with other arts writers (even if they like "Inception" a bit too much for my taste).
While we're not the only organization that has picked "The Social Network" as the year's best film (Actually, I thnk all of them have so far), attention is being given by other media to our selection of "How To Train Your Dragon" as Best Animated Film over "Toy Story 3" and "Tangled."
Does our say have any impact? Some seem to believe that these early announcements do help sway who is in the Oscar field. Beyond that, though, our year-end statement should help bring more film screenings here. And the selection of the Hoosier Award could gain some attention for the Indiana-shot "Paradise Recovered" and its writer/producer Andie Redwine.
Whatever the effect, here is the list. Just remember: These are the picks by the IFJA. I'll over my own 2010 favorites in next week's IBJ.
Best Film of the Year
Winner: "The Social Network"
Runner-up: "Inception"
Other Finalists: "127 Hours," "Black Swan," "Exit Through the Gift Shop," "The Fighter," "Never Let Me Go," "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World," "True Grit," "Winter's Bone"
Best Animated Film
Winner: "How to Train Your Dragon"
Runner-up: "Toy Story 3"
Best Foreign Language Film
Winner: "Lebanon"
Runner-up: "Biutiful"
Best Documentary
Winner: "Exit Through the Gift Shop"
Runner-up: "The Tillman Story"
Best Screenplay
Winner: Aaron Sorkin, "The Social Network"
Runner-up: Christopher Nolan, "Inception"
Best Director
Winner: Christopher Nolan, "Inception"
Runner-up: Debra Granik, "Winter's Bone"
Best Actress
Winner: Natalie Portman, "Black Swan"
Runner-up: Jennifer Lawrence, "Winter's Bone"
Best Supporting Actress
Winner: Hailee Steinfeld, "True Grit"
Runner-up: Melissa Leo, "The Fighter"
Best Actor
Winner: James Franco, "127 Hours"
Runner-up: Jesse Eisenberg, "The Social Network"
Best Supporting Actor
Winner: Christian Bale, "The Fighter"
Runner-up: John Hawkes, "Winter's Bone"
Original Vision Award
Winner: "Inception"
Runner-up: "127 Hours"
The Hoosier Award
Winner: Andie Redwine, writer/producer of "Paradise Recovered"
About IFJA: The Indiana Film Journalists Association was established in February 2009 with six founding members, and has since expanded its roster to 11. Members must reside in the Hoosier State and produce consistent, quality film criticism or commentary in any medium.
Members:
Bob Bloom, Lafayette Journal & Courier
Caine Gardner, Greencastle Banner-Graphic, The Film Yap.com
Eric Harris, Canneltoncritic.com, The Perry County News
Lou Harry, Indianapolis Business Journal
Ed Johnson-Ott, NUVO Newsweekly
Christopher Lloyd, The Film Yap.com, The Current
Richard Propes, The Independent Critic.com
Nick Rogers, Suite101.com, The Film Yap.com
Joe Shearer, The Film Yap.com, Indy.com
Matthew Socey, WFYI
Gina Wagner, IndyMojo.com / HauntedFlower.com
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Sometimes the studios arrange for press-only screenings. Or they supply DVD screeners. There's also the chance of seeing films at festivals in other cities. And when all else fails, some of the critics may journey to Chicago or elsewhere to catch films not yet shown in Indy.
We abstain from categories where we don't feel we've seen enough of the films that our fellow journalists are getting behind (as I did this year with Best Foreign Film).
Hope that helps,
Lou