Film Critic Groups Forming Consensus

Today is the first day members of the Academy can begin casting a vote for their favorite films, actors, directors, writers, and film crews to receive Oscar nominations, which is shockingly less than three weeks away. In a perfect world, each member would be well-versed of many of this year's films and vote on quality and nothing else. But of course they will undoubtedly have their favorites and biases as well as been exposed to the input from other groups like the American Film Institute, the Screen Actors Guild, the Hollywood Foreign Press, and the many, many critic groups that have so far chimed in. Before taking a break for the Christmas holiday, 27 critic groups picked their winners and like most years, the consensus trend is unfortunate and real.

Below is a simple tally of critic wins a film or actor has gotten the past few weeks. Those with asterisks won an award from the National Board of Review. Winners of the New York Film Critics Circle (NYFCC), Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA), and Boston Society of Film Critics (BSFC) are also noted below due to their status slightly being more prestigious. Others listed which don't have wins include those nominated by the BFCA, SAG, or other relevant groups.

BEST PICTURE

• 12 Years A Slave - 20 (BSFC)
• Her* - 4 (LAFCA)
• Gravity - 2 (LAFCA)
• American Hustle - 1 (NYFCC)
• Inside Llewyn Davis - 1
• Nebraska
• The Wolf of Wall Street
• Captain Phillips
• Saving Mr. Banks
• Philomena
• Dallas Buyers Club
• Fruitvale Station

BEST DIRECTOR

• Alfonso Cuarón - 15 (LAFCA)
• Steve McQueen - 13 (NYFCC, BSFC)
• Spike Jonze*
• David O. Russell
• Paul Greengrass
• Martin Scorsese
• Alexander Payne

BEST ACTOR

• Chiwetel Ejiofor - 16 (BSFC)
• Matthew McConaughey - 6
• Oscar Isaac - 2
• Bruce Dern* - 1 (LAFCA)
• Robert Redford - 1 (NYFCC)
• Forest Whitaker - 1
• Tom Hanks
• Christian Bale
• Joaquin Phoenix
• Leonardo DiCaprio

BEST ACTRESS

• Cate Blanchett - 17 (NYFCC, LAFCA, BSFC)
• Sandra Bullock - 3
• Adèle Exarchopoulos - 3 (LAFCA)
• Brie Larson - 3
• Emma Thompson* - 1
• Meryl Streep - 1
• Judi Dench
• Amy Adams
• Julie Delpy

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

• Jared Leto - 21 (NYFCC, LAFCA)
• Michael Fassbender - 2
• James Franco - 2 (LAFCA)
• Barkahd Abdi - 1
• James Gandolfini - 1 (BSFC)
• Bill Nighy - 1
• Daniel Brühl
• Bradley Cooper
• Will Forte*

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• Lupita Nyong'o - 17 (LAFCA)
• Jennifer Lawrence - 5 (NYFCC)
• Scarlett Johansson - 2
• June Squibb - 1 (BSFC)
• Oprah Winfrey - 1
• Shailene Woodley - 1
• Julia Roberts
• Octavia Spencer*
• Sally Hawkins

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

• Her - 14
• American Hustle - 4 (NYFCC)
• Nebraska - 1
• Enough Said - 1 (BSFC)
• The World's End - 1
• Inside Llewyn Davis*
• Blue Jasmine

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

• 12 Years A Slave - 15
• Before Midnight - 5 (LAFCA)
• The Wolf of Wall Street*
• Philomena
• August: Osage County
• Captain Phillips

BEST ANIMATED FILM

• Frozen - 17
• The Wind Rises* - 7 (NYFCC, BSFC)
• Despicable Me 2 - 1
• Ernest & Celestine - 1 (LAFCA)
• The Croods
• Monsters University

The most important thing to remember is that Academy members are not critics and vice versa. While it's likely that we'll be seeing a lot of the same names come Oscar nomination morning, it is never 100%. I just wished that this year bucked the consensus trend and that the various groups had spread the love more since their individualistic championing is their best asset to awards season as a whole. I'll post a final and complete list of critic groups prior to the Critics Choice Awards, which as it turns out, takes place on the night of Oscar nominations!