The BFCA in the digital age

I don't necessarily try to mask my overriding disdain of the Broadcast Film Critics Associations, whose organizational votes make up the Critics Choice Awards. There's not enough criteria to be a member, they favor "blurb criticism" over actual thoughtful digestion ("Top Notch Action!" "Incredibly Hilarious!" ... or, quotes from DVD covers). And their awards ceremony has, for the past 15 years, been kind of a pale imitator of the Golden Globes with a greater sense of "eh, who really cares?"

But Variety's Jaime Netzer has written a great feature on the pro's and con's of the organization -- why people hate them, but why their influence matters so much; why they have a populist bent and whether or not they're actively challenging that perception.

You can read the whole article here.

If members of the BFCA provide more widely palatable advice to consumers, their nominations for 2010 don't necessarily reveal a more populist bent than their print peers, or voters within the Hollywood guilds for that matter. "The Social Network," which has topped more domestic critics' lists than any film thus far -- including those of the willfully erudite Los Angeles Film Critics Assn. and the New York Film Critics Circle -- is among the BFCA's five most nominated films, with nine nods, including best picture.

Nor does box office seem to come into play, with specialty releases "The Black Swan" (approaching $50 million in domestic b.o.) and "The King's Speech" ($24 million), leading the pack with 12 and 11 nominations, respectively ("True Grit" also touts 11 noms), going head to head with blockbusters like "Inception" ($292.6; 10 noms) and "Toy Story 3" ($415; five noms) in the top categories. "Winter's Bone," a micro-budgeted indie that has grossed just more than $6 million to date, is also in the running for best picture.