NBR names "Letters from Iwo Jima" Best Picture of the Year
And so it begins...
National Board of Review names 'Iwo Jima' best film
First award in kudos race goes to Eastwood epic
By VARIETY STAFFClint Eastwood's "Letters From Iwo Jima" has won the National Board of Review's top prize, taking home the first award in the kudos race for 2006.
The top 10 from the National Board of Review:
"Letters From Iwo Jima""Babel"
"Blood Diamond"
"The Departed"
"The Devil Wears Prada"
"Flags Of Our Fathers"
"The History Boys"
"Little Miss Sunshine"
"Notes on a Scandal"
"The Painted Veil"
The rest of the awards:
Best Film: LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
Best Director: MARTIN SCORSESE, The Departed
Best Actor: FOREST WHITAKER, The Last King of Scotland
Best Actress: HELEN MIRREN, The Queen
Best Supporting Actor: DJIMON HOUNSOU, Blood Diamond
Best Supporting Actress: CATHERINE O'HARA, For Your Consideration
Best Foreign Film: VOLVER
Best Documentary: AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH
Best Animated Feature: CARS
Best Ensemble Cast: THE DEPARTED
Breakthrough Performance by an Actor: RYAN GOSLING, Half Nelson
Breakthrough Performance by an Actress: (2)
JENNIFER HUDSON, Dreamgirls and RINKO KIKUCHI, Babel
Best Directorial Debut: JASON REITMAN, Thank You for Smoking
Best Original Screenplay: ZACH HELM, Stranger Than Fiction
Best Adapted Screenplay: RON NYSWANER, The Painted Veil
Top Five Foreign Films:
VOLVER
(and, in alphabetical order)
CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER
DAYS OF GLORY
PAN'S LABYRINTH
WATER
Top Five Documentary Films
AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH
(and, in alphabetical order)
51 BIRCH STREET
IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS
SHUT UP & SING
WORDPLAY
Top Independent Films
(in alphabetical order)
AKEELAH AND THE BEE
BOBBY
CATCH A FIRE
COPYING BEETHOVEN
A GUIDE TO RECOGNIZING YOUR SAINTS
HALF NELSON
THE ILLUSIONIST
LONESOME JIM
SHERRYBABY
10 ITEMS OR LESS
THANK YOU FOR SMOKING
Career Achievement - ELI WALLACH
Billy Wilder Award for Excellence in Directing - JONATHAN DEMME
Career Achievement in Producing - IRWIN WINKLER
William K. Everson Film History Award - DONALD KRIM
The BVLGARI Award for NBR Freedom of Expression - WATER and WORLD TRADE CENTER
Now the question is this. Can "Flags of Our Fathers" and "Letters from Iwo Jima" both be nominated for Best Picture.
ITEMS OF NOTE REGARDING NBR 2006
Comments
Strange... no Dreamgirls OR The Queen on their list -- seemed like they would go for those. Also, with two entries in the top ten, Best Director should've gone to Eastwood but it's Scorsese -- which is a good thing. Might turn out similarly at the Oscars.
Posted by: sid![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.incontention.com/nav-commenters.gif)
| December 6, 2006 12:21 PM
it's all happening...
Posted by: eraserhead![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.incontention.com/nav-commenters.gif)
| December 6, 2006 12:27 PM
So does this go to the theory that Dreamgirls is not as strong for Best Picture as people think, that people are just "in the closet" about saying so?
Posted by: Paul8148![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.incontention.com/nav-commenters.gif)
| December 6, 2006 12:29 PM
So Kris, when are you going to put Babel back in your top 5?
Clearly this film isnt going to be ignored. You gave it 4 stars and a rave review. Why isnt it on your Best Picture list?
Posted by: Mongoose![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.incontention.com/nav-commenters.gif)
| December 6, 2006 12:30 PM
Kris, do you think this poses a problem before the studio as far as the campaign is concerned -- which of the two films to back? Or should they put all their weight behind IWO JIMA now?
Posted by: sid![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.incontention.com/nav-commenters.gif)
| December 6, 2006 12:35 PM
They have not been whole-heartedly pushing The Departed for random reasons that I won't go into here, but with Blood Diamond on the list, that might be the fuel Alan Horn needs to keep the Oscar hopes alive on that stinker. They'll be stretched even thinner at the end of the day. Or, maybe they'll snap out of it and show the film with the expediency it deserves.
Posted by: Kristopher Tapley![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.incontention.com/nav-commenters.gif)
| December 6, 2006 12:39 PM
Blood Dimonds makes the Babel love/hate looks small.
By the way how is the voting for Best Director? Do Clint split votes between both movies?
Posted by: Paul8148![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.incontention.com/nav-commenters.gif)
| December 6, 2006 12:44 PM
WTF Blood Diamond? such a dissapointing film!, Hounsou's performance was good, but such a wrong screenplay ruined his character IMO, this helps Volver a little, now that it seems "The Lives of Others" is getting momentum, but the NBR did not see the film...
The Devil Wears Prada?
The History Boys?
Blood Diamond?
one of the worst top 10 lists ever IMO, but I'm telling you... Babel has not been ignored by a single precursor yet...
Posted by: CarlinhosBrown![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.incontention.com/nav-commenters.gif)
| December 6, 2006 12:58 PM
I liked your predictions a lot more than the actual list Kris.
People shouldn't get so worked up over NBR, let's see what the Globes do first. But Oscar has a mind of its own.
This is a great sign for Iwo Jima, I wouldn't put stock in anything else. (Although I fear the hideous Devil Wears Prada will haunt us all season long.)
Posted by: Geoff![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.incontention.com/nav-commenters.gif)
| December 6, 2006 01:04 PM
I don't want to see Eastwood winning again. I would make myself hate him.
I want The Queen or The Departed to win.
Posted by: Mr. Daho![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.incontention.com/nav-commenters.gif)
| December 6, 2006 01:35 PM
I thought foreign-language films were typically excluded from NBR's Top 10 list? Did they suddenly decide to make an exception here? Or am I mistaken?
Posted by: John Y![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.incontention.com/nav-commenters.gif)
| December 6, 2006 02:28 PM
"The Devil Wears Prada"
What a brave choice. I actually loved the film a lot and I think it is the best comedy I've seen this year.
Posted by: numberina![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.incontention.com/nav-commenters.gif)
| December 6, 2006 03:24 PM
One can't fault them for being boring.
Posted by: Gerard Kennedy![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.incontention.com/nav-commenters.gif)
| December 6, 2006 04:55 PM