Monday, May 12, 2008

YAY!! I got to interview C.D. Nilsson!!

I interviewed C.D. Nilsson on 5/9 :) here's how it went down.

-So, what qualifies you to start an awards ceremony?
::Wow, you just get right into it, don't you? [we laugh] I've always been into filmmaking and have independently studied it for a while. I mean, I just started the awards, it was just a little thing between friends and I can't believe how much it has grown. I think how well-rounded my experience is in the industry qualifies me as a judge alone, but the entire awards committee has many more experienced personnel on it.

-How did you pick the committee?
::It really started as a sort of a really small thing. The committee really has just evolved, people recommending others, me having to screen everyone [he sighs] sometimes it I think that I am just blessed by some people who are on it.

-Can you name some people on the committee for me?
::I'm sorry to make this entire interview so drab, but those names are confidential. I decided when it started expanding to keep it private, a lot of the people agreed, saying that they don't want anyone campaigning and they don't want to be recognized for any work they do. They really are just in it for the love of film. Of course, they have complete freedom to let anyone know that they, personally are on the committee, and I will endorse that, but most people think the same, it is easier without people knowing.

-Anything new for the 2009 awards?
::Oh, I am looking forward to those! The committee is so divrse that we are starting to think that we are qualified enough to decide for other categories, so I am very excited to announce our new ones!

-Can we get a list?
::I was getting to that! [we laugh] The new category for film is an honorary award (which may change) called the Best Artistic Film.

-Artistic film? Like "Art Direction" [(another category)]
::More like a Best Picture award, but for an art film. It is unlike Best Foreign Film and Best Independent Film by the way that the nominated films can also win Best Picture.

-So what else?
::We are adding a Television section. The categories include: Best Comedy, Best Drama, Best Actor in a Comedy, Best Actress in a Comedy, Best Actor in a Drama, Best Actress in a Drama, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Reality Gameshow, Best Host, Best Daytime Talkshow, Best Nightime Talkshow, Best Cinematography, Best Music, and so many others. Most of these will be from network channels (ABC, CBS, NBC, CW, FOX) but also some cable channels, (though these are limited, FX, USA, Bravo, TNT).

-Wow that's a lot of new stuff! How do you plan to monitor everything?
::I mean that's not even it! We are adding music categories: Best R&B Album, Best R&B Artist(s), Best R&B Single, Best Country Album, Best Country Artist(s), Best Country Single, Best Rock/Metal Album, Best Rock/Metal Artist(s), Best Rock/Metal Single, Best Misc. Album, Best Misc. Artist(s), Best Misc. Single, Best Music Video, Best New Artist, and others. But to get back to your question [we laugh] it is all just like for film. I and a group of about five others create a list of films to be considered in the categories, these are usually confirmed by critics and stuff [(you can read below post about the process)]... It really comes down to the committee.

-So, you have a busy schedule, but I really just wanted to ask what is next for you OUTSIDE the awards?
::Actually I am still writing, which is taking a lot of my time. I am just juggling tasks and hoping everything works out.




It was great to talk to him and learn more about what is to come. He promised me more interviews in the future....

Saturday, May 10, 2008

History of the Awards

These awards began in 2001 by Curtis Dunn (C.D. Nilsson). Not much is known about the awards, being so new, but Curtis Dunn is a well-known movie reviewer. The awards have only been announced through mailing lists in the past and by word of mouth. Now, however, I have been chosen, by Mr. Nilsson, to announce the awards on this page! I hope to buy a domain and to start making this a larger event. Curtis plans to start broadcasting on radio, mainly in the state of CT within the next couple of years. Also, 2010 will mark the first year for him to choose the best in television.

"We like to make it more artistic than most. A lot of the time this means rooting for the underdogs."

Curtis Dunn was quoted, talking about what was different from his awards from the Academy Awards or Golden Globes.

"Many people have asked me what happened in nomination and selection. For the past couple of years this has been a secretive process, but I would like others to know about the fairness and notability of our awards."

He also reacts to some speculations about why he created the awards. He explains how the nominations were originally by a small group of avid movie-goers, tight companions and fellow reviewers, who chose the nominations. It now also depends on what other more "mainstream" movie critics say about the movies.

"We basically take a LONG list of movies and watch the ones that relate to each category. For example, if multiple critics say that "Movie A" has bad acting, we may skip over that movie."

Many awards ceremonies announce there nominees before Curtis, this helps the team narrow down who makes the cut. After that, a larger, more broad arrangement of critics and normal people count as 75% of the vote to who wins. The other 25% is back to the committee to review what big name critics say about the movies chosen for nomination. After that Curtis Dunn organizes these and then announces them through mailing lists and some small-town magazines.

C.D. Nilsson hopes to expand upon the awards and become more well-known within the next ten years.

Monday, May 5, 2008

Curtis Dunn's Top 10 Films of this Year (unrelated to Nilsson Awards)

1. There Will Be Blood
2. Atonement
3. The Savages
4. La Vie En Rose
5. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
6. I'm Not There
7. Juno
8. Into the Wild
9. No Country for Old Men
10. Gone Baby Gone

Honorable Mentions:
Ratatouille
Once
Away from Her
Charlie Wilson's War
The Kite Runner
Eastern Promises
Michael Clayton

5th Annual Nilsson Awards Breakdown

8/11 Babel
2/6 Pan's Labyrinth
2/2 Cars
1/6 The Queen
1/5 Dreamgirls
1/3 The Pursuit of Happyness
1/2 The Devil Wears Prada
1/2 The Last King of Scotland
0/7 The Departed
0/6 Little Miss Sunshine
0/3 Happy Feet
0/3 Little Children
0/3 Notes on a Scandal
0/3 United 93
0/2 Apocalypto
0/2 Letters From Iwo Jima
0/2 Volver
0/1 An Inconvenient Truth
0/1 Blood Diamond
0/1 Half Nelson
0/1 Maria Antionette
0/1 Monster House
0/1 Music and Lyrics
0/1 Venus

Most Wins: Babel (8)
Most Nominations: Babel (11)
Highest Nomination to Win Ratio (with more than one win and three nominations): Babel (8:11)
Lowest Nomination to Win Ratio (with more than one win and three nominations): The Queen (1:6)
Most Nominations Without a Single Win: The Departed (7)

Sunday, May 4, 2008

2007 5th Annual Nilsson Awards Nominees and Winners have been disclosed!!

The following nominees were chosen sometime in late January of 2007. The winners were announced in early March, but the nominees were not published until this year, by C.D. Nilsson. So here are the nominees... (winners are starred [(*)])


Best Film:
Babel (*)
The Departed
The Last King of Scotland
Little Miss Sunshine
The Queen

Best Director:
Clint Eastwood - Letters from Iwo Jima
Stephen Frears - The Queen
Alejandro González Iñárritu - Babel (*)
Paul Greengrass - United 93
Martin Scorsese - The Departed

Best Actor:
Leonardo DiCaprio - The Departed
Ryan Gosling - Half Nelson
Peter O'Toole - Venus
Will Smith - The Pursuit of Happyness
Forest Whitaker - The Last King of Scotland (*)

Best Actress:
Penélope Cruz - Volver
Judi Dench - Notes on a Scandal
Helen Mirren - The Queen (*)
Toni Collette - Little Miss Sunshine
Kate Winslet - Little Children

Best Supporting Actor:
Alan Arkin - Little Miss Sunshine
Jackie Earle Haley - Little Children
Djimon Hounsou - Blood Diamond
Brad Pitt - Babel (*)
Mark Wahlberg - The Departed

Best Supporting Actress:
Adriana Barraza - Babel
Cate Blanchett - Notes on a Scandal
Abigail Breslin - Little Miss Sunshine
Emily Blunt - The Devil Wears Prada
Rinko Kikuchi - Babel (*)

Best Screenplay:
Babel - Guillermo Arriaga (*)
The Departed - William Monahan
Little Children - Todd Field, Tom Perrotta
Notes on a Scandal - Patrick Marber
The Queen - Peter Morgan

Best Animated Feature:
Cars (*)
Happy Feet
Monster House

Best Foreign Language Film:
Apocalypto - Mel Gibson
Letters from Iwo Jima - Clint Eastwood
Babel - Alejandro González Iñárritu (*)
Pan's Labyrinth - Guillermo del Toro
Volver - Pedro Almodóvar

Best Cast:
Babel (*)
Little Miss Sunshine
United 93

Best Cinematography:
Babel (*)
The Departed
Little Miss Sunshine
Pan's Labyrinth
United 93

Best Original Score:
Babel - Gustavo Santaolalla (*)
Pan's Labyrinth - Javier Navarrete
The Queen - Alexandre Desplat

Best Costume Design
Pan's Labyrinth - Alex Angulo
The Devil Wears Prada - Patricia Field (*)
Dreamgirls - Sharen Davis
Marie Antoinette - Milena Canonero
The Queen - Consolata Boyle

Best Art Direction
Babel
Dreamgirls
Pan's Labyrinth (*)

Best Make-Up and Hair
Apocalypto
Dreamgirls
Pan's Labyrinth (*)

Best Original Song
"I Need to Wake Up" - An Inconvenient Truth
"Song of the Heart" - Happy Feet
"A Father's Way" - The Pursuit of Happyness (*)

Best Original Soundtrack
Dreamgirls (*)
Happy Feet
Music and Lyrics

Best Compiled Soundtrack
Cars (*)
The Departed
The Pursuit of Happyness

Breakthrough Artist Award:
Jennifer Hudson - Dreamgirls

Young Artist Award:
Jaden Smith - The Pursuit of Happyness

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