GoldbergBlog

While his new notoriety makes a direct sequel nearly impossible, you may see Borat one last time in the least likely of places: the awards circuit.

Critics groups are now beginning to unleash their year-end lists. For those wondering how they could before the year is over, keep in mind that they see films up to months in advance of the release date. Personally, I’ve seen The Pursuit of Happyness and Eragon which won’t hit until Friday; The Painted Veil, which won’t hit NY/LA till the 20th; Notes on a Scandal, which gets a limited release on December 27th; and finally Pan’s Labyrinth which hits on December 29th (although I caught that last one through luck and not a press screening). And yes, seeing movies for free before you is AWESOME.

But back to the awards season, it kicks off when critics societies give their year-end lists.

First, Sascha Baron Cohen tied with Forest Whitaker (Last King of Scotland, which I keep kicking myself for not seeing yet) for Best Actor with the the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.

Then, the New York Film Critics Circle gave Cohen a runner-up position next to Ryan Gosling (Half-Nelson, which I hear is great for his performance and lousy for everything else) with the winner being Whitaker.

And on Tuesday, the San Francisco Film Critics Circle award Cohen Best Actor.

Tomorrow morning will have the announcement for the Golden Globes, the last big indicator of the Oscar nominations. Since the Globes divide Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Actress into comedy/musical and dramas, listen for Cohen’s name.

This all means that when the Oscar nominations are announced on January 23rd, Borat will become an Oscar nominated film (I’d also bet on a Best Original Screenplay nomination, as little sense as that makes). Granted, I don’t think Borat will win anything, but if I was an Academy voter, I’d vote Borat not only because of Cohen’s performance, but because you want people to tune in for the telecast and having the star of the year’s highest-grossing comedy certainly can’t hurt that.

I’ll be sure to say “I told you so” on January 23rd or look incredibly foolish, which isn’t that out of the ordinary for me anyway.

Tags: movies //