Critics Choice Awards Film Voters Guide: Memorable Moments and a Pivotal Year

In 2003 at the eighth annual Critics Choice Awards, there were three in the actor race: Jack Nicholson for “About Schmidt,” Daniel Day-Lewis for “Gangs of New York” and Robin Williams for “One Hour Photo.” There was a tie — between Nicholson and Day-Lewis — but Williams ended up stealing the show when Nicholson invited him on stage. “Robin would you come up and would you give the funniest acceptance speech I ever gave?” Nicholson inquired. Williams then launched into a lengthy “speech” that had stars from Renée Zellweger to Nicole Kidman howling and was praised by the media.

It remains a standout moment in the organization’s long history and a personal favorite of Joey Berlin, CEO of the Critics Choice Assn. (CCA), who has served as executive producer on every Critics Choice Awards broadcast since its inception with the film awards in 1995; TV awards began in 2011. Now, the Critics Choice Awards find themselves at a crossroads. With the Golden Globe Awards’ future up in the air after NBC canceled the 2022 telecast, the CCAs have set Jan. 9 to air their 27th annual Critics Choice Awards from the Fairmont Century Plaza, simulcast on the CW and TBS. (The Globes have said they will go forward, but it remains unknown in what form it will take.)

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As the Critics Choice Awards embark on a pivotal year, Variety takes a look at the organization behind it and what to expect from the upcoming show.

The Dates
The Jan. 9 broadcast of the Critics Choice Awards will cover both film and television, though they have different submission deadlines. Also setting them apart — the TV side requires formal submissions but the film side does not. They also have different dates for announcing their nominations: TV noms were announced Dec. 6 while the film noms will be announced Dec. 13. Asked about putting a week between announcements. Berlin says, “Two days of announcing nominees is two days of publicity for the show instead of one, giving all the nominees a little more exposure.”

In addition, he notes, “film nominees go later to make sure that late arriving films like ‘West Side Story’ and ‘Nightmare Alley’ can be seen by all film branch members before they vote in the first round.”

This is a great remedy to a problem many groups have encountered in the past, when films didn’t screen in enough time for voters to consider them. In fact, on two occasions the CCA put a film on the ballot after the deadline: “Cast Away” in 2000 and “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” in 2015. (Side note: “Cast Away” also received a special award for Wilson the Volleyball in the category of best inanimate object.)

The remainder of the balloting process will be combined. Final votes are due at 9 p.m. PT Jan. 7, just in time for the Jan. 9 show.

The Voters
Originally called the Broadcast Film Critics Assn. (BFCA), the group was founded in 1995 and began presenting the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards in 1996. The CCA was formed in 2019 with a merger of the BFCA and the Broadcast Television Journalists Assn. Over the years, the group has grown from its initial roster of less than 50 voters.

“With almost 500 members, the CCA is unique because it is a large and diverse national voting group, representing every major market around the U.S. and Canada and many smaller markets, and it is composed of working professional film and television critics and reporters whose job it is to cover new films and shows,” says Berlin. “While the Oscars and Emmys are voted on by people who make films and shows, the Critics Choice Awards are also valued by their recipients because they reflect the collective opinion of people who watch films and shows for a living.”

According to the CCA website, qualifications to join require prospective members to be “professional film critics or entertainment journalists whose coverage is available on a regular basis to a wide audience.” It notes that “online critics must be the primary critic on their site” and that “radio film critics must be heard in N.Y./L.A. or at least five markets in addition to their primary radio station.” The CCA considers new members every year and employs a full-time membership director. The list of current members is available on its website at criticschoice.com.

The Differences
Though the CCA clearly has nothing against populist entertainment, having critics as voters can mean smaller films and overlooked performances snag recognition. The first awards show, held in 1996, recognized two lead performances that failed to receive Oscar nominations: Kevin Bacon for “Murder in the First” and Nicole Kidman for “To Die For.”

There are many other examples. In 2013, the awards were the only televised program to nominate Ann Dowd for “Compliance”; the following year, they recognized Robert Redford for his turn in “All Is Lost.” And in 2018, they gave nods to performances from Patrick Stewart in “Logan,” Tiffany Haddish for “Girls Trip” and Jake Gyllenhaal for “Stronger” — three standout turns that failed to earn recognition elsewhere. That year also saw both Michael Stuhlbarg and Armie Hammer nominated in the supporting actor category for “Call Me by Your Name,” though neither made the Academy cut.

The Categories
The Critics Choice Awards boast more film categories — often each with more nominees — than any other televised awards show. Their 21 categories include the obvious — best picture, actor, etc. — but they also include categories that you would only find on the Oscars: score, editing, ensemble, visual effects, production design, costume design, song and cinematography. Like the SAG Awards — but unlike the Oscars — they have an ensemble category. And unlike any other show, they include noms for comedy and young actor/actress. The latter category gave the show a viral moment earlier this year when then-8-year-old “Minari” star Alan Kim won and delivered a tearful acceptance speech.

In the past, the Critics Choice Awards also recognized action, horror and sci-fi fantasy movies along with acting categories for each genre, but those have now been incorporated into the Critics Choice Super Awards, which launched this year.

Memorable Moments
Perhaps because of the smaller voting body, there have been several ties in the past — which always proves to be fun. In addition to the Nicholson/Day-Lewis tie, there was a tie between Glenn Close and Lady Gaga for actress in 2019 — a moment Gaga called a “tremendous honor” in her speech.

Perhaps the most memorable tie occurred in 2010 when actress winners Meryl Streep (“Julie & Julia”) and Sandra Bullock (“The Blind Side”) shared the honor.

Streep gave her acceptance speech first and then presenter Bradley Cooper announced Bullock, who took the stage and jokingly circled Streep before declaring: “This is bull—-!” The two then shared a surprise kiss and hugged before Bullock went on to give her speech.

When asked for other standout moments, Berlin says, “There have been so many highlights it’s hard to single out a few.” But he mentions Ben Affleck winning director and best picture for “Argo” the same day “he was ‘snubbed’ by the Academy in the best director category.”

He also cites Leonardo DiCaprio introducing Bob Dylan to sing a tribute to Martin Scorsese, and “when Will Smith presented a special award to Muhammad Ali and Muhammad gave the crazy sign as Will was doing his Ali impression.”

And who didn’t adore the time Dakota Fanning won for young actor/actress and Orlando Bloom had to hold her up so she could be seen over the podium? “She didn’t stop, even as Orlando was straining to not drop her.”

The Party
Another moment Berlin cites is “when the cast of ‘The Irishman’ got giddy on stage after winning best ensemble,” which may be a good summary of the atmosphere in the room. While past broadcasts have been professional, there also seems to be an air of joy and celebration.

Another factor that sets them apart is CCA members are invited to the ceremony and they sit among the nominees. Says Berlin, “To make a great awards show, it has to be fun for the talent. The Critics Choice Awards has always had comfortable table seating with friends, with booze on the tables, open bar before during and after, and plenty of mingling opportunities. It’s like a camp reunion for the stars, since so many of them have worked together through the years, and they know our members since they’ve done so many interviews together through the years.”

With a new spotlight on the CCA, here’s hoping the latest show retains that sense of fun. Berlin believes it will.

“It’s a party atmosphere, since we’re all there to celebrate the best of the best,” he says. “And this year there’s a whole new level of reverie since all the big companies are bringing their big after parties to the Fairmont Century Plaza on Jan. 9. The Critics Choice Awards is clearly going to be the party of the year.”

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