If the cineastes like it, it has a shot at Oscar

Sometime this morning in New York City, a group with a bureaucratic-sounding title -- the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures -- will unveil its annual list of top films, actors and director, officially setting in motion Hollywood’s months-long awards season. The next couple of weeks will see L.A. and New York critics’ picks, as well as Golden Globe nominations, among numerous other kudos, which reach their apex with the 75th annual Academy Awards on March 23.

Ask most passersby on the street whether they know what the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures is, and chances are they’ll scratch their heads and give up. But in Tinseltown, this rarefied group of about 150 East Coast cineastes that includes film historians, educators, authors, retired film professionals and film students is better known, and its choices are eagerly anticipated.

Not only do the board’s selections provide the first litmus test of the Oscar worthiness of a year’s worth of movies, but the honors also give marketing departments a boost for their Oscar campaigns.

“I’ve never seen anyone trying to ride a National Board of Review award to the Oscar, but it is confirmation to your staff and the filmmakers that this is a battle worth fighting,” said James Schamus, president of Focus Features. “For us, they provide a more level playing field because people who choose these awards tend to be people who really love movies and make decisions before gadzillions of marketing dollars have kicked in” for Oscar campaigning.

Last year at this time, no one was sure if director Baz Luhrmann’s expressionistic musical “Moulin Rouge” had what it took to be a serious Oscar contender, given the fact that musicals were long considered a dead movie genre. But the National Board of Review named “Moulin Rouge” its best film of 2001, and 20th Century Fox, through aggressive publicity and marketing, saw the film garner a fistful of Oscar nominations, including best picture.

Similarly, Halle Berry, who would capture the best actress Oscar for her portrayal of a woman who falls in love with a prison guard who oversaw her husband’s execution in “Monster’s Ball,” saw her chances improve when she was first named best actress by the Board of Review.

“It’s the first small stone thrown in the pond,” said Peter Herbst, Premiere magazine’s editor in chief. “It has ripples. People begin to think about films. There may be films that maybe we haven’t been thinking about seriously. ‘Auto Focus’ or ‘The Rookie’ or ‘Minority Report’ or ‘Spider-Man.’ ... The Board of Review will introduce a sleeper or two.”

Among the bigger films often mentioned this year as best picture candidates are “Gangs of New York,” “Chicago” and “The Hours,” but the Board of Review could just as easily pick a smaller film like “Far From Heaven” or “Antwone Fisher.”

“There may be a film like ‘About Schmidt,’ which is a wonderful film, but it requires commitment from the viewer,” Herbst said. “What they can do is take a film that we haven’t been thinking about that much and elevate it to award status.”

To be sure, the board has had an uneven record as an Oscar prognosticator. In 2000, for example, it chose as best picture “Quills,” Fox Searchlight’s outrageous exploration of the life and philosophy of the notorious Marquis de Sade. For the Oscars, it scored nominations in a few categories, but not for picture. “Gladiator” won the Academy Award.

Previously, the board had selected “American Beauty,” “Gods and Monsters” and “L.A. Confidential” as its top films. Only 1999’s “American Beauty” went on to win the best picture Oscar.

Last year, the board chose Billy Bob Thornton as best actor for a trio of performances, including “Monster’s Ball,” but he wasn’t even nominated by the academy. The best actor Oscar went to Denzel Washington for “Training Day.”