The war between Disney and the Los Angeles Times — two of Hollywood’s biggest powerhouses — is forcing others to take sides, with implications that could be as far-reaching as the Oscars.
Disney, unhappy with a Los Angeles Times article about the company’s operations in Anaheim, banned Times film critics from press screenings of its movies. Other outlets’ film critics, including The New York Times on Tuesday, have declared that, in opposition to this sort of punitive action and in solidarity with the Times, they will not attend advance screenings of Disney films until Times critics are invited, as well. Also on Tuesday, four of the most prominent organizations of film critics — the National Society of Film Critics, the New York Film Critics Circle, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the Boston Society of Film Critics — jointly announced that they will not consider Disney films for their year-end awards unless and until the studio drops its blacklisting of the Times.
Now people are wondering: Will the two most prominent awards ceremonies hosted by critics and entertainment journalists — the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s Golden Globe Awards and the Broadcast Film Critics Association and Broadcast Television Journalist Association’s Critics’ Choice Awards — be the next to slap back at Disney? And could the cumulative effect of all of this ultimately impact the studio’s showing at the Oscars?
This season, Disney’s awards division is mounting campaigns for its live-action remake Beauty and the Beast, its high-profile sequels Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Cars 3, its animated short Lou (which was attached to Cars 3) and its animated feature Coco. Star Wars: The Last Jedi could, conceivably, also wind up getting a push.
A blackout of advance reviews of Disney films would only effect Coco and Star Wars: The Last Jedi — the other titles have already been released — and those are both films that will do fine commercially with or without the support of critics. But an awards-blacklisting of Disney titles could prove a bigger problem for the company.
Disney officials probably won’t lose sleep over the four critics groups that say they will refuse to consider the company’s titles for awards. But if the HFPA joins the boycott, it could deprive Beauty and the Beast of likely Golden Globe nominations…
The post Disney-Film Critics Standoff: How It Could Impact the Oscar Race appeared first on FeedBox.