Skandiewrap, or More Than You Wanted to Know

So here's something that I'm fairly confident is unprecedented: Our choice for Best Picture does not appear among the top 50 (!) films in Indiewire's annual critics' poll. Because Indiewire opted not to publish individual ballots, there's no way to determine whether their decidedly weird results (likewise MIA, just naming titles from the Skandies top 20: A Quiet Passion, Faces Places, The Lost City of Z, Brawl in Cell Block 99, On the Beach at Night Alone, Wormwood; all of these appeared in the Voice poll's top 50) are the result of the bizarro ballot system they introduced this year, which offered a pull-down menu for anticipated contenders and a ludicrously complicated write-in option for anything else (which is to say, for 95% of my own picks). My guess, though, is that there weren't any significant tabulation errors—that it's just a matter of Indiewire having invited so damn many critics (and "critics," frankly) that they've homogenized the outcome. Any given poll or survey inevitably reflects the collective sensibility of its August Voting Body. Certainly always been true of this one.

The subject is on my mind right now because the 2017 Skandies are the most dude-heavy in its history, which is saying a lot. Two of the three women currently on the roster abstained from category voting this year (one of them did contribute star ratings), saying they just hadn't seen enough notable films. That's a fluke, and both intend to return...but there were only three women to begin with, vs. some 30 men, and that's not a fluke. It reflects the heavy gender imbalance that existed on the USENET group rec.arts.movies.current-films back in the mid-1990's, when I began this survey and recruited the core group that votes in it. There just weren't many women engaged in passionate online debate about movies then, for whatever reason. (At least, there weren't many who identified as women—several of the early Skandie voters were known to me only by pseudonyms.) In any case, the survey started out as the collective opinion of a bunch of mostly white¹ dudes who were then, on average, in their twenties. And so it's pretty much remained...except, of course, that we're now, on average, in our forties. (You can find a complete list of voters over the years in an appendix at the very bottom of this endless post.)

Should I endeavor to correct that? If the Skandies had any significant profile, I'd feel an obligation to do so. (And in fact, I have made efforts to recruit more women over the years, though the attrition rate has been high. Not sure whether that's because women are less interested in assigning precise numerical values to films and performances, or whether they're just more likely than the core guy group to, y'know, acquire lives. Or to already be quite busy, as was the case with Ms. Mesquida.) But this is fundamentally a group of friends, most of whom have been interacting for the better part of two decades now. I've always tried to inject a little fresh blood, just to keep things interesting, but recruitment has slowed way, way down in recent years, largely because most of the people I'd want to invite already take part in various other critics' polls. The original idea was to assemble a bunch of passionate amateur cinephiles. A number of us have since become professional film critics, but I wasn't seeking out pros, and I'm still not. It's likely that we peaked some years ago, membership-wise, and will gradually lose people until it no longer makes sense to keep it going (or until I kick). Still, I'll continue to keep an eye out for worthy candidates. Feel free to flag me down if you're interested, so long as you don't already vote in the Indiewire poll/Voice poll/Muriels/local crix group/whatever.

(Incidentally, if you are a working critic and have wondered why I haven't invited you, that's probably the reason. Unless you're an idiot. In that case, it's also because you're an idiot.)

Anyway, all of that to say that one should keep the makeup of the AVB firmly in mind when perusing Skandie results. Despite digging Lady Bird enough to place it 12th in Picture and 4th in Screenplay, for example, we have Gerwig way down at #22 in Director. I don't believe that reflects male-dominated animus toward female filmmakers per se—Maren Ade, Kirsten Johnson, Kelly Reichardt, Jennifer Kent, Kathryn Bigelow, Julia Loktev, Claire Denis, Debra Granik and others have placed highly in recent years—but one could credibly argue that it does reflect a male-dominated sensibility regarding what constitutes superlative direction, and that Gerwig might well have fared better were there more female voters. Calibrate accordingly.

Okay, on to the number-crunching. (Many of you will want to check out at this point.) (Assuming you didn't check out long ago, that is.) (Which seems like a fair assumption, because otherwise how could you have read that sentence?) (Anyway.) What follows are the stats I used to send out to voters (via snail mail!) back in the '90s, which I still maintain for my own obsessive amusement.

1 Though I actually didn't know anyone's ethnic background when I invited them, apart from some surnames that seemed likely to be Asian. At least two of the original voters were black, for example, but I didn't discover that until I met them in person. It was kind of ideal, really. Not that I wasn't still exhibiting bias in choosing candidates, but it was primarily bias regarding opinions and arguments. Even then, I invited a bunch of folks with whom I frequently disagreed, because they were obviously smart and knowledgeable.
^↩

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HIGHEST AVERAGE RATING (1996–2017)
(includes only films receiving a minimum of ten votes)

01. 3.65 The Sweet Hereafter (1997)
02. 3.61 Being John Malkovich (1999)
03. 3.61 A Separation (2011)
04. 3.58 Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (1996)
05. 3.57 In the Company of Men (1997)
06. 3.56 Secrets & Lies (1996)
07. 3.53 La Promesse (1997)
08. 3.52 Yi Yi (A One and a Two…) (2000)
09. 3.50 From the Journals of Jean Seberg (1996)
10. 3.49 Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

It's nearly impossible for new films to make this list, due to a significant uptick in voter stinginess with high ratings since the '90s. Here's how it looks for the decade to date:

01. 3.61 A Separation (2011)
02. 3.49 Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
03. 3.48 Margaret (2011)
04. 3.46 Nocturama (2017)
04. 3.46 Phantom Thread (2017)
06. 3.45 The Tree of Life (2011)
07. 3.43 Certified Copy (2011)
08. 3.41 Holy Motors (2012)
09. 3.41 O.J.: Made in America (2016)
10. 3.40 House of Pleasures (2011)

Helluva year, 2011. (Also, the exact tie between Nocturama and Phantom Thread inspired me to check and see whether Being John Malkovich and A Separation were really tied for 2nd all-time. Nope—that was just rounding. I've accordingly moved Farhadi's film into 3rd.)

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LOWEST AVERAGE RATING (1996–2017)
(includes only films receiving a minimum of five votes)

01. 0.20 Date Movie (2006)
01. 0.20 America (2014)
03. 0.50 Collateral Beauty (2016)
04. 0.58 Miss March (2009)
05. 0.60 Dragonfly (2002)
05. 0.60 The Last Face (2017)
07. 0.61 The Roommate (2011)
08. 0.67 3000 Miles to Graceland (2001)
09. 0.67 The Human Centipede III (Final Sequence) (2015)
10. 0.70 Beastly (2011)
10. 0.70 Left Behind (2014)

Congratulations to Sean Penn, the first person to place a film both in Best Picture and on this list.

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MOST DIVISIVE FILMS (2017)
(std. deviation >= 0.75; minimum 2 votes 3.5 or higher, 2 votes 1.5 or lower)

Dawson City: Frozen Time (1.03)

My Life as a Zucchini (0.84)

A Ghost Story (0.80)

mother! (0.75)

Was not expecting the year's two most divisive films to be a documentary about (literally) found footage and a perfectly inoffensive cartoon. (Didn't see Dawson City, so I'm not sure why the avant-garde contingent is so mad at it. Don't they usually like Morrison?) As usual, some films didn't quite qualify despite having a high standard deviation due to a single rogue hater, e.g. Victor giving zero stars to The Florida Project. 

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BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT
(lowest-ranked film seen by at least 75% of respondents)

1996: Twister (1.80)
1997: The Lost World: Jurassic Park (2.33)
1998: He Got Game (2.59)
1999: Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (2.18)
2000: Nurse Betty (2.31)
2001: Vanilla Sky (2.20)
2002: Storytelling (2.03)
2003: The Matrix Reloaded (2.29)
2004: The Village (2.30)
2005: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2.49)
2006: Little Miss Sunshine (2.52)
2007: Ocean's Thirteen (2.52)
2008: Milk (2.83)
2009: The Hangover (2.35)
2010: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2.71)
2011: Midnight in Paris (2.47)
2012: Beasts of the Southern Wild (2.37)
2013: American Hustle (2.50)
2014: Birdman, or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2.44)
2015: While We're Young (2.67)
2016: Knight of Cups (2.52)
2017: The Shape of Water (2.48)

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PASSIONATE MINORITY AWARD
(lowest average among top 20 films in Picture voting)

1996: Dead Man (2.94)
1997: Crash (2.52)
1998: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (2.68)
1999: The End of the Affair (2.96)
2000: Requiem for a Dream (2.73)
2001: Amélie (2.71)
2002: 8 Women (2.79)
2003: The Good Thief (2.81)
2004: I ♥ Huckabees (2.84)
2005: Oldboy (2.68)
2006: Manderlay (2.69)
2007: Once (2.79)
2008: Funny Games (2.83)
2009: A Serious Man (2.83)
2010: The Exploding Girl (2.75)
2011: Shame (2.63)
2012: Damsels in Distress (2.76)
2013: Spring Breakers (2.72)
2014: Goodbye to Language (2.64)
2015: The Assassin (2.73)
2016: Knight of Cups (2.52)
2017: Downsizing (2.50)

I'd been waiting over 20 years for a film to beat Crash's record for the lowest average ever—that's Cronenberg's Crash, not Haggis'—and it's finally happened. The record has been downsized!

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DAMNED WITH FAINT PRAISE
(highest-ranked film by average rating not to place in Picture voting [10+ voters] )

1996: Get on the Bus (3.29)
1997: Forgotten Silver (3.36)
1998: The Kingdom II (3.14)
1999: My Name Is Joe (3.18)
2000: Erin Brockovich (3.14)
2001: No Man’s Land (3.19)
2002: Roger Dodger (3.14)
2003: The Weather Underground (3.18)
2004: Bright Leaves (3.16)
2005: Howl's Moving Castle (3.15)
2006: The Devil and Daniel Johnston (3.18)
2007: The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (3.25)
2008: The Duchess of Langeais (3.20)
2009: Night and Day (3.07)
2010: Another Year (3.21)
2011: Senna (3.07)
2012: The Imposter (3.10)
2013: Drug War (3.17)
2014: National Gallery (3.25)
2015: The Look of Silence (3.28)
2016: I Am Not Your Negro (3.18)
2017: Ex Libris (3.06)

Increasingly, this "honor" goes to a documentary—six times out of the last seven years, with Wiseman (who's never placed a film in the top 20; missed by just three points this year) taking it twice. The highest-rated fiction film that missed was Coco (3.04), with The Meyerowitz Stories (also 3.04, rounded) right behind. Also of note: high averages for the barely-seen Dina (3.33), God's Own Country (3.10), Sallittist fave Mister Universo (3.10), The Blackcoat's Daughter (3.08), and The Work (3.08).

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DAMN THE REVIEWS, FULL SPEED AHEAD
(lowest average among films seen by at least 10 respondents)

1996: Twister (1.80)
1997: Batman & Robin (1.28)
1998: The Avengers | Stepmom [tie] (1.50)
1999: Jawbreaker (1.14)
2000: Pay It Forward (1.41)
2001: Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (1.26)
2002: Scooby-Doo (1.08)
2003: Bad Boys II (1.60)
2004: Exorcist: The Beginning (1.21)
2005: Undead (1.29)
2006: The Hills Have Eyes (1.65)
2007: Smokin' Aces (1.64)
2008: Jumper (1.54)
2009: Gigantic (1.00)
2010: The Last Airbender (1.05)
2011: Vanishing on 7th Street (1.55)
2012: This Means War (1.50)
2013: Gangster Squad (1.29)
2014: That Awkward Moment (1.45)
2015: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (1.79)
2016: Zoolander 2 (1.60)
2017: The Assignment (1.77)

Understandable that few wanted to skip a new Walter Hill joint, but this was not his finest hour.

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SELECTION COMMITTEE ON CRACK
(lowest average for a film that screened at the New York Film Festival)
(post-expansion: Main Slate only)

1996: Flirt (2.20)
1997: Kiss or Kill (1.79)
1998: Voyage to the Beginning of the World (1.80)
1999: Dogma (1.89)
2000: Before Night Falls (2.31)
2001: La Ciénaga (1.95)
2002: In Praise of Love (1.95)
2003: Chi-Hwa-Seon: Painted Fire (2.19)
2004: Free Radicals (2.08)
2005: Palindromes (2.15)
2006: Rolling Family (1.83)
2007: The Go Master (1.93)
2008: Married Life (2.25)
2009: The Windmill Movie (2.13)
2010: Hereafter (2.05)
2011: We Are What We Are (1.64)
2012: Hyde Park on Hudson (1.69)
2013: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1.92)
2014: Child of God (2.00)
2015: The Princess of France (2.42)
2016: Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (2.10)
2017: My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea (1.96)

Dash Shaw's animated snarkfest would make the Most Divisive list based on standard deviation (0.78), but nobody rated it highly.

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ALONE AGAIN (NATURALLY)
(suggested by Alex Fung; lowest average for a film that received a 4-star rating

1996: The Stupids (2.30) | Bryan “Frankenseuss” Theiss (ret.)
1997: Kissed (2.46) | Alex Fung
1998: Psycho (2.11) | Erik Gregersen (ret.)
1999: Twin Falls Idaho (2.28) | Milton Lawson (ret.)
2000: Beautiful People (2.29) | Keith Collins (ret.)
2001: The Road Home (1.88) | Erik Gregersen (ret.)
2002: In Praise of Love (1.95) | Jeremy Heilman
2003: Gigli (1.92) | Jeremy Heilman
2004: The Passion of the Christ (2.18) | Victor J. Morton
2005: The Brothers Grimm (2.29) | Bilge Ebiri
2006: The Fountain (2.21) | Peter Reiher (ret.)
2007: Southland Tales (1.88) | Dave Cowen; Jeremy Heilman
2008: Jellyfish (2.36) | Daniel Waters
2009: 12 (2.29) | Bilge Ebiri
2010: Somewhere (2.41) | Nictate (ret.)
2011: A Serbian Film (1.81) | Daniel Waters
2012: Alps (2.43) | Don Marks
2013: Maniac (2.50) | Jeremy Heilman
2014: Vic + Flo Saw a Bear (2.43) | Victor J. Morton
2015: The Tribe (2.43) | Daniel Waters
2016: Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (2.10) | Jeremy Heilman
2017: Song to Song (2.24) | Jeremy Heilman

Congratulations to Jeremy for his record-extending sixth victory in this category, including three of the past five years.

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MAJOR FESTIVAL PRIZE WINNERS: OUR VERDICT

Cannes Palme d'Or

1995: Underground (#15, 1997)
1996: Secrets & Lies (#2, 1996)
1997: Taste of Cherry (#15, 1998)
1997: The Eel (did not place)
1998: Eternity and a Day (did not place)
1999: Rosetta (did not place)
2000: Dancer in the Dark (#10, 2000)
2001: The Son's Room (did not place)
2002: The Pianist (did not place)
2003: Elephant (did not place)
2004: Fahrenheit 9/11 (did not place)
2005: L'Enfant (The Child) (#6, 2006)
2006: The Wind That Shakes the Barley (did not place)
2007: 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (#1, 2008)
2008: The Class (did not place)
2009: The White Ribbon (did not place)
2010: Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (#9, 2011)
2011: The Tree of Life (#1, 2011)
2012: Amour (#6, 2012)
2013: Blue Is the Warmest Color (#8, 2013)
2014: Winter Sleep (#15, 2014)
2015: Dheepan (did not place)
2016: I, Daniel Blake (did not place)
2017: The Square (did not place)

Venice Golden Lion

1995: Cyclo (#14, 1996)
1996: Michael Collins (did not place)
1997: Fireworks (Hana-Bi) (#5, 1998)
1998: The Way We Laughed (N/A, not theatrically released during window of eligibility)
1999: Not One Less (did not place)
2000: The Circle (did not place)
2001: Monsoon Wedding (did not place)
2002: The Magdalene Sisters (did not place)
2003: The Return (did not place)
2004: Vera Drake (#6, 2004)
2005: Brokeback Mountain (#3, 2005)
2006: Still Life (#18, 2008)
2007: Lust, Caution (did not place)
2008: The Wrestler (#13, 2008)
2009: Lebanon (did not place)
2010: Somewhere (did not place)
2011: Faust (did not place)
2012: Pieta (did not place)
2013: Sacro GRA (N/A, not theatrically released during window of eligibility)
2014: A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (did not place)
2015: From Afar (did not place)
2016: The Woman Who Left (did not place)
2017: The Shape of Water (did not place)

Sundance Grand Jury (Dramatic)

1995: The Brothers McMullen (did not place)
1996: Welcome to the Dollhouse (did not place)
1997: Sunday (did not place)
1998: Slam (did not place)
1999: Three Seasons (did not place)
2000: Girlfight (did not place)
2000: You Can Count on Me (#3, 2000)
2001: The Believer (did not place)
2002: Personal Velocity (did not place)
2003: American Splendor (#20, 2003)
2004: Primer (#10, 2004)
2005: Forty Shades of Blue (did not place)
2006: Quinceañera (did not place)
2007: Padre Nuestro (did not place)
2008: Frozen River (did not place)
2009: Precious (Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire) (did not place)
2010: Winter's Bone (#2, 2010)
2011: Like Crazy (did not place)
2012: Beasts of the Southern Wild (did not place)
2013: Fruitvale Station (did not place)
2014: Whiplash (#20, 2014)
2015: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (did not place)
2016: The Birth of a Nation (did not place)
2017: I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore (N/A, unlikely to ever be eligible)

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Most Appearances in Top 20 (Actors)
(ties for number of appearances broken by average placement)

01. Philip Seymour Hoffman (15)

1s. The Master
3s. Charlie Wilson's War
5. Capote
6. Synecdoche, New York
6s. The Talented Mr. Ripley
6s. Almost Famous
10s. Magnolia
10s. 25th Hour
11. Doubt
12. Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
12s. State and Main
15s. Happiness
15. Owning Mahowny
18. A Most Wanted Man
19s. Mission: Impossible III

02. Isabelle Huppert (14)

1. Elle
2. The Piano Teacher
2s. 8 Women
4. Gabrielle
8. Abuse of Weakness
8. The School of Flesh
8. Things to Come
12. White Material
13s. I ♥ Huckabees
13s. Amour
15. La Cérémonie
17. Time of the Wolf
17. In Another Country
19. Home

03. Tilda Swinton (14)

1. Julia
4s. Michael Clayton
4s. Snowpiercer
5. The Deep End
5. We Need to Talk About Kevin
7. Only Lovers Left Alive
9s. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
11. I Am Love
12s. Burn After Reading
13s. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
14. A Bigger Splash
18. Female Perversions
19s. Thumbsucker
19s. Trainwreck

04. Nicole Kidman (10)

2. Eyes Wide Shut
2. Dogville
2. Margot at the Wedding
6. Moulin Rouge!
9. The Others
9. The Hours
11. Birth
15s. The Killing of a Sacred Deer
16. Rabbit Hole
18. Birthday Girl

(Was also an Actress nominee for To Die For in 1995, when the survey employed Oscar-style voting.)

05. Kate Winslet (10)

3. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
8. Titanic
9. Jude
9s. Steve Jobs
10. Revolutionary Road
10s. Quills
12. Little Children
13. Holy Smoke
16s. Hamlet
17. Hideous Kinky

(Was also a Supporting Actress nominee for Sense and Sensibility in 1995, when the survey employed Oscar-style voting.)

Kidman moves into fourth place, knocking out Julianne Moore.

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Most Films Landed in Top 20 (Directors)
(again, ties broken by average placement)

01. Joel [& Ethan] Coen (9)

1. Inside Llewyn Davis
2. No Country for Old Men
4. O Brother, Where Art Thou?
5. The Man Who Wasn't There
6. Fargo
7. A Serious Man
11. Burn After Reading
12. The Big Lebowski
12. True Grit

Did not place: Intolerable Cruelty; The Ladykillers; Paris je t'aime [segment]; Hail, Caesar!
Ineligible: Everything prior to Fargo; To Each His Own Cinema [segment]

02. Richard Linklater (8)

3. Before Sunset
3. Boyhood
4. Before Midnight
7. Everybody Wants Some!!
9. The School of Rock
12. A Scanner Darkly
15. Waking Life
18. Bernie

Did not place: subUrbia; The Newton Boys; Tape; Bad News Bears; Fast Food Nation; Me and Orson Welles; Last Flag Flying
Ineligible: Everything prior to subUrbia; Inning by Inning: A Portrait of a Coach

03. Paul Thomas Anderson (7)

1. There Will Be Blood
2. Phantom Thread
4. The Master
7. Inherent Vice
7. Magnolia
8. Boogie Nights
8. Punch-Drunk Love

Did not place: Hard Eight
Ineligible: Junun

04. Martin Scorsese (7)

1. The Departed
2. The Wolf of Wall Street
4. Silence
7. Kundun
9. Gangs of New York
14. Shutter Island
19. Hugo

Did not place: Bringing Out the Dead; The Aviator; Shine a Light; Public Speaking; Living in the Material World
Ineligible: Everything prior to Kundun; My Voyage to Italy; The Concert for New York City [segment]; Lady by the Sea: The Statue of Liberty; A Letter to Elia; The 50 Year Argument

05. Christopher Nolan (7)

2. The Prestige
3. Memento
5. The Dark Knight
13. Inception
14. Dunkirk
18. Interstellar
19. Batman Begins

Did not place: Following; Insomnia; The Dark Knight Rises
Ineligible: Nothing

PTA and Nolan (re)join the list, knocking out (for the moment) Von Trier and Tarantino. Linklater had a chance to tie the Coens this year with nine total appearances, but made one of his weakest films.

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Where Are They Now?

New category! Actors who've had at least two appearances in the top 20, but haven't made the cut in the past ten years. We used to like them. What happened? (Actors who die will be removed a year following their last eligible performance. See John Hurt below.)

Note: The two-nod minimum, which is meant to keep this list manageable (as there are many, many actors who've shown up only once, most of them in no way notable), also eliminates some very big names one might expect to be here. Both De Niro and Pacino, for example, have made the cut just one time, way back in 1997 (for Jackie Brown and Donnie Brasco, respectively).

Each actor's most recent Skandie appearance is in [brackets]. New additions are in bold. (Technically, they're all new additions this year, but boldface names last made the top 20 in 2007.)

• Joan Allen [2005: The Upside of Anger]

• Daniel Auteuil [2005: Caché (Hidden)]

• Alec Baldwin [2006: The Departed]

• Eric Bana [2005: Munich]

• Sacha Baron Cohen [2006: Borat + Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby]

• Kathy Bates [2002: About Schmidt]

• Thora Birch [2001: Ghost World]

• Helena Bonham Carter [2007: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street]

• Steve Buscemi [2001: Ghost World]

• Michael Cera [2007: Superbad + Juno]

• Don Cheadle [1998: Out of Sight]

• Maggie Cheung [2006: Clean]

• Julie Christie [2007: Away From Her]

• Patricia Clarkson [2005: The Dying Gaul]

• Toni Collette [2002: About a Boy + The Hours]

• Jennifer Connelly [2003: House of Sand and Fog]

• Paddy Considine [2005: My Summer of Love]

• Chris Cooper [2007: Breach]

• Kevin Costner [2005: The Upside of Anger]

• Brian Cox [2002: 25th Hour]

• James Cromwell [1997: L.A. Confidential]

• Tom Cruise [2004: Collateral]

• Joan Cusack [2003: The School of Rock]

• John Cusack [2000: High Fidelity]

• Claire Danes [2005: Shopgirl]

• Jean-Pierre Darroussin [2004: Red Lights]

• Hope Davis [2003: The Secret Lives of Dentists + American Splendor]

• Judy Davis [1998: Celebrity]

• Johnny Depp [2003: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl + Once Upon a Time in Mexico]

• Zooey Deschanel [2006: Failure to Launch]

• Cameron Diaz [2001: Vanilla Sky]

• Illeana Douglas [1996: Grace of My Heart]

• Minnie Driver [1997: Grosse Pointe Blank + Good Will Hunting]

• Robert Duvall [2003: Open Range]

• Bridget Fonda [1998: A Simple Plan]

• Jodie Foster [2002: Panic Room]

• Morgan Freeman [2004: Million Dollar Baby]

• Jennifer Garner [2007: Juno]

• Paul Giamatti [2006: Lady in the Water]

• Olivier Gourmet [2003: The Son]

• Pascal Greggory [2006: Gabrielle]

• Maggie Gyllenhaal [2006: Sherrybaby + Stranger Than Fiction]

• Marcia Gay Harden [2003: Mystic River]

• Ed Harris [2005: A History of Violence]

• Ian Holm [2002: Esther Kahn]

• John Hurt [2004: Dogville] {so he'll be removed next year; was in The Journey this year}

• Danny Huston [2004: Birth]

• Catherine Keener [2007: Into the Wild]

• Val Kilmer [2005: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang]

• Greg Kinnear [2002: Auto Focus]

• Jude Law [2004: I ♥ Huckabees]

• Valérie Lemercier [2007: Avenue Montaigne]

• Tony Leung [2005: 2046]

• Laura Linney [2007: The Savages]

• Sergi López [2006: Pan's Labyrinth]

• Kelly Macdonald [2007: No Country for Old Men]

• Tobey Maguire [2002: Spider-Man]

• Rose McGowan [2007: Grindhouse]

• Ian McKellen [2001: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring]

• Helen Mirren [2006: The Queen]

• Alfred Molina [2004: Coffee and Cigarettes]

• David Morse [2003: The Slaughter Rule]

• Peter Mullan [2001: The Claim]

• Bill Murray [2004: The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou]

• Thandie Newton [2002: The Truth About Charlie]

• Jack Nicholson [2002: About Schmidt]

• Haley Joel Osment [2001: AI]

• Joe Pantoliano [2001: Memento]

• Rebecca Pidgeon [2000: State and Main]

• Sarah Polley [1999: Go]

• Christina Ricci [2007: Black Snake Moan]

• Campbell Scott [2003: The Secret Lives of Dentists]

• Chloë Sevigny [2000: American Psycho]

• Tony Shalhoub [2001: The Man Who Wasn't There]

• Shu Qi [2006: Three Times]

• Sissy Spacek [2001: In the Bedroom]

• Imelda Staunton [2007: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix]

• Hilary Swank [2004: Million Dollar Baby]

• Billy Bob Thornton [2003: Bad Santa]

• Maribel Verdú [2006: Pan's Labyrinth]

• Emily Watson [2002: Punch-Drunk Love]

• Sigourney Weaver [1999: A Map of the World]

• Forest Whitaker [2006: The Last King of Scotland]

• Tom Wilkinson [2007: Michael Clayton]

• Ray Winstone [2006: The Proposition + The Departed]

• Evan Rachel Wood [2006: Down in the Valley]

• Jeffrey Wright [2005: Broken Flowers]

• Steve Zahn [2007: Rescue Dawn]

• Renée Zellweger [2003: Cold Mountain + Down With Love]

---

And finally. Back when I started the survey, I remember looking forward to the time, a decade or so later (i.e. now), when there'd be tons of accumulated data to wade through. In particular, I was excited about the prospect of being able to compare how various films from major directors had been received over the years. Granted, that process isn't exactly definitive—the AVB has mutated over the years and even the diehards tend to be stingier with their star ratings than they were back in the mid-'90s. But perhaps my favorite task after receiving the averages is updating my Directors' Gallery, plugging this year's films into various post-'94 oeuvres. Here are the entries that saw additions this year—every filmmaker who's ever placed in the Director top 20. 2017 films are in bold. Numbers in parentheses indicate how the film placed in Best Picture that year, if applicable; if the film title is in parentheses that means it received fewer than 10 votes and hence the result is a bit less meaningful. N/A (not applicable) means it was eligible but didn't even get five votes and so didn't make the main list.

Tomas Alfredson

Let the Right One In (17): 2.96
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy: 2.61
(The Snowman): 0.92

Woody Allen

Everyone Says I Love You: 3.09
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (19): 2.98
Match Point (13): 2.93
Blue Jasmine (19): 2.82
Sweet and Lowdown: 2.63
Deconstructing Harry: 2.61
Café Society: 2.60
Cassandra's Dream: 2.60
Midnight in Paris: 2.47
Magic in the Moonlight: 2.47
Irrational Man: 2.46
Small Time Crooks: 2.37
The Curse of the Jade Scorpion: 2.33
To Rome With Love: 2.29
Scoop: 2.28
(Wonder Wheel): 2.25
Whatever Works: 2.24
Anything Else: 2.13
Hollywood Ending: 2.13
Celebrity: 2.04
Melinda and Melinda: 2.00
You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger: 1.93

Michael Almereyda

Experimenter: The Stanley Milgram Story (14): 3.02
Marjorie Prime: 3.00

Hamlet: 2.87

(This So-Called Disaster): 2.60

(Cymbeline): 2.32

Escapes: N/A

Paul Thomas Anderson

Phantom Thread (2): 3.46
There Will Be Blood (1): 3.46

Boogie Nights (8): 3.18

Magnolia (7): 3.17

The Master (4): 3.17

Punch-Drunk Love (8): 2.93
Hard Eight: 2.87

Inherent Vice (7): 2.81

Darren Aronofsky

mother! (6): 3.05
The Wrestler (13): 3.02
Black Swan (3): 2.97
Requiem for a Dream (15): 2.73
π : 2.65
Noah: 2.47
The Fountain: 2.21

Olivier Assayas

Irma Vep (5): 3.48
Summer Hours (3): 3.23
Carlos (6): 3.21
Clouds of Sils Maria (9): 3.16
Personal Shopper (5): 3.05
Late August, Early September: 2.88
Something in the Air: 2.82
Les Destinées: 2.79
Clean: 2.78
demonlover: 2.45
Boarding Gate: 2.35

Sean Baker

The Florida Project (8): 3.06
Tangerine: 2.75
Starlet: 2.71

Noah Baumbach

Frances Ha (3): 3.32
The Squid and the Whale (6): 3.21
The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected): 3.04
De Palma: 3.00
Mistress America (19): 2.94
Margot at the Wedding: 2.92
Greenberg: 2.84
Mr. Jealousy: 2.72
While We're Young: 2.67

Joe Berlinger

Paradise Lost (7): 3.58
Metallica: Some Kind of Monster: 3.06
(WHITEY: U.S.A. vs. James J. Bulger): 2.88
(Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory): 2.71
(Crude): 2.58
(Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2): 1.13
Hank: 5 Years From the Brink: N/A
Intent to Destroy: Death, Denial & Depiction: N/A
Tony Robbins: I Am Not Your Guru: N/A
Under African Skies: N/A

Kathryn Bigelow

The Hurt Locker (8): 3.18
Zero Dark Thirty (11): 3.07
Detroit: 2.73
K-19: The Widowmaker: 2.62
The Weight of Water: 2.05

Bertrand Bonello

Nocturama (1): 3.46
House of Pleasures (5): 3.40
Saint Laurent (13): 3.11

Bong Joon-ho

The Host: 3.19
Memories of Murder (9): 3.16
Mother (5): 3.11
Snowpiercer (13): 3.03
Okja: 2.73

Danny Boyle

Trainspotting (11): 3.19
Millions: 2.93
28 Days Later: 2.90
T2 Trainspotting: 2.82
127 Hours: 2.76
Sunshine: 2.74
Steve Jobs: 2.62
Slumdog Millionaire: 2.42
(A Life Less Ordinary): 2.22
The Beach: 2.08
(Trance): 1.88

Kenneth Branagh

Hamlet (9): 3.29
(A Midwinter's Tale): 2.83
(Cinderella): 2.75
Thor: 2.39
(Murder on the Orient Express): 2.11
Love's Labours Lost: 2.10
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit: 2.05
Sleuth: 1.40

Sofia Coppola

Lost in Translation (8): 3.04
The Virgin Suicides (19): 2.84
The Beguiled: 2.66
Marie Antoinette: 2.65
Somewhere: 2.41
The Bling Ring: 2.24

Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne

La Promesse (13): 3.53
Two Days, One Night (4): 3.35
L'Enfant (The Child) (6): 3.26
The Kid With a Bike (7): 3.18
The Son (6): 3.16
Lorna's Silence (11): 3.09
Rosetta: 2.89
The Unknown Girl: 2.75

Terence Davies

The House of Mirth (7): 3.29
The Deep Blue Sea (3): 3.25
A Quiet Passion (10): 2.98
(The Neon Bible): 2.83
Sunset Song: 2.50
Of Time and the City: 2.40

Guillermo Del Toro

Pan's Labyrinth (8): 2.95
Crimson Peak: 2.76
The Devil's Backbone: 2.66
Blade II: 2.63
Hellboy II: The Golden Army: 2.53
The Shape of Water: 2.48
Hellboy: 2.33
Pacific Rim: 2.18
Mimic: 2.06

Bruno Dumont

Hadewijch: 3.00

Flanders: 2.96

Slack Bay: 2.86

Camille Claudel 1915: 2.79

Humanité (13): 2.79

Li'l Quinquin: 2.79
Outside Satan: 2.60

Twentynine Palms: 2.42

(Life of Jesus): 2.19

Asghar Farhadi

A Separation (2): 3.61

The Past: 3.00

The Salesman (19): 2.96

James Gray

Two Lovers (12): 3.13

The Lost City of Z (18): 3.04

The Immigrant (19): 2.94

We Own the Night: 2.82

The Yards: 2.78

David Gordon Green

George Washington: 3.05
All the Real Girls (15): 2.93
Stronger: 2.88
Pineapple Express: 2.71
Joe: 2.69
(Manglehorn): 2.58
Undertow: 2.56
Snow Angels: 2.56
Prince Avalanche: 2.50
(Our Brand Is Crisis): 2.19
(The Sitter): 2.00
Your Highness: 1.89

Luca Guadagnino

Call Me by Your Name (3): 3.31
A Bigger Splash: 2.74
I Am Love: 2.71

Alain Guiraudie

Stranger by the Lake (5): 3.17
Staying Vertical (15): 3.02

Michael Haneke

Amour (6): 3.29
Caché (Hidden) (5): 3.21
Code Unknown (16): 3.15
Funny Games [1997] (16): 2.96
The Piano Teacher: 2.83
Funny Games [2008] (20): 2.83
Time of the Wolf: 2.79
The White Ribbon: 2.72
Happy End: 2.35

Todd Haynes

Far From Heaven (4): 3.37
Carol (2): 3.35
I'm Not There (10): 2.92
Wonderstruck: 2.47
Velvet Goldmine: 2.43

Werner Herzog

Grizzly Man (1): 3.40

(Little Dieter Needs to Fly): 3.10

Encounters at the End of the World: 3.09

The Bad Lieutenant—Port of Call: New Orleans: 2.91

My Best Fiend: 2.85

(The White Diamond): 2.83

Cave of Forgotten Dreams: 2.73

Rescue Dawn: 2.73

(Into the Inferno): 2.67

Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World: 2.66

Into the Abyss: A Tale of Death, a Tale of Life: 2.64

(Wheel of Time): 2.57

My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done: 2.53

(The Wild Blue Yonder): 2.25

Invincible: N/A
Queen of the Desert: N/A

Hong Sang-soo

Right Now, Wrong Then (11): 3.24

Woman on the Beach (13): 3.10

Night and Day: 3.07

The Day He Arrives: 3.05
On the Beach at Night Alone (16): 3.03

Oki's Movie: 2.88

In Another Country: 2.82

Woman Is the Future of Man: 2.79

Rian Johnson

Brick (7): 2.99
Looper (14): 2.95
The Brothers Bloom: 2.83
Star Wars: Episode VIII—The Last Jedi: 2.83

Hirokazu Kore-eda

After Life (13): 3.26

Still Walking (19): 3.11

Nobody Knows (18): 3.07
After the Storm: 3.00

(I Wish): 3.00

Our Little Sister: 2.92

Like Father, Like Son: 2.79

(Maborosi): 2.40

Yorgos Lanthimos

Dogtooth (1): 3.28
The Lobster (13): 3.02
The Killing of a Sacred Deer: 2.72
Alps: 2.43

Richard Linklater

Before Sunset (3): 3.43

Boyhood (3): 3.36

Before Midnight (4): 3.33

Everybody Wants Some!! (7): 3.23

The School of Rock (9): 3.16

A Scanner Darkly (12): 2.97

Waking Life (15): 2.86

Bernie (18): 2.85

Tape: 2.77

The Newton Boys: 2.75

Me and Orson Welles: 2.70

subUrbia: 2.63

Bad News Bears: 2.50
Last Flag Flying: 2.46

Fast Food Nation: 2.28

David Lowery

A Ghost Story (4): 2.98

Pete's Dragon: 2.81

Ain't Them Bodies Saints: 2.33

Alison Maclean

Jesus' Son (8): 3.00
(Persons of Interest): 2.33 [co-directed with Tobias Perse]
The Rehearsal: 2.15

Terrence Malick

The Tree of Life (1): 3.45

The New World (2): 3.14

The Thin Red Line (13): 2.95

Voyage of Time: 2.95

To the Wonder (9): 2.83

Knight of Cups (20): 2.52
Song to Song: 2.24

Takashi Miike

Audition (6): 3.22
13 Assassins: 3.03
Hara-kiri: Death of a Samurai: 2.80
Dead or Alive: 2.79
(Blade of the Immortal): 2.75
Ichi the Killer: 2.74
The Happiness of the Katakuris: 2.73
Gozu: 2.61
The City of Lost Souls: 2.56
Yakuza Apocalypse: 2.54
Sukiyaki Western Django: 2.32
The Great Yokai War: 2.25
(One Missed Call): 2.20
(DOA: Final): 2.17

Errol Morris

Fast, Cheap & out of Control (4): 3.42
The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons From the Life of Robert S. McNamara (11): 3.24
Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr.: 3.10
Tabloid: 3.00
Standard Operating Procedure: 2.98
Wormwood (17): 2.97
The Unknown Known: 2.64
(The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman's Portrait Photography): 2.56

Cristian Mungiu

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (1): 3.39
Graduation: 2.95
Beyond the Hills: 2.84

Christopher Nolan

The Prestige (2): 3.40
Memento (3): 3.31
The Dark Knight (5): 3.17
Dunkirk (14): 3.12

Insomnia: 2.92
Inception (13): 2.84
Interstellar (18): 2.83

Batman Begins (19): 2.81

The Dark Knight Rises: 2.63

(Following): 2.28

Ruben Östlund

Force Majeure (6): 3.18
The Square: 2.58

Alexander Payne

Election (6): 3.26
(Citizen Ruth): 3.22
Sideways (7): 3.05
About Schmidt (14): 2.97
Nebraska: 2.81
The Descendants: 2.68
Downsizing (20): 2.50

Josh Safdie & Benny Safdie

Heaven Knows What: 3.02
Good Time (9): 2.91
Daddy Longlegs: 2.25

Ridley Scott

Gladiator (20): 3.04
The Counselor: 2.91
The Martian: 2.89
Black Hawk Down (20): 2.78
Matchstick Men: 2.78
American Gangster: 2.50
Body of Lies: 2.50
All the Money in the World: 2.46
G.I. Jane: 2.42
Alien: Covenant: 2.39
Kingdom of Heaven: 2.33
Prometheus: 2.26
(White Squall): 2.22
(Exodus: Gods and Kings): 2.00
Hannibal: 1.94
(A Good Year): 1.93
Robin Hood: 1.91

Albert Serra

(Quixotic): 2.92
The Death of Louis XIV: 2.68
Birdsong: 2.59
(Story of My Death): 2.31

Steven Soderbergh

Out of Sight (1): 3.37
Traffic (5): 3.24
Erin Brockovich: 3.14
The Limey: 2.99
Contagion: 2.96
(Gray's Anatomy): 2.94
Ocean's Eleven: 2.93
The Informant!: 2.92
Solaris: 2.86
Haywire: 2.85
Logan Lucky: 2.77
And Everything Is Going Fine: 2.75
The Girlfriend Experience: 2.72
Magic Mike: 2.70
Schizopolis: 2.70
Bubble: 2.66
The Good German: 2.66
Full Frontal: 2.63
Side Effects: 2.59
Ocean's Thirteen: 2.52
Ocean's Twelve: 2.52
Che: 2.35

Steven Spielberg

Saving Private Ryan (8): 3.27
Minority Report: 2.92
AI (7): 2.91
Munich (14): 2.88
Lincoln (19): 2.86
Bridge of Spies: 2.85
Amistad: 2.83
War of the Worlds: 2.82
Catch Me if You Can: 2.79
War Horse: 2.79
The Adventures of Tintin: 2.78
The Post: 2.57
The BFG: 2.44
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: 2.39
The Lost World: Jurassic Park: 2.33
The Terminal: 2.10

Bertrand Tavernier

(Capitaine Conan) (12): 3.50
It All Starts Today: 2.93
(Safe Conduct): 2.83
(The French Minister): 2.58
The Princess of Montpensier: 2.53
My Journey Through French Cinema: N/A

Lee Unkrich

Toy Story 3 (9): 3.22
Coco: 3.04

Denis Villeneuve

Sicario (12): 3.09
Arrival: 2.88
Blade Runner 2049: 2.75
(Polytechnique): 2.71
Incendies: 2.67
Enemy: 2.43
Maelström: 2.29
Prisoners: 2.08

Thomas Vinterberg

The Celebration (14): 3.24
Far From the Madding Crowd: 2.79
The Hunt: 2.61
(The Commune): 2.60
Dear Wendy: 2.14
It's All About Love: 1.77

Edgar Wright

The World's End (20): 3.00
Shaun of the Dead: 2.90
Hot Fuzz: 2.89
Baby Driver: 2.72
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: 2.71

Joe Wright

Pride & Prejudice: 3.02
Atonement (20): 3.00
Hanna: 2.57
Anna Karenina: 2.56
Darkest Hour: 2.29
(The Soloist): 2.14
Pan: N/A

S. Craig Zahler

Bone Tomahawk: 3.18
Brawl in Cell Block 99 (11): 3.00

Zhang Yimou

Hero (5): 3.15
Not One Less: 3.03
House of Flying Daggers (20): 3.00
Curse of the Golden Flower: 2.65
Coming Home: 2.56
(Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles): 2.50
The Great Wall: 2.46
(Happy Times): 2.44
(The Flowers of War): 2.42
(A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop): 2.19
The Road Home: 1.88

---

APPENDIX: SEMI-COMPLETE LIST OF THE AUGUST VOTING BODY

This is everyone who's ever participated, going back to the inaugural Oscar-style poll of 1995. Some of them I know only by their online handles, and for all I know those very well could be women (though I doubt it). "Absent" means the voter didn't submit anything at all that year. (Sometimes people who just miss the deadline still get their star ratings included, as occurred with Froilan this year.) Everyone who's no longer around either explicitly retired or just failed to submit a ballot and/or contact me one year. Well, excepting the two voters who've died. R.I.P. Andrew and Jim.

James Berardinelli (1995–99)

Donna Bowman (2001–2009)

Matthew Butcher (1997–present) [absent 2004, 2014, 2016]

James Callan (1995–2005)

Dave Cowen (1995–present) [absent 2016, 2017, but says he will be back eventually]

Keith Collins (1999–2009)

Frederic Da (2013)

Mike D’Angelo (1995–present)

Doug Dillaman (2012–present)

Bilge Ebiri (1999–present) [absent 2017]

Chris Ereneta (1996–97)

Steve Erickson (1996–2007)

Jon Evans (1996)

Veronika Ferdman (2011–present)

Charles François (1995–2004)

Bryant Frazer (1995–present)

Alex Fung (1995–present)

Dave Garrett (1995–99) [absent 1996, 1997]

Dave G. [aka "DscribeDC"; not Dave Garrett] (1995)

Erik Gregersen (1996–2007)

Skander Halim (1996–present)

Jeremy Heilman (2002–present) [absent 2006, 2008, 2010–2012]

John Hey (1995)

Sky Hirschkron (2005–present) [absent 2015]

Tony G. Huang (2013–present)

Rachel Jacobson (2004–present) [absent 2017]

"JMSTREEP" (1996–2000)

Eric C. Johnson (1995–2006)

Andrew Johnston (1998–2007) [died in 2008]

Gabe Klinger (2001)

Joshua Kreitzer (1995–2006)

Sarah Lang (2016–present)

Milton Lawson (1996–99)

Don Marks (1998–present)

Jeff McCloud (1999–present)

Ian McDowell (1997)

Drew McWeeny (1995)

Roxane Mesquida (2013–14)

Victor Morton (1998–present)

Greg Murphy (1997–2013)

Noel Murray (2001–present)

"Nictate" (2009–2015)

Charles Odell (1996–present)

Jason Overbeck (2009–present)

Theo Panayides (1997–present)

“Peace Electric” (1997–2000)

Mark Pittillo (1998–present)

Matt Prigge (2006–present)

Zach Ralston (2004–present) [absent 2006]

Peter Reiher (1995–2014)

Scott Renshaw (1995–present) [absent 2015]

Jim Ridley (2001–2015) [absent 2009] [died in 2016]

Vadim Rizov (2008–present)

Regina Robbins (1996–2003)

Larry Rosenhein (1996–2000)

April Roth (1996)

Joshua Rothkopf (2003–present) [absent 2010]

Ken Rudolph (1996–2004)

Dan Sallitt (2004–present)

Missy Schwartz (2005–2010)

Michael Sicinski (2001–present)

Chris Stults (2001–present)

Kathleen Tax (2006–2007)

Bryan "Frankenseuss" Theiss (1996–1999)

Scott Tobias (1998–present)

Adam Villani (1995–2007) [absent 1998, 2006]

Froilan Vispo (1996–present) [absent 1998]

Daniel Waters (2008–present)

C. Mason Wells (2009–present)

Harold Wexler (1995–2003)

Blake Williams (2011–present)

Michael Wolfe (1998–2000)

Andrew Wright (1998–2013) [absent 2003]

“WryMind” (1998–2001)

Ryan Wu (1997–present) [absent 2007]