Eastwood Wins for ‘Letters’
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The first shot of Oscar season was fired yesterday, and while many in the movie industry heard it, very few saw it.
Clint Eastwood’s “Letters From Iwo Jima,” which was originally scheduled for release in February 2007 but was recently bumped up to December 20, was named the best film of 2006 yesterday by the National Board of Review.”Letters,” the second in Mr. Eastwood’s two-part series about World World II, is told from the perspective of two friends serving in the Japanese forces who watch helplessly throughout various battles as their comrades are killed.
Also on the list of 10 films was “Flags of Our Fathers,” in which Mr. Eastwood showed the aftermath of war through the eyes of the soldiers who raised the American flag during the battle for Iwo Jima in 1945.
The other eight films honored by the Board were, in alphabetical order: “Babel,””Blood Diamond,””The Departed,” “The Devil Wears Prada,” “The History Boys,””Little Miss Sunshine,””Notes on a Scandal,” and “The Painted Veil.”
The National Board of Review, formed 97 years ago, is composed of film historians, students, and educators. It is first out of the gate each year as the industry gears up for Academy Award mania, but its picks are not necessarily indicative of who will take home the little gold men three months later. The last time the National Board of Review and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences selected the same film for Best Picture was 1999, when they agreed on “American Beauty.”
In the acting categories, two Oscar frontrunners were rewarded for their roles as real-life world leaders. Forest Whitaker was named Best Actor for his portrayal of Idi Amin in “The Last King of Scotland”and Helen Mirren won Best Actress for her role as Queen Elizabeth II in “The Queen.” Djimon Hounsou was named Best Supporting Actor for his work in “Blood Diamond” and Catherine O’Hara won Best Supporting Actress for “For Your Consideration.”
Martin Scorsese, who has never won an Academy Award despite five nominations in the directing category, was named Best Director by the National Board for “The Departed.”
In other categories, Pedro Almodóvar’s “Volver” was named Best Foreign Film, Davis Guggenheim’s “An Inconvenient Truth” won for Best Documentary, and “Cars,” from Pixar Studios, was named Best Animated Feature. Zach Helm took home the Best Original Screenplay award for “Stranger Than Fiction” and Ron Nyswaner won Best Adapted Screenplay for “The Painted Veil.”
