For much of the Cosmos' history, we've followed the Academy Awards' schedule in order to allow Cosmo voters to use the Oscars as inspiration. When they announced their nominees, we opened our nomination process. When they announced their winners, we announced our nominees.
Some voters complained that the schedule was too rushed. They didn't have a sense of what to see until the Oscar nominations were announced, and they didn't have a chance to see enough before the Academy Awards ceremony (much less a week before when we had to close our nominations). And some were even further inspired by watching clips at the Oscar ceremony itself, when it was too late.
Last year we experimented by giving voters more of a lag time so that they could catch up on more end-of-year great films that weren't available on DVD or streaming services before the Academy Awards. Unfortunately, the calendar got away from us and it wasn't until almost Autumn before we were done.
So this year, our calendar will follow the Oscars' schedule but with more of a lag time. Our nominations will open on the day of the Academy Awards ceremony, and voters will have a month to complete their nomination ballots.
2017 Cosmo Calendar
- Sunday, March 4, 2018 - Cosmo nominations open
- Saturday, April 7, 2018 - Nomination ballots due by midnight PDT
- Saturday, April 14, 2018 - Cosmo nominations announced. Final ballots open.
- Friday, May 4, 2018 - Final ballots closed.
- TBD - Winners announced
Ch-ch-changes!
Every year -- okay, some years -- we have some seasonal variations that reflect cinematic trends that might be more of a fad for that year. A few years ago, we added a one-off award for films set in San Francisco. Last year, we revived the Best Cameo Award that had been discontinued years ago.
This year, we're going to have three on-off awards. To make room for them, we've decided, perhaps controversially, to let the "Worst" awards lapse. In recent years, many voters have skipped over the Worst categories. With online trailers, Rotten Tomatoes ratings, and social media word-of-mouth, voters have more resources than ever to prescreen and only see the films they're likely to enjoy. So for now, at least, we're going to let those awards peter away.
In their place, here are three one-off awards for films released in 2017:
- Best Cameo in a 2017 Film - A cameo performance is a brief appearance or voice part of a known person in a work of the performing arts, often unnamed or appearing as themselves. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly either appearances in a work in which they hold some special significance (such as actors from an original movie appearing in its remake), or renowned people making uncredited appearances, or are unexpected in that the celebrity is more renowned than the part would require. Short appearances by celebrities, film directors, politicians, athletes or musicians are common. A crew member of the show or movie playing a minor role can be referred to as a cameo as well, such as Alfred Hitchcock's frequently performed cameos.
- Favorite Female Empowerment Film of 2017 - In the wake of the first major party’s female nominee’s Electoral College defeat against one of the most openly misogynistic candidates ever – despite garnering a higher popular vote than any white man ever – 2017 showed the emergence of a new women’s movement. It began with the recording-breaking women’s marches in January and reached a crescendo with the toppling of Hollywood, Wall Street, network, and Beltway titans as women spoke out about long-term, pervasive sexual harassment. And now in 2018, a record number of women have filed to run for public office. Perhaps coincidentally, since films can take so long to plan, produce, and release, a wave of female-empowering films also came out in 2017 – films depicting women in or acquiring power, with agency, or advancing the rights of women.
- Best Soundtrack or Score of a 2017 Film - While the Academy Awards are very strict about how they define a score – and an original score at that – we’re much more flexible and are really just interested in which films had the best music. This award is for the film with the best music or score, which can include lyrical songs and/or a purely instrumental score, and can be original music or music/songs repurposed from older music.
A note to voters
Remember, the Cosmique Movie Awards are a chance for you to make your opinion heard. Pissed that Wonder Woman got shut out of the Academy Awards? Honor her at the Cosmos. Oscar-bait films not your thing? We have awards catering to action/adventure, horror, sci-fi/fantasy, and other niche genres. Didn't see much in 2017? There's a lot available on streaming, but you can also focus on the Lifetime Achievements if you want to focus on old movies and classic film stars.
Need inspiration? Here are some downloadable to help you remember what you saw in 2017 and let you know what we think are "buzzworthy" for each award:
- Eligible 2017 Films (PDF)
- 2017 Film Checklist (Excel)
- 2017 Nomination Ideas (PDF)
Nominations ballots will be posted on Sunday, March 4, 2018!
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