So… what have we learned?
Every voter has something to contribute, even if it’s only a ballot. Each person makes a difference. Some voters have lots of time to pen written pieces for the Muriels, while others don’t. Some people are professional critics, others simply enthusiasts. Some people have seen 200-some new movies from a given year, while others will be lucky to have seen 25% of that. I remember one year when a voter sent in a ballot in which none of the new-release categories were completed, but all of the anniversary awards were full of wonderful classic-film choices. Alas, I couldn’t get much use from that person’s ballot that year, but the memory stuck with me, and this year I actually started something called the “Classics Committee” for voters who don’t have the time to keep up with new movies the way they once did, but would still like to participate in the anniversary awards and Hall of Fame voting. Because if a voter wants to participate, we should give him or her a chance to do so.
Be open to outside input, but don’t just blindly adopt everything that others suggest. Prior to instituting the Hall of Fame, a voter suggested the idea of adding a 75th Anniversary Award, which was an intriguing idea, but I figured that considering a number of voters every year aren’t comfortable voting for movies that are fifty years old, even more would balk at choosing movies that are even older than that. Similarly, someone (OK, it was me) floated the idea of adding an award for the best female-directed film, but I reconsidered when some other voters rightly offered the opinion that we shouldn’t ghettoize movies directed by females, or minorities, or what have you, but instead make a greater effort to seek these movies out along with other, higher-profile titles. Speaking of which…
Diversity (in many different forms) is a good thing. Embrace it. I think we’ve done a fairly decent job over the years honoring minorities and giving at least a fair amount of attention to female filmmakers. That said, I realize that we could stand to add more women, ethnic minorities, non-Americans, and LGBT voters to our ranks. That’s something I’ve known for years, and I plan on making an even greater effort in the future to make this a reality. Nonetheless, I like to think that even if we don’t look particularly diverse in terms of gender, ethnicity, or sexual orientation, we do have a certain level of diversity of experience and taste, with voters from all over the USA, plus Canada, South America, and Europe. So that’s something, I’d say.
Not every year is going to be equally interesting in retrospect. When you commit yourself to write about ten years of Muriels, do so in the knowledge that the project is going to be highly digressive and that each piece won’t necessarily be strictly tethered to a particular year. This should be self-explanatory, really.
Sometimes bad things are going to happen. Roll with the punches, and learn from your mistakes when necessary. I’ve already told you about the awkward 2012-13 Muriels, in which we essentially copied the Skandies winners in every. Single. Category. Then there was the year (I believe it was 2008-09) when I made the mistake of unveiling our Best Picture countdown on the same day as the Oscar ceremony, which resulted in a high level of interest for the early announcements, and far less activity as the day wore on. Lesson learned: from that point on, we never announced Best Picture on Oscar Sunday again, and when we did have to announce something on that day, we made sure to do it earlier in the afternoon, well before everyone’s attention was on the Oscars. After all, it’s important to…
Know your place. We don’t claim to be the Oscars. Hell, we don’t even claim to be the Skandies. I’m fully willing to accept that we aren’t all that interesting to most people who aren’t Muriels voters. Therefore, I appreciate each and every person who takes an interest in the Muriels, voter or not. Besides, if the spotlight isn’t on us, that just gives us more freedom to let our collective freak flag fly, right?
And above all, have fun. It’s hard enough being the guy who tallies the votes and nags the voters for written pieces. If you don’t enjoy it, why do it?
Coming tomorrow: The first of this year’s Muriel Award winners, to be announced to at least a small amount of fanfare around 7 PM Eastern. See you then!
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