The American Film Institute, already known for its Montessori “no rankings” approach to awards season, is apparently trying extra hard not to hurt anyone’s feelings this year by naming 11 films—four of which haven’t come out yet—instead of the customary 10 the best of 2014. However, the plan backfired when AFI failed to mention which of the 11 films got a sympathy bump and really shouldn’t have been there in the first place, causing the honorees to turn on each other as David Fincher’s Gone Girl and Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel, both of which failed to make the list, looked on and smiled.
The AFI’s iconoclastic streak also carried over into TV, where it failed to include Emmy favorite True Detective on its roster of the 10 best TV shows of the year. It did, however, commend freshman series Fargo, How To Get Away With Murder, Jane The Virgin, The Knick, Silicon Valley, and Transparent, none of which are especially controversial choices. If it really wanted to be different, it could have chosen Stalker.
Here are the full AFI 2014 lists, courtesy of Variety:
TOP 11 FILMS
American Sniper
Birdman
Boyhood
Foxcatcher
The Imitation Game
Interstellar
Into The Woods
Nightcrawler
Selma
Unbroken
Whiplash
TOP 10 TV PROGRAMS
The Americans
Fargo
Game Of Thrones
How To Get Away With Murder
Jane The Virgin
The Knick
Mad Men
Orange Is The New Black
Silicon Valley
Transparent