AFI's 100 Best ______
As we read through yet another AFI list, this time called "Moments of Significance," we were struck by how insignifcant these endless lists have become. The 100 Best Movies list was created by advertising guru and AFI Dallas fest founder Liener Temerlin. At the time it was a smart move that suddenly gave the venerable American Film Institute airtime on network TV.
The problem was where to go from there. During the list's ten years of life, AFI has found a way by picking subjects that were always a bit smaller than the last. 100 Movies gave way to 100 Stars, then 100 Laughs. Next it shrunk to 100 Thrills, followed by 100 Passions, 100 Heroes and Villains. Perhaps feeling they were tapped out, they pared it all the way down to 100 Quotes.
Now it has been whittled to just Significant Moments. (Tina Fey is one of the "moments.")
So AFI needs some ideas. So here's a few:
100 Best Gasps and Guffaws
100 Best Sneezes and Hiccups
100 Best Drapery Scenes
100 Best Crash Cart Hairraisers
100 Best Golden-Hearted Prostitutes
100 Best Credit Rolls
Feel free to contribute your ideas. We'll collect and pass them on.
Michael Jones is the film festival editor at Variety.com. 
Regardless of your opinion of the AFI "100..." lists, the problem with this post is that the "Moments of Significance" has always existed separately as part of AFI's ongoing almanac of film and entertainment - basically providing a yearly record for posterity over what happened each year for generations to come.
And, yes - as with any list - there will be debate over what is included and what is left out. However, the "Moments of Significance" is part of the AFI AWARDS, which highlights ten films and ten television shows that are chosen each year to be honored at a luncheon at the Four Seasons on the 9th. And what is genuinely significant about that event is that it celebrates and literally includes the entire creative team behind those projects (as opposed to just the stars or the director). And no one else does that.
So - have fun at the "100..." lists expense, but let's keep this in the proper context and give some credit where it is due within the annual awards season sweepstakes and horse races.
Posted by: John Wildman | 12/31/2008 1:46:02 PM
100 Best Foreign Films
100 Best independent Films
100 Best Title Sequences
100 Best Coen Brothers lines
100 best uses of the doll-in-zoom-out?
Posted by: boby_weave | 12/30/2008 4:58:23 PM