Goya nominations snub audience favorite 'Torrente 4'

Public taste doesn't have to coincide with that of the professionals who make up Spain's Cinema Academy. And this year, it certainly hasn't.

On Tuesday the Academy endorsed a number of films that were of scant appeal to audiences in theaters as candidates for the 26th edition of the Goya Film Awards, Spain's equivalent of the Oscars. At the same time, it ignored the film that in a certain way saved Spanish cinema in 2011: Torrente 4: Lethal Crisis. With takings of 19.6 million euros, the latest entry in writer-director-star Santiago Segura's comedy series did not pick up a single nomination in any of the 28 categories announced by actors Lluís Homar and Inma Cuesta.

Instead, members of the Academy gave their support to English-language western Blackthorn, directed by Mateo Gil, which won 11 nominations, including those for Best Film and Best Director. The movie was seen by just 63,000 cinemagoers. Something similar happened with the nine nominations for La voz dormida, director Benito Zambrano's journey into the tragic Francoist past, with a disappointing 300,000 tickets sold.

The Academy's anointing finger acted as something of a consolation prize for those affected on Tuesday. "It is a real shame that a film isn't seen, but the fact that your colleagues reward it with these nominations cheers you up," said Gil.

In the same way, the Academy also emphatically recognized Kike Maíllo's daring debut Eva, a sci-fi love story that passed almost unnoticed (132,000 spectators) despite excellent reviews, with 12 nominations, as well as giving three nods to Eduardo Chapero Jackson's fantasy drama Verbo, another much-talked-about box-office failure. "The best prize would be for it to be shown in cinemas again," said Chapero Jackson. It has already been announced that La voz dormida and Blackthorn will return to cinema screens.

Some of the Academy's votes did, to some extent, coincide with public taste. That was the case with Pedro Almodóvar's The Skin I Live In, which earned the biggest number of nominations - 16, among them for Best Film, Director, Actor and Actress - and was seen by 700,000 people.

Similarly, director Enrique Urbizu's thriller No habrá paz para los malvados, which has sold 685,000 tickets, received 14 nominations - including Best Film, Director, Original Screenplay, Music and Actor.

Also of note was Woody Allen's nomination for his screenplay for Midnight in Paris. The comedy, Spanish-owned and produced by Mediapro, was presented in all categories, including Best Film and Director, but Academy members denied it any bigger reward.

What is clear is that the gala on February 19 will be a tight one. "It will be an interesting moment," says Agustín Almodóvar, producer and brother of Pedro, who said he was greatly flattered by the 16 nominations awarded to The Skin I Live In.

The brothers left the Academy seven years ago in protest over the voting system then used for the Goya Awards, but chose to quietly return last April. What better way to welcome them back than with these 16 chances to pick up another of those coveted prizes?