>>> Do you have any idea how this list was made? Was it by a select jury
>>> or a larger set of AFI voters?

>>
>> I'm sure like the other lists it was a bunch of little old ladies
>> deciding
>> what films should be on the list and in what order. :)
>>
>> Supposedly it's voted on by AFI members but they never say who those
>> members
>> are. And the films could have been pre-selected so the voters would only
>> be
>> able to determine the order of the films but not which ones made the top
>> 100. It's appearent that it's Hollywood voters based on the films chosen
>> and
>> how they fared. The main critera is that the films have to be American
>> productions, so most of the Bond films don't qualify. It also explains
>> why
>> non of the man-with-no-name westerns that Eastwood made aren't in the
>> list.
>> (They were made in Italy.)
>>
>> This one seemed to be made up of films categories for which they didn't
>> have
>> 100 films to fill like fantasy and sci-fi. And when it comes to
>> animation,
>> there's probably been more (American) animated films made in the past
>> decade
>> than in the previous fifty years. We use to be lucky to get one new
>> animated
>> film in a year, usually from Disney. It would seem redundant if they did
>> a
>> top 100 and filled half of it with all of Disney's films.

>
>
> From AFI's press release:
>
> To compile the final list, AFI distributed a ballot with 500 nominated
> movies (50 per genre) to a
> jury of over 1,500 leaders from the creative community, including film
> artists (directors,
> screenwriters, actors, editors, cinematographers), critics and
> historians.
> AFI asks jurors to consider the following criteria in their selection
> process:
>
> FEATURE-LENGTH FICTION FILMS
> Narrative format, typically over 60 minutes in length.
> AMERICAN FILM
> English-language film with significant creative and/or production
> elements from the United
> States. Additionally, only films released before January 1, 2008 will
> be considered.
> GENRE:
> ANIMATED
> AFI defines "animated" as a genre in which the film's images are
> primarily created by computer
> or hand and the characters are voiced by actors.
> FANTASY
> AFI defines "fantasy" as a genre where live-action characters inhabit
> imagined settings and/or
> experience situations that transcend the rules of the natural world.
> GANGSTER
> AFI defines the "gangster film" as a genre that centers on organized
> crime or maverick criminals
> in a twentieth century setting.
> SCIENCE FICTION
> AFI defines "science fiction" as a genre that marries a scientific or
> technological premise with
> imaginative speculation.
> WESTERN
> AFI defines "western" as a genre of films set in the American West
> that embodies the spirit, the
> struggle and the demise of the new frontier.
> SPORTS
> AFI defines "sports" as a genre of films with protagonists who play
> athletics or other games of
> competition.
> MYSTERY
> AFI defines "mystery" as a genre that revolves around the solution of
> a crime.
> ROMANTIC COMEDY
> AFI defines "romantic comedy" as a genre in which the development of a
> romance leads to
> comic situations.
> COURTROOM DRAMA
> AFI defines "courtroom drama" as a genre of film in which a system of
> justice plays a critical
> role in the film's narrative.
> EPIC
> AFI defines "epic" as a genre of large-scale films set in a cinematic
> interpretation of the past.
> Their scope defies and demands-either in the mode in which they are
> presented or their range
> across time.
> CRITICAL RECOGNITION
> Formal commendation in print, television and digital media.
> MAJOR AWARD WINNER
> Recognition from competitive events including awards from peer groups,
> critics, guilds and
> major film festivals.
>
> POPULARITY OVER TIME
> Including success at the box office, television and cable airing, and
> DVD/VHS sales and rentals.
> HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE
> A film's mark on the history of the moving images through visionary
> narrative devices, technical
> innovation, or other ground breaking achievements.
> CULTURAL IMPACT
> A film's mark on American society in matters of style and substance.
> AFI allows one write-in vote per genre.
>