20 Weeks to Oscar
6 Days To Oscar: You Might Be An Asshole If…
YOU MIGHT BE AN OSCAR ASSHOLE IF… you write about how this filmmaker or that filmmaker was too busy chasing Oscar to make the movie they should have made.
As someone who actually has fairly lengthy conversations with almost every filmmaker who has made an Oscar nominated picture in the last five years or more, I am particularly conscious how stupid and self-serving this notion is.
Read the full article »9 Days to Oscar: In Memoriam
Voting closes Tuesday… but the die is pretty much cast at this point.
In the 9 days to come, there will be plenty of conversation about the nominees and who should or should not win. But at this moment in the season, I find myself thinking about the ones that got left behind.
Read the full article »17 Days To Oscar: A Thin Line Between Win & Lose
When an Academy member, just like any other kid in high school, tells their friends whom they voted for, they want to feel good about defending their choice. Fair or not, Melissa McCarthy is “the one who shit in the sink” this year. They may have laughed their colostomy bags off when they saw the film and most voters feel good about Ms McCarthy getting nominated. But when it comes down to bestowing the gold, shit in the pie in the name of dignity will win out over shit in the sink caused by bad Mexican food every time.
Read the full article »25 Days To Oscar: The Little Things
With apologies to Mr. Sondheim…
It’s the little things you do together,
Do together,
Do together
That make perfect Oscar seasons.
The voters you pursue together,
Awards you accrue together,
An Image you redo together
That make Oscar a joy.
Mmhmm…
20W2O: 51 Days To Go
Guilding The Lily
Is it a good thing or a bad thing that we are locked into 60% or so of the nominations for all groups by Thanksgiving and that the rest of the slots will be filled by a pool of films and talent that pretty much represents fewer than 15 films legitimately vying for Best Picture slots and 8 or fewer actors/directors/writers and other top talent competing for each of the other nomination slots?
Read the full article »13 Weeks To Oscar: The Irony Of Fear
Every year about this time, after those of us in the Oscar chattering class have, basically, shaped the conversation for months, taking the whole mess within 80% or so of what the actual outcome will be, I start to notice the desperation of the films and candidates that just aren’t going to make it. It’s like seeing a beautiful woman of a certain age without make-up… they may still be beautiful, but the willing illusion is gone.
Read the full article »14 Weeks To Oscar: Down To The Real Nitty Gritty
There are two major battles underway. The first is for the number of Best Picture nominees.
Usually, it’s Best Actor or Supporting Actor where the big fight is. This year, it feels like some big chances can still happen in all the acting categories, but one… Best Actress. That’s the second key battle.
There are, basically, eight deadly serious potential nominees for Actress this year. Three of them are going to be left out. And it will really feel like that… left out.
Read the full article »15 Weeks To Oscar: Now There’s A Race
War Horse is for real. It’s a true epic and an instant classic.
The Artist is a real joy. Undeniable. Surprising. An epic pleasure.
It will be interesting to see how this starts to play out… and whether either of the last entries into the race can change the game, perhaps as the movie that wins on a split between two more classically styled films.
Read the full article »17 Weeks To Oscar: Safe/Unsafe
This is shaping up to be one of the most interesting award seasons in memory… Or not. We saw it this week, as we went from the relatively unsafe choice of Brett Ratner as a producer of the Oscar telecast and Eddie Murphy as his host to Brian “I’ll be taking over the Gil Cates…
Read the full article »18 Weeks To Oscar: Stepping Back
It’s strange being in the tumble cycle of all of this. It’s like standing in front of a giant buffet of some truly exceptional ingredients and flavors, but feeling forced to consume everything we want in a couple of hours. Do you take a single bite of everything or choose a protein or focus on one course over the others?
People complain about Oscar obsession amongst media. But there is this functionality of getting through the season. It’s not that we’re (all) obsessed… it’s that there is so much to consume. It’s an impossible goal as well as being sadly reductive.
Read the full article »19 Weeks To Oscar: The Mean Season?
It’s a tough year for Oscar voters. Lots of great movies… but not too many that will leave them walking out of the theater with a smile on their face for the whole human race. Insanity, rape, murder, sex addiction, 9/11, and even one of the “feel goods” is about sacrificing something you love for your country. Fun Fun Fun!
(Charts to come.)
Read the full article »20 Weeks To Oscar: Line Dance
20 years of Oscar consultants, in-house and out, figuring out how to game the system, and a decade of deteriorating media standards has led to an out-of-date response mechanism at The Academy, which just wants to do what it’s been doing all these years and to protect, as best they can, their membership from being prayed upon by the vultures.
But where is the line?
Read the full article »1 Week To 20 Weeks To Oscar: Counting Best Picture Ballots
So I’m a week from writing the weekly column… but the one issue that seems to keep cropping up is how the change in the Best Picture vote accounting rules really works. Steve Pond did a nice job trying to lay it all out when it happened. But people still seem to be unsure what is really up. So I had a chat with AMPAS’ Ric Robertson and Leslie Unger in the name of clarity. This is where I landed…
Read the full article »29 Weeks To Oscar: Pre-Toronto
It’s that time again. The horses are being walked to the gate. The jockeys, trainers, and reporters are talking strategy. In a few weeks, the race will start… and just 6 short months later, someone will win.
Also – The 1st Best Picture Chart Of The Season
Read the full article »50 Weeks To Oscar: Fixing The Oscar Show
“Not everyone in show biz knows everyone else. But tonight, we are a family. Welcome to our annual reunion… not a critics’ reunion… not a foreign press reunion… The Academy represents the veteran life of our movie industry… the symbolic “Hollywood”… this is OUR reunion. Come share in the joy of a year of memories.”
Read the full article »3 Days To Oscar
We’re almost there… just a few more parties… a few more gowns… a few more hours of watching the Sunday sound and fury… and then… we start all over again!
Read the full article »17 Days To Oscar: Just Keep Swimming
In the end, after all the shouting, it is about The Movie and The Academy Demographic. It is forever tempting to see The Academy as a monolith. It’s not. 5800 people is a lot of people. But the basic principles of movie marketing apply. Flukes happen, but there are movies that appeal to certain demographics and not to others. And The Academy, big as it is, has certain kinds of taste.
Read the full article »24 Days To Oscar: Racers, Stop Your Engines
It’s an interesting moment in the Oscar race. There is a lot of activity… and not much at all that anyone can do to change their fate. This is not to say that one should not be out there shaking hands and kissing babies (or just reminding people that you are in the race and…
Read the full article »20 Weeks Extra: Could There Be One More Turn?
After becoming the favorite for Best Picture in just the last week, does The King’s Speech now have a lock on the win? Or is the another spin coming?
And when those who aren’t so happy about the turn of events look for a comparison, which on sticks best? Rocky? Ordinary People? Or maybe something else…
Read the full article »7 Weeks To Oscar: And So, Phase One Ends…
Ballots are in. Will anything change from now until Oscar night?
Could be. But probably not.
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