And The Oscar Goes To......

[Mutagen]

Feb 19, 2019 16:57:06 GMT -4 petitesuite said:

I believe ol' Georgie boy also forgot to mention that Hattie McDaniel was forced to sit in the back (away from the rest of the Gone with the Wind crowd) of the Oscars ceremony when she won. Such progression.

I wish the Academy would force studios to release movies in places other than NYC and LA in order to be considered for nominations (and also that there were some requirement for 'minimum outside of LA showings' or whatever). I can believe that most people have no interest in seeing the nominated movies, but some years it's also really hard to see them if you don't live in one of the two chosen cities.

Oh my god, yes. And I think so many of the nominated movies not getting released until the very end of the year is also a problem. It makes it feel so foreordained and predictable that the movies that come out at the "right" time are locks and the ones that come out earlier in the year are all but forgotten. Admittedly this year there are some nominees that defy that trend, like Black Panther or A Star Is Born, but it seems like both time and location make seeing "Oscar Movies" so damn inconvenient. And if people haven't seen most of the nominated movies then who cares who wins?

[Deleted]

Feb 19, 2019 17:23:49 GMT -4 Mutagen said:

Feb 19, 2019 16:57:06 GMT -4 petitesuite said:

I believe ol' Georgie boy also forgot to mention that Hattie McDaniel was forced to sit in the back (away from the rest of the Gone with the Wind crowd) of the Oscars ceremony when she won. Such progression.

I wish the Academy would force studios to release movies in places other than NYC and LA in order to be considered for nominations (and also that there were some requirement for 'minimum outside of LA showings' or whatever). I can believe that most people have no interest in seeing the nominated movies, but some years it's also really hard to see them if you don't live in one of the two chosen cities.

Oh my god, yes. And I think so many of the nominated movies not getting released until the very end of the year is also a problem. It makes it feel so foreordained and predictable that the movies that come out at the "right" time are locks and the ones that come out earlier in the year are all but forgotten. Admittedly this year there are some nominees that defy that trend, like Black Panther or A Star Is Born, but it seems like both time and location make seeing "Oscar Movies" so damn inconvenient. And if people haven't seen most of the nominated movies then who cares who wins?

This, so much. I live in a big-ish city with a multitude of theatres, both huge chains and independent, and a lot of the time I still have to wait months for these kinds of movies. We have our own critics association for crying out loud! We shouldn’t have to wait so long!

[Martini Girl]

It's the one thing I love about living in LA, but I agree, that these films should be released in the top 10-15 cities/markets.

[Ladybug]

Yep, I also living in a fairly big city with decent cultural offerings, but we wait a long time for a lot of Oscar films. If I want to see Roma, I have to go to Dallas. Cold War is screening at one of our art museums, two weeks after the Oscars (this museum does screen all of the nominated short films, which is really nice). Would also have to drive 20+ miles to see The Favourite. That's why I'm happy to see more of these films coming to Netflix, Prime, and Hulu.

[Martini Girl]

Ladybug- I never thought of it that way. There is a sizable segment of industry execs who think Netflix/Prime are ruining films, but I can see why non-industry peeps are grateful for these outlets so they can have access to smaller films.

Cold War hits prime on 3/22

And if it's any consolation, these films only play at The Archlight or Landmark in December and tickets run $17.50 for every showing. There are no discounts and prices add up quickly. (Plus you have to pay about $3-4 for parking).

[groovethang]

Feb 19, 2019 14:51:00 GMT -4 Ginger said:

Oh yes, George Clooney and his wonderfully smug speech. Speeches like that don't come along every day:

And finally, I would say that, you know, we are a little bit out of touch in Hollywood every once in a while, I think. It's probably a good thing. We're the ones who talked about AIDS when it was just being whispered, and we talked about civil rights when it wasn't really popular. And we, you know, we bring up subjects, we are the ones—this Academy, this group of people gave Hattie McDaniel an Oscar in 1939 when blacks were still sitting in the backs of theaters. I'm proud to be a part of this Academy, proud to be part of this community, and proud to be out of touch.

Yeah, nobody cared about the civil rights movement or the AIDS epidemic until Hollywood brought it up.

That speech and his press conference after Princess Diana's death ("Princess Di is dead, and who should we see about that?") are why I just can't warm up to George Clooney.

[twodollars]

I'll always love George but that speech was cringe inducing.

As for who wins the Oscar, I hope Gaga goes home empty handed. Her performance was painful and Shallow is overrated. And I am rooting for Rachel Weisz because I like her onscreen persona and that she starred in The Mummy which was such a fun movie.

[Deleted]

I decided to follow the Oscar race a bit more again this year (why? I don't know). Not too much into it yet but from the first look it seems even whiter than usual. I do think that the problem lies not only in Hollywood itself where opportunity for poc-lead and -themed movies are scarce. But the Oscar race basically starts in Sundance and then with other early film festivals where white, male critics determine which movies go ahead in the awards race. The call for more diversity among critics is a valid one imho.

[aibohphobia]

Oct 20, 2019 15:11:04 GMT -4 @solly79 said:

I decided to follow the Oscar race a bit more again this year (why? I don't know). Not too much into it yet but from the first look it seems even whiter than usual. I do think that the problem lies not only in Hollywood itself where opportunity for poc-lead and -themed movies are scarce. But the Oscar race basically starts in Sundance and then with other early film festivals where white, male critics determine which movies go ahead in the awards race. The call for more diversity among critics is a valid one imho.

Yes, unfortunately the acting races look like they're going to be whiter than usual this year.

On the positive side, at least Parasite and The Farewell look to do well especially the former in Best Director and Best Picture. Maybe Awkwafina and Zhao Shuzhen can be nominated, but right now I would say it's borderline for both. Best Actress is a little bit more competitive than it was and in comparison to Best Supporting Actress, so Awkwafina is on the bubble, imo, depending on how well the late releases do since Renee Zellweger, Scarlett Johansson, and Charlize Theron seem to be in. I love Shuzhen, but she's so unknown that unfortunately I think that will work against her at like the Globes, and ever since SAG merged with AFTRA, they haven't nominated any non-English speaking performances even last year with Roma and Netflix sending out expensive screeners. So she might potentially not get any precursors outside of smaller things like the Spirit Awards, so it's risky to predict someone being able to just show up and surprise like that. Marina de Tavira was able to do that last year, but Roma was runner-up in Best Picture, and she campaigned heavily throughout the season.

Also Hustlers has a good chance at Supporting Actress. I thought maybe it could sneak into other categories like Best Adapted Screenplay, but The Irishman has gotten raves and Joker is a juggernaut that will probably get into Best Picture, so that lessens the chance for Hustlers especially when the company that is distributing it STX, isn't exactly a very good awards studio and doesn't really have that much money to campaign with.

Other than that though, typical Oscar bait like Harriet and Just Mercy didn't fare well with critics who have seen them early at festivals and screenings. Waves and Us seem to be too outside the box. Dolemite Is My Name is excellent and would do great in most years, but Netflix has 3 other big movies that they're going to campaign for, and Best Actor is so competitive that I don't think Eddie Murphy will be able to break in although I can see him being nominated for most of the precursors.

I have heard good things about Queen & Slim particularly Jodi Turner-Smith, but I don't know why Universal didn't take it to Toronto because I think a film like that needed time to build up buzz. Plus Universal also has 1917 and Us, so I'm not sure where Queen & Slim will end up as a priority for them.

[Deleted]

List of Golden Globe nominations

I know this is the movie forum but I just want to point out that among the 20 actresses that were nominated in the four TV categories there is not a single woman of color. Not one. All these networks and streaming services and they couldn't find one non-white woman to get a nom. I'm at a loss for words here, honestly.