And the Oscar Should Have Gone to...

[Deleted]

I'm officially over this now. It's not the first time the movie I wanted to win didn't win, and it sure as hell won't be the last time. The only reason we're still debating this right now is because of the way the two movies seem to have touched a nerve with everyone.

I don't think anymore that Crash won because of any political or moral agenda. I think it came down to the fact that it was shot in L.A. and employed half of the city, it had good marketing, and (as weird as it may seem to some) that there are people who simply thought it was better than the other nominees. The last two are the reasons most of the best picture winners have won. Marketing and personal taste.

That being said, I still and will always think that Brokeback Mountain should've won. But I see no point in getting angry about it anymore, it's just the Oscars.

[Oxynia]

We all have very strong opinions about the Oscar results...I know I'm still shocked! Everyone's got their own thoughts on the awards and it's fun to see the debate unfold. I'm just asking that people not take disagreement personally, that's all.

[Door]

In my version of events, Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix would have been the first-ever tie for the Oscar.

[Deleted]

Actually they'd only be the first tie for Best Actor. There have been 5 ties before, most notably when Katharine Hepburn and Barbra Streisand tied for Best Actress in 1968.

[Door]

Ah, learn something new every day.

[laconicchick]

re: Crash:

it had good marketing

Really? As of Oscar day I still didn't know if that was the one where people get off on looking at crashes, or... the other one. I have no idea what the plot is, though I guess from this thread that it has something to do with race relations. And it's not like I'm ignorant of current movies in general; I knew the plots of all the other Best Picture nominees, I read four or more newspapers a day until the end of December (it was work-related and that job ended), and of course there's all the stuff online that I read (like... here). But Crash? I have no idea.

For best actor, I'm glad that Philip Seymour Hoffman won. I think he really deserved it (though I, uh, haven't seen Capote).

Best actress makes me angry. The lead actress in Legally Blonde 2 does not deserve an Oscar no matter what she did this year. No. Just no. Plus I think Felicity Huffman or Judi Dench deserved it more (though I haven't seen ANY of these movies. Really, the only one I saw was BBM).

I wanted Catherine Keener to win best supporting actress, but that's just because I liked her in The 40-Year-Old Virgin... And because Rachel Weisz, like Naomi Watts, has a totally unmemorable face to me.

[mrpancake]

I know most people never care about or see the movies in categories like the short films that are nominated, but I went to see Academy Award nominated shorts at my school theater, and I don't regret it! Some are awesome. My favorite one was this one, which has really stuck with me for a long time. If you guys have a few minutes to spare, I recommend you look at it. The whole short is online. It's called "7:35 de la manana" from Spain.

Here's a link

Nacho (director, writer, actor in his film) also has a blog linked at the 7:35 site. I surfed it, he has some funny-ish stuff, but he also has a link to his latest short, ironically titled "Choque" (Crash). I hope it wins best picture, too. Snort.

[memememe76]

I think it came down to the fact that it was shot in L.A.

How many films set in LA won Best Picture?

[huntergrayson]

laconicchick - there's a really good analysis of Crash's marketing campaign here. Actors are the biggest voting block at 22% (which may also help to explain the Shakespeare upset: a love letter to the theatre/acting)- the article goes into it further.

That was a really cool short. I think the Academy should try to make all nominated shorts available online for a bit since so few people ever get the chance to see them outside of festivals. To vote in the shorts and the foreign film categories, one has to see all the nominees - which is really fair but sad that the rule doesn't apply to other categories.

The "set in LA" thing is touched on in the link. I think a factor is that it's set in LA but without being a cruel satire of the industry, which can hit too close to home.

[memememe76]

Shakespeare In Love was a good box office hit, had very strong critical reviews, and won several precursor awards like the Golden Globe. It also had the most Oscar nominations.

LA Confidential, Chinatown, The Aviator, Short Cuts, Grand Canyon, LA Story, were all set in LA without being a cruel satire of the industry. None of them won Oscars for BP.