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Jan. 27th, 2004 02:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dewinged-10:47 AM
On the FYI front: The Oscar Nominations
I won't spoil it, except by jumping up and down and cheering a whole hell of a lot. I admittedly cling to the belief that this will be the year for a certain group of movies. The general theory is that the movie will win on its own merits, as well as for the body of work that it represents. (Interesting old rumor I remember: Michael Caine didn't so much win the Best Supporting Actor Oscar a few years back for 'Cider House Rules' so much as he won the award based on his career up to that point. I see this as the same way).
So, this bit of news, and the one surprising Best Actor Nomination has put a real kickstart to my mood for today. Yes, as a movie buff, I get a kick out of this. I love this stuff, and always have. So, I'm in a resultant good mood.
I mean, the movies I want to win might not win. Stranger things have happened, and not everything works out the way I feel it should, and there's always folks out there ready to rain on any and all of my parades, which would be a really bad thing to do right now. :)
I've been thinking about it this morning. Why do folks put so much stock in the awards, especially by the Motion Picture Academy? I mean, the People's Choice Awards is something more geared to the public likes and dislikes; the many as opposed to the few, but it makes each one's credibility come into question.
Though, the Oscars have been around for a very long time. My take on it has been that the award show shapes moviegoing in the short-term of the following...say, 3-4 years after the little ugly statues are given out. One type of film wins, and suddenly, there's more of them. Titanic won one year, and the next few years were filled with retellings of historical events with romantic subplots (example: Pearl Harbor). It could be said 'Gladiator' spawned the upcoming 'Troy', and other things. It takes a lot more effort than I have right now to map some of them out.
LotR is in a genre that has been ignored not only by the Oscars, but the entire movie industry as a whole, for at least a decade. Now, it's nominated, it's fantasy, and it's pretty much exploded. So, to steal the line from the Goonies: Down here, it's our time.
This is why I want it to win, really. Even if it's temporary, folks like me will see movies we like get recognition if they're good. (I can't stress that last part enough.) And maybe some more, who knows. We've had to deal with a slew of teenybopper movies, bad franchise adaptions, disappointing sequels/prequels (X-2 being the exception) and general stuff that I'm not too keen on.
For a few years, I get a little change. Maybe something I'd want to watch. For a little while, anyways. I can deal with that.
On the FYI front: The Oscar Nominations
I won't spoil it, except by jumping up and down and cheering a whole hell of a lot. I admittedly cling to the belief that this will be the year for a certain group of movies. The general theory is that the movie will win on its own merits, as well as for the body of work that it represents. (Interesting old rumor I remember: Michael Caine didn't so much win the Best Supporting Actor Oscar a few years back for 'Cider House Rules' so much as he won the award based on his career up to that point. I see this as the same way).
So, this bit of news, and the one surprising Best Actor Nomination has put a real kickstart to my mood for today. Yes, as a movie buff, I get a kick out of this. I love this stuff, and always have. So, I'm in a resultant good mood.
I mean, the movies I want to win might not win. Stranger things have happened, and not everything works out the way I feel it should, and there's always folks out there ready to rain on any and all of my parades, which would be a really bad thing to do right now. :)
I've been thinking about it this morning. Why do folks put so much stock in the awards, especially by the Motion Picture Academy? I mean, the People's Choice Awards is something more geared to the public likes and dislikes; the many as opposed to the few, but it makes each one's credibility come into question.
Though, the Oscars have been around for a very long time. My take on it has been that the award show shapes moviegoing in the short-term of the following...say, 3-4 years after the little ugly statues are given out. One type of film wins, and suddenly, there's more of them. Titanic won one year, and the next few years were filled with retellings of historical events with romantic subplots (example: Pearl Harbor). It could be said 'Gladiator' spawned the upcoming 'Troy', and other things. It takes a lot more effort than I have right now to map some of them out.
LotR is in a genre that has been ignored not only by the Oscars, but the entire movie industry as a whole, for at least a decade. Now, it's nominated, it's fantasy, and it's pretty much exploded. So, to steal the line from the Goonies: Down here, it's our time.
This is why I want it to win, really. Even if it's temporary, folks like me will see movies we like get recognition if they're good. (I can't stress that last part enough.) And maybe some more, who knows. We've had to deal with a slew of teenybopper movies, bad franchise adaptions, disappointing sequels/prequels (X-2 being the exception) and general stuff that I'm not too keen on.
For a few years, I get a little change. Maybe something I'd want to watch. For a little while, anyways. I can deal with that.
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"Gigli" Got 9 Golden Raspberry Nominations
Date: 2004-01-27 12:00 pm (UTC)Now, no doubt you are referring to LOTR. LOTR is probably a unique film experience we will never see again: three movies of that scale filmed all at once and released annually. Tell me where that will happen again? Peter Jackson deserves an Oscar less for Return of the King (which I felt to be the weakest installment) as for the daunting task of all three movies, which we should really look at as being one, big, long film. If the "due" theory holds out, then there's a good chance that ROTK will get Best Picture and Director.
Now, you ask why the Oscars should matter more than the People's Choice awards? Good question. Here's my answer: People's Choice is chosen by filmgoers. It's more reflective of the ticketbuying mood of people. Nothing wrong with that, but the Oscars are chosen by filmmakers.
The nomination process works like this: for each catagory, the Academy members who are in that catagory choose five nominees. The Academy members who are directors choose the Best Director nominees. Cinematographers choose for cinematography. Actors for acting, composers for music. Why would this be important? Well, would not a cinematographer have the best eye for seeing good camera work? Or a composer an ear for music? These are the folks who know best what to look or listen for in the work. Now, once nominations are set, the Academy as a whole votes the winner. The Oscars are for people in the movie industry to honor their peers. That's all. The quality of the choices may depend less on box office popularity than on actual good work as a result. Which isn't to say that filmgoers have poor taste, just a slightly different set of standards.
Think of it this way: if you were looking for a new comic series to read, which recommendation would hold more weight for you? A fellow fan or an industry professional who does quality work? Now, both can give you a good recommendation, BUT you'll probably get those recs for different reasons and based on different standards.
As for what the Oscars represent...they may give a movie more life at the box office because people want to see what the fuss of the Best Picture was all about. Otherwise, it probably just adds up to an answer for Trivia Pursuit. It was more likely Gladiator and Titanic's box office take than their Oscars that spawned the knock-offs. X-Men won no Oscars, and look at the slew of Marvel Movies that have come out or are in production. Do you really think a Man-Thing movie would be a reality if X-Men had won Best Picture but tanked at the box office?
Oh, and as far as Johnny Depp goes: while I greatly enjoyed his performance and it had to be the one thing that made POTC worth seeing, there's a part of me that would really love to see Bill Murray take an Oscar home for some reason...