OSCARS 2013

You've all convinced me--will watch IB over the weekend. I'll make sure to post on the relevant thread if I have anything to say.

So what do we think is the best explanation for the Bigelow/Affleck snubs?

1. Political backlash

2. Personal bias (Bigelow as a woman, Affleck as a pretty-boy actor)

3. Desire to spread the wealth among deserving candidates, perhaps mixed with
3a. a faulty assumption that Bigelow and Affleck were already locks and thus didn't need help

4. Shortened voting schedule, leading to
4a. less time to catch up with screeners (particularly the late-released ZDT)
4b. an inability to use the DGA slate as a guide

5. Harvey Weinstein (nudging Russell in)

IMO, 1 and 4a don't make sense to me since the films still landed expected nominations elsewhere. 2 might be true in Bigelow's case, though Oscar is usually kind to handsome actor-turned-directors like Affleck (cf. Costner, Clooney). The others offer varying degrees of plausibility.

With Affleck I think the Jenny from the Block video is to blame:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dly6p4Fu5TE

Bigelow has already won an Oscar, which sort of disproves 2 but might be why she didn't get a directing nom. If they wanted to punish the movie for its politics, Boal wouldn't have been nominated (though clearly there are more writing slots so maybe that's bullshit).

Russell getting in was a surprise, but with four acting noms it's they probably saw his work there as drawing out great performances so maybe it makes sense.

Regarding your first point, which I probably should've included: I think winning an Oscar is sometimes an impediment to further wins but not to further nominations.

Bigelow: no idea why she was snubbed.
Affleck: his direction is merely adequate (see also: his acting).

and that disqualifies you from getting an Oscar?

Generally, no. But this year, apparently so.

Of course, with ten best picture noms and only five best director noms, what used to be odd - films nominated for best picture but not director - are now the norm.

I think it helps to look at the people who actually were nominated

Michael Haneke – Amour
Ang Lee – Life of Pi
David O. Russell – Silver Linings Playbook
Steven Spielberg – Lincoln
Benh Zeitlin – Beasts of the Southern Wild

Bigelow and Affleck both have Oscars, and Affleck got his when he was ten years prettier (albeit for writing, but still behind the camera). Hollywood's also thrown director trophies to pretty boys like Mel Gibson, Kevin Costner and Clint Eastwood. Four of the 5 directed best picture nominees and two of them were always front runners. So basically the message is that more people liked Beasts Of Southern Wild and Life Of Pi more than Zero Dark Thirty and Argo. While I did not see the former pair, I did see the latter and was not particularly impressed. If anyone was nudged on, it was haneke, and well

i mean if anything, it's awesome that haneke got a nod instead of two movies about CIA agents looking anxious while middle eastern music plays

I think someone needs to get to the bottom of why Knuckleball isn't up for best documentary. I mean, c'mon, Wilbur Wood--I thought he had lots of friends in the Academy.

Robert Redford quintessential pretty boy to get Best Director trophy.

Forgotten but worth mentioning cuz he was nominated: Paul Newman for Rachel Rachel

Redford should have won for Quiz Show.

same year as Tarantino

i prefer it to PF but i suppose it's the screenplay that makes it so good.

(we've discussed this before i know)

@Michael_Haneke
on my roof drinkin tequila and screemn the lyrix 2 'i got 5 on it' but im changin 'on it' to 'oscar nominayshuns' lol #friday

Did anyone see Life of Pi or Beasts? Magical symbolic journeys aren't usually my thing and we didn't get screeners - is there a reason not to be glad their directors got nods over the CIA thrillers?

no

Beasts is all indie shakey-cam shit but I guess he got a good performance out of the little girl. Life of Pi has a pretty jaw-dropping hour and a bit, but the opening act and final scenes are pretty terrible. ZDT deserved it for directing, but Argo didn't.

was bored by Beasts, a tourism segment for post-Katrina Southern states suitable for Epcot.

There's some good stuff in Beasts (mostly the sets/design, which reminded me of Where the Wild Things Are but better and 1/90th the cost), but yeah it's pretty bad.

beasts isnt really 'bad' its just nothing spesh

I wouldn't say Life of Pi has a jaw-dropping HOUR, but the shipwreck sequence is stunning.

Pi >>>> Beasts

life of piss

Piss > Beasts

Well, life of Pissing, technically.

Quiz Show was a "TV movie," albeit a fairly good one. Turturro's character/performance was cringily one-note (the ethnic loudmouth).

Affleck got his when he was ten years prettier

Ben Affleck is so much better looking now than when he won his writing Oscar (it was 15 years ago btw); I thought Hollywood's barely-out-of-the-cradle standards of beauty only applied to women....

Affleck has never been a box-office star on the scale of Redford, Eastwood, or even Costner at his peak. When he had his shot, he was blamed for killing one potential franchise (that 'Jack Ryan' BS) and made stuff like Gigli. It's entirely fitting that after making a very good directing debut, and an OK second film, he gets a bunch of AA attention for his worst of the three,

http://www.davidmixner.com/2013/01/why-the-oscar-nomination-for-how-to-survive-the-plague-is-so-important.html

xpost I'd say they're all on a roughly equal middle-of-the-road level; Gone Baby Gone not as good as you remember

"ten years prettier" was a joke, he's quite handsome today yes

gone baby gone had great parts but casey affleck's speech at the climax is torture

I wouldn't say Life of Pi has a jaw-dropping HOUR, but the shipwreck sequence is stunning.

I really liked a lot of the night time starscape stuff, and the acid pools on the island, but yes, very few images come close to that shot of Pi underwater looking at the submerged ship.

argo easily the worst of affleck's three though, no doubt

aside from any political distastefulness, i think the TRUE STORY aspects of ZDT and Argo were used to excuse a relative lack of character work compared to Hurt Locker and The Town

The Town's character work was done at Warner Brothers in 1938.

haha oh it's corn for sure but the actors were given the chance to sell it

Oh yeah, the whale leaping over the lifeboat was pretty o_0 too.

Renner aping Cagney in his death scene is the best thing in all of Affleck's films.

Since Les Mis is the only of the BP noms I haven't seen, I feel kind of obligated to trudge along to it next week.

if affleck doesn't go overly pretentious or sour, and manages another bit of old school hollywood fun with little authentic touches and reputable performers he'll get his trophy next time

lol apparently affleck won best director at the Critics' Choice awards last night, all the more reason people will think he's "due" next round

he made a cute lil afflecky speech about "THIS is the award that really matters anyway haha not really"

I saw that. I had never heard of the Critics' Choice awards before.

i envy you

Bennie is better looking now, no.question, but GBG is the only one of his auteur efforts I'd watch again, and he's responsible for Morgan Freeman 's worst perf to date. That should count for something.

Hollywood has done so well forgetting its meh potboiler tradition that his films get overpraised.

worse than invictus? dreamcatcher??

Misread that as "meth potboiler."