Wonder Woman Swoops Into The 2017 American Film Institute Top 10

The American Film Institute released their annual top 10 list and helped the eclectic and diverse crop of Oscar contenders in the list gain major traction. For starters, The Big Sick got a major boost with its inclusion and Wonder Woman got its first mention in any Best Picture lineup this season. Whether Wonder Woman can be a major threat going forward remains to be seen. But it’s nice that the film hasn’t become forgotten.

One thing that’s noticeable is how this lineup isn’t different from the Best Picture lineup on the Critic’s Choice Awards. The only film from the Critic’s Choice lineup not to be found here is Darkest Hour but that’s because AFI only considers films that are at least co-produced by the U.S. and Darkest Hour is a U.K. production. Some other misses include Mudbound, Phantom Thread, I, Tonya, and even Coco given how they’ve embraced animated films before (Zootopia, Inside Out, Finding Nemo, etc.).

AFI Movies Of The Year:

The Big Sick

Call Me By Your Name

Dunkirk

The Florida Project

Get Out

Lady Bird

The Post

The Shape Of Water

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Wonder Woman

What Makes A Film Considered Important Enough To Win The Best Picture Oscar?

When it comes to predicting what will win Best Picture, it typically comes down to what film feels important. It can be a film that tackles important subject matter like Spotlight which is about heroic journalists taking down pedophile priests, or 12 Years A Slave which is a harrowing depiction of slavery and racism. Also, it could be a film that Hollywood feels is important to them like Argo which is about American hostages in Iran being saved by Hollywood producers, or Birdman which is a satire depicting the cultural dominance of superheroes in Tinseltown.

This year, we have contenders that are important in a more obvious manner like The Post directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks. The Post depicts the importance of the press and free speech which makes it timely in the era of Trump who has repeatedly blasted media publications he views as biased against him and he is going as far as to try and gut net neutrality which would make the Internet less free. It also depicts the story of Kay Graham (Streep), the first female editor of an American news publication, trying to expose the patriarchal U.S. government and their involvement in the Vietnam War. It is a story that provides shades of Hillary Clinton who became the first woman to become a Presidential nominee and ran against the chauvinistic Donald Trump in the 2016 election. Also, a film about a woman exposing the government’s dirty secrets is quite similar to the Harvey Weinstein scandal which involves multiple women coming forward with their experiences of being sexually harassed by the famed Hollywood mogul and other powerful men in the industry as well.

Its timeliness, importance, and even its star power should be enough for people to label The Post as a heavy frontrunner for Best Picture. However, let’s not forget that there are other films in the conversation that not only carry importance but are important in a way that’s more subtle.

For instance, there’s the queer romance Call Me By Your Name which just won the Gotham Award for Best Film. It may be a simple coming-of-age story about a 17 year old in Italy who falls for his father’s 24-year old protégé. But it still manages to possess political importance. When actor Anthony Rapp came forward with his story about being sexually assaulted by Kevin Spacey when he was 14, Spacey cited his homosexuality in his response to the accusations. But Call Me By Your Name, which depicts a loving relationship between two males despite a slight age gap, serves as a reminder that not every gay male who pursues a younger male is predatory. The Kevin Spacey scandal has been painting the gay community in a negative light so a film like Call Me By Your Name proves to be a necessity.

Usually, when Best Picture is awarded to a film that’s timely and important, a film that is presented in a matter of fact, straightforward manner is what typically wins. Get Out is timely with its depiction of modern-day racism but it is presented in a darkly comical manner and has dominated the pop culture landscape more than any other film this year besides Wonder Woman. Ever since its release back in February, people have made Internet GIFs out of film clips from it and even trailer parodies. For example, the website Funny Or Die made a trailer parody reimagining Get Out but with the Trump family. If that were to win Best Picture, it would be historical because it’d be the first film helmed by an African-American male in his directorial debut, the second Best Picture winner in a row helmed by an African-American male (after Barry Jenkins helming Moonlight), and it would also be the first horror comedy to win the top prize.

Then, there’s Lady Bird which has been winning the hearts of everyone. It’s the most well-reviewed movie of all time on Rotten Tomatoes with 185 positive reviews and no negatives. Also, so far, it has made about $12 million domestically in under 800 theaters. Even if it might be seen as a quirky indie, a Best Picture win would be significant because it would be the first female-driven film helmed by a woman to do so. In the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal which has involved female artists being silenced and even blacklisted, Lady Bird winning Best Picture would serve as a reminder that more female filmmaking voices need to be heard. The plot of Lady Bird may not be topical but that doesn’t mean the film doesn’t have any resonance.

Moonlight, which last won Best Picture, was a simple coming of age story about a black youth discovering his sexuality. But it was still an important film because of what its Best Picture win represents. It’s the first LGBTQ+ film in history to win Best Picture and the first film with an all-black cast to win as well. It was a sign that there are stories about both communities that need to be told and the story didn’t need to be politicized to get that message across.

So, a film that wins Best Picture typically may have to be considered important enough to win and have emotional resonance. But as you can tell, there are different levels of importance. A Best Picture contender can be important because of the subject matter that the story depicts and/or because it captures the cultural zeitgeist. It can also be important because of what its win would mean for the communities that it represents.

More Love Across The Board For The Shape Of Water With The 23rd Critics Choice Awards Nominations

The nominations for the 23rd Critics Choice Awards are in and even if the critics don’t vote for the Oscars, they still have an interesting insight into the Oscar race. For starters, the fantasy romance The Shape Of Water led with 14 nominations while Call Me By Your Name, Dunkirk, Lady Bird, and The Post racked up eight nominations apiece. Also, Patrick Stewart pulled off a surprise Supporting Actor nomination for Logan, proving himself to be a major dark horse, and The Big Sick managed to surprise in Best Picture which gives it a much needed boost after under-performing at the Gotham and Independent Spirit Awards.

But with those major surprises comes some major snubs. For instance, The Florida Project cracked the Best Picture field and got an expected Supporting Actor nomination for Willem Dafoe, but nothing for writer/director Sean Baker. Also, Mudbound proved itself to be a formidable awards player by landing nominations in Adapted Screenplay, Supporting Actress for Mary J. Blige, and Cinematography for Rachel Morrison. However, it didn’t land a Best Picture nomination and disappointingly, no Director nomination for Dee Rees. Greta Gerwig managed to crack the Best Director category but who says Gerwig has to be the only woman to do so? Lastly, despite there being seven slots in Supporting Actress, there was no room for presumed heavy hitter Melissa Leo in Novitiate. After getting ignored here and by the Independent Spirit Awards which seemed like an easy get for her, she’ll have to contend on a wing and a prayer.

Full list of nominees:

Best Picture 

The Big Sick
Call Me by Your Name
Darkest Hour
Dunkirk
The Florida Project
Get Out
Lady Bird
The Post
The Shape of Water
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Best Actor 

Timothée Chalamet, Call Me by Your Name
James Franco, The Disaster Artist
Jake Gyllenhaal, Stronger
Tom Hanks, The Post
Daniel Kaluuya, Get Out
Daniel Day Lewis, Phantom Thread
Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour

Best Actress 

Jessica Chastain, Molly’s Game
Sally Hawkins, The Shape of Water
Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Margot Robbie, I, Tonya
Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird
Meryl Streep, The Post

Best Supporting Actor 

Willem Dafoe, The Florida Project
Armie Hammer, Call Me By Your Name
Richard Jenkins, The Shape of Water
Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Patrick Stewart, Logan
Michael Stuhlbarg, Call Me by Your Name

Best Supporting Actress 

Mary J. Blige, Mudbound
Hong Chau, Downsizing
Tiffany Haddish, Girls Trip
Holly Hunter, The Big Sick
Allison Janney, I, Tonya
Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird
Octavia Spencer, The Shape of Water

Best Young Actor/Actress 

Mckenna Grace, Gifted
Dafne Keen, Logan
Brooklynn Prince, The Florida Project
Millicent Simmonds, Wonderstruck
Jacob Tremblay, Wonder

Best Acting Ensemble 

Dunkirk
Lady Bird
Mudbound
The Post
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Best Director 

Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of Water
Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird
Martin McDonagh, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Christopher Nolan, Dunkirk
Luca Guadagnino, Call Me by Your Name
Jordan Peele, Get Out
Steven Spielberg, The Post

Best Animated Feature 

The Breadwinner
Coco
Despicable Me 3
The LEGO Batman Movie
Loving Vincent

Best Action Movie 

Baby Driver
Logan
Thor: Ragnarok
War for the Planet of the Apes
Wonder Woman

Best Comedy

The Big Sick
The Disaster Artist
Girls Trip
I, Tonya
Lady Bird

Best Actor in a Comedy 

Steve Carell, Battle of the Sexes
James Franco, The Disaster Artist
Chris Hemsworth, Thor: Ragnarok
Kumail Nanjiani, The Big Sick
Adam Sandler, The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)

Best Actress in a Comedy 

Tiffany Haddish, Girls Trip
Zoe Kazan, The Big Sick
Margot Robbie, I, Tonya
Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird
Emma Stone, Battle of the Sexes

Best Sci-Fi/Horror Movie

Blade Runner 2049
Get Out
It
The Shape of Water

Best Foreign Language Film

BPM (Beats Per Minute)
A Fantastic Woman
First They Killed My Father
In the Fade
The Square
Thelma

Best Original Screenplay 

Guillermo del Toro and Vanessa Taylor, The Shape of Water
Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird
Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani, The Big Sick
Liz Hannah and Josh Singer, The Post
Martin McDonagh, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Jordan Peele, Get Out

Best Adapted Screenplay 

James Ivory, Call Me by Your Name
Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, The Disaster Artist
Dee Rees and Virgil Williams, Mudbound
Aaron Sorkin, Molly’s Game
Jack Thorne, Steve Conrad and Stephen Chbosky, Wonder

Best Cinematography 

Roger Deakins, Blade Runner 2049
Hoyte van Hoytema, Dunkirk
Dan Laustsen, The Shape of Water
Rachel Morrison, Mudbound
Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, Call Me By Your Name

Best Production Design

Paul Denham Austerberry, Shane Vieau and Jeff Melvin, The Shape of Water
Jim Clay and Rebecca Alleway, Murder on the Orient Express
Nathan Crowley and Gary Fettis, Dunkirk
Dennis Gassner and Alessandra Querzola, Blade Runner 2049
Sarah Greenwood and Katie Spencer, Beauty and the Beast
Mark Tildesley and Véronique Melery, Phantom Thread

Best Editing 

Michael Kahn and Sarah Broshar, The Post
Paul Machliss and Jonathan Amos, Baby Driver
Lee Smith, Dunkirk
Joe Walker, Blade Runner 2049
Sidney Wolinsky, The Shape of Water

Best Costume Design 

Renée April, Blade Runner 2049
Mark Bridges, Phantom Thread
Jacqueline Durran, Beauty and the Beast
Lindy Hemming, Wonder Woman
Luis Sequeira, The Shape of Water

Best Hair and Makeup 

Beauty and the Beast
Darkest Hour
I, Tonya
The Shape of Water
Wonder

Best Visual Effects 

Blade Runner 2049
Dunkirk
The Shape of Water
Thor: Ragnarok
War for the Planet of the Apes
Wonder Woman

Best Song 

“Evermore,” Beauty and the Beast
“Mystery of Love,” Call Me by Your Name
“Remember Me,” Coco
“Stand Up for Something,” Marshall
“This Is Me,” The Greatest Showman

Best Score 

Alexandre Desplat, The Shape of Water
Jonny Greenwood, Phantom Thread
Dario Marianelli, Darkest Hour
Benjamin Wallfisch and Hans Zimmer, Blade Runner 2049
John Williams, The Post
Hans Zimmer, Dunkirk

The Detroit Film Critics Society Awards Announce Their Film Nominations

The nominations for the Detroit Film Critics Society Awards, which will take place on December 7th, have just been announced. For the first time this season, The Disaster Artist gets a Best Picture citation and Patrick Stewart gets his first citation in Best Supporting Actor for Logan. Meanwhile, Tiffany Haddish gets a slight boost in her Oscar campaign for Best Supporting Actress for Girls Trip. Interestingly, despite being called the DETROIT Film Critics Society, they haven’t nominated the film named after the city anywhere.

BEST FILM

The Disaster Artist
The Florida Project
Get Out
The Shape of Water
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri

BEST DIRECTOR

Paul Thomas Anderson, Phantom Thread
Sean Baker, The Florida Project
Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird
Christopher Nolan, Dunkirk
Jordan Peele, Get Out
Geuillermo del Toro, The Shape of Water

BEST ACTOR

Timothée Chalamet, Call Me by Your Name
James Franco, The Disaster Artist
Daniel Day-Lewis, Phantom Thread
Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour
Robert Pattinson, Good Time

BEST ACTRESS

Jessica Chastain, Molly’s Game
Sally Hawkins, The Shape of Water
Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Margot Robbie, I, Tonya
Saroise Ronan, Lady Bird

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Willem Dafoe, The Florida Project
Richard Jenkins, The Shape of Water
Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Patrick Stewart, Logan
Michael Stuhlbarg, Call Me by Your Name

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Tiffany Haddish, Girls Trip
Holly Hunter, The Big Sick
Allison Janney, I, Tonya
Melissa Leo, Novitiate
Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird

BEST ENSEMBLE

The Big Sick
Lady Bird
Mudbound
The Post
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

BREAKTHROUGH

Timothée Chalamet, Actor (Call Me by Your Name, Lady Bird, Hot Summer Nights)
Gal Gadot, Actress (Wonder Woman, Justice League)
Tiffany Haddish, Actress (Girls Trip)
Caleb Landry Jones, Actor (American Made;The Florida Project;Get Out; and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)
Jordan Peele, Writer/Director (Get Out)

BEST SCREENPLAY

Guillermo del Toro, Vanessa Taylor, The Shape of Water
Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird
Emily V. Gordon, Kumail Nanjiani, The Big Sick
Liz Hannah, Josh Singer, The Post
Martin McDonagh, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Jordan Peele, Get Out
Taylor Sheridan, Wind River

BEST DOCUMENTARY

The Defiant Ones
Human Flow
Kedi
Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond
Step
Strong Island
Whose Streets?

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie
Cars 3
Coco
The LEGO Batman Movie
Loving Vincent

BEST USE OF MUSIC

Baby Driver
Blade Runner 2049
Good Time
Phantom Thread
The Shape of Water

Coco And The Breadwinner Lead The 45th Annie Awards Nominations

The current box office smash hit, Coco has topped the 45^th Annie Awards nominations, and is this year’s hottest contender for Best Animated Feature. Although, there may be a dark horse around the corner, with Irish cartoon ‘The Breadwinner’ being nominate for 10 awards as well, including best independent animated feature. Coco is a dazzling and stunning Pixar film, which looks like a visual colourful delight, and is the charming funny tale of a young Mexican boy’s adventures in the Land of the Dead. The film’s directors, Lee Unkrich and Adrian Molina have been nominated for best director, Molina and fellow writer Matthew Aldrich have been nominated for writing and there’s a voice acting nomination for the young star Anthony Gonzalez. The Breadwinner director Nora Twomey has also been nominated, and it’s two main voice actors (Saara Chaudry and Laara Sadiq) have also been nominated for their roles.

Aside from Coco, other nominees for best animated picture include Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie, Cars 3, Despicable Me 3, and The Boss Baby. And in the best independent animated feature category the nominees include In This Corner of the World, Loving Vincent,Napping Princess and The Big Bad Fox & Other Tales.

FILM NOMINATIONS

Best Animated Feature

Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie
Cars 3
Coco
Despicable Me 3
The Boss Baby

Best Animated Feature – Independent

In This Corner of the World
Loving Vincent
Napping Princess
The Breadwinner

Best Animated Special Production

Imaginary Friend Society “Feeling Sad”
Olaf’s Frozen Adventure
Pig: The Dam Keeper Poems
Revolting Rhymes

Best Animated Short Subject

Dear Basketball
Hedgehog’s Home
Negative Space
Scavengers
Son of Jaguar

Best Student Film

Cradle
Elsewhere
Good Night, Everybuds!
Once a hero
Poles Apart

Animated Effects

Avatar Flight of Passage
Cars 3
Coco
Despicable Me 3
Olaf’s Frozen Adventure

Character Animation – Animated Feature

Coco: John Chun Chiu Lee
Coco: Allison Rutland
The Big Bad Fox & Other Tales: Marco Nguyen, Benjamin Renner, Patrick Imbert
The Boss Baby: Bryce McGovern
The Boss Baby: Rani Naamani

Character Animation – Live Action

Game of Thrones S7 Ep.6 Beyond The Wall
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Kong / Kong: Skull Island
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
War for the Planet of the Apes

Character Design

Coco
Despicable Me 3
Smurfs: The Lost Village
The Boss Baby
The Breadwinner

Directing

Coco
The Big Bad Fox & Other Tales
The Boss Baby
The Breadwinner
The LEGO Batman Movie

Music

Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie
Coco
Loving Vincent
Olaf’s Frozen Adventure
The Breadwinner

Production Design

Coco
Ferdinand
LEAP!
Mary and The Witch’s Flower
The Breadwinner

Storyboarding

Coco: Dean Kelly
Coco: Madeline Sharafian
The Boss Baby: Glenn Harmon
The Breadwinner: Julien Regnard
The Star: Louie del Carmen

Voice Acting

Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie: Nick Kroll
Coco: Anthony Gonzalez
The Breadwinner: Saara Chaudry
The Breadwinner: Laara Sadiq
The LEGO Batman Movie: Zach Galifianakis

Writing

Coco
Loving Vincent
Mary and The Witch’s Flower
The Breadwinner

Editorial

Coco
Ferdinand
The Breadwinner
The LEGO Batman Movie
The Star

100 Not Nominated For Oscars – Part 20

So there we have it. 100 not nominated for Oscars. And, honestly, we could easily do a hundred more of these absentees. The final five, then, are some of my own absolute favorites that somehow did not have their names called out come the announcement of the Academy Award nominations. A huge, huge thanks to my terrific team of writers that contributed to the series. Go ahead, enjoy the last five, all parts can be found by clicking on the right hand panel.

Adapted Screenplay — Armando Iannucci, Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Tony Roche (In the Loop) 2009

Spinning right off the hugely successful BBC satire The Thick of It, the astute In the Loop jumps straight into the serious issues and relationship between English and American politics – but this is essentially a comedy. The powers that be, the decision-makers, are made a mockery of here as the writers expertly exploit the comedy-of-errors driven by such government actions. The dialogue in particular packs a huge punch, crammed with observations, foul-mouthed rants, and flat out hilarious insults. The film is a feast in particular for Malcolm Tucker’s ferociousness – Peter Capaldi is on fire here. And although never quite juvenile, but always somehow smart, you find yourself wondering if these kind of crass exchanges do go on behind closed doors. We are so compelled by the words on screen, as well as the thin-veil of seriousness with which we may take certain political escapades, you want to believe it is so. 

Picture — Once 2007

To bestow praise and love on a movie heavily based on its song lyrics, its music, as well as it’s narrative pedaled by pure heart and soul is to not cheat yourself out of seeing this splendid little gem. Musicals rarely get credit for their writing of non-melodic content, and John Carney’s Irish indie fable is hardly a musical in the conventional sense, but it is a charming, affecting piece of story-telling – both through the film’s plot and the musical numbers. Thought-provoking songs, giving characters backstory and status, Once is a good-natured tale, a triumph of the human heart. The leads, Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, as simply Guy and Girl respectively, wrote the songs between them, and perform them on-screen as part of their fleeting, naturalistic modern romance. Carney’s writing is also flourishing, real conversations, awkward exchanges, a rich chemistry, with little dialogue in all he still manages to salvage some true and poignant moments. Not long after the twosome have met, he a Dublin busker of sorts, and she a Czech street flower seller, they find refuge in a music store and sing the unforgettable (and Oscar-winning) “Falling Slowly” – which is kind of what they are doing right before our eyes – and ears. 

Director — David Lynch (Wild at Heart) 1990

David Lynch’s wacky and what-the-fuck appeal must have nudged the Academy pretty hard when they nominated Diane Ladd for Supporting Actress this year. Wild at Heart may be a little twisted as road movies go, so this was never going to be a Best Picture contender. But fans of Lynch will agree that this was one of his best and most accessible works as a director – so not too much to assume they could have gone for this having that very year given nods in the Director category to two film-makers not in contention for Best Picture also (Stephen Frears for The Grifters, and Barbet Schroeder for Reversal of Fortune). 

Foreign Language Film — L’avventura 1960

L’avventura is a motion picture like no other, adored by, and inspirational to, many. Michelangelo Antonioni captured mystery, beauty, longing, sadness, like a new art-form of storytelling – his muse Monica Vitti blossomed in front of the camera. Winning the Jury Prize in Cannes, L’avventura was nowhere to be seen with AMPAS. Incredibly, Antonioni would not be recognized by Oscar until he switched to the English speaking Blowup, earning him nods for Screenplay and Director. Awarded an Honorary Oscar in 1995, you have to wonder what the hell they were doing for 35 years. L’avventura is my personal favorite of 1960, a year of true marvel and excellence for films not in the English language.

Director — Christopher Nolan (Inception) 2010

Inception is, in my opinion, the single greatest movie achievement of the year. It lured me in with the anticipation and publicity, and then inevitably blew me away when I eventually saw it on the big screen. It reminded me why we have that urge to go to to cinema. I love pretty much everything about it, the whole original concept, the ensemble players, Hans Zimmer’s score. I could go on. Christopher Nolan directs the set-pieces and the dreamy landscapes with expertise, seemingly fully accomplishing what he had been promising with his prior work. He established himself a truly brilliant director (given his great work on the previously Oscar-dropped The Dark Knight). I am still haunted by that day his name was not read out when the Oscar nominations were announced. One of the great and baffling Oscar snubs without a doubt. No such absurdity should befall him in a couple of months on his way to the Best Director prize for Dunkirk.

That’s all folks. For now. Please leave your comments below.

100 Not Nominated For Oscars – Part 19

It is common law for many, many popular films, those loved by the moving-going public, and even professional film critics, to not make it big with the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts, and Sciences. If at all. Fine screenplays by super-established brothers, huge successes outside of the live action format, even one of the filmmaking greats can miss out for one of his very strongest works, directorially. There are no guarantees. The penultimate five in our Oscar-nomineeless series are very good examples of such misdemeanors.

Animated Feature — Toy Story 1995 — Robin Write

Animated movies have not really got a great history for Best Picture opportunities. Only Beauty and the Beast managed to squeeze into the big list, before the category Animated Feature was created. Things changed again when five became ten for Best Picture in 2009. Further voting rule changes in 2011 now means animated films will struggle once again. Back in 1995, Toy Story sent animated movies soaring, a new generation of this genre. And it is a real emotional adventure of a movie experience. The modern audience, in hindsight, and with it’s equally fantastic sequels, might not fully appreciate what all the fuss was about with the original Toy Story. I would suggest to them, watch it again, because this was simply one of the best movies of that year. And would have won Animated Feature had it not taken them a further six years to establish the category. 

Original Screenplay — Joel & Ethan Coen (Inside Llewyn Davis) 2013 — Steve Schweighofer

The Coens are not exactly Oscar drought-stricken, but, boy, did they get that shaft when Oscar snubbed this one. Film, director and actor omissions aside, one would think that the screenwriters’ club, known for being a bit more progressive than most of the geezer membership, would have recognized the intimately detailed script about a singer/songwriter of good-to-mediocre talent with an uncanny knack for making terrible decisions — and generally behaving as a frustrated shit — would have been just what the doctor ordered. Apparently not. Regardless, it’s a brilliant film that blossoms from a thoughtful, multi-layered script that towers above the likes of the pandering Dallas Buyers Club or puerile American Hustle. Both the BBC and the New York Times put it on the list of the best films of the 21st Century so far, the only film from that year, so the hell with Oscar, anyway. As the song says, “Hang me, Oh, hang me.”.

Original Score — Danny Elfman (Edward Scissorhands) 1990 — Robin Write

Tim Burton, there was another film-maker who would not catch a break with the Academy. Like he cares. This film ticked many of their boxes though, a great cast, a heart-warming story, and general crowd-pleaser. What is maybe most memorable perhaps is Danny Elfman’s wistful score, that bears all the magic and romance of Edward’s story. Shame on you, heartless Oscar voters, who instead chose the likes of perfectly okay Home Alone and Ghost, and far less memorable Avalon and Havana.

Director — Steven Spielberg (Jaws) 1975 — Al Robinson

It must’ve been a mistake. “Robert Altman, Federico Fellini, Milos Forman, Stanley Kubrick, and Sidney Lumet”… but wait! Where is Steven Spielberg’s name from the field of 5 nominated for Best Director for 1975?? Steven Spielberg directs Jaws, one of the most beloved films of all time, and he’s not nominated for the Oscar. This must be a mistake, but it wasn’t. Back in 1975, he was not a household name like he is now. He had just come off directing his debut feature film in The Sugarland Express, and he wasn’t respected the way those other 5 were. It’s understandable now to think why he wasn’t nominated, but it still seems like it was an error that the Oscar voters made. Jaws was a perfect film in a sea of other great films of an era that gave us many great films. I bet if the voters could do it over, they would most certainly nominate him. Now the question is, who would they eliminate?

Film Editing — Bonnie and Clyde 1967 — Robin Write

An incredibly innovative time in American cinema was highlighted in 1967, with crime flick Bonnie and Clyde just one outlandish, brilliant motion picture to break into the somewhat familiar cookie-cutter style Academy selections. Winning two Oscars from ten nominations (joint highest that year), Arthur Penn’s movie, like the aforementioned Best Picture nominee The Graduate, was somehow missing in the Editing category. By today’s seemingly altered standards the editing nod would likely have been default, but who am I to say exactly how back then perceptions of such tech categories went hand-in-hand with the movies they shortlisted in the top tier. It also has one of the most famously, masterful quick-cut sequences in the entirety of the history of cinema.

Fire your comments at us in the section below.

Reading, Writing, Arithmetic #35; Or 100 Not Nominated For Oscars – Part 18

Merging my recommended links chunks with the ongoing Oscar snubbery series seemed like a great idea – there is after all so much content on the many, many none-nominated folk in the Academy Awards history out there. None of the following five then are written by me or any of my contributors, but definitely worth your time all the same.

Leading Actress — Audrey Hepburn (My Fair Lady) 1964 — from The Guardian

Julie Andrews’s Tony-winning stage performance as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady made her a star, but she was deemed insufficiently famous to repeat the role on screen, as Jack Warner enlisted Hepburn’s gracious (albeit less golden-voiced) services instead. Andrews’s seemingly lesser consolation prize was the title role in Disney’s family film Mary Poppins – no match, surely, for Warner’s lavishly produced blockbuster. Yet while My Fair Lady duly notched up eight Oscar wins, including best picture, Hepburn was shut out of the best actress race, allegedly penalised by voters for failing to do her own singing. All of which greased the wheels for Andrews’s victory for Poppins: among the crueller cases of karmic logic in Academy history.

Foreign Language Film — 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days 2007 — from The Daily Beast

The Academy Award for Best Foreign Film has been notorious for being one of the most poorly managed categories on Oscar night since it was instituted in 1956 (the first winner was Fellini’s La Strada). And in recent years, it’s only gotten worse. Amélie failed to win the award in 2001, and in 2003, the Brazilian crime epic City of God wasn’t even nominated. In 2008, the mediocre Japanese film Departures beat out Israel’s stunning Waltz With Bashir and France’s The Class, while in 2009, the Argentinian film The Secret in Their Eyes upset Jacques Audiard’s crime masterpiece A Prophet and Michael Haneke’s The White Ribbon. But the biggest travesty came at the 2008 ceremony, when Christian Mungiu’s Romanian abortion saga 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days failed to secure even a nomination despite being named the best overall film of the year by The New York Times and winning the Palme d’Or at Cannes.

Leading Actor — Sydney Poitier (In The Heat of the Night) 1967 — from Screenrant

Poitier had won Best Actor in 1964 for Lilies in the Field, but in 1967 he starred in three race-conscious critical darlings: To Sir, with Love, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner and this hard-boiled police procedural set in racist smalltown Mississippi. In The Heat of the Night featured police chief Bill Gillespie (Rod Steiger) working with a black veteran homicide detective, Virgil Tibbs (Sydney Poitier). Poitier got billing over Steiger in the film’s advertising, and certainly got the most memorable quote: “They call me Mister Tibbs!” The Academy liked the film enough to give it seven nominations and five wins – including Best Actor, which went to Steiger, not Poitier. Poitier wasn’t even nominated for Best Supporting Actor, either. Aside from a 2002 honorary Oscar, the Academy seems to have felt that once was enough for Poitier. You know, let’s let the white guys have a turn!

Visual Effects / Make-Up — Deadpool 2016 — from Variety

In the end, Oscar voters got cold feet when it came to recognizing the 20th Century Fox mega-hit starring Ryan Reynolds as a disfigured mercenary with the power to heal himself. If it had made the cut, Deadpool would have been the first comic book movie to crash the best picture race. But sadly, Deadpool got shut out of the Oscars race completely, ending up with fewer nominations than Suicide Squad (best makeup) and Doctor Strange (visual effects).

Costume Design — Black Swan 2010 — from Fashionista

More drama over the Black Swan costumes: the film wasn’t even nominated for an Oscar for costume design. Nods went to Alice in Wonderland, I Am Love, The King’s Speech, The Tempest, and True Grit. We already knew Rodarte’s Mulleavy sisters wouldn’t see any glory for their beautifully twisted and painstakingly made ballet costumes for Black Swan–despite the buzz that their names had garnered for the film. The Mulleavy sisters weren’t members of the Costume Design Guild when they worked on the film and were reportedly “naive” about movie credits. Kate and Laura Mulleavy ended up receiving a backend credit while Amy Westcott, who worked with director Darren Aronofsky on The Wrestler, received the front credit as costume designer, making Westcott the only one eligible for an Oscar. In an interview with Deadline, Westcott explained, “It was Natalie who recommended Rodarte. It was important to her and Darren asked me if it was OK. I met with Laura and Kate Mulleavy and I saw their feathered Vulture collection (I think it was Spring 2010). It seemed very appropriate.” But now that whole controversy over Rodarte’s ineligibility for Oscar costume credit is moot. And it comes as a bit of a shock that the film was completely left off the list to be considered. Black Swan had already picked up best costume nominations from the Critics’ Choice Awards, Bafta and the Costume Designers’ Guild.

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100 Not Nominated For Oscars – Part 17

It is not fair to say that because A Beautiful Mind won Picture and Director, that the Academy were just not into darker movies. True, this has the true story, the sensible direction, and redemption. But the subject matter was deep, emotional, and powerful. The other nominees were a murder mystery, a drama about grief, a fantasy epic, and downbeat musical. All dark in their own way. That said, it was actually a rather bleak year for movies, in the subject matter not the quality of the movies. David Lynch and Ridley Scott won Directing nominations (without Picture) films not exactly feel-good, right? Look at some of the acting nominations. Horrendous cop Denzel Washington. Halle Berry suffering unimaginable grief – like Tom Wilkinson and Sissy Spacek. Varied ailments were also portrayed by Russell Crowe, Sean Penn, Judi Dench, Nicole Kidman. Ben Kingsley was an assertive crook, Ian McKellen was a wizard who perishes, and Marisa Tomei sees her lover murdered. Even the Screenplay nominees represented the gritty and the grim – Memento, The Royal Tenenbaums, Ghost World. It was down to the big, colorful characters of Shrek, or Bridget Jones, to provide the shinier side of the coin – and even some real laughs or joy. Giving my wonderful contributors the night off, I start this list of five myself with one of those movies, a five-times-nominated feel-good picture that surprising lost the Foreign Language Oscar to a Bosnia war movie. Of course.

Picture — Amelie 2001

There are very few words, in English or French, to encapsulate how I feel about Amelie. But generally speaking it would be hard for anyone who has seen it to convey the wonder of, say, it’s production design. Or the vivid and wizardry movement of Bruno Delbonnel’s camera. And how it is all edited together. Or even the impact the music by Yann Tiersen has on you, the audience, as well as the flow of the characters and the story. Jean-Pierre Jeunet did incredible visual things with Delicatessen, this is right up that street. Right in the center is the delightful Audrey Tautou as Amelie, an Emma Woodhouse in a whimsical Paris tending to everyone else’s affairs until her own lonely reality becomes too close for comfort. Nominated for five Oscars you can’t help but wonder what might have been if you add to that Picture, Director, and Actress, with possibilities for Editing and Score. 

Original Screenplay – Hal Hartley (The Unbelievable Truth) 1989

True, in the early 90s the kick-starters of indie cinema (like Richard Linklater and Jim Jarmusch) were never going to get a look in at the Oscars. But somehow Whit Stillman garnered an Original Screenplay nomination for Metropolitan – a huge feat for a movie like that. Hal Hartley was in a very similar boat to Stillman, but was making movies with more quirk and energy, and at a more consistent frequency. Anybody who followed the indie new wave, and saw The Unbelievable Truth will hopefully love it for its oddball dialogue and characters, but also for its original humor and charm. 

Original Screenplay — Richard Linklater, Kim Krizan (Before Sunrise) 1995

Sometimes with movies we don’t need wizards to see the magic of cinema. We don’t need explosions to be captivated. We don’t need to go to outer space for an adventure. Or need a lifetime to fall in love. Just two regular people, who meet on a train, and spend the day together. Richard Linklater is one of the only film-makers I know who can take the ordinary, the simple, the human story in its freshest and most raw form, and make something exceptional as a viewing experience. Here with co-writer Kim Krizan (and later Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke with Before Sunset and Before Midnight), Linklater is writing real stuff here, like pretend phone calls, or a milkshake poem. I know a bit about limited time romance in Europe, but when I first saw Before Sunrise I didn’t. Linklater has inspired me to go on and write characters that I hoped felt so very real, and were allowed to just talk about the regular stuff. 

Original Screenplay – Jennifer Westfeldt, Heather Juergensen (Kissing Jessica Stein) 2002

In some ways Kissing Jessica Stein is your typical New York romantic comedy. Except this is pretty top tier when you want to actually laugh, and appreciate a flip-side romance where a girl simply wants to date another girl. And Jennifer Westfeldt is perfect as a neurotic romantic here a la Woody Allen, which is a great on-screen match with Heather Juergensen’s more forward, speak-your-mind kind of girl. It would have been an illustrious thing to have these women writers and actors alongside Nia Vardolos this year. 

Picture — The White Ribbon 2009

Das weiße Band, Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte translates to inform us that The White Ribbon, immaculately directed by the compulsively brilliant Michael Haneke, is a German children’s story. The actual action in this Palme d’Or winner is rather effectively sedate and eerie, but as finely crafted story-telling goes, this is hardly a drag at all. Focusing on some sinister children and passive adults, trying to keep control and maintain order, while all manner of mysterious events frequent a pre-World War I German village. It is an idyllic setting, but a rather enigmatic, disrupted little society. There’s relief in the love story between the school teacher and Eva, and a graceful, crisp black and white cinematography from Christian Berger, but this in all remains a very dark, very consuming fable. I think I used the word masterpiece when I saw it for the first time, and I don’t throw that term around very often at all – let alone on first viewing. 

Share your thoughts in the comments below.

100 Not Nominated For Oscars – Part 16

The front-runners heading into the final straight of the 1995 Oscar race seemed to be Sense and Sensibility and Apollo 13. That was until the Oscar nominations were announced, Ang Lee and DGA winner Ron Howard were remarkably absent from the Best Director list. Tim Robbins (Dead Man Walking) and Mike Figgis (Leaving Las Vegas) were there instead, but without Picture nods. This felt like something of a transitional Oscar year, there were snubs and surprises and diverse choices all over the place, depending on your point of view. To add, Seven, Exotica, Strange Days, and To Die For were nowhere to be seen, but 12 Monkeys, Casino, and The Crimson Tide were nominated moderately. Oh, and Heat too. Nothing.

Director — Michael Mann (Heat) 1995 — Robin Write

Michael Mann is an architect and a film director. Heat was pretty much an action crime movie, some superb film-making, narrating the dilemmas and set-pieces of the story. Although hints on broken human relationships, it is more focused on an obsessive cop and a meticulous crook, playing cat and mouse over a three hour running time (let’s not forget the cinematic significance of Al Pacino and Robert De Niro actually sharing the screen – and what a scene). That substance and style of Heat is perhaps were the Academy completely ignored it, in the midst of a talking pig or defeating the English to earn your freedom. That is also a mistake the Academy keep on making, and movies likes these will continue to be loved while other Best Picture winners are forgotten. Mann was then a significant force in directing, to say the least, but not until The Insider a few years later did he receive an Oscar nomination.

Score — Mica Levi (Under the Skin) 2013 — Bee Garner

There is something beyond haunting about Mica Levi’s score for sci-fi horror Under the Skin. It’s both beautiful and disturbing, leaving you with an unsettling feeling long after the film has finished. Levi’s score is otherworldly, and alien, unlike anything else I have ever heard before. It’s a strange collection of sounds and instruments which causes the hair on the back of my neck to stand on end. The music is in complete sync with the surreal images on the screen. In an interview with The Guardian Mica Levi explained the process behind composing her score, “we were looking at the natural sound of an instrument to try and find something identifiably human in it, then slowing things down or changing the pitch of it to make it feel uncomfortable. There was a lot of talk of perverting material. It does sound creepy, but we were going for sexy.” She certainly managed to accomplish her goal, and has created something that is hypnotic and deadly, capturing the very essence of Scarlett Johansson’s character. The piece called “Love” is perhaps my favourite, I remember sitting in my bedroom watching the rain after finishing the film and listening to that track on a loop, I have never quite had that experience to a piece of music before. It left me shell-shocked in a way. The Oscar for Best Original Score went to another sci-fi film, Gravity, a score less memorable, aside from a few pieces at the start of the film. It doesn’t haunt you like Levi’s music, a beautiful score which needs more appreciation.

Adapted Screenplay — Shane Black (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) 2005 — Robin Write

Based on, only to some degree, the Brett Halliday crime novel Bodies Are Where You Find Them, Shane Black has faithfully brought the touch of romance and of comedy to that detective story, and brought his tongue-in-cheek edge to modern day Los Angeles. By touch of comedy I mean this has more crafty laughs than many other comedies that attempt to be intelligent. What is so damn smart about Black’s screenplay for Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is that it’s really, genuinely funny moments (and there are a lot of them) are not just the lines of dialogue, but also the physical actions. Accidentally peeing on a dead body, or an aimless hand flick gesture that required words, don’t seem so humorous read from the page. But executed on the screen they come to life as they are supposed to. Of course credit has to go to what appears to be inch-perfect casting with Robert Downey Jr, Val Kilmer and Michelle Monaghan.

Supporting Actor — Ben Mendelsohn (Animal Kingdom) 2010 — Matt St. Clair

Jacki Weaver understandably heaped the awards buzz on Animal Kingdom and earned a rightful Supporting Actress nomination as the sinister matriarch named Janine “Smurf” Cody. But Ben Mendelsohn was the film’s unsung hero as Smurf’s equally psychotic son named “Pope.” Through every small glance he gives along with him being a man of few words, you’re always guessing what Pope is going to do next. His seemingly calm demeanor and kindly line delivery always contradict his detached eyes, capturing his mystique and thanks to Mendelsohn’s performance, “Pope” is one of the greatest on-screen villains in recent memory. If I had a ballot and he was nominated in Supporting Actor, Ben Mendelsohn would have easily gotten my vote.

Art Direction — The Double Life of Veronique 1991 — Robin Write

Krzysztof Kieślowski was renowned for being frustrated with film-making as he could never quite make the movie he saw in his head. No disrespect to the man, and I understand his notion, but that was pretty wasteful thinking when you look at what he visually achieved. The Double Life of Veronique cemented his place on the list of high caliber directors working at that time. Production Designer Patrice Mercier and team played an integral part in the meticulous attention to detail. An under-rated technical element, the set design, be it a house or music venue, plays a huge role here in capturing the film’s vivid atmosphere. The cinematography too by Slawomir Idziak ought to have found its way to an Oscar nomination. And a Foreign Language Film nod. And Best Actress. Director. You get the picture – ooh Best Picture, yes.

Dive into the comments below.

100 Not Nominated For Oscars – Part 15

Sometimes greatness in movies miss the boat with the Academy Awards. Or rather, those that vote. Be it a highly acclaimed documentary, an iconic Italian classic from the sixties, a much loved road movie, an accomplished actress seemingly stuck in the up-and-coming zone, or even a fuck you screenplay from a renowned fuck you writer. However you spin it, here are five more examples of how tastes are all so varied. 

Documentary Feature — Stories We Tell (Sarah Polley) 2012 — Robin Write

Credit where credit is due, Sarah Polley stepped out of her acting shoes and threw herself into the director’s chair. With a couple of accomplished fiction features under her directorial belt, Polley turned wide-eyed to documentary with Stories We Tell, turning the camera directly on herself, or rather the deeply personal revelation that her and family encountered regarding her biological father. Not only is this an expertly well-made film, gripping and intriguing always, it also boasts the achievement of compelling its audience on such an emotive subject without Polley making it all about herself nor tugging at any heart strings. The story tells itself, and Polley turns every single page. 

Foreign Language Film — La Dolce Vita 1960 — Steve Schweighofer

It must have been very encouraging when Fellini received his first Oscar nomination as Best Director for La Dolce Vita; after all, it was only his eighth film, hot on the heels of La Strada and Nights of Cabiria, both of which had already won the Foreign Language Film category. Knowing that, was Italy simply being generous to other international filmmakers, preventing Fellini from completely dominating the category by selecting another film for submission that year instead? Sarcasm aside, whatever the political or business reasoning was behind these decisions, what we are left with is yet another milestone film left out of the race and a great black hole swirling over the list of Foreign Language Film nominees. That La Dolce Vita was a work superior to all entries in both the Foreign Language Film and Best Picture categories that year, it leaves one just a tad dumbstruck when we look back on it.

Picture — Thelma & Louise 1991 — Robin Write

Director Ridley Scott, both actresses Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon, as well as the film’s editor and cinematography grabbed nominations for this – and it won its only Oscar for Callie Khouri and her original screenplay. So why did it fail to make Best Picture? Did the love for Beauty and the Beast squeeze it out? It’s a real shame, as some would argue it was the best movie of that year – it certainly wasn’t The Prince Of Tides (which is partly why Barbara Streisand is not on this list for her failure to be nominated as Director). 

Leading Actress — Rebecca Hall (Christine) 2016 — Matt St. Clair

The 2016 Best Actress race was chock full of prolific snubs; Amy Adams for being the heart and soul of Arrival, Annette Bening for her most holistic work to date in 20th Century Women, Emily Blunt for salvaging greatness out of the dreadful The Girl In The Train, and even Taraji P. Henson was unable to ride the wave of Hidden Figures. But one performance that was the most tragically overlooked was Rebecca Hall in Christine. As the late anchorwoman Christine Chubbuck who shot herself on live television, Hall owns every single frame in which she appears even when the movie becomes hard to watch. Hall’s portrayal of a woman who had a fierceful passion for her life’s work while fighting her mental illness is heart wrenching and tragic without ever being judgmental of the woman she is portraying. Christine Chubbuck was a woman who wanted to be appreciated and for people to understand her pain. If only more ,people were listening.

Adapted Screenplay — David Mamet (Glengarry Glen Ross) 1992 — Robin Write

Again based on his own play, David Mamet could have lost out on a nomination here (even with the Writer’s Guild support) because of his cruel characters and their potty mouths. But I would like to think that is not the case. Rather it was just simply that they found the screenplays for Howards End, Enchanted April, and A River Runs Through It much more clean-cut, wholesome adaptations at the time. I have to quote the movie when I say Fuck you to that. Mamet’s screenplay (and the movie itself) is full to the brim with big shot and mean dialogue that is nothing but brilliant.

So what omissions have had you in fits of tears? Comment below.

 

100 Not Nominated For Oscars – Part 14

1996. When the Coen brothers realized the Academy liked them, they really liked them. Kind of. In the end they liked big, romantic, sorrowful, war-time epics. A beautiful painting. The liked The English Patient. It was good, but it was not nine Oscars good. And it was not Fargo good. In other news, Geoffrey Rush and Frances McDormand won in their respective lead acting categories for their supporting work. Not that I can grumble at those performances – it just meant Tom Cruise and Brenda Blethyn missed out. Kristin Scott Thomas and William H. Macy were also seemingly in the wrong categories. The superb Juliette Binoche seemed to surprise people when she won – but this was one of nine Oscars I won’t be complaining about. The English Patient pretty much steamrolled the Oscars. Even the Thalberg Award went to Saul Zaentz – that must have been a clue. When Evita won Song Andrew Lloyd Webber commented gratefully that The English Patient did not have a song. I laughed at that. Anyway, five more diverse none-nominees coming your way:

Supporting Actor — Robert Carlyle (Trainspotting) 1996 — Robin Write

While the Trainspotting gang choose drugs as their extra-curricular pastimes, the one and only Francis “Franco” Begbie is fueling his overly-aggressive nature at all that stand in his path – including being more vocal than anyone about the disgusting heroin habit. An all-guns blazing performance from the Scot, with his fuck-this-fuck-that, chain smoking, while starting fights in pubs or acting out his cautionary hostility to his “friends”. Had Carlyle received an Oscar nod for this, finding a nomination clip were he was not cursing or pulling a knife on some c#nt would have been a challenge. 

Foreign Language Film — A bout de soufflé (Breathless) 1960 — Steve Schweighofer

I’m not sure which fact is more absurd: that France did not submit Breathless as its entry for the Foreign Language Film Oscar or that Jean-Luc Godard has never – ever – been nominated for Best Director, settling instead, O’Toole-style, for an honorary trophy and likely an extra cookie at the Governor’s Banquet fifty years later. He did not attend, of course. Breathless, as we all know, is a seminal work, launching Godard’s career, firing the starter’s pistol for the French New Wave, and inspiring the generation of filmmakers who would change Hollywood in the Seventies. Knowing AMPAS conservative tastes as well as Godard’s disdain for the movie factory in general, Breathless and it’s doomed love affair story is probably the director’s most accessible work and should have been right up their alley, and when this ship sailed past, it wasn’t coming back.

Original Screenplay — Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy (Best in Show)  2000 — Robin Write

This is bonkers. An ensemble character piece about a group of mismatched dog owners journeying to a dog show. This being docu-comedy genius that is Christopher Guest, it comes over as a mesh of hilarious moments and dialogue, delivered by a cast of performers in their wackiest form. And they have to be, these are everyday folk who just want the best for their talented dogs, and they all have varying degrees of enthusiasm, expectations, and personal problems. The feel that we are there to watch these brilliant people at this vital time of their lives (including them being directly interviewed to the camera) is nailed down so expertly. The script paces back and forth between these misfits, and Guest here uses many of his regular actors and actresses, so fans like me are familiar with all of this lively nonsense, and want to soak up every second.

Leading Actress — Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Beyond The Lights) 2014 — Matt St. Clair

Back in 2014, hardly a brighter star was born than Gugu Mbatha-Raw. She had two very distinctive lead performances. One as a mixed race aristocrat in the costume drama Belle and the other as a modern-day, Rihanna-esque pop star in Beyond The Lights. As Noni, a rising singer poised to be the next big thing, Gugu Mbatha-Raw excels at showcasing her inner torment whether it’d be through the use of her sorrowful eyes or the way she passionately yet tearfully sings “Blackbird” by Nina Simone. Even though she may have been a long-shot in the Best Actress race, given how the song “Grateful” from the film’s soundtrack was nominated for Best Original Song, it’s evident that voters were familiar with the film and the rather fluid Best Actress race could’ve benefited from a strong performance such as hers being in the conversation.

Picture — The Player 1992 — Robin Write

The fact it was nominated in Editing, Directing and Screenplay (three big, gratifying categories in this business) meant, in a way, that voters really fell for this movie. As did many of us. A terrifically dark satire on the Hollywood pitch, and cram-packed with famous faces. One of Robert Altman’s finest, without a doubt. This snub (as well as that of Tim Robbins) has been making people’s head shake for years, but it missed out on Best Picture I suspect because it just did not make Hollywood look particularly good. They loved the movie for it’s craft and impact, but they just simply did not like the message. In omitting this for the five best movies of the year though, The Player kind of got that message half right on this occasion. A real shame.

Spare us your thoughts in the comments below.

100 Not Nominated For Oscars – Part 13

2008 was another peculiar Oscar year, and literally a game-changer it would turn out wit regards to the way Best Picture would go thereafter. Slumdog Millionaire was a great story and great movie, but whether or not it deemed the domination of eight Oscar wins is a debate. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button had the most nominations, and was the least Fincher movie he has ever made – what does that tell us about what the Academy think of him? The Dark Knight was famously not nominated for Best Picture, even though they clearly liked it. What happened instead was the rather dour The Reader – sadly the last movie that involved Anthony Minghella and Sydney Pollack, who had recently died. That, and The Damn Weinstein Company, go a long way to explain the film’s late surge rather than the quality of the movie itself. On a brighter note, let’s start this chapter with two very different space adventures somehow missing from contention in the top prize.

Picture — Wall-E 2008 — Robin Write

I will always bang the animation drum. Some, don’t get me wrong, are pretty formulaic stuff, but often they are right up there in the top tier of movie entertainment. As an audience member you don’t need to think about the man hours that go into creating a feature length animated movie, you can just sit and watch and be swept up. Wall-E has so much to say about the society and world we live – how we may end up, or the way we are now, and where we’ve been. More than that though it is a true love story. The movie never had a chance for acting nominations, and likely a small shot with Andrew Stanton making Director. That said, it had six nominations, and was well liked by many. The lack of a Best Picture nomination for this (and a few others) is not about the quality or any publicity, it is about a certain low level of respect for the genre, as well as the lack of balls.

Picture — 2001: A Space Odyssey 1968 — Steve Schweighofer

1969 was another year for which Oscar should hang his little golden head in shame. Both Kubrick’s masterpiece and Pontecorvo’s Battle of Algiers, considered to be two of the greatest films ever made, were eligible for the major awards, but were tossed crumbs in nearly all categories except directing and writing. 2001 not only missed out on a Best Picture nod, it won just a single Oscar (Visual Effects). As well, that year Oscar decided to bestow a special award for ape make-up – not to the more realistic ape-men in 2001, but to the rubber-masked Hollywood Halloween job in Planet of the Apes. The awards didn’t go any better – Oliver! (or, as I like to call it, the Best Film of 1943) cleaned up, then went on to become one of the most forgettable winners in Oscar history. Romeo & Juliet, Bullitt, Rosemary’s Baby, The Lion in Winter, Faces and the aforementioned Battle of Algiers and 2001:A Space Odyssey had to settle for relegation to the immortal status as “classics.”

Director — Tomas Alfredson (Let the Right One In) 2008 — Robin Write

Swedish director Tomas Alfredson has broken some extraordinary ground with Låt den rätte komma in (Let the Right One In). Creating a cinematic love story, you might say, between children, as one bullied eleven year-old boy (Kåre Hedebrant) is befriended by a girl his own age (Lina Leandersson) who happens to be a vampire. Alfredson’s vision in executing such a rare gem is both extremely composed and beautiful to look at. Perhaps a snow-filled small-town landscape of melancholy and mystery has never looked so good. There are sequences of such style and grace too which you likely don’t see elsewhere – including an iconic climax in a swimming pool that simply has to be seen for it’s shock and aesthetic value.

Supporting Actor — Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Nocturnal Animals) 2016 — Bianca Garner

Nocturnal Animals came and went with little interest from the Academy in 2016. It still remains a mystery to me, why this film hasn’t received more praise. Perhaps because it addresses some ugly issues which are still taboo in society. That it doesn’t pander to the ideology that men can’t be victims. That the film presents with a post modern America that has lost it’s sense of identity, where art and beauty has lost it’s meaning. Perhaps Nocturnal Animals is so under appreciated because it confirms our worst fears, that there’s is a generation of lost men who are labelled as animals so they submit to their inner desires. It was very difficult just choosing one actor in Nocturnal Animals, but it was Aaron Taylor-Johnson who really stole the show as redneck Ray. Taylor-Johnson really embraces the “villain” character- it would be easy to fall into the trap of giving an almost pantomime, traditionally over the the top bad guy, but what Taylor-Johnson gives us is a very disturbing and unsettling portrayal of a man who is far too used to blending into society. He is the type of man who really exists; he’s charming, friendly but can effortlessly turn on his prey in the blink of an eye. He’s not your average redneck monster, he’s not stupid or deformed in any physical way. He’s our worst nightmare, because our monsters are not meant to look that way or be that charming. And that’s why Aaron Taylor-Johnson deserved praise for his performance, it was a role that could have ever so easily been forgotten but he made it his own, however he wasn’t nominated for an Oscar, which is the greatest crime of all.

Leading Actress — Anne Parillaud (Le Femme Nikita) 1990 — Robin Write

Ferocious, sympathetic, evolving, an absolute powerhouse of a performance by Anne Parillaud as the assassin of the title in Luc Besson’s adrenaline ride Le Femme Nikita. Plucked from a basket of low-life, amateur crooks, Nikita undergoes a whole government make-over, forced to take up killing professionally. Parillaud is like a volatile, tame animal surrounded by different breeds of wild beasts in her varying transitions of criminal activity, yet she gives Nikita a fiery intuition and survival reflex that has inspired more female-centric roles of the aggressive, self-defending nature than you might know. 

Comments welcome below.

Innovative Movie Talent Shines Once Again With The Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominations

In case you somehow missed it, the 2018 Film Independent Spirit Awards announced their nominees, presented by Lily Collins and Tessa Thompson, an event growing in stature and significance each year. Not only is the roll-out of such exceptional work from the indie film scene an integrated part of the Academy Awards build-up, it is also an exciting, essential recognition of the diverse, unique talent on show.

Oscarologists are likely to get their knickers in a twist over both the films hitting big in many categories, as well as those missing out on several, or not showing up at all. In the meantime, though, let’s continue to celebrate and embrace the innovative work of independent cinema, with these nominations and beyond. 

BEST FEATURE

Call Me By Your Name
Lady Bird
Get Out
The Florida Project
The Rider

BEST FIRST FEATURE

Columbus
Ingrid Goes West
Menashe
Oh Lucy!
Patti Cake$

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD

Dayveon
A Ghost Story
Life and nothing more
Most Beautiful Island
The Transfiguration

BEST DIRECTOR

Sean Baker (The Florida Project)
Jonas Carpignano (A Ciambra)
Luca Guadagnino (Call Me by Your Name)
Jordan Peele (Get Out)
Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie (Good Time)
Chloé Zhao (The Rider)

BEST SCREENPLAY

Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird)
Azazel Jacobs (The Lovers)
Martin McDonagh (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)
Jordan Peele (Get Out)
Mike White (Beatriz at Dinner)

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY

Kris Avedis, Kyle Espeleta, Jesse Wakeman (Donald Cried)
Emily V. Gordon, Kumail Nanjiani (The Big Sick)
Ingrid Jungermann (Women Who Kill)
Kogonada (Columbus)
David Branson Smith, Matt Spicer (Ingrid Goes West)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Thimios Bakatakis (The Killing of a Sacred Deer)
Elisha Christian (Columbus)
Hélène Louvart (Beach Rats)
Sayombhu Mukdeeprom (Call Me by Your Name)
Joshua James Richards (The Rider)

BEST EDITING

Ronald Bronstein, Benny Safdie (Good Time)
Walter Fasano (Call Me by Your Name)
Alex O’Flinn (The Rider)
Gregory Plotkin (Get Out)
Tatiana S. Riegel (I, Tonya)

BEST FEMALE LEAD

Salma Hayek (Beatriz at Dinner)
Frances McDormand (Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri)
Margot Robbie (I, Tonya)
Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird)
Shinobu Terajima (Oh Lucy!)
Regina Williams (Life and nothing more)

BEST MALE LEAD

Timothée Chalamet (Call Me by Your Name)
Harris Dickinson (Beach Rats)
James Franco (The Disaster Artist)
Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out)
Robert Pattinson (Good Time) 

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE

Holly Hunter (The Big Sick)
Allison Janney (I, Tonya)
Laurie Metcalf (Lady Bird)
Lois Smith (Marjorie Prime)
Taliah Lennice Webster (Good Time)

BEST SUPPORTING MALE

Nnamdi Asomugha (Crown Heights)
Armie Hammer (Call Me By Your Name)
Barry Keoghan (The Killing of a Sacred Deer)
Sam Rockwell (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)
Bennie Safdie (Good Time)

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD

Mudbound (Director: Dee Rees; Casting Directors: Billy Hopkins, Ashley Ingram; Ensemble Cast: Jonathan Banks, Mary J. Blige, Jason Clarke, Garrett Hedlund, Jason Mitchell, Rob Morgan, Carey Mulligan)

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM

BPM (Beats Per Minute), France (Robin Campillo)
A Fantastic Woman, Chile (Sebastián Lelio)
I Am Not a Witch, Zambia (Rungano Nyoni)
Lady Macbeth, U.K. (William Oldroyd)
Loveless, Russia (Andrey Zvyagintsev)

BEST DOCUMENTARY

The Departure (Lana Wilson)
Faces Places (Agnés Varda, JR; Rosalie Varda)
Last Men in Aleppo (Feras Fayyad; Kareem Abeed, Søeren Steen Jespersen, Stefan Kloos)
Motherland (Ramona S. Diaz; Rey Cuerdo)
Quest (Jonathan Olshefski; Sabrina Schmidt Gordon)

BONNIE AWARD – recognizes mid-career female directors with a $50,000 unrestricted grant.

So Yong Kim
Lynn Shelton
Chloé Zhao

JEEP TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD – presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition, includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by the Jeep brand.

Shevaun Mizrahi (director of Distant Constellation)
Jonathan Olshefski (director of Quest)
Jeff Unay (director of The Cage Fighter)

KIEHL’S SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD – recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition, includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Kiehl’s Since 1851.

Amman Abbasi (director of Dayveon)
Justin Chon (director of Gook)
Kevin Phillips (director of Super Dark Times)

PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD – honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality, independent films, includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Piaget.

Giulia Caruso & Ki Jin Kim
Ben LeClair
Summer Shelton

Review: Dee Rees’ Essential Mudbound

Mudbound is many things at once: A demonstration of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, a portrait of racial tensions in rural America, and a universal telling of everyday people trying to live through the trials of today to build a better tomorrow. Yet the film is one thing as well: Poetic. Despite its heavy subject matter, it is captivating to watch from the very first frame to the last.

Mudbound deals with a couple trying to raise a family down in rural Mississippi, Laura and Henry McAllan (Carey Mulligan and Jason Clarke). As they try to keep their family running, they buy a piece of farmland that Florence and Hap Jackson (Mary J. Blige and Rob Morgan) have worked on as sharecroppers for years. Meanwhile, two soldiers from the different families: Jamie McAllan (Garrett Hedlund) and Ronsel Jackson (Jason Mitchell), come home to work on the farm while dealing with problems of their own. Jamie is battling PTSD and alcoholism while Ronsel deals with racists in the community he lives in. One of them includes the patriarch of the McAllan family, Pappy McAllan (Jonathan Banks).

One reason that this film is so poetic is the expressive, nearly wordless faces from the amazing actors. If there is anyone that stands out amongst this incredible ensemble, it’s Garrett Hedlund who blends charming, all-American machismo with raw, emotional weight with his portrayal of the traumatized Jamie. Jason Mitchell, who previously wowed audiences with his breakout turn as Easy E in Straight Outta Compton, is a stand out as well with his portrayal of Ronsel Jackson that is earnest with subtle layers of frustration and skepticism.

Meanwhile, Carey Mulligan is the best she’s been since Shame as Laura, a sheltered suburbanite who slowly transitions into a sharp tiger mom willing to stick her feet in the dirty mud of the countryside. Also, Mary J. Blige is a subtle revelation, portraying Florence Jackson as a figure of grace and subtle authority, while Rob Morgan manages to be the film’s unsung hero as Florence’s loving husband Pap. Even if Jonathan Banks plays a typical racist Southerner, he still gives his character dimensions, channeling his arrogance through astute observations. If there was any justice in this world, Mudbound would be a frontrunner to win Best Ensemble at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Besides the expressive faces of the actors, the characters are able to come to life thanks to the voiceover narrations in the screenplay that give them agency and allow them to express their thoughts they may not be able to say out loud. Also, aside from Pappy McAllan, none of the main characters are necessarily good or evil. Laura and Henry are close-minded individuals but they’re still trying to keep their heads afloat despite buying someone’s land by doing so. Even if Florence and Hap end up serving the McAllans, they’re still doing it to serve themselves so that their family can get by.

The fact that this is a film about common people trying to get by is what allows it to stand out from other films dealing with racism. Typically, films that deal with the subject matter focus on the vantage point of an archetypal white savior fighting against villainous racists. But here, there is no white savior. Even if the character of Jamie forms a bond with Ronsel, it is mainly because they understand each other’s trauma after fighting in the war. Ronsel does question why Jamie is so kind at first because he is a part of the prejudiced family who bought his family’s land. But he realizes that he’s just a lost soul trying to battle his personal demons.

Dee Rees directing Mary J. Blige

Seeing these characters try to stick their hands and feet in the mud to fight through another day makes the film a difficult watch. But cinematographer Rachel Morrison shoots it beautifully like it’s a moving painting and uses semi-long tracking shots when focused on the faces of the actors to enhance their portrayals. Credit should also go to editor Mako Kamitsuna for knowing when to cut away from the long tracking shots at the right moments in order to keep the nearly 2-hour film running at a smooth but steady pace.

Mudbound may not be the most entertaining film to watch but it still is essential viewing with breathtaking cinematography, a committed acting ensemble, and a screenplay with precise exposition. All of which are brilliantly orchestrated by director Dee Rees who has created a historical portrait that depicts the ongoing universal struggle of making a better future.

 

100 Not Nominated For Oscars – Part 12

Perspectives of the Oscar race clearly differ from year-to-year, person-to-person, trends and momentum can mean everything, they can mean nothing. Franchises can be misrepresented by nomination and / or wins tallies. Films outside the English language can be lavished but not considered for the top prize. Popular actors or actresses with multiple nods over the years can still be “ignored” for some of their best work. Important documentaries go unnoticed. Fine adaptations of well-known publications are missing in action come announcement time. Here are, by coincidence, five examples of such.

Adapted Screenplay — John Cusack, DV DeVincentis, Steve Pink, Scott Rosenberg (High Fidelity) 2000 — Robin Write

High Fidelity could have fared much better at the Oscars. When I saw it, I was at university, pining over girls, obsessing over music, and making top five lists with friends. So yeah, this was right up our street. The universal element this movie has is the screenplay. The story that centers around broken relationships and Rob’s (John Cusack) self-indulgent, and eventually self-redeeming, rants. And thanks to Jack Black too, some of the funnier lines are delivered to perfection. But when it is not downbeat or just sulky, this is still an amusing and sharp adaptation of Nick Hornby’s novel – it carries over the tone and style of his writing really well. Where the Academy just not into good movies about music that year?

Picture — Das Boot 1982 — Steve Schweighofer

Wolfgang Petersen’s U-boat epic managed to snag six key Oscar nominations, including Directing, Editing, Cinematography, Adapted Screenplay, Sound and Sound Effects Editing – the most ever for any German-made film, yet despite the “sure-fire” trio of directing/writing/editing, failed to get a nomination for Best Picture. Germany chose Herzog’s Fitzcarraldo as their entry that year in the Foreign Language Film category – it didn’t make the cut – but Das Boot was eligible for all other categories. It’s a totally involving work that inserts one into the bowels of a submarine, complete with all the tension, claustrophobia and chaos one can pack into a film experience, yet Oscar reserved it’s top prize for five English speaking efforts that, in my opinion, didn’t measure-up to Petersen’s extraordinary work. Gandhi eventually won in what was one of Oscar’s least interesting contests.

Leading Actor — Robert De Niro (Once Upon a Time in America) 1984 — Bianca Garner

It took 13 years for director Sergio Leone to bring his vision to the big screen, he envisioned a David Lean style epic with a runtime 269 minutes, chartering the rise and fall of a group of gangsters from their early days on the street to their old age. There seemed no one better suited for the lost and troubled gangster Noodles, a man who loses out on everything an alienates everyone around him. Robert De Niro is a very capable actor (he still is a capable and talented actor which seriously infuriates me when I see him running around in Bad Grandpa) but he shines in Once Upon a time in America. The character of Noodles isn’t an easy one to make sympathetic but somehow De Niro reveals a vulnerable hidden side to the gangster’s personality. De Niro presents us with a character who is trapped in a world he helped to create, his loyalty lies with his friends and his masculinity is in crisis. He is hiding underneath a mask, where he suppresses his soft caring side, his heart belongs with Deborah (Jennifer Connelly) but he is too much of a coward to reveal this weakness to her and his friends. He can’t stand to lose her so he commits a hideous, unforgivable crime. It’s amazing how quickly our view and opinion of the character of Noodles can so drastically change whenever he commits a crime or succumbs to his inner darkness. And this is down to sheer brilliance of De Niro’s performance. Sadly, the studio released Once Upon a Time in America after a brutal cutting and rearrangement of the film so it ran in a linear fashion, and the film flopped massively. De Niro never received much praise for his performance in 1984, but looking back we can admire his dedication to the role, and we can only imagine what other masterpieces the actor and the director could have created if it had not been for Leone’s tragic passing.

Documentary Feature — Blackfish 2013 — Matt Fischer

As soon as Blackfish premeired at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival everyone thought that it was not only a shoe in for a Best Documentary nomination, but it was going to win the whole thing. Blackfish explores the treatment of whales in captivity and sparked numerous protests at SeaWorld parks throughout the country. Viewers got a first hand look at how whales react to the stress of being held captive as well as the family bonds that they form. We hear orcas wail when separated from their young. The problem was easy to ignore until you saw it first hand. The protests picked up and attendance at SeaWorld plummeted. They refused to take part in the documentary but released a statement call the film inaccurate and misleading. The backlash resulted in SeaWorld discontuning their killer whale shows and completely changed how they operate. No other documentary that year was talked about more than Blackfish, yet somehow it failed to get a nomination.

Costume Design — The Empire Strikes Back 1980 — Robin Write

Many an Oscar year the Costume Design category is rife with the more traditional, classical attire of times gone by. And by default, and perhaps in the more lavish and detailed, it is to be expected. This was certainly the case in 1980. However, there is an abundance of sartorial imagination in the contemporary, the forthcoming and, of course, science fiction. The revolutionary costume design of The Empire Strikes Back continued in the visual splendor of the Star Wars saga, breathing even more life and innovation into it. No nomination here, in fact just a measly four in total after the Academy’s huge love for the 1977 film – which won Costume Design I might add.

 

Leave your comments below.

100 Not Nominated For Oscars – Part 11

Remembering the day after the night before in 2015 when it was Birdhood versus Boyman, but there will be no talk of the twelve year project or the corridor tracking shots here today. It is both apt and ironic that CitizenFour won gold, because it had a famous journalist carrying the conspiracy through the media, just two years after the very same writer had a huge, shameful hand in covering Zero Dark Thirty in mud. And what was with all the invites for people they did not nominate that year? I don’t remember that many would-be nominees being asked to present instead. I mean, parts of the show appeared to be delivered as part of a guilt trip to the talent they had failed to acknowledge. And on that note, there’s more than 2014’s snubs to look at. 

Adapted Screenplay — Aaron Sorkin (A Few Good Men) 1992 — Robin Write

A Few Good Men was one of the unlucky few to gain a Picture nomination but miss out on Director – what did Rob Reiner have to do generally to get noticed? The film also missed out on Adapted Screenplay, which in my view was a surprise when you look at the competition that year. So Aaron Sorkin was one of the ones to be left out. The screenplay, his first for motion pictures believe it or not, was based on his own play, was clear and solid in its serious execution, balanced the turbulent bond of the law colleagues driving the narrative, and also maintains that poise of compelling theater. Sorkin probably had little idea, too, that a few good lines have been quoted regularly the past couple of decades.

Picture — They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? 1969 — Steve Schweighofer

Nine Oscar nominations – count them, nine – for this uniquely existential film (for Hollywood, anyway) about a grueling dance marathon, yet the film holds the current record for having the most nominations without receiving a nod for Best Picture. All voters select best Picture nominees and the film gleaned nods in most categories ranging from acting (3) and directing to editing, writing and production values. Was it the nasty title? We don’t like it when they shoot horses, do we? Perhaps it was the philosophy that the game of life is fixed before we even show up, which is not exactly a tenet to which Hollywood subscribes. Maybe it was the downer ending where, at sunset, instead of riding off into it together, one character shoots the other character in the head? Or perhaps the destruction of various characters en route to that downer ending? AMPAS did select X-rated Midnight Cowboy as their choice for Best Picture that year, sending shockwaves around the globe, so we know they have it in them to see the merits of a not-so-happy ending. As MC Rocky (Gig Young) would say, “Around and around they go. Yowza, yowza, yowza!”

Cinematography — Shane Carruth (Upstream Color) 2012 — Robin Write

Upstream Color is a lucid, engaging, and for the most art bewildering motion picture experience. A film so brilliant but still leaves you uneasy and lost, both during the viewing and long after. Maestro Shane Carruth is the one-man band responsible for this, writing, directing, starring, producing, editing, composing the music. Wow. A unique achievement indeed, but perhaps the finest accolade here ought to be for his cinematography. Vivid and bright, somehow comforting even in it’s darkest moments. So wistful at times, what we see is often crisp and clear, Carruth is experimenting with naturally blurry lenses and immaculate close-ups with such expertise you would not believe this is his only cinematographic credit to date. 

Leading Actor — David Oyelowo (Selma) 2014 — Matt Fischer

David Oyelowo played Martin Luther King in the 2014 film Selma. Directed by Ava DuVernay, Selma is based on the 1965 march from Selma Alabama to Montgomery. Oyelowo portrays King as a dynamic figure with flaws and smart political skills. There are times in the film, especially during the public speeches, that you forget that you are not watching King himself. Oyelowo doesn’t generally look like Martin Luther King, but his mannerisms, demeanor and voice are convincing enough that its hard to believe that he was not nominated for a Best Actor Oscar that year. Selma suffered a few blows that can hurt a films Oscar chances. The late release date didn’t give the movie or Oyelowo time to gain any awards momentum. The film was criticized by some as not being completely accurate and taking too much artistic license. Some had issues with the portrayal of LBJ and his relationship with King. These critiques should not have prevented Oyelowo from being given a Best Actor nomination for one of the best performances of 2014.

Director — Ava DuVernay (Selma) 2014 — Robin Write

Well, where do you start with Ava DuVernay? She is clearly charismatic, candid woman. She was humble in Selma‘s lack of awards distinction, and more sympathetic that her cast and crew were omitted. And she has been a great ambassador of her peers, and openly grateful to those that have supported and loved Selma. She is clearly a talented film-maker too, producing an important historical story on film with what appeared to be expert ease. There are not many outside of the applicable voting bodies that would not have DuVernay in their Best Director five. And this is warranted acclaim based on the accomplishment of Selma first of all, before regard to honoring a director who is black, or a woman.

What are your thoughts on these choices?

100 Not Nominated For Oscars – Part 10

Just before Barbara Streisand announced Clint Eastwood as Best Director for 1992 she said commented that the award was not for a man director, or a woman director, but the best director. There mus have been some sour grapes here, given her absence in the previous year’s Best Director line-up. My own chip on the shoulder this year would be the lack of a category to accommodate a performance like that of the Genie in Aladdin (voice performance), then Robin Williams would have been nominated, and won for certain. Twenty-five years on, and a vast development of that kind of technology as well as motion capture performance, and not much has changed. Anyway…

Original Screenplay — Quentin Tarantino (Reservoir Dogs) 1992 — Robin Write

Quentin Tarantino as an unknown was a gamble perhaps, and the Academy had not yet got to grips with the indie rising. Oh, and it was very violent and everyone said fuck a lot. It would later arise that Tarantino borrowed the plot from Hong Kong movie City On Fire. Those that don’t quite understand him would use the term ripped off. Tarantino is not always original in his influences (and he would be the first to scream this at you) but he is original in the way he constructs his ludicrous scenarios and streaming dialogue – it was in places laughable in some of his later work – but in Reservoir Dogs, a blazing debut, it was the core of the movie and a sign of a great talent with more of the same to come.

Sound — McCabe & Mrs Miller 1971 — Steve Schweighofer

Robert Altman’s revolutionary take on the western experimented with every facet of filmmaking, from actors choosing and taking responsibility for mending their own costumes to shooting chronologically while the town of Presbyterian Church was built (by Vietnam war resistors in British Columbia), all in the search for authenticity. The biggest and most notable chance was taken with the sound design of the film. Altman wanted overlapping, occasionally inaudible dialog coming from all directions that accurately recreated a realistic atmosphere. He succeeded so well that the effect initially left critics and audiences scratching their heads, calling it “muddy.” That “mud” was stylistic gold, however, and was adopted by many auteurs from that point onward. The effect is present in M*A*S*H, Altman’s previous film, but it was with McCabe & Mrs Miller that he took the full plunge, and all of a sudden, the exhausted western genre was very much alive and real again. Oscar didn’t notice.

Make-Up — Kind Hearts And Coronets (1949) — Robin Write

One of the great black comedies of all time for sure, Kind Hearts and Coronets features, among others, Alec Guinness. Although he does not play the protagonist who vengefully takes it upon himself to murder the eight people ahead of him to the family’s aristocratic title, Guinness portrays nine characters in sequence of the plot’s journey. A remarkable feat, the veteran actor was shockingly missing from the Best Actor list, but also there was no Make-Up nomination for the distinct excellence in the multiple guises. Why? Well, other than a couple of special occasions in the 1960s (7 Faces of Dr. Lao; Planet of the Apes), there was no rostered Make-Up award until as late as 1981 when Rick Baker started his cosmetic Oscar legacy with An American Werewolf in London. An Oscar history missed opportunity in hindsight.

Cinematography — Vilmos Zsigmond (Deliverance) 1972 — Steve Schweighofer

McCabe & Mrs Miller, The Long Goodbye, Images and The Ghost and the Darkness. These are all films that owe their visual reputations to cinematographer Zsigmond’s considerable artistry, yet none of them landed him an Oscar nomination. He did get a nomination for The Deer Hunter and eventually won for Close Encounters of the Third Kind, but his most egregious snub came with John Boorman’s Deliverance where his eye and camera were actually able to capture nature in its many moods, from sun-dappled daylight to dank, turquoise dawn. It’s not just pretty pictures he’s presenting us with, either, as his shots are dramatic and go to great lengths to accentuate the tension of the story. With the twist of a camera angle he can take the mood from “suitable for framing” to foreboding danger in the extreme in a matter of seconds. It just took Oscar awhile to recognize what most of us knew in the early 70s – Zsigmond was a pioneer in the visual arts.

Director — James Cameron (Terminator 2: Judgment Day) 1991 — Robin Write

This is about as far out as you get, that is until you actually think about it. James Cameron may or may not be the greatest living action director, but with Terminator 2 it is fair to say he was right at the top of his game. And the impact this movie had on its arrival surpasses anything else that year. With nominations and wins in a lot of more technical categories suggests the Academy lapped it up for a lot of its excellence, but once again it appears their ability to break down doors and acknowledge these kinds of movies (action / sci-fi) is still lacking. Forget his head-shaking win for Titanic, but rather look at the subsequent win for Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity), do we feel Cameron would have been nominated for this today?

Pour your thoughts into the comments below.

100 Not Nominated For Oscars – Part 9

So with a worthy entry here overshadowed by her co-star, I remember 2012 the year of Oscar contender movies like Hyde Park on Hudson, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Magic Mike. You can see where I am going already with this. Yes, none of them managed a single nomination between them. Ben Affleck was victorious – wait. Not nominated for directing, paving the way for a popular, previous Best Director winner to receive gold again, while still winning Best Picture somehow. Yuk, remember the last time that happened? The eventual winner of Best Supporting Actor came from Django Unchained, Christoph Waltz likely benefiting from Leonardo DiCaprio’s snub. There was justifiable rage over Best Actress, as a certain Frenchwoman went home empty-handed – and Marion Cotillard didn’t even make the final five. Anyway, at least Kathryn Bigelow deservedly got to compete for a potential second Best Director Oscar for Zero Dark Thirty – oh for fucks’ sake.

Original Score — Alexandre Desplat (Birth) 2004 — Robin Write

One particular category that stood out for me in 2004 was Original Score, which made for a more diverse list, including The Village (James Newton Howard), The Passion of the Christ (John Debney), and Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (Thomas Newman). This was partly due to several movies being apparently ineligible / disqualified for short-listing for various (ludicrous) reason – including Howard Shore’s The Aviator (pre-existing music) and Clint Eastwood’s Million Dollar Baby (paperwork trouble). Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (Jon Brion) and Sideways (Rolfe Kent) also were not nominated (Academy’s poor taste in music). All four scores would have made deserving nominees. And they were not alone. This was before the years where Alexandre Desplait became a semi-regular at the Oscars. The Frenchman’s score for Birth, a film which received mixed reactions, is one of his best in fact. It has range and depth, and really contributes to the movie’s rather mysterious, but sober, story-line.

Director — Ridley Scott (The Martian) 2015 — Matt Fischer

Ridley Scott started out 2015 as a strong front-runner to win the Oscar for Best Director for The Martian. He was able to depict the character’s complete isolation on a vast, dusty, windy planet with complete believability. Only the directors branch votes in the directing category and they are famous for their snubs. Remember Ben Affleck and Argo? They are basically voting for their peers so it helps to be well liked and respected in the directing community. Some say that the directors branch likes directors that create their own material rather than being a “director for hire”. It shouldn’t matter what kind of director they are. The work should speak for itself. The Martian was nominated for 7 Academy Awards, but Ridley Scott was not one of them.

Documentary Feature — Hoop Dreams 1994 — Steve Schweighofer

One of the biggest thorns in Oscar’s posterior that threatened the perception of their own validity was the selection process of the top documentary feature films, and the omission of this film was the straw that broke the camel’s back, leading to a series procedural changes that continues to evolve. The film begins as the story of two African-American teens and their struggle to become basketball players. By the time the film is over, we have been presented with a treatise on American values, race and class structure more effective than any fictional drama, rich in factual presentation that is neither preachy nor partisan, but simply a slice of reality unfolding naturally before our eyes. This is every documentarian’s dream, and when the voting manipulation was exposed, the shit hit the fan. And they are still trying to clean it up almost 25 years later.

Costume Design — Kill Bill Vol. I 2003 — Al Robinson

It’s crazy to think that when in back to back years, the Oscar nominees were read out that Kill Bill, Volume 1 and then Volume 2 were not nominated for the award of Best Costume Design. One of the best things about the film is the clothes they wear. The clothes lend the 2 films to becoming as realistic and at the same time as fantastical as possible. Gotta start with The Brides now iconic yellow track suit which is such an interesting choice because yellow is not the most popular of colors, but in this case it works because it’s such a wonderful contrast to the black suits that the Crazy 88s and Kill Bill’s squad wears. Also, when all the blood is shown, it 1, looks really cool against the yellow, and 2, it’s a complementary color to the yellow and is visually appealing. Other costumes that are great are of course the black suits that the villains wear because it makes them look badass, and 2, you can’t see the blood when it’s smeared all over them. Add the masks, and you’ve got the makings of a costume design that was grossly overlooked by the Academy voters. If the films had been nominated, I still don’t think though that they would have been able to beat The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and The Aviator, but they would have been rightly nominated against lesser deserving films that were.

Supporting Actress — Samantha Barks (Les Miserables) 2012 — Robin Write

Through the crowd of household names like Hugh Jackman, Eddie Redmayne, Amanda Seyfried, Russell Crowe, and Oscar-winner Anne Hathaway, stood the awe-inspiring Samantha Barks. True, she has played the role on stage, but the big screen is a different arena for Barks, who was chosen quickly ahead of many big name actresses banging on the door. Her Éponine is inch perfect, filling each and every frame with emotive power, performing the music and the acting with heart-breaking momentum. 

As always, leave your comments below.

100 Not Nominated For Oscars – Part 8

So with all the movies released in the year 2013 it came down to two apparently. The Picture / Director split at the Oscar was on the cards for a long time in my eyes. The third wheel thought it was as good as those, but thankfully, in spite of it being lavished with acting nominations in all four categories it was, as I predicted, in a more realistic position to come away with zero Oscars than take Best Picture. Elsewhere, Paul Greengrass was missing, as was Tom Hanks (but not here). No The Butler, Fruitvale Station, Inside Llewyn Davis, Saving Mr Banks for Best Picture. Documentary Feature, there was no Blackfish (more on this to come) or Stories We Tell (this too). In the acting categories, I have tormented over and over on the fascinating actresses that didn’t make the Best Actress five. And there would be no default invitation to the Academy Awards this time around for the much fancied Robert Redford. On that note…

Director — Stanley Kubrick (The Shining) 1980 — Robin Write

The flowing, mesmeric construction of The Shining is unforgettable. Stanley Kubrick’s excessive, obsessive techniques and execution show on screen. A pain-staking journey of surreal suspense and unshakable anticipation, with some of the most memorable tracking shots ever seen in cinema. The heavy whiff of madness, suffocation, and fear infiltrate your psyche, this is a remarkable motion picture experience you can’t shake off in a hurry, a true directorial masterclass. But, alas, not a single nomination. I mean, as far as voters went that year, Kubrick was no Robert Redford it seems. 

Art Direction — Ferdinando Scarfiotti (The Conformist) 1970 — Steve Schweighofer

Many films in the mid-seventies pioneered new directions for various departments involved in filmmaking, and the seminal milestone for production design was Scarfiotti’s work on The Conformist. It should be noted that in the decade between following 1963, Italy had a nominated submission every year except one, and nearly half of those went home with the Foreign Language Film Oscar, yet it is hard to reason how this film, the recognized high point by most critics, didn’t make more of an impact on AMPAS. Director Paul Shrader commented that the Bertolucci (not nomimated for Best Director)/Storaro (not nominated for Cinematography)/ and Scarfiotti were “one of the most incredible visual troikas in the history of movies,” and its omission from these three categories remains a head-scratcher. Scarfiotti’s sets ranged from richly colored and imaginatively shadowed rooms to stark exterior settings using existing period art and architecture, creating a virtual buffet for the eyes. Here is a three minute sample of what they missed:

Leading Actress — Emma Thompson (Saving Mr Banks) 2013 — Robin Write

Someone who was in the top tier for Best Actress consideration pretty much the whole awards season was Emma Thompson with her commanding performance in Saving Mr Banks. The dismal thing here is the movie’s popularity seemed to wane rather quickly towards arrival of the Academy Awards nominations, and it did not even make the Best Picture short-list – and likely Thompson (and a less certain Tom Hanks) suffered as a result of this.

Original Score — Ennio Morricone (Once Upon a Time in the West) 1968 — Steve Schweighofer

La Cage aux Folles, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Once Upon a Time in America, The Battle of Algiers, Days of Heaven, Heaven can Wait, The Mission, and Cinema Paradiso. These are a few of the films scored by arguably the greatest film composer of the past five decades, and there’s not one Oscar win – and few nominations – among them. When he finally did win the Oscar, it was for a minor work in a minor film, supposedly because guilt had set in within the music hive in AMPAS and they are afraid he would die before being acknowledged and they would look like fools. One of his most famous scores he composed for Sergio Leone’s spaghetti western trilogy, Once Upon a Time in the West. It’s unique, memorable, and elevated the film to classic status, all with a wave of his baton. If you think you don’t remember it, here’s a clip, pure and completely out of context:

Picture — Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind 2004 — Robin Write

The two Screenplays winners this year were possibly the best two movies of the year. Depends who you ask. Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind did have reasons to show up to the Oscars, but there were no nominations for Picture, Director (Michel Gondry), or Actor (Jim Carrey). It is quite simply one of the most original ideas every written and brought to the screen in such an affecting way. It see-saws between that very thin line of comedy and drama, just the way life in your head can. It has a superb cast, and a narrative so jumbled up and head-spinning, it is actually the deepest love story you might see. It can hurt, it can bemuse, but it is wonderful.

What a mixture of terrific non-nominees – comment away below.