academy awards | the m0vie blog

Has the Email Controversy Hurt The Hurt Locker’s Chances?

Posted on March 5, 2010 by Darren

Well, balloting is official closed. The deadline has passed and, by the time you read this, counting will more than likely be under way. It’s been an interesting Oscar season, and – since this is my last post before the ceremony – I should probably make some sort of generic observation about the competition. In truth, the acting races seem to have been sewn up since before nominations were even announced, but it looks like there’s a genuine race on for the Best Picture Oscar. In the interest of objective journalism (okay, blogging), I should concede that I have a €10 bet with my brother on the race. He expects Avatar to win because (and I quote) “it looks awesome”. I was backing The Hurt Locker, but part of me wonders if the anti-Avatar fiasco means that I should just give him the tenner now and be done.

Chartier attempts to defuse the situation...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 82nd academy awards, academy awards, AMPAS, avatar, best picture oscar, film, Movies, nicola chartier, oscar, the hurt locker, the oscars | Leave a comment »

Could Avatar Flip The ‘Populist Oscar’ Debate?

Posted on January 22, 2010 by Darren

With the Golden Globe firmly in hand, James Cameron’s double victory at the Golden Globes cemented Avatar as a serious contender for the Best Picture Oscar. Not that there was ever really much doubt about the film receiving a nomination: the Academy loves Cameron. It still just seems a surprise in a race that has generally seen debate over Precious, Up in the Air and The Hurt Locker, with a fringe advocating Inglourious Basterds. Still, give the people what they want, right? An Oscar win for Avatar clearly indicates that the Academy is moving back to embrace popular tastes, right? I’m not so convinced.

Yes, that's James Cameron biting his lips to stop himself from reminding you how awesome he is...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 81st academy awards, academy awards, avatar, best picture, best picture race, golden globes, james cameron, Oscars, oscars 2010, populism, populist, The Dark Knight | 8 Comments »

More Thoughts on the Best Picture/Best Director Voting Divergence

Posted on September 17, 2009 by Darren

I read an interesting article over at The LA Times which suggested that we may be able to spot how radically the new voting rules have changed the way that the Academy awards people and films.

Going for gold...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: academy awards, alfred hitchcock, AMPAS, best director, best picture, driving miss daisy, hitchcock, LA Times, Oscars, plurality, stv, voting | Leave a comment »

Awards Season Forecast…

Posted on July 22, 2009 by Darren

It’s summer time! That means blockbusters, comic book movies! It’s comic con time! That means more blockbuster and more comic book movie gossip! It seems that everything from the Tron viral campaign to the impending release of the Alice in Wonderland teaser is generating a lot of buzz. And quite right, too. We do live in the era of the geek. However, once we get into autumn proper, there are more prestigious films approaching. Looks like the studios are sticking to the tried-and-true “cram as many Oscar contenders as you can into the least amount of time” method, and there’s a huge schlock of films coming out. Here are just some of the main ones I’m looking forward to during awards season.

Starring Morgan Freeman? Check. Directed by Clint Eastwood? Check. Story of an iconic figure? Check. Story of triumph over adversity/prejudice? Check. Set in the past? Check. Oscar Gold? Check.

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 2010 academy awards, 2010 oscar nominees, academy awards, amelia, avatar, Clint Eastwood, Daniel Day-Lewis, ewan mcgregor, film, hilary swank, invictus, james cameron, Leonardo diCaprio, martin scorcese, matt damon, moon, Morgan Freeman, Movies, Nine, oscar nominees, Oscars, peter jackson, pierce brosnan, precious, rob marshall, scorcese, Shutter Island, star trek, stephen soderberg, the ghost, the hurt locker, the informant, the lovely bones, the road, up | Leave a comment »

Looking Back at This Year’s Best Picture Race

Posted on July 13, 2009 by Darren

I’ve finally gotten to see all the five Best Picture nominees for the 81st Academy Awards. I’m honestly disappointed it took me so long, but that’s what happens when a flood of prestige movies hit the cinemas over three weeks in January and the Academy doesn’t even pick the good ones. I’m honestly not sure how I feel about the contenders, in retrospect. The previous year’s awards featured a fantastic line-up – Juno, No Country for Old Men, Atonement, Michael Clayton, There Will Be Blood – that hit just about every demographic and represented the awards at their best. This year, we got a closed shop.

The statuettes are actually quite creepy when you get to looking at them...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 2009 oscars, 81st academy awards, academy awards, AMPAS, best picture, films, frost/nixon, milk, Movies, Oscars, slumdog millionaire, the curious case of benjamin button, The Dark Knight, the reader | Leave a comment »

Welcome to the Academy!

Posted on July 1, 2009 by Darren

Wow.

The Academy might actually be serious about changing things. I was indifferent about the expansion of the Best Picture category, and a bit miffed about the demotion of the Honorary Awards to an event outside the regular show, but today’s list of new members of the Academy gives me a little cause for hope. These are the people who will vote on the nominees in coming years and I’m actually surprised: I recognise most of the names. Don’t get me wrong, these are only 134 new members in an organisation of 5000. This announcement by itself won’t move the Oscars back to the centre of popular culture where they belong, but – if the Academy can stick to its guns on this one – it may prove a better way of incorporating mainstream tastes than simply doubling the size of the Academy’s net.

Marlon Brando with his trophy... and his Oscar...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: academy awards, AMPAS, anne hathaway, brendan gleeson, henry selick, hugh jackman, James Franco, members of the academy, michael cera, Oscars, seth rogan, sid ganis, the reader, tyler perry | Leave a comment »

Academy to Cut Honorary Awards from Telecast…

Posted on June 29, 2009 by Darren

I’m going to give the expansion of the Best Picture category the benefit of the doubt and I don’t really care about the Original Song rules, to be completely honest, but I am a little ticked off at the announcement that the Honorary Oscars are being shunted back stage. Talk about completely missing the point – the Academy doesn’t seem to get that most viewers aren’t clamoring for that extra High School Musical song so badly that they’re shunt off someone who has made such a massive contribution to popular culture as to warrant the Honorary Award. I just don’t get this decision.

We want the Academy to take its hat off to Charlie Chaplin...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: academy awards, AMPAS, charlie chaplin, cinema, film, Honorary Oscars, Movies, Oscar telecast, Oscars, Zac Efron | 4 Comments »

Oscars Double Number of Best Picture Nominees in Hopes of Catching Good Films…

Posted on June 24, 2009 by Darren

Well, admitting that there’s a problem is the first step. The Academy announced today that next year (in a return to vintage Hollywood tradition) there would be ten nominees for Best Picture. The shadow of the snub of The Dark Knight looms large in the announcement, and though it isn’t explicitly stated in the statement, several commentators have inferred it. While it’s being pitched as some sort of vintage return to form, it’s hard not to see it as an attempt by the Academy to cast a much wider net when it comes to nominees. I agree with the sentiment, but the jury’s still out on the method.

Looking good for an 81-year-old...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: academy awards, AMPAS, films, oscar nominees, Oscars, trinity film review | 5 Comments »

Non-Review Review: American Beauty

Posted on June 10, 2009 by Darren

The Academy rarely gets it right when it comes to the Best Picture Oscar (Gladiator… Shakespeare in Love?), but this is one of the exceptions. Sam Mendes’ first major motion picture and arguably his best, American Beauty is a movie where all the elements seem to come together perfectly.