2012 Oscar Nominations

Discussion in 'TV & Media' started by Starbreaker, Jan 10, 2013.

  1. OdoWanKenobi

    OdoWanKenobi Admiral Admiral

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    The Academy have shown time and time again that they are a bunch of simple-minded fools who think that slow, depressing, and tedious are what make a great movie. Anything colorful, whimsical, or entertaining is not worth a look. Cloud Atlas didn't get nominated because they are too stupid for it. It's as simple as that. It's why unremarkable films like The King's Speech can win Best Picture, but a wildly entertaining and original film like Inception can be passed over.
     
  2. stj

    stj Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I don't think Argo nor Les Miserables deserved best picture nominations. And although I'm waiting to be convinced when I see Django Unchained, it does seem unlikely Tarantino has suddenly become a good film maker.

    I didn't believe Argo even while I was sitting in the theater, forget any pesky questions coming to mind while walking through the theater lobby. The drunken eagle cam in Les Miserables was disconcerting, not artful. Frankly, Kathryn Bigelow as near as I can tell was the designated anti-James Cameron/Avatar vote by people who preferred Mark Boal's subtext to Cameron's. So I can't agree that there is anything peculiar about directorial shut outs for Affleck, Bigelow and Hooper.

    I've already forgotten if Skyfall got any nominations. A movie so unremarkable for anything good but box office deserved to be forgotten.

    Sally Field is actually a lead actress but apparently the politics of campaigning require mislabeling. This is a shame I imagine, since it seems likely that a flashy song performance by Anne Hathaway will be favored over a genuinely accomplished role.
     
  3. Trek4Ever

    Trek4Ever Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    The rule of thumb these days with the Oscars is find out which film was produced by Harvey Weinstein and that is the winner.

    The best picture field has been weakened by the split in the best director noms, which may give Lincoln a shot but won't be surprised if Silver Linings Playbook gets the prize. It did get a lot of important noms. Life of Pi will probably sweep the technical awards including SFX.
     
  4. Gaith

    Gaith Vice Admiral Admiral

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    <Bale voice>

    But... I'm the Batman.

    I'm Batman.
     
  5. Greg Cox

    Greg Cox Admiral Premium Member

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    A wacky idea: you don't think Affleck got snubbed by the directing wing of the Academy because of that crack in ARGO about how "you can teach a monkey to direct"?

    One would like to think that folks would not be that thin-skinned, but . . . .
     
  6. Gaith

    Gaith Vice Admiral Admiral

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    ^ Who knows? Maybe they were skittish about not nominating Bigelow either, and didn't want the guy's Middle East thriller to get a nom hers didn't. Or maybe they figured that, with a script like that, the movie practically directs itself.
     
  7. CaptainCanada

    CaptainCanada Admiral Admiral

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    There were four reasonably big-name directors in contention this year who didn't get nominated (Affleck and Bigelow, who seemed like sure things, and Hooper and Tarantino, who were gunning for the fifth slot). I would imagine the balloting for the last few spots was probably incredibly tight.
     
  8. Flying Spaghetti Monster

    Flying Spaghetti Monster Vice Admiral Admiral

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  9. CaptainCanada

    CaptainCanada Admiral Admiral

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    Is there really anything to speculate about there? It was poorly received overall, and didn't make that much money, so there was no reason to think it would get any attention from AMPAS. None of the critics organizations, SAG, HFPA, etc. did.
     
  10. od0_ital

    od0_ital Admiral Admiral

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    ^

    Box office doesn't matter when it comes to the Oscars.

    Just look at how many major categories The Dark Knight was nominated for...
     
  11. The Nth Doctor

    The Nth Doctor Infinite Possibilities... Premium Member

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    Not only that but the fact that Cloud Atlas didn't get nominated for any of technical awards is ridiculous no matter the so-called poor performance. If nothing else, make-up, special effects, and film editing all deserved recognition. I honestly can't think of any film this year more deserving of the Best Make-Up Oscar than Cloud Atlas and yet it doesn't even get nominated.
     
  12. Flying Spaghetti Monster

    Flying Spaghetti Monster Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I agree. And while makeup was second to none, the editing was even better!
     
  13. CaptainCanada

    CaptainCanada Admiral Admiral

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    Yes it does.

    I didn't say it was the only thing that mattered. There are three paths to Oscar nominations:

    1. Be a big financial success (preferably in a genre Oscar likes, but if you're sufficiently big, even if you aren't, i.e., Avatar).
    2. Be a big critical success.
    3. Be both of those things at once (ideal!).

    Or, just have Harvey Weinstein running your campaign.

    But Cloud Atlas was none of those things. Oscar voters go for their favourite movies, for the most part.
     
  14. Gil T.Azell

    Gil T.Azell Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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  15. od0_ital

    od0_ital Admiral Admiral

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    ^

    Judi Dench got an supportin' Oscar nomination and win for a role that took up about three minutes of screentime, or something. Basically, she was in one scene at the end of a long movie, and walked away with an Oscar.
     
  16. stj

    stj Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    ^^^Anne Hathaway got an Oscar nomination for "acting" a character who is hated by everyone at her factory although only the foreman had any sort of reason; got fired; didn't try to get another job apparently; cut her hair; turned a trick; promptly died of sin; came back from heaven to sing in a chorus. She's already won a Golden Globe, and is apparently the front runner for best supporting actress. The song was pretty good for a non-professional singer. But I don't think anyone can plausibly say she did great acting, bringing a character to life.
     
  17. CaptainCanada

    CaptainCanada Admiral Admiral

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    We're shown the city is full of desperately poor people. That she couldn't get another job in that climate is a rather obvious inference, given how she's reduced to selling off precious items.
    Numerous people are plausibly saying that, including critics who were otherwise lukewarm on the film in question.
     
  18. stj

    stj Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    ^^^Then numerous people are wrong. A song, however much the singer emotes, is not a genuine character. Nor do their numbers make them plausible. If you and they are trying to say her song was the high point of the film, well, that's not the same thing at all.
     
  19. CaptainCanada

    CaptainCanada Admiral Admiral

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    In a musical in recitative it is. That's the whole point. Her performance isn't just "I Dreamed A Dream", anyway (I thought "Lovely Ladies" and "Come to Me" are almost on the same level, anyway), and she does a superb job in mine and many others' opinion of conveying her character.
     
  20. stj

    stj Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    If the songs were the whole point, there wouldn't be any need for the recitative. It's true that the song can do heavy lifting in revealing character and evoking our emotion, but the dramatic interactions, in recitative or ordinary speech, are also character presenting.

    We don't know what her problem with the other women at the factory is; we don't understand her secrecy; we don't see any effort to find another job so what we see is an immediate descent into prostitution; really, we don't even know how such a woman the dialogue says she is could abandon her child to the grotesque Thenardiers! Nobody is stupid enough to trust those gargoyles.

    All these things are her character, but they don't add up. I read Les Miserables over forty years ago, so all I can go by is what's on screen. Maybe other people are using something else to fill in the gaps there.

    Absolutely true, and the failure of the rest is what diminishes the character to essentially one song...which isn't enough. (Incidentally, the problems with Fantine are in the script and the direction, not Hathaway. I can't see anything that Hathaway didn't at least try to turn into a genuinine human being.)

    The vampire hooker chorus does a smashing job of asking the question of why this woman doesn't go steal Cosette and either steal or beg. The ghoulish delight in degradation that powers "Lovely Ladies" gave me another take on the sincerity of the refrain "Hear the people sing!" I thought the song and its staging were awful. I suppose if you liked it then it might have added to your appreciation of Fantine, but I'm sure not seeing it.

    I still don't think she sang as well as a professional singer could have, and the performance would have been better. Nor do I think she successfully surmounted the script and staging problems. But it's quite true she managed to do a decent job of evoking pity, especially in the hair cutting scene I thought. But lots of actresses can evoke pity in such lurid scenes of degradation. It's a bad actress or writer who wrecks a death scene too. But...a prize winning performance better than every other supporting actress? Really? That's a stretch, even if it lese majeste to say so.