You know what to do. PLEASE STICK TO ONE QUESTION, and try not to cover any terrain we’ve already hit. I immediately gloss over something that feels done or stale (sorry). Cut loose with your queries in the comments section and we’ll address what we can.
Comments
51 responses to “Taking questions for Oscar Talk”
Hello,
So this is my first year truly watching the Oscar race from start to finish. I came in halfway last year and it is now doubly satisfying being at the groundfloor of this race.
I’ve always loved the Oscars throughout my youth; I was always excited to see performances that I had seen be nominated. And now that that I’m seeing more top-notch movies; it’s happening a lot more now.
Now, I’ve also always loved the Golden Globes. Loved them because they brought television actors and movie actors together. Loved the looser atmosphere but the still fresh excitement at winning the award. I also like that they separate Musical/Comedy from Drama. Yes it takes away the prestige of being the ‘Best Actress’ but it truly allows more great talent to be recognized. But as I get further into Oscar watching; there seems to be a certain disdain for the awards.
So does a Golden Globe win really have no prestige anymore (or if it ever did)? Has poorly chosen winners in the past contributed to this view of the Globes now? Why don’t we ever see Globes predicting going on?
I’m just curious to hear your and Anne’s views on the Golden Globes and what you think if anything could be done to possibly increase their prestige (I’m not talking increasing the prestige to Oscar level but at least making it as respectable as a SAG possibly).
sorry that was a bit long there.
Does the lack of minorities in this year’s Oscar race mean that despite it’s critical shellacking we should expect nominations for Tyler Perry’s For Colored Girls. Is it a possible BP nominee?
Do you think tweeting a quick reaction to a movie is a good idea?
I asked this before a couple of weeks ago, but I figured I’d bring it up again with the release of 127 Hours this week.
Do you think the success of “Slumdog Millionaire” at the Oscars affected the perception of “127 Hours” as an awards contender because Boyle has been “validated” by the Academy? Or, would “127 Hours have been a contender no matter what?
Which score from Alexandre Desplat would you say has the most chance at snagging a nomination. “The Ghost Writer” and “Tamara Drewe” are already out. You’ve seen “The King’s Speech”, which is the favorite right now. His score for “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1” is now available via YouTube. What do you two think?
Kind of in wake of the Tintin photos:
Do you think an acting nomination for Andy Serkis in Lord of the Rings would have had any impact on anti-animation bias among actors?
As in, would they realize their jobs aren’t threatened by animation and skillful performances are still possible?
What do you make of the (unconfirmed) word that the Coens’ “True Grit” has a running time of less than 90 minutes?
Two independent studios that haven’t had much above-the-line nominations in the past have films with significant chances of major nominations this year: Roadside Attractions and Newmarket.
Does this lack of precedent for these studios serve a potential roadblock “Winter’s Bone,” “The Way Back,” and “Biutiful”? Is this potentially a similar situation to what (for lack of a better example) LionsGate achieved with “Crash”?
Do you guys think that “Get Low” is losing enough steam to the point where Duvall could get left out? I’m thinking of adopting this mindset, simply because the film was distributed theatrically at such a down time, and it has nowhere near the same momentum that Bridges had last year with “Crazy Heart.” Duvall is great in the film, and I know that he’s well-respected, but most of the other cards seem to be pointing in the direction of the film and the performance getting left behind.
What do you consider the most overrated and underrated movies of 2010 so far?
I haven’t been following the awards race for very long, but I gather from many people who have that the Oscars aren’t as prestigious or as great an award as they used to be (expanding nominee fields, lackluster telecasts, and uninspired choices of nominees/winners).
Despite this, I also gather that precursor awards bodies have started to shift from celebrating films that THEY like, to trying to predict the films that the Academy will like.
The supposed dip in quality, but gain in gravitas (?) doesn’t make sense to me, and I’d love to hear what you and Anne think about it.
Could a documentary get a Best Picture nomination this year?
Also, are there any documentaries in the past that would’ve received a best pic nod in a field of ten?
How far do you think Halle Berry can go this year? Any chance for Phylicia Rashad from the same film?
What did you guys think of the Hollywood Reporter Actress Round table?
Not a question, but here is the first poster and official synopsis for the Tree of Life if you haven’t already seen it.
http://www.collider.com/2010/11/03/the-tree-of-life-movie-poster-synop sis-terrence-malick/
What are your thoughts on Mila Kunis’ performance in “Black Swan?”
Based solely on what I can glean from the trailers, it seems like a showy and sexy role that could have Supporting Actress potential, but I haven’t heard anything specific about her role/performance. Would love to hear your insight!
Is there one Oscar guru who everyone looks to? Does crazy off the wall predictions devalue a blogger’s relevance?
Will both cinematographers be eligible and/or nominated for 127 Hours? If both are eligible, do you think this will have any effect on the nomination? To my knowledge, there hasn’t been a shared nomination in that category.
Kind of a random question, but I was wondering what you and Anne think is the biggest flaw in the Oscar voting process and how you’d recommend fixing it.
Does The Social Network’s score have any chance of getting nominated, especially considering in how many reviews it’s been mentioned, which is pretty rare for a score? Could, like last year’s similarly electronic (though nowhere near as good) score for the Hurt Locker, TSN’s score make it in on the strength of the movie alone?
Is Awards Daily or In Contention the better Oscar site?
From before: Who do you want to see host the Oscars, and who do you think will be chosen?
Also, discussion wanted about the potential Golden Globe comedy contenders.
Hello,
What are you opinions on “For Colored Girls”, if you have seen it? Is it a serious Oscar contender or just busted Oscar bait? Are any of the performances worth consideration especially in the already wide open Best Supporting Actress race?
If things remain as they are now, it’s more far more likely for Inception to be in the Top 10 than Shutter Island. However, it’s also more likely for Leo DiCaprio’s performance in Shutter Island to be nominated over Inception’s (even if he’s not a frontrunner for a nomination, but anyways).
If he was nominated for Shutter Island, how would you consider it for Inception, as something good since both films deal with psychological matters of the subconscious and the Academy’s being more open towards sci-fi movies like these; or as something negative since it could reflect indecisiveness towards one of these films, or both of them?
The Departed & Blood Diamond, part 2.
How do you and Anne feel about Gwyneth Paltrow’s chances for an acting nomination for Country Strong? She does her own singing in the film and this storyline has proven to be popular with Academy Members
Do you think the visual effects category’s switch to 5 will see something that is NOT a big Hollywood blockbuster? Something like a movie that uses effects like “Eternal Sunshine” did or even stuff like “Enter the Void”/”Monsters” do this year.
What do you think Julianne Moore’s chances are for a Best Actress bid? I’M SO KIDDING!!! Please don’t throw tomatoes at me!!!
Anyway!
Have you or Anne heard anything about How Do You Know? I mean, is it good James L. Brooks (As Good As It Gets), or bad James L. Brooks (Spanglish)? I was particularly interested if you guys heard any buzz for Paul Rudd.
Last week you guys sort of poo-poo’d Jack Nicholson in James L. Brooks’ latest film. Don’t you think he’ll get the typical Golden Globe celeb nod? Sure he was (arguably) snubbed for The Departed, but an 8 year absence marks the longest in his career. Why underestimate the vet actor possibility this year…Jack, Harrison Ford in the possibly forgetful Morning Glory, or Bill Murray?
Their films may not be well-received, but since when does a vet need that?
Do you think people labeling Black Swan as “not an Academy movie” is dubious?
Do you not see it as having the potential (as I do)of being the biggest critical darling at the end of the year?
I think we are at the point in Academy culture where if it is certified by the critics as being the best, then it will make it into the 10. (Evidenced recently by Hurt Locker, Wall-E probably being close, No Country and There Will Be Blood).
Hollywood Elsewhere reports some issue about The Way Back’s distributor, Newmarket. Unfortunately it seems like film won’t get good Oscar promotion/campaign. Do you think it hurts the film?
So, I’ve heard great things about Tangled since the very first preview and I’ve seen a great amount of clips to know that this is a “Grade A 90’s Disney style” quality film but i’m disappointed about the latest For Your Consideration posters Disney has released just going for Animated film and original song. Why do you think Disney or the marketing people at the house of mouse are not pushing this one for best picture? I’m guessing not much has changed in the way of pushing a film to the Oscars since Beauty & The Beast. So why isn’t Disney going after the “Big One” with Tangled?
Who do you think is going to be the youngest actor/actress nominee this year? Aaron Johnson, Chloe Moretz, Hailee Steinfeld, Saoirse Ronan, Dakota Fanning, Elle Fanning, Kodi Smit-McPhee… or maybe someone else?
Setting Oscar politics aside (all that talk about age, being due, what the Academy thinks or will vote on), of the performances given by Robet Duvall in Get Low, Jesse Eisenberg in The Social Network, Colin Firth in The King’s Speech, James Franco in 127 Hours and Ryan Gosling in Blue Valentine, which do you believe is the most worthy of the Oscar for Best Actor…based solely on the performance.
This is a question about how you foresee the Oscar season going this year and not for you to nitpick at particular performances, but I noticed that Steve Pond complained about the acting races seeming stale and boring at this point. I saw that Kris’s list of predictions for the four acting categories matches up almost exactly with the Post-Toronto Gurus Of Gold list for the four acting categories. There appears to be a consensus on what look to be the five nominees for the four acting categories at this point. I looked back at the post-Toronto GOG lists from 2009 and 2008, and they matched up to the actual Oscar nominees by about 14 or 15 out of 20. Except for the fact that the predicted performances from True Grit and The Fighter may be major disappointments, do you think your predictions and the predictions from the Gurus of Gold will hold up throughout the season? Do you think this is going to be a year when the general consensus will ride all the way to the Oscar nominees (like 2009, which matched up with the SAGs 19/20) or one where the a lot of surprise fifth slot nominees (like 2007, which matched up with the SAGs 15/20)? It seems to me that 2007 was a year with a plentiful supply of deserving movies and performances that allowed for the Academy to have a mind of its own and make surprising nominations, whereas 2009 and 2008 where a bit more empty. How do you think this year will compare with the past few years? I know I get really bummed out when the Oscar nominations match up with the precursors almost exactly, so do you think this is likely to happen this year?
How many Boom Mic drops did you count in Hereafter? I counted 2.
Why don’t you just tell everyone the truth? The Oscar race is over; it’s King’s Speech in a sweep.
Do you really think Christopher Nolan will be left out of Best Director this year? I can’t see him missing it, and the directors seem to really like him, so why would be be snubbed yet again, especially after The Dark Knight?
Hi.
MY QUESTION:
Is INCEPTION the clear front-runner to win Best Visual Effects or do you think TRON: Legacy can be a huge surprise and collect Oscars for most technical categories?
Thanks.
Will Steven Seagal at long last receive the honors he never received with his magnificent performance in MACHETE ? The comeback role if there ever was one. And I am only half kidding. Or, maybe 75% kidding.
I just saw The Social Network and I am surprise that I am raving for it right now! The actors were all good and no doubt Jessie Eisenberg and Andrew Garfield will earn Oscar nods. Surprisingly I found Armie Hammer’s performance as the Winklevoss twins really good, do you think there is a chance for him to get an acting nomination or the Academy will recognize it in the special effects category, because the technology done to make the twins is very much flawless, what do you guys think?
What do you think Leonardo DiCaprio will get nominated for — SHUTTER ISLAND or INCEPTION? And while many are predicting INCEPTION as a best picture contender, what about SHUTTER ISLAND’s chances? I read that American Cinemateque is doing a retrospective of Scorsese and DiCaprio projects — does this mean the studio is campaigning the film and, if so, do you think with ten best pictures the movie has a chance at getting in? It’s one of my favorites of this year for sure and I personally thought DiCaprio had the more showy role in SHUTTER more than INCEPTION. Curious to hear your and Anne’s thoughts.
Do you think there will be a backlash if this year turns out to be an all-white (acting) Oscars like many are predicting? Or do you think the Academy’s generous nominations toward African-Americans in the past few years will off set any criticism? Or will the Academy try to nominate anyone to prevent an all-white Oscars from happening?
Any chance of Keira Knightley and Sam Worthington’s ‘Last Night’ sneaking into the acting, script or best pic races?
We can tallk all we want about who we think will get nominated, but at this point, who do we think will actually win the acting awards at this point?
For example, Natalie Portman is wonderful, and I’ve heard she’s astounding in the film, but could she actually win?? Is the race really between Annette and Nicole? If Bale’s as good as he looks, is this award his? Considering Rush has already won?
Andrew Jarecki has bought the domestic distribution rights for his movie ‘All Good Things’ while The Weinstein Company kept the international rights. Has this happened with other films? How does this split affect the movie? What is the Weinstein Brothers’ intention with wanting to present this film overseas?
My question echoes something that has already been addressed earlier on this thread…
Do you think THE WAY BACK is going to face a roadblock or be a non-contender because of the way Newmarket is supposedly handling the release and awards push for the film?
We already know that the film won’t be screening for the NYFCC until after December 31st and thus be ineligible for award consideration from that awards group (via Jeff Wells).
We all know how much critics groups matter for lower profile releases such as this.
Thanks!
Is Another Year eligible for Best Original Screenplay given that it doesn’t even have a screenplay?
Scratch that, since I just realized Leigh has been nominated for writing before. Maybe talk about whether or not you think it should be nominated given that it doesn’t have a screenplay.
Something interesting I have noticed with the critical pans of “For Colored Girls”, Every one of them mentions the wonderful actresses being let down by the shortcomings of the director. Do you think this juxtaposition could be a literal representation of the fact that the material even the greatest black actresses receive is poor and thus eventually result in more movies created for black women?
Although critically raved, and commercially viable the buzz from The Social Network, which is the best film I have seen all year, has definitely died down. Does it have the stamina to last all the way to the Oscars? Do you see critics’ groups embracing any aspect outside of screenplay and picture, like actor? What is the difference in terms of its role in the oscar derby, between TSN and another zeitgest movie from last year Up in The Air, could it end up as empty-handed as that did?
Evan: Of course it has a screenplay. All Leigh’s films have screenplays. You’re wildly oversimplifying, or just misunderstanding, his process.