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Welcome to Oscar Talk.
In case you’re new to the site and/or the podcast, Oscar Talk is a weekly kudocast, your one-stop awards chat shop between yours truly and Anne Thompson of Thompson on Hollywood. The podcast is weekly, every Friday throughout the season, charting the ups and downs of contenders along the way. Plenty of things change en route to Oscar’s stage and we’re here to address it all as it unfolds.
Unless you’ve been under a rock this morning, you’re aware of the day’s big news. Oscar nominations were revealed by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 24 categories. And, as is typically, there were enough eyebrow-raisers to give us a ton to talk about. We’ve got IC’s own Guy Lodge and indieWIRE‘s Peter Knegt on board. Also, it’s our 50th episode! Let’s see what’s on the docket today…
• The first shocker of the morning’s announcement was the lack of Christopher Nolan in the Best Director line-up.
• Being in Park City with Anne, Peter points out that last year’s Sundance field had a strong showing in this year’s Oscar line-up.
• “The King’s Speech” brought in a massive haul of nominations, but is that enough to consider it the new frontrunner? We discuss.
• We also spotlight curious decisions throughout the acting fields that could be indicative of this or that.
• One of the strongest fields, we all agree, is the Best Documentary Feature category (where “Waiting for Superman” was an unexpected snub). Can Banksy win an Oscar?
• Also surprising for many was the inclusion of “Dogtooth” in the foreign film category. We talk about the possibilities of that race, as well.
• We run through all the categories with our predictions in each field (and Anne had to leave in the middle, but us dudes finished it up).
• And finally, reader questions. Guy, Peter and I answer a few of your pressing queries from this morning.
Have a listen to the new podcast below. It’s a long one, and all over the place with four voices. If the file cuts off for you at any time, try the back-up download link at the bottom of this post. And as always, remember to subscribe to Oscar Talk via iTunes here.
Back-up download: Oscar Talk Episode 50
60 responses so far
1 1-25-2011 at 12:32 pm
Loyal said...
I think Darabont managed 2 DGA noms but no Oscar nominations for directing Green Mile and Shawshank (he was nominated as a producer and writer).
2 1-25-2011 at 12:36 pm
Guy Lodge said...
Indeed, but three? I haven’t had time to go through the record books, but no precedent comes to mind.
3 1-25-2011 at 12:44 pm
Dmitr said...
Rob Reiner got 3 DGA nominations (Stand by Me, When Harry Met Sally, A Few Good Men), but the Academy wasn’t convinced
4 1-25-2011 at 12:48 pm
Andrew M said...
Speaking of Dogtooth, who ever hasn’t seen it and wants to it’s on Netflix watch instantly as of today.
5 1-25-2011 at 12:54 pm
Will said...
If you want to compare Steinfeld winning to another year, I think you could go with Tilda Swinton. Actress in a beloved movie that won’t win anything else so they honor it where they can.
6 1-25-2011 at 12:59 pm
Dan said...
Someone is a little interrupty….
7 1-25-2011 at 1:03 pm
Kristopher Tapley said...
Tough with four.
8 1-25-2011 at 1:03 pm
Hans said...
True Grits.
The King’s Peach cobbler.
Swan Cake.
9 1-25-2011 at 1:07 pm
Evan said...
The comment about lack of acting nominations for “The Social Network” as a potential sign for non-support is perhaps a bit off-base. It has no fewer acting nominations than the last five Best Picture winners. “The Hurt Locker,” “No Country for Old Men,” “The Departed,” and “Crash” had one acting nom as well, while “Slumdog Millionaire” had none.
10 1-25-2011 at 1:09 pm
Loyal said...
Great, so Nolan has company with Meathead and the guy behind Nightmare on Elm Street III. sigh.
I love how accidentally dismissive Guy sounds towards Anne “No no no no no, that won’t do” in terms of Biutiful and Alice in Wonderland. LOL
11 1-25-2011 at 1:12 pm
darklayers said...
Rick Baker–six Academy Awards.
12 1-25-2011 at 1:15 pm
Andrew M said...
I got angry at the closing song, knowing it might be the last song being played on Oscar night, sigh…
13 1-25-2011 at 1:15 pm
Mason said...
A few food ideas that popped into my head:
Mr. Potato Head Quesadillas
Orgasmic Prawns a la I Am Love
You might get more mileage out of film-themed cocktails, like, say, the Black Swan (blackberry vodka, soda water, and grenadine), or the Kings Slurred Speech…that could be fun to concoct :)
14 1-25-2011 at 1:16 pm
Andrej said...
Thanks for adressing my question ☺
And about Burlesque’s songs getting snubbed… oh, come on! They’re so cheesy they’re awesome, I can’t get ‘You haven’t seen the last of me’ out of my head, and I even have seen the friggin’ movie yet! By the way, there’s another Oscar food for you, Burlesque cheese.
Also… Rabbit Roast, Strawberry ‘Lotso’ Cake, and some fish-based food (but no eel).
15 1-25-2011 at 1:19 pm
Andrej said...
*And I even haven’t seen the movie yet.
I need some serious proofreading vitamins.
16 1-25-2011 at 1:28 pm
Maxim said...
“Great, so Nolan has company with Meathead and the guy behind Nightmare on Elm Street III. sigh.
I love how accidentally dismissive…”
Speaking of dismisive, the guy you call Meathead did some amazing work in the 80s early 90s and really showed range.
17 1-25-2011 at 1:38 pm
red_wine said...
” Orgasmic Prawns ”
It was Tilda who was orgasmic, not the prawns :D :D :D
But even before the nominations, if anybody asked me which movie had the best cinematography, art direction and costume design of the year, I would say I Am Love for all three. That movie is just such a sumptuous lavish feast for the eyes. Perfect setting for a family falling apart.
Nobody addressed Social Network’s cinematography nom which while not unexpected is curious. Its just that literally nobody is gonna come out of Social Network and say, wow that had awesome cinematography. Its the odd man out that way amongst the other nominees.
18 1-25-2011 at 1:43 pm
Loyal said...
@ Maxim
I was being purposely dismissive of Meathead, though I do love Stand By Me and Misery. He hasn’t made a good film in 16 years, certainly not the type of company Nolan deserves to be now lumped with.
19 1-25-2011 at 1:43 pm
Bryan said...
Can we get a shoutout for Amy Adams? She’s gone from Amy-Who? to three Oscar nominations in five years.
20 1-25-2011 at 1:53 pm
Kieran S said...
“Oh God, it’s hideous looking.” Guy, I couldn’t have said it better myself.
21 1-25-2011 at 1:56 pm
Graysmith said...
True Grits, LOL! Good one, Hans.
A food suggestion for The Social Network could be something like Jolt Cola and some snack/fast food. Coder food.
The King’s Spaghetti. Or something really cold to make you stutter (bad joke).
For Black Swan… Chicken wings?
Combine that with 127 Hours where you get a chicken drumstick (bad joke again).
The Fighter.. Some kind of typical Boston food.. Boston cream pie? I don’t know Boston foods that well.
22 1-25-2011 at 2:01 pm
Kieran S said...
Oh, and most inadvertently funny quote in this podcast.
“Okay, it’s just the boys. BEST MAKEUP!”
-Kris Tapley.
23 1-25-2011 at 2:07 pm
Graysmith said...
By the way, I do wonder.. Is Jeff Bridges the first person to be nominated for a role that was previously nominated for an Oscar?
I was thinking something like Hamlet, but Kenneth Branagh (and Mel Gibson for that matter) weren’t nominated for acting, while Laurence Olivier won the Oscar.
The only thing close to it I can think of would be Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro playing the same character in the first two Godfather movies, but that’s not the exact same thing.
24 1-25-2011 at 2:08 pm
Kristopher Tapley said...
Evan: Good point.
Kieran: Brilliant.
25 1-25-2011 at 2:19 pm
darklayers said...
The counter-argument to “recent taste” invoking recent choices is very interesting. Tom Shone argued that the issue is that “Oscar movies” aren’t made anymore. The issue of tentpoles versus indies has been extensively discussed, but it does seem like a lot of the indies are grittier and edgier than what AMPAS *really loves*. Maybe that in turn thwarts more “Oscar movies” from coming to be, and now that one is in play, it’s really changed the game.
I think some parts of Sasha Stone’s argument are a bit too easy to caricature (Awards Daily), such as calling people with questions about the significance of critics dismissing them as sheep. Dave Karger simply pointed out, ” Oscar voters are not critics. If they were, then L.A. Confidential would have beaten Titanic. And Brokeback Mountain would have won over Crash. (Of course, critics and Academy members line up sometimes too, as they did last year with The Hurt Locker.)” Anne pointed out that we know what these members like. They didn’t call them “sheep”, they just had different taste and that’s critical to consider.
But there is something to the point in her post and this discussion that the right sort of “Oscar” movie has been missing, which may have enabled gritter fare to grab the gold.
In light of that stuff, I do find Richard Corliss’ article really interesting in retrospect because of these discussions and the point Anne brought up about Toronto.
http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,2017645,00.html
“It’s early days, but The King’s Speech is just good enough — and, by Dave Kehr’s definition, bad enough — to win the big one, and to recertify Toronto as the Festival that makes Oscars.”
26 1-25-2011 at 2:24 pm
Graysmith said...
Although, did any of the Best Picture winners Evan listed miss out on any (comparatively) widely expected acting nominations?
No Country for Old Men, surely not.
The Hurt Locker, definitely not.
Crash, not what I can remember.
Slumdog Millionaire, nope.
Which leaves The Departed, which saw both DiCaprio and Nicholson miss out (though DiCaprio simply split with Blood Diamond). So there’s Nicholson’s miss to compare with Garfield, but on the other hand it had Wahlberg get a shock-nom, something The Social Network can’t claim to.
I certainly don’t think Garfield’s miss has to suggest that The Social Network can’t win Best Picture, but at the same time I don’t think those other films really apply either except for The Departed, and only to a degree.
27 1-25-2011 at 2:44 pm
darklayers said...
Dev Patel was considered possible for Slumdog Millionaire, though not expected. He got a SAG nod.
28 1-25-2011 at 2:47 pm
Graysmith said...
Another food suggestion for The Social Network:
Hasty pudding, which is a regional dish and is the name of Harvard’s own film award.
29 1-25-2011 at 3:15 pm
Maxim said...
I know you were, Loyal. Which why I corrected you. You are wrong.
Most any director would love to be in the company of the man who directed so many great films.
And by the way, his last film was quite wonderful.
30 1-25-2011 at 3:16 pm
Maxim said...
Not to mention, that technically Nolan would only be compared with that specific period in Reiner’s work.
31 1-25-2011 at 4:05 pm
Graysmith said...
I’d rather compare Nolan with someone like James Cameron, especially the younger version; a director that makes big budget tentpoles that aren’t necessarily to the Academy’s tastes. True, Cameron didn’t get any DGA nominations before Titanic, but he made films that garnered quite a lot of Oscar nominations and wins (Aliens, The Abyss, Terminator 2 most notably) before he got his first Oscar nomination. It’s definitely cruel to go 0/3 with Oscar vs. DGA nominations, but I don’t think he’s sulking too much considering he still got two nominations.
Some day his turn will come for Best Director too.
32 1-25-2011 at 4:07 pm
Rex Okpodu said...
I cannot find Oscar talk episode 50 on itunes anywhere?
33 1-25-2011 at 4:09 pm
Rex Okpodu said...
This is all that is there:
http://itunes.apple.com/podcast/oscar-talk/id329661449
34 1-25-2011 at 4:10 pm
Kristopher Tapley said...
No idea why, Rex. Guess you’ll have to listen to it here. Could be delayed.
35 1-25-2011 at 4:21 pm
daveylow said...
I wish you could do Oscar Talk all year around and just call it Film Talk. I’m getting addicted to your voices and love your insights.
I’m really getting annoyed at the song nominators. Everyone would have loved seeing Cher on the Oscars and her big song in Burlesque fulfilled the dramatic requirements perfectly. A missed camp moment for the Oscar telecast.
Though you may want Trent Reznor to win because of the cool factor, Desplat is long overdue. Though The King’s Speech isn’t his best score, it would be great if Desplat won finally for his overall work–four scores in 2010. (I wanted him to win last year for Fantastic Mr. Fox which was his coolest score.)
I think In a Better World is going to win foreign film because Susanne Bier is kind of due as well.
I think Portman gives the weakest performance among the five nominees. Williams and Kidman deserve it more. Maybe Williams will win next year for playing Marilyn Monroe. Although I wasn’t crazy about Bening’s work, I think even she is better than Portman.
Richard Corliss’s hatred of The King’s Speech really annoys me. This is one instance of a critic being too snobby for his own good. And I think he’s totally wrong about TKS being typical Oscar bait.
36 1-25-2011 at 4:41 pm
Guy Lodge said...
By the way, I do wonder.. Is Jeff Bridges the first person to be nominated for a role that was previously nominated for an Oscar?
No. A few examples come to mind: Cyrano de Bergerac (Jose Ferrer and Gerard Depardieu), Elizabeth I (Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett, twice), the protagonist of Here Comes Mr. Jordan/Heaven Can Wait (Robert Montgomery and Warren Beatty)…
37 1-25-2011 at 5:16 pm
Graysmith said...
Some numbers for this year’s beloved slate of Best Picture nominees:
Metacritic:
1. The Social Network, 95
2. Toy Story 3, 92
3. Winter’s Bone, 90
4. The King’s Speech, 88
5. The Kids Are All Right, 86
6. 127 Hours, 82
7. True Grit, 80
8. Black Swan, 79
8. The Fighter, 79
10. Inception, 74
Rotten Tomatoes (Percentage):
1. Toy Story 3, 99%
2. The Social Network, 97%
3. The King’s Speech, 96%
4. True Grit, 95%
5. The Kids Are All Right, 94%
5. Winter’s Bone, 94%
7. 127 Hours, 93%
8. Black Swan, 89%
8. The Fighter, 89%
10. Inception, 86%
Rotten Tomatoes (Average Rating):
1. The Social Network, 9.0
2. Toy Story 3, 8.8
3. The King’s Speech, 8.7
5. 127 Hours, 8.3
5. True Grit, 8.3
5. Winter’s Bone, 8.3
7. Black Swan, 8.2
8. Inception, 8.0
9. The Fighter, 7.9
9. The Kids Are All Right, 7.9
IMDB:
1. Inception, 9.0
2. Toy Story 3, 8.7
3. Black Swan, 8.6
4. The King’s Speech, 8.5
5. The Fighter, 8.3
6. 127 Hours, 8.2
6. The Social Network, 8.2
6. True Grit, 8.2
9. Winter’s Bone, 7.5
10. The Kids Are All Right, 7.4
Pretty amazing that no middling stinker got in, especially with ten films.
38 1-25-2011 at 5:24 pm
arjay said...
“Has anyone ever won who potentially doesn’t exist?”
Donald Kaufman was nominated.
39 1-25-2011 at 5:31 pm
James D. said...
And don’t forget Brando-DeNiro for Vito Corleone.
40 1-25-2011 at 5:56 pm
arjay said...
Oscar party food for 127 hours … Cold cuts.
41 1-25-2011 at 6:08 pm
darklayers said...
Even though I posted the article and find it really interesting, I agree that Corliss’ negativity is for the worse. I think Lisa Schwarzbaum notes essentially the same stuff in a less condescending way.
As far as “typical Oscar bait” goes, I think this is an interesting point. Given you commented on the awards daily post , I guess you heard Sasha’s point about “the Oscar movie.” There are obvious markers, but as Karger noted it doesn’t feel that stodgy. I think to the extent that the “Oscar bait” stuff succeeds, it will be because it did successfully liven up the “genre.”
42 1-25-2011 at 6:11 pm
Kel D. said...
Peter asked if anyone could have won who did not exist.
Charlie Kaufman’s fake twin bro Donald was nominated alongside Charlie as screenwriter of ADAPTATION
43 1-25-2011 at 6:25 pm
Kristopher Tapley said...
Yeah, someone already mentioned it. Though that was more of a joke, really.
44 1-25-2011 at 6:42 pm
THE Diego Ortiz said...
The 83rd Academy Awards is just making me more excited for “The Dark Knight Rises”
Nolan is making headlines for not getting nominated, despite 3 DGA nominations. (Wouldn’t it be cool if he won the DGA this year?)
Catwoman is hosting the show.
Batman is winning an Oscar that night.
The Nolan movies are the reason why we 10 Best Pic slots and (starting next year) 10 Best Director slots.
I can’t wait til 7/20/2012.
45 1-25-2011 at 6:43 pm
Duncan Houst said...
I love how Guy Lodge reluctantly agreed on “The King’s Speech” probably winning Original Screenplay. I think we’re all a bit disappointed with how well the film did this morning, even those of us who love the film. I find it to be an inspirational work of art, but it doesn’t deserve to be nominated for Cinematography, Editing, Sound Mixing, or Director for that matter. Tom Hooper just isn’t as deserving a director of the nomination as Christopher Nolan. He had little to no presence onscreen. This is coming from somebody who loves the film.
46 1-25-2011 at 7:08 pm
Paul Outlaw said...
I loved The King’s Speech and I am not at all disappointed with its nomination tally. Especially since I’m not convinced that Nolan was the #6 director that he bumped, nor that Hooper was the #5 director.
What were they drinking in The Social Network in that restaurant scene when Timberlake first meets Eisenberg and Garfield? That would be a good Oscar party cocktail.
47 1-25-2011 at 7:27 pm
Evan said...
Graysmith, that’s a good point, but they all had plenty of potential nominations, if not likely ones. I seem to recall talk about Don Cheadle and Sandra Bullock from Crash, Tommy Lee Jones from No Country for Old Men, and as was pointed out, Dev Patel from Slumdog Millionaire.
I also wouldn’t overstate how likely Andrew Garfield was to get a nomination. He was predicted by many–most even–but it was clear that a snub would happen for either Garfield, Hawkes, or Renner. And Garfield didn’t even have a SAG nomination.
But my point is this: nothing is set yet. On Friday, people said it was a ‘Social Network’ landslide. Now folks say it’s a ‘King’s Speech’ landslide. It’s not either- it’s a contest and thank goodness for it.
48 1-25-2011 at 7:39 pm
Speaking English said...
***Although, did any of the Best Picture winners Evan listed miss out on any (comparatively) widely expected acting nominations?
… The Hurt Locker, definitely not.***
What about Anthony Mackie? Many were predicting him.
Also, none of you guys think “Tangled” will win for Best Original Song? Huh. I feel like it’s almost a guarantee now.
49 1-25-2011 at 7:50 pm
Matthew Starr said...
Thanks for discussing my question. I still feel there is too much passion for a select few films and that it is a problem. It feels like every year a majority of the awards go to two or three films and that not a large enough selection of films are represented in the major categories.
50 1-25-2011 at 7:51 pm
JJ1 said...
“You could always EAT a swan” – I almost spit out my drink. lol
Anyone think Inception could win Screenplay simply because of the awful Nolan snubs? Perhaps voters will vote BP for TKS and not worry about it winning screenplay?
No? Didn’t think so. :)
51 1-25-2011 at 11:12 pm
arjay said...
Roderick Jaynes is another fake oscar nominee.
52 1-26-2011 at 1:07 am
darklayers said...
For an additional point in terms of predicting “The Social Network,” Scott Feinberg pointed out on Oscar Poker: “I think they (pundits predicting TKS) have to look harder for a reason to explain why Fincher would win but “Social Network” wouldn’t than we would to say that” Look, if Fincher’s such an obvious choice, then why isn’t the “Social Network.”
They’re banking on the Pic-Dir. relationship in the past. You didn’t specifically address the splits-rarely-occur argument.
53 1-26-2011 at 3:23 am
Jim T said...
“By the way, I do wonder.. Is Jeff Bridges the first person to be nominated for a role that was previously nominated for an Oscar?”
A Star is Born, too.
54 1-26-2011 at 4:02 am
Graysmith said...
@Evan,
None of the people you listed had the kind of precursor support Garfield had though, who had BFCA, Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations. You can’t deny that him missing the Oscar nomination was something of an upset, which really can’t be said for anyone else from those past Best Picture winners, save for Nicholson.
I think The King’s Speech has the momentum at the moment, it’s in theaters, it gets all the headlines for being the most nominated film and all that, but I definitely still think it’s a two-horse race. The Social Network is surely not down and out just because Garfield missed.
55 1-26-2011 at 4:15 am
Guy Lodge said...
Graysmith: Garfield missing wasn’t an upset — he’d been borderline ever since that SAG snub.
56 1-26-2011 at 5:14 am
Alex in Movieland said...
KRIS,
to answer your question, :)
Yes, they did almost award once someone who doesn’t exist. Donald Kaufman for Adaptation.’s Adapted Screenplay :)
57 1-26-2011 at 9:49 am
Joey said...
Chcolate Flan aka Black Flan
Dream within a Dreamsicle drink
The King’s Peach Cobbler
Truly Cheesy Grits
I was thinking about printing of a Pizza Planet logo for Toy Story 3…
I’m actually having a hard time thinking of other food that I want to serve my shindig. I might steal the Winter’s Bone-less wings though…
58 1-26-2011 at 4:12 pm
BK said...
Why isn’t this up on iTunes? I wanted to listen to it on my walk to campus in the morning. Oh well.
59 1-26-2011 at 4:14 pm
BK said...
Oh nevermind. Just read comments above and you already said you dont know why. oops!
60 1-28-2011 at 5:15 pm
Chris Freeman said...
Alright I have to ask… what is the song called and what movie is it from at the end of the podcast… I KNOW this one but I can’t think of it.