You know the drill. Cut loose with your queries and we’ll try to address as many as we can. PLEASE KEEP IT TO ONE QUESTION, and as always, steer clear of anything we’ve covered ad nauseam.
You know the drill. Cut loose with your queries and we’ll try to address as many as we can. PLEASE KEEP IT TO ONE QUESTION, and as always, steer clear of anything we’ve covered ad nauseam.
Comments
64 responses to “Taking questions for Oscar Talk”
Kris, Anne, just out of curiosity, have any of you talked to Academy members regarding Natalie Portman in Black Swan as far as her being the absolute lock for the Best Actress win, like we all think?
Obviously, more emphasis is put on the guild awards and academy members rather than the critics prizes. Considering that many of guild members often don’t get to see all of the features, which is understandable considering how busy many of them can be, is it fair to marginalize or disregard the opinions of critics ( some of whom either have substantial backgrounds in the medium themselves) who live and breathe movies in their own way?
Scott Rudin hires both you and Anne to help refocus The Social Network’s Oscar campaign. What would you do to help it pull off a victory at this point in the race?
To what extent does the DGA’s composition (including television directors) skew the results of its awards, where TV director Tom Hopper walked away with the win?
I know you mentioned this all ready but what do you and anne think about the new vanity cover who would you add, take off, and who would you add of an diffrent etnicity?
One thing that came up in the Santa Barbera panel is Jeff Wells’ issue that predicting is endorsing. I would disagree as Anne did, but how do y’all try to balance analysis versus opinion?
Do you have any idea how many members typically vote in the categories where you are required to see all the nominees? Is there any instance where one or two nominees being popular created a larger total number of votes in one of these categories?
Guy is a big fan of The Fighter’s costume design.
Much has been made of Nolan’s directing snub and Inception’s editing snub, but I’m wondering what are some of Anne and your most disappointing below-the-belt snubs in this year’s Oscar nominees.
@Robert Hamer
great question! Curious to hear their answer!
Are there any categories you two think can be shaken up by the final nominees? By that I mean the fact that Michelle Williams is in now, I could see her taking votes away from Portman, since both are indie (I guess Black Swan isnt that indie anymore regardless of how it was made), and are both very Visceral performances with a lot of emotional impact. Do you see this causing any shift in this or any other categories? Where a new name thrown in the mix can take votes from a potential frontrunner?
(sorry for posting 2, I realized this was probably a more interesting question)
I’ve mentioned elsewhere that this is the first year in a while where a traditional prestige film has actually lived up to the hype. I’m talking about The King’s Speech; which I really like.
Dreamgirls, Atonement, Benjamin Button, Australia, Nine, Invictus, etc.. — they all had issues which impeded Best Picture success.
How much of The King’s Speech possible win (and TSN’s possible loss) this year can be attributed SOLELY to the fact that a “soft lob down the middle” actually hit it out of the park (critically, box office) for the first time in years?
Will another awards show ever eclipse the Oscars as the biggest awards show for movies? Specifically one where the critics vote on the winners.
JJ
How was Benjamin Button a traditional film?
I was trying to find the right word. Traditional may not be the one that applies.
What I mean to say is: big director, big actors, big craftspeople, epic-like story, etc..
The kind of film (even though Benjamin Button isn’t traditional itself) that has historically and ‘traditionally’ done well with AMPAS.
The kind of Academy-friendly movie that – when all the stars align – is a surefire win for them. Hope that makes sense. :)
Had it not been for the cavalcade of critics awards, would The Social Network have more or less of a chance at Best Picutre? (Could it have less of a chance at this point?) Anne has been adamant, since the beginning, that Academy members just really LOVE The King’s Speech. But you do hear a lot of “what’s the big deal” mutterings from Academy members regarding The Social Network. And Kris, you mentioned yourself that it never deserved to have the burden of the “generation-defining” title put upon it by critics. Whereas with The King’s Speech, it seems like there was little to no expectation of it being anything close to a masterpiece, and so everyone was shocked at how much they loved it and how much better it is than they thought it would be, which presumably was a mildly interesting BBC production with great acting. How much of The King’s Speech’s recent success with the guilds has to do with some form of backlash against the seemingly unfair and undeserved unanimous critical praise heaped upon The Social Network? If refusing Fincher (or any of the other three nominees) the DGA isn’t a slap in the face, I don’t know what is.
This question is more for Anne since she was on the sbiff Oscar Blogger panel –
Is there a place for emotionality when running an Oscar blog? We’ve seen several Oscar bloggers wear their hearts on their sleeves during the battle of Social Network vs King’s Speech and while it’s great for traffic, it can’t be great for predicting winners, can it?
Is The Social Network still considered the #2 movie for Best Picture?
Do you believe “Black Swan” has a chance at winning for Best Cinematography?
Guy commented on some of the acceptance speeches given at the SAG awards on Sunday, specifically Melissa Leo’s. Can those play a factor in affecting someone’s oscar stock?
OK, call it now: what do you think will be the BIGGEST upset/surprise win come Oscar night? I’m leaning towards “I Am Love” snagging costume design (which would be a surprise because of it’s contemporary design). What about you?
There’s been a lot of back and forth about King’s Speech and Social Network – especially over at Awards Daily (very off putting) how about you two taking the time to sit back and just comment on what a great/strong list of contenders we have. Last year there was weakness in so MANY categories – this year from picture (ALL 10) to the actors, cinematography, Documentaries – everything is so strong and deserving. Lets just enjoy for a moment that so many well made movies are out there for adults to enjoy before the dread sets in that another Transformers movie is coming out this year…
Do you think BAFTA will pick Rush and Bonham Carter for their respective supporting roles? Like a win a la Arkin and Swinton?
If in the event they won, how will this affect their Oscar chances… I still believe these two TKS supports are a threat to The Fighter supports (Bale, Leo)…
In words of Pete Hammond from that bloggers panel from Santa Barbara, “It’s all about who wins the week.”
In your and Anne’s opinion, do you think that “The King’s Speech,” who seems to be winning the last few weeks, is actually going to sweep even in many of its below the line nominations? such as Art Direction, Cinematography, and Film Editing?
My question has to do with Sundance. What do you think are the new movies presented at the festival that could get nominated in the next Oscars?
I’m interested in the Documentary race, who do you guys think will win? What are the chances of ‘GasLand’ especially?
With Fincher being weaker then originally thought could it be that the Best Director race is actually completely wide open?
Under the circumstances that “The Social Nework” and “The King’s Speech” were competing in the same screenplay category (which frankly, they should be), do you think we would now be having an argument over whether or not TSN would lose that Oscar as well, or does Sorkin’s script hold up well enough?
Assuming that The King’s Speech and The Social Network did somehow manage to cancel out each other’s support because of the instant run-off system, which film is the most likely to pull off a surprise upset?
(Bearing in mind that the lowest vote-getter’s supporters always hold the most sway in each successive round… i.e., I suspect that if The Kids Are All Right ends up as the lowest vote-getter in the first round, its voters’ number 2 choice would presumably be pretty different from those who gave the top spot to Toy Story 3, meaning TKAAR supporters would have more of an impact in round 2 than others.)
True Grit is actually the only film from the ten best picture nominees which truly emotionally moved me (especially the relationship between Rooster and Mattie). Besides all the qualities of this film, this is probably the main reason why it is my favourite film of the year. Do you think many Academy members feel this way and True Grit can be the best picture winner in the end, profiting from the tight race between TKS and TSN?
You must do robert Hamers’ question!
After the dramatic momentum surge for TKS over the past two weeks, do you think there is any chance for any last-minute backlash against it? And if so, what film would benefit the most?
Do you think The Social Network is really the first or second choices among Academy voters? Or could it actually be number three, four, or five? With True Grit, The Fighter, Inception and Toy Story 3 all being higher in ranking than TSN?
In both of your opinions, do you think history has looked more fondly upon “zeitgeist” best picture winners which seemed to capture something about the cultural climate at the time (ie, American Beauty, The Deer Hunter, Annie Hall, Midnight Cowboy, etc) or what I like to call “gut films” where the voters liked what they liked, be it because of resonant emotional themes, grand scale, etc (ie Titanic, Out of Africa, The Sound of Music, Forrest Gump, etc). I’m not trying to put this comparison onto The King’s Speech vs. The Social Network. I myself, while loving TSN like Kris, do not necessarily peg it as a “zeitgeist picture” and I understand that most voters do just vote for their favorite film at the end of the day. Of all the films I just listed in each category, it does seem like there are varying opinions about how they have all aged. Leaving out the two aforementioned 2010 releases and as broad as this sounds, I’m curious about your perspectives regarding which “type” of best picture winner is history generally kinder too.
I meant for Best Picture in my question above.
Do you think Scott Rudin will put up a fight for Best Picture, Director, etc and push The Social Network harder than ever during Phase 2 (still a month to go) or will he just accept that Adapted Screenplay and maybe Editing are all the film will get? I can’t see Rudin, being who he is, as someone willing to just roll over and accept defeat.
Does The King’s Speech get hurt because it is about the British monarchy and the other contenders are American stories?
Everyone’s talking about the Weinstein muscle, and Weinstein vs. Rudin, but really only in regards to TKS vs TSN. The Fighter has seven nominations, Blue Valentine has one, and True Grit has ten. What’s the word on the depth of campaigning for them?
I’d like to hear about Sundance any film you’ve seen or heard buzz about there that you think will be important things to see over the next year, Oscar prospects or not.
Just trying to offer an alternative. Not sure there’s tons to say about TKS vs. TSN anymore.
Do you think you’ll ever answer the questions from last week’s requests for questions to answer?
Out of a lot of reading a lot of negative criticism, seeing absent predictions, and bitter defense involving various Gurus of Gold changing positions, I just want to know what they’re all really about. Are they a self satisfying ego stoker where people try to predict the final result as early as possible for bragging rights or is it more of a telling of the current state of the race, very plastic and always changing? I’ve always thought the latter, but I begin to wonder.
pull a few “a lot”s out of my question
Robert Hamer’s question:
Ignore the movie’s storyline and advertise it as an “American rags to riches” movie.
Will “How To Train Your Dragon” beat Toy Story at the Oscars???
Will the ranked ballot surprise us all and allow another well-loved, well-reviewed and massive box office hit take the Oscar — Toy Story 3?
With the momentum seeming to shift in Leo’s favor, I’d like to know what it’ll take for the Academy to vote for her. Are we banking on the fact that since the Academy went ape for “True Grit” that they’ll vote for Hailee Steinfeld?
What Oscar anomaly would you like to see occur again or for the first time in the acting categories? i.e. consecutive wins, a tie, all four acting winners from the same film, a child/teenager winning, etc.
any thoughts on this year’s sundance films and their impact on next year’s oscar season, eapiecially Vera Farmiga’s “Higher Ground”?
What main contender will be this years Up in the Air…aka film that had a lot of buzz than flamed out and gets nothing. Main Contenders being- TSN, TKS, Fighter, True Grit, Black Swan, Inception).
Are you as annoyed as I am when people turn titles of movies into initials? SPELL IT OUT!
WHY do people insist on the “big race” in Best Actress? Besides winning a Comedy Globe, what indicates that Bening is a threat? A lot of the critics groups didn’t even NOMINATE her!
Is it just the critics/bloggers hanging on to the initial reviews that this “could be Kidman’s year” – what else, beside nominations, have indicated that Kidman could upset Portman? Just due-factor? Where is the proof that half the Academy think she’s due?
Thank you. :)
EDIT:
Sorry: Wrote Kidman two times (DON’T KNOW WHY), haha! Here’s the correct one:
WHY do people insist on the “big race” in Best Actress? Besides winning a Comedy Globe, what indicates that Bening is a threat? A lot of the critics groups didn’t even NOMINATE her!
Is it just the critics/bloggers hanging on to the initial reviews that this “could be Bening’s year” – what else, beside nominations, have indicated that Bening could upset Portman? Just due-factor? Where is the proof that half the Academy think she’s due?
Thank you. :)