I was sitting in a production company earlier this morning awaiting an interview subject when I picked up the latest Entertainment Weekly from the reading material there in the lobby. It’s the holiday preview edition, with sneak peeks at the upcoming season’s films and Dave Karger’s early stabs at Oscar predictions. There in the middle somewhere was this Mark Harris column, re-announcing the Best Picture hopes of Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” and including a firm endorsement from the writer.
Harris starts out like so:
Over the course of its run, this column has never made an official endorsement, but with interest so exceptionally high in one of the candidates, and the vote approaching, it’s time to take a stand: I would like The Dark Knight to get a Best Picture Oscar nomination.
Best Picture. Seriously. I write this knowing that as we enter a season crammed with Oscar-bait movies, the arrival of five richer, more resonant films could change my mind. But this just doesn’t look like that kind of year.
…before really digging in later in the piece:
You want to knock Dark Knight? Go ahead. Let’s fight about whether the whole Two-Face plotline should have been either more fully developed or cut completely, about whether the action scenes are intentionally disorienting or just patchily edited, and about Christian Bale’s laryngitic rasp. Let’s argue — as we’ll argue over all the Best Picture contenders — about what the film has to say, and whether it’s said with coherence, intelligence, and artistry. But don’t dismiss it just because it’s a comic-book movie. True, the genre lacks Oscar experience. But this comic-book movie has shown judgment and maturity in a year when many veteran genres have felt erratic. Why not make some history? Even within the Academy, there’s a first time for everything.
Check out the rest here. It’s a properly passionate study of a high-on-the-wish-list possibilty for more than a few Oscar watchers.
Elsewhere, Tom O’Neil has amassed some more predictions from the peanut gallery while the Buzzmeter continues to lie dormant at The Envelope. Five of the six pundits polled have “The Dark Knight” chalked up for a Best Picture nod. We’ll see if David Poland’s Gurus o’ Gold match the sentiments whenever he decides to send out another query.
The season is firing up. Can you tell?
Comments
15 responses to “‘Dark Knight’ Best Pic buzz gets louder”
fuckin a
sorry, does anyone know the release date for the Time Traveler’s Wife?
It’s a sad year if something like “The Dark Knight” is somehow the film most talked about for Best Picture. Totally not my perception of what the Oscar for Best Picture should be, and I can’t believe it’s the Academy’s either.
Nomination isn’t happening, nor should it.
A man conflicted between doing what is right for others or what is right for himself
A psycho that makes attempts to draw anarchy and chaos into the people of the world
Someone affected by corruption and destroyed by poor perceptions of justice and vengence
The true definition of a hero questioned through his own sacrifice
A flawless cast that plays off of each other with a delicacy that one only sees in subtler films
A directional style that turns an impossible story into something or realism
I didn’t know that these elements were those that are not of best picture quality. I may be one of the millions of people that are just blinded by the dazzle of The Dark Knight and therefore too ignorant to see its emptiness but if wanting this film to be one of the five nominations makes me blind and ignorant then I never want to see and never want to think.
There have been films nominated for best picture that have had characters with funny hairstyles, milkshakes brought up at awkward times, gay cowboys, hobbits, wizards, elves, newer versions of rock songs sung in the beginning of the 1800’s, a boy genius from southie, a pig who thinks he’s a dog, an idiot that changes the course of history, ghosts, baseball playing ghosts, aliens, the ark of the covenant, a ridiculously big shark, an excorcism, a college graduate that bones the mother of the future love of his life, a singing nun running from the nazis, a maid that flies using solely an umbrella, and gangs that fight and argue through song and dance .
However, a movie featuring a raspy voiced man dressed as a bat fighting a high voiced man with a bad makeup job is ignored by that golden fellow we all love becuase those two characters come from a written work that is mostly pictures? Seems a bit odd to me.
The Dark Knight is a movie. Now, if it was one of the best five movies of the year it should be announced with four other pictures becuase of origin and regardless of its believability.
What is wrong with Bale’s rasp?
I can’t tell it’s him – Bruce Wayne, the actor Christian Bale – whatever. But, in previous installments, I could tell it was Clooney (obviously), Kilmer, and, yes, Keaton.
The Dark Knight will be nominated for best picture. Yours truly called this a long time ago. I also said Benjamin Button might match Titanic’s B.O. numbers…shoulda said Knight!
Oh by the way,
Go watch the last 5 minutes of Knight or Joker clips/scenes on youtube…it’s aging very well, folks.
The Dark Knight will be nominated. Even if it’s the only “comic book movie” to be so honored. Seany P, your observations are true and honest. The Academy’s picked messed-up, weird movies to be nominated, and The Dark Knight will be among them.
I never mentioned content; that’s hardly the reason it’s not a film worthy of Best Picture. It’s just simply [i]not that great[/i]. It’s an entertaining, well-made film, but I see nothing special in it that should even warrant talk of Best Picture. The themes are there and they’re good ones, but they’re never striking or particularly interesting in the way Nolan handles them. Ledger is spectacular, Batman falters, and the movie goes along with it. The Academy has nominated wizards and elves because they belonged to a special kind of movie… they’ve nominated exorcism, aliens, and flying maids for the same reason… those were films that felt worthy. It’s all up to perception, I grant you, but my perception of “The Dark Knight” is not a film worthy of any Best Picture consideration.
I understand others may disagree, I just find it bothersome.
I also felt the film could have been tightened up A LOT. I was sitting there a lot of the time and to be completely frank, got bored several times during the slower parts filled with unnecessary, overly-talky exposition. It’s not a masterpiece, and it’s certainly not the expertly-woven, taut and precise work that should be worthy of the top prize. It’s a bit of a mess in all honesty, and even while there’s a great movie IN there, it doesn’t show up in the way Nolan executes it.
Speaking English, when you fart, does it smell like roses?
“Go watch the last 5 minutes of Knight or Joker clips/scenes on youtube… it’s aging very well, folks.”
Wow, a whole three months later, it really holds up! Timeless!
Sorry, I’m being facetious. And I like the movie. But that amused me.
And again there’s people being fancy by hating it…
I really don´t catch the oscar worthy requests by Speaking English … considering past best picture nominees like
Chocolat
A Beautiful Mind
Seabiscuit
Finding Neverland
In terms of quality TDK is obviously superior!
Come on AMPAS, The Dark Knight has to has to has to make the cut!
Ivan, I prefer all of those films as awards contenders (except for “Chocolat” which I haven’t seen).