Round-up: Revisiting Oscar's worst decisions

Posted by · 8:00 am · January 13th, 2012

Ah, the old “worst Oscar winners” topic — it never fails to get a righteous movie-geek conversation going. We all have our personal bugbears, both within and beyond the list of consensus groaners that repeatedly get hauled out for another retrospective whipping. Tom Huddleston’s fun list of the Academy’s 20 worst decisions pulls from both piles: everyone loves to rag on “Driving Miss Daisy,” but Anthony Hopkins’s Best Actor win for “The Silence of the Lambs” is a more singular pick. For my part, I’m cheering on his selection of “Forrest Gump,” Renee Zellweger and Stevie Wonder, feeling a little protective of “Gone With the Wind” and “The Sound of Music,” and itching to add “Braveheart” to the list. Browse and rant at your leisure. [Time Out]  

Sasha Stone, somehow shocked by Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer’s Critics’ Choice wins last night, believes they are “carrying the burden of our own shameful past.” What if we just like their work? [Awards Daily]

Steve Pond asks: “Shouldn’t ‘Harry Potter’ be part of the Best Picture conversation?” (I answer: “No.”) [The Odds]

The Sundance Film Festival is facing a lawsuit over a single programme blurb. See, words can hurt you. [Vanity Fair]

“Bridesmaids” star (and soon-to-be Academty Award nominee?) Kristen Wiig on writing a comedy about a fundamentally sad character. [The Carpetbagger]

You knew it was coming: an interview with Uggie the Dog. [The Guardian]

Why the ensemble pieces in this year’s Golden Globe race are giving ceremony organizers seating nightmares. [Vulture]

Speaking the Globes, Alyssa Rosenberg is desperately counting on Ricky Gervais to liven up a staid awards season. [Salon

On why “Margin Call,” which rather ran out of steam after a robust start to the awards season, is this decade’s “Wall Street.” [The Telegraph]

At last, something wholly positive I can say about “The Iron Lady”: this new set of protest-inspired posters for the film is incredible. [IMP Awards]




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