Awards Season 2015

[Professor Wagstaff]

Funny that you bring up the 1995 Oscars. Seen a few comments elsewhere that suggests this year's awards season is looking like that season's grab bag of winners.

[movielocke]

Weird nominees. I thought Mirren and Cranston were great but the movie never rose above an 8. Kinda surprising to see trumbo do so well.

I'm honestly stunned Samuel l Jackson isn't nominated for the greatest work of his career, he still feels like the Oscar winner to me.

With joy, hateful 8, creed, and star wars dropping so late I think there's going to be huge standard deviation from award to award this year relative to other years.

[hearthesilence]

Very little of this list will carry-over to the Oscars. And they saw Creed, they just snubbed it. SAG usually throws out a few insane choices each year, this year it just threw out more than anyone could have reasonably anticipated. All it shows is that the field is pretty wide open-- and let's hope we don't get a repeat of the worst reminder of what can happen in such a situation, the 1995 Oscars

We'll see - the acting branch is the biggest part of the Academy, and there's a sizable overlap with SAG. There'd have to be a big contingent of non-Academy actors swaying things if these nominees don't match up with the Oscars.

[knives]

True, last year the biggest difference in a category was by one nominee so to switch out any more than that would take a heap of logic.

[domino harvey]

It's likely they'll go 3/5 on some of these (tops), but only two of their Ensemble choices have any chance at Best Picture. There is no leap in logic to see comparing this year to other years where there were more obvious front-runners isn't the same. For instance, there is no earthly way Mirren is nominated in either category, or Silverman, period. It's not just the idiosyncratic choices, it's what they've snubbed.

[FrauBlucher]

NY Times top films of 2015....A.O. Scott has a certain film from 1971 on his list.

[hearthesilence]

Nice seeing The Assassin topping Dargis' list, especially when they originally ran Scott's pan, which called it "an escape from so much that is vital and interesting about movies."

[eerik]

You can support the Oscar campaign for Finland's entry in the foreign language category, Klaus Häro's The Fencer, on IndieGoGo.

Now a Golden Globe nominee.

[domino harvey]

Keaton and Ruffalo were snubbed again at the Globes. And Hateful Eight underperformed with only noms for JJL and the script. I do think the Globes five nominees for Best Director will be directly C+Ped to the Oscars.

[Trees]

HHH's THE ASSASSIN totally snubbed by the "Hollywood Foreign Press". There is not much foreign about them, in my opinion. All five Best Pic nominees are English-language films. Same thing with Best Director pictures... all English language.

Best picture, drama

-Carol
-Mad Max: Fury Road
-The Revenant
-Room
-Spotlight

[-X

[domino harvey]

Note the first word in their organization name...

[Trees]

note the second!

[TMDaines]

The Martain is a comedy? I've not seen the film but could it even be described as light-hearted? How does that film end up there and Mad Max end up as a drama?

[knives]

note the second!

Note basic english grammar. Their title means the press from foreign nations of Hollywood. To bring up non-Hollywood films would go against that basic title.

[domino harvey]

The Martain is a comedy? I've not seen the film but could it even be described as light-hearted? How does that film end up there and Mad Max end up as a drama?

The studio submitted it as a Comedy to the Globes ensure they'd get in (and probably win). It's category fraud, but it happens.

[Trees]

note the second!

Note basic english grammar. Their title means the press from foreign nations of Hollywood. To bring up non-Hollywood films would go against that basic title.

I guess when they arrived in Hollywood they stopped watching foreign films?

[domino harvey]

Trees, you have no idea what you're talking about. Please learn about an organization before ascribing imagined actions on them

[Trees]

The Martain is a comedy? I've not seen the film but could it even be described as light-hearted? How does that film end up there and Mad Max end up as a drama?

The studio submitted it as a Comedy to the Globes ensure they'd get in (and probably win). It's category fraud, but it happens.

I did enjoy THE MARTIAN, but my one major gripe with the film is that I did not like the sense of humor of the astronaut that much. Many of his quips and supposedly humorous ramblings and remarks fell flat with me. Perhaps Scott should have cast an actor with more comedic experience -- more of a Tom Hanks type? Damon's acting, generally, was superb; it's just the comedic bits I'm talking about.

[Trees]

Trees, you have no idea what you're talking about. Please learn about an organization before ascribing imagined actions on them

These people are supposed to be film experts -- or somehow people whose opinions on films matter enough to stage a major awards gala that is coverage by the media worldwide -- and yet they ignore every single foreign-language film made this year in several major categories, including best picture and best director?

[swo17]

When have they not done this?

[Trees]

When have they not done this?

I mean, don't they usually try to toss in at least one foreign-language film, just to give the impression that they care about non-Hollywood movies? Maybe I just haven't been paying close enough attention....

[dustybooks]

I did enjoy THE MARTIAN, but my one major gripe with the film is that I did not like the sense of humor of the astronaut that much. Many of his quips and supposedly humorous ramblings and remarks fell flat with me.

And he barely mentioned Maine!

[TMDaines]

In fairness to the Golden Globes, the awards seem to lie far more squarely with the remit of the organisation behind them, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), than the Academy Awards do with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Here's the mission statement for the HFPA:

The mission of the HFPA is:

To establish favorable relations and cultural ties between foreign countries and the United States of America by the dissemination of information concerning the American culture and traditions as depicted in motion pictures and television through news media in various foreign countries;

To recognize outstanding achievements by conferring annual Awards of Merit, (Golden Globe® Awards), serving as a constant incentive within the entertainment industry, both domestic and foreign, and to focus wide public attention upon the best in motion pictures and television;

To contribute to other nonprofit organizations connected with the entertainment industry and involved in educational, cultural, and humanitarian activities;

To promote interest in the study of the arts, including the development of talent in the entertainment field through scholarships given to major learning institutions.

The Academy meanwhile:

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is the world's preeminent movie related organization, comprised of 7,000+ accomplished men and women working in cinema.

We recognize and uphold excellence in the motion picture arts and sciences, inspire imagination, and connect the world through the medium of motion pictures.

That's what gets me about the Oscars. They act as if they are the premiere awards for the world to cinema and are even perceived to be the de facto ones at times. They only give a toss about foreign films, however, when they either cannot ignore them or it suits those involved with them. I'd far rather the Oscars stop pretending to fairly consider them.

[swo17]

I mean, don't they usually try to toss in at least one foreign-language film, just to give the impression that they care about non-Hollywood movies?

I don't think they've done this even once in 65 years.

[Trees]

I mean, don't they usually try to toss in at least one foreign-language film, just to give the impression that they care about non-Hollywood movies?

I don't think they've done this even once in 65 years.

I see. Well you always hear so much about overlap between the Oscars and the GG.... I guess that's actually a condemnation of the Oscars in terms of their attention to foreign films.