The Dark Knight The Oscar Push!

[redfirebird2008]

I know it was a hit with the critics. I'm referring to the film's recognizability at Awards season. TDK was like half a year out from everyone else, but because of the huge fan-campaign and mainstream success, it was hard for anyone to forget that little ol' comic book film that came out in the summer.

Zodiac did not have that luxury.

I know what you meant. I was correcting a technical error on your part. Critics aren't handing out these awards for the most part. You mentioned that critics couldn't help but give it credit due to its success. Critics have nothing to do with the Academy Awards so they're not looking back at anything. And critics weren't forced to like the film only because of its box office. They liked it because they liked it. If box office was an influence on the critics, then the likes of Transformers wouldn't end up with a rotten rating at Rotten Tomatoes.

I made the point earlier that unless you release your movie in the fall or your movie is a box office hit in the summer, prepare to get ignored by the time awards season comes around. It sucks, but it's the way the industry works.

 

[Anita18]

I see. I was under the impression that despite busy schedules, everyone frees up during Oscar season to get into a "catch-up" process.

Yeah, that'd be giving WAY too much credit to the Hollywood machine.

One day you will learn, grasshopper.

 

[General Vulcun]

On a side note, anyone have their ballots filled out yet?

 

[Kargo Warrior]

I give up arguing what is worth it and what's not...since we can all be right but at the same time never agree on this particular topic.

But...the facts that TDK and Wall-E have bigger critical acclaim,both have won more critical awards than The Reader,Frost/Nixon and Button(TDK has 84 awards so far) and they take the 1 and 2 place at the year-end Top 10 lists are here...they are not debatable.

Every category which in a way determines a quality of a movie,puts TDK and Wall-E over 3 or 4 of the nominated pictures....and arguing that they didn't deserve a nominations while those movie did holds no water.

They didn't because both are from genres that are never nominated and that won't chance...at least not until a whole generation of the old voters changes.

Have a good night guys(and Anita)

 

[Crook]

I know what you meant. I was correcting a technical error on your part. Critics aren't handing out these awards for the most part. You mentioned that critics couldn't help but give it credit due to its success. Critics have nothing to do with the Academy Awards so they're not looking back at anything.

Ah, I should have clarified. I was using the "critics" term loosely, in reference to the people judging the movie for nominations. Not the actual critics who have it as a profession.

And critics weren't forced to like the film only because of its box office. They liked it because they liked it. If box office was an influence on the critics, then the likes of Transformers wouldn't end up with a rotten rating at Rotten Tomatoes.

I'm pretty sure I never said this. I only brought up box office in terms of how the film's lasting impact made it hard to forget as an '08 movie.

Yeah, that'd be giving WAY too much credit to the Hollywood machine.

One day you will learn, grasshopper.

Heh. It doesn't make much sense to be head of the voting process if you're not going to watch your peers' work. Seems a bit rude.

 

[deathfromabove]

I dunno, I found TDK's commitment to chaos/order, corruption, and image to be pretty deep. Way deeper than The Reader's examination of the post-Holocaust fallout (I was supposed to feel sorry for Hanna Schmidt because she was illiterate? Really?) or Slumdog's examination of destiny. At least Slumdog had its incredibly powerful and tactile examination of poverty on its side.

Let's face it. The Oscars have a "formula." Both TDK and Wall-E's genres did not fit that formula. That's the only reason that neither were nominated for Best Picture.

i agree.

it was as worthy as at least half of the nominated films ive seen.

it was worthy of a nod.

so was nolan.

 

[Anita18]

Heh. It doesn't make much sense to be head of the voting process if you're not going to watch your peers' work. Seems a bit rude.

That's why most industry people don't take the Oscars that seriously. I mean, it's great if you're nominated, but it doesn't mean ALL that much if you're not.

 

[deathfromabove]

I give up arguing what is worth it and what's not...since we can all be right but at the same time never agree on this particular topic.

But...the facts that TDK and Wall-E have bigger critical acclaim,both have won more critical awards than The Reader,Frost/Nixon and Button(TDK has 84 awards so far) and they take the 1 and 2 place at the year-end Top 10 lists are here...they are not debatable.

Every category which in a way determines a quality of a movie,puts TDK and Wall-E over 3 or 4 of the nominated pictures....and arguing that they didn't deserve a nominations while those movie did holds no water.

They didn't because both are from genres that are never nominated and that won't chance...at least not until a whole generation of the old voters changes.

Have a good night guys(and Anita)

bows slowly.

 

[Captain Planet!]

A big ole' BUMP for My final 2009 Oscar Predictions.

* = Winner

And for some categories, I've included an # which = What I hope/think should win.


And now, Here they are:

THE 2009 OSCARS:

BEST PICTURE
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire*​

BEST ACTOR
Richard Jenkins, The Visitor
Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn, Milk
Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler*​

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Josh Brolin, Milk
Robert Downey Jr., Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight*
Michael Shannon, Revolutionary Road

BEST ACTRESS
Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie, Changeling
Melissa Leo, Frozen River
Meryl Streep, Doubt#, Just because I'm sick of Kate Winslet.
Kate Winslet, The Reader*

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams, Doubt
Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona*
Viola Davis, Doubt
Taraji P. Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler

BEST DIRECTOR
David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard, Frost/Nixon
Gus Van Sant, Milk
Stephen Daldry, The Reader (*Cough*Christopher Nolan was robbed*Cough*)
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire*

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Frozen
Happy-Go-Lucky
In Bruges
Milk*
Wall-E#

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Eric Roth, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
John Patrick Shanley, Doubt
Peter Morgan, Frost/Nixon
David Hare, The Reader
Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire*

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
Wall-E*


BEST ART DIRECTION
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button*
The Dark Knight
The Duchess
Revolutionary Road

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight*
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Australia
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Duchess*, but Ben Butt could also win.
Milk
Revolutionary Road

BEST DOCUMENTARY
The Betrayal
Encounters at the End of the World
The Garden
Man on Wire*
Trouble the Water

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
The Conscience of Nhem En
The Final Inch*
Smile Pinki
The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306


BEST FILM EDITING
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight#
Frost/Nixon
Milk*
Slumdog Millionaire

BEST FOREIGN FILM
The Baader Meinhof Complex, Germany
The Class, France
Departures, Japan
Revanche, Austria
Waltz with Bashir, Israel*

ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button*
The Dark Knight
Hellboy II: The Golden Army

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Defiance
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire*
WALL-E#

TDK got cheated out of this category. it should have been nominated and won. And the Slumdog score gives me headaches.

BEST SONG
Down to Earth, WALL-E#
Jai Ho, Slumdog Millionaire*
O Saya, Slumdog Millionaire

BEST ANIMATED SHORT
La Maison en Petits Cubes
Lavatory - Lovestory
Oktapodi
Presto*
This Way Up

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT
Auf der Strecke (On the Line)
Manon on the Asphalt
New Boy
The Pig
Spielzeugland (Toyland)*


BEST SOUND EDITING
The Dark Knight
Iron Man
Slumdog Millionaire
WALL-E*
Wanted

BEST SOUND MIXING
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Slumdog Millionaire
WALL-E*
Wanted

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button*
The Dark Knight
Iron Man

 

[Boom]

Is anybody else nervous about this comment?

This year for best supporting actor you have Robert Downey Jr. in blackface and then you have Heath Ledger. So how do write something like that?

Bruce Vilanch: "Actually, this year we're going to do supporting actor differently and I'm not allowed to tell you how. It's one of those state secrets that I've been sworn not to reveal. And since the New York Times described me as tight-lipped and I got a lot of dates after that, I've decided I have to remain that way. Otherwise they'll beat me around the head with an Oscar and I'll get loose-lipped. But it's an unusual year in that category."

http://www.salon.com/ent/tv/int/2009/02/21/bruce_vilanch/index1.html

 

[General Vulcun]

Apparently, and I'd suggest not believing it until a written source comes up, TDK has won Best Foreign Film at the Japanese Academy Awards. This is what someone who has apparently seen it said. I don't know. Could be BS, but it's kinda cool.

I'll keep looking for a link to this.

 

[baerrtt]

I give up arguing what is worth it and what's not...since we can all be right but at the same time never agree on this particular topic.

But...the facts that TDK and Wall-E have bigger critical acclaim,both have won more critical awards than The Reader,Frost/Nixon and Button(TDK has 84 awards so far) and they take the 1 and 2 place at the year-end Top 10 lists are here...they are not debatable.

Every category which in a way determines a quality of a movie,puts TDK and Wall-E over 3 or 4 of the nominated pictures....and arguing that they didn't deserve a nominations while those movie did holds no water.

They didn't because both are from genres that are never nominated and that won't chance...at least not until a whole generation of the old voters changes.

Have a good night guys(and Anita)

If 2008 had been as weak a year for mainstream film as 1991 was both TDK and WALL-E would have made it in imo (ala Silence of the lambs and Beauty and the beast.)

 

[Captain Planet!]

If Heath Ledger does not win, I don't know if I'll be able to watch the Oscars again.

 

[jmc]

If Heath does not win, I feel sorry for the poor bastard who does, that's going to be one of the most awkward moments in the history of TV.

 

[redfirebird2008]

If Heath does not win, I feel sorry for the poor bastard who does, that's going to be one of the most awkward moments in the history of TV.

Yep, it would be very awkward. The person would probably not even be able to show how happy they are that they've won. I almost hope it happens just to see the total clusterf**k that would occur. Heath never cared about these awards. He was relieved that he lost for his role in Brokeback because he just didn't like the politics involved with campaigning for an award that is allegedly based on who did the best work. If he didn't care about it, then I'm not sure why anyone else should care so much that he receives it. I think he'd probably be looking down at us and laughing at this whole thing.

 

[regwec]

I think people should prepare now to feel angry and disappointed. The Academy hates film audiences, and will do anything it can to hurt them. Expect plenty of love for Kate Chinslett and "The Reader".

 

[Captain Planet!]

Hmm.... What if Kate Winslet wins Best Supporting Actor?

 

[Nina7]

Holy crap, the Oscars telecast sounds worse than I thought. From Deadline Hollywood:

The people who put on the Academy Awards are in a flopsweat panic as the hours tick away before this year's big broadcast, which is having its major rehearsal today. For weeks now, they've been begging myself and the other journalists who cover the Oscars not to trash the planning and performances for this year's telecast like we have in years past. Because their frustration and fear is that, if Sunday's top-to-bottom reworked show can't bring back viewers after 2008's sunk to its lowest ratings ever, then nothing will. And the worst part is that not even Hollywood wants to participate in the Oscars anymore.

I can report that this year's producers are privately complaining that the biggest movie stars in the world like Jack Nicholson, Nicole Kidman, Angelina Jolie, and Kate Winslet gave them excuse after excuse about why they didn't want to present awards, once considered a huge honor. (For instance, Kidman said she appear onstage without the "right" hairdresser. And Winslet, the Best Actress shoo-in, claimed she was too "nervous" to take it on.) One of the few big actresses who didn't balk was Reese Witherspoon. These behind-the-scenes embarrassments are one reason why the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences took the unprecedented step this year of failing to make public the list of Oscar presenters. There's even talk now of bringing back those official $100,000+ Oscar baskets of expensive freebies that used to be given to the show's presenters and performers (before Uncle Sam decided to tax the giveaways) as a way to bribe Hollywood into lending its star power.

And the lack of major celebrities is one reason why the producers may finally be able to keep the show's running time to their goal of 3 hours and 15 minutes instead of the usual dragfest that has driven away TV audiences with every passing year. But, in the process, the producers lost Peter Gabriel who refused to sing his Best Original Song from Wall-E, "Down To Earth", in what he claimed was the insulting allotted time of only 65 seconds for each of the 3 tunes in a medley. The producers also have dissed last year's actor winners by deciding that France's Marion Cotillard (Best Actress for La Vie En Rose) and Spain's Javier Bardem (Best Supporting Actor for No Country For Old Men), Scotland's Tilda Swinton (Best Supporting Actress for Michael Clayton) and even England's Daniel Day-Lewis (Best Actor for There Will Be Blood) weren't big enough names to carry on the time-honored tradition of announcing this year's winners by themselves. So, I've learned, the unusual step will be taken to bring onstage in a group other past Best Actor or Best Supporting Actress winners in order to add more glitz and glamor to the presentations. (Not to mention that Australia's Heath Ledger won't be picking up his Best Supporting Actor award this year.) Oh, but don't worry: last year's winners will still get to open the envelope and announce who won.

So much for this year's Academy Awards shaping up as the most international ever: AMPAS is truly concerned that Americans don't care about Bollywood's Slumdog Millionaire, the shoo-in for Best Picture, its director Danny Boyle for Best Director and other 2009 honors. Even the choice of host this year, Australia's Hugh Jackman, was intended to pump up the overseas interest in the Oscars. But on Friday, people close to the X-Men and upcoming Wolverine star still felt the need to release a viral video on YouTube of a very buff Jackman, his biceps bulging, making fun of previous Oscar hosts as he rehearsed a song-and-dance number. And the fact that so many Oscar categories have been locked in since December, and therefore marquee nominees like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie locked out for months, have only added to the anxiety among organizers. They even tried, and failed, to convince celebrity publicists to bring clients around to a side entrance at the Kodak Theatre instead of onto the Red Carpet Sunday in order to keep secret what the stars would be wearing so it could be a surprise for the telecast. One new idea thought up by the producers that will be seen Sunday? Trophy boys. The result is that very handsome young men will now join very beautiful young women on stage carrying out the Oscar statuettes. If that's not an acknowledgement that the viewership for the Academy Awards these days is limited to only females and gays, I don't know what is.
Meanwhile, a group of online bloggers has led an audience boycott of the

Oscars among the predominantly male fans of The Dark Knight because of the Academy voters' snub of the $1 billion-in-worldwide-grosses comic book caper for a Best Picture nomination and its Chris Nolan for Best Director. And that's yet another problem that hurts viewership: this year, too, the most popular movies aren't in contention for the major category Academy Awards. That drives away younger viewers. So it's little wonder that ABC in this economic freefall scrambled to drop prices for 30-second ads and replace two of the key sponsors for its Sunday broadcast, General Motors and L'Oreal. Not even the prospect of 30+ million U.S. viewers could lure advertisers who've cut their TV budgets to the bone. Prices for Oscars spots averaged $1.7 million last year, but now are going for as cheap as $1.4 million. The result is that, in a departure from tradition, parent company Walt Disney had to let its rival movie studios buy time on the telecast.

http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.c...-advertisers-give-show-cold-shoulder/#respond

 

[Captain Planet!]

Whoa. I'm thinking that everyone saying that there "Will be surprises" are just trying to get people to watch.

 

[NickyTea]

Oscar's failing is pleasing to mine ears. t:

 

[Crook]

That article was actually pretty hilarious to read. You could feel the despair of the Oscars.

 

[jmc]

Wait a sec, last years Actors/Supporting Actors winners aren't presenting this years Acting Awards? That's appalling. That's one of the few things about the Oscar ceremony I actually like. They really are desperate if they are ditching that time honored tradition coz last years winner are too 'foreign'.

 

[Cmill216]

No, they are. They're just presenting with a more famous partner.

 

[batman11]

Haha. You can actually hear Oscar screaming in pain when you read that article.

 

[jmc]

No, they are. They're just presenting with a more famous partner.

Ah, I misinterpreted the article, still, do they really need someone 'more famous' to hold their hand whilst they present? Who's Marion Cotillard gonna be paired with? Tom Cruise?