For starters, to suggest that Slumdog was the only Nominee
deserving of a Best Picture Nomination is enough for me to know that you're concept of "artistically significant" is way off.
I never said that at all. But thanks for bringing in everybody's best friend, Mr. Straw Man, into the discussion there, Hank Hill. Always the life of the party.
Second, to say that the Academy didn't care about a film it nominated for 8 Awards, 2 of which it won, just doesn't make a whole lot of sense
TDK was nominated entirely for technical awards, plus one (famously posthumous) supporting actor role. The Academy (a) didn't give a **** enough about it to go for big noms like Actor, Director, Picture or even Screenplay, and (b) didn't even go so far as to recognize the technical aspects of the film. They honestly thought *Benajmin Freakin' Button* had better fx, sound, and cinematography.
As for the decision to amplify the amount of Best Picture Nominees, I won't go as far to post 50 articles here on how TDK's Oscar snub for Best Pic influenced the decision, but I'll rather say this instead: do you think you'll make it any less true by refusing to accept the fact that it most certainly is? Because denying the impact of TDK, specially on a message board that focuses on comic book movies, doesn't reduce it in the least bit. Its like going to an NBA forum and saying Michael Jordan was a terrible basketball player.
Denying the fact that the Academy snubbed the hell out of the movie in almost every category except the Let's All Feel Sorry For Heath Ledger Memorial Award doesn't reduce it in the least bit.
Why is it that some people think that by bashing something great they'll make something not so great seem better?
Calling TDK unworthy of Oscar recognition, saying its a complete misrepresentation of what comic book movies should be, it all just baffles me.
I don't call TDK unworthy of Oscar recognition at all. Au contraire --- I think it SHOULD have been nominated. For the BIG awards. And should have WON most of them.
All I'm saying is that THE ACADEMY thought TDK was unworthy of Oscar recognition, beyond tech awards and Heath Ledger.
Denying the fact that the Academy snubbed the hell out of the movie in almost every category except the Let's All Feel Sorry For Heath Ledger Memorial Award doesn't reduce it in the least bit. (Waitaminnit, didn't I already say that? yup)
Exactly. When Marvel Studios can produce a film that people seriously talk about being an Oscar contender in non-special effects categories, we'll talk about how great Marvel Studios makes comic book films.
Why, exactly? Didn't you just read the whole diatribe above that TDK was NOT nominated for anything beyond special effects categories, except for Heath's Supporting Actor nod?
Right now, everything is going to be compared to The Dark Knight, and for most, nothing Marvel Studios has produced stacks up. The Dark Knight challenged everyone's preconceptions of not only what a superhero movie could be, but what they should be. I do love Marvel Studios' films, but, even as a Marvel/Disney shareholder, I cannot honestly say that any of the Marvel Studios films did that.
No, not everything in CBMs is being compared to TDK, nor should it.
Batman is *not* a superhero ---he's a costumed vigilante. Anyone who reads comics understands the difference. Nolan does....that's why he wiped all the glitz and sheen and cheese off the story and made it strictly a crime drama with guys in funny suits.
Marvel, on the other hand, is in the business of making SUPERHERO movies. That's a genre that WB hasn't figured out yet, even with Superman and Green Lantern. SUPERHERO movies are a horse of an entirely different color than Nolan's uber-realist costumed vigilante manifesto.
So no, Marvel's movies are *not* comparable. They're two entirely different genres. It's like trying to compare Lord of the Rings to The Godfather Saga....it's fantasy vs. realism.