The Dark Knight Why was TDK overlooked during awards season?

[Bruce Malone]

I just got to thinking with all the award sucess Avatar has now received and is expected to, why was there not a similar fate for the TDK around this time last year? Of course i'm talking aside from heath ledger who was rigthfully honoured.

Both films are higly praised big budget action oriented films. Both dominated the box office in their repsective year. From a critical point I think you could argue TDK actually got more praise for its writing and plot than Avatar has.

I'm not hating at all on avatar but im just wondering why TDK did not get a similar recognition?

Why no directing noms for Nolan or best pic noms for TDK? I'm not sure about scripts noms and others however.

 

[ultimatefan]

Avatar wasn´t based on a comic book and it was directed by James "Titanic" Cameron. Plus I guess the GG and the Oscars may be tired of genre fans b****ing that their favorite movies are always ignored on awards season and are trying to open up a little. TDK is said to be one of the reasons why the Academy opened up for ten best movie nominations, so I wouldn´t be surprised to see things like District 9 - and of course Avatar as well - among the nominees.

 

[Mr. Earle]

TDK failed in the Oscars because the academy is a bunch of elitist snobs. If it isnt a Scorsese movie about gangsters or some melodramatic bullcrap movie, it wont get oscars. Look at how the overrated Million Dollar Baby got so many of them. Some movies are made simply for this purpose: To get Oscars.

TDK failed in every other award where the fans get to choose because angsty teenage girls voted for that abomination called Twilight. If there was an award for the most cliche and predictable story ever told, Twilight would get it. Pattinson is a real bro for flat out admitting that the movie is crap but he is in it for the money and exposure.

 

[Motown Marvel]

i think it was "overlooked" because while it was a good film it wasnt the masterpiece everyone here makes it out to be. avatar is getting all of this attention, not because of it's story, but because of the groundbreaking technology and what that means for the future of film itself.

but fact of the matter is, the film wasnt overlooked by awards. it was nominated for 8 oscars, won 2. and was nominated for and won a s**t ton of other industry awards: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0468569/awards

 

[El Payaso]

Superhero movie.

 

[Tacit Ronin]

The oscars only got it right twice last decade.

Return of the King and No country for old men.

 

[Brother Jack]

Because the academy has a bias against comic book/blockbuster movies (not that there's many that are truly deserving) and a bias for pretentious drama.

 

[Bruce Malone]

i think it was "overlooked" because while it was a good film it wasnt the masterpiece everyone here makes it out to be. avatar is getting all of this attention, not because of it's story, but because of the groundbreaking technology and what that means for the future of film itself.

but fact of the matter is, the film wasnt overlooked by awards. it was nominated for 8 oscars, won 2. and was nominated for and won a s**t ton of other industry awards: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0468569/awards

Than it would be nominated in the effects categories not best picture, director etc.

 

[SuperFerret]

TDK was overhyped by fans. Avatar was overhyped by everyone.

 

[Motown Marvel]

Than it would be nominated in the effects categories not best picture, director etc.

yeah, because movies with crappy stories have never been nominated for oscars before.

 

[Bruce Malone]

They have and im not even saying avatar is crappy but my point is why was a very good movie not nominated?

Its not just the fans who were miffed either alot of press were as well.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/herocomplex/2009/01/the-dark-knight.html

'The Dark Knight' snubbed in best picture race

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/herocomplex/2009/01/the-dark-knight.htmlhttp://latimesblogs.latimes.com/herocomplex/2009/01/the-dark-knight.html

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/herocomplex/2009/01/the-dark-knight.html

'The Dark Knight' Snubbed By Oscars

http://www.usnews.com/money/blogs/luxe-life/2009/1/22/the-dark-knight-snubbed-by-oscars.html

 

[Motown Marvel]

worthwhile films dont get nominated all the time too. but im just saying, i dont think TDK is one of them. good film? yes. best picture oscar worthy? no.

 

[SuperFerret]

yeah, because movies with crappy stories have never been nominated for oscars before.

Cough! Titanic Cough!

 

[Motown Marvel]

i just think its hilarious that people think theres some conspiracy among the hundreds of filmmakers that make up the academy to hate on superhero films. thats just stupid and ridiculous. i know you kids dont like to think that maybe, just maaaaaybe, there has yet to be a superhero film worthy of a best picture nomination....but that is the situation.

 

[Brother Jack]

i just think its hilarious that people think theres some conspiracy among the hundreds of filmmakers that make up the academy to hate on superhero films. thats just stupid and ridiculous. i know you kids dont like to think that maybe, just maaaaaybe, there has yet to be a superhero film worthy of a best picture nomination....but that is the situation.

I don't think there's a conspiracy at all, but I think it's fairly easy to see that the often dogmatic Academy by and large are not gracious to comic book movies or blockbusters in general. Having said that I agree that a vast majority of superhero movies are not worthy of BP nomination, but I happen to think TDK is.

 

[SuperFerret]

There hasn't been, but then, I'd say the same about most of the Best Picture winners. Especially since most of them don't seem to have any other purpose other than winning the Best Picture Academy Award.

 

[Avengers-Report]

Superhero movie.

 

[Motown Marvel]

I don't think there's a conspiracy at all, but I think it's fairly easy to see that the often dogmatic Academy by and large are not gracious to comic book movies or blockbusters in general. Having said that I agree that a vast majority of superhero movies are not worthy of BP nomination, but I happen to think TDK is.

it was nominated for 8 academy awards!!! how is that not gracious? do you know how many films would kill for that many nominations? and if you agree that the vast majority of superhero films are not worthy of a best picture nomination, with this one film being an exception, then how could you possibly think there's an illegitimate bias against them?

 

[FlawlessVictory]

^This is what it comes down to:

TDK was nominated for a Producer's Guild of America award which recognizes the 5 best movies of the year. The other 4 nominations were Slumdog Millionaire, Milk, Frost/Nixon and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Christopher Nolan was nominated for a Director's Guild of America award which recognizes the 5 best directed films of the year. The other 4 nominations were the directors of Slumdog Millionaire, Milk, Frost/Nixon and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

So we are starting to see a trend.

Based on the above, it was quite understandable that when nominations were announced for the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director that TDK and Nolan would be recognized. It wasn't about fans and their wild expectations, it was completely grounded based on how the PGA and DGA recogized TDK and Nolan.

Fast forward now to the Academy Award nominations. And the nominees for best picture are: Slumdog Millionaire, Frost/Nixon, Milk, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and....The Reader?!

And the nominees for best director are the directors of Slumdog Millionaire, Frost/Nixon, Milk, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and....The Reader?!

But, we all know how The Reader managed to get its nominations because we all know it was such a deserving film. You don't want to call TDK being left off the Academy Awards for Best Pic and Best Director a conspiracy. But it sure as hell was a conspiracy for The Reader to get in.

The Reader: 61% on RottenTomatoes
Consensus: Despite Kate Winslet's superb portrayal, The Reader suggests an emotionally distant, Oscar-baiting historical drama.

That says it all right there.

 

[Motown Marvel]

so, among the 6,000 members of the academy made up of actors, writers, directors, producers, executives, cinematographers, musicians, etc....was a crafted conspiracy to have the reader nominated and not TDK? your telling me? that there was a hollywood conspiracy involving thousands of people just to get one film nominated over another?

 

[ultimatefan]

so, among the 6,000 members of the academy made up of actors, writers, directors, producers, executives, cinematographers, musicians, etc....was a crafted conspiracy to have the reader nominated and not TDK? your telling me? that there was a hollywood conspiracy involving thousands of people just to get one film nominated over another?

Nah, there was a ton of lobbying from Miramax, it was even mentioned in news articles about the nomination. The studio was already going down the tubes and desperately needed a big nomination, cuz the studio has basically lived out of making "Oscar bait" movies, but even that didn´t solve their problems and the studio went down the toilet. A big part of getting nominations is lobbying hard for it, even the most naive person about how Hollywood works knows that. WB didn´t need to lobby as hard, TDK was a gigantic tentpole for them and got rave reviews anyway.

 

[Motown Marvel]

yes, miramax lobbied. every film is free to do so. its an expected and entirely warranted practice. so what's wrong with that? TDK had the same freedom to do so if they wished. if their inability to lobby for the nomination is what lost the nomination, then you have WB to blame for the loss, not the academy.

 

[ultimatefan]

yes, miramax lobbied. every film is free to do so. its an expected and entirely warranted practice. so what's wrong with that? TDK had the same freedom to do so if they wished. if their inability to lobby for the nomination is what lost the nomination, then you have WB to blame for the loss, not the academy.

It was not inability, they just weren´t as desperate for it as Miramax, and just like Miramax is entitled to lobby, the TDK fans are entitled to think it was an unfair loss that didn´t correspond to the chosen movie´s quality. I don´t see many people complaining about the nominations for Frost/Nixon or Slumdog Millionaire, which are truly great movies, and I don´t see those many big fans of The Reader either.

 

[Travesty]

All the movies that TDK was up against were, IMO, leaps and bounds better then TDK(although, I've never seen The Reader, so I can't comment on that). I'm not a fan of TDK, and think that it's a jumbled mess. Sure, it's an alright movie, that takes itself to seriously, but that doesn't mean it's a masterpiece. Slumdog, Milk, Benjamin Button, had better pace, story, actors, originality, etc.

TDK got nominated for a bunch of awards, but the reason why it didn't actually win to many, is because maybe it really isn't that great of a movie. I mean, just look at Bales Bat-voice. Some don't mind it, while others just hate it. Don't you think that should tell you that his performance is already questionable as it is? The pacing of the movie was all over the place, and to many things were going on. Batman isn't that much of an original character, the score wasn't implemented adequately throughout the film, while you have some side-actors who didn't really help the movie out(dinner guests, SWAT officers, the people on the ferries, etc). The biggest saving grace about TDK, was Ledgers performance.

I get why a lot of people like TDK. It has a great story, and a lot of popular villains, but I think it's far from a great movie, and to me, is a jumbled mess. It's basically the same complaint you see with theoretical physicists regarding string theory. Sure, it's a great theory, with a lot of potential around it, but at the end of the day, it's just sloppy. Maybe if it was a little bit more clear and concise, then it would be taken more seriously.

 

[Motown Marvel]

It was not inability, they just weren´t as desperate for it as Miramax, and just like Miramax is entitled to lobby, the TDK fans are entitled to think it was an unfair loss that didn´t correspond to the chosen movie´s quality. I don´t see many people complaining about the nominations for Frost/Nixon or Slumdog Millionaire, which are truly great movies, and I don´t see those many big fans of The Reader either.

its not a matter of desperation. its a matter of business. getting nominated for that oscar is good for business. miramax took that seriously. again, nothing wrong with that. and the readers legitimacy for the nomination has nothing to do with TDK's legitimacy. its crazy that people are willing to blame everything for its non-nomination other than the film itself. it was a good film, but its flaws kept it from being a masterpiece or best picture worthy.