Chicago Film Critic Winners
2008 CFCA AWARD WINNERS
BEST PICTURE: WALL-E
BEST DIRECTOR: Danny Boyle – Slumdog Millionaire
BEST ACTOR: Mickey Rourke – The Wrestler
BEST ACTRESS: Anne Hathaway – Rachel Getting Married
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Heath Ledger – The Dark Knight
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Kate Winslet – The Reader
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: WALL-E (Andrew Stanton & Jim Reardon)
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Slumdog Millionaire (Simon Beaufoy)
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: Let the Right One In
BEST DOCUMENTARY: Man On Wire
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE: WALL-E
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: The Dark Knight (Wally Pfister)
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE: WALL-E (Thomas Newman)
MOST PROMISING PERFORMER: Dev Patel – Slumdog Millionaire
MOST PROMISING DIRECTOR: Tomas Alfredson – Let the Right One In
Edward Douglas says:
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 8:40am
I still say “No chance” on WALL*E for BP… there are too many other movies that will get multiple other nominations that will help get it considered BP. Dark Knight is looking weak without a SAG Ensemble… if it doesn’t get a DGA or WGA nom it’s doomed.
Dave says:
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 8:42am
Kate Winslet finally wins a big critic award!
Bob Burns says:
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 8:43am
solid group. looks like a consensus list of Oscar frontrunners.
I am so in love with Milk, but have zero problem losing to Danny Boyle.
Erik Beck says:
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 8:48am
Atonement had nothing from SAG, WGA or DGA, so don’t count anything out for TDK yet.
Larry says:
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 8:50am
The Chicago groups’s glaring absence of anything for MILK (on that same day that this seminal film triumphed with SAG) follows its homophobic tradition, after they championed CRASH over BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN in 2005.
CRASH apologia has since become so embarrassing that now, witnessing the Chicago Critics’ choices in recent years, they who so clearly and so wrongly trumpeted CRASH, becomes an embarrassment as well.
Haifa says:
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 8:57am
Your consistent stance that anyone who liked Crash over Brokeback is homophobic is ridiculous Larry.
N8 says:
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 9:08am
This is a surprise (not that I’m complaining). I thought “The Dark Knight” would sweep Chicago, but it looks like WALL-E continues to gain momentum.
Bowie says:
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 9:21am
Larry, for all we know Milk could have been second in every and all eligible categories (it WAS one of the five nominees for Best Picture).
But clearly this was a Wall-E sweep ahead of so many other films in a competitive year (so the majority must have loved it) rather than an obvious snubbing.
In 2005, Crash won the CFCA’s screenplay award and whether you liked it or not, it’s quite feasible to expect that people would prefer the taut inner-city interlinking drama and ensemble-work of that film than the sprawling sparseness and slow-paced stinging of Brokeback’s character arcs. In fact if you go through some of their past winners (Far From Heaven, Mulholland Drive, American Beauty), not only are they often taut suburban dramas, but indeed ones tinged with homosexual undercurrents.
I’m gay and against this type of discrimination like the next decent person, but I think you’re making too much of this: I loved Brokeback Mountain, but let’s face it, it was a moving love story with a tragic ending… nothing particularly amazing about it unless you want to discriminate the other way round and say the fact it was two guys means it therefore should have won every possible award given out by anybody.
Pierre de Plume says:
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 9:29am
I’m guessing that the Chicago critics chose Crash over Brokeback partly because of the influence of Roger Ebert. I doubt that homophobia was a significant factor.
As Edward Douglas suggests, TDK needs not only tech guild attention but WGA and DGA recognition to reach the Best Picture category — still a definite a possibility.
And I don’t see WALL-E as a Best Picture nominee though it should do well with nominations like Ratatouille did.
Loyal says:
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 9:39am
Go WALL-E, go.
Doubt the tiny trash compactor at your own peril.
Pertwillaby says:
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 9:40am
Wow, I really like the choices! Wall-E looks more and more like a serious Best Picture contender every day.
Dan says:
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 9:49am
Yet another LTROI win. Gosh.
Also, Larry, you really don’t know Chicago very well, do you?
Rod says:
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 9:51am
Kate
Daren says:
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 10:00am
WALL-E!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I love this!!! That movie is still the best I have seen this year and one of my all time favorite films.
Cliff says:
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 10:06am
FINALLY a screenplay recognition for WALL-E!
Jonah says:
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 10:09am
Glad to finally see Thomas Newman getting in on the WALL-E tidal wave… Hopefully he’ll get one quicker than his uncle Randy did!
And Larry, if I were to tell you that CRASH hit me in a place in my gut in a more visceral and moving way than BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, will you A) possibly consider that I am in fact not homophobic and could you possibly B) consider that it’s not a statement about BM at all, but rather a statement about the quality (IMHO) about Crash?
frederic lyon says:
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 10:14am
Wow !
Mickey Rourke, Anne Hathaway, Heath Ledger and Kate Winslet !
All my personal favorites !
I love Chicago.
JP says:
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 10:16am
good actors list!
is there any way Let The Right One In gets nominated for any kind of oscar?
Ben says:
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 11:14am
Those of you who defend the Academy’s selection of Crash over Brokeback Mountain miss the point. Of course any individual can prefer Crash, or any other film, just as they can prefer How Green Was My Valley over Citizen Kane, or Ordinary People over Raging Bull, or what have you. I completely agree that does not necessarily make the person or group homophobic. When Crash won its sole Best Picture precursor over Brokeback’s (about 30), the Chicago Film Crix award, it didn’t occur to me for one second that Chicago was a homophobic group. I did think that Roger Ebert – an wildly overrated critic but certainly a good man (I know him a bit) – had great influence on the vote, but Brokeback was the runner-up, and other films had beaten Brokeback for a few prizes (History of Violence won Central Ohio and something else I’m not thinking of at the moment; Munich won D.C.; Good Night won the National Board of Review; Capote won the National Society; Brokeback was the runner-up at all these awards (except National Society where it was 2nd runner-up) and won 20something others). So no, also as a gay man, of course I do not accuse any of these groups or people of homophobia, that is unfair, certainly people can prefer Crash (though personally, when I saw it 6 months before Brokeback was released, I thought it was one of the sloppiest, most overblown, worst pieces of propaganda I had ever seen, with numerous plot flaws, abysmal overacting by Bullock, Phillipe and others, and unintentionally laughable).
However, the Academy, as a whole, unquestionably made a cowardly, ultimately homophobic decision by selecting the Crash in 2005, a film with mediocre (at best reviews), instead of the overwhelming favorite. I am cutting and pasting several pieces below to explain why, first by me, then Erik Lundegaard, then by LA Times critic Ken Turan. They are long, thanks in advance for reading. The gist, of course, is that no film with Brokeback’s precursor credentials had ever lost before (or since), and that many in the Academy openly said they wouldn’t even watch the “gay” film and the Academy let it slide. In light of the recent passing of insidious Proposition 8, I am surprised that any of you still doubt.
“Please try to forget one’s own personal opinion of
Brokeback or Crash as you read this (believe it or not, I am),
and consider Oscar history. In its 78 year history,
the “best” film of the year has rarely won the Oscar,
10-20 times at best, a poor history. But last year’s
Best Picture upset was unprecedented, and it happened
for insidious reasons. Brokeback, prior to the Oscars,
was the most honored film in movie history for a
single year, winning more Best Picture/ Director
prizes than any other film ever, including Schindler’s
List (though admittedly there are more prizes now, but
Brokeback still did slightly better than even that
film when you take Director prizes into account).
Nothing with its combination of critical AND guild
prizes had ever lost. L.A. Confidential swept the
critics’ prizes in 1997, but then Titanic’s onslaught
gave it the Globe, major guilds prizes, and the stage
was set for the Oscars. But Brokeback won the
Producers, Directors and Writers Guild awards. No
film with those 3 had ever lost. Brokeback won the
Golden Globe, DGA and had the most nominations. No
film with that combination had ever lost. Brokeback
had the New York and Los Angeles Film Critics awards,
with the most nominations, again, a trio that had
never lost. There are other combos along those lines.
And it even won major prizes in Europe, like BAFTA,
Venice, ultra- prestigious Sight & Sound’s #1 film,
etc. I can go on.
Just as important, Brokeback was the top box office
earner among the nominees and,
rated the number 1 box office story of the year among
all 2005 films, per major site Box Office Mojo. And,
Brokeback was undeniably a cultural zeitgeist. When
you do the math, there is absolutely no way, no how
Brokeback should have lost. The only other losing
film even in Brokeback’s league vis-a-vis pre-Oscar
prizes was Saving Private Ryan. But even Ryan didn’t
have Brokeback’s overwhelming dominance at critics’
prizes, plus Ryan fell short at the Writers Guild and other
screenplay prizes, whereas Brokeback won many,
including the Globe, Guild, etc. So what happened???
Shortly after the nominations, the Academy received a petition signed by 60,000 right wingers stating that they would never watch the Oscars again if “the gay movie” won, and that their friends
felt the same. Then, the late night talk shows stepped up the gay jokes, and the film started to become a bit of a joke. Then, Hollywood
relics/legends Tony Curtis and Ernest Borgnine each
publically stated that neither they nor any of their
friends would even see Brokeback, because “John Wayne
would roll over in his grave”. As an aside, can you
imagine the (rightful) outcry there would have been
had people said they refused to see the black film,
the Jewish film, the hispanic film? Yet, the Academy remained silent. Anyhow, that’s when the pundits started saying that
perhaps another film would win. Nobody believed them
because of the overwhelming dominance of Brokeback,
and besides, there was nothing to support. That’s
when Crash become “the great straight hope”. Pundits
like Tom O’Neil who predicted Good Night and Good Luck
prior to the Globes gave up on that film, while
everyone knew that both Munich and Capote were lucky
to be nominated (deserving, but still lucky, most
thought Walk the Line would take one of their slots).
Crash, which had was not a factor in any major
critical races except for the Roger Ebert awards -
excuse me – the Chicago Film Critics awards, suddenly
won the Actor’s Guild Ensemble prize, and suddenly,
there was a film to rally behind. Never mind that
that ensemble award is NOT a Best Picture prize, past
winners include The Birdcage, The Full Monty, Gosford
Park, etc., none of which were remotely serious
contenders for the Oscar. At the Oscars, however, 3
performances were nominated from Brokeback, only 1
from Crash, further confirming that SAG voters likely
appreciated the huge cast of Crash and supported it as
such (plus that video onslaught); Brokeback had a
number of important rolls, but really it’s a 2-4
person movie, at most; Crash had a solid dozen. But
still, Crash got a 69 at metacritic,
a terrible score, the lowest of any nominee (I think
since metacritic’s inception), and Crash wasn’t even
nominated for the Golden Globe. Since the Globes
started in 1943, every single Oscar winner had at
least been nominated for the Globe, with only one
exception, The Sting, and supposedly that was on
account of category confusion – was Sting a drama or
comedy. (I had the same problem with Crash, but it
wasn’t supposed to be funny). But there was nothing
else, and Lion’s Gate mounted an extremely aggressive
campaign, giving the anti-Brokebackers – the senior
males of the Academy – something to rally behind.
People like Ebert (one of only two 100 major national
critics who took part in a what should win poll who
didn’t support Brokeback, the other being a
conservative from Kansas City) and Oprah Winfrey
chimed in, and instead of condemning Curtis and
Borgnine for their blatant homophobia, things became
strangely, shockingly silent in Hollywood re:
Brokeback. Everyone suddenly talked Crash – but NOT
for Crash’s newly discovered merits (it was the
earliest release of all nominees and pretty much a
non-event), but because the Academy decided to play it
safe, go with politically correct Crash, and cower to
blant bigotry. This was not a
Warren-is-too-arrogant-so-we’ll-pick-Chariots-over-Reds
backlash. This was not Harvey Weinstein going door to
door (literally) for Shakespeare in Love. This was a
blatant act of cowardice by the Academy. There is
truly no other explanation, I wish there was, but
there is no way that they suddenly deemed it better
when almost everyone else disagreed. The Academy had
never been mavericks, the Picture favorite almost
always wins. [By the way, this is not meant to chide
Ebert & Oprah, they both cited Brokeback as a great
film, each genuinely preferred Crash, fair enough, but
their influence was used by others to create the
illusion of
mediocrely-received Crash as a true contender]
I had been an Oscars fanatic since I was 8 years old,
saw a list of major winners, and with an odd
photographic memory remembered them all. I still do.
And, I had disagreed with the Academy’s Best Picture
choice all but twice in the prior 20 years. But I
realized my opinion wasn’t the thing: was the Academy
being honest? I thought they were. But now, members
were admitting they were voting without even watching
all the nominees, the overwhelming slam-dunk
front-runner, because “John Wayne would roll over in
his grave”. Am I the only one incredibly offended by
that? Gay/straight, black/white, etc., should not
matter, we should all be offended because that is prejudice at its worst. And besides, where is the Academy’s credibility if their
members aren’t forced to watch all nominees before
voting, at least in the categories where they vote?
Committees are appointed to nominate foreign films and
documentaries, and I agree with that policy since
obviously Academy members are too busy to see every
film, whereas committee members commit to do so. It
is it too much to ask the Academy to watch their Best
Picture nominees, and if they feel they have a
personal conflict with one (to put it kindly), to
recuse themselves and not vote? And is it too much to
ask the Academy to condemn bigotry, in whatever form,
from their members? I still cannot believe Brokeback
Mountain lost, although so did Citizen Kane, The
Grapes of Wrath, Raging Bull, Dr. Strangelove, The
Graduate, Goodfellas, Fargo, The Pianist, non-nominees
2001, Vertigo, The Searchers, Singin’ in the Rain,
Some Like It Hot, City Lights, Touch of Evil, etc. But
despite the greatness of these other movies,
Brokeback’s is the most egregious loss because it was
“supposed to win” more than any other ever (playing by
the Academy’s own rules), because it so deserved the
prize – even Paul Haggis said so in Entertainment
Weekly (“EW: can anything stop Brokeback?; PH: No, and
nothing should, it’s a wonderful film” – good for
Haggis). And it lost because a very large contingent
refused to open their minds and hearts, or to even
watch it, the antithesis of what an Academy should do.
As a crazy avid movie buff, it is painful for me to
shut off the Academy after 30 years, but I am done. It
is the right thing to do. I am aware of the Academy’s
power, I don’t care if my protest is in a vacuum
(though am pleased to have discovered so many others
who agree). But I hope it’s not, because like
everyone else, they too are slaves to almighty
ratings. If enough people demonstrate they will not
tolerate bigotry and cowardice, perhaps in time they
might lose some of their luster. I hope so. Thanks
for reading.” (written in March, 2006)
Oscar misfire: ‘Crash’ and burn
The Academy takes yet another step toward irrelevance
with its latest pick
COMMENTARY
By Erik Lundegaard
MSNBC contributor
Updated: 3:09 p.m. ET March 6, 2006
Talk about ruining a perfect evening. Jon Stewart was
funny, George Clooney was sharp, Salma Hayek looked
to-freakin’-die-for, Philip Seymour Hoffman won in
humble-but-lovable fashion and Ang Lee, the director
of one of the best movies of the year, became the
first non-Caucasian to win the Academy Award for best
director.
Then Jack Nicholson, presenting the best picture
winner, ruined everything. He didn’t say “Brokeback
Mountain”; he actually said…“Crash.”
No, he didn’t. Did he? He did. My god.
This is the worst best picture winner since “The
Greatest Show on Earth” in 1952. It may be worse than
that. “Greatest Show” was a dull, bloated romance set
against the backdrop of a three-ring circus but at
least it didn’t pretend to be important. “Crash”
thinks it’s important. “Crash” thinks it’s saying
something bold about racism in America.
But what is it saying?
That we all bear some form of racism. That we all
“stereotype” other races. That, when pressured, racist
sentiments spill out of us as easily as escaped air.
Here’s my take. Yes, we all bear some form of racism —
that’s obvious. Yes, we all “stereotype” other races
in some fashion — that’s obvious. (Particularly
obvious in the Los Angeles of “Crash,” where so many
characters are stereotypes.) But, no, we don’t easily
give voice to our racist sentiments. And that’s why
“Crash” rings so false.
Last month I wrote an article on the best picture
nominees (called “Anything But ‘Crash’”) in which I
talked about how the most potent form of racism in
this country is no longer overt but covert. Once upon
a time, yes yes yes, it was overt, which is another
reason why “Crash” sucks. It’s doing what
simple-minded generals do: It’s fighting the last war.
The “Crash” quiz
Here, let’s take a little quiz. Say you’re an Asian
woman who has just rear-ended the car in front of you.
What do you do? Do you…
Wait in your car until a police officer arrives
Exchange licenses with the driver of the other car
Notice that the driver of the other car is someone who
looks like Jennifer Esposito, immediately assume she’s
Mexican-American (as opposed to, say,
Italian-American), and then tell the African-American
police officer that “Mexicans no know how to drive.”
How about this one? You’re talking to a bureaucrat on
the phone about getting extra care for your father who
is having trouble urinating, and she is not helpful.
You ask for her name and she tells you: Shaniqua
Johnson. You still need her help. What do you say?
“Shaniqua. That’s a beautiful name.”
“Shaniqua. You could do a better job of helping my
father, who is in pain.
“Shaniqua. Big f—ing surprise that is.”
One last one. You’ve just been told by your hot, hot
girlfriend, with whom you’re lucky to be sleeping in
the first place, that she is not Mexican as you
presumed; that her mother is from Puerto Rico and her
father is from El Salvador. What do you say?
“I’m sorry, honey. I’m surprised I didn’t know that.
Now come back to bed.”
“Really? How did they meet?”
“Who took [all Latinos] and taught them to park their
cars on their lawns?”
And on and on and on. Every scene. Put a little
pressure on somebody and they blurt simplistic racist
sentiments. Right in the face of someone of that race.
Worse, none of it feels like sentiments these
characters would actually say. It feels like
sentiments writer/director Paul Haggis imposed upon
them to make his grand, dull point about racism, when
a more telling point about racism might have emerged
if he’d just let them be. “Crash” is like a Creative
Writing 101 demonstration of what not to do as a
writer. To the Academy this meant two things: Best
screenplay and best picture.
The Sandra Bullock/Ludacris scene
A few readers objected to my column last month — and
will no doubt object to this one. They felt “Crash”
taught them something important about race. More’s the
pity. They said they learned that even good people do
bad things, and even bad people have moments of
compassion. Sorry they didn’t already know this. They
felt like “Crash” was a movie the average person could
support. “Average,” I guess, is the key word here.
Some agreed with me that the most potent form of
racism today is covert rather than overt; but they
added that this was a movie, after all, not a book,
and in a movie you can’t show characters thinking.
Ah, but you can. Paul Haggis even did it in “Crash” —
in the scene where Sandra Bullock’s character grabs
her husband’s arm as two black men approach. Her move
toward her husband is silent and instinctive, and
Ludacris’ character suspects she does what she does
because he’s black, and she’s scared of him, but he
has no evidence. We only get the evidence later, from
her, when she argues with her husband about the Latino
locksmith. And even this scene is handled ineptly. She
should have argued with her husband upstairs, away
from the help. But Haggis wanted her to complain about
the Latino locksmith within earshot of the Latino
locksmith — because apparently that’s how we all do
it. Lord knows if I don’t trust someone because of
their race and/or class I raise my objection within
earshot of them. Doesn’t everyone?
The main point is that you can dramatize our more
covert forms of racism. But here’s how bad “Crash” is.
Even though the Bullock/Ludacris scene is one of the
more realistic scenes in the movie, it is still
monumentally simplistic. I have a white female friend
who lives close to the downtown area of her city.
Usually she walks home from downtown. If she does this
after dark, and two men are walking towards her,
she’ll cross to the other side of the street to avoid
them. But if the two men are black? She won’t do this,
because she’s afraid of appearing racist. That’s how
much of a conundrum race is in this country. “Crash”
didn’t begin to scratch that surface.
So why did it win?
There are rumors that older Academy members shied away
from even viewing “Brokeback Mountain” for the usual
homophobic reasons. Lionsgate also pushed “Crash” on
Academy voters; it handed out a record number of DVDs
and advertised heavily. I don’t know which explanation
bothers me more. All I know is I feel sick. It feels
like the ’72 Olympic basketball finals, when the
Russians cheated and won; it feels like the ’85 World
Series when a blown call in game six tilted the
balance towards the Royals. It feels like the good
guys wuz robbed.
My friend Jim is more interested in the Academy than
anyone I know who isn’t involved in the industry.
(He’s a chauffeur in Seattle.) By early summer he’s
already talking up possible nominees. The discussion
reaches a fever pitch in November and December when
the prestige pictures are rolled out and critics make
their “best of” announcements. He goes to see these
films. He talks about them. He actually cares.
Not anymore.
“Crash’s” win did him in. The Academy, he said
afterwards, “is not a serious body of voters who vote
rationally. If they’re influenced by a DVD sales
pitch, they’re not worth my time.”
Are they worth anyone’s time? Once again, they showed
themselves susceptible to something other than a
legitimate search for “the best.” Once again,
marketing appears to have won. The Academy is 78 years
old and acting every bit of it, and last night they
took another doddering step towards irrelevancy.
Breaking no ground
Why ‘Crash’ won, why ‘Brokeback’ lost and how the
academy chose to play it safe.
By Kenneth Turan, Times Staff Writer
March 5, 2006
Sometimes you win by losing, and nothing has proved
what a powerful, taboo-breaking, necessary film
“Brokeback Mountain” was more than its loss Sunday
night to “Crash” in the Oscar best picture category.
Despite all the magazine covers it graced, despite all
the red-state theaters it made good money in, despite
(or maybe because of) all the jokes late-night talk
show hosts made about it, you could not take the pulse
of the industry without realizing that this film made
a number of people distinctly uncomfortable.
More than any other of the nominated films, “Brokeback
Mountain” was the one people told me they really
didn’t feel like seeing, didn’t really get, didn’t
understand the fuss over. Did I really like it, they
wanted to know. Yes, I really did.
In the privacy of the voting booth, as many political
candidates who’ve led in polls only to lose elections
have found out, people are free to act out the
unspoken fears and unconscious prejudices that they
would never breathe to another soul, or, likely,
acknowledge to themselves. And at least this year,
that acting out doomed “Brokeback Mountain.”
For Hollywood, as a whole laundry list of people
announced from the podium Sunday night and a lengthy
montage of clips tried to emphasize, is a liberal
place, a place that prides itself on its progressive
agenda. If this were a year when voters had no other
palatable options, they might have taken a deep breath
and voted for “Brokeback.” This year, however, “Crash”
was poised to be the spoiler.
I do not for one minute question the sincerity and
integrity of the people who made “Crash,” and I do not
question their commitment to wanting a more equal
society. But I do question the film they’ve made. It
may be true, as producer Cathy Schulman said in
accepting the Oscar for best picture, that this was
“one of the most breathtaking and stunning maverick
years in American history,” but “Crash” is not an
example of that.
I don’t care how much trouble “Crash” had getting
financing or getting people on board, the reality of
this film, the reason it won the best picture Oscar,
is that it is, at its core, a standard Hollywood
movie, as manipulative and unrealistic as the day is
long. And something more.
For “Crash’s” biggest asset is its ability to give
people a carload of those standard Hollywood
satisfactions but make them think they are seeing
something groundbreaking and daring. It is, in some
ways, a feel-good film about racism, a film you could
see and feel like a better person, a film that could
make you believe that you had done your moral duty and
examined your soul when in fact you were just getting
your buttons pushed and your preconceptions
reconfirmed.
So for people who were discomfited by “Brokeback
Mountain” but wanted to be able to look themselves in
the mirror and feel like they were good, productive
liberals, “Crash” provided the perfect safe harbor.
They could vote for it in good conscience, vote for it
and feel they had made a progressive move, vote for it
and not feel that there was any stain on their liberal
credentials for shunning what “Brokeback” had to
offer. And that’s exactly what they did.
“Brokeback,” it is worth noting, was in some ways the
tamest of the discomforting films available to Oscar
voters in various categories. Steven Spielberg’s
“Munich”; the Palestinian Territories’ “Paradise Now,”
one of the best foreign language nominees; and the
documentary nominee “Darwin’s Nightmare” offered
scenarios that truly shook up people’s normal ways of
seeing the world. None of them won a thing.
Hollywood, of course, is under no obligation to be a
progressive force in the world. It is in the business
of entertainment, in the business of making the most
dollars it can. Yes, on Oscar night, it likes to pat
itself on the back for the good it does in the world,
but as Sunday night’s ceremony proved, it is easier to
congratulate yourself for a job well done in the past
than actually do that job in the present.
P.S. Not even nominated, English-language only: The
General, Sunrise, The Crowd, The Wedding March,
Frankenstein, City Lights, Duck Soup, Top Hat, Modern
Times, Make Way for Tomorrow, Bringing Up Baby, Snow
White and the Seven Dwarfs,
Gunga Din, Fantasia, The Lady Eve, To Be or Not
To Be, Miracle of Morgan’s Creek, Meet Me in St.
Louis, My Darling Clementine, Brief Encounter,
Stairway to Heaven, Notorious, Odd Man Out, Monsieur
Verdoux, Letter from An Unknown Woman, Red River, Kind
Hearts and Coronets, The Third Man, The African Queen,
Singin’ in the Rain, The Band Wagon, Rear Window,
Night of the Hunter, Rebel Without a Cause, Bad Day at
Black Rock, The Searchers, Paths of Glory, Sweet Smell
of Success, Vertigo, Touch of Evil, Some Like It Hot,
Rio Bravo, Psycho, Spartacus, The Manchurian
Candidate, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, 2001: A
Space Odyssey, The Wild Bunch, Easy Rider, Young
Frankenstein, A Woman Under the Influence,
Close Encounters, Manhattan, Blade Runner, Sophie’s
Choice, Once Upon a Time in America (& West), Blue
Velvet, A Cry in the Dark, Do the Right Thing,
Thelma and Louise, The Usual Suspects, Breaking the
Waves, Gods and Monsters, The Truman Show, Fight Club,
Being John Malkovich, Almost Famous, Mulholland
Drive, Far From Heaven, Finding Nemo, Eternal
Sunishine of the Spotless Mind, The Constant Gardner,
A History of Violence, Before the Devil Knows You’re
Dead.
Just a few famous nominated, deserving include Grand
Illusion, The Wizard of Oz (good thing for Wizard they
had 10 nominees back then or it wouldn’t have made the
cut- GWTW, Wuthering Heights, Stage Coach, Mr. Smith &
Goodbye Mr. Chips all did much better than Oz at the
nominations, those would have been the 5), The Grapes
of Wrath, The Magnificent Ambersons, Double
Indemnity, It’s a Wonderful Life, Great Expectations,
Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Sunset Boulevard,
Streetcar Names Desire, Place in the Sun, High Noon,
Shane, Giant, Defiant Ones, Dr. Strangelove, Doctor
Zhivago, Virginia Woolf, The Graduate, Bonnie and
Clyde, The Lion in Winter, Butch Cassidy, MASH,
Clockwork Orange, Last Picture Show, Exorcist or
American Graffiti, Cries and Whispers, Chinatown,
Barry Lyndon, Nashville, Jaws, Network, Taxi
Driver, All the President’s Men, Star Wars, Apocalypse
Now, Raging Bull, Reds, Raiders of the Lost Ark,
E.T., Tootsie, Field of Dreams, Goodfellas,
Beauty and the Beast, Pulp Fiction, The Shawshank
Redemption, Quiz Show, Babe, Sense and Sensibility,
Fargo, LA Confidential, Saving Private Ryan,
Crouching Tiger, Traffic, Fellowship of the Ring, The
Pianist, Brokeback Mountain, and oh yeah, Citizen
Kane, which got only one award in 1941.
Erik Beck says:
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 11:31am
http://nighthawknews.wordpress.com/2008/06/10/revisiting-the-great-oscar-debate-of-2005/
I wrote the above article back in June, but everyone seems to harp on this issue, so I’ll post it here for anyone who wants to read it.
Also, Larry, take this analogy
If you refused to vote for Barack Obama, that means nothing.
If you refused to vote for Barack Obama BECAUSE HE IS BLACK, that means you are a racist (or at least committing a racist act).
If you refused to vote for Brokeback Mountain or Milk for Best Picture, that means nothing.
If you refused to vote for Brokeback Mountain or Milk for Best Picture BECAUSE THEY ARE ABOUT GAYS that means you are a homophobe (or at least committing a homophobic act).
As far as I know the only two people on record for the latter are Tony Curtis and Ernest Borgnine.
Choosing Wall-E for Best Picture and Mickey Rourke for Best Actor is their artistic choice.
Simone says:
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 11:31am
Ben, thank you for posting this (it should be its own post in the forums). I always believed that Crash was the ‘safe’ winner and that ‘Brokeback’ was too controversial and, just plain old G-A-Y for the academy to honor. To this very day I remained pissed and exasperated.
Kudos to you to Larry.
Ben says:
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 11:40am
Simone, thank you for the nice words.
Incidentally, I think Chicago and LA got it right, Wall-E was the year’s best film (though I haven’t seen Revolutionary Road yet).
Jonah says:
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 11:42am
I don’t mind people on these boards complaining about the historical shock that was the 2005 upset (it’s pretty undeniable, Ben, given your analysis) and I don’t mind people arguing that it won because of homophobia (it’s not an open-and-shut case that that was what tipped the scales, but it’s undeniable that homophobes in the Academy voted against BM), nor do I mind people arguing that Crash is a horrible film (one of the great joys of the Oscars is debating with friends which films are better, if only for the meaningless purpose of arbitrarily ranking “best”s if I can paraphrase Sean Penn)
What I take great notice of is people arguing that because I prefer Crash, I am a homophobic brute with no taste in cinema. There is, in fact, absolutely no correlation to be made.
Also, most importantly, these are MOVIES. There is absolutely no reason to get offensively bilious.
Hunter says:
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 11:47am
I sincerely hope that WALL-E get a Best Picture Oscar win, though I doubt it. Aside from that picture, THE DARK KNIGHT and IN BRUGES I can’t remember a year when I had no desire whatsoever to even see any of the potential BP nominees, let alone cheer them on. Coupled with the extremely likely possibility of a singin’n'dancin’ MC (shoot me now), I think I’ll skip this year’s ceremony. Hell, why don’t we all skip it, you can all be my guests in Spain for a Mamma Mia knees up and we can all get drunk and hope for a better year next year.
Sam Juliano says:
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 11:56am
Good Point Jonah. I am also a huge BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN fan who practically cried when CRASH prevailed, but enough is enough. I suspect “Ben” is the new name this year for “Bette” a bilious, and sometimes obnoxious (and pompous) film lover and historian who peddles the same facts and information year after year on these threads. This person, who assumes different aliases would at least be tolerable if he has once even acknowledged a compliment (I had “complimented” him several times without not even a word response) but he has his nose so far up in the air, that not even a kind word could be afforded that might compromise his singular agenda.
At this point in time, who really cares? You take these awards too seriously, and then like a four-year-old who doesn’t get his way you carrying on without any regards to self-dignity.
So what if BROKEBACK did win? What would that have really meant in the large scheme of things? I love the film more than I could convey (as much as you did) it was my #1 of its year on my year-end list, but years later, it’s all water-under-the-bridge. That endless post should be deep-sixed, we’ve all heard enough and for too long.
I remain on Cloud Nine after yet another critics’ group has now honored WALL-E with their Best Picture prize. Sadly, I think Pierre is right that it still is not likely to snare a Best Picture nod, but we can always dream. It’s the best film of 2008.
Eduardo says:
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 12:07pm
I don’t think Wall-E is going to get the BP nomination it deserves. It’s an animated movie, and I think that scares actors a bit, so they won’t vote for it (Sasha wrote something about a while ago, I don’t remember which post…). Years ago it maybe could have gotten the nom., but now that there’s a category specifically for Animated films, there is no reason for people to get riled and support. It’s just too convenient.
Still, I think it will be strong in other categories, and may up to four Oscars: Animated film, Sound Effects editing, Score and maybe Original Screenplay. I think it is the favorite in the latter category (is “Milk” Original?).
frederic lyon says:
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 12:08pm
I am still very surprised to hear that Wall E was the best film of 2008, but i may be too conservative.
It’s not that i am against cartoons, i take “Blanche Neige et les Sept Nains” as one of the greatest movie of the entire cinema history, but i doubt very much Wall E is of the same caliber.
Let’s see.
I am delighted to see Anne Hathaway having some recognition, she may have her chance at the oscars. I think she is a great young actress who has shown she is able to play in comedies and dramas, very versatile and never overacting. She is very good.
Let’s say i like her !
Tero Heikkinen says:
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 12:10pm
JP: Sweden might “let the right one in” next year, perhaps?
As far as I know, Let the Right One In was not eligible for Sweden’s entry since it wasn’t released in its home country publicly until October 24th 2008.
Academy rules for foreign language film state that “the motion picture must be first released in the country submitting it no earlier than October 1, 2007, and no later than September 30, 2008″.
So, foreign language films are never from one particular year when they compete at the Oscars.
Erik Beck says:
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 12:10pm
Actually, I think Wall-E will replicate the rat’s 5 nominations (Screenplay, Score, Sound, SE, Animated) and go it at least one better (Song).
humdinger says:
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 12:36pm
great site for the top 10 lists…..
http://www.moviecitynews.com/awards/2009/top_ten/00criticslist.html
Drew Roddy says:
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 12:37pm
I’m predicting 8 Oscar noms for WALL-E, which include:
Best Original Screenplay
Best Original Score
Best Sound Mixing
Best Sound Editing
Best Animated Film
Best Original Song
Best Director
and, of course, Best Picture
This probably could only happen in my wildest dreams, but it’s really not TOO farfetched (well, aside from the director nod, though Andrew Stanton could very well get in as the film is so director-driven).
All the other nominations seem feasible since either they are aspects of the movie for which Pixar has been recognized before, or that have been singled out in the precursors thus far. As far as a BP nom, the only thing holding it back is the animated film stigma that the AMPAS have lodged so far up their ass. Hopefully, with all this precursor love (and a crucial Chicago and LA BP win), that will change!
That, and it’s simply one of the best animated films to come along in decades.
Wall-E says:
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 12:50pm
Why does Wall-E drop from second on the tracking chart to seventh after SAG? Everybody knew that Wall-E was not goign to get a SAG nomination, so I don’t understand the drop. You’d think the lack of SAG nomination should already be priced in.
joesboxoffice says:
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 12:51pm
Wall-E still has a good shot on the outside, though I think it has a better chance at NIXON than KNIGHT. Revolutionary Road is DEAD!
lulu8888 says:
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 12:51pm
frederic lyon, I agree of your opinion of Anne Hathaway.
Vejay says:
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 12:58pm
So if WALL-E were nominated, would it be the first BP nominee to take place in the future??
Most of the other BP nominees (except namely Slumdog, TDK) are in the “not-quite-current-but-not-quite-period-piece” category.
red_wine says:
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 1:10pm
The Academy would need courage to nominate Wall-E for Best Picture and courage to not nominate The Dark Knight for Best Picture(only for Director, its Nolan’s film through and through). It is beginning to muster up courage for the latter but I hope it has enough courage for the former too.
Tero Heikkinen says:
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 1:15pm
Vejay, I think A Clockwork Orange should be considered as a futuristic film. Star Wars is history, LOTR is history – so, they don’t count, for sure.
The Natural says:
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 1:19pm
“A Clockwork Orange” takes place in the future, doesn’t it?
EDIT: Wow, you beat me to it.
red_wine says:
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 1:25pm
This current win puts the tally at
Slumdog 509858747404858595785959 wins
Wall-E 3 wins
Milk 3 wins
Button 2 wins
TDK 1 win
Drew Roddy says:
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 1:33pm
red_wine, I think both TDK and WALL-E are very much deserving–both are popular films which rest at the top of their genre and have driven the critics CRAZY. If they both make it, along with Slumdog, Milk and either Button or Frost/Nixon, this will probably be the most populist BP lineup in a very long time!
red_wine says:
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 1:37pm
I agree, for ratings purposes the Academy could do no better than to nominate Slumdog, Milk, Wall-E, Button and Dark Knight.
Jay says:
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 1:37pm
I hereby appoint myself leader of the Wall-E pushback. Sorry folks, I’m old school–the place for animated films is the Best Animated Film category.
I screamed and hollered over the Crash/Brokeback tragedy years ago, and I’m not looking to jump into the frey again. The Chicago critics were idiots and the Academy were idiots, but what saddens me is that even some gay people continue to diss Brokeback Mountain.
Awards, ultimately, mean s**t.
Bob Burns says:
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 1:43pm
Crash was one of the most critically acclaimed films of the year (ranked 6-8 on all the year-end top 10 list compilations). I admire it.
That said I was sorry it beat BBM, which is a masterpiece. But the main reason I am sorry Crash beat BBM is all the mind-numbing whining from BBM’s supporters.
Gabe says:
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 1:43pm
YAY!!!! I hope the Academy finally gives Kate an Oscar this year, even if it’s only for Best Supporting Actress! SHE’S ONE OF THE BEST ACTRESSES EVER! I’m rooting for her.
leonard says:
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 1:44pm
that’s not old-school, that’s just stubborn
Tero Heikkinen says:
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 1:48pm
I agree that Animated Film is where Wall-E should be put and nowhere else, that category was invented after Beauty and the Beast etc…
Otherwise, there should be more foreign films named for best pciture than there is now… if the category is really for BEST picture of the year. Yeah I know, it’s an American award and English language films come first…
Right now they are giving three best pictures (plus the four categories no-one outside these kinds of sites don’t know anything about) a year already…
me says:
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 1:50pm
Can we just try to live in 2008. Please! Enough of Crash/Brokeback.
Kyle says:
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 1:50pm
I’m with Jay on this.
Wall-E isn’t the best picture of the year, it’s good don’t get me wrong, but it’s not even Pixar’s best picture (which is still Toy Story by a country mile).
And I’m confused about the comment of “it would take courage to not nominate TDK”. How? It’s about as atypical a pick as they come. I would be absolutely floored to see either Wall-E or The Dark Knight nominated as the Academy is more likely to choose the same Oscar Bait-y schlock they always go with.
Sadly, I expect the nominees to look like this
Slumdog Millionaire
TCC of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Doubt
Milk
with one of the first two standing victorious. Personally though I would replace the snooze-worthy Doubt and Frost/Nixon with The Dark Knight and The Wrestler.
Wally says:
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 1:53pm
Yay for Wall-E, EWWWW at Kate Winslet win.
red_wine says:
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 2:02pm
TDK is like this big inflated balloon thats crushing everyone against the wall with its force, too big and too omnipresent to ignore. And with literally entire America breathing down their necks, it would indeed be courageous to snub TDK. It would be like the Academy saying, “take that all you fucking fanboys”.
But I’m rather surprised that it has been consistently cold-shouldered throughout the season with the Globes and SAG tossing it away without a second thought. But the Academy knows that whats the use of putting up a big show if people will boycott it(I’m expecting picketing lines in front of the red carpet if TDK is snubbed).
But don’t worry, I think its good for 7-8 nominations and very possibly a Best Pic nomination too.