We start the close of this season like we do every season with our favorite Iggy Pop quote, “it’ll all be over soon.” It always gets ugly this time of year. Someone has to take a hit in our world because the truth is most journalists hate, and I mean HATE Oscar bloggers. Not the nice ones, of course, but the majority of those with any modicum of self-respect. Okay, not really, but for the purposes of this article…it’s time to survey the damage of Oscar season 2008 – when the campaigns get rolling people get run over, careers that aren’t busy being born are busy dying and everyone has their claws bared. So now we get to the winners and the losers.
1) Kate Winslet as Nazi sympathizer. The Reader took all of the heat for taking the slot of The Dark Knight. Letters from Iwo Jima had squeezed Dreamgirls out of the running in much the same way: when voters think they don’t have to fight for a movie, or a movie isn’t as fresh in their minds, they often place it lower on the weighted ballot. The Academy should dump the weighted ballot because it doesn’t accurately reflect a film’s popularity; it merely tells you who is in love with what at any given moment – kind of like Facebook. Poor Kate Winslet. Here she is at the height of her career and someone apparently gave her the advice to go out there and get that Oscar. For a humble and hard-working actress to do that it would take some phony baloney Hollywood dance of the seven veils. And she did it, man.
On Sunday we’ll find out if it worked or if it was too much. Either way, she took a hit in the process, as they all do. Winning an Oscar seems like it could be the best thing to ever happen to you or the worst thing to ever happen to you. All of that good will generated for Kate all of these years as we watched her smiling from the sidelines, each and every time a loser, has vanished. We love winners. We hate winners.
2) Slumdog as poverty porn. I suppose that the perfect Oscar champion had to take some flack but the way they ripped out the belly of this beautiful creature was kind of tough to bear, and all because it was “winning everything.” The truth is that Slumdog Millionaire could have been held in any poverty-stricken region of the world and it would have been just as good. It was, as it turned out, a traditional story that did not need India. But being the frontronner makes people want to see you stumble. A few more weeks of campaigning and Slumdog would not be winning all of the Oscars it’s going to win on Sunday. It’s just the nature of the beast.
3) Benjamin Button as Forrest Gump – I maintain that only weak minds find the two movies to be the same. It’s true that there are similarities in the story and if anyone on the Button team had figured this out early on they could have and would have done something about it. The beauty of that film, though, I think, was lost in translation. It was the frontrunner before it was seen, that’s never a good thing. Even though we know this, we continue to follow the dangerous behavior of predicting films before they’re even being filmed, before they’re even written sometimes. Button was doomed to fail because of this. 13 Oscar nominations, though, does not a failure make.
4) Mickey Rourke as wife-beating, right-wing homophobe. Sean Penn was suddenly elevated to hero status this year because he played a hero. Suddenly everyone forgot it was Sean Penn. Mickey Rourke, though, will prove whether or not change is possible. The Searchlight campaign was focusing too much on Rourke’s comeback and something told me that he couldn’t win on that — for one thing, people don’t like him that much to begin with. For another thing, one part in a film, and even winning an Oscar, may not a comeback make. Hollywood loves a good story of redemption, though, and Rourke’s atonement for his past sins may be what finally wins him an Oscar. On the other hand, there have been many burned bridges over the years — and many think him a wife-beating, Bush-loving homophobe. You gotta love Oscar season.
5) The Academy themselves. Their choices this year have not won them any fans. They picked movies that have nothing to do with the average American’s life, only with the insular world of th awards race. Everyone is predicting doom for Sunday night. Meanwhile, Laurence Mark and Bill Condon have to put on a good show and working like madmen to get her done. Many people are saying they won’t watch — but I’m gonna bet people do watch. I think that the Oscars mean something when the economy is in the toilet, maybe more than ever. Wasn’t it during the Depression when audiences just wanted to watch rich people? Money anxiety will make many want to tune in to see all of those expensive jewels and dresses. The set itself looks like diamonds in a bottle. That makes me think people will watch.
The losers in the Oscar race always out number the winners. These losers are also winners. Therein lies the rub.
50 Responses for "After the Fall, The Damage"
Explain to me how Button isn’t the same story as Gump, and explain to me how I have such a weak mind for recognizing this fact. I’m sorry but it has the same idea, same tone, and same self-righteousness, but at least Gump had a little insight into the historical events the character was encountering. 3 hours of Button told me NOTHING. Nothing except that living your life physically backwards is kind of odd, but hey, at least you still get to appreciate the beauty of the world, and you never know what’s coming, and life is like a box of chocolates.
I have tried so hard to dismiss the idea that they’re the same film because normally those kind of comparisons annoy me (like Slumdog to City of God) but it really is the same film. And don’t tell me I was trying to hate it because nothing could be further from the truth as a Fincher/Pitt fan.
*sigh* Deep breath.
For me, Slumdog has unfairly taken the most damage, because it really is a fine film; it’s just not brilliant. And because it’s not brilliant, everyone resents its success. But you know what? Nothing was brilliant this year. Slumdog is just the best film of the five and you will never convince me otherwise. It may go down as one of the weaker BP winners but it will also go down as a fine entry into Danny Boyle’s remarkably versatile canon, just like Benjamin Button will be remembered as the work of David Fincher, a superb artist whether you like the film or not.
from the AP
[Two of the child actors from hit film "Slumdog Millionaire" are expected on the red carpet at Sunday's Oscars, experiencing riches
and glamour a world away from their lives in Mumbai's shantytowns.
But who wins a coveted golden statuette under the bright lights of Hollywood's Kodak Theatre is largely immaterial for Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail, who plays the young Salim, elder brother of the film's central character Jamal.
He has more pressing concerns. The city authorities recently razed his family's neighbourhood.
"My hope is that we'll be able to get a house to live in," the boisterous 10-year-old told AFP TV at the tarpaulin-covered lean-to he now calls home before leaving for the United States.
The money Azhar earnt for filming has already gone to daily expenses, said his father, Mohammed Ismail Mohammed Usman, who sells cardboard to eke out a living.
"The only thing that happened was that I became well-known because of my son. That's it. Nothing else changed. My kid became a hero and I'm living like a zero. This is my shack," he said.]
That’s what I’ll remember most about Slumdog Millionaire.
One thing that really gets on my nerves when reading some articles whether in American press or on numerous blogs is the fact that people keep talking about Kate Winslet having a “NAZI-sympathisizing”- role, The Reader would be a Holocaust or even better World War II movie -
Have you even seen the movie?
First of all, everybody who says this would be a Nazi sympathy/pity movie really hasn’t understood the book/script/film and secondly prove to be pretty callous.
I assume this overall topic is too European for you guys.
The protagonist, the boy who falls in love with the woman has no idea that she has been a guard in a concentration camp when he meets her, and he is indisputably born after WWII, so does the whole story begin. The trials are only a side role, first of all it is a love story. A forbidden, remniscient love under the radar of immorality and history,
what the hell makes that Nazi sympathy?
To say or write this is really blunt and shallow, it is even insulting to German culture and literature, as it is one of the best German new-period books, written in the early 90s – but maybe that’s all the beloved Academy Awards and their footlose followers have become after all.
And I am not meaning you in particular, but those who started to bring those terms around – and minorly those who pick them up and misconceive them without making their own opinion (my pity to those though)!
Sorry that needed to be vented for once.
Poor Mickey Rourke. It’s even sadder since, you know, Sean Penn used to beat the shit out of Madonna. Not that it has any bearing on the Oscar race.
I think the campaign is what bothers me the most about the Oscars. It really should never be a campaign (or momentum or who’s due) but who did the best. But I’m just a foolish idealist.
Poor people wanting to look at rich people is the exact same as people with low self-esteem watching porn all day. I pity those people.
Rahulio, you’re not alone.
I can’t wait for the next batch of Oscar hopefuls. This one has greatly tried my patience.
“Sean Penn was suddenly elevated to hero status this year because he played a hero. Suddenly everyone forgot it was Sean Penn. ”
GOOD! Who cares what he says about politics and punching photographers? Isn’t this about great work? He’s a great actor and the things he’s done outside of it shouldn’t matter if it’s about being rewarded for your work.
KLEINGEIST: Well said. The Reader is ultimately about love as being unconditional, even in the face of horror. It is not sympathetic to Nazis.
NOAH R: I agree, Slumdog was very good but not brilliant. I disagree, however, that nothing was brilliant this year. The Academy simply failed to recognize the brilliance in Wall-E and Edge of Heaven. I believe Edge was eligible for last year’s foreign-language film prize but they didn’t even nominate it, giving their prize to the very average Counterfeiters instead. However, I think Edge was eligible for Best Picture and other prizes this year, including Best Supporting Actress, Hanna Schygulla, who should have won. It was obvious from the outset Edge and Hanna would not be competitors, one of the many many (many!) problems with the increasingly irrelevant Oscars.
As for Los Angeles Film Crix Best Picture Wall-E, it joins other LA Crix pix like Brazil and Do the Right Thing that weren’t even nominated while they should have won.
I like watching great ignored films on Oscar night instead of the Oscars. So many to choose from. The Oscars have gotten it wrong since their beginning, and they have only gotten worse.
Do not worry about the rating .
Here are a few people who will watch this ceremony :
1 . WWE FANS :
They have hyped this a lot on WWE.COM and WWE Shows . Wrestling fans have LOVED the movie . They will watch it for Mickey .
Normally , they would not see the Oscars .
2. Indians .
They have started an Oscar countdown here .
Most of India is rooting for the film .
Monday is a holiday in India , I checked .
EVERYONE IS going to watch .
I mean it …. everyone . BANK ON IT !!
3 . The Usual Suspects .
I’m looking at you , Kris & Feinberg .
4 . The TEENS
Never underestimate the RAW power of MILEY CYRUS .
Jesus turned water to wine.
MILEY turns 30 mill to 40 million viewers .
5 . Casual Fans .
New movie trailers .
6 . Unemployed People .
Nothing else on TV .
7 . Indians living In USA .
8 . TDK / Heath fans .
This Includes Australia .
9 . Gays .
MILK .
10 . Indians living all over the world .
11 . Fat guys who have lost the remote .
12 . Families of all nominees .
13 . David Frost .
14 . Me .
I agree with Lin. We shouldn’t be recognizing anything but the actor’s performance. Sean Penn does seem like an ass, but he’s still a great actor and he gave a terrific performance in Milk.
…but I still hope MICKEY ROURKE WINS!!!!!!
“Sean Penn was suddenly elevated to hero status this year because he played a hero. Suddenly everyone forgot it was Sean Penn. ”
Am I the only one who thinks Sean Penn is a hero in his own right? He is in my eyes.
Of course not, Ryan.
What’s disconcerting to me is how extreme people sometimes become in their criticism of a film or an actor. Although one may not consider Slumdog, for example, to be a great film, how can you trash it in light of all the critical acclaim it has received? Same goes for Benjamin Button and others.
Button may bear certain similarities to Gump — after all, both stories come from the same creative mind. However, Fincher’s signature is all over the former film and sets it apart.
It seems we prop up stars and films just so we can tear them down. Doing so, I believe, feeds a vicarious thrill that the anonymity of the Internet makes all the more possible. The prospect of such behavior seems to seduce unhappy or discontented people into believing they can feel better about themselves.
And, by the way, I love Sean Penn, too — in spite of and because of whatever shortcomings he may have. The guy is just human, for Pete’s sake.
I think this is one of the unfortunate downside of awards season is how movies get unfairly attacked.
I think Benjamin Button and Forrest Gump are two very different movies. Gump is about Forrest coincidentally running into all these significant historical figures and events. He had an upbeat and optimistic personality, which led him into all of these situations.
Button on the other had is about a very introspective movie on Benjamin’s relationships with a handful of characters. The movie is about the people who make an impact on your life and to live each day to the fullest. It isn’t saying you have to be upbeat like Forrest, but that you shouldn’t let an opportunity pass you by. Also, it’s about the process of aging and maturity. Daisy is so ashamed that she has wrinkles, but Benjamin loves her and could care less about the wrinkles. This is because he is mature and loves her for who she is. Finally, the movie is about death and how we all have to come to terms with it. Death isn’t good or bad, it is what it is.
I like both of these movies for very different reason and do see some similarities. However, what movie doesn’t have some similarities from another movie? Every mobster film draws from previous ones, but they each have something unique about them. I think so many people hate Gump now that anything that is even remotely similar is going to be attacked. Especially since the same person wrote them. Benjamin Button definitely had an impact on me and I even saw grown men in tears at the end of the movie in my theater, so I will leave it at that.
Slumdog was a fun and entertaining movie that I didn’t particularly love as much as other people, but I will say it was unfairly attacked. Going after Boyle for not paying child actors enough was a low move that was also untrue. Also, that Slate article was appalling.
All I will say about The Reader is that people shouldn’t take movies so literally. It’s about German guilt and we aren’t supposed to love Hanna or even really sympathize with her.
I don’t remember last season being this nasty. I know Juno had some backlash, but nothing compared to any of these movies. I really hope this doesn’t happen next year or I will probably not pay nearly as much attention to awards season. Sorry for rambling, this is just my opinion and I wanted to get it off my chest.
I think so many people hate Gump now that anything that is even remotely similar is going to be attacked.
I have read or heard this so many times and it never makes sense to me: I really couldn’t stand Forrest Gump and I absolutely adored Benjamin Burron. And I find the similariities so superficial that they don’t even exist for me.
Ben, I love the idea of watching overlooked movies on Oscar Night. If only all of the films I can think of were on DVD by now. I would only watch stuff that didn’t get nominated for anything, cause that seems fair. So In Bruges, Frozen River, The Visitor, The Dark Knight, WALL-E, Waltz With Bashir, Rachel Getting Married and Revolutionary Road would be ineligible for this endeavor even though they were sadly overlooked in many categories.
I’m thinking Sunday would be a marathon of Synecdoche, New York, Tell No One, Let The Right One In, Gran Torino, Nothing But The Truth, The Edge Of Heaven and Gomorrah. Maybe not in that order though.
And believe me, it could be done. That’s about 13 hours of movie watching. Throw in an hour and a half or so for bathroom breaks, preparing food, phone calls to check on who won what etc. and you’ve got the full day.
Button also taught us that you will die some day, and there’s no way to escape it (a point he hammers throughout the film).
Should we really blame tha academy so much? Yeah, they were wrong to snub “The Dark Knight”, but even if they didn’t would it have beaten Slumdog? Sure, it would have been cool to have it nominated and it would have made the race morte entertaining, but wouldn’t it have become a moot point once it lost? I mean, in the end, isn’t the Best Picture winner the only one that matters? Few years are so good that all the nominees are remembered (1967, 1976 maybe), so shouldn’t we judge the academy by the one film it selects as the best of the year, rather than the whole group? By that measure, they will get it right, honoring Slumdog.
In a perfect world there wouldn’t be winners, olny nominees. Of course, then there wouldn’t be much of a point to this whole race. Someone has to win, and only they will be remembered.
Yeah, 2008 could have been one of those unforgettable years. But it wasn’t, and that’s normal.
I might even be tempted to sub in one or two of these movies (yeah this whole idea got me excited):
Boy A
Appaloosa
Snow Angels
Chop Shop
Hunger
Ballast
Dear Zachary
My Winnipeg
The Fall
Che
A Christmas Tale
Cassandra’s Dream
Speed Racer
Shotgun Stories
Paranoid Park
Flash Of Genius
Stop-Loss
I wasn’t tricked into thinking Benjamin Button is like Forest Gump. I’ve thought it since about one hour into the film. It’s good, but it’s far from original.
sean penn and mickey rourke have had similar demons. thanks for bringing up, rahulio, that sean used to beat madonna. he also recently was rumored to have cheated on longtime wife (and great actress in her own right) robin wright penn. he has had a drinking problem, been arrested, been violent, done drugs, etc. so to say mickey has been some sort of devil and sean hands are clean, is untrue.
but NONE of this should matter. its based on the performances people! and in my opinion, Mickey gives the better performance, and should win on Sunday
Very interesting read for me as I’ve completely skipped the hype and Oscar-watching analyses and just seen as many of the movies/performances as I could.
The only lead female nominated performance I’ve seen is Kate Winslet in The Reader, so I can’t compare it to the other nominees. While she is always good, IMO, this role just didn’t have the came depth as some (most) of her others…Sarah in Little Children, Clementine, and even April Wheeler…but perhaps it’s true,to the point of cliche, that AMPAS just can’t resist it when an A-Lister gets naked, uses an accent, and ages-put all three in one pic and throw in the Holocaust related theme, and Bingo! God bless Nicole Kidman…she pulls out of Mr. &Mrs. Smith and Angie gets Brad;she pull out of The Reader and Kate gets an Oscar? We’ll see!
To me, the most memorable performances of the year was Ledger as Joker and Penelope Cruz in VCB.
…still think Wright (Cadillac Records), Brolin (W) and DiCaprio all gave better performances than Pitt.
Oh yeah… can’t believe I’m saying this, but I liked Gran Torino as much as the prestige pics that made the cut…
“Ryan: Am I the only one who thinks Sean Penn is a hero in his own right? He is in my eyes.”
The roles of hero and douchebag are not mutually exclusive. I see him as a bit of both.
words of wisdom: WORD.
PS. You made me giggle and wee myself
At last people are not fighting.
“The roles of hero and douchebag are not mutually exclusive.”
you’re right, limeymcfrog.
I’m ok with his douchebag side, since I’m not unfamiliar with douchebag moodiness myself.
David Carr and I should arrange our own Oscar Symposium.
Carpetbagger vs. Douchebagger.
To # 9 WORDS OF WISDOM-I thought your comment was hilarious!
words of wisdom Fat guys who have lost the remote
wow….
also words. you forgot alot of people may tune in just to see kate winslet’s breast ™ /how many comments/ jokes did we have at a.d. post her/ golden globes win ?? and her breast have probably only gained momentum since then…
Pierre de Plume
What’s disconcerting to me is how extreme people sometimes become in their criticism of a film or an actor. Although one may not consider Slumdog, for example, to be a great film, how can you trash it in light of all the critical acclaim it has received? Same goes for Benjamin Button and others.
pierre,because we would have trashed it regardless.if this film just popped up got it’s round of reveiws and stayed in the ‘indie ghetto’.
would are trashing it seem as bad ???
hmm it’s just that the film is every where/you’ll find it everywhere so there’s more chances.and saying i don’t get the mania just 2 or 3 times is enough to get you branded a hater/ but hey again how many chances did we have ??? 600 million plus…
and a film’s critical acclaim.how is that supposed to stop us from whining???
and if slumdog didn’t get 3000 noms and had only critical acclaim i’m guessing you slumdog fans would be perefectly happy with that??doubt it….
a big difference bewteen this year/last year award season wise *for me* is that they’re are soooo many more people not as enthused with the choices/options. last year it seems it seemed/ i was gonna get mey head torn off for not doing cartwheels.this year it seems many aren’t throwing confetti…
and next year could we get a nom that’s not pushed as an oscar bait film from the two second mark/of us knowing about it. that’s all i want for christmas.thank you…
Ryan quote “Am I the only one who thinks Sean Penn is a hero in his own right? He is in my eyes.”
Yeah. you would. Sean Penn is just another “infantile” thinkers that hangs out in the Hollywood community. If that makes him a hero to some people so be it. But a hero to what people is the question that should be asked.
moviegoer09, Sean Penn achieves hero status in my eyes on the basis of a single letter to The Washington Post, 5 months before Bush invaded Iraq.
So if you want to ask what kind of person admires a man who tried to stop the destruction of hundreds of thousands of human lives, including tens of thousands of Americans who sacrificed their life for a lie, or came back maimed and mentally scarred for life, then I’m proud to say I’m that kind of person.
You say you Sean Penn is an infantile thinker who hangs out in the Hollywood community, and I’d say, So, just like you, except for the Hollywood part.
People who bury their heads in the sand because their favorites aren’t front runners are the ones who think this year races offer no choices therefore to their thinking the OSCAR show will be a failure. WRONG. I am thinking this OSCAR show is going to show strong TV ratings. There are a few exciting races to this years OSCARS and a few that aren’t lock including best picture and director to name just two and if any film in the last few years has OSCAR BUZZ going into sunday night it is “Slumdog”. Most people loved the movie and will probably tune in to see if it wins. I mean, the fricking picture is a blockbuster or will soon be recognized as one. No picture that I know has the OSCAR BUZZ going into sunday since TITANIC. Who knows maybe “MILK” will pull it off and take BEST PIC. Maybe the academy will make up for the “Brokeback” slight. Maybe vote splitting will make Brad Pitt and Angelina the first two married actors to go home with OSCARS. Then you have all the changes being talked about as far as the OSCAR show itself. Then you will have a smiling and feeling cheerful throng of Liberals filmmakers because they have a Liberal left winger as President. This in itself should make they happy campers on the Kodak carpet. AND I AM SURE THERE WILL BE FEW SURPRISES ALONG THE WAY…enough to make one take a peek just to see what happens…
KATE WINSLET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ryan.l..Well, I could argue the point with you as one could argue that while you point is well taken 25 millions of Iraqi lives are now living in a free society and free of tyranny and death threats and chopped hands and torn out tongues etc etc thanks to those you think died or sacrificed in vain but I will defer and move on. Oh, I forgot…let see what Penn and or you has to say now that Obama is escalating and continuing a WAR of HIS OWN in Afghanistan which surely will have thousands who will give the ultimate sacrifice.
Afghanistan is the ball Bush took his eye off of.
There’s no point arguing politics or Penn with you.
I don’t give a fuck what you think about either one.
Wallow in your delusions of failed Republican grandeur.
Now see. Ryan, You are no different than all those Liberal left wingers who can’t argue sensibly so you come up with your vulgar and demeaning tirade which show you have no valid argument.
“SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE ” should win the Best Picture. Not only because it is the best movie of the year but because INDIA is an ally and it deserves to be recognized as such.
Nobody wants to see us clutter up this topic with another dead-end head-butt, moviegoer09.
You’re entitled to your opinion.
You’ve expressed it.
I’m bored with it.
Let’s get back to movies. My only point is that Sean Penn doesn’t need to play a hero in order for me to respect him. I respect him for a lot of reasons, not the least his brilliance as a filmmaker.
“tirade which show you have no valid argument.”
What’s the point of arguing my personal feelings with someone who ridicules me for admiring somebody? I don’t owe you an explanation for who I choose to admire.
I would not be upset if Penn and Rourke TIED FOR THE BEST ACTOR OSCAR. They were both brilliant in their roles. I hope that JOLIE wins the best actress award. She gave a fierce and touching performance in “Changeling” a performance that has being underrated.
moviegoer09…being on a.d. reading the comments fly and maybe making a couple myself. seems soooo much more exciting than watching the oscars. but again i’ve never been an award show person.none of them…
I don’t owe you an explanation for who I choose to admire.
RYAN, I DON’T THINK I ASKED FOR ONE. You obviously missed the point.
“RYAN, I DON’T THINK I ASKED FOR ONE.”
I apparently misunderstood you:
“If that makes him a hero to some people so be it. But a hero to what people is the question that should be asked.”
I was trying to ask and answer that question for you, but I’m not getting paid to be Penn’s publicist. I simply like him a lot, on an instinctual level, and have great admiration for so many things he’s done. Not everything, but many things.
c’mon, MG09, let’s move on. Tedious as hell, these silly squabbles.
I wouldn’t be upset if Boyle or Van Sant tied for Best Director. Both did marvelous jobs. Cruz is my choice for Supporting Actress although I wouldn’t be upset if Taraji P. Henson won. She was great in “Button” but Cruz has being giving excellent performances for many years so I hope the academy recognizes her.
I wanna be bolder with my prediction, not like these boring critics! I wonder how much Harvey Weinstein paid so they can all bow down & predict Kate Winslet to be the best actress. Anyway, enough of this campaigning game, if you base it on performance, here are the winners:
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
Sean Penn
Meryl Streep
Heath Ledger
Viola Davis
Danny Boyle
Oh my goodness. Comparing Benjamen Button to Forrest Gump (which I still find entertaining) is like comparing The Reader to Schindler’s List… both are “Holocaust movies” that deal with guilt.
I mean, why stop there? I’m sure we could compare tons of Oscar movies to previous movies that have a similar premise. Does that mean that these films are not valid and should be dismissed? So silly.
1) ACTRESS Meryl Streep has gotten so many awards throughout her career, especially Oscars and nominees.
Doubt is a grateful role for someone of her calibre, being a theater play.
Playing Hanna Schmitz isn’t grateful at all, and Kate was left out so many times for a bunch of great films – so this should be honorary.
Angelina Jolie already has one, Meryl has two,…
So this is just being fair. And wow performance for “Changeling”, how much trash did Angelina play in the last years – smelled like money-roles only, but Winslet did small movies instead, with a great screenplay most of the time, so it is deserved – and overdue.
2) NAMING THE DEVIL: WEINSTEIN Once and for all, leave all your “Weinstein promotion”-gimmerish to yourself, and actually go see the movie, before you’re talking smart and big style. The Reader is a great movie, not the best, not popular with the simple man maybe, but artistically and historically precious. And all of those who are mad, because The Reader supposedly kicked out “THE DARK KNIGHT”, I’d rather odd Slumdog Millionaire or the lame Frost/Nixon movie out than The Reader. And secondly I must say, regardless of its hype, it’s still a fantasy comic action movie, and those always do hard, indeed it’s the best of that genre, would does it allow it a nominee slot?
It’s gonna be remembered anyhow – and it has sold enough as well.
3) SLUMDOG & ITS OVERRATED SYMBOLIC WORTH And by the way I think this “hope signification thing in financial crisis” tagged on Slumdog is really a little ridiculous… if Americans start comparing themselves to starving Indian street kids, just because there is some decrease.
Plus that movie isn’t good at all, nothing much but blunt, corny and shallow. And this will never ever “sweep”.
“Milk” should be the true political hope movie, the message for change! You should be proud about that movie, really, it’s truly amazing and along with Benjamin Button a real good movie with a deep; profound message.
Slumdog is a fast and furious MTVish modern fairytale popcorn piece, nobody will give a damn about it in a few years – all I can say is cheesy,
shallow and annoyingly clishéd.
They won’t get more than three trophies at best.
Sasha your Button cheerleading has really spoiled what has been excellent coverage of this years Oscars- so those who see similarities are weak minded?? It suffered because of the hype?? All the excuses but you refuse to consider the obvious explanation- that many see it as not that great a film. Why cant you accept this???
[...] • Sasha Stone surveys the damage of the Oscar season. [Awards Daily] [...]
that many see it as not that great a film. Why cant you accept this???
I do accept it — that isn’t what I’m talking about – the endless amounts of trashing have been odd and unusual. And I’m sorry the “button cheerleading” has spoiled things for you. You can’t agree with all of the people all of the time or else your site becomes nothing but a rehash of other sites. I found the piling on to Benjamin Button one of the many distasteful things about the season and if that turned some readers off, well there are so many other sites where the Button hatred was in high gear. I get the same shit every year from people if I defend a film that wasn’t so popular with readers. It was Flags of Our Fathers, it was King Kong, Gangs of New York, etc.
“Sasha your
ButtonDark KnightWALL-EThe ReaderRevolutionary RoadMickey RourkeSlumdogcheerleading has really spoiled what has been excellent coverage of this years Oscars”I can name that tune in…etc. LOL
why can’t they move the ceremony to March so that more people can see the little films that the academy insists on voting for?
Also, can they please change the rule and allow actors to choose which category they should be placed in. It would eliminate double votes that I’m sure people like Dev Patel of Slumdog Millionaire who probably got half nods for best actor and half for supporting and wound up with nothing. and it has forced Kate Winslet to possibly win for a movie that she was not nearly as good in (she should have been nominated for Revolutionary Road).
I think it would open up more deserving nominees to rise to the top if this occurred.
SGhwRY
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