All of the adaptations in this category were great and deserving. Sadly, one was more deserving than all of the others if you were looking to reward the source material and the screenplay. There were two, actually – Lincoln and Life of Pi and they night have actually caused the other some trouble. Argo is continually the only film people seem able to agree upon. And think about it. If you went down south or back east or to the midwest and you had a pile of awards DVDs Argo would be the one you know they would all like.
We ask the industry to deliver daring, provocative work and we hope that work then wins awards. The industry did deliver those movies and the more daring they were the more they got pummeled by critics, by protesters, by twitterers, by celebufans. They were everywhere, coming from all sides — and that made it really impossible for any film that was the least bit polarizing to rise to the top. So in the end, we don’t really want divisive work at all,not for Best Picture. What we want is gently entertaining movies that don’t ask too much from us. I hope that the box office proves what the American people want. The awards voters can’t get there but the ticket buyers can and I suppose there’s satisfaction to be had in that.
The movies were so good this year that they divided voters into groups. But clearly the biggest group has gathered around Argo and there isn’t a whole lot anyone can do about it. The Silver Linings voters won’t switch to Lincoln. The Lincoln voters won’t switch to Silver Linings. The Life of Pi voters won’t switch to Lincoln or Silver Linings.
But congratulations to Chris Terrio for Argo, a great screenplay. In the end, Argo will win what it can and those of us who really do love the other works can put them alongside all of the best works that never won. And there are many. The more I follow the race the more I realize that the kinds of films I love, and many of you love, are those that could never win a consensus vote. Vive la difference.
Next stop, WGA, which Argo will probably also win. Is it over yet?
Of course i meant Ryan above ;)))
[oh don’t worry. I was quick to fix that typo. Thanks. – Ryan]
Ohhh Ryan,
There is nothing “ugly” about you 😉 😉
And regarding ugly comments there is someone else that deserves that title today!
Ugggggh…I am sooooo sick and tired of Sasha’s obvious bias/dislike against Argo, every single f*cking time it picks up a (deserved) award. We get it…you’re a shill for Spielberg and Lincoln.
The narrative that this site is pushing—that Argo is only winning things because it’s middle of the road entertainment that pleases mainstream America, and that it is only winning things by default (a fluke) because the people who know what “true” film making are splitting their votes between “real” good movies like Lincoln and (LOL) Silver Linings—is transparent, cheap, boring, and wrong.
Your opinion doesn’t change the fact that Argo was the best movie of the year, and a better movie than Lincoln. Sorry.
@Ryan Adams, I’ll take it that you challenge one half the premise, but agree with it re: Sasha. 😉 Kidding.
I already mentioned above that you have always been the more considerate half, in case you missed it. Especially since I am off to see Side Effects, I admit I likely and unfairly lumped you in with Sasha, as you both represent Awards Daily as a whole.
My issue (as with my earlier comment directed to Sasha) is mostly – if not exclusively – with Sasha, it just happened you responded. And as I don’t want to pile on Sasha. I’ve in the past made my preference for your articles and response clear due to your wit and stronger analysis while being devoid of commentary; but that’s my personal preference. I can understand why people like Sasha’s commentary.
But maybe since I was away from a lot of these message boards for three months while traveling, since coming back, I forget how much name-calling and personal attacks arise over the internet. It’s not just disagreement on tastes. It’s like IMDb at times! Maybe that’ll pass after Oscar season…
I already mentioned above that you have always been the more considerate half, in case you missed it.
Kinda busy today, I confess I didn’t read your comment very carefully.
I might seem to be nicer because I get less shit thrown at me. I assure you if I had to put up with the vitriol that gets hurled at Sasha, I wouldn’t be so placid.
As it is, the worst insult I got today was somebody saying my comments were ‘ugly’
“Nominations for the likes of David O. Russell over Kathryn Bigelow is what happens when you invite Jason Reitman and Tom Hooper to join the directors branch.”
How are you not going to invite Tom Hooper, who won an Oscar for Best Director, into the directors branch?
Did his membership insure his own snub, yet allow “for the likes of David O. Russell” to get nominated?
…
“Because for once the DGA didn’t tell the Academy what to do. For once, the Academy thought for itself. And for once you got to look at the kinds of movies they really liked…”
So if Ang Lee beats Steven Spielberg for Best Director, is that going to be okay?
…
“…is it the more than five BP nominees?”
Yes.
…
“…the people who are involved (Kathleen Kennedy v. George Clooney)”
Sad.
…
“… if they abandoned this need to check off what they like, this endless “some movies you feel” way of picking a winner.”
What planet are we on again?
…
“Affleck… deserves better than to win in a half-assed way or a sympathy vote.”
He just deserves to win, period.
Nothing wrong with winning Best Picture, folks. Don’t let anyone convince you otherwise.
…
“…it will take about fifteen minutes for people say “it was good but it wasn’t THAT good.” Few movies can stand up to that test.”
People are saying that right now about Lincoln, actually. Sorry.
@Watermelons – Sorry, meant this year’s Oscars. Not 2013, this year coming has a good line-up.
@Ryan Adams – To be clear, since you clearly misunderstood, I’m not saying anyone IS an asshole, just acting like one toward the people who come here for you guys, and not to another website.
No one has a problem with you and Sasha defending or debating, but it amazes me how much you and Sasha have recently gotten down into the mud. The fact you put “any more rude” shows you misunderstand the issue, and are applying a false equivalence… Or perhaps don’t view yourself or Sasha as any more prestigious as a common reader – Which you should. People come here to read what you and Sasha have to say, not the other way around. It’s not the commenters who get referenced on the NY Times website, it’s Sasha and you.
JJ was making a subjective opinion about Spielberg (agreeably in a manner one would not phrase to Mr. Spielberg in person, but neither would anyone likely say to Affleck that he made a “mediocre” film). JJ did not say anything about Sasha, or her being an idiot. Now look at how Sasha responded to him: “idiots like you,” “In your fucking dreams, pal.”
Sasha and you have always had a sense of humor in posts and replies, so that’s not what I’m faulting either of you for. It’s why many people visit your website. But I don’t believe I’m the only reader who has noticed both of you have never responded to your readers before as consistently ugly as recently – especially over Lincoln. What I remember was always Sasha &, especially, your consideration of the person and their opinion, but also addressing any faulty logic or divergence in taste with humor and satire. And you’ve always been a good attack dog to defend Sasha.
That’s changed… maybe this year you guys are selling ad space to Zero Dark Thirty and Lincoln, so you can’t allow any bad mouthing of the films to appear on the boards… Maybe you just feel overly passionate about Lincoln and think its being unfairly cut down… Maybe increase in publicity of AwardsDaily has gone to your heads… Hell, maybe you’re both overworked! I don’t know. Right now, it’s like watching Republicans-Democrats in the heat of election season.
But I do know it isn’t your commenters/readers who will be effected not spending 15-30minutes/day on AwardsDaily.
But I don’t believe I’m the only reader who has noticed both of you have never responded to your readers before as consistently ugly as recently – especially over Lincoln.
I think you are wrong. I’m going to go ahead and say that’s false. And I challenge you to find examples when I’ve been ugly in responses I’ve made to anyone who’s made reasonable remarks about Lincoln.
In fact, I challenge you to find ugly remarks I’ve made to anyone who’s been an asshole.
You have a sense of me being “ugly” Jason B. Show me some prove of that. Otherwise, I’ll have to say: Bullshit.
When I say “Bullshit,” that’s not ugly. That’s pushing back as forcefully as I feel I’m being pushed.
Take your own conclusions…
https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/560147_10151710860297501_1897838023_n.jpg
under the old system there might be so much vote splitting that Le Miz could win!
Remember in a tight race* you only need 21% of the vote to win which is why voting splitting galore will give Alan Arkin his second Oscar.
* with Five nominees
Argo is a default choice because they can’t agree on any of the better films.
This reminds me of William Goldman’s explanation when Anna Paquin won an Oscar, “I’m voting for the kid, let someone else figure it out.”
“I wonder if Argo would get enough votes under the old system to win.”
hmmm, it would be much more easier to win in the old system (since you need to “buy” less votes) 😉
I wonder if Argo would get enough votes under the old system to win. I agree that the preferential ballot helps it a lot. However, under the old system there might be so much vote splitting that Le Miz could win!
Kushner is still my favorite for the Oscar. The best adaptation of the year, bar none.
Ben Affleck is already Ben Affleck. George Clooney is George Clooney. They already have millions of dollars and the connections to make their “pet projects,” which are already high-profile, high-concept films. If you’re going to go that route, the Benh Zeitlins should win because they need it more than anyone.
“What else would you expect from the United Screenwriters of Connecticut?”
OMG. looooooooooooooooooooooooooooool
The Life of Pi book actually has some controversy, many people (especially here in Brazil) blame it for being far too similar to another book. According to IMDB, Yann Martel stated:
“inspiration for the book’s premise came from reading a book review of Brazilian author Moacyr Scliar’s 1981 novella Max and the Cats, about a Jewish-German refugee who crossed the Atlantic Ocean while sharing his boat with a jaguar. ”
But it’s simply not so easy breezy. Since I haven’t read any of the books, I can’t judge, but I certainly wouldn’t root for it to be awarded.
Anyways, Argo ain’t no masterpiece, but maybe you haters could see it’s victory from another light. Ben Affleck has a promising carreer as a director, and the doors will be all open for his next projects. Wasn’t this way of thinking similar to Clooney’s and Soderbergh’s, when they made those Oceans movies? To get money for their more personal projects? Results brought us movies like Bubble, Good Night and Good Luck and The Ides of March. It was worth it (even though I’m really not a Soderbergh fan).
“I don’t think anyone will look back on this year and find any of the films to be masterpieces. It was a year filled with some ambitious films, but it seems right that a consensus film should win this year to represent that.”
I actually agree with this, just that Lincoln is the better consensus choice. And I’m not convinced from the Argo fans, who are the most vocal, that Argo is truly the “people’s choice.”
But for the most part, 2012 was a great year for studio films, a great year for ambitious films, and a great year for diverse tastes. But that doesn’t mean all the films themselves are great. Amour, for example — I really don’t think anyone is going to look back on that film and claim it redefined filmmaking.
I don’t think anyone will look back on this year and find any of the films to be masterpieces. It was a year filled with some ambitious films,
Am I missing something?? This year is not even through its second month! I recommend having some patience. There will be a new performance from Oscar-winner Kate Winslet (Little Children, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) sometime in 2013, so let’s not say we have zero chickens when there’s obviously an egg right there.
I wonder if reading DKG’s 900 page tome on Lincoln is what is swaying Sasha to defend the movie to the bitter end. I would be upset too, if I invested so much time reading a book only to have a magazine article win the Scripter.
Also, by reading the book, you have an advantage when watching the film, knowing all the backstory better.
Some movies are better to watch after reading the book. (i.e. Harry Potter).
What else would you expect from the United Screenwriters of Connecticut? Trash award, in my opinion.
I don’t think anyone will look back on this year and find any of the films to be masterpieces. It was a year filled with some ambitious films, but it seems right that a consensus film should win this year to represent that. Perhaps it’ll be an influential year to other and future filmmakers. To me, many pulled off stylistic feats that transcended their mediocrity. They’re respectable films from some great filmmakers, but their next films might be where their masterpieces might lie.
I think I’m going to sit the rest of this year off from AwardsDaily. Let Sasha Stone cools down a bit and gets less defensive. She’s gotten too rude to her readers, especially in her response to JJ. And I mention this to remind Sasha that opinions and debate are great — Being an asshole is not. (And yes, Spielberg’s endings protracted, but that’s a matter of taste, for me they numb any emotional payoff he achieves beforehand).
Let Sasha Stone cools down a bit and gets less defensive. She’s gotten too rude to her readers, especially in her response to JJ
How was Sasha’s response any more rude than JJ’s arrogant patronizing suggestion that Spielberg needs to be taught a lesson?
I think I’m going to sit the rest of this year off from AwardsDaily.
yeah, let me help you with that.
I mention this to remind Sasha that opinions and debate are great — Being an asshole is not.
So to sum up. Jason thinks it’s rude for Sasha to call JJ “pal” but it’s fine for Jason to say Sasha is being an asshole.
We get it, Jason. You think you should be allowed to spout any insult you want — because that’s how you “debate.”
But if anybody speaks up in strong terms in defense, we’re just assholes.
Look at yourself, Jason B. Look at your fucking self.
“It’s fun to speculate, but the only true judge of what will stand the test of time is, of course, time.”
And unfortunately a lot of people around here won’t be alive to find out if they keep letting their blood pressure go up on these Oscar decisions.
Stress kills!
“Sure Argo is not a masterpiece. Lincoln is not a masterpiece either. I can’t imagine it being studying in film schools from years to come. But you know what COULD be considered a masterpiece? Zero Dark Thirty, and perhaps even Beasts of the Southern Wild or Amour.”
I pretty much agree with this. In the decades to come, I don’t think either Argo or Lincoln are going to be considered the great movies from 2012, the movies that are discussed and taught and re-evaluated and popping up on Greatest Movies of All Time lists. I suspect The Master and Amour, and yes, maybe ZD30 and even Beasts of the SW, will be movies that grow in stature with age.
Then again, how do any of us really know what will stand the test of time? No one back in 1955 would ever have guessed that Night of the Hunter would have the place in the canon it has today. Back in 1958 Vertigo was pretty much considered a failure, even by Hitchcock himself. It’s fun to speculate, but the only true judge of what will stand the test of time is, of course, time.
People need to get over the fact that Argo wasn’t nominated for director.
It seemed to be the consensus around here that the Academy doesn’t vote with any sense of discipline when it comes to the Oscars. Why are we all of a sudden praising their decision to not nominate Argo.
Does the academy know what they’re doing when they vote? I’m guessing your answer is yes or no depending on if your favorite film was chosen.
If you are willing to back their decision to leave off Affleck, then you must also back their decision to pick The King’s Speech as BP.
Which is it? Are you for or against the Academy’s decisions? Or do you just choose those decisions that fit your personal desires?
It may be the preferential ballot rather than having more than 5 nominees. I still don’t understand the problem with every win being decided by a popular vote. I would think that The Hurt Locker, The King’s Speech, The Artist, and (assuming it does win) Argo would still win the popular vote, based on how well they all did with the guilds.
But still, I’d rather have the winner be the film with the most votes for it rather than the film with the fewest votes against it.
I don’t get this Argo love. I mean I can understand Hollywood patting itself on the back, but this sweep when there are so many great movies this year is really disheartening.
“I’ve seen this trend starting back with 2010…”
Exactly right, Sasha. That’s when I started noticing it too. It may have occurred the odd time in previous years but was never as pronounced and never became the norm.
Everyone now seems to wait for a favorite to be designated, then they all jump on the wagon, ignoring achievements in other categories (there is no way that Argo was the best written adapted script from 2012 – there are at least 3 others ahead of it in that line).
Long run, this can hurt Affleck. He botches his next film, then all of a sudden Argo’s fluke win becomes more glaring. Instead of being Ang Lee, he’s now Paul Haggis, seen after the fact as an undeserving member of the Oscar pantheon. There will be a lot of pressure on him next film out. So early into his directorial career, not really fair to him.
Extra discredit for this spectacle for marginalizing the accomplishment of the person who ends up winning best director.
Maybe Argo is reaping a perfect storm of guild love. Maybe the Best Director snub was a statistical anomoly. However, Argo bringing home Best Picture in a virtual sweep will be seen as the logical result of a pity party campaign strategy and less to do with the merits or legacy of the film. Short run, so what, Affleck is the king of Hollywood. L
One more note – like a few other films, such as Gandhi – I can’t see Lincoln aging well within the next years, or decades. Spielberg’s Schindler’s List casts such a higher shadow, as well as his previous works of the archetype Hollywood blockbuster, that Lincoln remains forgettable and perhaps not at all memorable. The lines are not quotable – except perhaps his “I am the President of the United States, clothed with immense power!”.
By 2014, we will see Lincoln as a good film, but was it the greatest achievement in filmmaking in 2012? Of course not.
“So you’ve got Russell Brand and Beyonce’s word against Scorsese and Fincher’s word. Who ya gonna trust?”
hmmmm, maybe Scorsese do not like Lincoln so much and therefore this motivates him to make a more entertaining movie about Bill Clinton. We dont know it 😉
And if Beyonce is part of AMPAS, it would not surprise me if she would ranke Lincoln over Argo.
“Argo is not a masterpiece and there are a couple of other films here that may one day be able to lay claim to that word.”
Sure Argo is not a masterpiece. Lincoln is not a masterpiece either. I can’t imagine it being studying in film schools from years to come. But you know what COULD be considered a masterpiece? Zero Dark Thirty, and perhaps even Beasts of the Southern Wild or Amour. These films are so personal to the directors, that the passion is so evident. These three – I can see being studying in film school within the future.
Thanks for the clarification, Ryan. That line doesn’t hold a candle to “Show me the money!”
“Ben Affleck win in a half-ass way or a smpath vote”
Sasha, with all due respect thats your label, what you think and what you want to believe. Possible??? Maybe Argo will win just because this year there are many good movies that they will all share the votes whle Argo will happen to get a few more votes than others. Also possible?….of course Lincoln could win in the same way as well. That wouldnt make Lincoln’s win a half ass win, would it?
Also it could be all about expectations. Maybe many people expected a much better movie from Speilberg about Lincoln while their expectaions from Ben Afflect was much lower and thus their satisfaction now. Possible yes?
Regardless of the result i believe Lincoln will stay as an important movie for the coming years….
Also it could be all about expectations. Maybe many people expected a much better movie from Speilberg about Lincoln while their expectaions from Ben Afflect was much lower and thus their satisfaction now. Possible yes?
Well the $173 million box office for Lincoln tells me otherwise. But yes, the way the Oscars work now is summed up perfectly in Argo, “this is the best bad idea we have,” meaning, in their minds they are choosing the least offensive, most comforting, least divisive film that can win. It’s not the best way to find the best but it is indeed how the Oscars work. Argo is a default choice because they can’t agree on any of the better films.
Maybe this will finally teach Spielberg to know when to wrap up his movies. He’s the king of protracted endings. They all should have known when to fade out: int. White House. Lincoln exits for theater.
What Sasha said — plus, I liked the ending of Lincoln. To me it provided sort of an emotional watershed and enhanced the film’s poetic, mythic quality. It gave me time to feel.
Having just seen Amour, could someone explain to me why it should win for screenplay? Sure the acting was brilliant and it was beautiful to look at, but my god I’ve never been in a theatre filled with more impatient, bored people. I have no problems with movies that are deliberate and take their time, but I had a lot of trouble sitting through this one.
I am very very happy that Speilberg’ Schindler’ s List didnt come out and was in the running for Oscars in last couple of years..imagine all the fact checking and scrutiny????
Sometimes I think the wisest people here are the ones who read others’ comments and abstain from putting in their own 2 cents worth (so yeah, I’m in the 1st bunch).
What we seem to be forgetting is that that most awards bodies, most notably the Oscars, don’t have a very good track record when it comes to honoring films that eventually become regarded as true cinematic achievements. Going further, it’s clear that many people here and elsewhere liked both Lincoln and Argo – not to mention most of the other nominees – when they were first released.
. . . Which is why all the polarization, bickering, and anonymous trolling seems rather pointless.
Some of the films not getting much attention right now probably will be the ones more talked about and more highly regarded at some point down the road. This is why I view these horse races more as anthropology than anything else. We can’t fight mother nature; let’s just enjoy it for what it is.
I was under soooo much influence of that scene where Lincoln walks in that hallway ( especially the way he walks, sooo vulnerable..kudos to DDL) i didnt even pay attention to the ending of the movie…in my mind it ended when Lincoln started walking away…we all knew that he was walking out for real…Still body posture of DDL and the way he walked aways..still breaks my heart
Ryan,
I see your reason. But then cant you say the same thing about other awards and wins. Maybe academy members will simply think that Argo deserves all the wins. Simple and obvious. No manipulation, no drama, no agenda. Maybe they will just think Argo is a better movie than Lincoln. Simple, isnt it?
On the other hand i still hope whoever opens the envelope ( Barbra??? Would they get her to the Oscars only for a song or give her the honor of announcing BP as well?) he or she will say only one word as the winner. …wait a minute..this year there are 3 movies with one word as their title…ok..correctin..one word that starts with “L” 😉
“So you’ve got Russell Brand and Beyonce’s word against Scorsese and Fincher’s word. Who ya gonna trust?”
Well, Scorcese and Fincher also chose David O. Russell over Bigelow and Paul Thomas Anderson.
Well, Scorcese and Fincher also chose David O. Russell over Bigelow and Paul Thomas Anderson.
Doubt that.
Nominations for the likes of David O. Russell over Kathryn Bigelow is what happens when you invite Jason Reitman and Tom Hooper to join the directors branch.
@Pete — Affleck’s career path looks pretty predictable. His next film is based on a Dennis Lehane book. Familiar, much? It would be more adventurous if he tried to direct a movie based on an Dickens novel or Cleopatra or Shaskespere (see Joss Whedon).
I really don’t understand how Argo is seen as undeserving. It was a tight, suspenseful, creative script that balanced humor, personal drama and real world issues. It was balanced, showing humanity in the Middle East and mistakes in the US. The story flows through several different locations with excellent pacing and excitement escalates well.
@Pete — I am willing to bet that Argo will not win in all the categories it’s nominated in. Argo’s score, though composed by my favorite film composer right now, will not win the Oscar. And as I’ve said above, Argo will not win two sound awards. It could win one. But will the whole Academy vote for it in sound. I think they will want to award other films in the technical categories. It is most likely to win Picture, Screenplay, Editing. And that’s more than enough in such a rich year.
Maybe this will finally teach Spielberg to know when to wrap up his movies. He’s the king of protracted endings. They all should have known when to fade out: int. White House. Lincoln exits for theater.
They all should have known when to fade out: int. White House. Lincoln exits for theater.
Trite.
Maybe this will finally teach Spielberg to know when to wrap up his movies. He’s the king of protracted endings. They all should have known when to fade out: int. White House. Lincoln exits for theater.
This won’t finally “teach” Spielberg anything. He doesn’t need to be “taught” anything, least of all by the celebrity obsessed reach-around popularity contest that is Hollywood. It’s a repulsive beast that is in no position to judge quality. You want sameness? You want vanilla? Well you got it, pal. You like a McDonald’s hamburger for your best picture winner because it is exactly how you like it, when you like it, and tasting just the way you remember it tasting. This is the most icky part of watching this shit show play out: idiots like you stepping up and thinking you know better how to make a movie than Spielberg. In your fucking dreams, pal. Maybe Affleck winning makes you think: hey, he just did something I could do. And guess what, you’d be right. But that doesn’t in any way equal greatness.
Well, Argo won. Not undeservingly, IMO. Not surprisingly also? So, if it wins the BP Oscar in the end it might appear to be a non-shocker, somewhat predictable to most people around here, I guess. But considering the entire awards season it will have been a rather unpredictable season.
I mean, we had Zero Dark Thirty pretty much sweeping the early critics awards. It was the smart, determined and edgy film. It was their “hero” – the one film all seemed to be rooting for. But then: Bang! Controversy arose regarding that film. Their “hero” turned out be the “bad guy.” So, they dropped it. And the second act unfolded. Everything shifted. We had a completely different Oscar race. And the remaining critics and the following guilds had to look for a new “hero”, a less complicated and more funny one. And they seemed to have found it in the form of Argo. But whether the usually decisive WGA chooses Argo next Sunday or not the Academy could still deliver us a surprising third and final act. In the end it might come up with an equally different winner.
To me that sounds pretty much like a script made in Hollywood. Something like Psycho meets Giants meets Rocky. I know it sounds odd. But here’s why I came up with this. First Psycho, where the female lead dies pretty early. Then Giants, which features a nice but edgy rancher being condescending towards a worker who then becomes the one being rooted for instead but again becomes obnoxious after getting rich quick. And finally, at the end of Rocky Apollo Creed wins the ultimate boxing match against the protagonist.
But who might be the Academy’s “hero” in that case? Life of Pi, Silver Linings Playbook or Lincoln? Will there be a third act at all? Who knows?
Anyways. However the odds are I will still stick to Lincoln. But strangely enough, right now I would have nothing against any of the other nominated best films winning the final golden statue come Oscar night. They all are already winners.
“it is by no means the travesty”
No, it’s not a travesty. But one very conventional movie winning all awards in a year of more diverse and interesting films doesn’t make the slog to the end very engaging (notice I avoided the “b” word).
The films we love don’t vaporize, but he expectations of a satisfying awards season does.
@Daveylow: I never said I put Affleck in the Wilder-Hitchcock class. All I said is he uses the same tricks those master-directors use. If you’re gonna steal, best to steal from the greats, right? Calling a movie manipulative is like calling the pope a catholic: it’s something you just can’t get around. And Affleck is proving pretty adept at it: I find him a very good director and if he continues to make movies as good as Gone Baby Gone, The Town and Argo for the next two decades (the first two get 3 stars out of 5 from me, while Argo gets a solid 4), he will deserve to be called a modern great.
Pretty sure that, if Amour was leading the race, all the local hypocrites would be complaining that the academy has lost touch, was being too arty farty and was punishing Lincoln for being more accessible.
Yes! Another win for Argo! The writing’s on the Oscar wall people! 🙂
Dont get me wrong, good for Affkeck here. But does he take this Oscar and try for the Boyle/Lee/Coen career path, or are we looking at Tom Hooper/Ron Howard part two?
Davey, I do think Argo runs the table now. It’s not a travesty if it does, but the “it’s not a pity party campaign” pity party campaign leaves a bad taste in my mouth, I think Affleck knows on some level his next film better be dynamite after this orgy of awards largesse.
Someone wrote: “Of course Argo is manipulative: ALL movies are. That’s the name of the game and all te great directors (Wilder, Hitchcock, Kurosawa, Clouzot, Spielberg) were masters at it.”
So now Affleck is among the greats? No way!!! Affleck was correct when he said at the DGA he was in no way as good a director as the other four nominated (well maybe he’s as good as Hooper but I don’t hate him like everyone else on this site does.)
My only consolation on Oscar night. I don’t think Argo will win the sound awards or supporting actor or music.
Argo is not a masterpiece and there are a couple of other films here that may one day be able to lay claim to that word.
But it is by no means the travesty that many of you are making it out to be.
So many people claim “Hey I am supporting film x, but I won’t badmouth film y to do it.”
And here are so many people badmouthing film y.
It’s a shame.
It’s not like the films you love will be vaporized into thin air.
OMG, like, Argo is the greatest movie of all time! It should win 14 Oscars!! Titanic and LOTR are so boring, but Argo is an epic and I cried ten times and the story was brilliant and there were so many plot twists! Ben Affleck is totally hotter than Warren Beatty and Kevin Costner! His acting was so great unlike Daniel Day-Lewis, who’s ugly and just plays himself every time. Ben Affleck for the Irving G. Thalberg Award AND the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award! And isn’t Alan Arkin the cutest?
I liked Argo like a lot of people but does it deserve every award under the sun when there were so many good movies in 2012?
This is the reason why some people are complaining. At this rate, what we’re going to hear on Oscar night–“I’m so glad I wasn’t up against Argo.”
Since it now seems clear that Argo will go seven for seven, how exactly did it miss Best Director?
Since it now seems clear that Argo will go seven for seven, how exactly did it miss Best Director?
Simple obvious answer:
400 of Hollywood’s most esteemed directors thought 5 other directors did more impressive work in 2012. The director’s branch of the Academy is fewer than 400 people, and they liked the work of 5 other director’s better. Simple. Obvious.
Other Academy members thought differently.
So you’ve got Russell Brand and Beyonce’s word against Scorsese and Fincher’s word. Who ya gonna trust?
Since it now seems clear that Argo will go seven for seven, how exactly did it miss Best Director?
Because for once the DGA didn’t tell the Academy what to do. For once, the Academy thought for itself. And for once you got to look at the kinds of movies they really liked, not what the mob prefers. But they will be overridden. Sadly.
I have to echo the “we’ll have whatever they’re having” attitude of the various groups this year – especially this year.
Not much you can do about it. Another groundhog day awards season. Somebody remind me next season to stop paying attention after the first of the year.
I have to echo the “we’ll have whatever they’re having” attitude of the various groups this year – especially this year.
Not much you can do about it. Another groundhog day awards season. Somebody remind me next season to stop paying attention after the first of the year.
Right? It seems even worse this year for some reason. I am starting to wonder if any film can win now if it has even a tiny bit of polarity or a single flaw. The chattering class attacks it like they do political figures so that there is no choice to award the safest and most conventional film. I’ve seen this trend starting back with 2010 — is it the more than five BP nominees? Is it twitter? I don’t know but when The Social Network won it proved beyond any doubt that a film could win EVERYTHING leading up to the race but the guilds had the power. This year, when Argo wins, it will prove that every Oscar precedent and rule can be broken because the guilds have the power. The guilds ARE the Oscar race.
IT’S RIGGED.
I miss Harvey Weinstein, that’s how ridiculous and disgusting this season has come.
This site may lose a lot of readers (never me!) simply because of how unappealing the Oscars have gotten.
The Oscars were always political, but they were never this blatant and never this unfair to OTHER movies that checked all the boxes (yep, Lincoln checked all the boxes for many if not most of us).
Argo – a worthy successor to Crash.
shameless flattery of Hollywood wins….
WTF Sasha. The worst news to wake up to. So Argo is the most moving and beloved film since Slumdog Millionaire, nay, an instant classic. The Affleck-Clooney ticket is so successful, why don’t they run for office already and let our Oscar race be a little more pure?
This just makes me glad he can’t win two Oscars, and I legit thought he was snubbed! History will not be kind to Argo though. It’s just a three-star movie. More of those win BP than you’d think.
This just started getting ridiculous.
I love Lincoln but I like Argo too much to feel sad about its winning path. By now, I just want DDL to win his 3rd deserving Oscar. The only one I could agree on taking this from him is Joaquin Phoenix, but I will be very disappointed if DDL won’t take this one because the academy is so simple minded.
Lincoln continues to be my favorite film of 2012. No mainstream awards, won’t change that.
Sasha, and Ryan, thank you for all the coverage this year. I’ve been reading your site for a long time but only this year, after I saw Lincoln at the NYFF, I felt compelled to comment a bit because I think Lincoln is worthy of the love some of us have for it.
I’ve been in love with film/movies since I was a little girl in Brazil watching American musicals on TV alongside my dad, who was a very good dancer and considered himself a Fred Astaire disciple (I was a Gene Kelly fan). This love took me to film school and to the USA. And this love too was challenged by the reality of the “business of filmmaking”. I gave up on the “business”, but I will never give up on the magic of film.
Thanks again. I hope another disappointing year won’t take your passion for “the magic” from us.
I read your site daily because it is the most all-inclusive awards site currently on the web. Usually, you show little favoratism, but recently it has become a Lincoln fansite. I loved Lincoln too but the fun is watching the race ass it is, a race. It clearly has become personal for you Sasha, and it not only takes respect from deserving winners but it also takes the fun out of the race.
@Paddy – This year it is industry vs Academy. Argo is a well crafted feel good American movie with a decent script but it has lost of cliches. I am not saying cliches are bad but it is simply not BP material especially if you have films like Amour, BOTSW and even Lincoln under your belt. So Academy had quite a lot of choices during the nominations stage and ultimately Affleck lost ground directorial wise which is quite normal in a year like this.
@TJK: Of course Argo is manipulative: ALL movies are. That’s the name of the game and all te great directors (Wilder, Hitchcock, Kurosawa, Clouzot, Spielberg) were masters at it. Succesful manipulation in film should be applauded,not sniffed at! And about the ‘dishonesty’: remember the great line from The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence (and echoed in Lif of Pi): When the legend becomes truth, print the legend.
Please accept my correction: I meant to write Pearl White (Perils of Pauline, etc.) serial.
Turn off the lights, the party is over.
Argo will win
Best Picture, Adapted Screenplay, Supporting Actor, and Film Editing.
There’s your four Oscars right there. Not bad.
The WGA are going to eat up all the WGA references in the movie with a spoon.
Kushner now has no chance. What a sad state of affairs this is.
Argo will not hold up over time. The screenplay is extremely manipulative and dishonest. The end is as phony as a Pearl Buck serial where the heroes escape through outlandish last minute luck. This never happened. it is sad to see popularity win over quality, but that is nothing new in Hollywood. United 93 won little recognition of significance, but it will probably become the first great film of the new millennium.
Note to Sasha: you loved Argo. Don’t hate on it because you loved Lincoln more. IMO it’s better than the last two BP winners at least.
And people should stop pretending this is just about Afflecks BD snub. They love this movie guys, accept it.
And Sasha you picked it all the way back when you saw it !
BP winner will take the adapted screenplay this year. If it is Lincoln, then Kushner will win the adapted screenplay. If it is Argo, Terrio will take it.
I am not saying all these awards do not mean anything Oscar wise but it is clear the industry is trying to force the Academy to do something else that they may not want to do. All these precursor over-support for Argo is not a goog sign for its BP chances as the Academy might react oppositely as we have seen in previous years.
If Argo loses to any film now on Oscar night, it’ll be a surprise of Crash/Brokeback proportions. How is it possible that a film without a director nomination can be this far in the lead?!?
I’m really getting fed up with the argument that Argo is a good movie an ‘the more enjoyable film’ but that Lincoln has more gravitas and therefore ‘deserves’ to win the Oscar more. Well, here’s a newsflash for all of you: it is INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT to write an entertaining movie that pleases both critics and the casual moviegoer. Everyone is always bitching about the fact that the Academy doesn’t take lighter stuff more serious (hence: the lack of comedies winning the big award) and now that it looks like it will embrace the craft (I would even say: the essence) of filmmaking, everyone is up in arms again. For the record: I think Tony Kushner did an amazing job bringing the rarification of the 13th Amendment to life, but the reason Lincoln is such a great movie has more to do with casting, with Spielberg’s direction and Michael Kahn’s eye for timing. But Chris Terrio just wrote the better screenplay: one even the worst of directors (Affleck being a great director, for the record) wouldn’t be able to f— up, which is not the case with Kushner’s script. And to all the people dishing on Argo as being a trifle: so was The Purple Rose of Cairo, North by Northwest, Bringing up Baby… All movies that at the time were deemed ‘not important enough’ to win an Oscar and look how they have endured! In these types of discussion I am always drawn to the brilliant lesson Sullivan’s Travels teaches us: that the truly great movies aren’t necessarily the ones that make us think, it’s the ones that make us feel. I absolutely adore Lincoln as a movie, but (by a whisker, mostly due to it’s thighter screenplay) I prefer Argo.
I absolutely adore Lincoln as a movie, but (by a whisker, mostly due to it’s thighter screenplay) I prefer Argo.
And that is probably the single most important reason why I hate Oscar season. Winning Best Picture should be about more than that. Liking something over a short season does not deliver a lasting legacy for film awards. It is a snapshot in time. If i’ve tried to do anything in the 14 years I’ve been doing this it’s to try to alter this mentality. It was briefly altered, but it took Crash winning to wake people up. THen we had thoughtful, interesting winners but now we’re back to the same old shit. Level of difficulty, depth of subject matter, the people who are involved (Kathleen Kennedy v. George Clooney), the point they are in their career, what their film is saying about our lives now — thoughtful people who get there if they abandoned this need to check off what they like, this endless “some movies you feel” way of picking a winner. It has to be about more than what you, Griffin Mill, likes. Sorry, but it just does. This win will look terrible two years out and the movie does deserve better. Affleck is such a good, promising director he deserves better than to win in a half-assed way or a sympathy vote. Let him win legitimately and let him win with a director win attached. Let him still have somewhere to go with his career before he’s given a crowning achievement on his third movie. The second he wins for Argo it will take about fifteen minutes for people say “it was good but it wasn’t THAT good.” Few movies can stand up to that test.
Lincoln might not have been daring enough, Life of Pi too much so. Easy to see everyone agrees on Argo instead.
I’m not on camp Lincoln. Not on camp Argo either (my camps aren’t where the action is – Zero Dark Thirty rocks!) BUT this is getting ridiculous. I’m usually amused by surprises BUT tonight they denied not only Kushner and Goodwin, but they denied a terrific work of non-fiction and a terrific script. And I don’t believe the Academy will change that. These are the people who voted for Ron Howard in a year when Altman and Lynch delivered terrific films.
Remember when everyone thought this awards season will be the most open in years because of all the high quality films 2012 had?
Yeah me neither.
I’m not overly-concerned as of yet. The Scripter award has only matched the Oscar for Adapted Screenplay a third of the time, whereas the WGA’s choice for Adapted Screenplay has matched about two-thirds of the time since the mid 80s when they settled down to the two standard categories (though, if you look at the more recent years, it matches up much more). So I’ll consider the WGA’s decision the final word on the matter going into the Oscars. As I said, hopefully they’ll have more sense than these Scripter people. I’m not a huge supporter of Lincoln, but it is a much better film than Argo (and Lincoln’s screenplay is much better as well).
The awards race is over. No need to even watch the academy awards this year they will give it all to Argo like they have been up to now. This has to be one of the worst years in awards history with all those great movies, they keep giving awards to the king of mediocrity Argo, what a travesty.
ehhhh. Mediocrity rules.
Well done to Argo. Great,tight script. I would have been fine with Lincoln or Life Of Pi winning too but Argo was the movie I enjoyed the most.
Funny how the consensus on this site is always transposed to being the general consensus of movie-lovers everywhere, when it clearly isn’t.
I LOVED Argo, I think it was an excellent film with an excellent script…and I am not even sure I loved Lincoln MORE, but I do believe Kushner’s screenplay IS probably the best of the last decade and though it isn’t Terrio’s fault that he is up against such devoted brilliance, nor am I saying his work isn’t Oscar-worthy, still when all is said and done, if anyone BUT Kushner wins the Oscar, it will be disappointing, even if the eventual winner will be at least a decent pick. My two cents.
LOL @ people acting like Argo is Crash redux.
After losing the scripter, which prizes itself in considering the quality of the source material as well as the script itself, I’m just wondering if Hollywood’s antipathy towards Spielberg and Lincoln could extend so far as to deny DDL his third trophy for Best Actor. Unlikely, but of all the awards this season I thought this would be a shoo-in for Kushner and Lincoln.
“Poor people…
Look like a crying child in the cradle…”
Have mercy on them! They spent so much time on dreaming.
I guess switching yes to no pays the price in the end.
“If Argo wins BP, how long before everyone is like, “Oh, wait, that was a really shitty pick, what were we thinking”?”
Won’t take long at all. The film will be forgotten within six months, even faster than The Hurt Locker. You wouldn’t believe how many people I’ve had to remind about THAT. It seems that for every great movie or two we have win BP, we have to have something forgettable like Argo.
I don’t understand the obsession of Lincoln being the superb screenplay in the last ten years – because Beasts of the Southern Wild was clearly far more deserving and the best of the nominees. It’s just so overshadowed by Spielberg’s melodrama biopic and the exceptional Argo.
@Ian: LOL. I just found Sam’s comments on Lincoln:
“I didn’t need the assassination at all. Unless he’s going to show Lincoln getting his brains blown out.”
@Mark F: I have never thought Lincoln would win Screenplay. 99% sure it’s Argo’s to lose. If not, Silver Linings Playbook. I have ZERO idea who will take Director, though I don’t think it will go to Spielberg. For some reason, I think it will go to Haneke. The only person I think has no shot is Russell.
If Argo wins BP, how long before everyone is like, “Oh, wait, that was a really shitty pick, what were we thinking”?
“The movie about nothing”?
“Mediocrity”?
“Joke?”
Poor people…
Look like a crying child in the cradle…
Booooooring…
“I am surprised at this win for Argo” — that’s because you’re living in this bubble and do not see what’s going on here. Argo is the film people can all agree on.
Congrats to Chris Terrio for a well deserved award. Even if you preferred Lincoln, it’s a good script. I can’t see any movie but Argo winning Best Picture at this point, but I still think Spielberg gets Best Director as a consolation prize. However, I’m starting to think Ang Lee has a chance there.
I still believe Tony Kushner will win the Oscar but I am surprised at this win for Argo. These people are taking the Affleck snub too far. Come on now the man is rich, handsome, successful with a beautiful wife and adorable children. The only thing suffering is his bruised ego. He is not some poor orphan child in need of our pity.
GO, TERRIO, GO!!!!
GO, ARGO, GO!!!!!
😀
Wow, this all has gotten predictable…..after there was a small window of hope for things being scattered left and right–the element of surprise is gone.
Someone says bring on February 24th? It seems like February 24th, 2013 already arrived.
Anyone with a time-travel/parallel dimension joke please insert it here?
Thank goodness I enjoyed all the flicks so much while seeing flaws in each and every one at the same time. Well, I hope to do something about not having seen Amour–by this time next weekend. But hey, I can actually speak completely aware and honestly about all the other eight I’ve seen.
Argo is a damn good film. So is Lincoln. Argo just feels like a frolic in comparison to the other since Lincoln bathes in its own gravitas. (I’m saying ‘feels’–not ‘is’). AMPAS goes one way one year, and another way the next. The Artist is more of a frolic on the surface; The King’s Speech is more “gravitas” but with some fun–you could say.
At this rate the only disappointment I have is not having seeing Amour yet, but that disappointment will end soon.
ps: maybe i shouldnt have use the word “lovers” what i meant was people who are passionate about lincoln , i liked it well enough but i cannot honestly say it evoked a passionate response in me!
but since i do know what its like to passionately support a film as i did for
“the king speech” and boy was i ever enthusiastic about it , i can certainly try to understand the disappointment of lincoln passionate supporters
i’m still not sure i believe ARGO will win at the oscars, or maybe its just a case of preparing for the worst and expecting the best, as many have said there’s still time for a shift in the race…
I’m with Yvette and Antoinette – with so many great movies to choose from this year, it is baffling that any ONE film is deemed better across so many groups. Is it fashionable to just follow? There is an embarrassment of riches this year, now it’s just plain embarrassing.
“By each award won and every recognition, Argo births its future.”
Bring on Feb 24th!!!
Okay now while I know you don’t want to hear me say this Sasha, having read both scripts, I felt Argo was the better script than Lincoln. That said, I give Kushner a heck of a lot of credit for his mastery of the dialogue of Lincoln, especially picking up the nuances of the speech of the time period. The thing with Lincoln is I think Kushner went off on too many tangents that detracted away from the main story of passing the amendment. The side story about Mary Todd, the side story point with Joseph Gordon Levitt, having the movie go on longer than it needed to with the assassination at the end (see Samuel L. Jackson’s comments). It makes for a good biopic, but it detracts from the primary storyline and THAT is one of the big reasons I think Argo is winning and will win the WGA tomorrow and the screenwriting oscar in 2 weeks. Because Argo keeps going. Argo is 100% focused on the primary story from beginning to end with no distracting subplots or things that are ultimately irrelevant to telling the main story.
Okay now while I know you don’t want to hear me say this Sasha, having read both scripts, I felt Argo was the better script than Lincoln.
I’m sorry did you think I would care about that? Look over there in that corner, that’s what is called YOUR OPINION. See that over there? That is MY OPINION. I read both scripts. I like Argo but it’s too Screenwriting 101 for me. Part of the problem I have with Oscar season is that movies have to be dumbed down to every level to win. There is nothing that intrigued me about Argo. It was all gotten in one go. And it’s the kind of screenplay you read about in screenwriting books that checks every box – hero who is being underestimated? Check. Helpless females who need rescuing? Check. Funny old Hollywood codgers with a snappy ’70s soundtrack? Check. It’s a formula and it works. But I have a curious mind. I like to be taken to new places by writers who don’t insult my intelligence by making everything too easy. Why do you think I love David Fincher and the Coens? David Lynch, Hitchcock, Orson Welles — and this year, Amour, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Zero Dark Thirty and above all Lincoln are films I can dive into and still never get everything about them even the third time I see them. I call Lincoln a masterpiece because it is just that: a piece by a master filmmaker. Argo is a very good film but like the King’s Speech it isn’t good enough to beat these other movies. That’s just the simple fact of it. But I have to be okay with that and embrace my own taste not matching the taste of the ass-kissing awards community. I am getting more and more okay with it. The desire to see the best film win is fading and indifference is taking its place.
i feel deeply for all lincoln lovers…you were so sure and why not?…
congrats to ARGO very happy for everyone involved getting recognition at one award or the other! i’d like to think no one is forcing these people to vote for Argo or else fear for your life…so if they do it just means more people liked ARGO best ,it doesnt mean people didnt like LINCOLN …
in all the years i’ve followed awards i can say an overwhelming majority of the time 90% the film i was passionate about didnt win, lucky enough 50% of the time said winner was a strong second or third on my list to win ! and well if you can at least walk away with one or two categories satisfaction then its not a complete waste 🙂
i feel deeply for all lincoln lovers…you were so sure and why not?…
The Scripter is supposed to honor both the source material and the script. It no longer can say it does that since Argo was very loosely based on a magazine article and then they threw in Tony Mendez’ book at the last minute. Give me a break – sure is the wrong word, though. I was dreading an Argo win but remain stunned that the Scripter would do it this way — what about Life of Pi and Beasts of the Southern Wild? Yeah, this is probably the last year I will cover the Scripter.
“Precious” is the only recent precedent for a surprise in the adapted screenplay category when there is a clear cut frontrunner based on almost all precursors. “Up in the Air” was winning every single adapted screenplay award leading up the Oscars and was considered one of the safest bets for the Oscars. Then Precious won. So yes its silly to predict “Argo” WON”T win at the Oscars (unless another script wins at WGA). BUT there is still room for an upset at the Oscars and I think its down to Lincoln or Silver Linings to win. Im personally hoping Silver Linings wins but I won’t be upset at all if its Lincoln which is an absolutely brilliant script. Argo is definitely good. Its Funny, tense, engrossing. Its a great script so its not undeserving but I do think there are MORE deserving Scripts out there. Hopefully one of those wins on Oscar night.
I’m not surprised about this win.
The Argo script is good, with lots of popular appeal, but I wish Terrio hadn’t used the “Argofuckyourself” line so much as it gets a little old.
I’ve agree with some of this group’s past winners – and disagreed with others:
Up in the Air (Precious won the Oscar)
Children of Men (good choice)
Slumdog Millionaire (not the best choice but I was OK with it)
Capote over Brokeback Mountain and A History of Violence (not so good)
Million Dollar Baby (not so good)
A Beautiful Mind (not so good)
A Civil Action over Gods and Monsters (not so good)
I figure I lived through 8 years of Ronald Reagan, nearly 8 years of Dick Nixon and 8 years of George W. Bush. I can handle this.
It looks like the WGA may follow suit — but we’ll see.
The Argo script is good, with lots of popular appeal, but I wish Terrio hadn’t used the “Argofuckyourself” line so much as it gets a little old.
It gets old on first viewing. Watch Argo 3 times and see how stale it gets.
That crack is not Terrio’s creation. It was a throwaway line in the memoir by Tony Mendez.
But Mendez was smart enough not beat it to death by repeating it a dozen times like it was the wittiest wordplay of all time.
This is a joke, right? Argo winning the Scripter over Lincoln? What a load of BS. Kushner’s work is indeed better by a large margin. I’m still trying to figure out what it is about Argo that is impairing the judgment of all these groups. Hopefully the WGA will have better sense than that.
On a sidenote, that had to be the worst awards ceremony I’ve ever seen. I came in and out as it was going on, so I didn’t waste time watching the whole thing, but I’ve never seen such a pointlessly stretched-out ceremony in all my life. By the end of it, I believe they must have thanked every single person in the room (and half the population of the planet) by the time they finally ended. They had two awards (at least from what I saw). Present them and stop wasting everyone’s time!
I’m surprised that any movie is dominating this year. I guess we know why so few original ideas come out of Hollywood nowadays. They just think what the other guy already thought.
This is getting stupid. Seriously….of all the films that could have swept this year.
The least imaginative, least provocative, least original.
UnFuckingBelievable. Almost anything else would have made more sense.
Mediocrity: the great uniter.
Just going to repost what I wrote on here when Ben Affleck won the DGA.
Meh.
Original Screenplay: Michael Haneke (Amour)
I’m all for “ARGO”. “LINCOLN”‘s script comes SO close for me, but I think its marred by those last 5 minutes. “ARGO” was tight, crisp, and tense and, like “DJANGO UNCHAINED” (my choice for Original Screenplay), I cannot think of anything I would take out of it.
This isn’t surprising, Argo is a consensus film. This is going to benefit it even more in a preferential ballot at the Oscar. What AMPAS member is seriously going to be Argo 9th? Everyone involved in Lincoln in the Academy, other than, nope. It’s about Hollywood saving the world, people!
Words cannot describe how disturbing this is and it also why I do not follow awards season anywhere near as much as I used to. Read the tea leaves sasha it over for Lincoln. Fir awards season. Ironically it the film that majority want to win. R.I.p. awards season glory days. Hail to the detestable neglectful disgraceful side of awards season- not!
Sasha, have you seen the indie film that Chris Terrio directed? It’s called Heights (2005) with Elizabeth Banks, James Marsden, the formidable Glenn Close and Jesse Bradford? Quite a nice little film, actually…
I don’t care what the consensus from the majority of readers on this site is: I’m totally fine with things going Argo’s way.
Embarrassing.
Cool, another award for the movie about nothing!
Bummer. But hardly unexpected. Kushner is tops here by quite some distance.