With the Christmas shopping season fast approaching, Amazon.com is sending out millions of promotional emails featuring their “Editor’s Top Picks” of the best movies, books and music of 2010. They naturally only list the films that they can sell, and that means movies already or soon-to-be available on DVD & Blu-ray. THR wonders how this spotlight showcase might impact awareness of several prominent Oscar contenders, providing the thrust of a second wind at a crucial moment in the race.
Of all the Oscar season awards, this week’s Amazon.com Best of 2010 Movies & TV Editors’ Picks, emailed this Monday, are probably the most ignored by movie cognoscenti, despite the vast audience they reach. But could those innumerably huge e-mails and page views affect the Oscar race?
(Of course many of the “Best on DVD” are titles from 2009 and not relevant to the discussion. So I’ve culled only this year’s titles from Amazon’s two most significant lists.)
- Winter’s Bone
- The Kids Are All Right
- Greenberg
Roadside Attractions co-president Howard Cohen says the old-fashioned screener mailing to Academy, DGA, SAG and other guilds is still the most important Oscar-boosting push. ‚ÄúWe sent out over 10,000 units two weeks ago. That‚Äôs really where you impact the Oscars. You don‚Äôt wait for ’em to buy it on Amazon.‚Äù
Cohen looks at Amazon in the whole context of Winter’s Bone’s marketing strategy. “The timing of the release in June and in October on DVD in hopes it would get another bite of the apple has certainly proved to be true.”
…‚ÄúThe way movies come out in all these media at once definitely impacts the Oscar race,‚Äù says Cohen. ‚ÄúI do think it’s a boom. You just have to look at it holistically. 600,000 people saw Winter‚Äôs Bone in theaters. Maybe more could watch it in the aftermarket.‚Äù
- Inception
- Toy Story 3
- How to Train Your Dragon
- Shutter Island
- Kick-Ass
Another factor to consider: I wonder if Academy voters don’t settle for bare-bones screeners when they can get the deluxe high-def editions of major movies for home theater viewing.¬†¬† Even speaking for my own broke-ass self, I’ve already upgraded my freebie screener of Winter’s Bone to pristine Blu-ray quality.¬† Surely Oscar voters don’t rely on basic PR discs emblazoned with “Property of …” warnings to stock their personal film libraries when the glossier HD versions are readily available.
One thing all these movies have in common is they’re absolute beauties in 1080p, and seeing that gorgeous production design and cinematography close up on a 55-inch screen can only enhance the final impression the films make on AMPAS members
