Most of us probably believed 2021 and 2022 would be better than 2020. Now that we’ve begun 2022, it doesn’t seem like it will be. Tribal virtual civil war churns on unabated. It seems many people never really listen to artists now. Why would they need artists when they have Twitter? But if you listen closely and you watch carefully you will see there is a reason, consciously or not, that these handful of films have dropped in the Academy’s lap.
Although we don’t yet know what the final ten nominees will be, we have a pretty good idea, more or less. What I love about these movies is purely selfish. I like what they say about the current state of things. That means I like artists who tell a truth. Despite everything, the truth shines through even the murkiest of waters. It’s like that one piece of gold shimmering under the surface that you recognize because it doesn’t look anything else. You are drawn to it. You want to pick it up and keep it.
Both Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story and Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast are, in their own ways, about our cold virtual civil war. Each of them is about a time and a place that survived the bloodshed. When you are in a fighting mood you aren’t in a reconciling mood. It has to get much worse before it gets any better. But artists, the best ones, make sense of things we can’t see clearly while we’re living through them. In West Side Story it’s about race, racism and territory, but it’s also about economic displacement. It’s about a working class neighborhood that was bulldozed out of existence to make space for ballet and opera patrons. It was easy to blame immigrants but not see the big money interests that was about to swallow up so much of New York and the surrounding areas. That working class, white and non-white, very much still thrives in and around the five boroughs. There is still gang warfare and battles over territory. West Side Story is based on Romeo and Juliet which is based on two people from two warring families that fall in love and how tribal conflict can kill such a pure and beautiful thing as that. The message could not be more clear, delivered by Maria in the chilling ending of that movie:
“All of you! You all killed him! And my brother, and Riff. Not with bullets, or guns, with hate. Well now I can kill, too, because now I have hate!”
In Kenneth Branagh’s splendid Belfast. In it, Branagh very specifically illustrates how religious differences made it easy for many to resent and otherize their neighbors in 1969 Ireland, a pivotal year in Branagh’s childhood. Perhaps something about being in lockdown and looking around at what was happening inspired him to finally tell his story. Religious hatred led to dehumanization which led to war, because it always does – cold or hot, real or virtual. We understand it easier because it is about a different time and a different subject. Some of us will watch Belfast and see our world today. But probably most won’t, or won’t want to as Belfast doesn’t offer up easy villains and virtuous heroes. It makes the case that we’re all just human beings trying to do the best we can. It is far easier today if people can see the villains they believe live among them. Still, it is Belfast’s message of healing and humanity that stays with me, and it’s one I return to on the darkest days which seem to be every day now. To that end, I think Belfast stands out, along with CODA and maybe Licorice Pizza as films that give us hope when it feels like all hope is lost.
Sian Heder’s CODA is groundbreaking because it’s a film featuring actually deaf actors performing alongside Emilia Jones, the only hearing actor in the ensemble. Perhaps because it keeps getting nominated and is most definitely “in the conversation” we don’t really stop to think about what a big deal it is that CODA is about to become a Best Picture nominee. Not just because Apple will break through to the Oscar race (they made them an offer they couldn’t refuse) but because the film itself seems to open up so many possibilities. For all of the annoyance with people who insist on authenticity in performances, and those who seek to punish anyone who doesn’t comply, with CODA you see why that matters. You believe the actors in the story more because you understand that they understand what it’s actually like to live with deafness. Seeing things from another person’s point of view is what CODA is all about and why I always tear up when I write about that ending. When she understands her family is sitting in the balcony and she wants them to be able to hear what song she is singing – and she begins to sign “Both Sides Now,” it is such an incredible thing to see that they can kind of, sort of share with her that moment.
Paul Thomas Anderson’s Licorice Pizza is a movie that, at least for me, grows on you. Rewatching it, especially the scenes between the two leads, is touching and memorable. With so much going on in the film overall this kind of tenderness is just part of the whole experience. But singling out their scenes together is, to me, what makes the film such an important one this year. PTA stands among a singular set of directors who feel free to explore experimental narrative forms. That’s why no matter what kind of movie he makes, it is always surprising. This film is a reminder of a different time and place – that is, I think, why it resonates so deeply.
Fear is everywhere in America and it paralyzing effects are palpable. Twitter has never been more vicious or dehumanizing than it is right now. The fear of being caught saying something or doing something or watching something or listening to something deemed “wrong” has never been higher, at least not since the 1950s.
While we don’t yet have the kind of government intervention that existed during the Red Scare and the HUAC, we have corporate monopolies that have become more powerful than the government. These corporations are responsible for making careers, maintaining platforms, enabling artists and other creative individuals to make a living. We gave that power over to them willingly, years ago, believing that they would have our own best interests at heart. But they don’t. They have their profits and shareholders in mind. To maintain their power and their status they have to be on board with the idea that outspoken people are to be punished for what they think, what they say online, how they spend their money, how they behave in the real world. Everyone is being watched all of the time to make sure they are 100% compliant.
The film that echoes this fear more than any other this year is Aaron Sorkin’s Being the Ricardos, which is about another time in American history when art and artists were under the thumb of a controlling corporate ideology that drove fear and even hysteria. That was fear of communist infiltrators. Back then, it wasn’t that Lucille Ball “checked the wrong box.” It was that she might secretly be a communist. To 1950s America that was a terrifying prospect. Are you now or have you ever been… a communist? The reason is that once you were accused or suspected of being a communist, anyone who associates with you, is related to you, works with you was also then under suspicion.
But how to deal with something similar where the artists themselves, and the corporations that control their careers, are caught up in the same kind of hysteria? Watching Being the Ricardos should be a reminder of what that might feel like, to know everything you have worked for could go up in a puff of smoke, never mind those work alongside you, all because you once marked a card that tagged you as a communist.
Among the many ways we’re going collectively insane as we enter our third year of COVID, we’re dealing with existential anxiety from a number of sources. I used to be someone who saw this as most of those reading this still see it – that it’s easy to know who the “good” people and who the “bad” people are. In fact, it’s profitable to have that kind of mindset. It’s dangerous to think any other way. But to be a great artist requires seeing the bigger picture and that is what Adam McKay has done with his latest, Don’t Look Up. While it’s an easy sell to people who are worried about climate change, and believe they know who the villains are, it is how McKay portrays our insane “shiny object” culture that will resonate most strongly in the coming years – we’re all in this mess together and indeed, we did “have everything.” Or so it seems. Don’t Look Up is a mirror to our culture – as messy, contradictory, silly, and terrifying as it has become in 2022. I don’t think the movie offers up easy answers but it capture that feeling of helplessness that how we’ve built our society now is something that prevents us from seeing what really matters. If artists won’t do it, who will.
There is an enduring fascination with the western, and with reevaluating frontier tropes, and Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog wades right into that iconic territory. Bringing her distinctive female point of view to a traditionally male genre (give or take a few other recent offerings), Campion brings to life the spirit of the landscape as its own character in the movie. Because it’s spare and quiet, Campion leaves room for the animals in the movie – horses, rabbits, cattle and dogs. Because she is sensitive to them she uses their vulnerability at the hands of humans to great effect. What has mankind done for all of its existence is to tame the land, and all living things. For many today, that is an easy way to lay blame at a certain kind of human – a white male kind of human – but I think it’s more complicated than that. This movie isn’t just about something so clear cut as “good” and “evil.” Rather, it’s more a mystery that unfolds: who is the protagonist really? Asking that question is the key to unlocking The Power of the Dog. And it’s really the key to surviving 2022.
Another film that is very much relevant to 2022 is Guillermo del Toro’s Nightmare Alley. It probably isn’t a film that leaps to mind when people think about defining our culture now but there is an aspect to it that resonates. One of the reasons film noir was such a powerful genre in the late 1940s and through the 1950s was that it had to exist in the shadow of “normal” American life, which was, by then, striving to be utopian. McCarthyism took hold back then because communism disrupted utopia. This is not unlike the same kind of ongoing fear, panic and hysteria we’re living through now. And that is why there is something powerfully resonant about Nightmare Alley, at least to me. This is specifically true about what it says about the need to throw sacrifices into the arena for public shaming. In a time of profound social and economic despair, it was important to show people examples of other people who were even worse off and less respected. The bottom rungs of society, the discards, the human garbage. That allowed for some kind of emotional release. If a society can lay blame or shame or hatred on someone collectively, that keeps all of those on the other side safe.
The beauty of Nightmare Alley is that it’s circular. The moral of the story might be something like, “judge not lest ye be judged.” While Bradley Cooper Stanton Carlisle doesn’t exactly judge the creature he himself becomes by the end, the moral of the story is clear. Pride goeth before the fall. Nightmare Alley might be the most reflective movie of all in that way. It tells us not who we think we are, but what we risk becoming.
King Richard is a film that brings together our collective admiration for the wonders that are Venus and Serena Williams, along with a scrappy success story of their father, King Richard. The proof turned out to be in the pudding where he was concerned. No doubt he was mocked and laughed at, disregarded and written off. In the end, though, his girls were his success story. Director Reinaldo Marcus Green has made one of the most enjoyable films of the year – just pure enjoyment throughout.
It’s the same kind of thing with Lin Manuel-Miranda’s tick, tick… Boom, about the tragically short life of Jonathan Larson as embodied by Andrew Garfield. Something about he electrifying commitment to his vision is connecting with people whose entire lives are dedicated to making art, or trying to. The fact that he found fame only after he died also seems to be part of the connection so many have to this film. All of the stuff we involve ourselves with that seems so important, just falls away when you realize just how short life is, and how little time we actually have. That we had three outstanding contributions from Miranda this year should also not be ignored. In the Heights, which was clearly inspired by West Side Story, Encanto inspired by his heritage, and now tick, tick… Boom, another clear inspiration for Miranda in Larson. And all of this while Hamilton is still be performed in theaters all across the country. It’s not exactly at the top of every film journalist’s list but it is something to take note of all the same.
https://youtu.be/rSBDgdFzuqU
And finally, it wouldn’t be 2022 without a movie that takes people away completely from the realities of the everyday and that transportive sensation could be one of the reasons Denis Villeneuve’s Dune has become such an awards monster, hitting almost all of the major guilds. Dune is a film that offers up a universal experience into the world of the mythological on an intergalactic scale. It’s beautiful to watch, moody and mysterious contemplate. So much is left unsaid because it is just the beginning of what promises to be an ongoing cinematic series.
While all these movies seem to be the frontrunners to be named best of the year, there are so many more that may resonate in ways that won’t necessarily be recognized by the Academy. But in these movies, I think, we have an abundance of riches, of artists who have something to say and found an extraordinary way to say it.
I think it in EVERYONES INTERESTS TO BE AWARE AND ENGAGE AS PRIORITY JUST BRIEFLY ON THIS TIDAL WAVE LEVEL EXPLOSIVE WHOOPI GOLDBERG RACISM SCANDAL..IF I NOT MISTAKEN IS IT FIRST TIME A SPECIFICALLY HIGH PROFILE BLACK CELEBRITY HIGHLY REGARDED UNTIL NOT WITHIN HOLLYWOOD WHO ADVOCATED AGAINST RACISM RIGHTFULLY STAND UP FOR RIGHTS OF BLACKS HAS PLAYED DOWN EFFECTIVELY DISCREDITED A EVENT IN HISTORY THAT BRINGS SAME PAIN AND SORROW THAT BLACKS FELT BUT TO ANOTHER RACE? SPECIFICALLY IS THIS FIRST TIME A HIGH PROFILE BLACK CELEBRITY HAS IMPLIED A FORM OF ANTISEMITISM? HOLOCAUST DENIAL IS ANTISEMITISM?
I THINK IT IN EVERYONES INTEREST ATM TO ABANDON FOCUS ON INCRESINGLY INSIGNIFICANT AWARDS SEASON JUST BRIEFLY AS GIVEN WHOOPI GOLDBERG STATUS INFLUENCE WITHIN HOLLYWOOD IT OUGHT GIVE US PAUSE FOR THOUGHT ARE THESE TYPES OF
A -HOLES ACADEMY AND VOTERS AND INDUSTRY SHOULD BE CASTING AS PURE ROLE MODELS AGAINST RACISM?
THIS PUTS A HUGE DENT OF CREDIBILITY IN SIDING WITH SOME FROM THIS RADICAL FAR LEFT..CLEARLY THIS GOLDBERG SCANDAL PROVES IT INDEED THE FAR RADICAL LEFT THAT BIGGER THREAT TO BACK HANDED ANTISEMITISM WITHIN HOLLYWOOD ELITE..THAN IT IS FROM FAR RIGHT I EMPHASISE THOSE IN FAR LEFT ESPOUSING ANTISEMITIC IDEOLOGIES THANX TO WHOOPI SCANDAL THIS BEEN RED RAW EXPOSED..
Funny how I don’t recall seeing posts like this when a member of Congress claimed that wildfires in California are a Jewish conspiracy.
WTF.
From CNN on what awards season ought to take notice of with URGENCY for their own sakes and in interest of awareness not ignorance of esp those radical left minority celebrities that partake and fgilmmakers and producers in awards season :
FROM CNN ON THE WHOOP GOLDBERG EXPLOSIVE SCANDAL
…But later Monday night, as the controversy continued to grow, Goldberg issued a written apology. In it, she said she erred in her remarks and understood why they were wrong.
“I’m sorry for the hurt I have caused,” Goldberg said in her written statement.
Hours later, Goldberg opened up Tuesday’s episode of “The View” offering yet another apology.
“I said something that I feel a responsibility for not leaving unexamined, because my words upset so many people, which was never my intention,” Goldberg said. “I understand why now, and for that I am deeply, deeply grateful because the information I got was really helpful, and it helped me understand some different things.”
Here a question to you Whoopi Cushion (note Goldberg is actually a Jewish name) so she not worthy being regarded as her full name– make me wonder if her heritage distant maybe part Jewish..but regardless.. my question to you and other radical extreme left hypocrit activists purveying dicatating hollywood awards season terms are : IF YOU KNOW RACISM IS WRONG HOW CAN YOU PURPORT TO DARE TO SLANDER THE JEWISH COMMUNITY TOO ARE WE NOT VICTIM OF RACISM ALA ANTI SEMITISM TOO? AND IF YOU KNOW IT WRONG IN FIRST PLACE WHY DID YOU MAKE SUCH LOOSE MORONIC UNEDUCATED REMARKS TO BEGIN WITH.? YOU SAY WHOOPI YOU ‘ UNDERSTAND WHY COMMENTS WERE WRONG’ SO WHY U SAY THEM IN THE FIRST PLACE.. STRICKEN WHOOPI FROM BEING AMPAS MEMBER INSTANTLY I SAY AND STRICKEN AND ASSESS INTEGRITY OF EACH AND EVERY FILM MAKER OF THOSE MAY BE DOUBT IN FUTURE AWARDS SEASON OF THEIR HYPOCRISY AND DOUBLE STANDARDS ON THESE ISSUES AWARDS SEASON CAN NEVER IN FUTURE OR NOW FOR THAT MATTER BE SEEN TO GIVE OSCARS OR GUILDS OR BAFTAS TO THESE HYPOCRITS THAT SEEK TO DISCREDIT TRUTH OF JEWISH HISTORY AND WORLD HISTORY EVENTS AND TRAGEDIES..YET ON OTHER HAND CLAIM THEY CHAMPION ANTI- RACIST / CARD..UNACCEPTABLE
Artios Casting nominations!
Animation: Encanto, Luca, Mitchells vs. the Machines, Raya and the Last Dragon, Vivo
Big Budget Comedy: Cruella, Don’t Look Up, The French Dispatch, In the Heights, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Big Budget Drama: House of Gucci, King Richard, The Power of the Dog, Tick, Tick … Boom!,
West Side Story
Studio/Indie Comedy: Best Sellers, The Tender Bar, This Game’s Called Murder, Zola
Studio/Indie Drama: Belfast, CODA, The Lost Daughter, Passing, The Hand of God
Low Budget Comedy/Drama: Blue Bayou, The Humans, The Novice, Together Together; Violet, We Broke Up
Micro-Budget, Comedy/Drama: Dramarama, The Outside Story, Shiva Baby, The Subject, Swan Song
“Zeitgeist Award”: The Matrix Resurrections, The Tomorrow War, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Spider-Man: No Way Home
Lovely piece, Sasha!
So there seems to be a consensus 8
1. The Power of the Dog
2. Belfast
3. West Side Story
4. Dune
5. Licorice Pizza
6. Coda
7. King Richard
8. Tick, tick … BOOM!
and then 6 for the last 2 slots
9. Being the Ricardos (the PGA+WGA+2 SAG Lead nods are definitely good signs)
10. Don’t Look Up (Some guild love, not sure the high-brow Academy will go for it though)
11. House of Gucci (Ditto)
12. Nightmare Alley (Other way around : the high-brow Academy could surprise and go for it)
13. The Tragedy of Macbeth (Ditto)
14. Drive My Car (Ditto)
with a few potential shockers still in the mix
14. The Lost Daughter (I could see it surprise in BP/BD but could also see even Colman miss)
15. Parallel Mothers (the lack of option to embrace it in International Film, could help it here)
16. No Way Home (no PGA so prob not happening unless it peaked late for PGA?)
17. The Last Duel (to be fair this IS right up the Academy’s alley)
18. Cyrano (JW films always get tech, this could get acting, too, so filler BP couldn’t be that far)
19. No Time To Die (I could totally see the UK/European block surprise us all with this one)
20. Spencer (guild+likely Bafta disaster but could be high-brow enough for the Academy?).
I agree with John, Don’t Look Up has to be higher than tick, tick, …BOOM!. The Academy went all in for Vice – don’t see why it wouldn’t this time around.
Fair point, I am probably just in denial about that one.
Don’t Look Up is a near lock and I think Tick, Tick….BOOM! is weaker than the guilds make it appear. (I can’t see three Netflix films making the cut.) But I would be happy to be wrong here.
That tenth slot is impossible to guess. I’m sensing a late push for Nightmare Alley but maybe that’s wishful thinking.
I agree with your Top 7. They feel rock solid. The only place we differ is that it feels to me like Don’t Look Up is more in than out. TTB feels very 9th-11th (could be a shock miss that guilds went for, more so).
Hey, Sasha do we get some BAFTA predictions?
BAFTA Rising Star Nominations released:
Millicent Simmonds
Lashana Lynch
Harris Dickinson
Kodi Smit McPhee
Ariana DeBose
No Emilia Jones. No Jude Hill.
Anyone want to save me 3 separate google/imdb searches and tell me what the first 3 are for?
These are always for entire body of work, but recently:
Simmonds was in A Quiet Place (1 and 2)
Lynch was in No Time to Die
Dickinson was in The King’s Man, The Souvenir Part II (as well as a couple years back being beyond excellent in Matthias & Maxime and Beach Rats)
Thank you! Anyone who saves me a google search is my hero. One is ok, but 3? No time
Not that this is likely for them, but, also, no Woody Norman from C’mon C’mon, a talented young actor.
So thrilled for Millicent Simmonds. She is truly astounding in A Quiet Place Part II. Most of the film is carried on her back and she pulls it off flawlessly. Can’t wait to see her in other roles.
No offense to McPhee, for whom I’m rooting for the win, but hasn’t he been in high profile movies for like, over a decade? Jones should very easily have gotten in
This is always the issue with breakthrough awards. I’d kind of argue that Dickinson and Simmonds shouldn’t perhaps be on that list either but the way people draw these lines has always seemed strange to me
It’s not for “newcomer”, but for someone who has been working low-key in the business and this year has broken through and got noticed for their work.
Right … although he’s been “noticed” for his work for a while, though, hasn’t he? I suppose it depends on your definition of “rising.” But yeah, I suppose this could count.
Could this mean that Emilia is nominated in the main category and McPhee and DeBose aren’t?
Just a theory. Don’t mean to give anyone a heart attack. 🙂
disagree with that theory
“For all of the annoyance with people who insist on authenticity in
performances, and those who seek to punish anyone who doesn’t comply,
with CODA you see why that matters.”
Now THIS is the self-reflection I’ve been waiting for
A tighter script would have made Don’t Look Up the favorite. McKay’s got his reflexive haters to be sure, but a few small but substantive changes would have made an erratic film with a good last act a GREAT film with a good last act.
What do people mean when they say tighter script? What small and substantive changes? I am not a “reflexive McKay hater.” I don’t even hate the film, I think it’s an entertaining, thoroughly acceptable but forgettable and overrated film. But greatness? Far from it. I also don’t know if based on some of the comments here, people who LOVE it do so more because they are aligned with and embrace its ideology, or they love it because it’s a GREAT film.
Tighter as in several sequences could have stood to have been shorter and a few characters weren’t necessary
Well, at least we agree it doesn’t deserve Editing recognition. A mishmash of random tones and jump-cuts pieced together without too much finesse doesn’t make good editing. It’s actually one of the worst parts about the film. If anything, it looked like more of a draft cut than a final one. But then again, Bohemian Rhapsody won the Editing Oscar so I shouldn’t harbor too much hope against the Academy’s affinity for rewarding films with a gazilion obvious schizophrenic jump cuts. Apparently that’s what some people still think Editing is all about – the more obvious it is, the better. I don’t think the Editing bar can be set any lower than Bohemian Rhapsody.
I very much doubt the editing could have saved that film.
I have long felt that if not for Bryan Singer’s name on the credits that Bohemian would have run the table and taken BP as well as Director for whoever would have been given the credit. Granted, the film was staggeringly dishonest, but the Academy clearly loved it.
Well, itvdidn’t hurt the film at Golden Globes. I tend to think of them as the dress rehearsal for the Oscars bad picks. They are the ones who set the Oscars up, and sort of test the ground. They could have gone for it if they wanted to. I just think even the Academy thought it wasn’t worth a BP win. It wasn’t even close.
I think you mean the whole film except the last scene at the dinner table.
Yeah, I do. If the rest of the film had the same attention to detail, pace, and tone as the dinner sequence it would be the Oscar leader.
I am surprised they allowed it to be this bad. It’s a serious subject, so it should have been a serious film with a bit of comedy thrown in. I think the problem is that McKay wasn’t really making any serious attempt at tackling the debate around climate change and was simply blaming some powerful people for the problem. That’s the difference between this film and The Big Short. The characters were caricatures and almost cartoonish. What a waste of big talents. How do waste the talents Streep and Rylance? I thought only Lawrence was decent. And poor Timmy was given nothing to work with really. I actually liked his bit as a distraction from the rest of the film. It was that bad. However, I still don’t mind its nomination despite everything I just said. I feel it’s worthwhile because of the conversation it’s openned up among the general public.
Lose Jonah Hill and tell Streep to stop mugging would have been a good start
Streep is probably the greatest actor there’s ever been and she could save that film. When even she’s not good, you know you’re in trouble.
“CODA is groundbreaking because it’s a film featuring actually deaf actors performing alongside Emilia Jones, the only hearing actor in the ensemble. Perhaps because it keeps getting nominated and is most definitely “in the conversation” we don’t really stop to think about what a big deal it is that CODA is about to become a Best Picture nominee. ”
So this proves how and why awards season all but shut up shop gone for 2 far lesser relevant significant films in Belfast and Powerless of the Dog of a day.. HOW WRONG THEY ARE to do gesturing to Coda
.nothing more. It a TEASE designed to give common sense within theif film peers false hope that Coda win best picture.
Which I absolutely be for. It a game changer. I have Apple subscription go with Amazon and Disney + ok I never said I against streaming films winning best picture but the RIGHT type and absolutely NOT type that Netflix espouses. The penultimate sociological radical left culprit harbinger of awards season declining ratings and DOOM. Any coincidence ever since overrated Roma ESPECIALLY SINCE unwisely stupidly given Amazon Prime and Disney plus even Apple tv+ hone in on TRUE high quality innovative inspiring visually rich engaging films and stories.. whereas Netflix is pandering to sociologist aspiring majors of radical left within naive socialist activists from universities… they rather that Netflix than invest in what Apple TV, Amazon Prime and Disney + do as i explained earlier in this paragraph.
CODA is what last year’s brilliant Grey hound was to Apple TV it pushes boundary of what be achieved on smaller screen. Ok specifically like chalk and cheese as but principle remains Greyhound was was taut, seeping naval war thriller/ drama epic not been done through streaming deserved be Oscar Contender where’s CODA well..to ANYONE of approx 1/3rd of worlds population who incur daily challenges of disability extent it emancipates, limits their ability get through basic challenges daily and life pple with non disability take for granted, In that respect this TYPE OF FILM THAT REWRITES RULE BOOK HOW FILM STORIES BE TOLD..ACTIONS, SIGN LANGUAGE GESTURES OVER SOUND AND DIALOGUE IN WAY IT MODERN HOMAGE TO SILENT FILM ERA OF HOLLYWOOD MODERN COS WE KNOW LOT MORE BOUT IMPORTSNCE OF BRING AWARE THAT PERSON WITH DISABILITY NO MATTER HIW IMPACTFUL IN THEIR LIVES CAN ACHIEVE JUST AS MUCH IF NOT MORE THSN PERSON WHO DOES NOT HAVE A DISABILITY. WHEN U GO TO CORE OF LIMITS OF DAMPENING OR HAMPERING BY LOSS ONE OF 5 ESSENTIAL SENSES IN CASE OF CODA HEARING ..
WELL THERE IS MICH MORE SOCIALLY RELEVANT AND VISUAL STORYTELLING ROLE TO.PLAY SASHA THAN JUST AS IM FEEL U DO BIT BIT COMPLAVENT ACCEPT RATHER THAN CHALLENGE THE NEW ‘ NORM’ HOW CERTSIN CONTENDERS CHSNCES RANKED BEST PICTURE .
CODE WILL NOT WIN SADLY COS IT TOO CLEVER..TOO GROUNDBREAKING AND FACT I ENDORSE IT AS BEST CONTENDER BY FAR!! OF BYNCH OF SOCIOLOGICAL WANABES FAR MORE GOES FAR FAR BEYOND PANDERING MISGUIDED IDEOLOGIES OF DOG OR BELFAST.
BUT I JUST LOVE BE PLEASANTLY SURPRISED THIS BE BEST PICTURE WINNER.
WHY THE FUK THE DGA SNUBBED INNOVATIVE GAME CHANGING DIRECTIR OF CODA IS BEYOND ME!
CODA in my top 5 contenders what be nominated don’t be fooled it too layered, deep sophisticated and beyond AMPAS or guilds comprehension go qll I for Coda.
These are my top 5 of films I like see ( but unlikely will not which sucks be big time contenders)
Try do in order. But I credit u Sasha u tireless campaign in favour of CODA it swung my vote..I seeing CODA very soon on Apple TV.. which I have start engaging in mire …
My preferred ratings what be biggish Oscar contenders this year
1. CODA. Look I may be biased but qre you all surprised? With no NO Time to Die, no Last Duel this become my no.1 to endorse win best picture . There has never NEVER been more important pivotal time this point in global history to embrace penultimate film that unlike ANY before it chronicles in detail both necessary confronting and eventual triumphant hope fulfilling, soul pearcing..heart lifting story of in focused emphatic powerful fashion one deaf girls journey to thrive in her own way..show how deaf person perceives world how their family arrive understsnd it. It message of hope goes beyond sociological statements to any us half world population I sure have friends,family anyone with a disability ..we know their struggles lot us can relate. CODA one those type films that rises above the muck and activism of social media have direct relevance to all who been associlated understand person with disabilities struggles. Ought to get 8 nominations Inc picture , director , screenplay , actress, sound, editing, sound editing ( way sound controlled how it revealed way it does is game changer), score I have full total faith this is masterpiece despite I not seen it yet..
2. King Richard . Other it time factor… if we after one most inspiring modern tales of obe man’s determination bend the rules , change public perceptions of how black women ( his daughters) can probe they have what takes be world beaters and as history shown record setters that race does not matter but will drive through defying odds in doh eat dog society to put his beloved daughters through their paces…staring doen his doubters..will Smith in one his best career performances as film itself encapsulates this powerful, uplifting message. Like CODA goes beyond race..it all more poignant cos characters are TRUE. Relevance is underpinned by against odds in doh eag dog worl record setting success by Richard own home grown Serena Williams ..esp cos her profile learn story how bothWilliams sisters generated one longest running most successful sporting dynasties that shown race is irrelevant it power and drive achieve greatness within one’s familily as Richard does himself well that is stuff of legend…shame on DGA again not nominating King Richard like Coda it boundary pushing biopic while not as groundbreaking it relevance goes to something Belfast and Dog don’t have historic relevance beyond filmmskere experience . King Richard ought get 9 nominations . Actor, supp actress ( who plays Serena williams), director, picture, screenplay, editing, score, cinematography, sound.
3. West Side Story.. I think the bigger feat for as rare against odds to be masterpiece for maestro legendary filmmaker Spielberg , Steven thsn moral messaging is dare boldness do successfully what many film-makers have tried and failed to redefine , update let face it part remake and retelling with modern tropes and references while staying true to flair passion, cross cultural conflicts and panache, and presentation and dance choreography to the originsl masterpiece. How do you surpass the original? You DONT but u equal it IF your Spielberg and you have more capable strong cast crew ensemble… if u Spielbertg u can definitely the odds again and again…there pplecwho doubted ‘Schindlers List’ could work in black and white still be shocking riveting let alone type film be compiled by real interviews real survivors of history’s blackest day in 20th century ever since then.. he did. People unsure how total fiction alien who captures affections of then adorable but today majestically talented Drew Barrymore find some comfort and support with strange family just to find way ‘get home’ would be to date one biggest global children’s classic box office block busters he did. And I sure many people wonder how he could come remotely close to rivalling his timeless most historically important sticking necessarily so powerful drama in fir ages in Schindlers List and yet little known film which to date since been biggest global smash hit most critically acclaimed and cibrmatically since altered what be possible in channelling graphic realism in futurev historic true story action / war films in Saving Private Ryan and he did.
So West Side Story is exception to the rule in itself ir not game changer but Spielberg involvement means he prove exception to rule not to pitch fil m with same setting and film title as what originally won 10 darn Oscars… can be as good even as critics say better. ( we see whrn dad and I see it) outside chance of 3 way split one thing awards season could get right ? From there narrow minded field of options ? Is DGA nomination for Spielberg.. could he be first Man win 3 dga’s and best director Oscar? Don’t be surprised if 3 way split btw Canpion for screenplay and Belfast for picture ( not right ) pencil in 12 nominations lead field as it deserves for West Side Story . Pic, director , screenplay, actress, supp actress, editing , sound, score, song , prod design , cost design, make up .
4. Dune. Dennis Villenue has made Dune his own… not just pure escapism there extraordinary amount for (Sci fiction fable that is) and ESP. Given it only pt 1 of a duopoly of psychological intense character study and how through their own journeys they weave far deeper more engaging emotive experience than lot more just character power in itself of most epic science fiction landscape and setting since Star Wars. But in compliment ro Villenue’s ( hard to believe just pt 1) in Dune, it has far more in common with both psychology, flashbacks and flash forward balanced with sharp visual strikingly stunning inspiringly photographed vast , picturesque desert scope with objects framed in isolation within certain shots to really capture build up moments make moments crafted in film some most artisticky unforgettable since 2001 a space odyssey. In hindsight I like to say I concede I no doubt I appreciate it far more thsn I originally did…even if I atoll feel fell tad short in pt 1 I gotta remind myself something unprecedented truly bold considerably risky…carrying essence and momentum as 2 part mega epic story of how Atreides fulfill find a way be reluctant leader and warrior to bring peace and defy a greedy immoral Emperor…only Villenue could bring dimension level of depth of classic masterf story to inspiring level he pulled off here.. for Villenue capturing sandworm debut appearance is child’s play compared what he pulled off.. make no mistake only Reason it not in my top 3 ? Is cos pt II still to come.. I can’t wait and Hollywood awards season look forward what at very least be most anticipated finale since return of the jesu in Sci fi sense..has be said not since Lawrence if Arabia has desert looking barren set fil looked so majestic…this iught to get 10 nominations..director, pic, actor, make-up, score, sound, sound editing , vis effects, costume design , cinematography
5. House of Gucci with no Last Duel and unacceptably harsh treatment dga snubbing one most influential most popular filmmskers every bit almost as big as Spirlberg Himself.. this more like compensation my view for snub of his more accomplished ‘ the last duel’ Ridley Scott been innovator , pioneer revolutionising science fiction , building his own cult following through Alien abd Bladerunner, come 2000 he redefined contemporary technology traditional fuses inspiring masterpiece in creating and hence owning traditional epic revival… as he did in Gladiator should won 10 Oscars not 5…! Inc director to Ridley Scott. But God fatheresque in parts of conspiracy to murder. Corruption, sex told dare we say it given twisted themes somehow made be uplifting cobematically in lavish manner wirh gorgeous cinematography anchored by arguably one most impressive acting ensemble performances in years as awards contender only elevates cross chemistry tension which eventually drags family in public forms mudslinging and in against odds effort makes a story seemingky be pedestrian under lesser majestic filmmaker into intriguing, stunning family fable of seemingly under lesser filmsker of fashion empire from droll affair into something quite unforgettable .. as Scott does he always fund way elevate characters journey into visually arriving feast making environment snd characters more enticing than otherwise b achieved. Nobody desoute plot holes and some flaws would though Scott have 2 high profile inspired works of filmmsking as award contender. Fact Last Duel his less flaws more accomplished of 2 does mean I not be against him upsetting partly best director but sadly dga snub lead sour taste in my mouth many Scott fans mouths.. more any fimsker he so overdue least win best director anbd dga . Whrn u see Gucci you see Devil Wears Prada gone rogue..big time..who would thought be such delightful engaging twisted fun witness Scott’s approach to degradation breakdown of one Qnerica and worlds once leading empires I Gucci?
Deserves 8 nominations..pic, director, screenplay, actress, supp actor, costumes , make-up and hair, cinematography,
Sasha hasn’t seen Zenzeits der Stille (1997) by Caroline Link bc it’s basically the same movie
It´s been a long while since I´ve seen it but I guess Jenseits der Stille might be less sentimental and Hollywood-like than Coda.
I recall it being pretty sentimental
Yeah, I mean, the “deaf/music” trope is pretty played out. In English movies alone Mr Holland’s Opus and Sound of Metal immediately jump to mind (and Holland’s Opus has a very similar climax to CODA’s). I can get why a lot of people aren’t too convinced by CODA’s central conceit for that reason. I still think CODA is really, really beautiful and I really just love the performances so much – but I do still wonder whether it would have been more powerful (and true to its message) if, during the climax, they had cut the sound from Jones’s singing when she began signing for her family during the Both Sides performance. As heart-swelling as her singing and the song is, it feels more than a bit voyeuristic and … wrong to have so much of the emotional punch hinge on the act of hearing that song rather than interpreting it from the actual deaf family’s perspective, given the whole point of the movie. It should have cut to silence as soon as she started signing – something like that would have, I think, really elevated that moment, beautiful as it already is from a hearing person’s perspective
. Yet another directorial/writing decision that keeps me from fully considering CODA as a contender for *the top best* of the year, even though I really did love watching it
Why exactly are deaf people in the line of fire of right wing culture warriors?
yikes are they now? doesn’t surprise me
Fake liberal Tulsi Gabbard whines about “arrogant deaf leaders” all the time.
It a TEASE designed to give common sense within theif film peers false hope that Coda win best picture.
I didn’t read the whole thing bc it was too long BUT it can be an honor to be nominated, Being nominated for BP is better than winning any other award.
I think say Philomena, a BP nominee, had a better Oscar campaign than Blue Jasmine which won best actress but not BP
People is going to hate me for saying this aloud, but while it is not the year’s best film, the one that should win Best Picture (and Original Screenplay, and Film Editing, even if, again, it’s not the best on either aspect, but among the best) is…
… “Don’t Look Up!”. I mean, it is the one that has 100% warranted, that it will prevail in memory, as the most important film of the year, the one that made Hollywood, finally, in a mainstream way, underline everything that is wrong with our capitalist society. It is terrifying and funny at the same time. The running joke about why the military made the scientists pay for the free snacks, has a strong double meaning, specially if you are versed in history (the traditional blame on the scientists that studied atomic and nuclear power for the creation of the A-Bomb, or how internet was also originally developed by technicians for a military use, and it has changed our society, maybe for the worst, dumbing us all down…). It’s a film that totally captures our idiotic zeitgeist. The new “Idiocracy” (such an underrated film!)
This is actually a good point. As flawed as it is, it’s captured the zeitgeist more than any of its competitors.
I can think of about 5 or so small to large changes he could have made that would have had it cruising to the win.
While I generally agree with you about the movie’s merits (cinematically and ideologically), my exact fear is that the movie is exactly TOO accurate: if, in the universe of the movie itself, the Don’t Look Up were released, it would be summarily ignored and made fun of. And that’s exactly what’s happened in real life – many scientists love it, but most movie-goers generally DO NOT, regardless of which side of the aisle they’re on. So, I’m not exactly sure that “it will prevail in memory as the most important film of the year.” Perhaps, in YOUR memory; and I’m far, far, far, far less sure that this movie will make “Hollywood … underline everything that is wrong with our capitalist society” … Hollywood exists as it does BECAUSE of capitalism. we can’t separate our convictions (and of course, I agree with you, capitalism is terrible! it’s destroying everything!) from the fact that Hollywood exists in the worst form of capitalism there is – it’s Capitalist Realist! It acknowledges that capitalism is Bad, while Capitalizing on how bad it is; how many movies each year, including Don’t Look Up, are staked on narratives about how evil environmental destruction is, and corporate greed, and war? HUNDREDS! And what does Hollywood do about it? NOTHING, except make MORE MONEY off of peddling messages about how BAD these things all are! The BILLIONS of dollars made in Hollywood ALONE every year – how many of those dollars goes to campaigning against the military? To lowering meat consumption? How many of those dollars actually goes towards protecting the environment, towards lobbying against legislation protecting pipelines? It doesn’t: Hollywood subscribes to capitalist realism – the conviction that capitalism is “bad,” but that there’s nothing “realistically” we can do about it, all while relying on, and ACTIVELY supporting and keeping alive, capitalist models to function, exist, and, importantly, thrive. And the catch of this all is that Don’t Look Up does the exact same thing – not in its in-movie message, which I think is accurate, but in the meta-movie’s participation in, support, and ultimately replication of the conditions that lead to its message being needed in the first place. You and I may have high hopes and high wishes that this movie will start or signal some sort of shift in mass consciousness, or even just in “mainstream hollywood consciousness,” but it’s going to take way, way, way, way more than one inherently capitalist movie on Netflix to actually do that.
This reminds me of that tweet that said that Parasite should have at one point just shouted at you that “CAPITALISM BAD” because otherwise the meaning might be lost on the masses.
as an expert in development and geographer*… CAPITALISM IS BAD AND ANYONE DEFENDING IT, IS DOING SO OUT OF IGNORANCE OF THE OVERALL SCHEME, OR OUT OF SELFISHNESS. I mean, I faced the ultimate face of capitalism, first hand. It was my duty as working for the government of my country. And Parasite is brilliant because you go to the film thinking that the poor family is the parasite… and you get out of the film realising that it is the wealthy family, that one that is a parasite, completely disconnected from the necessities of anyone else, and completely narcissistic (as much as to think that they have a potential Picasso in their son, when he’s just painting gibberish).
* 5 years University career, cum laude in Contemporary History and Urban Geography, 2 diplomas in Development and a 6 month practise in Angola, working for the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation, while war was reignating… I even once assisted at an international meeting as the representant of the Spanish Embassy. Just to clarify.
Congratulations on your many achievements 🙂
Anyway, Parasite is good because it makes a nuanced, novel point about capitalism without using tired lines. Don’t Look Up is literally just all-caps screaming CAPITALISM BAD. Nothing new or interesting about it.
DLU! goes way deeper than that.
Nah.
“Capitalism bad” was the point of the Rylance subplot, but I thought there was a lot more to the movie than that.
What DLU made me think about was how everything in American culture is viewed as entertainment. Politics, religion, education, science, the government…everything. All that most people care about with any of those things is how much it amuses them and how it makes them feel. (Incidentally, this is the purpose and appeal of social media. Everyone is turned into an entertainment produce for everyone else.) Most of the people who “agree” with DiCaprio still don’t really take the problem seriously; it’s all about entertaining and aggrandizing themselves. Capitalism isn’t the problem, narcissism is.
Yep, I also was a geography major
It’s not just that. It’s also that even if capitalism is bad, it is envious to be in a higher position and it wasn’t about pure monetary value of the characters. The lower class family realized that even if they were successfully scamming the upper class family, they couldn’t attain their social status as they were still being mocked
For all of its flaws and tonal mistakes, the last ten minutes of the film is the single best finale of any of the contenders, and maybe the best ten minutes of any of the contenders. McKay was so invested in his climate change theme he missed a much much bigger target for too much of the film.
Absolutely agree with you. Just saw it and it cant be more timely. I was expecting a dull satire about climate change consequences critics tried to sold. It is nothing like that. I think i has much more to do with the actual pandemic context than anything else. Best original screenplay and editing would be deserving Imho. As for best picture i havent seen them all yet but it is high in my ranking. Just loved it.
No one hates you. Many disagree with you. To each his own. To me, Don’t Look Up is entertaining enough but nothing more. Cultural relevance is one thing. As a piece of filmmaking, it is smug, obvious, not particularly revealing, and feels the need to bludgeon our heads with its messages, in bold and caps. The film’s politics is aligned with mine. But agreeing with its politics is one thing, doesn’t change the fact that the film is a mess, albeit an entertaining mess.
While I generally agree with you about the movie’s merits (cinematically and ideologically), my exact fear is that the movie is exactly TOO accurate: if, in the universe of the movie itself, the Don’t Look Up were released, it would be summarily ignored and made fun of. And that’s exactly what’s happened in real life – many scientists love it, but most movie-goers generally DO NOT, regardless of which side of the aisle they’re on. So, I’m not exactly sure that “it will prevail in memory as the most important film of the year.” Perhaps, in YOUR memory; and I’m far, far, far, far less sure that this movie will make “Hollywood … underline everything that is wrong with our capitalist society” … Hollywood exists as it does BECAUSE of capitalism. we can’t separate our convictions (and of course, I agree with you, capitalism is terrible! it’s destroying everything!) from the fact that Hollywood exists in the worst form of capitalism there is – it’s Capitalist Realist! It acknowledges that capitalism is Bad, while Capitalizing on how bad it is; how many movies each year, including Don’t Look Up, are staked on narratives about how evil environmental destruction is, and corporate greed, and war? HUNDREDS! And what does Hollywood do about it? NOTHING, except make MORE MONEY off of peddling messages about how BAD these things all are! The BILLIONS of dollars made in Hollywood ALONE every year – how many of those dollars goes to campaigning against the military? To lowering meat consumption? To raising the minimum wage and securing healthcare for workers (despite pumping out movie after movie about how awful it is to have cancer and other diseases in America)? How many of those dollars actually goes towards protecting the environment, towards lobbying against legislation protecting pipelines? It doesn’t: Hollywood subscribes to capitalist realism – the conviction that capitalism is “bad,” but that there’s nothing “realistically” we can do about it, all while relying on, and ACTIVELY supporting and keeping alive, capitalist models to function, exist, and, importantly, thrive. And the catch of this all is that Don’t Look Up does the exact same thing – not in its in-movie message, which I think is accurate, but in the meta-movie’s participation in, support, and ultimately replication of the conditions that lead to its message being needed in the first place. You and I may have high hopes and high wishes that this movie will start or signal some sort of shift in mass consciousness, or even just in “mainstream hollywood consciousness,” but it’s going to take way, way, way, way more than one inherently capitalist movie on Netflix to actually do that.
Word to the wise: If you break up your text in paragraphs, I generally am more inclined to read the whole thing, I’m on my lunch break
don’t worry you’re not missing much
Nice writing on the Belfast post, Sasha. Kudos for sure, very well done.
Great article. Thanks, Sasha.
I think The Power of the Dog is an achievement, out of all of these I would call it my favorite, with West Side Story running a close second.
Nice to hear Sasha finally speak so well of LP, my favorite 2021 film.
Any news on the casting nominations?
Ugh. Belfast is the whitest movie I’ve ever seen. After watching it, I turned into an albino
I think most of this crowd has that very issue with the Oscars. It’s one thing to champion people of color but it’s another to call being white a weakness
have you seen Arctic with Mads Mikkelsen?
You could hardly get any whiter than that “disco” dance sequence at the end of the film to the tune of –bah– ‘Everlasting Love’.
The gape-mouthed reaction of the cast while watching Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. I laughed so hard. Sooooo white!
Even the opening montage would make an excellent pearl necklace– such is its blinding whiteness: select shots of Belfast while Van Morrison plays in the background. I thought it was a Menthos commercial. lol.
Ole, bitchez!
Just saw Nightmare Alley yesterday – in Black and White. It was very beautiful and very striking, but I do really want to see it in color now – I felt like I missed so much in some parts; in others I felt I gained quite a bit, especially during the climax, which really did feel “right” in black and white (and Cate Blanchett in particular has a face and demeanor absolutely made for black and white …). I almost wish I could see a sort of hybrid movie that takes the best of the black and white scenes and the best of the color scenes (and honestly I think Del Toro could have made that work, somehow). Cooper turned in a very impressive performance. Overall it should be a top contender for sure
Yeah Nightmare Alley is great. The more I think about it the more I love it, I saw it in colour though and I can’t imagine it in black and white… In particular Guillermo Del Toro is particularly well known for his use of the colour red and that must be lost entirely in black and white
Honestly I thought the second half of the movie with Cate worked very beautifully in B&W – especially because it was so much more typically “noir” in terms of the setting and plot. I really felt like I was missing a whole lot during the first half of the movie, though.
Interesting. I can see that even though interestingly the use of colour actually stands out more to me in that section. I will probably go and see it when it comes out in B&W here. I imagine it’ll be a very different experience
It almost feels like two movies, and I much preferred the first. I wanted more circus.
Agreed. It really is 2 different movies. Neither really worked for me.
Definitely see it in color.
See Belfast and C’mon C’mon in color too if you can because there’s no reason for either to be in black and white.
Passing used the format beautifully, however.
I had no idea there was a color version of Belfast?
There should be. Alas.
Yeah looks like it was totally filmed in black and white. Which I really thought was fine – I’m a bit worried it might actually have been a bit uglier to look at in color. It didn’t exactly have the most colorful looking sets.
Haha true, and I liked it. But I think black and white is being overused these days.
I would argue see Tragedy of Macbeth in B&W too. It was a very intentional use to build strong contrast and make the best use of the shadows. I actually can’t comment on Belfast or C’mon C’mon yet as I haven’t seen them but I would agree on passing.
Agreed on Macbeth.
yeah Macbeth is gorgeous
Agreed. It’s the only one of 3 that really needs to be B & W.
Great article.
Makes me wonder if CODA had been picked up by Searchlight instead of Apple what might have been.
Glad to see Sasha actually liked Don’t Look Up
Did she or is she just trying to put the positives of all of the films in the race forward? I have just heard her saying she doesn’t like it on the podcast before – though maybe she has changed her mind!
She’s putting positives on all of the contenders for the article.
It’s a celebration piece of movies.
Great analysis, although I’d very much disagree that there are no villains in Belfast. Colin Morgan’s character isn’t a victim of the times.
Yeah, Belfast has some pretty obviously clear-cut, very unambiguous villains …. that was kind of part of the point lol
Thank you Sasha! This is the kind of article that I have liked to read from you over the years. A very good summary of the movies that will probably end up in the top 10, with one or two possible misses replaced by Drive My Car and/or House of Gucci or even Macbeth?). Regardless of the final top 10, I enjoyed all these movies and this piece summarizes it in a well-written way!
Is the Academy going to honor 10 or do their 5-10 nominees again this year?
They have guaranteed 10 this year
Really? I hadn’t heard that.
Can someone help me out: I have been looking at the shortlists on the BAFTA website and when I read the rules above for acting categories it says:
“15 performances will progress to Round Two of voting, and six will be nominated. To determine this longlist, in Round One the acting chapter voted; the top 12 were automatically longlisted. The remaining three places have been voted on by the Longlisting jury, who have considered the next 10 placed performances from the chapter vote. Round Two is voted on by a jury who will vote for the six nominations.”
It doesn’t make any mention of this “top 2 films from the longlist are automatically nominated” thing. I assume that is still happening though? Is there somewhere on the BAFTA website that confirms this? The only categories I see it mentioned for are british film (where 5 are selected by each) and documentary (where top 2 go through and the rest are selected by jury)
Also does this rule apply to director and casting too? As those are the other categories where there is a general(branch) vote in the first round then jury picks in second. It is interesting reading the actual rules… I didn’t realise how few categories the juries actually select in. Picture has no jury involvement whatsoever and everyone votes.
Technical, craft and screenplays are all chapter votes without jury involvement according to the BAFTA website.
As per the BAFTA website, there will be 6 nominees in each acting category.
Separate nominating Jury for each category considers 13 longlisted (placed 3-15), and votes for 4 nominations
If there are 6 nominations per category and jury votes for 4 only, this means that the top two vote-getters are automatically nominated, right?
Could you link to where you read that because it doesn’t say that on the page I am on (the longlist announcement), as you see from the quote I pasted above it saying “Round Two is voted on by a jury who will vote for the six nominations.”. I wonder whether there is just a copy paste on this page from last year where I am reading and an intern forgot to change the text or something
Oh okay I just found where you read that and that is probably the more official location. It was quite buried though, maybe there is an easier way to access it but I found it pretty difficult to find. It is annoying that they have conflicting information in different places too.
It is good I can confirm from this that director and casting are 100% jury selected, documentary is same as acting, whereas picture, crafts, technical and screenplay have no jury involvement. Good to keep in mind for predictions
Director and Casting are entirely juried
Since this phrasing hasn’t seemingly been brought up yet, in the “Rules and Guidelines” text for this year’s BAFTAs it says:
Sounds like excess red tape bureaucratic claptrap by BAFTA to me outcome at that awards which see it potentially likely go doen same self destructive path as academy has over last decade plus…alienating the Traditional film fan supporter base.
Thank you for your clear-eyed appraisal of CODA, the only film this year that truly had a beating heart and wasn’t afraid to wear it proudly on its sleeve.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b446951a1bde9e2de4d9f227b8087d84a4fddc8aa646740bc3bbc2d8410a41be.gif
So so good, and not a single person I know has seen it. Ugh Apple.
The problem is who has Apple TV+? People I know outside the Oscar conversation watch a movie in theatres 2-3 times per year, maybe 5-10 max. Otherwise they just watch whatever is on Netflix or Disney+. I imagine HBO Max is also more popular in the US but very few people would actually have Apple TV+ right?
Totally. And lots of older tvs don’t support the app. It’s a shame they were the ones to acquire it.
I think if something, this is making movies and awards undemocratic. AMPAS voters can see the film on a nice free screener – actual audiences would have to subscribe to the fifth streaming service, which they can’t afford or simply don’t want to.
Yeah it is an issue and I’m not sure that there is an easy fix for it… I mean apart from the fact that I do know a few people that see Apple TV+ content via piracy… I feel like people started pirating content less once streaming became a thing but as more and more of them show up I feel like people might resort back to doing it