Now For Something A Little Different

I discovered this article through a Digg It link, and while I disagree with it on some points, it does make some arguments on why the heat for the lack of Best Picture nomination for "The Dark Knight" should subside:

Besides, what does it matter to any of you whether or not the films YOU like get nominated? It doesn’t depreciate the film and shouldn’t de-value your enjoyment of it. Look back to the year 2000. Gladiator won Best Picture, while Traffic, Erin Brockovich, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and Chocolat were nominated alongside it. Do you know which movie is most memorable and has stuck with me since? Almost Famous. Dances with Wolves won Best Picture for 1990, yet Goodfellas is regarded by many as one of the greatest films of all time.

Does this mean that the Academy got it wrong? No. It just means the voters went a different way than the public. The Academy Awards are not a democracy of the people; it’s an organization of professionals patting each other on the back and peers recognizing peers for their achievements. Helen Hunt received an Oscar for being annoying in an above-average romantic comedy. Nicole Kidman got one for putting on a fake nose. Likewise, Charlize Theron was mesmerizing in Monster and Daniel Day Lewis gave a bravura, towering performance worth every accolade in There Will Be Blood. Sometimes their awards are pretty dubious; sometimes they f*cking nail it. But what it really boils down to is: The Oscars are essentially meaningless.

I think mentioning "Wall-E" would have been nice, but then, that might have undermined the whole argument. Whether I think "The Reader" should be nominated or not, I have to admit some great points were made here. A definite must-read.

YouTube Reactions To Oscar Nominees

I knew that the internet would be up in a blaze over the snubbing of "The Dark Knight" and "Wall-E" for "The Reader," but it looks like people aren't just reacting, they are reacting with a vengeance. Here are some random YouTube videos I picked up:

It's just going to get worse from here on out folks.

A Dark Day For Oscar

"A Dark Day For Oscar"

By Kevin T. Rodriguez

Today is indeed a dark, dark day for the Academy Awards. After years of being the scorn of public ridicule for being “out of touch” with movie goers and “old fashioned,” the Academy had two chances to prove that they were still an awards show above all else. That they, despite getting a nomination wrong here and there, could still recognize artistic quality when they saw it. This year two movies defined 2008: “Wall-E” and “The Dark Knight.” Now “Wall-E” was always a long shot for the Best Picture race, but it can at least fall back on the Best Animated Film category and revel in it’s Best Original Screenplay nomination. “The Dark Knight” though...that’s a whole different story. Hailed as a contemporary masterpiece, the second highest grossing film of all time, and one of the most critically acclaimed blockbusters since “The Lord of the Rings,” “The Dark Knight” seemed poised for greatest.

Read More...

Tapley To Academy: This Years Nominees Are A 'Tragedy'

Kristopher Tapley of In Contention.com has written a critical piece of the AMPAS choices for Best Picture nominations. Here's my favorite bit of the article:

This all brings us to the elephant in the room: “The Reader” was the film to steal the Bat’s thunder, not “Gran Torino” like I expected, not “WALL-E” as others had hoped. And I think we all knew it was coming once Stephen Daldry’s name was called. A pornographic account of a sympathetic Nazi, rushed through post-production and ultimately a sloppy piece of drama, rightly abandoned by its initial producer at a crucial time on the basis of principle on one hand, politics on the other — this is one of the Academy’s five Best Pictures of the year.

These people should have their cards taken away. This member-for-life shit has to go because you end up with crotchety fools that have no idea what good cinema is, let alone a care about how their organization’s choices will be looked upon in the future. Years from now, “The Reader” will be a blip on the map of film obscurity. “The Dark Knight” will live on in infamy as one of the year’s titans, both a popular blockbuster and a critically acclaimed work of art.

What an absolute tragedy.

I have to say I'm in agreement with him 100% here. I was in too much shock yesterday to voice my opinion on the nominations, so that's why you'll get them today instead. Stay tuned.