Will Ethnicity Affect The Oscars?

I know it's sort of an on-and-off subject of the Oscars, but once in awhile ethnicity comes into play when people do and don't win Oscars.  Had Steven Spielberg not directed "The Color Purple" I'm convinced the film would have won Best Picture that year (as well as a bunch of other awards).  By the time Halle Berry won her Best Actress Oscar in 2000 there was word that a black person was long overdue for another Oscar win (the last won to win was Whoopi Goldberg for Best Supporting Actress in"Ghost").  Berry I can understand winning, but Denzel Washington for "Training Day?"  Hey, I love Washington, but that was NOT one of his more memorable movies!  In 2003 when three actors were favored to win Oscars (of which two did) it was purely for quality work, so sometimes the craft plays a crucial role in things.

This year is shaping up to be ethnically political.  First up we have "Precious" that is a Best Picture favorite.  The movie in limited release has gotten rave reviews, is making very good money, and it has the combined support of Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry.  This would be good merits on the films chances as it is, but then you have to factor in that a movie starring mostly black people and (more importantly) that are about the black culture has yet to win.  "The Color Purple" lost, a good portion of black people find "Driving Miss Daisy" to be offensive, and great movies about black people like "Do The Right Thing," "Malcom X," and "Dreamgirls" weren't even nominated.  With all that in mind, "Precious" stands out to me as being a favorite to win the top prize (though Best Director I'm not as sure).

Denzel Washington in his Oscar-winning role for "Training Day."

And folks, don't get me wrong: "Precious" is one of the best films of the year and I would have little problem with it winning.  The only thing I'm contemplating this is because it's been a sore spot for many that a movie made by black people and starring black people has yet to win Best Picture.  So the sudden success of such a movie that has award potential makes this a big one for people who have such concerns with the Academy.  However that's not the main reason I'm writing this article.  I'm writing because recently I saw a wonderful movie called "Skin" directed by Anthony Fabian.  Now "Skin" is a small movie that was released under-the-radar, but I'm sure this movie will be discussed in the public very soon.

I also believe that should the movie catch on with the public then Sophie Okonedo and Sam Neill will be favorites to be nominated for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor, respectively.  The story is based off the true story of Sandra Laing, a girl born to white parents in South Africa but was classified black because of her darker skin.  Her parents were not liberal.  Though they loved their daughter very much they never saw her as black, and her father in particular had PROBLEMS with black people!  Her story is almost so surreal it's difficult to believe.  Should this film catch on race will be a big discussion point for many people, and should it get big enough it will probably trickle into the Oscar race.  It's happened before and it will happen again.  I hope it doesn't though.  Nothing ruins the award race like discussions of ethnicity, and no topics ruins the awards more.

Sophie Okonedo as Sandra Laing in "Skin."

Because once these discussions start and they spiral out of control you see people, scripts, and films being awarded/not awarded Oscars for reasons other then quality.  Right now with the new ten rule the race is looking interesting, and "Precious" does seem like a logical choice for the big prize, but if a better movie is released I don't want their to be pressure on the Academy to award "Precious" just because a black film has yet to win this award.

"The Road" Trailer

And so the much delayed film adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" is finally unveiled. And the movie...doesn't look bad. In fact, I'm pretty interested in seeing it now. I'm cautious though because I personally felt that this Pulitzer Prize-winning, New York Times best seller, and Oprah's Book Club selection was TERRIBLY boring! The movie looks to be a major step in the right direction. Unlike the book the movie looks like it's about something. Viggo Mortenson is also looking promising as the lead. Oh, and you can bet your momma's soul that the company is going to make sure everyone knows that the author of "No Country For Old Men" wrote this, all but ensuring it becomes an Oscar contender long before we see it. The road for Oscar won't be easy though (no pun intended): just ask delayed movies like "The Soloist" and "All The Kings Men" for prood that when a studio delays a film, they usually delay it for a reason.

Oprah Says "Vote Australia"

I just want to get this out in the open: I can't stand Oprah. One of the most powerful women in the world, she commands way too much power from the public. She can control the book best seller list, she effects the election without having to make any valid arguments, and her political agenda has become something to scorn at recently. That said when she endources something that normally means a lot of love and money will follow that endourcement. Recently that movie was "Australia," a movie that is being watched carefully as we don't know whether it will be an epic orgy or epic failure. With recent talks that the ending is being re-filmed so that it's happy also has people concerned. Whatever cut of the film Oprah saw though is irrelivent, as she's officially declared it the best film of the year. She even went as far as to say it's the best film she's seen in a long time.

I wonder how many movies she watches a year. Watching her show I don't get a sense that she watches many movies at all. She's also missed some modern classics like "Wall-E," "The Dark Knight" and "Rachael Getting Married," so I'm taking this quote with a grain of salt. The question now is this: Will this effect "Australia's" Oscar chances? Possibly. Oprah was one of the key reasons "Crash" won a couple of years ago, so it seems likely "Australia" is getting a truckload of nominations based on her alone. Will it win any? That's even more hard to say, but this certainly has made the race much more interesting.

"The Secret Life of Bees" Trailer

I'm not sure whether or not this movie will get any Oscar nominations. The only things it has going for it are established actresses, it's based off a best selling book, and it could potentially get Oprah's support on her show (and if that happens a Best Picture nomination is a given). Plus it's got that (as some people would call it) "chick appeal," which could help get the female vote. For now thought he trailer looks promising.