Watching the watered down Oscars last night, I got to thinking (you have a lot of time for that during shadow puppet shows and sound effect choirs) about the times I felt really ripped off by the Academy Awards, and whether it could happen again in a year where I hardly saw any movies.
Well, maybe Kelly Clarkson felt ripped-off when fellow American Idol (actually, Idol wannabe) Jennifer Hudson won an Oscar for Dream Girls when all she got to star in were a couple of skanky goth videos and From Justin to Kelly. But me, I don't really care. Nope, didn't feel particularly ripped off by Hollywood politics this year. (The gratuitous Celine Dion performance came close though... 5 minutes I'll never get back, and in which I didn't even score any points on my Oscar pool.)
So what are the Top 3 Oscar rip-offs in my viewing career (dating back to 1988)?
3. Sin City not in the running at all, not even Art Direction or Cinematography, when clearly, it has a completely different look than any feature ever made. And why? Because it didn't adhere to the Union rules 'cuz Rodriguez absolutely wanted to credit Frank Miller as co-director. Personally, I think trade unions have had their day and are currently the work of the devil (or lawyers, whichever term you prefer). Cuz really, how cool would it have been to see Frank Miller get up on the Academy stage, huh?
2. Waking Life excluded from the first Animated Feature category. I've got nothing against the usual Dreamworks and Pixar stuff, but something as groundbreaking for animation as Waking Life really should have gotten some kind of nod in 2002. Similarly, Linklater's A Scanner Darkly, didn't figure in this year's crop of candidates, which did include such animation classics as Cars and Monster House. Are Linklater's movies just not submitted? Or are Academy members just letting their kids vote for them?
1. The biggest rip-off of all though occured in the 2000 edition of the Academy Awards' RIP reel. In 1999, we lost DeForest Kelley, but he didn't make the reel. What gives?!? Even if they decided to poo-poo the Star Trek movies, the man was in a ton of westerns as well. Major rip-off. Happy to see James Doohan properly honored this year.
So there you have it. So what are YOUR Oscar highs and lows?
Well, maybe Kelly Clarkson felt ripped-off when fellow American Idol (actually, Idol wannabe) Jennifer Hudson won an Oscar for Dream Girls when all she got to star in were a couple of skanky goth videos and From Justin to Kelly. But me, I don't really care. Nope, didn't feel particularly ripped off by Hollywood politics this year. (The gratuitous Celine Dion performance came close though... 5 minutes I'll never get back, and in which I didn't even score any points on my Oscar pool.)So what are the Top 3 Oscar rip-offs in my viewing career (dating back to 1988)?
3. Sin City not in the running at all, not even Art Direction or Cinematography, when clearly, it has a completely different look than any feature ever made. And why? Because it didn't adhere to the Union rules 'cuz Rodriguez absolutely wanted to credit Frank Miller as co-director. Personally, I think trade unions have had their day and are currently the work of the devil (or lawyers, whichever term you prefer). Cuz really, how cool would it have been to see Frank Miller get up on the Academy stage, huh?
2. Waking Life excluded from the first Animated Feature category. I've got nothing against the usual Dreamworks and Pixar stuff, but something as groundbreaking for animation as Waking Life really should have gotten some kind of nod in 2002. Similarly, Linklater's A Scanner Darkly, didn't figure in this year's crop of candidates, which did include such animation classics as Cars and Monster House. Are Linklater's movies just not submitted? Or are Academy members just letting their kids vote for them?
1. The biggest rip-off of all though occured in the 2000 edition of the Academy Awards' RIP reel. In 1999, we lost DeForest Kelley, but he didn't make the reel. What gives?!? Even if they decided to poo-poo the Star Trek movies, the man was in a ton of westerns as well. Major rip-off. Happy to see James Doohan properly honored this year.So there you have it. So what are YOUR Oscar highs and lows?
Comments
I'm sorry to see Cars didn't win it for best animation. Watching this movie in the theatre and on my home wide-screen (51") is breathtaking. Pixar puts in SO many details in all its modeling and backgrounds, it's stunning visually. The story was strong as well (Pixar's motto is: Story is king). It made me nostalgic. It makes a strong statement concerning urbanization. Being raised in a small city (rural city?), and now living in Montreal's suburbia, I get homesick everytime I watch it. And it throws a nice curveball at the end.
I did watch A Scanner Darkly on your advice Siskoid. I agree that it is innovating. It is an animation for mature viewers. Unfortunately, P.K. Dick's source material may be unattainable by the average viewer and academy member (with limited brainpower). K Reeves interpretation is average. He screws up the soliloque. He is such a boring actor with every role being the same: Johnny Mnemonic = Neo = John Constantine = ASD character.
Just some random thoughts
I just think that while other categories have gotten wilder, more varied, more independent and more international, the much more recent Animated Feature category is still extremely traditional in its choices.
The nominations are always family viewing (not that there's anything wrong with that) and sometimes not even that (i.e. parents would not be engaged by the film). Indeed, when the ballot had something completely different, such as Les Triplettes de Belleville or Spirited Away, it usually went for it
Maybe that just means the US needs to import, support and submit more international animation. There is a LOT of anime made every year, but a very tiny fraction makes it to North American screens. I'm sure that if the category had existed all along, Miyazaki would have already had 3 Oscars to his name (Nausicaä of the Valley of the Winds, Kiki's Delivery Service, and Princess Mononoke) and of course, there's Akira (though it probably wouldn't have won because it is too violent).
Anyway, I'd love for the category to open and NOT be only for family fare. T'sall I'm saying.
I agree that single denominator of "animated" shouldn't be all inclusive given the different styles, origins and target audience of the these movies.
Heck how do we define animated? Star Wars I (Phantom Menace) only had one shot (ONE SHOT) that didn't have computer generated effects added-in.
A fine line indeed.
I'm guessing that according to some secret Oscar rules, something like Roger Rabbit would not be an animated feature.