Nine out, Trek in at Oscars?
Donald Clarke
Viz comic used to great mileage from the fact that, as the editors saw it, nobody cared much for Fulchester goalkeeper Billy the Fish. His exploits were often accompanied by copy such as “the strip everybody hates” or “everyone’s least favourite Viz character”.
I am beginning to suspect that Oscar gossip is Screenwriter’s equivalent of the great piscine footballer. The regular updates on the waxing and waning of various titles’ chances for the awards is usually met with a mixture of boredom and hostility. Fair enough. The Oscars are rubbish I suppose.
It is, nonetheless, time for another rumination. What’s changed since last time? Well, The Messenger, an interesting indie film concerning Iraq, has not picked up the support that might have been expected. More dramatically, the largely appalling reviews for Nine — including one from this writer — have finally propelled that musical into the outer wastelands of Awardsland. Now, the weird thing is that Nine still could win best musical or comedy at the Golden Globes on Sunday, but that is only because the competition is — in Awards terms — not all that juicy. The Hangover and (500) Days of Summer are both better films, but they don’t have that necessary middle-brow sheen about them. If that does happen then it’s back in the running for an Oscar nomination. The picture has, however, no chance whatsoever of winning.
The crew of the Enterprise marvel at intergalactic levels of tunelessnes in Nine.
The other big mover of the new year has been Star Trek. When it was announced, back in the summer, that there were to be 10 nominations for best picture, everybody felt that the superbly reviewed, financially satisfactory science fiction romp was now a dead cert. By Christmas its hopes had faded and it looked as if we would be stuck with yet more big, dull potboilers in the final 10. But what’s this? Star Trek has just received nominations from the Producers Guild of America, the American Cinema Editors and the Writers Guild of America for those organisations’ respective awards. With that and Avatar in the final running the Academy might actually get the populist ceremony on which they were counting.
Meanwhile, propelled by absurdly positive reviews, Avatar has become the second biggest film ever at the world box-office. It is now the runaway favourite for best picture.
SCREENWRITER’S PREDICTIONS FOR THE BEST PICTURE NOMINATIONS
1. Avatar
Sam Worthington saves the Smurfs. James Cameron saves Hollywood.
2. Up in the Air
Suave, old-school Clooney pic will definitely get many nods. But what can it now win? Even the best adapted screenplay could go to…
3. Precious
Though utterly different in tone, the grim drama is this year’s Juno, Sideways or Little Miss Sunshine. The quasi-indie that could.
4. The Hurt Locker
Been a lock for a nomination ever since it received raves in the early part of the year. Mind you, its box-office takings in the US were truly appalling.
5. Up
Why not just give it the best animated feature gong now?
6. Inglourious Basterds
Well, well, well. Who knew? Quentin’s unruly war flick has been picking up vast numbers of nominations throughout awards season and is now certain of a place in the final 10. Christoph Waltz is the big favourite for best supporting actor.
7. An Education
Again, nobody went to see it in America. But the surge behind Carey Mulligan should keep it afloat.
8. Invictus
Eastwood’s tale of rugby in post-Apartheid South Africa is fading a bit. But the classy personnel — Clint, Morgan Freeman — will continue to appeal to Oscar voters.
9. Star Trek
Loved by all — though it underperformed outside America — this is the critically acclaimed crowd-pleaser the Academy was hoping for when it increased the number of best picture nods. Boosted by nominations from a host of professional bodies.
10. A Serious Man
It’s back. Just hovering outside the top 10 last time, the Coens’ masterpiece should profit from Nine’s decline.
In: A Serious Man (re-entry), Star Trek.
Out: Nine, The Messenger.
I am genuinely astonished and appalled at how Avatar has emerged as the big contender for this year’s Oscars. If it wins Best Picture I don’t think I can ever watch them again
Yawn – why not focus on good movies. Is it news because people tell us that such and such is a good film. Look at Forest Gump for heavens sake…
Example – best lighting etc. rarely goes to a film that is actually really well lit. I though the hurt locker had some superb lighting and close-up cinematography from this years potential runners.
Well, I think I do focus on good movies as well, Robespierre. But I also enjoy the sport of the Oscars. What you say about the technical awards is spot-on, by the way.
Hey Declan. I know where you’re coming from. Mind you, it wouldn’t be the worst film to win. It’s not as nauseating as Forrest Gump or as plain bad as A Beautiful Mind.
Billy the Fish played in goal!
You are, of course, correct, Accattone. I have altered the appallingly flawed text.
An Education did well in the art house circuit in the USA. No one saw The Hurtlocker because they were sick and tired of dreadful “anti-war” movies like In The Valley of Elah; unfortunately, they missed out on a timeless movie. Invuctus died a quick death – thankfully, as it is nowhere near the standards of other Clint movies. I still can’t quite believe it’s one of his.
let avatar win all the tech awards. i’ll be happy if hurt locker or a serious man wins best film at the oscars.
pop star and chairman rick spangle never gave billy the fish the contract he deserved
Donald,
Off topic but I’m very eager…you say in the Ticket that Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll opened Friday but without a press show. Where is it on – I can’t find it in the listings.
An Education – wow. It’s a very ordinary, ‘three-star’ movie, completely undeserving of an Oscar nomination.
I saw The Road last night and thought it was excellent. That should be in contention.
My favourite time in Billy The Fish was where they had to stop the match and use the floodlights for an emergency open-heart operation on one of the managers.
This resulted in the teams having to play an additional 8 hours of extra time –
which is kind of what Oscar coverage feels like to me.
I suppose one of the interesting things about The Hurt Locker is that it was directed by a woman (Kathryn Bigelow) and even though the whole “war is a drug” thing played out pretty well, I don’t think any director, yet, has really tried to come up with a real understanding of war — especially a deep psychoanalytical understanding — and I was disappointed that a woman director didn’t bring something more to the table — or the battlefield, rather. At any rate, it always bothers me the way American soldiers behave (at least, in movies) in a country foreign to them. The scene where the character, Staff Sergeant, William James (played by Jeremy Renner) bursts into an Iraqi Professor’s home really annoyed me, even though I realise Sgt James was in a bit of a state over what he thought was the death of an Iraqi boy that he had befriended in that sort of ‘combat-US-soldier-gives-chewing-gum-to-an-indigenous peasant-way’. Not for one second did the American soldier recognize or acknowledge the culture, the customs, the mores or even the bare beauty of the home he was breaking into and needless to say, he broke into the wrong house. I couldn’t take my eyes off the beauty of the home, the furniture, the table, what was on the table, what was on the walls and how gracious the professor was in trying to welcome a confused stranger. I wouldn’t blame his lovely wife for her reaction, either — she fairly belted your man. But The Hurt Locker gets 10 out of 10 for suspense and for holding one’s interest right through the whole movie. It would be so wonderful if it beat that Smurfsy Avatar, though; and what a fuss George Monbiot made of Avatar in the Guardian. Talk about contrived. He went to great pains to adapt Avatar to fit his particular new-age-left version/vision of the European colonization of the Americas.
The way technology is changing though, I’ll bet Avatar will be one of those movies that people will look back on and say “How quaint”. Maybe Donald could start a rage against Avatar campaign.
Re; Hurt Locker.
Shouldn’t Ridley Scott have had Leo DeCaprio make friends with a kid in Body Of Lies rather than giving him a love interest?
Way more believable and just as effective.
Donald, it certainly would be up there with the worst alright *cough Braveheart cough*
I still reckon Up in the Air will win Best Picture, and Kathryn Bigelow will win Director. There’s just that feeling that it’s her year.
I hope ‘Orphan’ gets something, I think a lot of critics have underrated it.
Not this critic, Erin.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/theticket/2009/0807/1224252103424.html
But the critics HATED it in America. I mean really LOATHED IT. It has no chance whatsoever of getting anything, alas.
Just read Donald’s review of ORPHAN (thanks for the link) which was brilliant. I love the line (in the review) . “You may as well complain that Dracula misrepresents the Romanian aristocracy”. This reminded me of the 1922 film NOSFERATU directed by F.W. Murnau and starring Max Schreck — you can view the entire film on youTube. They don’t make them like that any more. But be warned the music will stay in your head for ever and everything you listen to on Lyric afterwards will sound like it. At any rate I’m going to get Orphan out at the weekend (on account of Donald’s review and Erin Fox’s comments) since I haven’t seen it yet.
Wes Anderson accepting an award for Fab Mr Fox in stop-motion
http://www.slashfilm.com/2010/01/13/wes-andersons-stop-motion-animated-nbr-awards-acceptance-speech/
Cute
Brendan, apologies, but it looks like the distributors didn’t release it here after all. Apologies for misinformation.
I have a tough time imagining An Education getting a BP nom. Carey Mulligan, most definitely, but I think the picture as a whole is too lightweight. I loved it, incidentally, but I don’t know about its chances…
Best Director will be interesting, as they can’t match up directly with Best Picture anymore. Who’ll be left out in the cold? I’m guessing Reitman, Tarantino, Cameron, Bigelow and Daniels. It’ll be fun to see Bigelow and Cameron competing, although though they seem to be on good terms! It’s a pity that after that supposed ‘year of the female director’, only one woman seems to be in the running. Where’s my Jane Campion at?
Best Young Actress award for Saoirse Ronan last night at the Critics Choice awards.
http://www.indiewire.com/article/critics_choice_award_winners_in_progress/
Since when did “nobody” see The Hurt Locker? It made over 16 million dollars domestic and never had a wider release than 500 theatres. It made more than In The Valley of Elah, Lions For Lambs or Stop Loss.
My predictions are the same as Donald’s, with The Messenger my no.11 pick.
It made over 16 million dollars domestic and never had a wider release than 500 theatres.
That seems like a tiny amount for (essentially) a mainstream film that got ecstatic reviews. It registered at number 130 in the 2009 US box office chart. That’s a modest performance in anybody’s book (even if the per screen average was high).