General Discussion

I don't remember the last time I was so at odds with the Academy's official list of nominees. It's enough to make me want to pound a bullet into the head of every one of these fucking assholes. Now I expected Hanna to get completely passed over, but comparing the critical reception Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close got to that of Drive, one can only question what the fuck planet the Academy is living on. I honestly thought they'd be above falling for such obvious awards-pandering. At least the Hollywood Foreign press was smart enough to see that piece of shit for the contrived, syrupy, cloying mess it really is. I know they said they weren't necessarily going to have ten Best Picture nominations again this year, but they couldn't have just tacked on Drive to round out the field? And all the respect in the world to Max von Sydow, but I really don't think he deserved to be on the list for Best Supporting Actor, especially in place of Albert Brooks. Let's hope the one award Drive did get nominated for is the one it wins, but at this point I can hardly bring myself to care. Last year the Academy tried way too hard to prove it was still in touch with today's moviegoing audience by having Dopey and Bug Eyes host*, but this year it seems they've just given up completely.

Looking over the acting nominees, I'm disheartened all that buzz didn't translate into something substantial for Elizabeth Olsen. And where the fuck is Tilda Swinton for We Need to Talk About Kevin? Easily the best performance of the year in that category. How do they justify Glenn Close or Meryl Streep over her? And I can't even get excited about seeing Jonah Hill's or Melissa McCarthy's names mentioned due to the blatant and offensive lack of respect for Drive. I could also bitch about The Skin I Live In, Captain America, Winnie the Pooh, and We Need to Talk About Kevin not making a single appearance, but Drive's insulting solitary nomination speaks volumes about just how out of touch the Academy's definition of quality filmmaking really is. They've surprised me the last few years by giving awards to stuff like No Country for Old Men and The Departed. But if this year's list proves anything, it's that AMPAS still pines for a mythical "golden age" when innovation and deviance from a very specific formula were frowned upon. I was hoping the filmmaking revolution of the '70s changed all that, but I guess even if they give out a win to a Pulp Fiction or a Fargo once in a while, their brand of subjectivity is just as stodgy and archaic as it ever was. Needless to say, if I picked the nominations, things would go down very differently.

* I love them both, I really do. But seriousy? WORST. HOSTS. EVER.

@PatVB said:

Yeah, I'm pretty disapponited with the nominations this year, too. I would have really liked to see Shailene Woodley get nominated.

is she good in the Descendants? - she's pretty bad in Secret Life .. although, that show could make the best actors look bad, but it's terribly addictive.

I don't really feel like it's even worth getting upset over anymore. Fact is, the academy has differing tastes than most of us here, and every year there will be major discrepancies between their nominations and our picks.

I am surprised that they actually went for that syrupy-bland confection that is Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close...but now that I reflect on it, not that surprised.

@CherryBomb: Yes, Shailene is great in The Descendants, definitely Oscar worthy. I haven't seen her in anything else and I'm kind of glad, cause from her filmography I can guess I'd be biased against her.

@ashogo said:

...every year there will be major discrepancies between their nominations and our picks.

True, and obviously from this list, some years more than others. I'm willing to sacrifice a few hopefuls to see the ones I really care about get picked (Gary Oldman is nice to see on there, finally). But when something like Drive, which I figured would be a slam dunk (for Best Picture, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, and Best Supporting Actor if nothing else), get all but shut out, it really erodes my faith in these peoples' ability to recognize great art. I'd like to believe the Oscars still mean something, that it's not all just about who can throw the most money behind their awards campaign. I'm struggling not to turn into a total cynic, but then Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close gets nominated for Best Fucking Picture. Jesus.

My feeling is "old Hollywood" should be children of the 70s at this point, in their prime during the film revolution. So when I see shit like Hugo, the Help, and Warhorse, just cakes of easy manipulation getting all these noms, the people really responsible for these nominations just don't have a goddamn clue. Im not the biggest Drive fan but shouldn't most of working Hollywood be the types by now who loved Taxi Driver, Midnight Cowboy, and similiarly completely overpassed (at the time) classics and here they are being the same academy dinosaurs who didn't "get" Stanley Kubrick because he didn't paint by Oscar bait numbers. But their cluelessness is made evident enough already by their choice to use Billy Crystal, a man who hasn't been relevant to showbusiness long enough that his irrelevance could get a driver's permit, to host this show.

I get that actors are vain beings and they can overlook a lot but how good can you feel about winning an Oscar in 2012, really. Its almost like going "good job, you were part of a film that was palatable to an irrelevant sect of people and most likely this trophy represents more than anything that you were part of a film derivative enough that people probably won't be watching it generations from now".

My real problem, I guess, is there are a lot of people in Hollywood who agree that its a complete crock. Well you don't have to go, Steven Spielberg and others. Going and rolling your eyes doesn't solve the problem. Snub the Oscars and just show up for SAG Awards, or whatever award show you feel like actually has a goddamn clue about the modern art of film.

@ryanwho said:

...shouldn't most of working Hollywood be the types by now who loved Taxi Driver, Midnight Cowboy, and similiarly completely overpassed (at the time) classics...

Yes! This is what I was getting at. It makes no sense to me that the people in charge of nominating these movies have the same tastes and outdated sensiblities their parents and grandparents did. The young guns of the '70s are the old guard now. You'd think the nominations would reflect that. Fuck, Drive could've been made in the '70s. One point of contention: you can't really say Midnight Cowboy was passed over, winning Best Picture and all. It was actually pretty brave of them to put it on the ballot in the first place. It's just too bad that kind of inventive daring isn't more common among Academy members.

But my original point was, I guess, is it really daring now, in 2012, to nominate a movie like Drive for Best Picture (and a few others)? Why is it even an issue? How could they possibly think Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is a more worthy film?

...their cluelessness is made evident enough already by their choice to use Billy Crystal, a man who hasn't been relevant to showbusiness long enough that his irrelevance could get a driver's permit, to host this show.

Ha! So true! That's what everybody was saying when Eddie Murphy bailed and they announced Crystal. He's the safe bet. I guess that should've been a sign as to how the nominations would turn out. They're all safe bets.

"good job, you were part of a film that was palatable to an irrelevant sect of people and most likely this trophy represents more than anything that you were part of a film derivative enough that people probably won't be watching it generations from now".

I really don't want it to mean that. Like I said, I'm really struggling not to turn into a total cynic in regards to the Oscars. But every year, it seems like there's some big glaring omission or inexplicable nomination or win that further brings to light just how behind the times the Academy really is. Need I mention Crash?

I've boldy made the claim a few times that Drive is one of my all time favourite films, if they can't say that too then fuck em! And where is the Fassbender love! These people are heartless =(

@PatVB said:

@CherryBomb Yeah, she really is. She manages to hold her own againsy George Clooney, which is no small feat.

@vonDread said:

@CherryBomb: Yes, Shailene is great in The Descendants, definitely Oscar worthy. I haven't seen her in anything else and I'm kind of glad, cause from her filmography I can guess I'd be biased against her.

Awesome! thanks guys, I'll have to watch the movie :)

I was hoping Hannah would get a nod at least for best original score. Those transitions were pretty epic. Hannah and Another Earth, those snubs grind my gears a bit. Granted Another Earth was not at all what it was advertised to be, it just ended up being probably the best drama of the year is all. Maybe the exact same movie but with Meryl Streep or Philip Seymour Hoffman. Or set during WW2. Or with some hamfisted message about racism. Then they pay attention. Ugh, it pisses me off the more I think about it.