The 89th Academy Awards (2017) Movie • Page 18

To me, the term Oscar Bait has more so to do with the method of promotion/distribution rather than the actual filmmaking aspect. When I hear that I usually think of stuff that's either bought at a festival (Birth of a Nation) or one that just seems to be laying in really hard on getting an award (usually films released in the fall like Jackie or La La Land). It's not that these films were made with the explicit intent to win an Oscar (or Golden Globe or BAFTA or SAG, etc etc) it's more that promoters and distributors ~saw something in the film that makes it seem like an easy win.

But that's also just a personal idea of what it means to me. I'm sure that there are some films or some aspects of films that were designed with getting an award in mind but I don't think that having a movie on a specific topic necessarily makes it bait. It's also definitely not a positive term for me, no matter the spin haha

(Also, screw Weinstein)

 

Double post but some articles that I wanted to link to outside of my own personal opinion:

http://www.vulture.com/2017/02/oscars-2017-how-savvy-campaigns-are-shaping-the-awards-race.html

Is There Even Such a Thing As ‘Oscar Bait’?

 

Just have Lion and Hidden Figures left to watch.

I thought Fences was one of the most boring movies I have ever seen. That story did not warrant a 140 minute run time. Viola Davis was really good in it, though.

And I was pleasantly surprised with Hell or High Water.

 

At that point though, I'd rather he just stay above the Oscar fray and write about the movies though. Oscar-Watching and appreciating film are related pursuits, but not the same thing.

 

What the fuck is wrong with being "Oscar bait?"

Oh man, they made a movie they hoped might be good enough to get recognized for excellence in the only place where you can get millions of people to repeatedly hear the name of an art film? Fuck them! They should be punished!

 

I understand that. I'm not guessing at his motivations though, I assume he at least partially, if not wholeheartedly, believes what he wrote. I'm just stating that, as a piece about the Oscar race goes, I prefer one that actually talks about the films nominated as films, rather than just acknowledging what won SAG awards and what has momentum and all that. So many things I click on are just saying the same stuff over and over about how La La Land will win but Moonlight probably should and Denzel has a chance now and all that stuff with very little else about it.

 

Yeah I do wonder how much the tail wags the dog here now that oscar buzz is a whole cottage industry. Like, the bloggers obviously don't control shit. But I wouldn't be surprised at all if there are voters who look at the predictions to prioritize which movies they'll have time to get in.

 

Sara Bareilles to Perform During Oscar In Memoriam Segment

 

Love Sara.

 

Here's a question: Looking back at the last ten years or so (2007-Present), out of the movies that have been nominated for Best Picture, which ones have you all returned to once the Awards show hype has died down? To me, the testament of a truly great movie is replay ability.

For me, I've watched There Will Be Blood, Up, Up in the Air, The Social Network, Toy Story 3, Moneyball, Django Unchained, The Wolf of Wall Street, Boyhood, Whiplash, Mad Max: Fury Road and The Martian multiple times (3 or more each) since their award season passed. La La Land will more than likely be one of those movies for me, especially since I've seen it four times now.

 

There Will Be Blood
Juno, the amount of Oscar love it got is surprising but I'll say it's actually good and Diablo Cody is awesome
Milk

 

2016: Moonlight, Arrival, Hell or High Water, Lion, Manchester By The Sea
2015: Spotlight, Bridge of Spies, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Revenant
2014: Whiplash,The Grand Budapest Hotel, Birdman
2013: The Wolf of Wall Street, Her
2012: 12 Years A Slave, Lincoln, Life of Pi, Django Unchained, Amour, Moneyball
2011: Hugo
2010: Toy Story 3, True Grit, The Social Network, The Fighter, Inception
2009: Up, A Serious Man, Inglourious Basterds, District 9
2008: Milk
2007: There Will Be Blood, No Country for Old Men
2006: The Departed, Little Miss Sunshine

Ones in bold are what I think should've won that year, of the nominees.

 

Here's a question for discussion: although I know Oscars are ultimately meaningless in terms of the actual quality of someone's work, who is someone who has never won an Oscar of any kind that everyone thinks is overdue? For me it's 100% Wes Anderson. That they gave original screenplay to Birdman over The Grand Budapest Hotel in 2014 was one of the most frustrating Oscar moments in recent memory for me (I knew it had no chance of Best Picture or Director, although it totally deserved both). Wes is one of my favorite filmmakers of all time, so I'm a little biased. Also, I think it's only a matter of time for Amy Adams.

 

These were my favorites of the BP nominees of the last 10 years. Parenthesis are films I felt really strongly about too.

2007: There Will Be Blood
2008: Slumdog Millionaire
2009: Up in the Air (Up)
2010: The Social Network (Toy Story 3, Black Swan, The Fighter, 127 Hours)
2011: Moneyball
2012: Django Unchained
2013: The Wolf of Wall Street
2014: Boyhood (Whiplash)
2015: The Martian (Mad Max: Fury Road)
2016: La La Land (Moonlight)

 

Samuel L. Jackson, Brad Pitt, and John Goodman all immediately come to mind.

Would also love to see Richard Linklater get some love.

 

I love Brad Pitt but don't think he's a great actor at all. He's almost always just Brad Pitt. There are maybe a handful of roles where he truly acts.

 

Here’s the real reason no one went to see Mia’s show in La La Land

Here's the real problem with La La Land.

 

Michael Shannon and Edward Norton, both have been nominated though

 

The movies I think about/have returned to from previous years nominees are

2016: Mad Max: Fury Road
2015: Boyhood, Grand Budapest Hotel, Whiplash, Selma
2014: 12 Years a Slave, Her, Gravity, the Wolf of Wall Street
2013: Django Unchained, Lincoln
2012: Moneyball, the Tree of Life
2011: The Social Network, Inception
2010: Inglourious Basterds, A Serious Man
2009: None
2008: No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood
2007: The Departed
2006: Brokeback Mountain, Munich
2005: The Aviator
2004: Return of the King, Lost in Translation, Master and Commander
2003: Gangs of New York, the Two Towers,
2002: Fellowship of the Ring, Moulin Rouge
2001: None

Isabelle Huppert, Wes Anderson, Paul Thomas Anderson come to mind as deserving of Oscars. Brad Pitt deserved it in 2012.

They're younger, but I'm rooting for Kristen Stewart, Channing Tatum, and Michael B. Jordan every year.

 

She’s All That

God, I hope Isabelle Huppert wins. I know it's a massive longshot. But what she does in Elle is extraordinary.

 

After getting in Nocturnal Animals I now have all the noms in the top 8 categories back through 2012 again. I also have every supporting actor nom back through 06

 

Nothing from 2001?!? Were you not entertained?!

 

I liked Gladiator, Crouching Tiger, Traffic, and Erin Brockovich. But I don't revisit those movies or think about them all that much.

 

As an action movie guy, its funny to say that I've rewatched Erin Brockovich the most out of those lol.

 

Could not agree more. It's the pick I'm most hoping to be wrong about, other than "Moonlight for everything," of course.