2020 Awards Season

[sum]

What a speech! 

[Ms Blue Jay]

On 2/7/2020 at 12:14 AM, Irlandesa said:

I hate these every time I read them and yet I look at them.

You don't need a scorecard to figure out Little Women. Hell, you don't even need a brain.  You just need eyes. I feel like for some of these voters, they don't want to come out and say "I didn't pay attention because it was about women...zzzzz" so they latch onto the non-linear storytelling is confusing.  It might make them sound stupid but at least they're not misogynist.

I'm not a Greta fan personally but some people on social media have pointed out that Christopher Nolan does non-linear storytelling but people rarely complain yet we keeping seeing this excuse used with "Little Women".

Edited February 9, 2020 by Ms Blue Jay

[truthaboutluv]

9 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I'm not a Greta fan personally but some people on social media have pointed out that Christopher Nolan does non-linear storytelling but people rarely complain yet we keeping seeing this excuse used with "Little Women".

Well to be fair, that may be exactly why he's only ever been nominated once for Best Director. Because I remember many being plenty mad at his not getting nods for Dark Knight and Inception. 

[kiddo82]

10:00 a.m. on Oscar Sunday and I've had an epiphany.  I just saw a tweet from someone who works for Variety predicting a big night for Jojo (Picture, Supporting Actress, adapted screenplay, and editing) and it's got me wondering if this woman might know something others don't as most believe it will come down to 1917 vs Parasite.  Now, I don't follow this person and only saw this as a retweet from someone I do follow so I can't say if this is wishful thinking on her part, just trying to go out on a limb, or based on any actual rumblings.  Initially, I was thrilled.  Intellectually, 1917 is my number one but not one single movie all year has stayed with me quite like Jojo Rabbit did.  If it does win best picture I might do a back flip out of sheer joy.  (and then I'd need to call the ambulance because I'd land on my head)  However, my big epiphany was that if it does win, I fear the backlash not just from the Parasite fans (who are quite vocal) but just movie fans in general who will always pick apart the best picture winner because that's what we do and I don't want that for my Jojo.*  Maybe it's better off if it doesn't pull off the upset.  I think 1917 is best equipped to withstand people's grumblings because it's still an amazing achievement, and it's very emotional, even if some want to write it off as "just another war movie."  So in a weird way, even though it's my personal number 4, I guess I'm rooting for Parastie because then its' fans will be happy and most importantly, I will be happy because I wont have to hear for the next twenty years about how it was robbed.

I'm still fighting on the ScarJo for best supporting actress hill though.  And definitely adapted screenplay for Waititi.

*In all seriousness, how many movies would we more fondly remember if they didn't have the mantle of "Best Picture."  The King's Speech isn't a bad movie, we just scoff at it now because it beat out The Social Network.  Same with The English Patient over Fargo.  The list goes on and on. 

Edited February 9, 2020 by kiddo82

[starri]

39 minutes ago, kiddo82 said:

*In all seriousness, how many movies would we more fondly remember if they didn't have the mantle of "Best Picture."  The King's Speech isn't a bad movie, we just scoff at it now because it beat out The Social Network.  Same with The English Patient over Fargo.  The list goes on and on. 

The English Patient is a bad movie.

[truthaboutluv]

3 hours ago, kiddo82 said:

I just saw a tweet from someone who works for Variety predicting a big night for Jojo (Picture, Supporting Actress, adapted screenplay, and editing) and it's got me wondering if this woman might know something others don't as most believe it will come down to 1917 vs Parasite. 

I guess anything's possible but I don't see it. Might just be the person's personal choices and desire. For example, I just read Peter Travers' predictions for RollingStone and his Should Win picks make it clear that if he had his way, The Irishman would clean up. It was obvious he believes it to be the best film of the year. But I don't see that happening. 

Adapted Screenplay is definitely about an 80% lock for Jojo Rabbit, unless the predictions that sentiment will swing towards Gerwig, comes true. But I don't see Editing and Picture. Regarding Supporting Actress, I do think if there is going to be any shock win in the acting categories, it may come there. I can see a scenario where many voters went, "oh poor Scarlett. She had two great performances but won't win either. I'll throw her a vote here."

And before you know it, she has enough to win. That said, I don't see it. Think she'll have a Julianne Moore year where she went 0-2 when she was a double nominee. 

[Dejana]

4 hours ago, truthaboutluv said:

Well to be fair, that may be exactly why he's only ever been nominated once for Best Director. Because I remember many being plenty mad at his not getting nods for Dark Knight and Inception. 

Christopher Nolan has been nominated at DGA four times but just once in Best Director at the Oscars. The DGA and Oscar rarely match 5-to-5 but IMO it shows that AMPAS voters were far chillier on him as a director than the industry at large. It's just wild to me that Nolan is now being used as an example of Oscar's long history of embracing challenging narratives up until Greta Gerwig tried it. I say this as someone who'd personally rank Little Women no lower than second among all the BP nominees.

*

3 hours ago, kiddo82 said:

10:00 a.m. on Oscar Sunday and I've had an epiphany.  I just saw a tweet from someone who works for Variety predicting a big night for Jojo (Picture, Supporting Actress, adapted screenplay, and editing) and it's got me wondering if this woman might know something others don't as most believe it will come down to 1917 vs Parasite.  Now, I don't follow this person and only saw this as a retweet from someone I do follow so I can't say if this is wishful thinking on her part, just trying to go out on a limb, or based on any actual rumblings.  Initially, I was thrilled.  Intellectually, 1917 is my number one but not one single movie all year has stayed with me quite like Jojo Rabbit did.  If it does win best picture I might do a back flip out of sheer joy.  (and then I'd need to call the ambulance because I'd land on my head)  However, my big epiphany was that if it does win, I fear the backlash not just from the Parasite fans (who are quite vocal) but just movie fans in general who will always pick apart the best picture winner because that's what we do and I don't want that for my Jojo.*  Maybe it's better off if it doesn't pull off the upset.  I think 1917 is best equipped to withstand people's grumblings because it's still an amazing achievement, and it's very emotional, even if some want to write it off as "just another war movie."  So in a weird way, even though it's my personal number 4, I guess I'm rooting for Parastie because then its' fans will be happy and most importantly, I will be happy because I wont have to hear for the next twenty years about how it was robbed.

I'm still fighting on the ScarJo for best supporting actress hill though.  And definitely adapted screenplay for Waititi.

*In all seriousness, how many movies would we more fondly remember if they didn't have the mantle of "Best Picture."  The King's Speech isn't a bad movie, we just scoff at it now because it beat out The Social Network.  Same with The English Patient over Fargo.  The list goes on and on. 

I think it would be interesting to know the final voting totals, because general assumptions about what came in second may be inaccurate.  The Social Network could have been in third, behind TKS and The Fighter, or Raging Bull fourth after Ordinary People, Coal Miner's Daughter and Tess, for all anyone knows. Not that it would change Oscar arguments, because sometimes the thing considered the "best" in a year isn’t even nominated, and it doesn't change the sentiment that the winner robbed something/someone else (Driving Miss Daisy vs. Do the Right Thing, The Dark Knight vs. Slumdog Millionaire). People rag on The Departed winning Best Picture because it wasn’t Scorsese's best, but it wasn’t competing against his filmography, just the other nominees that year. Was it also supposed to lose in solidarity with Goodfellas and The Aviator? Then people would still complain about Marty being Oscarless.

*

This year, I can see any of these nominees winning Best Picture:

• 1917 has won the category at many precursors, including the PGAs, which also uses the preferential ballot.
• Parasite, which won the SAG for Outstanding Cast, a big milestone for a non-English language movie. It has passionate support and seems to be more accessible to voters than Roma last year, so a lot of high rankings on ballots overall.
• Jojo Rabbit won some screenplay precursors it wasn't expected to, and the TIFF People's Choice Award, which Green Book snagged the year before. It's about something "important" without being too popular (the last Best Picture winner to cross $100 million at the domestic box office was Argo).
• Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is about the struggle to survive in the movie business and nostalgia for the way LA was 50 years ago. Voters finding it "relatable" and "emotional" might be enough for the win.
• Joker did lead the nominations and was strong with the guilds (save the DGA). The industry never felt as negatively about it as its critics.
• The Irishman, which I don't really don't expect to happen, but it's still a Scorsese movie with ten nominations. What if it wins Best Picture and nothing else? 

Little Women would be a pleasant surprise for me but still shocking, Marriage Story, I might start to suspect if Johansson or Driver upset in lead, and Ford v Ferrari would be an all-time out of no where winner.

 

[galaxygirl76]

3 hours ago, starri said:

The English Patient is a bad movie.

On the other hand, I hated Fargo and barely finished it *shrug*

[Ms Blue Jay]

3 hours ago, starri said:

The English Patient is a bad movie.

And I wouldn't be able to enjoy The King's Speech if somebody paid me to…. 

[kiddo82]

24 minutes ago, Dejana said:

I think it would be interesting to know the final voting totals, because general assumptions about what came in second may be inaccurate.  The Social Network could have been in third, behind TKS and The Fighter, or Raging Bull fourth after Ordinary People, Coal Miner's Daughter and Tess, for all anyone knows. Not that it would change Oscar arguments, because sometimes the thing considered the "best" in a year isn’t even nominated, and it doesn't change the sentiment that the winner robbed something/someone else (Driving Miss Daisy vs. Do the Right Thing, The Dark Knight vs. Slumdog Millionaire). People rag on The Departed winning Best Picture because it wasn’t Scorsese's best, but it wasn’t competing against his filmography, just the other nominees that year. Was it also supposed to lose in solidarity with Goodfellas and The Aviator? Then people would still complain about Marty being Oscarless.

Excellent point.  It's only assumed that say Raging Bull was second to Ordinary People or High Noon to Greatest Show on Earth or Brokeback Mountain to Crash.  Works that way in all the categories.  Grace Kelly specifically beating out Judy Garland.  Mark Rylance specifically beating out Slyvester Stallone.  Etc.  There were three other people in all those categories.  Truth is, we'll never know what the wave of support was for anything but the winner.  I do still think however that no matter what, anything the comes out as a consensus pick gets a wave of backlash whether it's deserved or not.   

Also great point about people winning "for the wrong movie" ie, Scorsese for the Departed.  I've always hated that argument.  It just seems so lazy.  You're competing against the current field.  Not the field from last year.  Not the field from ten years ago.  Not your own filmography.  Not anyone else's filmography.  Who cares what movie it was for as long as it's seemingly deserved in the year in which it was awarded?  (obviously that's subjective)

[Bastet]

4 hours ago, kiddo82 said:

*In all seriousness, how many movies would we more fondly remember if they didn't have the mantle of "Best Picture."  The King's Speech isn't a bad movie, we just scoff at it now because it beat out The Social Network.  Same with The English Patient over Fargo. 

The English Patient would still be unbearable.  I've never before or since fidgeted in my seat like a toddler as I did during that film, expecting something good and winding up with something I could not wait to finally end, dammit.

[BlackberryJam]

I do not wade into twitter fights, but if the problem with Gerwig is the use of nonlinear storytelling, why does Tarantino win anything? UGH.

I didn’t see Little Women because I read the book once and decided that was all I ever needed of that story. No re-reads, no films. Gerwig’s version might be brilliant. I have no idea. 

[Luckylyn]

1 hour ago, Bastet said:

The English Patient would still be unbearable.  I've never before or since fidgeted in my seat like a toddler as I did during that film, expecting something good and winding up with something I could not wait to finally end, dammit.

[ruby24]

I don't think it's just that it was non-linear, it's that there didn't seem to be any reason for it to be done that way. It served no purpose to the story.

I think she did it because the movie has been made eight times or whatever, so she thought doing it this way would be different enough, but that alone isn't enough of a reason to do it that way. You have to make sure it works. When everyone looks the same age in past and present, it does get confusing and you wonder...why is this being done this way? Amy looked ridiculous when she was trying to act 12 even though she didn't look it, Laurie looked ridiculous when he was supposed to be in his twenties (they didn't even try to make him look older). 

[Shannon L.]

I never bothered with The English Patient because it looked like it would be boring.  I almost walked out of Fargo, too.  Ugh. 

I've read from some anonymous  voters that they were voting for Renee because she was so good (she was) "and she did her own singing!" And I want to scream "So did Taron!!!".  I've been upset by snubs before, but I think this is the 1st one that will stick with me. 

I think the acting awards are pretty much a lock for tonight, but I'd like to see a upset somewhere.

[Ms Blue Jay]

3 hours ago, Dejana said:

I think it would be interesting to know the final voting totals, because general assumptions about what came in second may be inaccurate.  The Social Network could have been in third, behind TKS and The Fighter, 

2010 was an incredible year for movies.

It's so insane to me that with The Social Network, Inception, True Grit, Black Swan, Shutter Island, Blue Valentine, etc, etc., etc., etc. The King's Speech won.  I will never look at TKS winning favourably.  I'll never agree with it, and it doesn't matter whether I'm thinking about this in 2010, 2010, 2030 personally.  

1 minute ago, Shannon L. said:

I never bothered with The English Patient because it looked like it would be boring.  I almost walked out of Fargo, too.  Ugh. 

I've read from some anonymous  voters that they were voting for Renee because she was so good (she was) "and she did her own singing!" And I want to scream "So did Taron!!!".  I've been upset by snubs before, but I think this is the 1st one that will stick with me. 

I think the acting awards are pretty much a lock for tonight, but I'd like to see a upset somewhere.

It's not just that "she did her own singing".  It's that the singing was so beautiful.  I know that Taron did the singing and his singing was great too, but Renee and Taron are not in competition with each other.  I agree that Taron was snubbed.

[Shannon L.]

11 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

2010 was an incredible year for movies.

It's so insane to me that with The Social Network, Inception, True Grit, Black Swan, Shutter Island, Blue Valentine, etc, etc., etc., etc. The King's Speech won.  I will never look at TKS winning favourably.  I'll never agree with it, and it doesn't matter whether I'm thinking about this in 2010, 2010, 2030 personally.  

It's not just that "she did her own singing".  It's that the singing was so beautiful.  I know that Taron did the singing and his singing was great too, but Renee and Taron are not in competition with each other.  I agree that Taron was snubbed.

Oh, I get that, it's just so mind boggling to me that he was snubbed, that when I read that about her it was frustrating. 

[kiddo82]

2 hours ago, Bastet said:

The English Patient would still be unbearable.  I've never before or since fidgeted in my seat like a toddler as I did during that film, expecting something good and winding up with something I could not wait to finally end, dammit.

But again I think that's where expectation and backlash goes both ways.  I had never even seen The English Patient until about three years ago and when I finally sat down to view it I was like, "This isn't so bad."  But I had years and years worth of commentary on how tortuous it was to prepare me for it so it didn't live up that hype, in a sense, for me.  But if I had years and years of people telling me it was the best movie ever I probably would have been Elaine in that gif referenced upthread.  

[Simon Boccanegra]

Oh, a lot of people found Nolan's Dunkirk incomprehensible or at least uninvolving because of the way he chose to tell the story, and said so. That was a widely expressed minority view. I couldn't get into it at all myself, and I still think Nolan's best movie is Insomnia, which was a remake. 

35 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

It's not just that "she did her own singing".  It's that the singing was so beautiful. 

Also, she did a great job of mimicking Garland's style, specifically the style of late-career Garland. The timbre of her voice wasn't the same, because that's biology, but she got the mannerisms down, even the imperfections.

I'm not saying hers is my favorite performance of the five nominees, but I won't think it's an unworthy win. Judy is very much a "star movie," about a deceased one and showcasing a living one, and Zellweger fills it. 

2 hours ago, Bastet said:

The English Patient would still be unbearable.  I've never before or since fidgeted in my seat like a toddler as I did during that film, expecting something good and winding up with something I could not wait to finally end, dammit.

I'm sorry to say I've seen it three times. I didn't like it in the theater when it was making its awards laps, I didn't like it when it first made it to HBO, and I still didn't like it a few years ago on Netflix. It has that literary patina about it, it's beautifully mounted, and a lot of talented people are involved, but it's a slog. It passes like a sentence.  

With The King's Speech, I never had the slightest desire to see it a second time. I was sure I had the measure of that one on a single viewing. I could see both why it hit the sweet spot for the Academy and why it did nothing for me. 

[galaxygirl76]

1 hour ago, BlackberryJam said:

I do not wade into twitter fights, but if the problem with Gerwig is the use of nonlinear storytelling, why does Tarantino win anything? UGH.

I didn’t see Little Women because I read the book once and decided that was all I ever needed of that story. No re-reads, no films. Gerwig’s version might be brilliant. I have no idea. 

He never won for directing though, which I believe the argument is about.

[Irlandesa]

6 hours ago, ruby24 said:

I don't think it's just that it was non-linear, it's that there didn't seem to be any reason for it to be done that way. It served no purpose to the story.

I think she put a little more thought into it.  For instance, she really wanted to show Laurie with Amy before she showed him with Jo and the non-linear storytelling helped achieve that.

[scarynikki12]

16 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

I think she put a little more thought into it.  For instance, she really wanted to show Laurie with Amy before she showed him with Jo and the non-linear storytelling helped achieve that.

I think it also helped show how similar Jo and Amy are. I never noticed that before, not when I read the book or saw the 94 version. Granted, I only read the book once and saw 94 once so maybe it's apparent during rereads/rewatches but I didn't notice it until this one. And the similarities between Jo and Amy ended up being one of my favorite things about the movie.

In Oscar round-up news: PARASITE! Bong got whatever the four version of a hat trick is called! The entire Academy audience united to let her* keep talking! I finally learned that his translator is named Sharon Choi and she's also a director! Great times all around.

*I think it was Lee Jeung-eun but I wasn't entirely sure.

[Ms Blue Jay]

So happy, and pleasantly shocked by Parasite's 4 wins.  Crazy.  

I really cried when Parasite won Best Picture.  Incredible.

Edited February 10, 2020 by Ms Blue Jay

[Dejana]

You can never read too much into Anonymous Ballots, but I did notice that for a frontrunner, 1917 wasn't showing up as a top choice as much as you would expect. OTOH, even the Parasite detractors they found seemed to have praise for its craft. I just hope this doesn't lead to a renewed push for Best Popular Film.

[Ms Blue Jay]

45 minutes ago, scarynikki12 said:

In Oscar round-up news: PARASITE! Bong got whatever the four version of a hat trick is called! The entire Academy audience united to let her* keep talking! I finally learned that his translator is named Sharon Choi and she's also a director! Great times all around.

*I think it was Lee Jeung-eun but I wasn't entirely sure.

 

[proserpina65]

On ‎02‎/‎09‎/‎2020 at 11:24 AM, starri said:

The English Patient is a bad movie.

I liked it, or at least, I liked most of it.  Now, that doesn't necessarily mean it was good, 'cause there's plenty of bad movies I like for various reasons.  Honestly, Fargo was the only other nominee which I thought was almost as good as the English Patient.  And to me, that almost made a difference.

On ‎02‎/‎09‎/‎2020 at 10:43 AM, kiddo82 said:

*In all seriousness, how many movies would we more fondly remember if they didn't have the mantle of "Best Picture."  The King's Speech isn't a bad movie, we just scoff at it now because it beat out The Social Network.  Same with The English Patient over Fargo.  The list goes on and on. 

I think The King's Speech is a much better movie than The Social Network.

On ‎02‎/‎09‎/‎2020 at 5:27 PM, Ms Blue Jay said:

It's so insane to me that with The Social Network, Inception, True Grit, Black Swan, Shutter Island, Blue Valentine, etc, etc., etc., etc. The King's Speech won.  I will never look at TKS winning favourably.  I'll never agree with it, and it doesn't matter whether I'm thinking about this in 2010, 2010, 2030 personally.  

Whereas I didn't care for most of those other movies.  It's all subjective.

On ‎02‎/‎09‎/‎2020 at 6:16 PM, Simon Boccanegra said:

I'm sorry to say I've seen it three times. I didn't like it in the theater when it was making its awards laps, I didn't like it when it first made it to HBO, and I still didn't like it a few years ago on Netflix. It has that literary patina about it, it's beautifully mounted, and a lot of talented people are involved, but it's a slog. It passes like a sentence.  

I thought it was a beautiful, mostly involving movie, and not a slog at all.  We all have our own opinions.  Ask me about Titanic winning Best Picture over L.A. Confidential sometime.

On ‎02‎/‎10‎/‎2020 at 12:42 AM, scarynikki12 said:

think it also helped show how similar Jo and Amy are. I never noticed that before, not when I read the book or saw the 94 version. Granted, I only read the book once and saw 94 once so maybe it's apparent during rereads/rewatches but I didn't notice it until this one. And the similarities between Jo and Amy ended up being one of my favorite things about the movie.

I don't remember Jo and Amy being similar at all in the book, but it's been quite a few years since I read it.

[Shannon L.]

2 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

I thought it was a beautiful, mostly involving movie, and not a slog at all.  We all have our own opinions.  Ask me about Titanic winning Best Picture over L.A. Confidential sometime.

That's one of the few losses that I never quite got over.  I liked Titanic and appreciate everything about it, except the weak romance story, but I was so sick of it by the time they got to the BP award.  I wanted LA Confidential to win so bad I could taste it. I like it when they spread the awards around a bit, too.  We were at a party that year and it was the only time I can remember that when they announced the award, instead of listening to the speech, I got up and went in to the kitchen to start helping my friend clean up. 

I really liked The King's Speech, too.  ::shrug::

[kiddo82]

I saw Portrait of a Lady on Fire this weekend and holy hell that was good.  The weird thing is I didn't particularly love it when I was in the theater (I may or may not have nodded off a bit in the beginning) but now I can't stop thinking about it, especially the final three minutes which are thankfully up on YouTube.  I haven't seen Les Miserables, France's actual submission in the best international film category, and it doesn't seem anything was going to stop the freight train that was Parasite, but in hindsight it would have been nice to see this one at least get a nomination.  And in a perfect world, especially with a relatively weak best actress category this year, Adele Haenel gets an acting nom.  Also, that bonfire scene alone is almost worth the price of admission.

Edited February 24, 2020 by kiddo82

[Ms Blue Jay]

On 2/23/2020 at 10:19 PM, kiddo82 said:

I saw Portrait of a Lady on Fire this weekend and holy hell that was good.  The weird thing is I didn't particularly love it when I was in the theater (I may or may not have nodded off a bit in the beginning) but now I can't stop thinking about it, especially the final three minutes which are thankfully up on YouTube.  I haven't seen Les Miserables, France's actual submission in the best international film category, and it doesn't seem anything was going to stop the freight train that was Parasite, but in hindsight it would have been nice to see this one at least get a nomination.  And in a perfect world, especially with a relatively weak best actress category this year, Adele Haenel gets an acting nom.  Also, that bonfire scene alone is almost worth the price of admission.

For me it was Noemie Merlant.  Adele didn't do much for me but Noemie gave one of my favourite performances of the year.  

[Silver Raven]

Cats sweeps the Razzies.

Worst Picture, Worst Supporting Actor and Actress (James Corden and Rebel Wilson, respectively), Worst On Screen Combo (Jason Derulo and his CGI-neutered "bulge"), Worst Screenplay and Worst Director for Tom Hooper.

Rambo: Last Blood took two including Worst Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel. John Travolta took Worst Actor for a combo of two films, The Fanatic & Trading Paint. Hilary Duff won Worst Actress for The Haunting of Sharon Tate.

 

[absnow54]

14 hours ago, Silver Raven said:

Cats sweeps the Razzies.

The studio should do the world a favor and begin streaming this movie immediately. The world needs this.

[Browncoat]

3 hours ago, absnow54 said:

The world needs this.

Does it, though?  Did it ever?

[Shannon L.]

4 hours ago, Browncoat said:

Does it, though?  Did it ever?

We need something to laugh at.

[methodwriter85]

On 2/9/2020 at 11:24 AM, starri said:

The English Patient is a bad movie.

But Ralph Fiennes was at peak hotness! (Well, before, you know.)

 

[Ohwell]

15 hours ago, Shannon L. said:

We need something to laugh at.

I wouldn't be laughing though.  Those creepy-looking cats scare the crap out of me.

[Dejana]

AMPAS is already thinking about next year's ceremony: