I agree that Chastain would’ve won without Lawrence in the competition but that doesn’t necessarily mean she was 2nd with Lawrence. I can imagine that a lot of people who voted for Lawrence would’ve gone for Chastain with the former out of the picture, and Chastain would’ve ridden a similar narrative to Lawrence’s despite being quite a bit…[Read more]

They were better, but they’re also not supporting, which is why I’d have voted for Regina. Why make the effort to decide between Emma and Rachel when they don’t even belong in the category?

About bloody time with the expansion of the Makeup category. I’m just sad they didn’t make the decision last year, 2018 was a fantastic year for makeup.

I always thought ‘Best Foreign Language Film’ was an unfitting name when there were films not in English that were ineligible due to being US productions, such as Letters from Iwo Jima and The…[Read more]

Bergman seems to have fallen out of fashion in some circles, yet the reputation of Persona continues to grow, I predict that in 2022 it will crack the Sight and Sound Top 10 (it was #17 in 2012). And Andersson’s (and Ullman’s) performance is one of the greatest in film history.

Which line readings? I don’t mean to seem hostile but I honestly can’t begin to imagine which ones you mean.

But why would Weaver split votes with Cusack? That would be like Catherine Zeta-Jones splitting votes with Queen Latifah in Chicago – in both cases, one clearly had a bigger role and better shot at winning than the other. Weaver was just unlucky to compete with an even more favoured performance. She was probably 2nd while Cusack was 5th.

Was Oliver! really considered an upset? I’m genuinely asking because I don’t know. I do know that The Lion in Winter won DGA and there was no PGA, but Oliver! is so in line with other musical winners of the 60s.

I’m 90% certain that The Lion King will be ineligible and virtually 100% certain that Cats will be ineligible, unless they bring back the “Adaptation or Treatment” Oscar.

Yup. I genuinely wish they didn’t exist, not only because they’ve increased the predictability of the Oscars but also because their collective taste is so basic and mainstream, more so than the Globes to be honest. A lot of those really inspired passion choices that get in at the Oscars like Emily Watson in Breaking the Waves, Charlotte Rampling…[Read more]

I am dearly hoping that what appears to be an underwhelming vocal performance from Ejiofor turns out to work better in full context. He is a fantastic actor and I really don’t want him to become widely known as an inferior Jeremy Irons to those currently unfamiliar with him (and there are many, despite his recent Oscar and Emmy nominations). Don’t…[Read more]

One that comes to mind is Joel Grey in Cabaret – he seems to draw the ire of many Godfather fans for beating all three of its supporting actor nominees, especially Al Pacino. But frankly Pacino was in the wrong category (he’s more of a lead than Brando ffs, and didn’t he boycott the ceremony because of this?) and while Caan and Duvall were both…[Read more]

You’re right but in this case I meant conceptualisation as opposed to the physical reality of built sets. I was arguing against the notion that Black Panther‘s designs being rendered partly by green screen is problematic in terms of awarding it. Of course if the sets looked unconvincing in the finished product then it wouldn’t deserve an award…[Read more]

Do you mean her competition was non-existent in terms of standard or chances of winning? Because if the former, I would have to challenge that as Isabelle Adjani is revelatory in The Story of Adèle H – I can’t believe she was only 19 during shooting, she really was prodigiously talented. But Fletcher was also great in Cuckoo’s Nest.

But it’s an award for Production Design, so conceptualisation should be the main factor imo. The set designs for Wakanda were really unique.

Well not anymore apparently, considering how well Green Book and Bohemian Rhapsody did. And if the Lord “knows” that Roma and The Favourite were made specifically for Oscars, then the Lord is stupid.

It’s interesting to think about how predictions would’ve looked if Close had won an Oscar in the 80s. I think she still would’ve won SAG this year (mirroring when Julie Christie won when she already had an Oscar but no SAG award in film), but despite this more people would’ve predicted Colman having learned from the Christie/Cotillard race (and…[Read more]

I’m not completely sure what to think about it yet, but I agree with those saying that studios will want to adjust and avoid releasing their Oscar-contenders too late. Thing is, movies released in late December are already at a disadvantage, so I’m concerned that the whole month of December will become an awards-death zone, especially if they…[Read more]

@BenNunis: Sorry I should have been more clear, I did not mean to suggest you were stating that Ebert deliberately tried to appeal to the masses in his taste. I raised that as a follow-up point to what I initially took issue with which was Ebert “not trying to be snobbish in the direction of artsy films” being in sharp contrast to most modern…[Read more]

Spotlight won by being the most traditionally “Oscary” contender in a race with no clear frontrunner. If Moonlight could take down La La Land with its 14 nominations and PGA win, I think it could beat out Spotlight. It would have still captured the zeitgeist a year earlier as a response to the first #OscarsSoWhite of the 2014-15 season.

What’s…[Read more]

I’m not sure I like Roger Ebert’s tastes being framed this way; he may have leaned slightly more populist than some other critics but certainly not to appease the masses. He also liked many films deemed as “artsy”. I’m a little confused about what you mean by ‘loved movies for the sake of them’ and the implied opposite regarding other critics.…[Read more]