Dismissing "I'm Not There"
The Envelope's Pete Hammond is reporting that Todd Haynes' I'm Not There didn't play very well with a smallish Academy group. The Bob Dylan epic "lived up to its title and gathered a much smaller academy group that saw a few walkouts," he writes, "according to two members who were both unimpressed -- even by Cate Blanchett's bravura supporting turn as one of six Dylans.
"'I think the only people who will like this thing are the ones who love this guy's music," one academy voter told Hammond. Once again, obiter dicta -- "this guy's music" -- has revealed a bit more than intended.
Academy members are not obliged to worship, like or even admire I'm Not There, but Academy slugs like the person quoted above are an embarassment. More than that -- they're an obstruction. They cheapen and devalue movie culture by dismissing rich, valuable films, not out of conviction or distaste but impatient sloth. Like an ADD-afflicted child might toss aside a toy or video game, or the way my father -- a shadow of the man he used to be -- dismisses new writers and movies because he doesn't care to get into anything new. The mind-blowing element is that Dylan is ancient history and the person quoted above still regards him askance.
What a revoltin' development that all this Oscar season energy and passion and promotion being focused on trying to second-guess the opinions of people like this. The colors and currents of the world streaming into our souls through esprit du cinema, and yet many handicappers will only talk up the Oscar potential of films that have the approval of obviously stunted people -- folks who've worked long and hard and distinguished themselves in this or that way over the course of their lives, but are alive and engaged right now only in the barest sense.
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on November 21, 2007 at 12:35 PM
comment #1
Gabriel
says ...
I must be in some wildly small minority, but I've never been a big "fan" of Dylan - though I do admire him - and I found this film to be fucking mind-blowing. Actually, this movie's been a gateway into his discography for me.
Posted by Gabriel
at November 21, 2007 1:05 PM
comment #2
p.Vice
says ...
Not a shock, considering Far From Heaven went nowhere with them as well.
What I don't understand is the presumption that Oscar voters are hipper or more knowledgable than the average moviegoer. They're not. They're a bunch of squares who have to be battered over their head in order to change from A + B = C formula they've been cranking out for years. I mean, you really think Mickey Rooney's gonna go nuts for a Todd Haynes film? You think he'll even watch it?
I bet 8 out of 10 academy voters walk out of No Country for Old Men griping about the ending, which is about the same percentage as Hollywood Elsewhere readers.
Posted by p.Vice
at November 21, 2007 1:12 PM
comment #3
YND
says ...
Yeah, this is pretty much what I expected. I walked out after the Creative Screenwriting screening a couple weeks ago and thought, "I'll be amazed if most Academy voters are even able to get THROUGH this film." And (unfortunately for the Cate Blanchett contingent) because of the way the film is structured, it's not like voters will be able to just fast-forward to "the Cate Blanchett part" -- it's there in pieces throughout the last 2/3 of the film.
I think if Blanchett gets a nomination (and she certainly should), it'll have more to do with the presumption factor and a weakish field than with widespread Academy support.
Posted by YND
at November 21, 2007 1:48 PM
comment #4
BurmaShave
says ...
Dylan obviously isn't too hip for the Academy, he's got on Oscar. Or... fuck, is he already too old? Oy. Seeing it tonight. Happy Thanksgiving everybody.
Posted by BurmaShave
at November 21, 2007 1:59 PM
comment #5
ROTC
says ...
Bob Dylan is 66 years old, so I highly doubt he's "too hip for the Academy" anymore.
Todd Haynes, on the other hand...
Posted by ROTC
at November 21, 2007 2:08 PM
comment #6
MilkMan
says ...
Amen, Jeff.
But you must've not gotten the memo:
I'M NOT THERE is PRETENTIOUS.
In other words, it asks you to think. Who the fuck wants to do that? Am I right, everyone? Because that's all most of you do all day long, seeing as how most of you are biochemists, and computer systems analysts and composers of classical music.
I understand. You use your brain all day long. You go to the movies and you don't want to think anymore.
Douchebags.
Posted by MilkMan
at November 21, 2007 3:13 PM
comment #7
T. S. Idiot
says ...
Why does Wells and other journalists go on and on about the Oscars when it's clear the voters have no taste. It doesn't matter what awards a movie wins or what it does at the box office. What matters is its quality. How many awards did Mann's Heat win? Was it even nominated for any? It would be pleasant if the best movies and performances won Oscars, but the voters get it right only about 20% of the time--and that's being generous.
Posted by T. S. Idiot
at November 21, 2007 9:13 PM
comment #8
Zimmergirl
says ...
It happens every year - this Academy member said this, that Academy member said that. It means nothing, Jeff. Trust me. This is a vote of over 5,000 and the various branches are smaller. The actors vote in actors and directors vote in directors and everyone votes in best pic on a preferential ballot - what some dickwad said at one screening means nothing. What you keep hearing again and again at parties AND at screenings means something. Most of the time people are being spun to say the things they say only they don't realize they are being spun.
Having said that, though, I'm Not There is NOT an Academy movie any more than There Will Be Blood is. But both stand a chance of getting screenplay and acting nods, perhaps cinematography. What Todd Haynes did as a director though is so far above and beyond what anyone, save a handful of them, have done this year. I hope the Academy recognizes him and gives him the weirdo fifth slot. But that slot could go to quite a few others. Anyway. That post by Hammond, god bless him, was silly poppycock in my view - no one is expecting the film to be big with Oscar voters. Not me anyway.
Posted by Zimmergirl
at November 21, 2007 10:59 PM
comment #9
Terry McCarty
says ...
p.Vice wrote:
I bet 8 out of 10 academy voters walk out of No Country for Old Men griping about the ending, which is about the same percentage as Hollywood Elsewhere readers.
Having just seen it, it proves they're griping about not getting a genre-film ending instead of paying attention and accepting that NO COUNTRY wasn't even remotely intended to be a genre-film.
Posted by Terry McCarty
at November 22, 2007 12:50 AM
comment #10
bb
says ...
Saw I'm Not There a couple of weeks ago and I would suggest that academy members may not like it because it SUCKS!
Glad to see so many here properly impressed but this Dylan fan was left completely cold by what was on screen.
Kudos to the director for managing to get so much positive advance word of mouth. The movie needs it because once it opens it is going to crash and burn.
Posted by bb
at November 26, 2007 9:33 AM