That's Right

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In a very concise and satisfying way, N.Y. Times guy Dave Kehr has explained the Oscar-bestowing mentality though the decades. Posted a whole week ago, read it last weekend and forgot to bring it up.

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on January 6, 2009 at 4:28 PM

comment #1

clancy says ...

When I read Kehr's essay, it really put into perspective for me how stupid and backwards the Oscar race is. You'll find this year or that year in which the finest film actually won the Oscar, but mostly not. It is a silly and expensive political game in which campaigning has as much to do with winning as does the quality of the work.

People like Jeff and Poland make a living out of blogging and writing about a toothless contest. Why do people care about something where the victors are known in advance to not be the real best of the year? What the bloggers are doing is predicting how voters will react to a ton of money being spent.

Posted by clancy at January 6, 2009 4:49 PM

comment #2

clancy says ...

And another thing. Jeff's beloved films "Che" and "Nothing but the Truth" have only gotten a mention here and there because their distributors are poor or bankrupt. You can be sure if Paramount or Harvey were behind these films then Del Toro and Beckinsale would be having a celebratory fuck in an elevator at the Oscar cermeony.

Posted by clancy at January 6, 2009 4:51 PM

comment #3

Sabina E says ...

I just read that today and I was gonna forward it to you.

Yep, yep, "Greatest Show on Earth" is a real shit-fest...

Posted by Sabina E at January 6, 2009 5:06 PM

comment #4

byanyother says ...

That's true, Clancy, but what baffles me is how long it seems to have taken people to figure that out. And blogging about the race, as Poland and Wells do it, is to INFLUENCE it, not necessarily to objectively predict it. They are advocates.

But--

"The coming Oscars are a potential turning point. After years of indie wins in the best-picture category — and steadily declining ratings for the Oscar broadcast — there is a growing sense that the Hollywood establishment wants and needs to snatch things back. If the Academy Awards are there to answer the question “How does Hollywood want to be seen this year?,” the answer for 2009 may well be, “Hollywood would be happy just to be seen at all.”

Three words: The Dark Knight

Posted by byanyother at January 6, 2009 6:40 PM

comment #5