Oscar Gold? How This Year’s Academy Awards Measured Up

As a film student, I can wholeheartedly admit that I have hoped and dreamed that some day I will walk down the red carpet dressed in a designer gown reveling in my Academy Award nomination. Of course actually winning the coveted statue would be the icing on the cake — but I would settle for the nomination! I will even admit that I spent twelve hours on set on Oscar Sunday, wrapped filming at 10:00pm and then proceeded with my crew to watch the TiVoed Award Ceremony late into the night. That is how big a deal the Oscars are to industry insiders and prospective filmmakers despite the fact that for years there have been rumblings that the Academy Awards are outdated; no longer reflecting popular culture, mainstream sensibilities and box office returns. In no previous year has the rumbling been as loud as this year. A thunderstorm of controversy surrounded this year’s picks. Criticism and disappointment were the sentiments expressed around town when The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan’s artful and epic comic book-but more than a comic book- film, was NOT nominated for Best Picture nor was Nolan recognized in the Best Director category. Admittedly, the film nabbed eight nominations, mostly in technical categories and one in the best supporting category for the late, great Heath Ledger. However because the film was adapted from a comic book and featured action and explosions it wasn’t deemed serious or artful or thought-provoking enough?

The disconnect between the Oscars and mainstream audiences both widened (as shown above) and narrowed (nominated animated movies made for children grossed hundreds of millions) this year but still the Oscars seem to remain detached from the public, boring to watch and increasingly political. The Oscars are no longer just about the films or about the art form. I scoured the web before and after the awards and found that many people both agree and disagree with me. I decided to examine their posts on the subject and respond with my own thoughts, which I felt would be beneficial to share below. Sean Penn’s “surprise upset” (which wasn’t really an upset) in the Best Actor Category intrigued me because of its political undertones. I chose to examine a post by Ron and Anna Winship, written before the Oscars, entitled “Why Sean Penn Should Win the Oscar!” Then early this morning I found another article that weighed both the pros and cons of the Oscar show on Ken Tucker’s Watching TV page on EntertainmentWeekly.com entitled “The Oscars: Congrats to the winners! The TV show is finally over!” For convenience I have posted links to the blogs below and my own comments.

"Why Sean Penn Should Win the Oscar!"
Comment

While I applaud your efforts to persuade the public to overcome homophobic attitudes and go see Milk, and I concur that Sean Penn’s portrayal of Harvey Milk— the first openly gay official elected to public office in the United States— was powerful, moving and effective I feel that his now Oscar win had little to do with that performance and more to do with current Hollywood Politics. As a political blog you may be ok with that but as a filmmaker that is not the purpose of the Academy Awards. Released in mid-December, Milk came out on the heels of the outrage regarding the passage of California’s Proposition 8 and I believe his win is more a reaction to those events. Sean Penn delivers in this role, perhaps even better than his fellow nominees but this award was not about his acting, or his craft, it was about Hollywood sending a message.

When Prop 8 passed the loudest outcry in California came from the entertainment industry. Penn received a standing ovation for his win but watching the awards, as you looked at the crowd cheering for Mr. Penn, they were really cheering for themselves. This moment was their moment of redemption, not just for Prop 8 but for the Academy snubbing Brokeback Mountain, a superior film, three years ago. Although Brokeback won three out of the eight awards it was nominated for, it is widely believed that Hollywood wasn’t then ready for a homosexual-themed film to sweep the awards(Though I will admit, “Milk” didn’t get to Sweep the awards but it would have had it not been for underdog “Slumdog Millionaire”). Milk, was the academy’s opportunity to make amends, an attitude spurred by Prop 8. Apparently it only took another three years for the Academy to be prepared to take such an action. Even Heath Ledger’s academy award for best supporting actor, which was well deserved and whose worth should not be diminished, was tied to his Brokeback Mountain performance. His immersion into his Brokeback role was just as deep, haunting and mesmerizing as his role as the Joker. Last night was Ledger’s last opportunity for an Oscar and the Academy made sure he got one in appreciation of his trade craft as reflected in his entire repertoire of work. Both Sean Penn and Heath Ledger are amazing actors worthy of their accolades, awards and recognition but by politicizing the Oscars you are diminishing the art and honestly modern films are already achieving that on their own(Fire Up anyone?). Politics need not assist them in that endeavor.

Lastly I would like to say that contrary to everyone exalting Sean Penn’s acceptance speech I found it crude. Harvey Milk believed in showing homophobes that homosexuals were the every man, and thus they were equal, not in “shaming” his opponents. Penn’s tone suggested to me his own personal hate crusade. Ron and Anna, I wonder what you think about Penn now that he has won. You praised the film for its portrayal of effective community activism. Is this what you had in mind, “shaming” the opponent? I am sure you didn’t. Make no mistake; I am strictly opposed to Proposition 8 and any other existing legislation of its type anywhere in our nation however I felt Penn’s remarks were not appropriate for the time and place. On the other hand, Milk screenwriter, Dustin Lance Black, gave one of the most heartfelt and touching speeches of the night proving you can be insightful, thought provoking, and effectively promote a cause in a more graceful and gracious manner.

“The Oscars: Congrats to the winners! The TV show is finally over!”
Comment- (For this one I was unfortunately not able to fit my comments in just one post and had to post three times. You should read the first(as in the third down), second, and third in that order if you link to the page)

Where has all the sparkle of the Oscars gone? I enjoyed your quips, observations and occasional compliment on the show but I do wonder why you didn’t further lament over the fact that there were no surprises at this year’s Oscars. Japan’s Departures wining out over early favorites France’s The Class and Israel’s Waltz with Bashir was the only upset of the evening. The rest of the awards went to the expected choices, leaving Oscar betters satisfied but not excited about the winner who snuck in. When did the Oscars and thus the industry get so predictable?

More importantly when did the Academy get so bad at producing its own show? There were awkward montages, brief and lackluster performances, long winded introductions, and a rambling off of categories. Yes, there were moments, as you pointed out of hilarity, brilliance, and beauty, but overall the supposedly revamped and abbreviated (?) Oscars were a fumble. Why Ken, in your professional opinion, do you think the show came up so short? I would like to hear a more specific analysis from you.

I know that the Producers tried to condense the show this year to make it more accessible and less boring to viewers. They made it shorter but they didn’t restructure it correctly. I know it was a first attempt but I think many missteps were made. They kept long drawn out montages which featured movies not nominated and which did not cut well together. I can only assume this was their attempt to incorporate more mainstream material into the snooty Oscars but specifically during the Best Picture Montages it did not work. (Raging Bull and Milk intercut?) Additionally, in their effort to shorten the show they threw together all of the technical categories spitting them out one after another. It has been proposed to take these out of the televised show but in my opinion that isn’t right. Yes, I am biased as a film student but the people working in these categories deserve recognition. Their work is integral to the success of the film experience.

My final lament about this year’s Oscars (though I have plenty more) were the performances of Best Song. I know that you Ken said you are not a big spectacle person but this was a section I felt should not be cut down to a mere minute. These performances are a long standing tradition. Go ahead and make some cool remix that slides from one to the other but please let the song play out. My personal highlight of the night? That had to be Kunio Kato’s, the director of Le Maison en Petits Cubes(pictured to the left), acceptance speech which he so artfully ended with “Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto”. Now there’s a guy who knows how to have fun! I nominated him to direct the show next year.