New Popular Film Oscar

[James]

Here's my solution for the Academy. Look to the founding fathers of the United States! Laws are voted on by two chambers of Congress, elected by 50 states, some of which are larger than others: the Senate (where every state is equal) and the House (where state voting is determined by population). The President is elected using a similar system of equal and weighted voting.

How does this apply here? The Academy has something like 17 to 18 branches, some with more members than others. The actors branch is by far the most populous, so their vote has a huge weight. They probably vote for a lot of the more artsy films. The visual effects branch, with a much smaller membership, probably prefers more of the popular fare. The other branches probably fall somewhere between.

So here's my idea. Have the nominations for Best Picture be decided where each branch's votes count equally (like the Senate). So even though the actors may have three times the members as the cinematographers, their choices count for the same number of votes. This should produce a much more diverse set of nominees. Once the five to ten films are chosen, then the entire membership votes on the winner (like the House). Here the actors will have numbers on their side, but the movies they have to choose from will be very different.

[Bill1978]

I like that idea it sounds like a better way to get the Best Picture nominations.

But after a quick play around at Box Office Mojo, I do think some of the blame for the disconnect between publics and the awards, is that the public just doesn't show up to non flashy films like they use to. For example, according to their calculators if Driving Miss Daisy was released in 2018 it would have made around $233 million dollars. That's just unheard of for a 'simple' film these days. I know some people don't agree with that movie winning Best Picture but at least it never had the stigma of anyone questioning 'What is this movie that's been nominated?'

I also think the increase to 10 films for Best Picture has happened the overall feel of the Oscars. Traditionally Best Picture tended to walk away with the most Oscars. To me that makes sense. These days I feel the Academy voters feel that every Best Picture nominee needs to walk away with at least one statuette which ends up diluting the chance of a film dominating. So you get a situation where a movie like Spotlight is Best Picture with only one other Golden Guy given to it. If it is worthy of Best Picture then surely other areas were quality as well. And whether I agree with the overall results or not, it still seems bizarre that Mad Max: Fury Road wins 6 awards but isn't considered the Best Picture, especially when it defeats Revenant in many of the categories they were head to head in. If I was a voter I would be voting in every category and then adding up which one I have given the most awards to and then giving it the Best Picture.

In summary, Hollywood needs to make prestigious films more accessible to the public, the public needs to step up and see non flashy films again in the cinema and the voters need to get their act together so overall voting makes sense when the awards are given out.

[ShyViolet]

Agree agree agree!!


Also I was kinda thinking about this subject lately and for some reason Titanic came to my mind...there is not a chance in h*** that this film could have ever gotten bankrolled today by ANY studio...just wouldn’t happen. (Heck, it was hard enough 20 years ago and it got pushed back three times! ).

It’s hard to remember now what a gigantic gamble it really was: Three hours long, (considerably less common then), we essentially already know the ending, it stars one moderately well-known actor who’s mostly only been in independent films, and an actress almost no one one’s heard of. It’s a tragic love story directed by the Terminator/Aliens guy in what’s basically a disaster movie. Oh, and it’s the most expensive film ever made.

It’s easy for us from our vantage point to say the studio was wrong to have trepidation, but back then everyone was talking about how this movie would almost invariably bomb and James Cameron would never work again. Of course they were wrong, but just the fact that in the end Fox agreed to trust Cameron even with everything shows how much things have changed. By and large, Hollywood has never had much respect for the audience’s intelligence, but back then they were willing to take a leap of faith with Titanic. (As they did with A Beautiful Mind, Schindler’s List and American Beauty—all critically revered Best Picture winners that did extremely good box office—yes, even the three-hour long, black and white Schindler’s List.)

I really think it would help our society if people started going to cinemas to see these kinds of films again. There’s so much cynicism, nihilism and callousness/cruelty in social media/newsfeeds/TV shows/tired raunchy comedies/the world itself that seeing something that’s provocative as well as inspiring
might add the one thing we truly need right now, perhaps more than any other time in history: hope.

[James]

The reason people don’t see those kinds of movies any more is that the cost of going to the movies is astronomical. So people only go to movies they know they’re going to like. Why risk $70 bucks? I think eventually MoviePass is going to be proven a trailblazer and all the theatre chains will offer a subscription service.

But that only fixes one side of the equation, moviegoers. Hollywood needs to accept that some of the blockbuster films are worthy of recognition as well.

[Ben]

Kind of all what I said a fair few posts back. But with the cost of movies, I think people go for spectacle rather than what they know they’re going to like. I mean, that’s the *hope*, but so many times we hear the "that wasn’t as good as I thought it was going to be" complaint.

That said, I wasn’t impressed with one single Oscar frontrunner at the last awards either.

[Randall]

Right. I only go to the theatre if it's a big event SpFX film (or if my wife drags me out on date night to see a rom-com). Anything else I can just see at home. Of course, I have a nice home theatre, though not as nice as Ben's.

[Dacey]

No host, but apparently they "don't have time" to show all the awards being given out, so four will awarded during commercial breaks.

This is, as I said elsewhere, both dumb and unfair to those who are winning. If they have no host doing a ten minute monologue, they definitely "have time"...

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/he ... 970376?cid

[EricJ]

And apparently they decided that EDITING and CINEMATOGRAPHY were the "expendable" awards--
Because, y'see, if they cut Sound Editing and Mixing, everyone would be crying "Chris Rock sez, stay in your seats!" again, and they don't want any hint that they've gone back to those TV-paranoid days.

(And why Hair/Makeup? I've got a theory that we're still PO'ed about the "Suicide Squad" thing, and the disgruntled search for payback put the category on the To Be Discredited list...Any disputing hypotheses?)

[Ben]

As an editor myself, I’m appalled. The two most important people to a director on a movie are the cinematographer during production and the editor in post. And they cut BOTH those awards...!!??

Basically, nothing should be cut, except for any comedy bits that use up the time these awards could be given, or even do what they did some time ago and do a medley of the nominated songs in one segment.

The funny thing is, absolutely no-one knows the difference between sound effects and editing, and quite often the two overlap. That in itself could become a Best Sound award which would see Oscars going to the overall team and, in essence, be the equivalent of a picture cinematography gong. They usually go to the same movie anyway.

What a fiasco...every single nomination should be rewarded appropriately, especially above the liners such as DP and editor. Poor show.

[James]

Just a heads up that if cutting 4 awards from the show sticks, they will alternate every year. So 4 different awards would be cut next year.

Not that I’m for this at all! Just want to make that bit clear.

[EricJ]

As an editor myself, I’m appalled. The two most important people to a director on a movie are the cinematographer during production and the editor in post. And they cut BOTH those awards...!!??

Not to mention, Editing, Orig/Adap Screenplay, Cinematography and Score are the four "Betting Pool" categories:
On the annual Chat/contest, if we see the same movie win any three, we have an early hint who picked the right movie for Picture...How many tear up their slips and quit for the night after they picked the wrong Editing?

Basically, nothing should be cut, except for any comedy bits that use up the time these awards could be given, or even do what they did some time ago and do a medley of the nominated songs in one segment.

That's a good idea--At least better than the "The MUPPETS SONG!...oh, and the other one" collection of clips they did that one year.
Of course, it's not going to happen, since this year's ceremony is so wishfully groomed to be An All-Star Salute to "A Star Is Born", we should be surprised Lady Gaga isn't hosting it.
It's nice hearing some of the overlooked songs, usually from the indie movies, like the campus-abuse song or Glen Campbell's Alzheimer's-song, which might be an excuse to look up an indie-doc we normally might overlook. Frankly, I didn't even know there WAS a nominatable song in the RBG documentary.

The funny thing is, absolutely no-one knows the difference between sound effects and editing, and quite often the two overlap. That in itself could become a Best Sound award which would see Oscars going to the overall team and, in essence, be the equivalent of a picture cinematography gong. They usually go to the same movie anyway.

The one defense of the Oscars I make to the other clueless complainers is that they're given by people in the actual PROFESSIONS, rather than the snooty commercial-paranoid NBOR, or the press-junket agents of the Gullible Globes.
And when even sound technicians say they have trouble telling Sound Mixing apart from Sound Editing (ie. creation of new sound effects that don't exist in our world, like tapping metal cables for Star Wars blasters, or making a punch out of five other sound effects), well, there's just nothing to believe in anymore.

(And btw, you do know that "Getting the Gong" means something quite different in the US?
)

[Ben]

Just a heads up that if cutting 4 awards from the show sticks, they will alternate every year. So 4 different awards would be cut next year.

Yeah, this was the excuse, er, explanation back when this awful idea was first broached.

BUT...

Personally, I can’t wait for the year when Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress awards are the four that are given out during commercials.

Because we all know that this rotation plan will be fair and include every category, right?

And the fact that placing those awards in the commercials will never happen is why none of the awards should be placed in the commercials to begin with.

Cut something else! There’s no host, so no monologue, this year. Time saved before the show has even begun!

[Bill1978]

I still maintain that the only 'entertainment' required at this thing are the Nominated songs and the In Memorian segment. Cut out all the stupid tributes to genres, or whatever the latest gimmick is. And you know cutting back the Best Picture nominees to 5 would also save some minutes from the broadcast as well.

And let's behonest the falling viewership has nothing to do with length but the movies being nominated. At the moment there is such a large gap between the 'good' movies and the 'popcorn' movies that the public don't care about these movies they haven't seen. What I'm worried about is that this year is the first time in a while there is a large representation of 'popcorn' movies in the Big Categories and if viewership is up, they will think it has to do with the new streamlined presentation and not the fact that people tuned in to see their favourite 'popcorn' movie win.

[Ben]

'xactly.

[Randall]

Yay!!!

https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/o ... -1.5022192

And an infinitely stupid decision gets reversed.