Ben wrote:Well, I am perplexed by much of the Oscars this year. I mean, seriously, Scorsese for Hugo? Hmph.
I've run into average mainstream people who literally...
literally....Well, put it this way, just ran into one poster yesterday who argued about "Why the Academy shut Hugo out of Best Animated"...
I'm guessing you haven't seen it or it hasn't opened overseas yet? It's NOT a "Railroad Station Alone" movie about plucky Harry-Potter orphans and Sasha Cohen falling into a cake (he doesn't, btw), and no, Hugo doesn't have a white dog and ride a motorcycle.
If you've read the book, you already know why self-appointed TCM film historian Scorsese was so attracted to the project, and why he turned it into a allegory about how other "misunderstood" directors at the dawn of technology used "strange" new inventions (ahem3D) to make their "visionary" films. Believe me, it's the stuff the Oscar voters lap up, and even if Marty does take it farther in that direction than the original book did, the book's emotional climax is brought off well, too. It's also a darn good movie, but that's not what wins the award.
When you hear it called a "kiddy" movie, it's the red flag of who's seen the movie and who hasn't. We blame the ads/marketing, and we want restitution.
Problem is, The Artist swooped in around the same time and grabbed all of Hugo's "It's about Hollywood, and the magic of silent movies!" thunder, especially with people who
hadn't seen it yet--If someone described them on paper, would you think The Artist or Hugo was a movie "about" movies?
They're neck-and-neck at the moment for Picture, but I'm sadly guessing a sweep-mentality for Artist (for reasons detailed above), and HOPING for the minimum of Scorsese taking Director on the basis of his "statement".
(It's the same directors' "Why shouldn't we take 3D seriously?" statement that voters used two years ago when they wanted to justify voting for Avatar, but now this one they don't have to be as embarrassed about.)