Oscars 2008: Overlooked Nominees

1998 through 2007
Akash
Professor
Posts: 2037
Joined: Mon Oct 02, 2006 1:34 am

Post by Akash »

Yikes! Me too!
Sabin
Laureate Emeritus
Posts: 10747
Joined: Thu Jan 02, 2003 12:52 am
Contact:

Post by Sabin »

Hey, I agree with anonymous on this one.
"How's the despair?"
Damien
Laureate
Posts: 6331
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 8:43 pm
Location: New York, New York
Contact:

Post by Damien »

anonymous wrote:"Le Festin" from Ratatouille should have placed here.
Uh-huh. :O
"Y'know, that's one of the things I like about Mitt Romney. He's been consistent since he changed his mind." -- Christine O'Donnell
anonymous1980
Laureate
Posts: 6377
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 10:03 pm
Location: Manila
Contact:

Post by anonymous1980 »

The Original BJ wrote:I bet you'll change your tune once you see those other four nominees. The quality of this category this year -- with respect to what was out there -- is pretty sad.

The August Rush song nomination is the single most inexplicable nomination this year. Critically lambasted film, hardly a box office smash, and the unimpressive song comes at a relatively minor moment during the film. Don't get it at all. (Though I wouldn't wish this film on anyone -- it makes Music of the Heart look like a rough, raw portrait of inner city life.)

Honestly, I'd actually be LESS inclined to vote for some of those Enchanted songs if I saw the uninspired production numbers that accompanied them.
The August Rush song surprises me also. It would've been somewhat understandable if the writers and performers of the song were famous and/or veterans but the writers and performers are all complete unknowns. For a song from a commercial and critical flop written and performed by complete unknowns, it's highly surprising.

I liked two of the three Enchanted songs and have absolutely no problems of their placement in this category. "So Close" was pretty lame though.

"Le Festin" from Ratatouille should have placed here.
The Original BJ
Emeritus
Posts: 4312
Joined: Mon Apr 28, 2003 8:49 pm

Post by The Original BJ »

rain Bard wrote:And though I haven't seen all the recent nominees in this category (including Enchanted or August Rush), I do sense that there has been an overall quality improvement in this category in the 2000's, at least over the mostly-dismal 1990's.
I bet you'll change your tune once you see those other four nominees. The quality of this category this year -- with respect to what was out there -- is pretty sad.

The August Rush song nomination is the single most inexplicable nomination this year. Critically lambasted film, hardly a box office smash, and the unimpressive song comes at a relatively minor moment during the film. Don't get it at all. (Though I wouldn't wish this film on anyone -- it makes Music of the Heart look like a rough, raw portrait of inner city life.)

Honestly, I'd actually be LESS inclined to vote for some of those Enchanted songs if I saw the uninspired production numbers that accompanied them.
Damien
Laureate
Posts: 6331
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 8:43 pm
Location: New York, New York
Contact:

Post by Damien »

rolotomasi99 wrote:i actually might be one of the few people who thought romola garai was the best of all the brionys.
I get the feeling that many, if not most, people think that Garai was the superior Briony. It may be just that I thought she gave the only truly affecting performance in the film (I love Redgrave, too, but I don't think her scene allowed her the opportunity to show her stuff), but Garai had the widest range of emotions of the trio and she nailed them all down perfectly. The character in her scenes was half-way between the naivite of Saoirse Ronan's child and the resigned self-acceptance of Redgrave's older woman, and Garai made the transition utterly believable.
"Y'know, that's one of the things I like about Mitt Romney. He's been consistent since he changed his mind." -- Christine O'Donnell
User avatar
rolotomasi99
Professor
Posts: 2108
Joined: Wed Jan 29, 2003 4:13 pm
Location: n/a
Contact:

Post by rolotomasi99 »

criddic3 wrote:
flipp525 wrote:Some people don’t need BIG SCENES! to recognize good acting. Redgrave's sublime cameo, much like her sister's in Kinsey, is an example of subtle acting.

I disagree. Redgrave was fine, but she didn't really do anything to warrant a nomination.

i agree. i worship the ground vanessa redgrave walks on but i do not think she gave a nomination-worthy performance (which is not too say she does not nail her scene).

i actually might be one of the few people who thought romola garai was the best of all the brionys. the scene where she is sitting with the wounded soldier and comforts him in the last moments of his life was just hearbreaking. i was blown away by that scene, and felt her to be the far more interesting part of the second half of the film. saoirse ronan did an excellent job as well and deserves her nomination, but romola was the (broken) heart and (repentant) soul of the movie for me.




Edited By rolotomasi99 on 1202525881
"When it comes to the subject of torture, I trust a woman who was married to James Cameron for three years."
-- Amy Poehler in praise of Zero Dark Thirty director Kathryn Bigelow
rain Bard
Associate
Posts: 1611
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 6:55 pm
Location: San Francisco
Contact:

Post by rain Bard »

I think it's a good idea, at least in theory, to encourage voters to make their choice based on how the song works in context of a film. And though I haven't seen all the recent nominees in this category (including Enchanted or August Rush), I do sense that there has been an overall quality improvement in this category in the 2000's, at least over the mostly-dismal 1990's.

One thing I just noticed is that, were "Falling Slowly" to win this year, it would be the fourth year in a row for the Oscar-winning song to come from a film that played at the Sundance Film Festival. the Motorcycle Diaries, Hustle and Flow and an Inconvenient Truth all were world premiered there. Once played a few festivals in Europe before debuting on this continent at Sundance last year.
criddic3
Tenured
Posts: 2874
Joined: Thu Jan 09, 2003 11:08 pm
Location: New York, USA
Contact:

Post by criddic3 »

flipp525 wrote:Some people don’t need BIG SCENES! to recognize good acting. Redgrave's sublime cameo, much like her sister's in Kinsey, is an example of subtle acting.
I disagree. Redgrave was fine, but she didn't really do anything to warrant a nomination.
"Because here’s the thing about life: There’s no accounting for what fate will deal you. Some days when you need a hand. There are other days when we’re called to lend a hand." -- President Joe Biden, 01/20/2021
Damien
Laureate
Posts: 6331
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 8:43 pm
Location: New York, New York
Contact:

Post by Damien »

The reasoning behind this voting procedure was that -- ostensibly -- it would acknowledge the best use of a song in a film, and not just reward the songs that were hits and received the most airplay. Presumably, the Music Branch members saw at least some of the films containing potential nominees, and the purpose of the videos is to refresh their memories.

I'm not sure when this system went into effect but it's been at least a couple years (and being aware of it, some of the Song nominees make more sense).




Edited By Damien on 1202515676
"Y'know, that's one of the things I like about Mitt Romney. He's been consistent since he changed his mind." -- Christine O'Donnell
jack
Assistant
Posts: 897
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 4:39 pm
Location: Cape Breton, Nova Scotia

Post by jack »

Damien wrote:
Sabin wrote:And I haven't seen 'August Rush' or 'Enchanted' but "Guaranteed" is such a beautifully mournful anthem.

The Eddie Vedder snub(s) can be attributed to the manner in whch the Best Song nominees are chosen.

Members of the music branch receive videos of the scene(s) in which the song is heard in the movie. Which means, for eample, if the song is heard over the end credits, they get a clip of the end credits.

So, the videos for the songs in Into The Wild would have shown Emile Hirach walking or hiking or driving. Such moments are far less likely to grab a voter's attention than, say, the production numbers of Enchanted where the songs are the raison d'etre of the scenes. And while Once doesn't have production numbers, a clip of Glen and Markéta singing "Falling Slowly" would be entirely about the song.
What a stupid way to decide if a song should be nominated.
Big Magilla
Site Admin
Posts: 19318
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 3:22 pm
Location: Jersey Shore

Post by Big Magilla »

Damien wrote:
Sabin wrote:And I haven't seen 'August Rush' or 'Enchanted' but "Guaranteed" is such a beautifully mournful anthem.

The Eddie Vedder snub(s) can be attributed to the manner in whch the Best Song nominees are chosen.

Members of the music branch receive videos of the scene(s) in which the song is heard in the movie. Which means, for eample, if the song is heard over the end credits, they get a clip of the end credits.

So, the videos for the songs in Into The Wild would have shown Emile Hirach walking or hiking or driving. Such moments are far less likely to grab a voter's attention than, say, the production numbers of Enchanted where the songs are the raison d'etre of the scenes. And while Once doesn't have production numbers, a clip of Glen and Markéta singing "Falling Slowly" would be entirely about the song.
Don't any of these "nominators" bother to see the films themselves so that songs such as "Guaranteed" make better sense in context?
rain Bard
Associate
Posts: 1611
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 6:55 pm
Location: San Francisco
Contact:

Post by rain Bard »

Damien, thanks for the info about the Best Song presentations. I always wondered if voters were picking based on videoclips, CD compilations, or were supposed to track down each song in the context of feature-length screeners.

Do you know for how long the Best Songs have been presented to nominators this way?
User avatar
Eric
Tenured
Posts: 2749
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 11:18 pm
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Contact:

Post by Eric »

WTF? Redgrave has THE big scene in Atonement, perhaps the only one.
jack
Assistant
Posts: 897
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 4:39 pm
Location: Cape Breton, Nova Scotia

Post by jack »

Jim20 wrote:What completely baffles me still is Jason Reitman's nomination for Juno. What exactly did Reitman do directorially that was so award-worthy, compared to Sean Penn? Was he riding the coattails of the film? What it the industry name his father has worked for? Whatever was the deciding factor, it couldn't possibly be the quality of the film.
The same thing happened with Taylor Hackford and the Capote director (can't remember his name). Though I would replace Reitman with Joe Wright, then the Best Director line-up would make more sense. I do feel sorry for Wright. His direction was a bit 'tarty' at times, but then that's a British trait. He did deserve to be nominated more than Reitman.
Post Reply

Return to “The 8th Decade”