Short Lists for Multiple Categories

[FilmFan720]

If you’re interested, all the animated shorts are online:

https://www.cartoonbrew.com/awards/more ... o1bB65d_ks

[Precious Doll]

. Is it homophobic? Yes. Is it intentionally homophobic? I really don't think so

Oh, but of course the point is that it IS homophobic. Intentional or not, is maybe less relevant.

Windows of course wouldn't and couldn't be made now, at least by a major Hollywood studio but Hollywood does live in a bubble so I wouldn't rule it out $$$.

Something also disturbing that started to emerge in films a few years after Windows and that was jokes about AIDS. The worst offender was Paul Mazursky's 1986 Down and Out in Beverly Hills. Vito Russo explicitly mentions the scene in The Celluloid Closet and he is scathingly critically of Bette Midler who uttered the offensive dialogue. Whilst at the time I took the 'joke' to highlight Midler's character's stupidity and ignorance I nevertheless found it unfunny, extremely hurtful and tactless. Thinking about it now I must say 'What the fuck was Paul Mazursky thinking?'. Hollywood legend Rock Hudson had passed away 4 months before DAOIBH was released and he could have taken a different inoffensive take on that particular scene. Had the internet been around back in 1986 that scene would have been quickly altered by Disney but at the time whilst being met with disdain by the gay press the general community embraced the film.

[ITALIANO]

. Is it homophobic? Yes. Is it intentionally homophobic? I really don't think so

Oh, but of course the point is that it IS homophobic. Intentional or not, is maybe less relevant.

[Precious Doll]

Dressed to Kill, Psycho, The Silent Partner, The Silence of the Lambs & Basic Instinct all come to mind though I found them more complex that just straight at gay/lesbian/trans killer films.

Yes, of course. You haven't seen Windows and many other anti-gay movies, it seems. Good for you [/quote]

I've seen Windows.[/quote]

Ok [/quote]

Got out of bed this morning when I felt like a could have done with another one or two hours sleep in and then had to race over to my mother's house to deal with some of her gardening issues now that she is very limited in what she can do.

I should have elaborated on Windows.

An oddity to say the least and at the time of its release I can't really speak on its reaction in the US other than I know it was released on 1 January 1980 and that it failed miserably at the box office. I don't recall when I became aware of the bad reviews it received or the controversy surrounding the film but it was I suspect somewhat muted compared to Crusing which was released soon after. I don't recall seeing anything in relation to the film in any film magazines I was reading at the time and aside from Vito Russo's book I don't know of anyone else has mentioned it in print. Ironically Windows opened in Australia on 1 January 1981, second billed to Motel Hell, ran one week and was completely ignored by critics and audiences. I really didn't know that to make of the film and still don't. I'd never seen anything like it before or since to be honest and it does fall into that category of 'why was it made in the first place'. The only reason appears to be that Gordon Willis has an opportunity to direct so he did. I would imagine that as United Artists backed the film that Willis' professional relationship with Woody Allen helped him get the directing 'honours'. Is it homophobic? Yes. Is it intentionally homophobic? I really don't think so but the premise of a crazed lesbian (Elizabeth Ashley) arranging for a straight woman (Talia Shire) that she desires to be raped in the hope that the woman would then be drawn to her is was too outlandish and problematic on any level. A lot of exploitation films in the 1970's and early 1980's were very flippant when handily rape with some films entire premise built around graphic rape scenes for no other reason that to titillate the audience. Because Windows has been so little seen its fallen into the cracks of film history long ago and is/will remain nothing but a footnote in film history only because it was the only film directed by Gordon Willis (so it naturally looks great by the way).

[ITALIANO]

Dressed to Kill, Psycho, The Silent Partner, The Silence of the Lambs & Basic Instinct all come to mind though I found them more complex that just straight at gay/lesbian/trans killer films.

Yes, of course. You haven't seen Windows and many other anti-gay movies, it seems. Good for you

I've seen Windows.

Ok

[Precious Doll]

Dressed to Kill, Psycho, The Silent Partner, The Silence of the Lambs & Basic Instinct all come to mind though I found them more complex that just straight at gay/lesbian/trans killer films.

Yes, of course. You haven't seen Windows and many other anti-gay movies, it seems. Good for you

I've seen Windows.

[ITALIANO]

Dressed to Kill, Psycho, The Silent Partner, The Silence of the Lambs & Basic Instinct all come to mind though I found them more complex that just straight at gay/lesbian/trans killer films.

Yes, of course. You haven't seen Windows and many other anti-gay movies, it seems. Good for you

[Precious Doll]

Plus, Vito Russo pointed at another, much more disturbing cliche, and one which was actually more American than European: the gay man - or woman - as a psychopath, a vicious killer, a deranged sadist - an absolutely unacceptable way of equating homosexuality with mental illness and violence. And no, not all gays were like that

Dressed to Kill, Psycho, The Silent Partner, The Silence of the Lambs & Basic Instinct all come to mind though I found them more complex that just straight at gay/lesbian/trans killer films. Then of course there is Crusing which William Friedkin reediting much later and turned the film from a rather vague work to a more plausible complex work. It is only the second version of the film that remains in circulation.

[ITALIANO]

All the controversy reminds me of reading Vito Russo's book The Celluloid Closet back in the 1980s. An important chronicle of the representation of homosexuality as presented in cinema up until the mid 1980s. Russo loathed films in which gay characters are 'punished' or killed themselves. Whilst I can respect his point of view up to a point, that homosexuality along with other things should be treated in a matter-of-fact manner, the reality is that people were and continue to be punished for their sexuality, identity, race & religion. Percentage of suicide rates are highest amongst young gay people and are even higher among trans. Certainly films that show the characters struggling with their identity that end in self harm or suicide are always going to be problematic but they are also a reflection of the real world.
.

Vito Russo, as you say, was writing from the perspective of a gay activist in the 80s, a time when there was still much to fight for. And while it's true that there are - and, even more, there WERE - homosexuals who where lonely, suicidal, and (especially the "visible" ones) effeminate, his point was that movies back then portrayed ONLY such types, refusing to acknowledge that there were also gays who were confortable with themselves, living in healthy relationships, and not feminine or outlandish. Realistic or not, when a character is only described in a certain way, it becomes a stereotype, and in this case a problematic - if not exactly negative - one.

He was of course mostly referring to American cinema. European cinema, or at least European "art" movies, even back then were more varied and more complex in their depiction of homosexuality. But let's face it - even European commercial movies were full of annoying cliches.

Plus, Vito Russo pointed at another, much more disturbing cliche, and one which was actually more American than European: the gay man - or woman - as a psychopath, a vicious killer, a deranged sadist - an absolutely unacceptable way of equating homosexuality with mental illness and violence. And no, not all gays were like that

I'm surprised that in your by now long movie-watching experience you found only one offensive gay character in movies. Maybe it's because you mostly watch movies of a certain (artistic) level. Because I remember several, very embarassing and nasty cases.

[Franz Ferdinand]

The shortlist for the music categories on the Oscar website is nice, but it omits the actual songwriters - an impressive list of performers.

You haven't listed the songwriters either, though -- that's a list of the performers of the songs. (Some of them are ALSO the songwriters, but not all.)

Oops! Silly me

[The Original BJ]

The shortlist for the music categories on the Oscar website is nice, but it omits the actual songwriters - an impressive list of performers.

You haven't listed the songwriters either, though -- that's a list of the performers of the songs. (Some of them are ALSO the songwriters, but not all.)

[Franz Ferdinand]

The shortlist for the music categories on the Oscar website is nice, but it omits the actual songwriters - an impressive list of performers. To note:

Best Original Song shortlist:

Willie Watson, Tim Blake Nelson and Willie Watson – “When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings” (The Ballad of Buster Scruggs)
Sampha – “Treasure” (Beautiful Boy)
Kendrick Lamar and SZA – “All The Stars” (Black Panther)
Jónsi and Troye Sivan – “Revelation” (Boy Erased)
Dolly Parton – “Girl in the Movies” (Dumplin’)
Arlissa – “We Won’t Move” (The Hate U Give)
Emily Blunt – “The Place Where Lost Things Go” (Mary Poppins Returns)
Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda – “Trip A Little Light Fantastic” (Mary Poppins Returns)
Quincy Jones, Chaka Khan and Mark Ronson – “Keep Reachin’” (Quincy)
Jennifer Hudson and Diane Warren – “I’ll Fight” (RBG)
Gal Gadot and Sarah Silverman – “A Place Called Slaughter Race” (Ralph Breaks the Internet)
The Coup and Lakeith Stanfield – “OYAHYTT” (Sorry to Bother You)
Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper – “Shallow” (A Star is Born)
Thom Yorke – “Suspirium” (Suspiria)
Sade – “The Big Unknown” (Widows)

That is a lot of crossover into my musical world:
Sampha was the winner of the 2017 Mercury Prize for Process and has generally been a widespread collaborator on some huge mainstream hits in the past half decade.
Kendrick is of course the Pulitzer- and Grammy-winning artist operating at Rap God level since 2012, while SZA is his protege who had a breakout 2017.
Jonsi you may recognize as the singer of Icelandic dream band Sigur Ros, while Troye Sivan is having a big breakout moment as an LGBTQ pop star.
The Coup being nominated would mean Boots Riley would still be personally recognized in some way for his movie.
Mark Ronson is a ubiquitous figure of late: I prefer to think of him as the collaborator and producer of Amy Winehouse's Back to Black.
We should all know the Divine Sade, and Thom Yorke is of course the frontman for Radiohead - his bandmate and past nominee Jonny Greenwood was not shortlisted for the score to You Were Never Really Here.
The score for Annihilation was written by Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow: Barrow is one-third of famed trip-hop band Portishead.

Legends like Parton, Jones, Khan, Warren and Gaga should be widely familiar to all. I would say Miranda is a safe bet to get nominated on his way to an eventual EGOT down the road, but the thought of Lamar with an Oscar brings a smile of joy to my face.

[Precious Doll]

Thanks for all the responses in relation to the controversy around Girl.

I saw it back in August and until now have been completely unaware of this. The film itself is somewhat graphic and rather confronting and I certainly appreciate from a trans perceptive may very well be viewed as offensive and harmful. With all the controversy around the Academy this year (most of it self inflicted) its probably just well the film failed to make the shortlist. In todays environment Silence of the Lambs would not be in the running.

Which brings me to:

All the controversy reminds me of reading Vito Russo's book The Celluloid Closet back in the 1980s. An important chronicle of the representation of homosexuality as presented in cinema up until the mid 1980s. Russo loathed films in which gay characters are 'punished' or killed themselves. Whilst I can respect his point of view up to a point, that homosexuality along with other things should be treated in a matter-of-fact manner, the reality is that people were and continue to be punished for their sexuality, identity, race & religion. Percentage of suicide rates are highest amongst young gay people and are even higher among trans. Certainly films that show the characters struggling with their identity that end in self harm or suicide are always going to be problematic but they are also a reflection of the real world.

Russo also hated cinema's history of presenting some gay men as effeminate but some gay men are. Its been a bit of a slippery slope with deceptions of certain queer characters for a couple of decades now and the internet appears to have taken it to a whole different level as has #MeToo. To be honest I have found 2018 to be the most conservative year for cinema since the breaking down of censorship barriers.

As a gay man I have only ever been disturbed and frankly furious about the depiction of a gay male character in only one film. I am not saying what it is because the film has been largely forgotten now and I don't want to give the wretched thing any oxygen.

[Big Magilla]

The first entry in the film's IMDb. trivia page has this to say:

The casting call for the protagonist was genderless, i.e. open for girls, boys, and those who were neither. 500 people between 14 and 17 auditioned but none of them could both dance and act well, so the filmmakers decided to cast the rest of the dancers first, and there they found Victor Polster.

[The Original BJ]

From what I've been reading, Girl would have been a Twitter war waiting to happen, so its omission from the foreign shortlist may be a blessing for the Academy. The list as is features far more prominent candidates than we usually see.

Mister Tee,

Is the issue to do with the gender of the actor playing the title role?

There've been a multitude of responses between when you asked this and now, but, to answer, directly: that presumably plays a part (and Sabin is right: how do you not expect that in our current environment?). But there are also people who seem to have a problem with how the storyline plays out in the film. Since I haven't seen it, I don't know what they're talking about, but I've heard the term "dangerous" thrown around.

I haven't seen Girl either, but my understanding is that a large part of the controversy has to do with a feeling that the film obsesses on the character's body/genitals in an exploitative manner, including scenes of physical mutilation, presenting a harmful and offensive portrait of the transition process that could have been avoided if actual trans voices had been involved in front of the camera or behind the scenes during the making of the film. (One reason why cis-actors-in-trans roles has become so controversial is not only because many trans people feel it perpetuates a stereotype that trans women are simply men in drag, but also because so many of these projects about trans people are made without any actual input from trans people themselves, leading to depictions of their community that many have found wildly inaccurate/offensive.)