PGA Nominations

[Sabin]

I think a lot of you think that the people voting on these awards a lot more credit than they deserve. They're not paying attention to the race and they catch these movies where they can. And -- I can't stress this enough -- at the end of the day, they just look around the room and decide with a fresh set of eyes which one gave them the feelings they liked the best. And sometimes something they though they liked at the time developed an aftertaste after a few weeks. So what do they do then? They look around the room and find something else. This is a moment where campaigns are the most effective. Like "Oh yeah! I did like that!"

I think it's just as possible that CODA snuck into the nominations circle but really, not enough people saw it until recently. Most of these movies had big arrivals on Netflix but CODA premiered at Sundance and then arrived on Apple, a platform that people are still sort of figuring out. People don't really look to Apple for movies yet. They still just use it for Ted Lasso and whatever else. I think it's perfectly reasonable to assume that it's possible that many people are just catching up to CODA right now in its moment of maximum exposure and hype. If more people saw it earlier, yeah, I think CODA could've probably picked up one or two more nominations. Maybe Best Actress, maybe Best Film Editing.

I think we also have to be open to the reality that we're in a new era where voters are figuring out how to navigate the streaming era.

[rolotomasi99]

The problem with that argument is that it's not like it was a late release: As I said in my post, it premiered in Sundance over a year ago and has been streaming on AppleTV+ since August and the Academy streaming site, I'm assuming. That's more than enough time to see it. I find it hard to believe that it picked up that many additional voters in between nomination voting and winners voting.

If your argument is that there can be no new momentum in this particular time period, then we'll just have to disagree. Why bother campaigning if that were the case?

I still acknowledge IMDB voting totals are not a great barometer, but they could be slightly helpful to this discussion.

I tallied the totals for each Best Picture nominee on February 24th, and I just looked at them again today.

Here are the new totals with the increase in the past month:
Dune - 516,485 (+23,212)
Don't Look Up - 465,299 (+24,502)
The Power Of The Dog - 133,120 (+16,999)
Nightmare Alley - 86,739 (+21,151)
CODA - 64,236 (+11,679)
King Richard - 63,569 (+10,311)
Licorice Pizza - 58,568 (+21,356)
West Side Story - 53,670 (+23,044)
Belfast - 43,915 (+12,406)
Drive My Car - 23,459 (+9,005)

CODA and WEST SIDE STORY both moved ahead in the ranking (passing KING RICHARD and BELFAST respectively).

While CODA might have a much higher IMDB score than THE POWER OF THE DOG, twice as many people have voted on the latter film than the former.

However, DUNE is clearly the populist choice in terms of both number of votes and score. If the Academy voters are looking for a populist (and heterosexual) choice to counter the gay cowboy film, why not pick the big action movie that folks actually flocked to theaters to watch?

[Sonic Youth]

Why didn't it do better at the nominations? If enough Academy members loved it, why didn't they nominate Sian Heder in Director or why didn't it pull in a nomination for Marlee Matlin? Where's its Editing nomination? Why wasn't it even shortlisted in Sound (it's about music and deaf people!)?

They probably would have if the nominations were today.

The problem with that argument is that it's not like it was a late release: As I said in my post, it premiered in Sundance over a year ago and has been streaming on AppleTV+ since August and the Academy streaming site, I'm assuming. That's more than enough time to see it. I find it hard to believe that it picked up that many additional voters in between nomination voting and winners voting.

If your argument is that there can be no new momentum in this particular time period, then we'll just have to disagree. Why bother campaigning if that were the case?

[Big Magilla]

I am so glad I saw CODA when it first appeared on AppleTV back in August. I enjoyed its sweetness but rolled my eyes at how corny it got sometimes. I loved seeing actual deaf actors starring in a film about their lives. I hope its success leads to more films about people with disabilities featuring actors from those actual groups. However, I share the sentiment of (it seems like) the majority of folks on this board: This is not a deep or visually interesting film. It is pablum for those who view cinema as purely entertainment rather than art.

If you want to see a (comparatively) well made movie about being deaf, please check-out CHILDREN OF A LESSER GOD or THE MIRACLE WORKER. Hell, even JOHNNY BELINDA is a more challenging film than CODA.

I'm all for giving deaf actors more work in film.

Deaf and mute characters have been memorably played in films from The Count of Monte Cristo to The Shepard of the Hills and beyond. Marlee Matlin's own Children of a Lesser God towers above the drivel that is CODA as, of course, do The Miracle Worker and Johnny Belinda.

I am not against coming-of-age films about young girls. For example, I love the Debbie Reynolds and Sandra Dee Tammy films which are hardly great art but don't pretend to be. I think what annoys me about CODA is the overhype of something that I might have agreed was a cute little movie is that's all it was being sold as.

[anonymous1980]

Why didn't it do better at the nominations? If enough Academy members loved it, why didn't they nominate Sian Heder in Director or why didn't it pull in a nomination for Marlee Matlin? Where's its Editing nomination? Why wasn't it even shortlisted in Sound (it's about music and deaf people!)?

They probably would have if the nominations were today.

The problem with that argument is that it's not like it was a late release: As I said in my post, it premiered in Sundance over a year ago and has been streaming on AppleTV+ since August and the Academy streaming site, I'm assuming. That's more than enough time to see it. I find it hard to believe that it picked up that many additional voters in between nomination voting and winners voting.

[Sonic Youth]

Why didn't it do better at the nominations? If enough Academy members loved it, why didn't they nominate Sian Heder in Director or why didn't it pull in a nomination for Marlee Matlin? Where's its Editing nomination? Why wasn't it even shortlisted in Sound (it's about music and deaf people!)?

They probably would have if the nominations were today.

[rolotomasi99]

I am having serious flashbacks to the 2005 race. The critically acclaimed gay cowboy film which did really well with the precursors starts feeling the heat from the bigots. Suddenly, the philistines are looking for any film they can rally around to stop this art house hit from taking Best Picture. They find a little, non-threatening, easy to understand film that they can all agree on. Best of all, the movie has an anti-prejudice message which they use as a shield to defend themselves from accusations of homophobia. In the end, while the gay cowboy film takes Director (which even the haters cannot deny it deserves), it is blocked from receiving the top prize from the Academy. The little film that no one took seriously as an Oscar contender is suddenly thrust in the spotlight as a weapon that homophobic and cinematically illiterate Academy members wielded to "protect" the sacred western genre from being sullied with gay cooties. It is immediately lumped in with all the worst Best Picture winners, and its creators are made to defend themselves for creating a movie loved by idiots.

Again, I am so glad I saw CODA when it first appeared on AppleTV back in August. I enjoyed its sweetness but rolled my eyes at how corny it got sometimes. I loved seeing actual deaf actors starring in a film about their lives. I hope its success leads to more films about people with disabilities featuring actors from those actual groups. However, I share the sentiment of (it seems like) the majority of folks on this board: This is not a deep or visually interesting film. It is pablum for those who view cinema as purely entertainment rather than art.

If you want to see a (comparatively) well made movie about being deaf, please check-out CHILDREN OF A LESSER GOD or THE MIRACLE WORKER. Hell, even JOHNNY BELINDA is a more challenging film than CODA.

[anonymous1980]

One thing I question about this notion of CODA winning Best Picture: Where was this enthusiasm during the nominations phase? CODA premiered in Sundance over a year ago and has been streaming on AppleTV+ since August (and presumably available on the Academy streaming site at the same time). Why didn't it do better at the nominations? If enough Academy members loved it, why didn't they nominate Sian Heder in Director or why didn't it pull in a nomination for Marlee Matlin? Where's its Editing nomination? Why wasn't it even shortlisted in Sound (it's about music and deaf people!)? Why didn't the song get nominated? Why didn't it get in at a Top 5 at the BAFTA's?

[dws1982]

I hate hate hated Licorice Pizza, too, which I imagine most people who came of age before or during the 1970s would. Our lives were nothing like those depicted in the film which is not a true representation of the times. Maybe for spoiled L.A. area brats, but no-one else.

CODA is for simpletons. It's a half-baked coming-of-age film for 19th century girls, all of whom are long gone. Its embrace is beyond my understanding.

I had issues with Licorice Pizza but I don't think it ever pitched itself as a true or realistic representation of late-60's/early-70's LA, any more than West Side Story is trying to be a realistic portrait of 1957 Manhattan. And I was one of the first people here to see CODA (I posted about it way back on Labor Day) and am definitely not a fan of it, but saying it is "for simpletons" is not fair to the movie or to the people who liked it.

[Sabin]

Something else occurs to me: this might be the first time since the Academy expanded its roster to ten that they are selecting a movie that wouldn't have made the top five. Let's say they nominated five films, what would they have been? Probably Belfast, The Power of the Dog, Dune... and then what? You could make the case for King Richard or West Side Story or Drive My Car, but I'm not sure. Maybe CODA would've made it the top five but I certainly don't remember thinking that CODA was locked in on the night before Oscar morning.

Anyway, I think a few of the takes here are a little unfair to CODA. I say this as someone who isn't an especially big fan of the film.

[Big Magilla]

It's also worth noting that CODA won this WITHOUT ranked choice voting, which is one of the big things that I think it has going for it at the Academy Awards.

I'd also like to say that in the movie group I do with my family, my Dad and his girlfriend (both Boomer-aged) hate hate HATE these nominated films with the fire of a thousand suns. My Dad has said he thinks Licorice Pizza is the worst film he's ever seen. His girlfriend despises The Power of the Dog. They both think West Side Story is beautiful but felt nothing. The only movies they like are Belfast, CODA, and King Richard. Belfast, they liked but couldn't remember anything about it. King Richard, they enjoyed but didn't feel like it was anything great. The only one they really lit up over was CODA.

It's not over until it's over, but it's looking bleak at the moment.

I hate hate hated Licorice Pizza, too, which I imagine most people who came of age before or during the 1970s would. Our lives were nothing like those depicted in the film which is not a true representation of the times. Maybe for spoiled L.A. area brats, but no-one else.

CODA is for simpletons. It's a half-baked coming-of-age film for 19th century girls, all of whom are long gone. Its embrace is beyond my understanding.

King Richard is fine if you believe that Richard Williams, who abandoned numerous women and even a whole family, was anything more than a bully in real, as opposed to reel, life.

Dune took two viewings for me to appreciate it, mostly for its technical expertise. Don't Look Up is mostly silly, but with a few good scenes.

West Side Story is well done, but its two biggest assets - Kushner's screenplay and Mike Faist's performance were ignored.

Nightmare Alley is that rare thing, a remake that is even better than its excellent predecessor.

The Power of the Dog and Drive My Car require more than casual viewing to fully appreciate them, which is why casual viewers don't get them.

Belfast is deceptively simple. It's the film that I would have thought those that don't get The Power of the Dog and Drive My Car would turn to. Everything is seen through the eyes of a child who doesn't fully appreciate what he had until he revisits it fifty years later. Had Branagh left in the film's coda in which the 60-year-old "Buddy" returns to the deserted streets of his old neighborhood, maybe more people would have appreciated it. Instead, he leaves it with a scene that everyone should understand but apparently still don't - the sight of the old lady, happy for her family's going toward a new life while going home to an empty house where she will spend her remaining days in isolation.

[taki15]

If CODA wins Best Picture, it would be the most anomalous Best Picture winner since Grand Hotel.

If CODA wins Best Picture it will be one more step by the Academy towards irrelevancy.

[OscarGuy]

I'm hoping it's a Moonlight/La La Land thing...that was the only recent time where the Best Picture winner was more artful than more populous PGA choice.

[anonymous1980]

If CODA wins Best Picture, it would be the most anomalous Best Picture winner since Grand Hotel.

[Sabin]

It's also worth noting that CODA won this WITHOUT ranked choice voting, which is one of the big things that I think it has going for it at the Academy Awards.

I'd also like to say that in the movie group I do with my family, my Dad and his girlfriend (both Boomer-aged) hate hate HATE these nominated films with the fire of a thousand suns. My Dad has said he thinks Licorice Pizza is the worst film he's ever seen. His girlfriend despises The Power of the Dog. They both think West Side Story is beautiful but felt nothing. The only movies they like are Belfast, CODA, and King Richard. Belfast, they liked but couldn't remember anything about it. King Richard, they enjoyed but didn't feel like it was anything great. The only one they really lit up over was CODA.