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Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2008 4:00 pm
by Akash
Yikes! Me too!

Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2008 11:53 am
by Sabin
Hey, I agree with anonymous on this one.

Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2008 12:03 am
by Damien
anonymous wrote:"Le Festin" from Ratatouille should have placed here.
Uh-huh. :O

Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 10:56 pm
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.

Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 10:29 pm
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.

Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 10:27 pm
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.

Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 9:51 pm
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

Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 7:43 pm
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.

Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 7:32 pm
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.

Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 7:07 pm
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

Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 6:56 pm
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.

Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 6:51 pm
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?

Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 5:43 pm
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?

Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 5:43 pm
by Eric
WTF? Redgrave has THE big scene in Atonement, perhaps the only one.

Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 4:56 pm
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.