Latest Goldstein Beef
The gist of Patrick Goldstein's 11.6 Big Picture blog posting is that two journalists on the Hollywood beat -- Entertainment Weekly's Dave Karger and Variety's Anne Thompson -- are part of "a gang of daffy, clown-suit-clad Oscar bloggers making endlessly moronic Best Picture predictions."
The Envelope's Tom O'Neil took offense at this, doubled-down on the anger and posted an argumentative response. He mainly said that when you boil it all down Goldstein is (a) simply resentful of Oscar bloggers for encroaching on his turf, and that (b) he's made as many moronic or inaccurate predictions as anyone else so whaddaya whaddaya.
I didn't take the wacky-clown-suit line personally because I know who and what I am -- an opinionated, hard-working, Red Bull-sipping eccentric willing to sound a little quirky, deranged or off-balance in order make my points in ways that will penetrate the membrane. What I mean is that I do angry, fickle and obsessive but daffy isn't my thing. Plus I have a highly developed style sense (especially now that I'm living in NYC-NJ) so clown suits are out. I wear Italian-made loafers already.
What Goldstein is really saying, of course, is that talking up this or that presumed Oscar fave due to some recent or upcoming political mood swing is dopey.
I agree with PG that Karger's claim that "this week's election-day results may have a profound effect" on the best picture chances of The Dark Knight is close to absurd. Partly because I don't feel, as Karger does, that TDK "speaks to the innate goodness of human behavior." Karger is referring to the finale, and his belief that the sentiment behind it mirrors the feeling which led to the election of Barack Obama. Because Oscar ballots are due on 1.12.09, or eight days before Obama's inauguration, Karger feels that "most Hollywood types" will be swayed to give awards to the picture.
I'm sorry but this is horseshit. To my knowedge no legit BHO echoes have been acknowledged outside of TDK geek chat boards.TDK is going to get a Best Supporting Actor nom for Heath Ledger plus the usual tech noms. And that's it.
There is merit, however, in the belief by Variety's Anne Thompson that the passage of Proposition 8's gay marriage ban "could actually boost" Milk's Oscar chances, saying that "the fact that California did not defeat the ban could energize the largely liberal academy base" and make voters realize "that we have not come far enough."
This doesn't sound crazy to me. Thompson didn't say that industry anger about Prop Hate's passage would guarantee an Oscar or two or three for Milk -- she merely said that the climate could "boost" its chances. That's an entirely conceivable scenario.
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on November 7, 2008 at 2:02 PM
comment #1
Rich S.
says ...
That Karger piece was really a reach. But it's not unexpected. Another EW guy (I can't remember who) has a whole column in the magazine this past week proposing a Best Picture nod for TDK.
EW, and therefore Time Warner, is banging the drum HARD for this, maybe because the DVD comes out for Christmas.
Ultimately, I think it will have the opposite effect. It will cause a reassessment of TDK. Ledger was great, but other than that, it was no more than a better-than-average comic book movie. Hell, it's not even the best Batman movie Nolan has made. Hardly Oscar material.
Posted by Rich S.
at November 7, 2008 3:13 PM
comment #2
Rosebudsthesled
says ...
The Academy needs to understand that they HAVE TO nominate THE DARK KNIGHT. It isn't just because it's a great movie--it's because they need ratings. People will watch the ceremony if it is nominated for the big one. If not, we're looking at another year like the last one, where no one's watching because no big movies are nominated.
I'm not saying that they should nominate every blockbuster. But DARK KNIGHT is one of a kind. I say if they nominated all three LORD OF THE RINGS films, a DARK KNIGHT nomination is in order.
Posted by Rosebudsthesled
at November 7, 2008 3:46 PM
comment #3
BurmaShave
says ...
THE DARK KNIGHT will be one of the five best movies of the year, and therefore deserves a nomination. The ratings it will generate are a considerable bonus.
Posted by BurmaShave
at November 7, 2008 3:52 PM
comment #4
Edward
says ...
I'm not sure DK is in the best five, only because lots of fims haven't opened yet, but it's easily in the top 10.
Posted by Edward
at November 7, 2008 5:16 PM
comment #5
The Winchester
says ...
You beat me to a "thread count" joke regarding clown suits, Wells.
Posted by The Winchester
at November 7, 2008 7:31 PM
comment #6
corey3rd
says ...
The Dark Knight (can't go with TDK since it looks like I'm plugging a tape) should be in The Fugitive slot. Politics need not come close to swaying the voters. Once upon a time the Academy allowed Star Wars and the The Towering Inferno to be nominated. Not everything nominated had to be a lofty flick. It just had to be entertaining.
voters need to realize that they can't alienate the film because Oscar doesn't need to turn into another night of "Did any of you see that film?" from the normal commentators. Otherwise you might as well merge the show with the Tonys.
This isn't like we're begging them to recognize National Treasure 3 or Ocean's 14.
Posted by corey3rd
at November 7, 2008 9:25 PM
comment #7
dobbsy
says ...
Sarah Palin is the Ben Lyons of the Republican Party and Ben Lyons is the Sarah Palin of film criticism.
Also: Harry Reid is the Patrick Goldstein of the Democratic Party. Patrick Goldstein is the Harry Reid of film journalism. .
I guess that's actually four things. Sorry. I'm still celebrating BHO's win.
Speaking of which, Obama is the Wall E of presidential contenders. Wall E is the Obama of Oscar contenders.
Posted by dobbsy
at November 7, 2008 10:21 PM
comment #8
Edward Havens
says ...
If any blockbuster film needs to be nominated for Best Picture, WALL-E goes before Dark Knight.
Posted by Edward Havens
at November 8, 2008 12:10 AM
comment #9
akstanwyck
says ...
dave karger has it backwards. The Dark Knight may do well in these strange times because it does nail the zeitgeist. The Dark Knight's success is due in part to the way it paints the darkness and anarchy in the world and presents a dark hero to fight those forces. It's extremely gratifying. Batman goes rogue to fight for us, he's on our side, not establishment, not institutional. On some level, Barack Obama is our Dark Knight. This means that the movie is more than ever on the side of the Academy angels. They will be predisposed. A movie happens to be in tune with the world. As No Country for Old Men, and other best picture winners have been.
Posted by akstanwyck
at November 8, 2008 12:53 AM
comment #10
Josh Massey
says ...
Barack Obama is pre-Two Face Harvey Dent. Young, good-looking, media savvy, etc. Batman is, of course, none other than George W. Bush. Here's a list K.Bowen wrote here back in July:
* Batman and Bush are both the rebellious sons of wealthy, prominent families who turn into self-styled terrorism-fighters.
* The Joker is attracted to attack Gotham because of its newfound virtue.
* The rising death toll results in the unpopularity of the person defending Gotham rather than the terrorist attacking it and causing the deaths. While there are calls for Batman to give into the demands of The Joker, he ultimately decides to continue fighting, because giving in won't stop The Joker.
* Cell phone monitoring is presented as a distasteful practice but necessary to defeat The Joker.
* Batman's final choice - to accept and absorb public contempt from the public that he's trying to defend - is very George Bush. That's probably exactly how George Bush has viewed himself.
* So while liberals see the ending as dark, as heroes being "corrupted" by coming so close to evil, conservatives see it as cheating on principle to pragmiatically defend principle. It might be unlikable, but the job gets done.
I added: "In Oldman's final speech, you could practically replace 'Batman' with 'George W. Bush' or even 'America.' And that speech is meant to be rousing, not critical..."
Posted by Josh Massey
at November 8, 2008 2:37 AM
comment #11
CitizenKanedforChewingGum
says ...
I can see B.O. as pre-Two Face Harvey Dent, but a lot of those Batman/Bush "parallels" are dubious at best.
Batman is defending a very real threat on our own soil, not trying to spread democracy (read: protect our oil supply) overseas. He is basically a defensive figure (hence his strict aversion to never direct & conscious kills, even the Joker), whereas Bush has been willing to take the offensive to spread America's beliefs, influence, empire, etc. I think G.W. still "wants to be liked," remember this is a President whose best qualities (if any) are his light, breezy humor and being relatable to the common man (i.e. "kick back and have a beer with him").
I'm not sure you can paint the finale (or people's response to it) in any broad political strokes. I think what Batman has done in "protecting" the public from the truth is a combination of admirable and misguided; our reaction to Oldman's speech a combination of awe at his personal sacrifice and shock at how little he trusts the rest of the public to understand and/or help themselves. This is the epitome of a complicated character. Are we still really going to compare him to one of the least UNcomplicated Presidents of all-time?
I'll grant you a couple points: he does come from wealth, and he does approve of tapping phones for reasons of "national security. I think you can chalk up the latter as a none-too-swift attempt to capture the zeitgist (I thought this section of the film felt a bit too transparently tacked on), and the former as a simple coincidence.
How about President Bush as the Scarecrow? I'm only half-kidding here...
Posted by CitizenKanedforChewingGum
at November 8, 2008 7:47 AM
comment #12
The Winchester
says ...
"I'll grant you a couple points: he does come from wealth, and he does approve of tapping phones for reasons of "national security. I think you can chalk up... the former as a simple coincidence."
To be fair, Batman came first, then W.
Posted by The Winchester
at November 8, 2008 11:10 AM
comment #13
frankbooth
says ...
The Scarecrow is smart, Citizen. And he believes in science.
A few crucial scenes that were cut from DK make Nolan's intentions even more clear. In one, Batman kidnaps, tortures and cripples a citizen, based on an anonymous tip and the fact that the guy wears white makeup.
Turns out the suspect knows nothing, is a professional birthday party clown and has never met The Joker. The tip was from a rival clown. Bats smirks, says "oops" and moves on. The guy's entire family joins the Joker's gang and begins killing cops.
In another subplot, Bats spends an hour of the film invading the Penguin's lair. He insists that Penguin is responsible for the chaos in Gotham, since he's obviously a bad guy who has caused trouble in the past -- and there's a fuzzy photo of him shaking hands with The Joker. Closer analysis reveals that it's not the Joker at all in the pic -- it's Alfred.
The Penguin is hanged, and all the actual penguins -- now free, but leaderless -- divide into factions and begin attacking each other with the missiles strapped to their backs. A thousand Gotham cops are sent in to babysit the wayward fowl. The violence goes down to the point where it becomes safe for the mayor to walk the streets accompanied by ten armored humvees, two hundred bodyguards and a half-dozen Blackhawk helicopters. Gotham spends a million bucks a week in police overtime, for the next hundred years. The Joker's whereabouts remain unknown.
Also, in the original cut, Bruce Wayne threw a huge Mission Accomplished bash 15 minutes into the film.
Posted by frankbooth
at November 8, 2008 5:34 PM
comment #14
CitizenKanedforChewingGum
says ...
Fair points, 'chester and booth. I was obviously not thinking things completely through in either case.
Sounds like one hell of an "original cut" there, frank...
Posted by CitizenKanedforChewingGum
at November 9, 2008 7:05 AM
comment #15
janee
says ...
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Posted by janee
at May 19, 2011 12:37 AM