Last Laps
The seven-day period between Christmas and January 2nd is the flattest time of the year. No screenings, nothing going. You can hear a pin drop. And then comes New Year’s Eve (which I always ignore with a passion) and then another blank-out on January 1st, and then the Producers Guild and Writers Guild nominees on January 4th, and then the DGA noms on January 10th. But all this time it gets a little bit harder to write with any feeling about the awards race because people are getting sick of it by this time. They need a break already.
So you focus on January openings, of course, and sometimes that’s fine. Plus whatever you can get into regarding Sundance. And then Sundance finally happens (I’m leaving on the 18th) and you’re alive again big-time. Nine 18-hour hammer days in a row. And then comes the Santa Barbara Film Festival, which lasts until the 4th or 5th of February. And then it’s back into the Oscar race for another 20-something days. And that’s okay because at least it’s ending. And then finally a new slate.
That’s odd because I’ve spent most of the day writing a comprehensive Oscar piece for ComingSoon.net and because I haven’t spent the last three or four months writing non-stop about every little up and down and frontrunner and etc. etc, I’m able to look at the race rather fresh and without any worries cause we haven’t been shoving Oscar stuff down our readers’ throats for the last three months. Now is when the race NEEDS to be written about because now is when the ballots are going out and the Academy needs to figure out what screeners they have in their possession, they should watch. This is the week they all have time to watch movies and read up on what they missed.
Wasn’t The Way Back supposed to get an award qualifying release? What a shame.
I can’t get interested in the Oscars until the nominations are announced and that’s still four weeks away. To me this is like Christmas shopping in September.
My God, Ed. I’ve been in an awards headspace since last September. And we’re supposed to really turn it on in January? Yeah, I guess so. I guess that’s the idea.
I’ve been trying to figure out what on earth they’re going for on THE WAY BACK myself… Per some web research, it’s getting a stealth release in one theater tomorrow… in Covina, California, the furthest fringes of the San Gabriel Valley where absolutely no voting guild member probably lives or would visit. Really strange.
I assume someone gave up on THE DEBT as well? I know Wells haaaated that one, but I kind of liked it, especially Mirren and the redhead from TREE OF LIFE.
i envy your schedule…between 1/6 and 1/9 there are full tilt press days for: the way back, barney’s version, no strings, green hornet and the mechanic….
not to mention 10 hour days of t.c.a. from 1/5-1/15….january sucks….
All I know for sure is that The King’s Speech will win Best Picture. . . at the BAFTAs.
Does that one theater count for the Academy’s sake?
Jeffrey, I think that the rest of the world doesn’t even begin to think seriously about Oscars and awards until early December. It’s just us crazy movie writers who have it on our brain all year round
Nobody’s putting you in an awards headspace but yourself. Whatever happened to being the only free man on the train?
A client just offered me some dough to get into an award head space. That’s the only reason to ever do it. Because I AM a slave…
I hate this period, but I hated it BEFORE this was my job. The whole notion that the entire world needs a whole week to “slowly come down” from Christmas is ASININE now that “Christmas” is a month-longth November 1 to December 25 holiday. Bullshit. If I have to put up with carols and cretins and forced-family-togetherness for an entire MONTH, then the trade-off is things go back to normal IMMEDIATELY around 5pm XMas Day.
Bob – I don’t know how to break this to you but your argument is ridiculous. First off, November 1 to December 25 is two months. And second, the fact that it’s been extended as far as that is why we need the week of relaxation more than before, as opposed to less.
But now you have time to make your Sundance plans! and to pace yourself even if you don’t want to.
The Way Back is supposed to be getting a LA/NY/Chicago ( maybe some others ) today ( the 29th ) but the movie should have been handled way better and with much more dignity.
We are talking about all involved in the piece, it’s an epic type movie made no more than 20 million dollars with past Oscar nominated cast members, film crew and director. The distributor and studio really screwed the pooch on this one regarding the film. You don’t lolly gag a Peter Weir film.
It’s a fail they couldn ‘t get the film in at least 500 theaters in the middle of December.
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