Scamper of Mouse Feet
Every last MCN Guru of Gold voter who changed his/her Best Picture prediction in favor of The Social Network over the last three or four weeks reversed course this morning after the Oscar nominations were announced, and now they’re all King’s Speech supporters again. (Except for Awards Daily‘s Sasha Stone, who abstained.) It was almost the same deal at Gold Derby’s prediction chart except for five journalists who have, it would seem, at least a semblance of faith in previous perceptions and/or a backbone — Cinematical‘s Erik Davis, Village Voice‘s Michael Musto, Gold Derby‘s Tom O’Neil, NextMovie‘s Kevin Polowy and myself.
Wouldn’t it be refreshing if people cared more about good cinema instead of good conformity? Who gives a flying hoot which film wins the Oscar?
Oscar is Hollywood’s Evangelical Christianism. And those who make one dime off of the process are its Jim & Tammy Faye Bakers. It has nothing to do with cinema or journalism. It’s a flim flam.
Your favorite filmmakers & critics are the only ones who should matter.
And yes, maybe the occasional crazy blogger who just wants to shoot the shit.
I disagree with you, coxacable. Well I agree that the gurus of gold and all of that IS nonsense and of no use to anybody. Any person on Twitter or on the board could have come with the same answer as they did. What makes them “experts”? This I don’t get. The bottom line is that if you can’t tell a good film from a bad film, if you are always judging them by whether or not they can or win the Oscar, you’ve already lost the game. The only way it’s worth paying any attention to the Oscar race is if you see A) how pointless it ultimately is, and B) acknowledge that a vote by 6,000 people is never going to be anything but the lowest common denominator. Which is not to disrespect the great films that have won.
I don’t really understand this sermon you keep preaching against the Gurus. It’s no secret that the Gurus’ pursuit is to predict the films they think will most likely win Oscars. Their pursuit is not to champion the films they wish would win Oscars, which is what you do. It’s apples and lemons, you sourpuss.
OK, Jeff, if we’re going to hold The King’s Speech to the fire for historical inaccuracy (which, by the way, I think we should), then we must also hold The Social Network (my vote for Best Picture) accountable for the very same reason.
TSN, factually, is incomplete. Anyone close to the Facebook situation, or at least knowledgeable, knows that Mezrich took tremendous liberties with his story. Therefore, so did Sorkin.
Doesn’t make the film any less brilliant but the criticisms being hurled at The King’s Speech (rightfully so) should also be directed at TSN.
My view is, we should never go to the movies for our history lessons. But you can’t have it both ways, running stories on King’s inaccuracy while completely shunning the similar inaccuracy of TSN.
My bad! I meant to post this under the Hitchens piece. So sorry.
The point remains, though…
Anybody making comments here a member of the Academy? As in a person who WORKS on films? Because though their picks can disgust or confuse or cause joy, it’s their game. Unless I was a film editor or a composer or a director or an actor in film, my (our) hissy fits are just that. I can have an opinion, but until you get in the club, that’s all it is.
Now, it may not be important to be in the club – for many, they could give a shit, but again, it’s their game, and I’ve been watching it unfold since I was 11. I am now 46.
Other than Jeremy Renner’ s nomination (and only because I haven’t seen the movie), all the acting noms are pretty fucking awesome to me. Of course I would have loved to have seen Garfield (a beauty of a performance) or Damon or the understate Walberg in the mix, but the Actors branch got it right.
Wells to longrunner: Oscar prognosticators know that what they predict often has a way of coming true (i.e., turning into real Academy and guild votes) because — hello? — of what they’re predicting! So why not make a more honest game of it and reach into their own prognosticating heads and hearts and try to lead instead of sniffing things out and detecting the leanings of what others think? They shouldn’t be in the meek peep-peep sideline business of reading Academy tea leaves — they should be guiding and goading the Hollywood community into voting for the right things. It would be a much, much more interesting game if they did this, as I’ve tried to do for years.
Since we are talking about predictions here, not wishes, I’m not sure the qualities of “backbone” or “resolve” are as relevant as those of perspicacity or liberal-mindedness.
longrunner makes my post redundant….should have reloaded before posting. What he said, only more pretentious.
“they should be guiding and goading the Hollywood community into voting for the right things….as I’ve tried to do for years.”
Apart from the question of allowing for honest disagreement on the question of what’s “right”, I’m not sure I see how an unavoidable exercise in predictions could either be successful in that regard or somehow indicates that participants aren’t already passionately doing exactly this in other contexts. Regardless, we’re talking about operating under an entirely different set of parameters here.
What delusions of grandeur.
‘Social Network’ is going to win. This support for ‘King’s Speech’ just means that Oscar pools will be easier to win, because a lot of people will commit to ‘King’s Speech’.
King Canute also had a semblance of faith in previous perceptions and/or a backbone
Is it possible that the we-just-want-to-see-a-good-story votes will be split between King’s Speech, True Grit, and Fighter, paving the way for Social Network?
I was criticized by two fellows for failing to accurately read the significance of The King’s Speech getting 12 nominations vs. The Social Network getting 8. I’m fully aware that The Social Network couldn’t hope to compete in certain below-the-line realms (including Best Supporting Actress, production design, etc.) that The King’s Speech, being a British period piece about the royals, would probably be recognized for. So yeah, I realized that. Take away those smaller categories and the nomination tallies for the two films are roughly even. What I also know is that the mice scurried and the world tumbled yesterday morning when people considered the difference between 12 nominations for TKS and 8 nominations for TSN. Nobody thought it through. They just fled like fools over to TKS. The TSN-favoring Gurus of Gold roster, made up of pros who are supposed to have a veneer of sophistication about this game, took one look and tumbled for TKS, to a man. Not one of them held their ground. And that‘s what I was responding to, why I felt so gloomy. One minute I was savoring a clear blue sky and a morning cappucino with my lovely blonde Czech girlfriend in an outdoor cafe in Wenceslas Square, and the next minute….Soviet tanks!
In 1969 They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? had 9 noms but only one win. Total noms mean little.
“So why not make a more honest game of it and reach into their own prognosticating heads and hearts and try to lead instead of sniffing things out and detecting the leanings of what others think?”
Because who fucking cares?
By the way, the mice “scurried” largely because TSN was whipped by a preferential ballot last weekend. That plus the other thing, of course.
The Social Network will still win. It just doesn’t make sense otherwise. But I’m actually kind of glad the PGA gave us a real race. I sincerely hope neither The King’s Speech nor The Social Network win SAG, and then Fincher wins DGA as he’s expected to. Then there will be mass confusion, even though I think the outcome is obvious.
I’m a wholesome diet regime fan, I am positive the Best Diet Plan is the best, I prefer it really significantly. If you’d like to turn into more slender fine? So hurriedly action! The Acai Berry Diet retailer possess a lot of healthful diet program products for you to pick. Such as China Meizitang Slim.
Along with John, the rest of the society also decides to store their gold coins with Mark, effectively establishing banking and Mark as a banker. New York Gold Exchange when the efforts of two speculators to corner Good clients can be lost if you don’t spell out the terms of the deal specifically. Who Needs Bloodlust? (10 player) Gold Coin Apprasial
These loans are really easy and are readily available to you. These loans are the best solution for your month end crisis. You can get the loan without going through any paperwork for the loan. The loan process in this case is very quick because of the fewer formalities attached with these loans. So not only the salaried people get cash for its timely spending but also there is no need for bothering about finding documents which often are no at hand. This may take some actual work on your part but keep in mind, this will be an ongoing business expense so doing a little due diligence now, can save you big bucks over the long haul. Dell Bvrp Fax Software Xp
CashBack appears on your monthly Utility Warehouse bill. This is just a brief sampling of the safety measures that the forklift owner and operator should take. If you are choosing a good warehouse for the distribution services of your company, you will be relaxed about that area and sure that your goods will delivered to the desired location safely and in time. Fulfillment services will take really good care of your products, their storage. Many people move house or finishing the house, often clear some debris , but not any place to put , for some reason some places give out their own Jiancai Hang mini warehouse , as a place to send materials , sub- materials Give other people. Specialized rental Mini Storage Allow consumers to put things more space , storage some small, some rent from the hundreds to thousands of yuan , of course, because of their needs and abilities , chosen for their own mini- warehouses , since some mini storage can be 24 hours free access , There are security people care , but some can not . Mini- warehouse was selected to be careful attention . Stop! Before you book Forklift Training Read This! New Forklift Combilift Clark Gas For Sale Louisville