Oscar Talk: Ep. 82 -- BAFTA winners, live action and documentary shorts
Also: Is there really much of a race between Meryl and Viola?
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Welcome to Oscar Talk.
In case you're new to the site and/or the podcast, Oscar Talk is a weekly kudocast, your one-stop awards chat shop between yours truly and Anne Thompson of Thompson on Hollywood. The podcast is weekly, every Friday throughout the season, charting the ups and downs of contenders along the way. Plenty of things change en route to Oscar's stage and we're here to address it all as it unfolds.
The penultimate podcast of the precursor season is here. With just a little over a week to go before the Oscars finally put a definitive bow on 2011, we're feeling the end upon us. But there are things to address in the final build-up, so let's see what's on the docket today...
Sunday night brought this year's BAFTA Awards, which showed more strength than ever behind Best Picture frontrunner "The Artist."
One of the BAFTA winners was Meryl Streep, which, after the Globe win, has many wondering if it's a real horse race between her and Viola Davis. But is it really?
We buckle down and address a few categories in detail today. First off, we analyze the live action shorts, which we agree boil down to two distinct possibilities.
We also look into the documentary shorts, which, boringly enough, we also agree is down to two distinct possibilities.
And finally, reader questions. We address queries regarding a potentially positive residual effect of the expanded Best Picture field and personal favorite Oscar wins over the last decade.
Have a listen to the new podcast below. If the file cuts off for you at any time, try the back-up download link at the bottom of this post. And as always, remember to subscribe to Oscar Talk via iTunes here.
"Queen of the Night" courtesy of Whitney Houston and Arista.
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2012-2013 OSCAR PREDICTIONS
Best Picture
Best Director
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Original Screenplay
Best Cinematography
Best Costume Design
Best Film Editing
Best Makeup And Hairstyling
Best Original Score
Best Original Song
Best Production Design
Best Sound Editing
Best Sound Mixing
Best Visual Effects
Best Animated Feature Film
Best Documentary Feature
Best Foreign Language Film
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February 17, 2012 at 1:44PM EST Reply to Comment"That's so wonderful!"
Kris, you not even tried here!
Kristopher Tapley :)
February 17, 2012 at 1:53PM ESTPaul Outlaw
February 17, 2012 at 1:45PM EST Reply to CommentNice Whitney touches.
JJ1
February 17, 2012 at 2:26PM EST Reply to CommentLoved the Whitney touches, as well.
I must say, for once, I gotta side with Anne on something. Kris, I know you devote SO much time and energy to the Oscar season and to this site and it's all ... phenomenal. Truly. I don't know how you do it, and I am grateful for your passion. However, I do find it strange that someone like you wouldn't watch something like the BAFTAs; an important awards show that has cross-over appeal for Oscar voting, big stars, a loose fun vibe, and just a big checkpoint to cover for what you actually DO. I'm surprised a bit by your somewhat flippant attitude towards watching it, when it's a relatively hefty part of so much of what you work hard to cover.
Much respect to you, as always. I just found your lack in watching BAFTA (or at least highlights) to be a tad surprising.
Kristopher Tapley Guy covers them rather extensively. Every once in a while I'll catch this or that, but I don't even think I get BBC and they're certainly not made easily available otherwise so I don't actively seek them out.
February 17, 2012 at 3:10PM ESTNo need to be all accusatory about it.
JJ1 I did not think my tone throughout the post was accusatory. Sorry if it came across that way. In fact, I thought I was highly respectful in praising you and your efforts (I always do). I just was surprised that you 'seemed' whatever about it. That's all. :) Now I know that, for you, it's covered enough by Guy, and difficult to seek out (BBC, etc).
February 17, 2012 at 3:23PM ESTKristopher Tapley Well, it's just how many times can you write you're "surprised" or that my attitude is "flippant" or, essentially, "isn't this what you DO" before the comment appears to stretch beyond merely, "Hey, why don't you watch the BAFTAs?"
February 17, 2012 at 3:27PM ESTAnyway, I've never seen an entire BAFTA ceremony in the 11 years that I've covered the Oscars. I've also never seen a NYFCC awards gala, or a LAFCA gala, or BFCA ceremonies that I didn't attend, etc. Sometimes the news of the winners is, simply, enough. (For me.)
February 17, 2012 at 3:27PM ESTJJ1 Very fair. Thank you for your answers. Again, I didn't intend to offend. I see how some of my wordings could have come across that way. I guess when I said flippant, I meant that it seemed that you were whatever about it, in general. Again, sorry for the tone. :)
February 17, 2012 at 3:53PM ESTJohn I watched the BAFTAs this year on BBC, sure I knew the winners but it was still interesting. The last few years, I've actually enjoyed the BAFTA ceremony more than I did the Oscars.
February 17, 2012 at 9:10PM ESTThey show clips for the acting categories, they show script excepts, they show little VFX breakdowns and they show sketches for production design. I like the idea of seeing some small aspect of the nominated work - and the Oscars don't always do these things every year.
Deena Jones' wig Kris, I have noticed that you are very disrespectful to your readers. Your tone is always abrasive and unnecessarily crude. Try to act more grateful towards the people who support you SMDH!!!
February 18, 2012 at 2:30AM ESTGuy Lodge Hell, *I* didn't watch the BAFTAs this year -- if you're out of the UK, it seems, they make it damn hard to see them. And if you're in the UK, the idiotic tape-delay means all the winners are known before the broadcast begins, so I understand why many people think it's pointless to watch them.
February 18, 2012 at 7:17AM ESTDeena Jones' Wig: Respectfully, what does SMDH mean, especially at the end of a sentence that makes sense on its own?
Kristopher Tapley Deena: I defended myself, respectfully.
February 18, 2012 at 2:00PM ESTGuy: SMDH means "shaking my damn head."
JJ1 Sheeesh, I never meant for there to be anything to defend. I wish I could take back my original post. When I was typing it, I had a very colloquial, conversational tone in mind. Somehow that got lost in written translation and it read as instigatory/accusatory and that was not my tonal intent, at all. It basically was (as Kris said I should have posed it, but didn't) a "Hey, you missed the BAFTAs, surprised that you'd miss it, how come?". I'm sorry it came across the way that it did. Bad phrasing choices on my part.
February 18, 2012 at 3:26PM ESTKristopher Tapley We're totally fine, JJ.
February 18, 2012 at 4:41PM ESTJJ1 cool :)
February 18, 2012 at 11:39PM ESTDylanS
February 17, 2012 at 2:47PM EST Reply to CommentKris: I agree with you wholeheartedly about "Crash" have insults needlessly piled on it. I say this as a huge "Brokeback Mountain" fan, and obviously think it deserved to beat "Crash" that year, but that doesn't make "Crash" a bad film. It's a perfectly fine film that won an award it didn't deserve to win in the first place, but it's become popular to pile on it in the years since and I always wonder how many of the "Crash" haters would pick the film apart if it hadn't won.
To add to the reader question about favorite wins in recent years, and one that wasn't completely predictable at all, was Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross winning Best Score last year. It was such a brave and unconventional choice to even nominate it, let alone for it to win, and it's truly a triumph that it did win because it's the best score of that year, and of many years.
JJ1 Brokeback and Crash were two of my fave films of 05. I preferred and still prefer Brokeback. I remember being shocked by the Crash win. But since Brokeback won some biggees, I was happy for Crash. In retrospect, Brokeback is more deserving. I wish it would have won. But I agree that the backlash Crash has received has been in very poor taste.
February 17, 2012 at 3:14PM ESTKristopher Tapley Both were in my top 10. Comfortably.
February 17, 2012 at 3:32PM ESTDylanS One of the strongest best picture lineups in recent memory. I think all 5 of them ("Capote", "Munich" and "Good Night, and Good Luck" the other 3) would have been on my top 10 of that year if I had been making a top ten list back then.
February 17, 2012 at 4:36PM ESTKristopher Tapley I thought it was a terribly weak year overall, though. Worst of the decade, IMO.
February 17, 2012 at 4:53PM ESTchristine j That year my favorite was Capote.
February 17, 2012 at 6:23PM ESTDylanS There were a handfull of films I'd single out as great from that year. "Grizzly Man", "Cache", "A History of Violence", "King Kong" and "The Squid and the Whale" are such films, along with the BP contenders I named.
February 17, 2012 at 6:42PM ESTHoustonRufus Dylans, totally agree with these films you name, maybe with the exception of King Kong. Loved those.
February 17, 2012 at 10:52PM ESTGuy Lodge I saw Crash in the summer of 2005 and thought it was terrible -- it never even occurred to me that it would be an Oscar player until many months later. So I'm no retroactive detractor.
February 18, 2012 at 7:20AM ESTRex
February 17, 2012 at 3:03PM EST Reply to CommentI like the Whitney bookended songs but how come neither of you even mentioned her however briefly? Yes she was primarily a singer but she was in a couple of films and will appear in the forthcoming film which she also co-produced, Sparkle
Kristopher Tapley I didn't want to mention it. What's there to say? It would have spiraled into me jumping down CNN's throat for its awful, pathetic coverage or something and maybe this or that about Waiting to Exhale and/or The Bodyguard. The music was what I wanted to say and so I left it at that.
February 17, 2012 at 3:12PM ESTDylanS Kris: Did you by chance see Jon Stewart tear the CNN coverage to pieces? If you haven't, then check it out, it's brilliant.
February 17, 2012 at 4:39PM ESTKristopher Tapley yep
February 17, 2012 at 4:53PM ESTloyal_mehnert
February 17, 2012 at 3:23PM EST Reply to CommentThanks for answering my question (second time in two weeks!)
I do think the Oscars run the risk of becoming an afterthought in the big Winter tv spectacle parade. I also don't have the perfect solution (aside from nominating a Lord of the Rings or Batman film every year). But I would like to think that the AMPAS are creative enough to figure out a way to combat lackluster Best Picture nominees.
Performers sing on the Grammys, athletes compete in the Super Bowl, maybe there needs to be a must-see live component to the Oscars not necessarily linked to the nominees. And no, not Best Song or Cirque du Soleil.
Paul Outlaw The five previous acting winners (or friends of nominees) doing their serenades is probably designed to serve that purpose to some extent, but I'm sure only film buffs and Hollywood addicts (like me) get a charge out of those segments.
February 17, 2012 at 3:32PM EST
February 17, 2012 at 3:42PM ESTI also think if you're lucky enough to have a narrative for the year, run with it! This year is all about movies about movies, find a way to make that interesting for viewers. It's especially important considering so few people have actually seen Hugo and The Artist.
Kristopher Tapley Loyal is in my head. A piece about the slowly emerging Oscarcast details coming in 3...2...1...
February 17, 2012 at 3:45PM ESTGuy Lodge "...but I'm sure only film buffs and Hollywood addicts (like me) get a charge out of those segments."
February 18, 2012 at 7:23AM ESTAnd even then, a number of us (myself included) didn't like those segments either. Tough crowd.
daveylo
February 17, 2012 at 5:11PM EST Reply to CommentIt was a disgrace that BAFTA didn't give the actor award to Gary Oldman.
I still think Lubezski could lose the Oscar.
Please be right and I hope The Artist doesn't sweep the techies.
The reason why Hugo is wonderful because it doesn't follow a formula. And Hugo is full of themes and emotional content without being sappy.
Guy Lodge Why is it a "disgrace" that BAFTA didn't give their award to Oldman? They're not obliged to vote for their own -- indeed, they take a lot of flak when they do. I'm British, and I'd have voted for Dujardin too -- though I love both performances.
February 18, 2012 at 7:24AM ESTdaveylo I really think the BAFTA voters undervalue their native talent sometimes. Dujardin is perfectly charming in The Artist. I just didn't think it was a great performance.
February 19, 2012 at 1:07AM ESTdaveylo
February 17, 2012 at 5:13PM EST Reply to CommentCrash is like a TNT drama, not a great film.
daveylo
February 17, 2012 at 5:18PM EST Reply to CommentKris, the Baftas was worth watching for Scorsese's speech when he accepted the highest honor from the British Academy. And I agree that Sweet and Lowdown is a fine Woody Allen film (I also like Alice).
daveylo
February 17, 2012 at 5:34PM EST Reply to CommentEveryone who owes Scott Rudin a favor put ELAIC at the top of the their Best Picture ballot.
JJ1 By the way, I spoke to a 73 yr. old volunteer at my job who said that he saw Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and thought it was absolutely wonderful. He loved Horn, von Sydow, and the story. He's a fairly regular movie-goer and I've never seen him react to a movie as much as that. So, in other words, there must've been roughly 250+ in the Academy just like him.
February 17, 2012 at 8:49PM ESTGuy Lodge If Scott Rudin was the dominant factor, "Dragon Tattoo" would have made it in. People need to deal with the fact that, as JJ1 perfectly illustrates, a lot of non-cineaste viewers are sincerely moved by the film.
February 18, 2012 at 7:26AM ESTKristopher Tapley I've been saying since the moment I saw it in an industry crowd that ELIC was winning people over. So it's certainly no Rudin thing. (I bet a great many were even surprised to hear he produced it, since he wasn't out in front of it as much as he was "Dragon Tattoo.")
February 18, 2012 at 2:02PM ESTdaveylo If ELAIC is do moving to non-cineastes why has the movie tanked at the box office so quickly? I'm in New York City and the movie is hardly playing anywhere.
February 19, 2012 at 1:15AM ESTKristopher Tapley Well, New York is the LAST place I'd expect it to be embraced.
February 20, 2012 at 7:31PM ESTdaveylo
February 17, 2012 at 5:45PM EST Reply to CommentWhy does the BAFTA telecast always seem classier than the Oscars? And the clips are usually more interesting. And Stephen Fry is such a charming host.
I really liked Ang Lee winning, the only director of color ever to win the Director Oscar.
Frank Lee Did you really type "director of color" with a straight face?
February 17, 2012 at 11:24PM ESTdaveylo Well Ang Lee sure ain't white. And that's how people who aren't Caucausian are referred to in academia where I work. Should I have said non-Caucasian director?
February 19, 2012 at 1:09AM EST/3rt
February 17, 2012 at 6:14PM EST Reply to CommentI'd agree that David Cronenberg's Crash (1996) is a good movie.
Anita
February 17, 2012 at 6:42PM EST Reply to CommentSo glad to hear that you're a Sweet and Lowdown fan, Kris! You don't hear that very often. A very deserving nomination for Sean Penn, back when he didn't show up to the Oscars. It also introduced me to Django Reinhardt's music, and for that, I will always love it dearly.
Also, related to what you were talking about early on, Denys Arcand also thanked The Return of the King for not being eligible in Foreign Language Film when he was accepting for Barbarian Invasions. I still love that moment.
As for favourite wins, the Coens winning four each for No Country for Old Men, to add to their Fargo screenplay win, was unreal and has still not been topped for me. Adrien Brody's win and speech is a very close second, not just for the fact that his beautiful performance was recognized, but for all the elements that went into his accepting the award, with the standing ovation, his co-nominees looking so happy for him, The Pianist's score adding to the heightened emotions of the moment, his cutting off the play-off music, and ending with such an eloquent response to accepting an award when the country had just invaded Iraq. No one has really been able to surpass that win in my memory.
SJG
February 17, 2012 at 7:55PM EST Reply to CommentWow, it's kind of embarrassing that you liked my question so much, LOL. Don't read any of my other comments... I'm pretty sure I usually come across as an idiot.
I think you and Anne probably reached the right conclusion though... that even though the 5-10 field may have positive influence in other categories, it also has an embarrassing tendency to reward movies that clearly don't belong in the field itself. Maybe it's good that Bridesmaids receives a screenplay nod... but is it worth the ridiculousness of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close being (mis)categorized one of the "best pictures" of the year?
Anyway, thanks for addressing my question.
Guy Lodge I did think it was a thoughtful question -- but I'm not sure how much difference it really makes, not least because a film like "Bridesmaids" is possibly more in the Best Picture conversation for observers/analysts like us than it is for actual voters. It would have got its Best Screenplay nomination anyway -- just as the equally improbable (if wholly dissimilar) A Separation did, with no Best Picture buzz whatsoever.
February 18, 2012 at 7:30AM ESTHoustonRufus
February 17, 2012 at 11:14PM EST Reply to CommentThanks for bookending with Whitney. Gotta admit. I've been a little down this week. Grew up with that voice. Thanks.
JJ1 this
February 18, 2012 at 9:38AM ESTButters
February 18, 2012 at 1:14AM EST Reply to CommentThe way the Oscars could get better ratings is only televising the awards that they announce at the nomination press conference. No one in the general public cares about editing, costumes, song, etc. It would also shorten the ceremony and make it more viewer friendly.
JJ1 I always think that a charismatic/"knows how to carry a room" host, a fantastic opening segment, Oscar clips before the winners are read, and moving the 3 doc short/anim short/live action categories to the tech awards (where they would be highly respected) is a good combination. But there are so many other factors (as mentioned) that go into the show getting great or only ok ratings.
February 18, 2012 at 9:43AM ESTdaveylo Who cares what the general public thinks? I like the technical awards, particularly cinematography, editing, score, production design and costumes.
February 19, 2012 at 1:12AM EST