Round-up: McQueen blames America's fear of sex for Fassbender snub
Also: The oldest Oscar voter speaks, and Ebert sinks 'Titanic 3D'
Steve McQueen thinks America is too "scared of sex" for "Shame" to have received an Oscar nomination.
Are you a fan of In Contention?
Sign up to get the latest updates instantly.
Michael Fassbender's had nearly a month to get over missing out on an Oscar nod for "Shame," but clearly the snub still rankles for others. While we recently had Alfre Woodard calling out the Academy on being too conservative to consider him, "Shame" director Steve McQueen has now weighed in, calling Fassbender a "once-in-a-generation actor" and extending the blame for his non-nomination to America in general: "In America they're too scared of sex, that's why he wasn't nominated. If you look at the best actor list you're saying, 'Michael Fassbender is not on that list?" McQueen may be right that a lot of voters were uncomfortable with the film, but I think he'd be surprised how many of them didn't see it at all. [Yahoo! Movies]
An interview with 101-year-old producer Arthur Gardner, the oldest member of the Academy. He's voting for "War Horse." [LA Times]
Larry Rohter sits down with the five filmmakers nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. [New York Times]
Kicking off his predictions with the aural categories, Mark Harris makes a compelling argument for "War Horse" taking both sound Oscars. [Grantland]
Putting this year's Best Picture nominees to the Bechdel Test for female representation on screen. Only two pass. [YouTube]
Steve Pond spotlights the four categories he thinks have the best chance of springing a surprise on Sunday. [The Odds]
Everything you ever wanted to know about the "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" title sequence. [Art of the Title]
Nathaniel Rogers wonders if Sandy Powell will win a fourth Oscar after reacting so indifferently to her third. [The Film Experience]
Roger Ebert is less than impressed by "Titanic 3D," calling it "a shabby way to treat a masterpiece." [Chicago Sun-Times]
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
Latest Posts
-
Un Certain Regard opener is worthy of a Competition slotThursday, May 16, 2013
-
Sleek shock value but little substance in another take on the Mexican drug warThursday, May 16, 2013
-
She'll join 'Walk the Line' co-star Joaquin Phoenix in the filmWednesday, May 15, 2013
-
It's not a world premiere, but Luhrmann's latest lends the Croisette some glitterWednesday, May 15, 2013
Comments
Option 1
Comment instantly as a guest GuestOption 2
Option 3
Login or create a HitFix account Login SignupDylanS
February 21, 2012 at 3:34PM EST Reply to CommentMcQueen really comes off like a pompus prick sometimes. I don't think the Fassbender snub was actually that surprising, and even if he deserved to get one, who cares, he got plenty of recognition form both his peers and from critics, whos credibility counts for more then the academys anyway. Getting upset at decisions made by such a group who represents such a small demographic (as that LAT piece stated pretty clearly) and blaming all of american culture just comes across as plain ignorant to me.
Jonnybon It's a generalization, but it's not ignorant.
February 21, 2012 at 8:13PM ESTDylanS point is, he should just shut his mouth and keep his thoughts to himself.
February 21, 2012 at 8:44PM ESTFrank Lee Had an American director made such a foolish, unflattering statement about a European culture, he would have been bashed by the Europeans and chided by fellow Americans. But, naturally, since McQueen is English and he is bad-mouthing Americans, the Brits will keep quiet and the Americans will just take the abuse.
February 21, 2012 at 10:53PM EST
February 22, 2012 at 6:50PM ESTPersonally, I loved it. The film itself was not perfect, but I think Fassbender, Mulligan and the cinematographer all deserved nods. I would have given the actors the win. They're performance haunted me for days, and I saw the movie on 12/23. Not even a wonderful Christmas could wipe their faces off my brain...
christiannnw
February 21, 2012 at 3:50PM EST Reply to Comment...or maybe not enough members of the acting branch thought his performance in Shame was worth nominating over Jean Dujardin, Demian Bichir, George Clooney, Gary Oldman, and Brad Pitt?
I guess that sort of reductive reasoning just doesn't sizzle as much as a variation on "I'm a sore loser because 1200 actors thought a protagonist I came up with wasn't worth acknowledging, and i'm also annoyed that the other branches didn't vote for my purportedly groundbreaking film either".
DylanS yes
February 21, 2012 at 3:55PM ESTSan FranCinema
February 21, 2012 at 3:56PM EST Reply to CommentMaybe it wasn't a fear of sex as much as a distaste for the film's apparent attitude that sex is distasteful, perverse, amoral, a source of anguish and otherwise a problem.
Liz
February 21, 2012 at 6:45PM EST Reply to CommentMaybe this is a dumb question, but if a film wins the foreign-language category, who does the Oscar go to, technically? Like, who gets to keep the statue? The director? Oscars.org only lists the country. I know a lot of countries have some kind of government office that helps support filmmakers. Is that where the Oscar would be kept?
That sounds so shallow, being so concerned with who gets to keep the Oscar, but I really am curious.
JCS It officially goes to the country that submitted the film, but the director accepts it on the aforementioned country's behalf.
February 21, 2012 at 7:56PM ESTEvan
February 21, 2012 at 7:46PM EST Reply to CommentHATE the Bechdel test. Denigrating the movies that are made is totally the wrong way to go-- it holds them up to a standard that they never tried to or should have to meet. What we should be doing is decrying that the female-centered plot ideas floating around Hollywood aren't made.
Liz I think the Bechdel test is good at making a larger point about roles for women and how female characters relate to each other in movies. But when people try to use it to determine the overall quality of those characters and the discourse between them (and I'm not saying that Guy is one of these people by posting the link), then I think the test is being used for something that it wasn't originally designed for. We shouldn't be praising Sex and the City 2 for passing the Bechdel test and criticizing 12 Angry Men for failing it.
February 21, 2012 at 8:57PM ESTBasically, it's an interestng talking point, not a test that's meant to be rigorously applied.
Guy Lodge Agree with all of this. And as Liz correctly implies, posting a link isn't equivalent to endorsing its content. Just thought it was an interesting talking point.
February 21, 2012 at 9:03PM ESTEvan Definitely, Guy. And I was trying to criticize the points within the link, not the fact that it was linked. Food for thought, even if I don't like that food, is always appreciated.
February 22, 2012 at 1:28AM ESTSJG
February 21, 2012 at 8:03PM EST Reply to CommentCan I just say that I don't think Fassbender was better than any of the five nominees who "took his place" (or whatever)?
JLPatt I'm with you (although I haven't seen Bichir).
February 21, 2012 at 9:23PM ESTDuncan Houst
February 21, 2012 at 8:21PM EST Reply to CommentIt's worth a chuckle to see the words "oldest member of the Academy" shortly followed by "He's voting for 'War Horse'."
Guy Lodge And I thought I was being subtle.
February 21, 2012 at 8:35PM EST