Round-up: Revisiting Oscar's worst decisions
Also: 'Harry Potter' for Best Picture, and a Globes seating shortage
Tom Hanks in "Forrest Gump," one of Time Out's picks for the 20 worst Oscar winners of all time.
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Ah, the old "worst Oscar winners" topic -- it never fails to get a righteous movie-geek conversation going. We all have our personal bugbears, both within and beyond the list of consensus groaners that repeatedly get hauled out for another retrospective whipping. Tom Huddleston's fun list of the Academy's 20 worst decisions pulls from both piles: everyone loves to rag on "Driving Miss Daisy," but Anthony Hopkins's Best Actor win for "The Silence of the Lambs" is a more singular pick. For my part, I'm cheering on his selection of "Forrest Gump," Renee Zellweger and Stevie Wonder, feeling a little protective of "Gone With the Wind" and "The Sound of Music," and itching to add "Braveheart" to the list. Browse and rant at your leisure. [Time Out]
Sasha Stone, somehow shocked by Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer's Critics' Choice wins last night, believes they are "carrying the burden of our own shameful past." What if we just like their work? [Awards Daily]
Steve Pond asks: "Shouldn't 'Harry Potter' be part of the Best Picture conversation?" (I answer: "No.") [The Odds]
The Sundance Film Festival is facing a lawsuit over a single programme blurb. See, words can hurt you. [Vanity Fair]
"Bridesmaids" star (and soon-to-be Academty Award nominee?) Kristen Wiig on writing a comedy about a fundamentally sad character. [The Carpetbagger]
You knew it was coming: an interview with Uggie the Dog. [The Guardian]
Why the ensemble pieces in this year's Golden Globe race are giving ceremony organizers seating nightmares. [Vulture]
Speaking the Globes, Alyssa Rosenberg is desperately counting on Ricky Gervais to liven up a staid awards season. [Salon]
On why "Margin Call," which rather ran out of steam after a robust start to the awards season, is this decade's "Wall Street." [The Telegraph]
At last, something wholly positive I can say about "The Iron Lady": this new set of protest-inspired posters for the film is incredible. [IMP Awards]
2012-2013 OSCAR PREDICTIONS
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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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Login or create a HitFix account Login SignupAndrej
January 13, 2012 at 1:11PM EST Reply to CommentI've melted myself with "awws" over the Uggie video. Away my man cards go, alright. :(
Brock Landers
January 13, 2012 at 1:33PM EST Reply to Comment"Sasha Stone, somehow shocked by Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer's Critics' Choice wins last night, believes they are "carrying the burden of our own shameful past." What if we just like their work?"
Jesus fucking Christ. If she makes one more goddamn comment about "whitey guilt" I am going to lose it.
HoustonRufus That site is exhausting.
January 13, 2012 at 3:30PM ESTCAS She seems to gone off the deep end over the last two years. Ever since throwing a fit about The Social Network losing, then her crazy praise for Rise of the Planet of the Apes this year (#2 or #3 she put it???)...I'm just saying. She takes things too personally, and seems to be letting her sided opinions get the best of her analysis.
January 14, 2012 at 1:00AM ESTCameron Tell me about it-if it's not guilt it's just no good
January 14, 2012 at 4:53PM ESTloyal_mehnert
January 13, 2012 at 1:51PM EST Reply to CommentIt goes by different names but I tend to use the "TNT Test" for Best Picture winners. If I can rewatch a BP winner with commercials, especially if I already own the film on Blu-ray or DVD and a long time has passed since it's win, then the AMPAS made the right call.
We also know Best Picture is rarely THE Best Picture of a given year but rather an accumulation of many factors (critical support, box office, award season narrative, campaigning, lack of competition, below the line strength, zeitgeist...).
Factoring that in, Forrest Gump is a completely reasonable Best Picture winner. Would I have picked it? No. But taking everything into account, with hindsight being 20/20, they made the right call.
Guy Lodge Unless, of course, you happen to think it's a terrible film.
January 13, 2012 at 2:03PM ESTIsaac Interesting how all film bloggers seem to hate Forrest Gump but just about everyone I talk to, including people I respect very much, love it! It's one of those films I can't help but watch every time it's on and it has so many little details I find absolutely charming.
January 13, 2012 at 2:35PM ESTMatthew Starr I love Forrest Gump but it's certainly not better than Pulp Fiction or The Shawshank Redemption.
January 13, 2012 at 2:52PM ESTDylanS I have my issues with "Forrest Gump" (Tom Hanks isn't one of the), but I think it gets hounded on as a Best Picture winner more because of the films it beat "Shawshank" and "Pulp Fiction", than it's own quality. I guarantee that if "Quiz Show", which people still talk about favorably, had won from that crop, it would get the same insults by comparison.
January 13, 2012 at 2:54PM EST
January 13, 2012 at 2:59PM ESTI'd also agree with Issac that it's become cool to hate on Forrest Gump and to that end, there's nothing really clever or cheer worthy in Huddleston's selection of Gump. Write about The Departed being 2nd rate Scorsese, now THAT would be interesting.
Casey Fiore I happen to think it's a terrible film. Forrest Gump perfectly encapsulates everything that is wrong with the Baby Boomer generation. Pulp Fiction is one of the greatest movies ever made. Worst decision Oscar ever made in my book.
January 13, 2012 at 3:01PM ESTI see where you're coming from, Loyal_Mehnert, but I've seen The Replacements and Rocky 4 with commercials like 5 times apiece and those would not have made reasonable Best Picture winners. Just because they never get it right and rarely award based on merit doesn't mean a movie gets a free pass because it is watchable and benefited from other factors.
Paul Outlaw I find all five nominees that year questionable at best. 1994 was not a great year for film.
January 13, 2012 at 9:03PM ESTJan And I thought I'm the only person in the world who cares neither for Forrest Gump, Pulp Fiction or The Shawshank Redemption (though Gump was clearly the worst choice they could have made)! I do think, though, that some of the best films of the 1990s are from that year, and the Academy gave them at least some recognition: Heavenly Creatures, Three Colors: Red, Ed Wood.
January 13, 2012 at 9:34PM ESTJMC I must disagree with Guy. I love Forrest Gump. Never used to when I was younger, but now its one of my favorites. I don't think it's terrible...actually, more of a classic. And, I must say, I'm one of the few who think it is better than The Shawshank Redemption (great, but would never make my Top 100 list, let alone top 2 like most people). Pulp Fiction, good, but not best to me either. That said...proves we all have our tastes...Taste or not, "terrible" I think is a stretch.
January 14, 2012 at 1:03AM ESTPaul Outlaw @ Jan: You named three of the films that should have been nominated that year. The other two: Muriel's Wedding and The Lion King.
January 14, 2012 at 2:19AM ESTJan Paul -- I love Muriel's Wedding too, but it was eligible for US prizes in 1995 (that's when Toni Collette got the Globe nomination).
January 14, 2012 at 7:51AM ESTJJ1 I respect other people's opinions. I'm sure it comes across too whimsical for some. But I happen to think Forrest Gump is a classic. I was 15 when I saw it, and I remember going to see it over and over and over again. I was taken with the story. The iconic characters. The humor. The drama. I think it's impeccably crafted (cin, editing, set design, costumes, make-up, sound, special effects, score). It's all fantastic. To this day, if it's on tv, I sit down and watch. To me, it's pure movie magic.
January 14, 2012 at 10:06AM ESTBenjamin
January 13, 2012 at 2:44PM EST Reply to Commentthe top 20 list doesn't call hanks winning a mistake, he calls the film winning best picture a mistake. (in reference to your copy under the photo above)
Guy Lodge The second clause of my caption applies only to the film's title. Still, given that Huddleston refers to Hanks's "dead-eyed, inexplicably Best Actor-winning performance," it's safe to say he deems that a mistake too.
January 13, 2012 at 2:56PM ESTJohn-Paul
January 13, 2012 at 2:46PM EST Reply to CommentWhen I got to the point on that list where they mentioned Anthony Hopkins in The Silence of the Lambs as one of the all-time worst Oscar wins, I thought it was going to be about how it was an obvious case of category fraud that had no business winning Best Actor, but when I actually read the description, the author actually believes it to be one of the worst performances to ever win an Oscar, using the word "ridiculous" to describe it. That's a controversial pick for such a list if there ever was one.
Chris138
January 13, 2012 at 2:50PM EST Reply to CommentI'm a sucker for Forrest Gump so I don't have a problem with that winning (although Pulp Fiction and Shawshank Redemption were also great), but I agree about Crash. I liked it the first time, but upon repeated viewings it has gotten weaker and weaker for me. The only other film from that year that I also didn't like was Capote, with the exception of Phillip Seymour Hoffman's incredible performance. Munich, Good Night and Good Luck, and Brokeback Mountain were all more deserving, in my opinion.
Going back to the 80s, though, I'm still puzzled as to why Rain Man won Best Picture. I guess it was a weak competition (although Mississippi Burning, for all it's flaws, I still find far more interesting).
JMC I'm glad you're here, Chris. I'm a sucker for Forrest Gump too. I also agree with the "TNT" comment above. I watch it every time its on...even back to back. I did like Capote, but also found Munich far underrated. I thought Good Night and Good Luck and Brokeback Mountain were classics and near perfect masterpieces.
January 14, 2012 at 1:05AM ESTMatthew Starr
January 13, 2012 at 2:55PM EST Reply to CommentA Beautiful Mind over Fellowship, Gosford Park and Mulholland Drive is much worse than the Forrest win.
Guy Lodge And Moulin Rouge, the film that should've beaten all of them. ;)
January 13, 2012 at 3:16PM ESTDylanS Guy: Please tell me that wink is ironic, as in ("Moulin Rouge" isn't a good film).
January 13, 2012 at 4:52PM ESTMatthew Starr I would have went with Mulholland Drive but yeah Moulin Rouge is excellent too. Lord knows what voters were thinking at that time.
January 13, 2012 at 4:53PM ESTMatthew Starr Seeing as how Moulin Rouge was Guy's favorite film from 2000-2009 I doubt the wink was ironic.
January 13, 2012 at 4:54PM ESTJLPatt Yes, it was his favorite film of the last decade, which makes it all the stranger that here he has left off the exclamation point that differentiates the 2001 version from the 1952 one. :)
January 13, 2012 at 5:11PM ESTGuy Lodge Damn iPhone.
January 13, 2012 at 7:54PM ESTLaura Stewart The fact that it wasn't even nominated for Best Director... the nerve!
January 13, 2012 at 9:42PM ESTJan Guy, it's quite weird that I usually agree with your opinions, and yet your all-time favorite film (if it's still Gone with the Wind?) and your favorite film of the last decade are both C+ at best for me :)
January 13, 2012 at 9:48PM ESTDylanS Guy: That's very disappointing. I don't know if I can respect your opinion ever again ;). But seriously, can you clue me in to why you like this film so much? because usually even when I'm not board a films popularity, I get the appeal, but I genuinely don't get what people like about "Moulin Rouge". I'm actually embarrassed for people when they say they like it on that level. I need some clearance on this matter!
January 13, 2012 at 10:10PM ESTGuy Lodge I'm not embarrassed about loving the film, so you certainly shouldn't feel embarrassed on my behalf. For me, 'Moulin Rouge!' represents a rare and special overlapping of two schools of filmmaking that are usually pitted against each other: postmodern collage, in which emotion is processed and falsified through its filter of cultural reflections, and the sincerest, most proudly outmoded, vein of melodrama, in which its naive storytelling serves as a platform for its unimpeachably earnest ideals -- it's a film that smartly uses 21st century quote marks not to mock, but to sincerely quote, celebrating everything in its path. Oh, and I could simply look at it for days on end.
January 14, 2012 at 12:08AM ESTDylanS Such a wonderfully articulated view as always, Guy. I find that "Moulin Rouge", just like Luhrman's "Romeo & Juliet" is a film that lacks any inherent sense of tone and, more importantly to what is a storytelling medium (whether certain directors like that fact or not), a film that has no sense of dynamics. I'm not opposed to melodrama, as I like the films of Pedro Almodovar. The reason melodrama so often fails and is mocked as a style of filmmaking is because it's quite hard to nail the dynamics of it. Like with "Romeo & Juliet", Luhrman displays a bold creative vision that attempts to liven up what are considered to be outdated modes of storytelling, but what Luhrman fails to bring to the table as a filmmaker, and his fundamental flaw as a director, is that he comes at you with such relentless force from the very outset (I'd equate the experience of watching "Moulin Rouge" to what would happen if you took large quantities of ecstasy and acid together in one sitting and stared directly into a strobe-light) and never bothers to turn the volume down for even a second to let you react to anything in a genuine way. Like DiCaprio and Danes before them, McGregor and Kidman do have a strong romantic chemistry with each other, and attempt to bring some genuine feeling to the film, but Luhrman never allows them an opportunity to really deliver on that front, just pounding on the gas pedal, plowing full speed ahead and never stopping for a moment to let the audience process things. And WTF is Jim Broadbent (an otherwise flawless performer, I might add) doing in this movie!
January 14, 2012 at 2:41AM ESTI digress, I may not be alone in having fundamental flaws with this film, but it is undoubtedly one enjoyed by a great many, like yourself. I was, of course, making a joke when I said that I was embarrassed for people who like the film. Obviously you are in better company on that front. I sincerely thank you for your expression of what it is you like about the film, because it has always bothered me that I have fundamental issues with this film that prevent me from enjoying it on any level, while it is cherished by so many others. Obviously, this is an issue anybody will have numerous times at some point in their film viewing life, but I had always been able to pinpoint the appeal of the film, which was not the case with "Moulin Rouge", so I thank you again Guy for your thoughtful output, and I apologize for the needless rambling ;)
Evan
January 13, 2012 at 4:55PM EST Reply to CommentI hate some of the choices in the "Worst Mistakes" list.
I happen to like Renee Zellweger in Cold Mountain and think she breathes life into a rather sullen film. I also think The Sound of Music is one of the best musicals ever to make the transition over to film. Even great ones like West Side Story retain a lot of that theatrical staging and intimacy.
My theory for things like Forrest Gump: if it has become such a notable entry in American pop culture, it has to have done something right.
CaptainCanada
January 13, 2012 at 8:50PM EST Reply to CommentNot only does he cite some of the most memorable Original Song winners in the last quarter-century (Disney has been saving that category from utter irrelevance for years), but he suggests something by *Randy Newman* as a worthier winner?
Anita
January 13, 2012 at 9:26PM EST Reply to CommentAgree with the Renee Zellweger pick (I would have loved to see her win for Bridget Jones), and I would add both times Edward Norton has lost, especially for American History X.
Anita
January 13, 2012 at 9:26PM EST Reply to CommentAgree with the Renee Zellweger pick (I would have loved to see her win for Bridget Jones), and I would add both times Edward Norton has lost, especially for American History X.
Anita Curses! Sorry for the double post. I wish there was a delete option.
January 13, 2012 at 9:27PM ESTIsaac
January 13, 2012 at 11:41PM EST Reply to CommentThe guy who wrote that article sounds like a cynic, since almost every one of his objections are some extreme way of saying something is too sentimental, like the Disney songs (all of which I'm a huge fan) or The Sound of Music, or even Forrest Gump. I know there was an article about that here earlier, but I honestly feel most people, at least on the Internet, have an aversion to sentimentality and people tend to use sentimentality as a criticism for films. Also, I know it's not on his list but he did mention it in his opening, why do people have problem with Chicago? To me it's an excellent movie musical, one of very few that manages to use film techniques as part of its choreography. I think it deserved Best Picture. He also mentioned Titanic, Shakespeare in Love and Driving Miss Daisy, all films I love and while they may not be the best films of their respective years, I'm fine with them being named Best Picture because I do find something very special in them.
By the way, someone mentioned Moulin Rouge here. I'm a huge fan and I think I can say why. The film is visual ecstasy and while the plot is paper-thin, it makes up with how it embraces its theatricality. Everything in that film is over-the-top and it doesn't pretend to be anything less. I love that about Moulin Rouge.
JMC I think most of these cinephile online film writers are cynics...which is why they are so out of touch with "the regular film goers." Of course, they'd respond everyone else are idiots, and stay on their high stool. That's why The Help was a hit across the country but gets the cold shoulder with online film junkies. I suppose, I agree with the film junkies sometimes, like defending really good films like Drive. I think they also tend to over-love movies about movies (The Artist/Hugo)...while being overly critical of enjoyable commercial films that resonate with the masses (Forrest Gump/The Help).
January 14, 2012 at 1:09AM ESTLiz You mean, online film junkies like Kris Tapley, the editor of this site, who really likes The Help? And rather strongly dislikes The Artist?
January 14, 2012 at 1:27AM ESTGeneralizations are fun.
JMC Liz, no. I didn't mean to generalize (so maybe it is my fault for being clear), but I think you're expanding it further than I meant it. We're clearly all film fans. That said, there's clearly a difference between Kris and some other sites. It's hard to find "The Help" defenders in this other "community" of sites. Define how broad I want that to be, and I myself would never put "The Help" in the top ten...but I'm just saying, there is an in-between world between the "film junkie" top picks and the People's Choice awards. The Academy, I'd argue, actually finds itself in that between world. Which, is why, the most acceptable "good" films normally win. A scour of the comments section of many of these sites will show few supported "The King's Speech" or "War Horse" or "The Help." My point merely was, they're all good films (I'm not saying 'the best') that are doing well with the masses yet can get crucified by many online folks...I'd argue at a much higher rate then, say, Shame or Hugo, etc...(and don't assume I'm speaking negatively about the quality of those two)...
January 14, 2012 at 1:55AM ESTCameron I mean, my heartless friend who's a girl CRIED TWICE during The Help. She says "those black movies get her" but it just goes to show you, these movies have an impact.
January 15, 2012 at 4:21PM ESTAaronupsidasium
January 14, 2012 at 12:41AM EST Reply to Commentshouldn't Ghostbuster's theme song have been ineligible since it was successfully sued for riping off I Want a New Drug
JMC
January 14, 2012 at 1:21AM EST Reply to CommentSome other things I disagree with him on his "worst list..." (Besides my love for Forrest Gump)...
I really love Giant and think it's a classic that deserved to win. He puts it in the crap pile of 1956.
I do agree 8 1/2 not winning cinematography is a travesty...
The Sound of Music is a classic for a reason. He seems to dislike things that "are popular"...just because.
Rocky beating three of the best films of all time...he's right on there (even though he's talking about director).
While "Out of Africa" I actually like...Witness is one of my favorite films. That said, also the year of "The Color Purple"...one film I think is actually one of Spielberg's best.
Anthony Hopkins was great in Silence of the Lambs. Period.
Dissing Disney songs? He's just a grumpy grump.
I did really, really, dislike A Beautiful Mind, and really really loved Mulholland Drive and Gosford Park. I personally would have voted for "In the Bedroom" or "Sexy Beast" that year...
Agree completely with Zellwegger: Shorah Aghdashloo was fantastic in "House of Sand and Fog"...also Patricia Clarkson in Pieces of April.
Loved "Crash" in theaters...hate it upon later viewings. Plus, after sitting down with the co-writer of the film and listen to him talk about it (and see his other stuff)...I quite despise it.
anywho...
Rashad
January 14, 2012 at 2:11AM EST Reply to CommentForrest Gump - near masterpiece. A hilarious and touching satire that the online cool squad just don't seem to get
JJ1
January 14, 2012 at 10:45AM EST Reply to CommentIt is rather amazing/humorous how many of the films listed as Worst Oscar Winners - I actually love. Guess I'm some lazy, populist film lover with no brain for cinemaaaah.
JMC Me too.
January 14, 2012 at 12:36PM EST