Roundup: What's the best worst Oscar moment?

Also: Oscar-nominated screenwriters get political, and a look at two VFX hopefuls

By Guy Lodge Thursday, Feb 14, 2013 10:20 AM

Get over it, people.

Credit: Miramax Films

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"No mass cultural event has the capacity to infuriate like the Oscars." A truer line was never written, and so Grantland writer Mark Lisanti launches a "tournament" to determine the most egregious Oscar travesty of all time, rounding up any number of supposed outrages from past Academy Awards ceremonies that people still love to bitch about, and pitting them against each other for you to vote on. Nominees range from contentious winners to infamous onstage moments, many of which I still don't understand the fuss about. I, for one, think it's nice that Angelina Jolie is close to her brother. And I'll never get why it must be a cast-iron fact that "Saving Private Ryan" is a better film than the perfectly delightful "Shakespeare in Love." Then again, I still feel less than sanguine about "Crash": everyone has their Oscar sore points. Perhaps the better question would be: what Oscar "travesties" are you totally okay with? [Grantland]

The Oscar-nominated screenwriters of "Argo," "Lincoln" and "Zero Dark Thirty" talk about the political facets of their work. [New York Times]

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Academy Awards?

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Jerry Rice dips into the water tank for a first-hand look at the visual effects in "Life of Pi" -- one of the surest Oscar bets of the season, you'd think. [The Vote]

Meanwhile, Eric Eisenberg talks to the artists behind one of the inevitable also-rans in that category, "The Avengers." [Cinema Blend]

Anne Thompson reflects on the career of recently passed screenwriter Alan Sharp. [Thompson on Hollywood]

Glenn Whipp talks to the folks at the Laika animation studio, who brought us "Coraline" and "ParaNorman," about going two-for-two with the Academy. [LA Times]

Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering, the people behind Oscar-nominated doc "The Invisible War," discuss their film's brave investigation of sexual abuse in the military. [Gold Derby]

Venerable British film critic Barry Norman picks the 49 greatest British films of all time. [The Telegraph]

Far, far from the Oscar race: I've never heard "How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days" described as the golden age of anything, but Amanda Dobbins uses Kate Hudson flick to measure how far the romcom has fallen. [Vulture]

Guy Lodge
Critic

Guy Lodge is a South African-born critic and sometime screenwriter. In addition to his work at In Contention, he is a freelance contributor to Variety, Time Out, Empire and The Guardian. He lives well beyond his means in London.

Related Searches: In Contention, Academy Awards, Argo, Zero Dark Thirty, Lincoln, Life of Pi, The Avengers, Best Visual Effects, Alan Sharp, ParaNorman, The Invisible War

Oscar Guide 2013 - A new category previewed every day until the big show

DefRef

Here's the link to the Life of Pi FX piece that wasn't linked in the article: http://weblogs.variety.com/thevote/2013/02/pi-visual.html
February 14, 2013 at 11:58AM EST Reply to Comment
Joe7827

It's frustratingly disheartening when my absolute favorite Oscar moment of the last 10 years - maybe ever - was when Jack Nicholson, with a bemused shrug, said the word "Crash"; and a great many others feel they have to spend the next 10 years - maybe more - calling it the worst movie ever to get over it. Surely, someone - SOMEONE - else believes that YES, Crash really was the Best Picture of 2005? I'm really getting tired of it constantly being derided. It really is a great movie. Indeed, I thought it was the best of the decade. I don't care what that says about my taste, or whether anyone else agrees. It has wonderful acting (except Brendan Fraser - man was he awful), it has great characters that transcend their initial archetypes, and it has brilliant writing. I'm sorry if I'm the only one who feels that way, but I will defend that movie forever.

Also, I wasn't a fan of any of the 1998 nominees. If "The Truman Show" or "A Simple Plan" were nominated, then we can talk about "Shakespeare" winning unjustly.
February 14, 2013 at 12:15PM EST Reply to Comment
- I'm somewhat over 2005, but I still maintain that where Brokeback Mountain was a towering achievement, an immensely beautiful and well-written film and, yes, the best of the decade in MY opinion, Crash was a perfectly competent film, but simply comparatively inferior by virtue of its preachiness alone. That's why the controversy exists and I'm still firmly on the side of those disappointed by that particular choice.
  
  I do agree however that The Truman Show was a much better film than any of the nominees in 1998. Aside from 2004 (Million Dollar, Aviator, Sideways, Neverland, Ray), that year had probably my overall least favorite group of BP nominees since I've started following the Oscars (1992).
  February 14, 2013 at 12:33PM EST
- Prettok I will take your Truman Show & Simple Plan, and raise you Rushmore, Lebowski, and American History X.
  February 14, 2013 at 1:48PM EST
- JJ1 Matthias, I agree with you for the 2nd time today (ist paragraph).
  February 14, 2013 at 4:40PM EST
- Haha JJ - if we now share the same favorite Best Picture winner since 2000, we should maybe found our own rival Oscarwatching blog together! ;)
  February 14, 2013 at 5:24PM EST
- JJ1 well? 2000? :)
  February 14, 2013 at 6:48PM EST
- Danny "Crash" has its strong moments but it also has moments that I felt were overwrought and just rung false to me. That said, what was troubling about that year were the many Academy members (some by name, some anonymously) who were quoted in the media of refusing to even watch the "Gay Cowboy movie". This would then, fairly or not, cast a shadow on the selection of "the other liberal message movie" winning, especially when it didn't compare to Brokeback Mountain in critical scores or in the Box office. It became, for me at least, hard to chalk up that selection as one based on artistic impressions alone....
  February 14, 2013 at 9:54PM EST
DylanS

I'm always amazed that people find it so egregious that Sam Jackson lost to Martin Landeau in "Ed Wood". Sure, we all remember Jackson's performance more because "Pulp Fiction" is a widely-seen classic, but if you actually watch Landeau's performance, it hard not to see why he won. You completely get lost in that performance.
February 14, 2013 at 12:23PM EST Reply to Comment
- Martin Landau was perfect in Ed Wood and he won completely deservedly. I wasn't aware there was even a "controversy" there. Similarly, what was the writer of this piece smoking when he suggests that American Beauty winning Best Picture was a "travesty"? That's just daft.
  February 14, 2013 at 12:28PM EST
- The Dude People that call SLJ losing a "travesty" = hipsters that never watched Ed Wood.
  
  February 14, 2013 at 12:59PM EST
- DylanS Mathhias: Yeah, the "American Beauty" BP "controversy" raised an eyebrow for me as well. Even though there were many other high quality films that year, it's the one that fits the definition of a best picture winner the best, and its competition was Cider House Rules, The Sixth Sense, The Green Mile and The Insider. All good films, but which one of those films has a consensus of being significantly better than "American Beauty"? none of them.
  
  The Dude: Hahaha. Agreed. It's one of those cases where Pulp Fiction is so beloved and Jackson such a clear stand-out that when you say "He didn't win" people think "how is that possible!?!", but when you factor in Landeau's performance it becomes very very obvious.
  February 14, 2013 at 2:08PM EST
- prettok American Beauty was definitely the best in THAT bunch. But many superior 1999 movies were not nominated.
  February 14, 2013 at 2:17PM EST
- DylanS American Beauty was actually my favorite of that year, but there were many highly overlooked films. "Fight Club", "3 Kings", "Being John Malkovich", "The Iron Giant", "Election", ect.
  February 14, 2013 at 3:04PM EST
- SJG Count me on team Landau for this one. I'd consider his win one of the most *UN*controversial wins of the last 30 years. SLJ was great, but Landau nailed it.
  February 14, 2013 at 5:19PM EST
- HoustonRufus Agreed. I'm on team Landau for this one.
  February 14, 2013 at 5:42PM EST
- JJ1 Definitely Landau. I thought he was superb.
  February 15, 2013 at 8:43AM EST
Kristopher Tapley

I think Shakespeare in Love is a better movie than Saving Private Ryan.
February 14, 2013 at 1:03PM EST Reply to Comment
- Jonnybon I was just going to write this, but now I have to agree. Goddammit.
  February 14, 2013 at 1:08PM EST
- HoustonRufus Thank you!!! You won my favor forever with that comment.
  February 14, 2013 at 1:31PM EST
- John G. "Silly" good versus "serious" good.
  February 14, 2013 at 2:08PM EST
- DylanS I agree John G. Comparing these two films is comparing apples and oranges. I think Shakespeare in Love is a pleasant film, certainly, and I think Saving Private Ryan is a great film in it's own ways. My issue with Saving Private Ryan is that it gets treated like an undisputed masterpiece because it's a really well made movie (Spielberg DESERVED that BD oscar), but the simplistic writing isn't really on the same level as the technical stuff.
  February 14, 2013 at 2:12PM EST
- prettok Do you reckon people always bring this up as an example of Oscars worst moments because it was such a surprise? "Dances with Wolves" was a far more egregious case of an inferior film winning, but because it was the expected best picture winner, the reaction has always been less outraged.
  
  I have never had a problem with "Shakespeare",s Oscar for three reasons.
  1. Comedy has never been respected enough by the Academy. It seems churlish to pick on one of the rare times it did get acknowledged.
  2. While I was moved by "Private Ryan" when I first saw it, the storytelling flaws and manipulation get more obvious each time. I still consider it a great film, but very frustrating.
  3. Why do people always regard Spielberg as the robbed party here? As mentioned above in the thread, there were so many great films released in 1998, many better than both Ryan and Shakespeare.
  February 14, 2013 at 2:13PM EST
- CaptainCanada I also agree with that. Partly, I suppose, because I'm 100% within that movie's target demo (English Lit majors who get all the in-jokes). It has one of the best, most literate screenplays of any Oscar winner in the last quarter century.
  February 14, 2013 at 2:28PM EST
- HoustonRufus Funny you mention that Captain. My friends and I were all English lit majors and Shakespeare in Love was our favorite movie that year.
  February 14, 2013 at 2:30PM EST
- Beach sequence in Saving Private Ryan > all of Shakespeare in Love.
  February 14, 2013 at 3:21PM EST
- Jonnybon That comment means nothing.
  February 14, 2013 at 3:23PM EST
- James In my opinion, and that is all it is, your wrong.
  
  February 14, 2013 at 3:36PM EST
- JJ1 I also prefer SIL to SPR. Not by a lot. But I thought it was the worthy winner.
  February 14, 2013 at 4:41PM EST
- Guy Lodge I'm with Kris, in case it wasn't clear in the post. And Prettok, Shakespeare in Love's win wasn't truly a surprise -- it was a close race throughout.
  February 14, 2013 at 8:02PM EST
- Danny Wholeheartedly agree with y'all on Shakespeare in Love. What a perfect gem of a movie.
  
  It winning 7 to SPR's 5 and the BP/BD split were good outcomes at that year's ceremony.
  February 14, 2013 at 9:58PM EST
- HoustonRufus Not that I need more convincing, but with Guy's and Kris' endorsement of SIL's win, this is officially my fav movie site.
  February 14, 2013 at 10:07PM EST
- msd Post a comment...
  February 15, 2013 at 4:01AM EST
- GlennAU Agreed so so very much.
  February 15, 2013 at 9:57AM EST
HoustonRufus

I've always been fine with Shakespeare in Love winning Best Picture over Saving Private Ryan, because I felt Spielberg won what he should have won that year--Best Director. He won for the opening sequence of that movie, which really was the film's great and eternal triumph.

My sore point is not original, but Crash's win, or I should say Brokeback's loss, sent me in to a pit of despair and fury unlike any I've experienced after an Oscar win/loss. ha! I look back on it now and laugh at myself, but at the time I was ready to come to blows with anyone who was fine with that outcome. It was the first and only time I actually swore off the oscars forever. Needless to say, I got over it. Well, mostly.
February 14, 2013 at 1:30PM EST Reply to Comment
CaptainCanada

Regarding the ability of the Oscars to inspire impassioned debate, one of my favourite music vloggers noted yesterday in his comments on the Grammys that they're such an inferior process to the Oscars because:

1) Nobody really cares who wins that much, even down to the absence of visible, interesting campaigning.
2) The Grammy voters have no discernable pattern to what they choose, so unlike the Oscars, it's impossible to debate their taste in any systematic way (compared with the eternal "Oscar bait" debate) even when you disagree with it.
February 14, 2013 at 2:33PM EST Reply to Comment
- HoustonRufus I don't know. I'd say NARAS is bolder in their nominations than their choices of winners--kind of like oscar. There have been exceptions, like Outkast winning album of the year, but typically Grammy goes with the most palatable of the nominees. For example, it was awesome they nominated Frank Ocean in the major categories. But there was no way in hell he was going to actually win Album of the year. The only wins he got were in the "ghetto-ized" urban and rap categories. That is a fairly predictable pattern as far as Grammy outcomes go.
  
  And those bold nominees for Grammy are a recent development, as in the last decade or so when NARAS realized they were woefully out of touch.
  February 14, 2013 at 3:45PM EST
loyal_mehnert

I use Oscar films like Crash, The Blind Side, Precious, and The Help to judge people in my daily life. If you're a fan, we can't hang out.
February 14, 2013 at 3:23PM EST Reply to Comment
- John G. Read that comment back and let me know if you notice something about the four films you chose.
  February 14, 2013 at 3:26PM EST
- They all suck.
  February 14, 2013 at 3:27PM EST
- Joe7827 It's a shame we can't hang out, then. Glad you're so judgmental though. I'm glad those four films tell you everything you need to know about me.
  February 14, 2013 at 3:37PM EST
- Xavier I notice something that links all four of those films. They all oversimplify and trivialise the issue of race.
  February 14, 2013 at 4:43PM EST
- Jonnybon John G has a point...
  February 14, 2013 at 4:45PM EST
- RichardZ that's sad.
  February 14, 2013 at 4:46PM EST
- SJG Unfortunately your comment does strike one as *slightly* racist.
  February 14, 2013 at 5:22PM EST
- I'm brown, I can't be racist.
  February 14, 2013 at 5:24PM EST
- Aaron So since all the films he dislikes has black people in them, he's automatically racist? Maybe it's also because the films just simply aren't very good (outside of some exceptional performances in Precious and The Help).
  February 14, 2013 at 6:06PM EST
- John G. I never said he was racist, and I'm sure he's not. I just thought it was a funny coincidence.
  
  I liked The Help very much but haven't seen the other three films because I don't expect I'd enjoy them.
  February 14, 2013 at 6:26PM EST
- Xavier I think that the Help, Blind Side and Crash all contain things within them that are racist, they are more subtext, but its there in the dna of the pictures.
  Blind Side and the Help feature the noble white person helping the poor black people who can't fend for themselves. In fact I seem to remember reports that the actual person from the Blind Side saying he didn't like his portrayal because he felt like he was a simpleton in the movie. Also I just couldn't handle that scene where the white person bonds over eating fried chicken with the black person in the Help.
  Personally I found Precious to be over-dramatised, it wasn't bad or offensive, it just layered on too many cliches and gimmicks and it felt like they were trying too hard to seem gritty and urban. It didn't feel real and was campy in parts. I much preferred 2011's Pariah which felt like a far more honest and subdued representation of similar themes.
  February 15, 2013 at 1:12AM EST
hipper

After 'The Golden Compass' won visual effects, I'm never too sure of this category's predictability anymore. But yes, you'd think 'Life of Pi' is gonna win.

Also, check this live-action trailer for 'Wreck-It-Ralph' out. Cute.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OplNaeNGrZo&feature=player_embedded
February 14, 2013 at 3:41PM EST Reply to Comment
- JJ1 While I wouldn't have voted for The Golden Compass for visual effects, and while I was surprised, I always kinda liked that strange win.
  
  I also liked the visual effects in the movie and liked the movie, as well. Not loved. It's a hot mess. But I liked it.
  February 15, 2013 at 8:47AM EST
brace

finally some love for Shakespeare in Love. I though I was alone in thinking it was a great movie deserving of best picture. the only problem I find in 1998 Oscars was the snub for The Truman Show in best picture and best actor categories.
February 14, 2013 at 5:29PM EST Reply to Comment
- JJ1 agree on all accounts
  February 15, 2013 at 8:48AM EST
Aaron

I've never understood why American Beauty has such a bad rep when it comes to Best Picture. Sure, 1999 was probably one of the most significant, landmark years for film from the past two decades, so maybe that's why its win leaves a bad taste...however, do people not remember what it was up against??? Would we look back fondly on Academy Award Winner The Cider House Rules? Judging by its competition, American Beauty is a fine best picture winner and I've always thought it a great movie and probably one of the seminal culture stones of the '90s. Although the Academy did miss the boat that year for failing to nominate such great films like Being John Malkovich, Election, Fight Club, Three Kings, The Talented Mr. Ripley, etc., for best picture that year.
February 14, 2013 at 6:01PM EST Reply to Comment
- JJ1 1999 was a great year. But I remember thinking that American Beauty stood high above the rest 'at the time'.
  February 14, 2013 at 6:52PM EST
pitypie

Nothing -- NOTHING ON THIS WHOLE EARTH SINCE THE BEGINNING OF TIME -- is worse than Dances with Wolves being Best Picture winner.
February 14, 2013 at 8:47PM EST Reply to Comment
- John G. Don't forget that Jamie Foxx won an Oscar.
  February 14, 2013 at 9:09PM EST
- JLPatt Are you kidding me? "Dances with Wolves" is a great film.
  February 14, 2013 at 11:54PM EST
- JJ1 Love Dances with Wolves; moreso than Goodfellas.
  February 15, 2013 at 8:52AM EST
- JJ1 But then, I've also never been a huge fan of crime dramas, in general.
  February 15, 2013 at 8:53AM EST
Xavier

I don't think there are many truly bad movies that win Best Picture (although I would consider crash one of those). It just seems like far too often mediocrity is awarded in preference to greatness. This is why so many go down in history as travesties. Taken on their own right films like The English Patient, Dances with Wolves, The Kings Speech, The Artist are all decent enough. I would put Shakespeare in Love in that category also; fun and enjoyable, well written but not important or overly memorable. I also would not consider Saving Private Ryan the spectacular work of art that was robbed that year. The oversight of the Thin Red Line is far greater than Saving Private Ryan, which has strong moments but overall is uneven, at times sloppy or cheap.
February 15, 2013 at 1:18AM EST Reply to Comment
THE Diego Ortiz

The "worst" moment that should win is Dark Knight being snubbed. It caused the most damage. Had the Academy simply nominated the film for picture/director, we would still only have 5 Best Picture nominees.
February 15, 2013 at 11:14AM EST Reply to Comment
A

Get over trying to get people to get over, Guy. Saving Private Ryan is a fantastic film and deserved to win Best Picture.
February 15, 2013 at 11:51AM EST Reply to Comment
Liz

Of the films I've seen this year, there's nothing I'd be unhappy about winning (but I haven't seen Silver Linings Playbook). Crash is my Oscar sore point too - I thought The King's Speech was horrendously overrated, but at least it wasn't up against a clear should-have-won like BBM.
February 15, 2013 at 3:54PM EST Reply to Comment
Gustavo H. Razera

"Get over it, people."

I'll remember that whenever you criticize the Academy for not choosing your own favorite. Hypocrite.
February 15, 2013 at 5:46PM EST Reply to Comment

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2012-2013 OSCAR PREDICTIONS

UPDATED: FEB 25, 2013

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

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Roundup: What's the best worst Oscar moment?

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Roundup: What's the best worst Oscar moment?

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Roundup: What's the best worst Oscar moment?

Oscar Guide 2013 - A new category previewed every day until the big show

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

Comments

Option 1

Option 2

Option 3

DefRef Here's the link to the Life of Pi FX piece that wasn't linked in the article: http://weblogs.variety.com/thevote/2013/02/pi-visual.html

Prettok I will take your Truman Show & Simple Plan, and raise you Rushmore, Lebowski, and American History X.

JJ1 Matthias, I agree with you for the 2nd time today (ist paragraph).

Haha JJ - if we now share the same favorite Best Picture winner since 2000, we should maybe found our own rival Oscarwatching blog together! ;)

JJ1 well? 2000? :)

Martin Landau was perfect in Ed Wood and he won completely deservedly. I wasn't aware there was even a "controversy" there. Similarly, what was the writer of this piece smoking when he suggests that American Beauty winning Best Picture was a "travesty"? That's just daft.

The Dude People that call SLJ losing a "travesty" = hipsters that never watched Ed Wood.

prettok American Beauty was definitely the best in THAT bunch. But many superior 1999 movies were not nominated.

DylanS American Beauty was actually my favorite of that year, but there were many highly overlooked films. "Fight Club", "3 Kings", "Being John Malkovich", "The Iron Giant", "Election", ect.

SJG Count me on team Landau for this one. I'd consider his win one of the most *UN*controversial wins of the last 30 years. SLJ was great, but Landau nailed it.

HoustonRufus Agreed. I'm on team Landau for this one.

JJ1 Definitely Landau. I thought he was superb.

Kristopher Tapley I think Shakespeare in Love is a better movie than Saving Private Ryan.

Jonnybon I was just going to write this, but now I have to agree. Goddammit.

HoustonRufus Thank you!!! You won my favor forever with that comment.

John G. "Silly" good versus "serious" good.

CaptainCanada I also agree with that. Partly, I suppose, because I'm 100% within that movie's target demo (English Lit majors who get all the in-jokes). It has one of the best, most literate screenplays of any Oscar winner in the last quarter century.

HoustonRufus Funny you mention that Captain. My friends and I were all English lit majors and Shakespeare in Love was our favorite movie that year.

Beach sequence in Saving Private Ryan > all of Shakespeare in Love.

Jonnybon That comment means nothing.

James In my opinion, and that is all it is, your wrong.

JJ1 I also prefer SIL to SPR. Not by a lot. But I thought it was the worthy winner.

Guy Lodge I'm with Kris, in case it wasn't clear in the post. And Prettok, Shakespeare in Love's win wasn't truly a surprise -- it was a close race throughout.

Danny Wholeheartedly agree with y'all on Shakespeare in Love. What a perfect gem of a movie. It winning 7 to SPR's 5 and the BP/BD split were good outcomes at that year's ceremony.

HoustonRufus Not that I need more convincing, but with Guy's and Kris' endorsement of SIL's win, this is officially my fav movie site.

msd Post a comment...

GlennAU Agreed so so very much.

loyal_mehnert I use Oscar films like Crash, The Blind Side, Precious, and The Help to judge people in my daily life. If you're a fan, we can't hang out.

John G. Read that comment back and let me know if you notice something about the four films you chose.

They all suck.

Joe7827 It's a shame we can't hang out, then. Glad you're so judgmental though. I'm glad those four films tell you everything you need to know about me.

Xavier I notice something that links all four of those films. They all oversimplify and trivialise the issue of race.

Jonnybon John G has a point...

RichardZ that's sad.

SJG Unfortunately your comment does strike one as *slightly* racist.

I'm brown, I can't be racist.

Aaron So since all the films he dislikes has black people in them, he's automatically racist? Maybe it's also because the films just simply aren't very good (outside of some exceptional performances in Precious and The Help).

John G. I never said he was racist, and I'm sure he's not. I just thought it was a funny coincidence.I liked The Help very much but haven't seen the other three films because I don't expect I'd enjoy them.

hipper After 'The Golden Compass' won visual effects, I'm never too sure of this category's predictability anymore. But yes, you'd think 'Life of Pi' is gonna win. Also, check this live-action trailer for 'Wreck-It-Ralph' out. Cute.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OplNaeNGrZo&feature=player_embedded

JJ1 While I wouldn't have voted for The Golden Compass for visual effects, and while I was surprised, I always kinda liked that strange win. I also liked the visual effects in the movie and liked the movie, as well. Not loved. It's a hot mess. But I liked it.

brace finally some love for Shakespeare in Love. I though I was alone in thinking it was a great movie deserving of best picture. the only problem I find in 1998 Oscars was the snub for The Truman Show in best picture and best actor categories.

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DefRef

Here's the link to the Life of Pi FX piece that wasn't linked in the article: http://weblogs.variety.com/thevote/2013/02/pi-visual.html

SJG Count me on team Landau for this one. I'd consider his win one of the most UNcontroversial wins of the last 30 years. SLJ was great, but Landau nailed it.

Kristopher Tapley

I think Shakespeare in Love is a better movie than Saving Private Ryan.

Danny Wholeheartedly agree with y'all on Shakespeare in Love. What a perfect gem of a movie.

It winning 7 to SPR's 5 and the BP/BD split were good outcomes at that year's ceremony.

loyal_mehnert

I use Oscar films like Crash, The Blind Side, Precious, and The Help to judge people in my daily life. If you're a fan, we can't hang out.

SJG Unfortunately your comment does strike one as slightly racist.

John G. I never said he was racist, and I'm sure he's not. I just thought it was a funny coincidence.

I liked The Help very much but haven't seen the other three films because I don't expect I'd enjoy them.

JJ1 While I wouldn't have voted for The Golden Compass for visual effects, and while I was surprised, I always kinda liked that strange win.

I also liked the visual effects in the movie and liked the movie, as well. Not loved. It's a hot mess. But I liked it.

brace

finally some love for Shakespeare in Love. I though I was alone in thinking it was a great movie deserving of best picture. the only problem I find in 1998 Oscars was the snub for The Truman Show in best picture and best actor categories.

pitypie

Nothing -- NOTHING ON THIS WHOLE EARTH SINCE THE BEGINNING OF TIME -- is worse than Dances with Wolves being Best Picture winner.

THE Diego Ortiz

The "worst" moment that should win is Dark Knight being snubbed. It caused the most damage. Had the Academy simply nominated the film for picture/director, we would still only have 5 Best Picture nominees.

A

Get over trying to get people to get over, Guy. Saving Private Ryan is a fantastic film and deserved to win Best Picture.

Liz

Of the films I've seen this year, there's nothing I'd be unhappy about winning (but I haven't seen Silver Linings Playbook). Crash is my Oscar sore point too - I thought The King's Speech was horrendously overrated, but at least it wasn't up against a clear should-have-won like BBM.

Gustavo H. Razera

"Get over it, people."

I'll remember that whenever you criticize the Academy for not choosing your own favorite. Hypocrite.

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