Yesterday, Oscar Thursday, I was out of pocket after the Academy Award nominations were announced. So now I am catching up. Suffice to say, all the nominees were “surprised, thrilled, grateful, and blessed.” Not one of them said, Who cares? Or ‘What nominations?’ They all claimed to be sleeping or not thinking about the nominations, which were read out loud on national TV and the internet, and beamed to the Moon, at 8:30am Eastern time.
Who wasn’t happy? This is just a guess, but I’d say David Oyelowo, the superb British actor who played Martin Luther King, Jr. in “Selma” was disappointed. By the time got on screen at the Critics Choice Awards on Thursday night, he looked angry. He has the right. Everyone with “Selma” starting with director Ava Duvernay should be mad as hell.
Who else? Many directors who weren’t nominated with their films. Apparently “Selma,” “American Sniper,” “Theory of Everything,” and “Whiplash” were directed by people who weren’t so good. At the same time, Bennett Miller was a Best Director of “Foxcatcher,” directing two actors to nominations, but the movie wasn’t a Best Picture.
Others who have reason to be bummed include most anyone involved with “Into the Woods,” “Unbroken,” “A Most Violent Year,” and “Interstellar.” They were just about obliterated. And right– “A Most Violent Year” got noting from the Oscars or the Golden Globes, but got a phoney baloney award from the National Board of Review– a cock up, as I told you last week.
Some films simply weren’t promoted. A lot of us loved “Belle” and its star Gugu Mbatha Raw. The studio did nothing to help it along. This happens. At the same time, some are over promoted. Jennifer Aniston did work her “Cake” performance into some nominations, but fell short of the Oscars. I think we will see her again, but in a sophisticated comedy. (Not “We’re the Millers.”
“Boyhood” is the front runner because it’s the most unique idea in a long time. It captured imaginations in the same way as “The Artist.” This isn’t to say anything negative about the 7 other nominees. They are each terrific films. I’m especially a fan of “The Imitation Game,” which had the strongest narrative of all the films. My reaction though is “not so hot” as “Selma” will outlive a lot of the nominees.
