Oscar Nominations (LotR, Spirited Away, and more) 589
An anonymous reader noted that the
Oscar Nominees
are now online. The Two Towers is nominated for Best Picture, and Miyazaki's Spirited Away is nominated for Best Animated Picture (someday an Anime will be nominated Best Picture). Road to Perdition, Spider-Man, and even Star Wars have random nominations throughout the list. Even Eminem's got a nomination now ;)
There's tons of other good movies in there too (Adaptation, Chicago) and a bunch of movies I've never seen. Anyway, talk amongst yourselves ;)
Scorcesse? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Scorcesse? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Scorcesse? (Score:5, Informative)
Yes.
This is only his fourth nomination in the best directors category. In the other 3 years he got beaten by directors of better films.
1990 Goodfellas beaten by Kevin Costner for Dances With Wolves
1988 The Last Temptaion of Christ beaten by Barry Levinson for Rain Man.
1980 Raging Bull beaten Robert Redford for Ordinary People.
OK. Maybe the last one is a bit dodgy but you can't really describe it as a conspiracy when he was beaten by better films.
Re:Scorcesse? (Score:3, Interesting)
Now, catch me if you can was a FANTASTIC movie and how that was not nominated is crazy. it was much more enjoyable then Gangs (which I have not met one person who actually liked it).
Hmm... (Score:5, Informative)
I hope spirited away gets best animated picture. That'd really do wonders for getting anime into America, and increasing American awareness. Plus, imoho, Spirited away is the best thing I've seen all year that's animated. I dunno, maybe Disney's losing their touch. (So they have to leach off Miziaki.)
Re:Scorcesse? (Score:4, Funny)
Spike Lee??? (Score:3, Insightful)
I'm no conspiracy theorist, but I'd swear the biggest snub of the year is Spike Lee. 25th hour was much better than last year's Training Day and Lee deserves at least a nomination. Lee directing Ed Norton was AMAZING. Norton was at least better and more subtle than Daniel Day-Lewis in S's trainwreck of a movie.
Not to mention Spike Jonze, who is one of the hottest directors in Hollywood when paired with Kauffman. I liked Two Towers a lot too, but Adaptation deserves best picture nods with the best of them.
I mean, of course these awards don't mean anything, but it's upsetting when Hollywood can't separate out the innovators from the dead wood.
Too bad for Gollum (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Too bad for Gollum (Score:5, Insightful)
I was just going to post exactly that!
You are very right. The sequence where Gollum was talking to himself (or Gollum was talking to Smegol, I suppose) was one of the host impressive sequences I've seen in a film for a long time. It's a shame that it will probably get classified as "special effects", when in reality the magic was in the acting. (Although the effects were fabulous too!)
At least we should be seeing Andy Serkis on our screens more often after that performance.
Re:Too bad for Gollum (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Too bad for Gollum (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Too bad for Gollum (Score:5, Funny)
De eff-ecks is okie-dokie, bork bork bork!
Re:Too bad for Gollum (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Too bad for Gollum (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Too bad for Gollum (Score:3)
Re:Too bad for Gollum (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Too bad for Gollum (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Too bad for Gollum (Score:5, Insightful)
Why not Best Supporting Actor? Why make a special category when the actor's performance clearly inhabited the character? Neither my wife and I are big LOTR fans, we enjoy them but we don't flock to them and see them repeatedly. However, we were both completely awed by Serkis' perfomance. It was phemomenal. So why not just give him the nod and possibly reward him for an exellent job? It's just silly.
Re:Too bad for Gollum (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Too bad for Gollum (Score:5, Insightful)
Think; which of the following apply to Gollum's performance in TTT?:
- acting (definitely, so best/supporting actor)
- costume (digital?)
- production design (how Gollum looks.. which is partly Andy Serkis and partly.. a designer..)
- special effects (because he is digital, but also all these other things... and SFX used to be only physical)
I think the Academy is going to have to address some of these multidisciplinary efforts in the future, as it cannot be easily lumped into one category.
Re:Too bad for Gollum (Score:3, Insightful)
Too bad for Howard Shore and Emiliana Torrini (Score:4, Interesting)
Sure he won last year, but Howard Shore's soundtrack for Two Towers was widely praised so it does seem like a snub to not even be nominated this year.
Might as well throw in: "Too bad for Peter Jackson," too. If you aren't nominated for Best Director, there's really no shot of your movie winning Best Picture.
Wow (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Wow (Score:4, Funny)
That should have read (Score:5, Funny)
That'll go on my Tivo Right after
Movie Awards
American Film Institute Awards
Producers guild
British Academy of film & tv
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards
New York Film Critics Circle Awards
Independent Spirit Awards
The Academy Awards
National Society of Film Critics Awards
Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards
National Board of Review Awards
Golden Globe Awards
Annual Directors Guild of America Awards
MTV Movie Awards
NAACP Image Awards
The Internet Entertainment Writers Association
American Cinema Foundation awards
Aurora Awards
Blockbuster Entertainment Awards
Bubakar Awards
FOX Teen Choice Awards
The Peoples Choice awards
Gemini Awards
Golden Raspberry Award Foundation
Humanitas Prize
Screen Actors Guild Awards
Music Awards
The Grammy Awards
The Latin Grammy Awards
Billboard Music Awards
American Music Awards
Country Music Association Awards
Pulitzer Prize in Music
BMI Awards
FOX Teen Choice Awards
The Peoples Choice awards
Blockbuster Entertainment Awards
LA Weekly Music Awards
Los Angeles Music Awards
MTV Video Music Awards
Radio Music Awards
World Music Awards
Tv Awards
The Emmy® Awards
Daytime Emmy Awards
Golden Globe Awards
George Foster Peabody Awards
Alfred I. duPont Awards
Directors Guild of America Awards
FOX Teen Choice Awards
The Peoples Choice awards
Golden Raspberry Award Foundation
Humanitas Prize
Screen Actors Guild Awards
Re:That should have read (Score:2)
* runs
Re:That should have read (Score:5, Insightful)
I hope I'm not the only one here who takes care to watch exactly zero of these per year.
Re:Wow (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Wow (Score:3, Funny)
"And the award for making a big deal about something that nobody cares about goes to... It's a 35 Way tie!!!"
The Emmy's (Score:3, Insightful)
Comment removed (Score:4, Interesting)
No Precioussssss for Andy. (Score:4, Interesting)
Who cares. I'd rather hear about the Razzies... (Score:5, Funny)
Thanks to slashdot for stating the obvious.. Yeesh.
And now, the not to obvious:
The Golden Raspberry Awards [razzies.com].
The fact that Gangs Of New York got nominated sort of cinches it for me. I havent seen acting that bad and Irish accents that poor since.... uhh... wait, I've never heard acting and Irish accents that poor! Ever!
Re:Who cares. I'd rather hear about the Razzies... (Score:3, Funny)
Ah... apparantly you're not a Buffy or Angel fan.
To hear Angel use his bad Irish accent is... well... let's just say I wish it was forgetable.
Re:Who cares. I'd rather hear about the Razzies... (Score:3, Interesting)
Actually, I thought it was OK. Not great, but OK. I can think of many that are far, far worse. Tom Cruise for starters. And virtually anyone in the US that attempts to do a cockney accent.
Re:Who cares. I'd rather hear about the Razzies... (Score:3, Informative)
Absolutely. It shows what a farce the Oscars are.
I find it difficult to put into words quite how bad it is. Thankfully, others have done it for me [amazon.com].
Adaptation adapted? (Score:3, Funny)
Notably absent... (Score:2, Interesting)
Animated Feature Film (Score:5, Funny)
Where is Nemesis? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Where is Nemesis? (Score:2)
Re:Where is Nemesis? (Score:4, Funny)
Surely its a better movie than any musical?
Someone's whoring for humor karma, I see. The only category I can think of for Nemesis is "Best Adapted Screenplay," since it was based so thoroughly on "Wrath of Khan."
Comment removed (Score:3, Funny)
Mozilla Freeze. (Score:2)
Disappointed. (Score:5, Funny)
I thought Hollywood had awards for Best Breasts and Best Plastic Surgery... My bad.
That would be (Score:5, Funny)
Anime is considered a sexual fetish by the APA. (Score:2, Troll)
The American Psychological Association [apa.org] lists Anime as an officially recognized sexual fetish, treatable with medication and cognitive therapy.
Get off it, Rob. Nobody here cares about your obsession with big-eyed pumpkin headed screamers.
Cheers,
Best Picture Roundup (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Best Picture Roundup (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Best Picture Roundup (Score:2, Informative)
I think you can forget it, but not because of "elves and dwarves beating up on orcs" -- forget it because FOTR won last year, and the Academy is unlikely to award the top prize to a sequel.
Of the rest, I've only seen The Hours, and while it was interesting I don't see it as a Best Picture.
Re:Best Picture Roundup (Score:3, Insightful)
I just don't buy they "they HAD to change it" excuse, especially since the changed parts of the plot were just unwatchable. They made no sense; they were ham-handed; the acting was horrible; and they ate up so much screen time that critical parts of the plot were left out. The resulting story was full of plot gaps, and consistency errors; it was cut like a music video. It was more like watching a video from the soundtrack to "Sweet Valley High: The Two Towers" than watching a film adaptation of the book.
Re:Best Picture Roundup (Score:3, Insightful)
It only takes away some of the coolness factor because you've (I assume) read LoTR so you understand Ents and that whole story angle. But just imagine trying to explain the whole concept of Ents properly to an audience who has not read LoTR (which is the majority of the audience)? There's too much background and complication there which, on film, would have been boring and turned people away. True, the Ents are cool, but there is just so much more to them.
Another example is Aragorn falling over the cliff. There was absolutely no conceivable need for this scene. It doesn't add to the drama because it's obvious Aragorn isn't dead.
I partly agree with this, though it does give them another chance to put Arwen on screen, a character who really doesn't feature at all in the books. Where it does add to the story IMO is in showing the friendship that's grown between Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas.
And yet another is with Faramir, where he doesn't pass the test of the ring and leads Frodo and Sam on another 20-minute waste of time, wherein we see that Gondor is under attack, but just long enough for Samwise to make a kitschy speech and change Faramir's mind. What was the point of that? How did that make TTT a better movie? Nothing happens and the plot is dragged backwards.
I disagree with this - I think it again emphasises how powerful and corrupting just the presence of the ring is. In FoTR, the ring was almost a separate character, but this was slightly lost in TTT because the ring itself was not so central to the plot. I think this whole scene brings the ring back into perspective and reminds the audience just how evil it is. Faramir does pass the test, but only in the end.
Do not know why it got rejected but... (Score:2, Interesting)
Read about it in my journal... [slashdot.org]
I Hope 'Chicago' Gets Best Picture (Score:3, Interesting)
This has been the first musical, that I can recall, that has come out for a long time.
I have longed for musicals such as 'Sound of Music', 'Singing In The Rain', and 'West Side Story'.
I can remember going to those movies as a chile and being 'carried away' by the fantasy and joy they evoked.
I am very dissapointed that these types of musicals are not comming out of the Hollywood machine lately.
I hope, if 'Chicago' gets the award, that more musicals will start to come down the line.
Mark
Not the only musical recently (Score:4, Funny)
Oh yeah, Moulin Rouge. D'oh.
Re:I Hope 'Chicago' Gets Best Picture (Score:2, Funny)
> award.
> This has been the first musical, that I can
> recall, that has come out for a long time.
Absolutely! It has been a whole year since the musical MOULIN ROUGE was nominated for Best Picture. At this rate it may be a whole another year before another musical is nominated for best picture
Re:I Hope 'Chicago' Gets Best Picture (Score:2)
um...Moulin Rouge?
Re:I Hope 'Chicago' Gets Best Picture (Score:3, Funny)
Would I be modded down over clever use of the term 'gaydar'?
Re:I Hope 'Chicago' Gets Best Picture (Score:3, Interesting)
Geez guys, read the posts. Like 50 of you told him it was Moulin Rouge. I can't believe nobody mentioned South Park!
News for Nerds (Score:2, Interesting)
Its about as newsworthy as the superbowl (and not for the commercials and a comment by michael insulting anyone who is a football fan... which I am, but michael's already commented personally to me, so I don't mind).
Best: (Score:2, Funny)
ICE AGE
LILO & STITCH
SPIRIT: STALLION OF THE CIMARRON
SPIRITED AWAY
TREASURE PLANET
So if Spirited Away wins, it will have beat Ice Age, Lilo & Stitch, Spirit, and Treasure Planet.
What an honor.
Re:Best: (Score:3, Informative)
Ice Age does have rough edges but for a first shot full-length feature, it works quite well, though I doubt it'll win (maybe it's there to be the sole CGI-animation representative?)
Lilo and Stitch was probably Disney's best and tightest work since TLM and B&tB: they took out the musical numbers, focused on comedy and timing and plot, and brough together good characters and good voice talent to make it work. (And my understanding is also that this was not a big budget film, pre-marketing/advertizing fees, compared to previous Disney ventures). No, it's not as good as Spirited AWay, but the elements that got B&tB the Best Picture Oscar nomination are there in L&S, and by and far, the race will be between these two films.
Best Makeup nominees?!? (Score:2)
The Time Machine? I've seen better makeup on MutantX.
The Academy will vote for their own (Score:3, Interesting)
They'll thow a bone to Jackon and crew with a "Visual Effects" award, and maybe "Sound Editing".
Re:The Academy will vote for their own (Score:3, Insightful)
Gangs of New York (Score:3, Interesting)
I cannot believe that "Gangs of New York" has been nominated for best picture. It was the worst film I've seen in ages. But I guess just because of who directed it, and the fact that it was a "Hollywood epic", means that it got nominated. A shame.
Best Documentary - no doubts on this one (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Best Documentary - no doubts on this one (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Best Documentary - no doubts on this one (Score:3, Insightful)
Bowling for Columbine is my favorite film of the year, but I think it's got zero chance.
Re:Best Documentary - parent not a TROLL (Score:5, Insightful)
i thought just the opposite. the video footage of columbine itself was gripping, of course, but the interviews and other parts of the movie were haphazardly strung together. moore made no meaningful points about anything.
Might have been a little haphazard, but it kept me interested. One of the big critisizms of the film was that he didn't seem to have a clear point or opinion. I think that was the beauty of it - it is left up to the viewer to DISCUSS it later. Why should he present it in a nice, neat package? Because that is what we are used to? I think some very powerful points were made in the movie.
the tirade against k-mart was hypocritical; he forced an innocent company's hand by leveraging the wrath of the media, and in the same breath talked about how the media was always picking sides with its stories and creating an atmosphere of fear.
Exactly! I say that is a pretty strong point about the power of the media in this country. he gets a kick out of putting celebrities on the spot, making them want to end the interview, and then stands there looking meaningful as they drive away (dick clark) or shoo him out (heston). the scene of moore with his "won't somebody think of the CHILDREN?!" victim picture and leaving it on heston's doorstep was utterly without value. that sort of "poignancy" appeals only to bleeding-hearts who see the issues only as far as the tears in their eyes.
I thought the placing of the picture on the ground was a little too "bleeding heart". I had to roll my eyes a little at that point. But you have to look at the bigger scene with those celebrities. Didn't you find the question to Heston about why he kept a loaded gun in his house relevant? And he didn't accept the "because I have a right to" answer, he pressed on and said "Yes, of course you do, I don't argue with that - but WHY do you keep one in your house?".
OK, so the movie isn't pure documentary, I'll buy that. But look at what this movie does, it doesn't pre-package everything so there are no questions. It makes you THINK and TALK about the topics he brings up. Holy guacamole, what a concept! Come on, would you rather sit around and drink a few beers with friends talking about Lord of the Rings, or some of the topics that Moorer brought up in this movie? And the interview with Marilyn Manson was absolutely phenominal.
Far From Heaven was robbed (Score:3, Interesting)
Of course I say that without having seen The Hours or The Pianist because no place within 50 miles of me has shown them yet.
Far From Heaven did get four nominations (including Julianne Moore, who should win) but not the one it really deserved. Stupid Academy.
I'm glad to see both Spirit and Spirited Away nominated for Animated Feature; either could win, in my opinion. Spirit was a great movie with really beautiful artwork that was marred by Bryan Adams' hideous music. Of course this assumes anyone cares about a category that last year only bothered to put up three nominees and none of them was Final Fantasy or Waking Life, you stupid Academy traitorous rat bastards who are constitutionally incapable of recognizing any films or critically-acclaimed box-office flops.
Adaptation got nominated for Adapted Screenplay, plus three acting nominations. And "if you liked Adaptation, you'll love" (tm) Confessions of a Dangerous Mind -- it didn't get nominated for anything but I think it's a better film. I liked them both quite a lot.
Solaris should have gotten a nod for Art Direction. That's a damn shame.
And I'm really glad to see Bowling For Columbine nominated for Documentary Feature; if it wins, it'll be a good Oscar night no matter what else happens.
The Two Towers soundtrack (Score:2)
The big winner this year seems to be Gangs of New York anyway, though it is deserved.
On the other hand, the worst films of 2002.... (Score:5, Informative)
What, you guys didn't love Juwanna Mann [rottentomatoes.com] ?
Hmmm... (Score:2)
Filthy, stinking hobbitsess... (Score:5, Funny)
Some Thoughts (Score:5, Interesting)
Individually:
Best Picture:
Will win: Chicago
Should win: Gangs of New York, probably
Should have been nominated: Adaptation, Spirited Away, or Punch-Drunk Love, in a perfect world
Thoughts: Not a bad set of nominees. Nothing particularly outrageous, except for The Hours, which was designed for the express purpose of winning year-end awards. But on the whole you can't complain.
Director
Will win: Scorsese
Should win: Scorsese
Should have been nominated: Spike Jonze for Adaptation or Peter Jackson for The Two Towers.
Thoughts: It'll be a Lifetime Achievement Oscar for Scorsese, essentially. Gangs is far from his best work, but he runs circles around everybody else even on a bad day. (Side note: How do you nominate a movie for Best Picture, but not its director, a la TTT? These things don't direct themselves.)
Original Screenplay
Will win: Talk to Her
Should win: Y Tu Mama Tambien
Should have been nominated: Spirited Away
Thoughts: I'll be glad when they send Vardolos back to made-for-TV land where she belongs.
Adapted Screenplay
Will win: Adaptation or Chicago
Should win: Adaptation
Thoughts: A close call-- Condon could win for Chicago if it rides the wave in, even though Adaptation deserves it. Kudos to Charlie Kaufman for figuring out a way to get the first nomination ever for a person that doesn't exist.
Best Actor
Will win: Jack Nicholson
Should win: Daniel Day-Lewis
Thoughts: Everybody loves Nicholson. But watching Day-Lewis perform is like having ring-side seats for a hurricane.
I don't really care about the other acting categories. Nothing too interesting happening there. Sorry.
In the end, I'm glad overall. Spirited Away got some recognition it deserves-- I'm not an anime fan in the least and it was still my favorite movie of the year. There's not an unworthy film in the bunch, by my reckoning. Like I said, it was a good year. Lots of treats, lots of movies that'll last.
Thoughts?
Oscars are rigged (Score:5, Interesting)
So don't get too offended when Spirited Away loses to Lilo & Sitch, and The Two Towers gets beaten by Chicago.
A Few Thoughts (Score:5, Interesting)
I am by no means a cinematic expert, but like most people, I enjoy movies and I see my fair share. I think I can appreciate an off-beat, artistic movie (Adaption), as well as a solid dramatic piece (White Oleander) or a hard-edged cop thriller (NARC). You might like or dislike any of those movies, but in my opinion they all have appeal and I enjoyed them.
Far From Heaven, on the other hand, was one of the worst movies I've ever seen. I saw it with my two closest friends, and we left after 90 minutes of agony. I've only walked out of one other movie in my life (Bloodwork), and the three of us spent the rest of the evening talking about how painstakingly bad Far From Heaven was.
And then I look at the internet. Almost every movie critic thought Far From Heaven was a masterpiece. Why? The dialogue was painful, the story was farfetched and flat out laughable at times, and I thought Dennis Quaid's acting was a joke (I ordinarily like him). What do these critics see that I am missing?
Anyway, I'm glad that Paul Newman received an Oscar nomination for Road to Perdition. I was greatly disappointed by this movie as Tom Hanks is my favorite actor and the movie just wasn't very interesting. But Paul Newman was stellar in his role and very much deserved a nomination.
Another movie that has received critical acclaim of which I do not understand is Gangs of New York. Leo DiCaprio was pitiful in his role, and Daniel Day Lewis spent half the movie talking like Deniro, and half the movie talking like some guy from Brooklyn. The story was flat out boring - revenge stories have simply been done to death, and this added nothing new. Cameron Diaz was especially bad in this (as bad as she is in everything). Yet this movie received tons of critical acclaim. Why? DiCaprio was very good in Catch Me If You Can, where he could play a young, cocky kid who schmoozes his way through life. But he has no edge, and looking angry for two hours doesn't count.
White Oleander was one of the most underrated movies of the year in my opinion. Alison Lohman was just fantastic in this role, and this movie was very interesting and entertaining at the same time. Minority Report was probably my favorite movie of the year, but was dismissed.
Anyway, I don't understand what makes movie critics tick. Adaptation was an inventive movie, that I liked. I can understand critics liking it. But Far From Heaven and Gangs of New York were total throwaways as far as I'm concerned, and I don't understand how anyone could watch them and come away thinking, "that was great!"
No LOTR Logo/Icon? (Score:4, Interesting)
Think about it.. all the Posts that are going to be made over the next +2 Years for LOTR.. Movie Reiviews, Spoilers, Trailers, DVD's, DVD Reviews, Special Ed. DVD's, Cast Interviews, Award Shows, ect.. ect... ect..
LOTR DESERVES its own Logo/Icon
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=48383&cid=4
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=49299&ci
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=49969&ci
Re:No LOTR Logo/Icon? (Score:5, Interesting)
I made an icon for LOTR a while ago, but couldn't figure out where to post it. You can see it here [xaraya.com].
Taco, are you listening?
Animated films won't ever get Best Picture (Score:3, Interesting)
Uh, no. No animated film will ever again receive a Best Picture nomination (Disney's Beauty and the Beast in 1991 is the only time it's happened). For some reason the Academy believes it's inappropriate for cartoons to compete with "real" movies for honors, so last year they created the Best Animated Feature Film category (won by Shrek). Yeah, it's a load of bullshit. But this way Disney's happy; they have three movies up for the award (Lilo & Stitch, Spirited Away, and the wholly undeserving Treasure Planet).
Somebody explain this: If Y Tu Mama Tambien was one of the best movies of the year and earned a Best Original Screenplay nomination, why isn't it a Best Foreign Language Film candidate? Isn't Mexico its country of origin? Instead we get a movie I've never heard of.
And be totally honest with yourselves: did The Two Towers really deserve a Best Picture nomination this year?
The Oscars make no sense these days.
I would like to thank the academy (Score:3, Funny)
The summer season of crappy cams that turn any film into pixelized mess like The Road to Blurdition is replaced by the crispness of winter and it's DVD source material.
The low rez crap, stupid watermarks, and constant subtitles in a language of strange squiggles are replaced by "for your consideration" and "may not duplicate" warnings that pass so quickly they are hardly noticed.
I eagerly join the ranks of an Academy that apparently also never has to pay or even leave the house to see a film. I may not be able to remember all your names, but I would like to thank all of you for being so free and easy with your promos.
Animated pictures won't get best pic nominations (Score:3, Insightful)
They gave the nod to Beauty and the Beast one year for various reasons, but the industry on the whole didn't like this. My personal opinion was that because there are now more competing art houses for animated films now (Dreamworks and Nickelodeon studios are actually giving Disney a run for their money, and Pixar producing most of Disney's quality anyway) that this animated category was an industry move to satisfy the egos of people who only produce animated films so they can say they made good quality. This might help animated films slightly, because Disney will at least make some small effort to bring one art house animated feature to america a year to try to win this, but for the most part animated films are about getting kids into the movies and separating their parents from their money.
The Miramax Money Machine (Score:5, Interesting)
Miramax in the days of Clerks used to be about a production company that wanted to do off beat and out of mainstream stuff. Of course all of that changed when Shakespeare in Love came along and dumped a huge pile of cash in their laps. Oh well...The Oscars were never for the outside and indie film industry anyway. No one should labor under the delusion that the Oscars are anything but a big advertising gig.
First Fictional Character nonimated (Score:3, Interesting)
"Charlie Kaufman, a previous screenwriting nominee for Being John Malkovich, scored a first of sorts. He was nominated for adapted screenplay for Adaptation, along with fictional twin brother Donald, who shares the writing credit. It was the first nomination ever for a fictional entity. In the past, filmmakers have received nominations under assumed names, such as Joel and Ethan Coen as Roderick Jaynes, their film-editing pseudonym, or Robert Towne, who shared a screenwriting nomination for 1984's Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes under the name of his sheepdog, P.H. Vazak.
Academy officials say if Adaptation wins, only one Oscar will be awarded, for Charlie Kaufman.
Hired to adapt Orlean's The Orchid Thief, Kaufman struggled with the script, then whimsically wrote an incarnation of himself and a nonexistent twin into the story. Cage plays both characters.
"
Love/Hate the Movie Industry (Score:3, Funny)
-Slak
The Cathedral! (Score:3, Informative)
It's a really nice short, loosely based on a story by Jacek Dukaj, directed by a Polish animator, Tomek Baginski. It won [siggraph.org] the best animated short award at SIGGRAPH [siggraph.org] 2002 [siggraph.org].
You probably won't get a chance to see it in a movie theater (it ran for a some time in a few Polish cinemas before Minority Report and Signs), but you can download a trailer here: hi-res Divx [hell.pl] (15 MB), low-res Divx [hell.pl] (8 MB), low-res MPEG [hell.pl] (9 MB).
Here is the author's page [platige.com] about the film (flash required).
-jfedor
LOTR II had many mistakes (Score:3, Interesting)
For example, did anyone else notice that whenever there was a closeup of human warriors in battle armor, standing at attention, or searching outside the big gate for Frodo and company, that their eyes looked very feminine. I saw this several times in the movie. Is this a case of casting couch casting, or male actors with pretty eyes? I don't know. But it was distracting.
Also the CG in the second one for mob scenes was very fake. Like when Aragon and the King rode out through the orcs. All the orcs fell down halfway off the bridge. That is the body was lying on the bridge and the feet sticking off (straight out). And I guess orc bodies don't bounce... Instead they fall flat and stick to the ground.
Was I alone in seeing this stuff?
2004 is Lord of the Rings year (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:So Miyazaki isn't anime now? (Score:2, Informative)
Read again.
Re:So Miyazaki isn't anime now? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:So Miyazaki isn't anime now? (Score:2)
Re:So Miyazaki isn't anime now? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:How much time (Score:2)
dumbass
Re:So Miyazaki isn't anime now? (Score:2)
Must be the timing. (Score:2)
Re:Never happen QWZX (Score:5, Insightful)
Go watch something like Grave of the Fireflies [nausicaa.net] and then come back and tell us how that's an adolescent fantasy.
Re:Never happen QWZX (Score:5, Informative)
Blockquoth the poster:
...or 'Wings of Honneamise'.
...or 'Perfect Blue'.
...or 'Robot Carnival'.
...or 'Ghost in the Shell'.
...or 'Jin-Roh: the Wolf Brigade'.
...or 'Serial Experiment Lain'.
Re:Never happen QWZX (Score:3)
Re:Never happen QWZX (Score:5, Informative)
I think in some ways there probably shouldn't be a "Best Picture", because that will inevitably lead people to make to apples and organges comparisons (Spirted Away to LOTR, in this case). However I don't think it's going out on a limb to say that Miyazaki's works are generally some of the finest filmmaking ever.
Miyazaki's work has three hallmarks, none of which are anime/animation specific:
Pacing: Miyazaki has the confidence to let things take time instead of rushing to the payoff. He doesn't need explosions and chases to generate excitement: he uses psychology and timing. He makes you want to know what is around the corner, and then makes you wait as the characters discover it in real time.
Composition: Miyazaki's animation doesn't have the attention lavished on character motion that Disney animation has. It is rudimentary and sometimes jerky by comparison (although this is also used for effect). However, the landscapes he puts the characters in is lavishly realized, almost every frame a masterpiece of landscape painting. Furthermore, these aren't just throwaway backdrops against which the action takes place; the landscape is often another character in itself, telling you about the situations the character is in.
Characterization: It's been said that Miyazaki's characters all look alike from movie to movie. This may be true; I like to think of them as actors that he uses over and over again. However, they are all distinct persons. Miyazaki's stories are character driven; the plot arises out of putting characters in situations. Even while he uses elements of magic and the fantastic, he's most interested in specific human conditions. In Spirited Away, he is interested in what happens to the bond between a child and parent when the child reaches an age where she has the capacity to become independent.
Looked at on these dimensions, Spirted Away is far superior to LOTR:TTT, which in my book is high praise. But it's apples and oranges again. Peter Jackson is somewhat saddled by the nature of his source material. Miyazaki conceives his work specifically for his medium, for what he knows will work in an animated film. For Jackson to try to display the same strengths Miyazaki has would either result in a movie that was several times longer already, or to cut and compress the source material until it was unrecognizable.
I'm glad Jackson did the LOTR movies. But if there were one series of movies I wish everyone would see, it would be Miyazaki's.