To be honest, I don't have much rooting interest in this year's Academy Awards, since I went to few movies in 2008 and am only just catching up to many on DVD. Usually I watch the nomination announcements, but this time I didn't even know that they were doing it on a Thursday instead of a Tuesday. Anyway, here they are. I plan to see The Wrestler soon, so I may join with those rooting for Mickey Rourke. For now I guess I have to pull for Milk for Best Picture, since it's the only nominee I've seen, and all the others have gotten profoundly mixed reviews. Heath Ledger will probably get his due, but I'm scandalized that Christopher Nolan didn't get nominated for Best Director. A nomination seems like the least the Academy could do to acknowledge Nolan's achievement and the fact that The Dark Knight was of a different order from the other popcorn blockbusters of the late year.
Actually, one item on the list really did surprise me. Can it really be possible that Jerry Lewis is only now getting the Hersholt? The man must have had plenty of enemies.
We all know the Academy is filled with myopic types that won't shift their POV to accomodate summer smashes that cross cultural borders (i.e. Dark Knight). That Dark Knight AND Gran Torino were snubbed for Best Picture speaks volumes of either a large field of contenders that made nominations that much more difficult this year (probable) or just general professional myopia.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I would nominate Gran Torino for best picture, to be honest. I'd be tempted to give it some supporting-actor nominations, but I'd be guilty of a habit I prefer to deplore of mistaking fresh faces for genuine acting talent. That's not a knock on Bee Vang or the other kids in the cast, but an insistence on seeing them do more before I concede that they have prizeworthy skills.
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