The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have announced their nominees for the best in movies for 2013. As usual, I'm rolling my eyes.
Nothing new about that, though. Film buffs hardly need to be explained that the Oscar nominees shouldn't be confused with the best moves of the year. In fact, in truth, the actual best of the year are frequently obscure independent productions that are seen by a pretty small audience. That's just a fact of life. Such films won't be making the Academy's cut.
Remember though that many of such films are created by actors and technical staff that are working for free or well below union rates. And the Academy, if nothing else, is a union - and one that fiercely defends its privileges. So don't expect any "scabs" to be honored.
Even, though, if your film doesn't fall into that disqualifying category, there are plenty of other ways to get disqualified. The two main irritants can be called Politics and politics.
By Politics, with the upper case, I mean ideological commitments. Movies that make business men look corrupt, decry the evils of war, celebrate the causes of members of supposedly downtrodden minorities and provide heartfelt inspirational messages about the triumph of the human spirit, are always going to have an inside track.
Using the lower case, politics, is intended to invoke the secret code that guides the Academy choices. One of these rules is that one cannot win too young/early (though there is an occasional break on this in the acting category). One has to prove themselves - though it is an award for best performance not best career. Like numerous other Oscar watchers I had my moment of complete exasperation when I realized I'd had enough and could not any longer take it seriously.
For me, the year was 1995, and in their twisted wisdom the Academy awarded best director honors to Zemeckis for Forrest Gump. In the process, they rather overlooked a little flick called Pulp Fiction, which wasn't merely the best (and best directed) movie of the previous year. It was arguably the best of the previous decade. But, hey, it was Quentin Tarrantino's first nomination! We can't be doing something like that? Ever since, I've found the Oscars pretty much laughable. Similar was the treatment of director Peter Jackson who, according to the code, couldn't be honored for the first - and, as it turned out, the best - installment of Lord of the Rings.
And just as newcomers have to wait, the elders must be honored. Some pretty absurd results have followed in the history of the Oscars. Probably the most egregious was Dustin Hoffman's tour de force portrayal of Ratso Rizzo in Midnight Cowboy being passed over to pat John Wayne on the back for yet another insipid cookie-cutter performance in True Grit.
And, sometimes, it seems, the Academy just doesn't want to nominate some people too often - maybe they're afraid of them getting too big for their britches. (Though Meryl Streep seems oddly exempt from this attitude.) I can only assume that something like this explains the exclusion of yet another brilliant, moving performance by Tom Hanks in Captain Russell. (Is it time to finally say it: Tom Hanks is the greatest film actor of all time? Could be. Watch Best Movies of 2013 for an upcoming piece on this topic.)
In the end, then, what can we say? Another year and another time that my pick for best of the best movies of 2013 (or whatever year) fails to be nominated by the stately old Academy. But, hey, to reference the great closing song to another movie masterpiece snubbed by the Oscars, "it don't worry me." I know that somewhere commitment to integrity and achievement in the movies is being honored. Just not on Hollywood Boulevard.
Nothing new about that, though. Film buffs hardly need to be explained that the Oscar nominees shouldn't be confused with the best moves of the year. In fact, in truth, the actual best of the year are frequently obscure independent productions that are seen by a pretty small audience. That's just a fact of life. Such films won't be making the Academy's cut.
Remember though that many of such films are created by actors and technical staff that are working for free or well below union rates. And the Academy, if nothing else, is a union - and one that fiercely defends its privileges. So don't expect any "scabs" to be honored.
Even, though, if your film doesn't fall into that disqualifying category, there are plenty of other ways to get disqualified. The two main irritants can be called Politics and politics.
By Politics, with the upper case, I mean ideological commitments. Movies that make business men look corrupt, decry the evils of war, celebrate the causes of members of supposedly downtrodden minorities and provide heartfelt inspirational messages about the triumph of the human spirit, are always going to have an inside track.
Using the lower case, politics, is intended to invoke the secret code that guides the Academy choices. One of these rules is that one cannot win too young/early (though there is an occasional break on this in the acting category). One has to prove themselves - though it is an award for best performance not best career. Like numerous other Oscar watchers I had my moment of complete exasperation when I realized I'd had enough and could not any longer take it seriously.
For me, the year was 1995, and in their twisted wisdom the Academy awarded best director honors to Zemeckis for Forrest Gump. In the process, they rather overlooked a little flick called Pulp Fiction, which wasn't merely the best (and best directed) movie of the previous year. It was arguably the best of the previous decade. But, hey, it was Quentin Tarrantino's first nomination! We can't be doing something like that? Ever since, I've found the Oscars pretty much laughable. Similar was the treatment of director Peter Jackson who, according to the code, couldn't be honored for the first - and, as it turned out, the best - installment of Lord of the Rings.
And just as newcomers have to wait, the elders must be honored. Some pretty absurd results have followed in the history of the Oscars. Probably the most egregious was Dustin Hoffman's tour de force portrayal of Ratso Rizzo in Midnight Cowboy being passed over to pat John Wayne on the back for yet another insipid cookie-cutter performance in True Grit.
And, sometimes, it seems, the Academy just doesn't want to nominate some people too often - maybe they're afraid of them getting too big for their britches. (Though Meryl Streep seems oddly exempt from this attitude.) I can only assume that something like this explains the exclusion of yet another brilliant, moving performance by Tom Hanks in Captain Russell. (Is it time to finally say it: Tom Hanks is the greatest film actor of all time? Could be. Watch Best Movies of 2013 for an upcoming piece on this topic.)
In the end, then, what can we say? Another year and another time that my pick for best of the best movies of 2013 (or whatever year) fails to be nominated by the stately old Academy. But, hey, to reference the great closing song to another movie masterpiece snubbed by the Oscars, "it don't worry me." I know that somewhere commitment to integrity and achievement in the movies is being honored. Just not on Hollywood Boulevard.
About the Author:
Notice remains taken of Mickey Jhonny as one of the freshest, most audacious voices in film and television commentary. If you're a fan of Mad Men, you won't want to miss his sensational piece dissecting the secret of the show's success. His article criticizing the vilification of popular culture and celebrities by the anti-eating disorder crowd remains an online bombshell. Don't miss it!
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