WEEKLY CineBUZZ REPORT - 25 January 2012

2011 Oscars : Horses, Dogs, and Cats

For me it wasn't a strong year for movies - a sentiment shared apparently by the Academy as only 9 instead of 10 films got the Best Pic nomination.  They must have felt that out of the 598 commercial releases not one more was deserving of the "Best" accolade. I can say that the 2011 nominees are varied.  From 3D-to-black&white, baseball-to-9/11, race relations-to-Paris love.

My pick for Best Picture is "The Artist"  Not seen by many moviegoers (it only grossed $12 million) but it is a tribute film to old Hollywood which the Academy members (who are old) always love.  The movies that make the real money are never nominated. The Harry Potters, Twilights, and super heroes, for all of their box office draw, can never expect to see a nomination let alone Oscar.  The Academy is, well, above those kinds of movies. This is, after all, about advancing the art form.  Hmmm, but without the mega-action flix there would be no Hollywood, no Academy.  So, aren't the Oscars just a put-on. Aren't the Oscars a vehicle for Hollywood to advertise its contribution to the betterment of mankind, and of course a way for the public to view "the stars" all made up for their red carpet ride.  The Oscars are what Hollywood is - make-believe and hype.  Which is fine but at least change the faces. Scorsese, Allen, and Spielberg. Clooney, Streep. Their tiresome.  No wonder the Awards lose viewership very year.

Speaking of tiresome, there will be 24 Award categories for the TV presentations.  This should be streamlined down to 12, which would make the show much more entertaining and viewer friendly.  The folks (I for one) aren't interested nor care about film editing, mixing, makeup.  The 12 Oscars Awards for TV airing should be:
Best Pic, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Director, Original Song, Documentary, Foreign Film, Cinematography, Visual Effects, and Animated Film.

Nuff said. Oh, one other thing, it was a good year for horses, dogs, and cats.

What is The Academy and How Do They Vote

Membership to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences is by invitation from its Board of Governors. Each candidate must be sponsored by at least two members of the branch for which the person may qualify.  They must than receive the endorsement of that branch's executive committee before submission to the Board.  There are 15 branches to the Academy.

The race to nomination consists of attempts by film makers to ensure that each of the 6,000 Academy voting members views their film.  This means special screenings, free admission to commercial runs, mailing DVDs, etc.

Nomination ballots are mailed to active members in December and are due back in January.  Members of each branch vote to determine the final nominees in their respective category - actors nominate actors, directors nominate directors, and so on.  The exception is Best Picture, where all Members are eligible to cast a ballot.

Final ballots are then mailed to all voting members in late January and are due back, no later then the Tuesday prior to the Oscar Sunday presentation.
All members vote for winners in all categories. Final votes are tabulated by only two partners of PriceWaterhouseCoopers (an accounting firm) and the results announced when the famous envelopes are opened on stage during the Oscar presentations.

Cheers and Happy Movie Going!
Jim Lavorato