The Academy Award nominations were announced yesterday. In theory, I love the Oscars. The pageantry and the overlong ceremony, the gossip and the chatter, the betting pools and the fashion, the tributes and even the awards. In theory, it’s fun. I remember when I was twelve I went into the city (Manhattan) with my mother to watch the Oscars with a “real actress”. We went for the weekend. Had tea at the Plaza. Visited FAO Shwartz, where I got a huge Mickey Mouse dressed in a tuxedo. Bought a hair crimping iron so I could be dolled up for the ceremony — it was all very exciting. Until the show began — I was bored out of my mind. Empire of the Sun won nearly everything. I hadn’t seen it. I still haven’t seen it. All I know about the movie is 1. Steven Spielberg directed it; 2. Christian Bale was in it; and 3. it swept the Oscars.
Except it didn’t. It was nominated. But The Last Emperor won.
This little anecdote is meant to illustrate a few simple things. First, the Academy Awards are generally more exciting in theory than practice. Second, twelve year old girls usually have not seen the movies nominated for Oscars. And third, I prefer movies that feature Christian Bale. It’s this last point that may be most relevant to this discussion. I’ve mentioned my love of the film The Dark Knight a few times, going so far as to say it was my favorite comic book moment of 2008. And up until the nominations were announced there was some speculation that it could sneak into the Best Picture race, a feat basically unheard of in the realm of Hollywood’s elite awards. It did not garner a Best Picture nomination; as I have not seen any of the five films that did, I won’t say it should have, but I will admit to a slight, if not unexpected disappointment.
Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker did receive a nomination for Best Supporting Actor and I honestly believe he has a very good chance at a posthumous win. Robert Downey Junior also received a Best Supporting Actor nomination, for Tropic Thunder which is a boon for both Downey (a nice cap to his phenomenal comeback year) and Ben Stiller (whoever thought Tropic Thunder would get to have ‘Oscar Nominated’ on it’s dvd re-release?) though admittedly another expected disappoint for me. I prefer Downey’s performance in Iron Man — it may not be as showy (which is a pretty amazing statement considering he plays a man who dresses up and flies around in a bright red and gold super suit) but it is pitch perfect and deeply nuanced. Robert Downey Jr. IS Tony Stark and he’s ninety percent of why I love that movie. To me that is the definition of Best Actor in a Leading Role. Sadly, I don’t get a vote.
Which brings us back to the Oscars being more fun in theory than practice. The whole race has become so political, with studios sitting on films for months in order to position them best for the awards — which leaves the audience stuck watching bad movies more of the year or more to the point watching movies the aforementioned Hollywood elite imagine to be bad. Somewhere around the first Spiderman film, after the Lord of the Rings trilogy broke through and actually made it to the Academy Awards, the people making ‘comic book movies’ decided to make Oscar caliber comic book movies. They may not get nominated but Spiderman 2, Iron Man and both of Nolan’s Batman films are, in my opinion, on par with the films that are. Stuck in genre-land they may never get the recognition they deserve but in the end, for me, it matters more that the films are being made as if they could.
Iron Man was nominated for Achievement in Sound Editing, and Visual Effects. The Dark Knight was nominated for Achievement in Art Direction, Cinematography, Film Editing, Make-Up, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Visual Effects and as previously stated, Achievement by an Actor in a Supporting Role. It’s that last that is most significant, of course, though the first three are actually notable for an ‘action’ film. Heath Ledger was a brilliant talent and his portrayal of the Joker is most certainly worthy of recognition. No one wants to speculate if it comes at the cost of his life. But in the end the tragedy is not found in wondering if Ledger had to die in order for his performance as a comic book character (and an over the top crazy one at that) to be honored with an Academy Award, in wondering if he might not have been nominated were he alive today. The tragedy is that we will never know.
Posted by Anika
email: anika@fantasticfangirls.org
twitter: magnetgirl
Sadly, the worst part of the Academy Awards is the actual *show*. I used to host an Oscar party every year (I fell out of the habit since I moved; maybe I should try again this year, but I’ll have to get some furniture first –) The best year was totally the year I had a DVR and we could start an hour late and fast forward through the ‘slow’ parts, which was almost everything.
I do think there are a lot of good movies nominated this year, and that’s really what I like about the Oscars, exposure for films that might not get it. (Which is one reason the lack of a DK nomination doesn’t break my heart).
Incidentally, “Empire of the Sun” is a terrific movie, you should watch it!
Fantastic Article! I must now break into the Oscars and declare myself King of the Oscars as my homeboy Bale did not get a nod. Also I do really hope Ledger gets it.
Now where did I put that Oscar attendees sleep spray?
@Caroline I used to be really good about seeing all the films nominated for the major awards. Then I had children. And the last Oscar bash I went to was 2001 — my friends were rooting for the first of the Lord of the Rings films and I was rooting for Moulin Rouge (A Beautiful Mind won, and funny, I own all three films; that was a good year).
And haha, I will netflix it. I have a ridiculous amount of Wee Bale screencaps on my harddrive.
@RealBatman — Honestly, I think Bale should have been nominated for pretty much every film he’s ever been in.
I find the Oscar nominations to usually be a good list of movies I will not enjoy watching. I’m not saying anything about the quality of the films, no. Just that I usually will not rent or watch them. I’m always startled when films I like make the cut . . .
@sigrid I had a weird stretch there with Chicago and Return of The King where I’d actually seen the Best Picture movie. Usually, though, yeah, I’m with you. It’s usually way too arty for my tastes. I’ve liked some of the ones nominated, but not usually the winners.
It’s always been the criticism the Oscars have nabbed recently that they only favor acclaimed but not necessarily blockbuster movies. Genre movies have usually been given their due in the special effects/sound/technical awards, but we can’t put them in the same category as “real” actors. *sighs*
Of course I’m also remembering all the people who wanted Nicholson to be nominated for *his* Batman in 1989, a portrayal of which looks fairly cartoonish now. What goes around…
It’s funny, I didn’t really want to see any of last year’s ‘acclaimed’ movies (aside from ‘Juno’) but this year they all look interesting, and I haven’t once been disappointed at the theater this year. I don’t know if it’s the movies or me.
And I guess it’s not fair, because it’s legitimate for people to make an evaluation of what they like and stick to it, but I get frustrated whenever I hear people categorically say they don’t like any medium/ genre/ category of story.
I’m so happy that Heath Ledger got the nomination, even though it was kind of a given. His performance was pretty much the only thing I liked about that movie, and I adore him so much that I’m happy he’s getting the recognition he deserves, even if he didn’t get to live to see it happen.
I’ve always been a fan of awards shows, even when I’ve seen almost nothing nominated. This year I’ve seen two of the Best Picture nominees (Milk and Slumdog Millionaire), and I’m heavily rooting for Milk, but the last time I rooted for a film this heavily it was for Brokeback Mountain, which lost to Crash, which, like Slumdog Millionaire, I’d seen but not been overwhelmingly impressed with. So I won’t be surprised if Milk loses.
Of course, my favorite movie of the year was Iron Man, and, as you noted, that didn’t get much recognition at all. Someday, maybe, the Oscars will be able to look beyond the explosions and superpowers — Ledger’s nomination is certainly a good start.
i’m fully supportive of the nomination for Heath. I dont really understand why there is question as to whether he should have been nominated after his death — did he give an oscar caliber performance? Yes he did. Therefore, nomination, imo. it’s heartbreakingly sad that he is gone, as i adore him. i did like iron man significantly more than dark knight however, and am surprised that it didnt get more recognition — and i am totally confused as to why RDJ got the nomination for Tropic Thunder. Granted, i havent seen it, but it seemed to me he just put on a bunch of stereotypes.
I totally agree with Anika – to me, he IS Tony Stark. He is perfection in that role.