Lord of the Oscars

[Barendd Nobeard]

Lost in Translation's problem was that they had to go up against a monster and a lifetime achievement award. I'm not sure when it started but at some point they started handing out awards to make up for past snubs.

That started in the early 1930s (if not earlier). Bette Davis did not win for "Of Human Bondage" (1934), which many people thought she should have won for. In fact, she wasn't even nominated. So, for that year only, the Academy allowed "write in" votes, but she still didn't win. Claudette Colbert won for "It Happened One Night" which swept the four major awards that year. Bette Davis won the next year for "Dangerous" and some Oscar historians view that as more of a "payback" Oscar for not getting it the year before.

The first Oscars were in 1929, so you can see it didn't take long for politics to rear its ugly head.

 

[shouit]

11 Oscars! Take that Titanic!

Sean should have at least been nominated for Best Supporting Actor, though.

The only thing that bothers me is that now we'll never know if the Academy really thought that LotR was that great, or if it was just giving in to fear of the possibility of the Nerd Riots of 2004.

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[Shadowdancer]

Claudette Colbert won for "It Happened One Night" which swept the four major awards that year.

Actually, it swept the five major awards -- best picture, best director, best actor, best actress and a screenwriting award. It was the first of only three movies to do that. The other two are "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "Silence of the Lambs."

 

[Kai Lord]

Godfather II won Best Picture. I believe this is the first part 3 to win.

Yes, but only because of the Academy snubbing of Darkman 3: Die Darkman Die. LOTR's 17 Oscars is the largest amount for any film series, easily dwarfing the 9 won by the Godfather movies and 11 from Ben-Hur and Titanic.

 

[Hypersmurf]

I am happy to say that "Best Picture" is one of the most important nods, but I'm also really glad LotR won for "Best Costume" too. Sci-Fi/Fantasy hardly wins in this category as well. If they didn't win best costume I was really going to be upset. If something less creative won like they did in the last two years.....for instance. I was almost sure "Cold Mountain" was going to win.

Heh. I was trying to figure out where the "Costume Design" nomination for Master and Commander came from.

Day 1: Hmm, I guess I'll put these guys in British Naval uniforms. And these guys in French Naval uniforms. ... oh, still three hours until lunch?

-Hyp.

 

[Kai Lord]

However, I do admit....and this is going to sound disloyal, but I don't agree with the "best editing" win. Although the editing was pretty good....but in RotK, I thought it was the poorest of the three editing jobs. IMHO.

Interesting, I felt that the editing in ROTK was some of the best. I was amazed my first two viewings at how quickly the battle of Pelenor Fields begins, then during my third viewing I checked my watch and saw that it occurs at almost exactly the two hour mark! A fine job at keeping the illusion of a brisk pace with so much going on. Not a single scene wore out its welcome or called attention to itself by ending too soon.

For me the action was just the right length, the drama was the right length, and they were intercut quite mastefully.

 

[Barendd Nobeard]

Actually, it swept the five major awards -- best picture, best director, best actor, best actress and a screenwriting award. It was the first of only three movies to do that. The other two are "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "Silence of the Lambs."

Nope, screenplay Oscars are not major--Ben Affleck has one of them.

 

[Shadowdancer]

Nope, screenplay Oscars are not major--Ben Affleck has one of them.

Yes they are. When someone talks about a film sweeping the major Oscars, they are talking about a specific feat which includes winning one of the screenwriting awards. Just like someone talking about the Grand Slam in tennis or golf; it is four specific tournaments won. Or the Triple Crown in horse racing (three specific races) or baseball (leading in three specific offensive statistical categories at the end of the season).

And I think Affleck deserved one for writing "Good Will Hunting." Now if he had won one for his acting -- That's another story.

 

[Silver Moon]

Sean should have at least been nominated for Best Supporting Actor, though.

Well, that's the one major negative to having a large ensemble cast on an epic scale film - it's harder for the academy members to zero in on a single performance (especially if they haven't read the books it was based on). Even if he had gotten the nomination the award still would have gone to Tim Robbins.

 

[Barendd Nobeard]

Yes they are. When someone talks about a film sweeping the major Oscars, they are talking about a specific feat which includes winning one of the screenwriting awards. Just like someone talking about the Grand Slam in tennis or golf; it is four specific tournaments won. Or the Triple Crown in horse racing (three specific races) or baseball (leading in three specific offensive statistical categories at the end of the season).

There is no "official" definition of an Oscars sweep. Some people reporting on this will include a screenplay award and others won't. For example, this quiz at about.com even jokes about screenwriting being a major category.

There has also been controversy over the definition of "Grand Slam" champions. Martina Navratilova won six in a row, but not all four in the same calendar year. She was included in an official celebration of Grand Slam winners, but when Stefi Graff won a "real" grand slam in 1988, it was reported as "first time since Margaret Smith Court."

Ultimately, I think it's all just stupid media hype. If a film wins the four big one plus a screenplay award (as all three "sweepers" have), then they often report it as a sweep of the five major awards. But I'd bet someday that a film will win the four big ones and not a screenplay award--and it will be touted as a film that "swept all the major" awards at the Oscars.

And Ben Affleck's bad acting has tainted all screenplay winners, past and present. Sorry, Sofia.