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<blockquote data-quote="Barendd Nobeard" data-source="post: 2056964" data-attributes="member: 960">No, it's not fixed.But there are certain things &quot;The Academy&quot; tends to look for.&nbsp; And to be eligible, the film only has to play for one week during the year in NYC and LA.So, some very obscure movies can get nominations (aided, in large part, by studio marketing budgets).&nbsp; Did anyone actually see &quot;Love Field&quot; (Michelle Pfiefer, Best Actress nomination) or &quot;Blue Sky&quot; (Jessica Lange, Best Actress winner)?&nbsp; Yes, but very few people saw those films in theaters.Those films were eligible, they had studio $ behind them (advertising in the industry trade magazines, etc.), and Academy members voted for them.&nbsp; It's one reason studios sent out &quot;screener&quot; tapes (now DVDs) of movies.&nbsp; Members can watch 'em at home, even if most of us never had the chance to see the movie.&nbsp; Voting members don't even have to &quot;prove&quot; they've seen a movie to vote for it (in the main categories; the more obscure categories sometimes require attendance at special screenings to vote on them).So, it's not fixed.&nbsp; But it's certainly not a popularity contest.&nbsp; And when a few thousand industry insiders pick the winners, the picks of 300 million people on this continent don't matter.&nbsp; That's why we have the MTV awards, and the People's Choice awards, and the Blockbuster awards--honors on which the people who are not industry insiders can vote.I never understood these obscure nominations when I was younger.&nbsp; But if you pay attention to the reviews (by big name critics), the &quot;10 best&quot; lists, and all the other awards and honors, the Oscars get much easier to predict.And, sometimes, because an obscure (to you, anyway) film gets nominated, you end up seeing something wonderful you would have otherwise missed.&nbsp; For me, it as Fernanda Montenegro in &quot;Central Station&quot;--if I hadn't seen her on Letterman after her nomination as Best Actress, I never would have seen that movie.&nbsp; Losing to Gwynneth Paltrow in &quot;Shakespeare in Love&quot; was one of Oscar's most hideous miscarriages.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Barendd Nobeard, post: 2056964, member: 960"] No, it's not fixed. But there are certain things "The Academy" tends to look for. And to be eligible, the film only has to play for one week during the year in NYC and LA. So, some very obscure movies can get nominations (aided, in large part, by studio marketing budgets). Did anyone actually see "Love Field" (Michelle Pfiefer, Best Actress nomination) or "Blue Sky" (Jessica Lange, Best Actress winner)? Yes, but very few people saw those films in theaters. Those films were eligible, they had studio $ behind them (advertising in the industry trade magazines, etc.), and Academy members voted for them. It's one reason studios sent out "screener" tapes (now DVDs) of movies. Members can watch 'em at home, even if most of us never had the chance to see the movie. Voting members don't even have to "prove" they've seen a movie to vote for it (in the main categories; the more obscure categories sometimes require attendance at special screenings to vote on them). So, it's not fixed. But it's certainly not a popularity contest. And when a few thousand industry insiders pick the winners, the picks of 300 million people on this continent don't matter. That's why we have the MTV awards, and the People's Choice awards, and the Blockbuster awards--honors on which the people who are not industry insiders can vote. I never understood these obscure nominations when I was younger. But if you pay attention to the reviews (by big name critics), the "10 best" lists, and all the other awards and honors, the Oscars get much easier to predict. And, sometimes, because an obscure (to you, anyway) film gets nominated, you end up seeing something wonderful you would have otherwise missed. For me, it as Fernanda Montenegro in "Central Station"--if I hadn't seen her on Letterman after her nomination as Best Actress, I never would have seen that movie. Losing to Gwynneth Paltrow in "Shakespeare in Love" was one of Oscar's most hideous miscarriages. [/QUOTE]

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