The Two Towers breaks US$300 million!

[Ranger REG]

Personally, I think Chicago will not win best picture. They already turned down a better musical last year, and ignored the director. Not gonna happen this time around either, though it is being pushed by the studio right now.

I think this movie has a better chance over Moulin Rouge.

The Hours is a fine film, and being pushed very VERY heavily here in Los Angeles right now on radio and television ads. Gloria Steinem is leading the charge with opinion pieces in newspapers and free showings to influential folks. Personally, I don't think it is the best picture - but it IS a safe bet for the Academy. Sometimes, the Academy likes the safe bet, as other votes are split between several more controversial films. Certainly if "Most-Whored-Out-For-The-Oscars Movie Of The Year" were a category, this one would take it hands down.

It is a strong contender but looking at the list of nominees, including the ... sighs ... Leoanardo DiCaprio film Gangs of New York directed by a well-known Hollywood Figure Martin Scorsese, it's going to be an uphill climb.

But Nicole Kidman may edge out as Best Actress.

Of course, my true desire is to see The Two Towers sweep...it won't happen, but I can hope!

We can also pray ... and dream. Still, the fans are not going to be voting, just the members of the Motion Picture Academy-- something, something. The artsy-fartsy Hollywood folks who are out of touch with the "small people."

 

[Shadowdancer]

The Pianist is being pimped heavy right now, but nobody wants to SEE the movie is the problem. I mean, we know how it ends, and similar subject matter has already taken the oscars before. I doubt this will take the key categories, but it might sneak in to best director.

If you mean sneak in to win best director, no way. First, the Academy is not going to give an award to someone who fled the country 20 years ago to avoid sentencing after being convicted of having sex with a 14-year-old girl.

Second, the Academy is going to give the award to Scorsese to make up for not giving it to him for "Taxi Driver" or "Raging Bull."

 

[Shadowdancer]

Actually, as cool as I think it would be for some part of LotR to win Best Picture at the Oscars, I really just hope that all three parts get nominated for Best Picture and Best Director. Heck, even The Godfather movies didn't accomplish that.

Wrong. "The Godfather," "The Godfather, Part II" and "The Godfather, Part III" were all nominated for Best Picture. And Francis Ford Coppola was nominated for Best Director all three years.

The first two "Godfather" movies won Best Picture, and Coppola won Best Director for "Godfather, Part II."

 

[Shadowdancer]

You may be right. Still, I could counterargue that up until last year the entire movie musical genre was effectively dead. If you ask 100 people under age 30 what musicals they'd actually seen, I'd venture to say that Grease would be one of the only titles you'd get back - it was about the only memorable or noteworthy musical between 1970 and 2000.

Wrong.

"Fiddler on the Roof," nominated as Best Picture in 1971, and winner of several Oscars.

"Cabaret," nominated as Best Picture in 1972, and winner of several Oscars.

"All That Jazz," nominated as Best Picture in 1979, and winner of some Oscars.

"Beauty and the Beast," nominated as Best Picture in 1991, and winner of some Oscars.

Some people also consider "Nashville," nominated for Best Picture in 1975, as a musical. It certainly contained as many original songs as most musicals, and more than some.

 

[Shadowdancer]

You also have to consider that to win the award, a film has to have had the exposure to be seen. If the Academy members haven't SEEN the film, they're much less likely to vote for it.

Not necessarily. There have been several polls conducted over the years in which many Academy members have admitted that they voted for movies they never even saw. Either they weren't impressed with the nominees they had seen, and figured the other choice had to be better, or they voted on the recommendation of someone else: wife/girlfriend, child, best friend, hair dresser/barber, etc.

In fact, back in pre-1970s Hollywood, when the studio system was still strong, most Academy members voted for the movies made by their studio, no matter what they had or had not seen, and no matter what the felt deserved to win. In fact, if they didn't vote for the movies from the studio where they were employed, they would lose their jobs. And the studios did know who voted for what.

In recent years, there have been Academy members who wanted to make it a requirement that a person could only vote in the Oscar categories in which they have seen all of the nominees. And you would have to provide proof that you had seen all of the nominees. These proposed changes to the bylaws have never gotten very far, primarily because it would be a record-keeping and logistical nightmare to prove who had seen what, and most Academy members don't want to give up their right to vote in all of the categories.

 

[Mistwell]

In recent years, there have been Academy members who wanted to make it a requirement that a person could only vote in the Oscar categories in which they have seen all of the nominees. And you would have to provide proof that you had seen all of the nominees. These proposed changes to the bylaws have never gotten very far, primarily because it would be a record-keeping and logistical nightmare to prove who had seen what, and most Academy members don't want to give up their right to vote in all of the categories.

Well they now get video tapes of all of the movies prior to voting, so they at least have no excuse for not watching the choices.

 

[Shadowdancer]

Well they now get video tapes of all of the movies prior to voting, so they at least have no excuse for not watching the choices.

Yeah, I heard they started doing that last year. I wonder if they will do it again this year. It makes sense, but I wonder who pays for it, and if they think it will continue to be worth the cost.

Hmmm, I wonder if any of those videos of movies still in release, such as "Two Towers," will end up on eBay?

 

[Barendd Nobeard]

Yeah, I heard they started doing that last year. I wonder if they will do it again this year. It makes sense, but I wonder who pays for it, and if they think it will continue to be worth the cost.

Hmmm, I wonder if any of those videos of movies still in release, such as "Two Towers," will end up on eBay?

Sending tapes/DVDs to votes did not start last year; it's been going on for years. Studios pimping for nominations were supposed to stop doing it recently (last year or the year before), but I doubt they will.

It's well worth the cost, especially if your film wins a big award. A major Oscar can add 10 million (or more) to the box office, while it costs only a few thousand dollars to send tapes/DVDs to Academy voters.

 

[Shadowdancer]

Yes, some of the studios have been doing it for years. It started with "Silence of the Lambs." It had come out early that year, and was being released to the public on video during the voting period. So the studio went ahead and sent copies to all the Academy members. And it swept all the big awards that year, only the third movie to ever do that.

So after that, some studios started sending videos to Academy members. Last year, however, I remember reading that all of the studios with Oscar nominees were sending videos to all the Academy members -- even of movies still in theaters and not scheduled to be released on video for months -- so that the voting would be fairer. And I believe this was sanctioned by the Academy.