2019 Academy Awards

End of the movie season, time to look back in award predictions form. For each category I've added my personal fave (which included more nominated films than I would've thought), as well as who I think will win.

Documentary
The only one of the nominees that I saw was RBG, which is much more about the phenomenon of Ruth Bader Ginsburg as a cultural icon than about the importance of her legal career (IMHO this doc actually diminishes her contributions to our current cultural landscape and does little to truly show what was important about her). So does the Academy reward the feel-good nature of the movie or realize that it's not particularly good? Hard to tell. The other nominees all sound interesting and I'd love to catch up with them and though each has its admirers, none were nearly as high profile as RBG. (My personal fave: Shirkers (I found it utterly fascinating. I'm a sucker for movies about movies because filmmakers have an insight to the making of movies that they don't have in, say, a critical appraisal of a supreme court justice's career; not sure why it didn't get a nomination)) My pick: RBG

Visual Effects
Feels like the big summer action flicks (Avengers: Infinity War, Ready Player One, Solo: A Star Wars Story) will cancel each other out though they each have the selling points: Avengers was the highest grossing/arguably most popular film of the year, RP1 was clever in its use of familiar imagery, Solo was an underappreciated adventure film that already seems due for a reappraisal. I didn't see Christopher Robin, not sure what that's bringing to the table, though the popular and critical buzz would suggest it is 5th out of these nominees. Though much was made of First Man's practical effects (suggesting more Cinematography and Editing), it feels like this is the proper place to reward what turned out to be an underrated movie. (My personal fave: First Man (Say what you will about the family elements of this biopic (which I found half well crafted, half heavy handed), the action scenes were riveting)) My pick: First Man

Sound Editing and Sound Mixing
Personally I think of these two categories as Sound Design, since each film only has one soundtrack. I don't know how to differentiate between these two awards--and since four of the five nominees in both are the same, it doesn't feel like the Academy does either. A Quiet Place had the most unique soundtrack of any film in years and since it is nominated for Editing and not Mixing, I'm guessing it will win the one it's up for. First Man had an amazing soundscape (Chazelle has the music of film well within his grasp, precisely why that dude's gonna be around for a while) and I suspect will win Mixing. Black Panther and Roma were both fine films but I didn't notice anything particularly above-and-beyond about the sound (I think I would've gone for Isle of Dogs and If Beale Street Could Talk here instead). A Star is Born and Bohemian Rhapsody are both music films and have their own unique challenges but seems like they'd cancel each other out. (My personal faves: First Man and A Quiet Place) This could be a telling moment for Roma, if its gonna have a big night it might nab one or both of these (Bohemian Rhapsody, too). My picks: A Quiet Place (for Editing) and First Man (for Mixing).

Original Song
Best Song, it seems to me, has more to do with the marketing of the film or even the credits of the film more than the film itself. Of these nominees only Mary Poppins Returns could rightly be called a Musical, so what does any particular song really have to do with anything? A Star is Born is at least about songwriters, so I guess I'd go with that. If you're looking for a long shot in your Oscar picks, keep an eye on Ballad of Buster Scruggs here. Why? Because Black Panther, RBG and A Star is Born came out early in the season and while Mary Poppins Returns wasn't a failure, it wasn't the mighty blockbuster it might have been; I'd bet that in the last coupla months more Academy voters watched Buster Scruggs than the other nominees. (Personal fave: none; but off the top of my head, Bad Times at the El Royale had a ton of lovely songs that were actually pivotal to the character development, though none were original, which just harkens back to my point that Hollywood doesn't make many musicals any more making this category anachronistic) My pick: A Star is Born

Score
This category is wide open. If Beale Street Could Talk garnered the most early praise for its score, Mary Poppins Returns is a full-on musical featuring some of the biggest musical talents in the biz, Isle of Dogs has a genuinely engaging score (and--there it is again--sound design), while BlackKklansman offers a good opportunity to reward the long, underappreciated film career of Terence Blanchard. I don't really know why Black Panther is here, the score is fine but I didn't find it particularly noteworthy, just a chance to pad the film's resume without giving it any sexier nominations, I suppose. Not sure how this one shakes out, the nominees are very distinct from each other, not merely in terms of the music itself but of the musicianship (hey, personalities matter and I have no idea which of these composers is the most well-liked/well-respected). (My personal fave: If Beale Street Could Talk, though I really admired the kinda-perfect score of the bizarre Estonian film, November) My pick: If Beale Street Could Talk (but I can see BlackKklansman winning if only because this is probably Spike Lee's most watched film by the Academy in many years and Blanchard does have a long glorious history in the film score world).

Makeup/Hair
Hmmm....does the Academy reward the audaciousness of putting disgusting pustules all over the beautiful Margot Robbie's face or Christian Bale for (reportedly) gluing his lips together to give him that perfect Dick Cheney look? I can't see this award going to a foreign film nobody saw no matter how great the makeup was--and supposedly Border is pretty great. Also, I can't help but point out how badly the world--not just me!--must've hated A Wrinkle in Time if it didn't get a nomination here. And I know there are only three nominations in this category but I would've given one to Uncle Drew, some phenomenal work in that movie. (My personal fave: The Favourite) My pick: toss-up....I'll go with Vice

Costumes
Another wide open category. Black Panther, as a super hero movie, seems like an odd choice here but the costumes are quite varied and kinda important to character development (probably not a criterion that goes into most voters' judgment, but always held a soft spot for me). Ballad of Buster Scruggs, too, as an anthology has a variety of different looks and needs from its costumes. Mary Queen of Scots and The Favourite are costume dramas of a similar time period (ehh, not really, but what's a hundred years or so?), and might overlap in the minds of some voters. Mary Poppins Returns, too, might overlap with The Favourite as the designer (Sandy Powell) is the same for both. I'm not sure what will win, but I am surprised there wasn't a nomination for Ocean's 8, where the wild and extravagant costumes are actually significant to the plot. Also, I'm a little tired of costume dramas getting all the love when a film like Mid-90's relied on costuming as much as any other movie I saw this year. (My personal fave: The Favourite--hell, Harley's wigs alone deserve their own award!) My pick: I'll say Black Panther (it will feel like a surprise if it wins but it really does possess a wide variety of interesting looks and when that movie got its pre-Awards second wind, I can see the costumes being much admired)

Production Design
This is one of those categories where I could be wildly misinterpreting what it is trying to represent. But of these nominees none were in my top five of production design (instead I had Isle of Dogs, Hotel Artemis, Zama, At Eternity's Gate, If Beale Street Could Talk) and while the nominees are all visually fine films, I attribute something other than Production Design in each case: Black Panther (special effects), First Man (editing and sound design), Roma (cinematography), The Favourite (costumes, cinematography) (never saw Mary Poppins Returns, though I suspect there I would champion choreography and special effects). Not that production design is absent in any of these films, it just doesn't strike me as the core element of success of any of these films. So what takes the Award? Normally I would say this is a cascade award rather than a stand-alone, so whichever film has the bigger night will win this so if Roma has a big night, it could scoop this one up but I think it'll go to a film that doesn't otherwise win anything. (My personal fave: Isle of Dogs, prompting the question: how do we evaluate the production design on animated films?) My pick: Mary Poppins Returns

Editing
This category is a headscratcher. Not only does it not have any of the films I thought featured praise-worthy editing (such as First Man, Searching, The Other Side of the Wind, Shirkers, The Rider, Black Panther, Isle of Dogs, Sorry to Bother You, At Eternity's Gate, Solo: A Star Wars Story, They Will Never Grow Old, The Front Runner), it actually has two nominees that I thought had some mediocre-at-best editing: BlackKklansman (I thought the KKK/Black Student Union sequence was more troubling than useful, the action scenes at the climax were clumsy and the tacked-on Charlottesville stuff was for political shock value, not for the betterment of the story being told in the film) and Vice (the movie is a collection of random scenes with no real purpose, I don't blame the editing but the editing isn't good enough to make something out of nothing). I liked Green Book but it wasn't because of the editing, which was rather ordinary and the editing in The Favourite is fine but not in my top ten. (I didn't see Bohemian Rhapsody, won't comment). So what is this Academy going for here? I dunno. (My personal fave: First Man) My pick: Vice

Cinematography
Feels like this one belongs to Roma. My controversial hot take of the upcoming Oscars: I think this is the only prize that Roma will win. The cinematography is utterly gorgeous (even though Cuaron was without his usual Hall of Fame camera man, Emmanuel Lubezki) but the film is slow paced, black and white, goes a long time before defining its story and is Netflix's first big score, all of which seem like they could be downers to most voters and though the film is much lauded, I suspect it has a lot more detractors than you realize. Throw in that its also nominated for Best Foreign, which I think splits its Best Picture chances and wins neither award, thus keeping it from having the big night everyone expects. This is the one prize the film absolutely positively clearly deserves, so I think everyone votes for it here, but I think all the other factors work against it in the other categories. We'll see. The other titles are all worthy nominees (I don't know Never Look Away but Caleb Deschanel has been doing good work for eons), but Cuaron by himself made a pretty god damn beautiful movie. (My personal fave: Roma) My pick: Roma

Foreign Film
The only two I saw were Roma (easily in my top ten) and Cold War (liked it, didn't love it), though I am familiar with the directors of the other films. As I just wrote above, I don't think Roma wins this. I can see Cold War winning or possibly Shoplifters, which was the big winner at Cannes this year. I just don't think Capernaum or Never Look Away will have enough support to get there, so do the voters go for the Eastern European torrid love story or the Japanese off-kilter family film? (My personal fave: Zama, a Brazilian film and my favorite film of the year). My pick: Cold War (I think the voters are gonna dig the look and feel of it and Cold War is black and white sexy jazz depressing while Roma is black and white dysfunctional family depressing)

Animated
I should start by saying that The Incredibles and Wreck-It Ralph were two of my favorite animated films of the last 20 years...and that their sequels were both major disappointments for me: uh....shouldn't it have been called Ralph Wrecks the Internet? Seems like some low-hanging fruit there; and honestly I kinda fucking hated Incredibles 2, a lifeless, brainless, soulless piece of crass contractual obligation. Isle of Dogs was a fine film, a brilliant achievement in one sense but kinda run of the mill Wes Anderson in another sense (and its release came with some grumpy politically correct controversy, too, has that already been forgotten?). I didn't see Mirai but I just don't see how it outshines the other nominees. Spider Man: Into the Spider-Verse was much ballyhooed for its unique visual look and though it took me a while to get into it, I understand the praise: it wanted to incorporate a number of different styles with in which required created its in overarching look to accommodate them all, impressive once it really sinks in.  (My personal fave: Spider Man: Into the Spider-Verse) My pick: Spider Man: Into the Spider-Verse (for being innovative rather than being a sequel or simply an addition to an established oeuvre)

Original Screenplay
The critics revived interest in Paul Shrader's film First Reformed (considered "original" even though ten minutes in I was like, 'Oh yeah, this is Winter Light' (*)), though it kinda came and went without fanfare earlier in the year; it was the kind of movie that really divided people--you either loved that ending or you hated it (though somehow I remained rather lukewarm). Roma was a visual feast and while I appreciate the Screenplay nomination, I think this is a strange choice and one that I don't think will win. Green Book was an open-hearted crowd pleaser that even managed to outlast its critics (frankly, I thought the Shirley family's complaints were pretty minimal in the context of the movie itself), and while it could definitely win I can see the Academy thinking it wasn't edgy enough. The screenplay of The Favourite is the perfect vehicle for a trio of outstanding performances more than a stand alone piece of art, I can see the Academy thinking the actresses did all the heavy lifting. I thought Vice was not a very good movie to begin with but the gall of using a dead man to be the voice of conscious is pretty god damn presumptuous on the screenwriter's part and then Dick Cheney's monologue to the camera at the end completely deflated everything the film had been building (I am in the minority of finding the film as a major disappointment); that said I think the Academy finds it clever and 'speaking truth to power'. Gotta complain that Eighth Grade didn't get its obligatory nomination for Best Screenplay, it truly deserved a Best Actress nod, too, but to get shut out completely was the surprising snub of the season to me. (My personal fave: The Favourite) My pick: Vice

Adapted Screenplay
I watched all four versions of A Star is Born last year and I thought the 2018 version to be the 2nd best (the original still rules because all the remakes miss the point (**)). To take on such a venerable property is ballsy to begin with, then to cast a non-actress to star and a non-director to lead while forcing these two to write songs together makes this a much more accomplished picture than the recent buzz would seem to suggest. I liked If Beale Street Could Talk (Barry Jenkins will get more chances, this nomination just cements his status) and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (since Woody Allen has finally been flushed out of the movie business, guess the Coens will get his annual nomination?) is fine but I don't see either of them as superior pieces of screenwriting. BlackKklansman was a so-so picture (am I the only one that noticed that?) with a third act that drifts all over in a most unsatisfying fashion. I didn't see Can You Ever Forgive Me. (My personal fave: Death of Stalin, one of the films of this season that I look forward to seeing again and again) My pick: Can You Ever Forgive Me (I've long been a Nicole Holofcener fan and this is her best chance to get some love, although Spike Lee could certainly win for the same reason)

Director
Alfonso Cuaron (Roma) is the obvious choice here and if you're seeing a Roma onslaught then he would definitely win; but I don't see the onslaught coming, I feel like Roma will have turned off as many people as it turned on. Pawel Pawlikowski (Cold War) is an interesting choice, he's done good work for a while now, but I don't think enough people saw this to earn him the trophy (the fact he got nominated at all is kinda cool). Spike Lee (BlackKklansman) has been around forever and this is his first nomination, I wouldn't be shocked if he won but I think the nomination is a make-up call not a sign of overwhelming support. Yorgos Lanthimos (The Favourite) is, I think, among the very best directors in the world right now, though his films are sometimes kinda hard to take making this nomination a bit of a shock to me; this year, though, he's put his own stamp on an accessible film and I think he's very deserving, but I'd be surprised if enough people truly appreciate the kind of director he is to give him this award. I personally thought nothing of the film Vice, but I think I'm very much in the minority and since this category is a bit of a clusterfuck (and since Cuaron has already won before), I think the Academy makes a bold move and goes with Adam McKay, a guy that has steadily built admirers in the industry over the years. (My personal fave: Yorgos Lanthimos (The Favourite). My pick: Adam McKay (Vice)

Actor
I was way out of step in this category, only Dafoe appeared in my top five. I admired the hell out of At Eternity's Gate and the way Willem Dafoe keeps finding new roles to give audacious performances is inspiring; too bad nobody saw the movie. Viggo and Ali made a good pair (another example of the need for an Ensemble Award) but the story itself was the star of the show and given the good dialogue, this does not strike me as a film driven by performances (indeed, I can imagine this film being just as beloved with two no-name actors). Cooper deserved to be nominated for Best Director but not for Best Actor; dude, he just mumbles and plays air guitar most of the time, a fine performance but not the centerpiece of the film itself nor one of the more notable performances of the year (I feel like Cooper pissed Hollywood off or something, I don't understand the Academy's reception to the film at all). When I first saw the trailer for Vice, I was blown away by Bale as Dick Cheney; unfortunately, the movie itself was no better than the trailer and I found Bale's performance rather tedious after two hours, watching him pull on the Dick Cheney fat suit didn't get deeper or more interesting over time. I didn't see Bohemian Rhapsody but I can certainly attest to the cult of Freddie Mercury that has arisen in the last decade or so and I'm not surprised the film was a big hit with the fans (and largely panned by the critics). Gotta complain: if you want to see a ballsy, invigorating performance from a guy that's giving you what no one else would give, check out Brady Jandreau in The Rider; which of these five actors could've played that part? None. (My personal fave: John C. Reilly (Stan & Ollie), an underappreciated film and, holy fuck, Reilly is fucking amazing!) My pick: Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody) (are we seriously gonna let Dick Cheney beat out Freddie Mercury? Is that the America you want to live in?)

Actress
My two favorite female performances this season were Lady Gaga (A Star is Born) and Olivia Colman (The Favourite) and Yalitza Aparicio (Roma) was not far out of my top five. The other two films I didn't see. If A Star is Born was lining up as the big winner it feels like it ought to be then I'd say Gaga is a shoo-in to take the prize, but I think she's kinda alienated the Academy and as an outsider (sorta), I feel like the Academy is pulling away from her when they ought to be embracing her. Colman is an excellent choice but I think that film was such an ensemble that unless either Stone or Weisz won, too, I don't see Colman winning. Aparicio is phenomenal but this is one of those occasions where the nomination is the recognition, I'd be pretty shocked if she actually won. I didn't see Can You Ever Forgive Me and while folks love seeing a comic take a dramatic turn, this is another case where I think the nomination itself is the extent of the recognition McCarthy will receive. That leaves Glenn Close; I didn't see the film but she's long been pretty great, feels like this is her year for a lifetime achievement Oscar. Gotta complain that Elsie Fisher (Eighth Grade) was left out, she totally carried an unorthodox movie by a first-time director, she deserves to be here. (My personal fave: Lady Gaga (A Star is Born)  My pick: Glenn Close (The Wife)

Supporting Actor
Okay this category has basically two different groups: high profile, working, in demand guys (Ali, Rockwell, Driver) and old favorites that you don't see much of any more (Grant, Elliott). I did not see Can You Ever Forgive Me but of the other four, none appeared in my top five for Supporting Actor. Isn't the whole point of Vice that George Bush was insignificant and not really in control? So why are you nominating the guy that played him in the movie--especially since he isn't even in it that much? Driver is a fine young actor, he'll definitely have chances to get back in the coming years, but in BlackKlansman he's basically just playing an ordinary cop in an ordinary cop film--Topher Grace is the high risk/low reward performance that has to be perfect in order to hold the film together--why didn't he get this nomination? Ali should've been considered a lead actor--yes, the film is the white guy's memoir and we see a little more of him but what we get from his scenes is merely to set him up in contrast to the black guy, thus both characters are indispensable to each other and they are twin leads, so this nomination isn't really ideal. Sam Elliot is a beloved character actor, been around forever and given many underappreciated performances but this isn't one of them; in A Star is Born his character is one note and repetitive and since he didn't go ten seconds in the movie without multiple F-bombs, the scene they'll have to show at the ceremony is his final scene with Cooper which is actually Cooper's scene. How you gonna give the award for a money shot scene that isn't even his? (My personal fave: Topher Grace (BlackKklansman), playing sublime evil and laughable buffoon simultaneously is virtually impossible and without him this movie doesn't work at all) My pick: Sam Elliott (A Star is Born) (I'm going the old favorite route and since Grant should've won the BAFTA, I figure Elliott wins the Oscar)

Supporting Actress
I was in line with this category as Adams (Vice) and Stone and Weisz from The Favourite were in my top five, too. The other two nominees, Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk) and Marina de Tavira (Roma) were also fine choices. Stone and Weisz, both previous Oscar winners, feel like they'll split votes (this is the perfect argument for an Ensemble Award). The nomination for de Tavira is her recognition, I don't see how she wins. King was the popular choice in the critics' polls (I don't think I saw anyone other than her winning those) but the film had a mild overall reception and personally I don't think she had enough presence in the film outside a sequence late in the 3rd act to really compare with, say, Stone or Weisz. I thought Adams was the best part of Vice (or at least, she's the part that makes the movie make sense) and I think Vice is going to be the surprise winner this evening. (My personal fave: Amy Adams (Vice)) My pick: Amy Adams (Vice)

Best Picture
From the first moment I saw it in October, A Star is Born seemed like the obvious pick for Best Picture; but it went cold in the Golden Globes and doesn't seem to have the necessary buzz about it going into voting. I dunno why, seems like everything the Oscars is looking for: a woman's story, a time-honored remake, a bold musical, loving nods to LGBT and African-American communities, star-making performance in the lead, hugely successful soundtrack, directed by a popular actor, big box office--what more does Oscar want? Throw in that there's no clear usurper and it still seems plainly obvious to me that A Star is Born will win. Black Panther was a hugely popular film very very early in the season but cooled off and this nomination feels liked a tossed bone rather than a groundswell for re-appreciation. BlackKklansman is Spike Lee's first nominee for Best Picture, but that in and of itself doesn't seem like enough to win it a lot of votes (throw in that it's actually a fairly routine cop story, albeit with some twists, and it probably isn't even Spike's 10th best movie). Bohemian Rhapsody has a built in audience due to the staggering emergence of the cult of Freddie Mercury (a Reddit invention, as near as I can tell), and was well-liked by the masses though not by the critics; this doesn't feel like a Best Picture to me (but keep an eye on the Sound categories: if it wins there that could signal a big night). Green Book was a well-crafted crowd pleaser that emerged from Toronto (if you'll recall this won the audience award rather than the bigger-hyped First Man and A Star is Born), then fell upon some criticism; the nominations represent the bounce back from potential controversy but I'm not sure there's enough support going forward to win any awards. Roma is in a tricky place: as Netflix's first big time Oscar-bait title, it has suffered from being much-admired by the handful of people that saw it on the big screen, but a bit of a snooze to those who watched on Netflix; also, being a front runner for Best Picture might undermine it's chance of winning Best Foreign (and vice versa), so outside of Cinematography, I think it gets shut out. The Favourite was my personal favorite of these nominees and while it clearly has its admirers, I don't see it beating out the more high profile films in this category. Vice is an audacious movie, an inventive and ambitious movie but while I think it wins a pile of awards, giving it the top prize might feel like some kind of affirmation of Dick Cheney. My pick: as improbable as it feels, gotta go with A Star is Born (while this may seem out of left field, I think Bohemian Rhapsody is the other one that could win)


Recap
In looking back over this past season for this post, I found myself edging away from the conventional wisdom and seeing a variety of upsets/weird choices, instead. The Critics polls and Guild Awards were all over the place suggesting no single dominant film, so I don't think Roma steamrolls the competition. I think the post-Oscar buzz is going to be about the shock of how little Roma wins but over time people will look back and see the Cinematography prize and the other nominations and think that's about right. I think Vice is the one that people want to vote for but cautiously: I have it winning Editing, Supporting Actress, Original Screenplay, Director and Makeup but not winning Best Picture or Best Actor--which seems like the obvious choice--because the technical awards suggest a level of mastery of skewering Dick Cheney, while giving it Picture or Actor would feel like an affirmation of Dick Cheney (does that make sense?). I'm using the 1950 Oscars as my model, where All the King's Men won Picture, Actor and Supporting Actress but A Letter to Three Wives won Director and Screenplay: the Academy wanted to highlight an edgy hit movie driven by great performances while acknowledging that the quiet comedy/drama was actually a better movie. Giving Best Picture--and nothing else--to A Star is Born gives the historical impression that this was the dominant film of the season and by not girding it with technical awards, makes it feel like an empty hit movie rather than a superior production. And it keeps the Academy from going too far in a political (Vice) or politically correct (Roma or Green Book) direction.

I think Vice is going to be the surprise star of the night, Roma won't get much love and A Star is Born for Best Picture will be the talk of the town (for a week or so). That said, I'm probably wrong on all this and the oddsmakers that say Roma is a shoo-in to collect all the hardware will probably be proven right. We'll see.


Random open letter to the Academy
The controversy this year (well, the most recent controversy) was about the Awards show producers trying to force a number of the winners into the commercial breaks in a futile bid to shorten the running time of the TV broadcast. Academy members reacted with fury and rightly so: the whole point of the show is to honor people, so why are you dis-honoring them?

Here's a modest solution: divide the Oscars into three shows and own the whole weekend (NFL Draft style). Most of the technical awards are handed out the night before the Oscars, so expand that first night, which is crucial to industry insiders but less attractive for a mass audience. They can go hognutty with intricate distinctions of editing, sound editing, special effects, hair/makeup, musical composition, and other technical achievements on the first night. The second night could be all about genre distinction: foreign, doc, animated, here's where you could add the obligatory highest box office award, short films and even expand out for different types of dramas, comedies, actioners, etc.  Then cut the mass market show down to the bare bones: Picture, Actors, Director, Screenplays, Cinematography, Visual Effects, Costume, Score, Editing, Art Design, Sound Design, (personally I couldn't care less about Best Song, but that's probably one of the more popular awards, so it would probably stay). Then encourage the various Guilds to schedule their awards in the week before the Oscars, so that the whole week is a full-on dedication to the year's films. Let the first two Oscar nights trickle upward to create more interest in the shorter, sweeter big night. And as for host, musical numbers, opening monologue--get rid of all of that crap! The regular people back home want the red carpet pre-game show and they want the big awards--and that's it! They don't care about the difference between sound mixing and sound editing, they don't see the short films so they don't care about them, most of the foreign titles aren't available until after the Oscars and the monologue and musical numbers are more likely to be alienating than memorable. Hollywood people can give themselves a whole raft of extra awards by adding two extra ceremonies, where they'll be free to wallow around in their own self-indulgence--and it can be put on pay-per-view or at least be more impactful on blogs, podcasts and social media.

This is a win-win: the TV audience just gets the meat instead of the fat while the Hollywood crowd gets to have all the fat they want. By spreading it out, the Academy gets to do more, create more buzz, own the whole weekend (or even the whole week), and still put out a shorter more concise ceremony with better ratings, pleasing for the casual fans and the hardcore insiders at the same time. Just a thought.


(*) Fwiw, I read the description of his next film, it's 7 Men from Now, an old Bud Boetticher film. Hey, if you're gonna rip off old movies, Bergman and Boetticher are good places to start.

(**) The original A Star is Born (1937) is about a girl that wants to be a star and a guy that desperately wants to maintain the stardom he used to have before he met this girl. But in the remakes the woman has to be dragged into the spotlight while the man is rather indifferent to the stardom he has or used to have (especially the Kris Kristofferson version--I never understood anything about what that character wanted). The original is a gritty cynical movie about the fake magic of Hollywood--amazing considering how early it was in the history of Hollywood! The remakes ignore how grubby the woman's desire for stardom is and downplay the man's devastating craving to retain relevance, tending to paint the woman as lucky (instead of ambitious) and the man as merely alcoholic (instead of heartbroken). The 2018 version is awkward in that it isn't portraying the dominant cultural expression of the time--dude, if the world's greatest Southern rock guitar player walked into a Brooklyn drag bar at 2am, are we really sure that anyone would know who he was? Really? I'll buy it for the sake of the movie but I'm not sure that's true at all. To me the one really stinging criticism of A Star is Born (2018) is that stardom is a different thing in the social media world than it was in Depression-era Hollywood (1937), the early days of television (1954) or the heyday of arena rock and FM radio (1976) and this film chooses to harken back rather than portray the world as it is now. Those versions all owned the world they lived in, this one merely suggests that it is possible that these people still exist.