Stuff That Is Not The Academy Awards

They are not going to get any better, no matter how much I gripe.

I've just barely survived mid-semester essays, and they've given me some perspective as to what I should be talking about.

You see, since I've been released from the cast of my university's production of Penelope Waits, I've had a lot of spare time for intellectual pursuits completely divorced from school work. I've been reading with great voracity, mainly plays as has been my wont for years now, but also novels and the like.

I've also hijacked my friend's course in Greek and Roman drama, which is a great fit for me [alas, I have not the prerequisites. In two years, maybe]. This course's culminating assignment is a full-fledged production of a Classical play. They've chosen to do Aeschylus's Orestes, which is literally my favourite Greek play of all time. So, awesomeness.

I've also got a new professor in my own drama course, who is beyond awesome. The stuff I've learned in this course, even pre-awesome prof, is actually really useful and interesting, being more theory-based than practical.

21 Days!

Jane Eyre
Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga
Written by Moira Buffini
Total Academy Award Nominations- 1 (Best Costume Design)

Not to downplay the great costumes by Michael O'Connor, but it's a tad frustrating when a great creative team and cast comes together, makes a superlative film adapted from one of the finest romances ever written, and the costuming is the only thing that makes an impact at the Academy Awards.

This had great performances by Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender, a script which made the well-known story fresh and exciting. It doesn't feel like a particularly stuffy piece from Masterpiece Theatre- it's really dynamic and energetic. It's got some great cinematography and takes advantage of its locations. And it's not good enough for the Oscars. Hurroo.

22 Days!

The Ides of March
Directed by George Clooney
Written by George Clooney, Grant Heslov, and Beau Willimon
Total Academy Award Nominations: 1 (Best Adapted Screenplay)

This was a really thought-provoking piece, and while the screenplay award was really well deserved, I feel that this film was really passed over in other categories. It's another great movie from George Clooney in his capacity as a director, but like Ben Affleck (who directed and starred in the shamefully snubbed films Gone Baby Gone and The Town), the Academy seems to prefer him in his role as an actor or screenwriter.

The Ides of March also features shockingly good performances from Evan Rachel Wood and Ryan Gosling, who are usually actors for whom I care very little. I actually feel like they were unfairly treated in regards to their work on this film.

23 Days!

We Need To Talk About Kevin
Directed by Lynne Ramsay
Written by Lynne Ramsay and Rory Stewart Kinnear
Total Academy Award Nominations- 0

I was gobsmacked when Tilda Swinton didn't receive an Academy Award nomination for her work in this film. She was absolutely remarkable. So were John C. Reilly and Ezra Miller, who had equally challenging roles which they successfully brought to life.

But the Academy seems adverse to films which are topical, preferring instead to honour films which would have been topical fifty years ago. This retroactive behaviour is what is quickly making the whole film industry obsolete and irrelevant to the rest of our culture. We Need To Talk About Kevin's non-representation is another sign of this self-obliteration.

24 Days!

Drive
Directed by Nicholas Winding Refn
Written by Hossein Amini
Total Academy Award Nominations- 0

WHY.

THIS MOVIE.

This was probably the best movie I saw this year, bar none. And it didn't warrant a single nomination from the almighty Academy. Go figure. Not Picture, not screenplay, not acting, nada. I'm just...

25 Days!

Andy Serkis
Academy Award Nominations- 0

As I've said before, Andy Serkis is easily the most underrated actor working in Hollywood right now. He's turned in two fantastic performances this year: as Caesar in Rise of the Planet of the Apes and as Captain Haddock in The Adventures of Tintin. Unfortunately, the computerised aspect of these performances has effectively excluded him from recognition at the Oscars, despite the fact that he provides movement, facial expression and vocalization to both roles.

Why should the work of actors and actresses who achieve convincing performances through the use of prosthetics or makeup be treated as superior to the work of Andy Serkis? The Academy is unfortunately blinded by technology in this field, and cannot bring itself to give him the acknowledgement he deserves.

26 Days!

The Adventures of Tintin
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Written by Steven Moffat, Edgar Wright, and Joe Cornish
Tomatometer- 74%
Academy Award Nominations- 1 (Best Original Score)

First, I want to say that for once the Tomatometer is not representative of the excellence of this film. From the great motion-capture animation, to the script, to the committed performances of a stellar cast, Adventures of Tintin is easily one of the best movies I've seen this year.

Maybe it doesn't deserve an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture, but luckily the Oscars have ghettoised animated films and given them their own category- Best Animated Picture. Unluckily, Adventures of Tintin didn't warrant a nomination in that category, although the obviously superior Kung-Fu Panda 2 and Puss in Boots did.

This is clearly a snub directed not only at Steven Spielberg, who has been passed over for a directing nomination for War Horse, and the visual effects team who made this amazing film possible, but also at Tintin star Andy Serkis, who is the single most underrated actor working in Hollywood today. More on him tomorrow!

27 Days!

Pariah
Directed by Dee Rees
Written by Dee Rees
Tomatometer- 95%
Total Academy Award Nominations- 0

Maybe the Academy figures they filled their gay quota this year with Albert Nobbs and Beginners. Maybe they think they filled their African-American quota with The Help. Maybe they feel that they shouldn't give attention to another inner-city female protagonist-driven film after last year's Precious.

Either way, the conspicuous omission of this film from the podium this year sucks. This movie, with a fantastic cast led by the supernaturally talented Adepuyo Oduye, tells a rarely-told story with great honesty and ingenuity. It's more than a coming-out film; it shows us the realities of the present day in an unembellished but still beautiful manner. That it shouldn't be nominated for Lead Actress, Cinematography or Screenwriting is depressing.

Oscar Countdown! 28 Days!

Only 28 days until the Oscars, and I think it's time for me to start my advent calendar. But you see, instead of what would have been something of a celebratory thing, I've decided that the Academy's nominations and priorities are so screwed up this year that I'm going to find one thing that they did wrong every day up until the ceremony, which will no doubt be bloated, self-congratulatory, and shallow.

2011 was actually a pretty amazing year for movies, but looking at what the Academy has decided to nominate as the cream of cream this year, you wouldn't know it! Mediocrity upon mediocrity has been represented and put on a pedestal for congratulations, but truly exceptional movies have been given the cold shoulder.

So, here goes the first day of the Oscar countdown. Let's talk about a good film, and see how many nominations it got.

50/50
Directed by Jonathan Levine
Written by Will Reiser
Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, and Bryce Dallas Howard
Tomatometer- 93%
Total Academy Award Nominations- 0

I'm pretty sure a lot of people thought that this would be the vaguely independent comedy film that would get a bunch of nominations at the Oscars, like Juno or Little Miss Sunshine. And that wouldn't have been a bad thing either, because this was a fantastic and deeply personal movie. It tackles a really difficult issue with sensitivity and humour, and features characters which are believable and face hard decisions.

That this film was not even nominated for screenwriting is a total travesty. Never mind that the acting in 50/50 is topnotch, or that the movie holds together better than some Best Picture nominees this year, it is the script that's truly special. An autobiographical script that looks at its subject matter through the unique lens of experience and understanding, and it doesn't merit a nomination.

Fucking Academy.