Oscars 2020

I think the last Oscars that did really big numbers was when a huge movie like Avatar was nominated.

 

Looks like that list from around 2005 and onward is a bit more political (at least overtly) and agenda driven.

 

2019
Top Ten BO - Avengers, Lion King, Toy Story,Frozen, Captain Marvel, Star Wars, Spider-Man, Aladdin, Joker, It 2


arent these all sequels/franchise films? or reboots? I think its the fast food syndrome. People feel the need to watch stories (eat at restaurants) theyre familiar with? at some point people with get sick of the same old, right? it has to happen....

 

Academy Awards - Wikipedia

Here are the number of TV viewers (in millions, rounded off to the nearest hundred thousandth) for the US for the past twenty years.
'Avatar' was nominated for the 2009 ceremony (for Best Picture - it lost to 'The Hurt Locker').

2000 - 46.3
2001 - 42.9
2002 - 41.8
2003 - 33.0
2004 - 45.5
2005 - 42.1
2006 - 38.9
2007 - 40.2
2008 - 32.0
2009 - 36.3
2010 - 41.7
2011 - 37.9
2012 - 39.5
2013 - 40.4
2014 - 43.7
2015 - 37.3
2016 - 34.3
2017 - 32.9
2018 - 26.5
2019 - 29.6
2020 - 23.6

 

We’re at an interesting point - the Avengers reached a climax and the next episodes are somewhat less compelling; Star Wars reached an ending of sorts; there’s nothing on the horizon like the Tolkien, Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Twilight franchises. So one would hope for a new burst of inspiration, but we’re more likely to get more Disney live remakes and endless animated features.

What really struck me, looking back through the years, was how dramatically everything shifted in the mid 00’s. People’s entertainment preferences are highly driven by habit and for a change like this to occur in such a short period of time, it’s likely that there was a compelling force.

So I thought back fifteen years, which was easy because it was when I retired and we moved back to the Midwest. Within the first few months we acquired our first high definition flat screen TV and started a Netflix DVD subscription.

I think we’re probably too close to the home viewing revolution to appreciate the impact of Hi Def, flat screens and a steady flow of new movies to our mailbox at a ridiculously low price. But I think it changed our habits almost overnight.

The recording industry has been forced to deal with their own revolution by coming up with new metrics like album equivalents. But no matter how hard they try, they can’t begin to figure out the economic value of a million free streams of a Taylor Swift’s latest opus, much less a thousand streams of an old Neil Young album.

The movie industry hasn’t even gotten that far. They can measure box office and DVD sales and PPV revenue, but have no idea how to measure the economics of Netflix viewership. So they, and we, fall back on the old measurements to try to understand what is happening to our entertainment choices. And movie producers rely on the tried and true concepts and franchises because their results are easiest to understand. And their bosses shrug and say, “Well, looks like we better start our own subscription service. How hard can it be?”

Ask Apple TV.

 

Here's an article I found interesting, especially in light of the rather specious criticisms Joaquin Phoenix has had in this thread.

How To Be A Better Speaker Like Oscar Winners Joaquin Phoenix And Bong Joon Ho How To Be A Better Speaker Like Oscar Winners Joaquin Phoenix And Bong Joon Ho via @forbes

 

That's an interesting observation. I hadn't thought about it quite like that, but you're right. And I would say the compelling force is information overload/data overstimulation. The digital age has saturated us all with too much content, news, URLs, emails, etc., etc. It was in the mid 00s that the novelty of it all totally wore off and I was overwhelmed. I couldn't even keep my passwords straight for all my accounts and logins at work and home. And it just keeps getting worse.

I think Joe Sixpack's need to return to familiar characters and franchises in film may be a result of this. When I have free time, it's more relaxing sometimes to return to content I've already watched multiple times than to try to digest something totally new.

Apple is probably the best company at understanding the market, the consumer pain points, and delivering new products and services that become addictive to the consumer. At this point it seems Apple can crack any nut in ways traditional companies and business models can't.

 

In the pre-television days, people went to the movies and watched all kinds of movie series and sequels - serials like Captain Marvel ( the other one!) and Dick Tracy (4 15-chapter serials), movie series like Doctor Kildare and Mr. Moto, and films where the star played the same character, i.e. Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, etc.

I don't know why some folks get their panties all twisted about Marvel or other franchise films - this is nothing new.

 

So Avatar came out late in 2009 so that would have been 2010 Oscars then. Looks like 2014 was a big year as well - wonder what came out year before.

 

Viewing figures are down across the board. More people watch later through Youtube or other means. Those figures mean nothing, except that fewer people are sat in front of their TV watching in real-time.

 

This is true. Also, while I have a knee-jerk predisposition to knock the trend towards Iron Man 3 and Avengers: EndGame, Part 2B, I would say that one of the strengths of the golden age of television we’ve been living through for the past several decades is how TV shows have become more richly serialized - critically acclaimed shows such as Mad Men or Breaking Bad stretch character development and subtle plot twists over multiple episodes and seasons, and that’s a good thing. I don’t think serialization or sequels or wanting to revisit familiar stories, or whatever you want to call it, is necessarily bad.

 

Arrrrrrrgggggghhnnnn. I relive it!

 

Fiona Apple has a new book coming out detailing her life with director Paul Thomas Anderson. Apparently the Oscars do mean something to some people.

according to Apple, Anderson’s temper made their relationship difficult at times. Apple decided to stay with her dad after the 1998 Academy Awards because Anderson threw a chair across a room following the ceremony. Apple remembers telling herself, “**** this, this is not a good relationship.” Anderson was nominated for Best Original Screenplay for “Boogie Nights” but lost to Matt Damon and Ben Affleck for “Good Will Hunting.”


Lol

 

Oscars 2021 May Be Postponed – Variety

 

I tend to agree but then there are a lot of folks who listen to the same music from when they were 15 years old and sit at a computer ranting about new music. Back in my day. So they pull out their "comfort music" and some track they have probably played 80,000 times.

A movie sequel is comfort too - you get to see Riggs and Murtaugh beat up new bad guys in the next Lethal Weapon - and Murteaugh will say he is "too old for this sh.." and the audience chuckles at the same joke from the first movie.

Comic book movies - hey I loved Spiderman the animated series when I was 5. So a movie with slick effects some humour - why not. They take you away from your daily grind of paying bills, or worrying about your health problems etc.

 

Boom

 

I didn't see a thread for talking about this years movies , so this looks like appropriate place. The limited ones out, that are expected to be nominated very few seem interesting , anyone else feel this way?
Nomadland sounds very dull for instance.. I do want to catch On the Rocks and French Exit . Thought I'd see The Father but after reading a review I'll skip it, maybe worthwhile for only his performance.

 

The whole thing is more the Independent awards than big production Hollywood movies so it all seems very dull overall. I am surprised Tenet didn’t get a nod though I know it’s confusing to some people.

 

"Tenet" has no Oscar nominations... because they don't get announced until March 15.

 

So your saying it has a chance? I thought I had read somewhere of the 8 or so movies they had selected. Must have been some other award show. COVID has everything off kilter.

 

I’ve remedied the lack of an Oscars 2021 thread, and created one, including a poll to allow you to select your own favourites. Have fun, and thanks for participating in this thread.

 

Tenet isn't going to get any nominations except in the technical categories. The size of the production has nothing to do with it — it's just not a good movie.

 

By "has a chance", I assume you mean "has a chance for a Best Picture nomination".

Sure, it has a chance, though probably not a great one since it got a fairly mixed reception.

As @Raf notes, "Tenet" has a good shot at technical categories but less so the others.

That said, 2020 was such a weird year in movies that anything's possible. Even though the film wasn't tremendously well-received, it may get support just because it's the best contender of a movie that got mass release.

I think the Oscars are terrified of a list of BP noms composed solely of art house flicks and stuff that only ran on TV!

 

Tenet didn’t get a Best Pic or Director nom (visual and production yes) and the lead John David Washington (Denzel’s son) didn’t either so I am disappointed.

Mimics what the Globes nominated so I guess we can expect a big Nomadland win. Btw Mank gets 10 noms, 10! Saw it, ambitious yes but not very satisfying and a TV movie. Many of these nominations would have made no money even if theaters were open.

I will pass on the Oscars this year for the first time.

 

I'm passing too.
Have looked forward to it and heard the nominations announced for many years, didn't tune in this time.