A day after they each won Art Directors Guild awards, The Hurt Locker and Avatar went head-to-head at the American Cinema Editors’ Eddie Awards, with The Hurt Locker emerging victorious in the Dramatic Film category. The Hangover picked up the comedic-film prize, while Up and The Cove continued their sweeps of the animated and documentary guild awards. Why does this mean anything? Well, this is not an actors’ or writers’ group choosing The Hurt Locker over Avatar; it’s a technical guild, which indicates that Avatar‘s strongest support may be limited to branches like visual effects, sound, producers, and executives. The last time a Best Picture race was said to be this close, in 2006, Crash showed it had a shot at some big Oscar wins by not only winning the SAG Best Ensemble trophy over Brokeback Mountain, but by stealing the Eddie Award as well. When it comes to pre-Oscar awards with Academy overlap in the voting bodies, Avatar‘s got an art directors prize, and that’s it.
Feb 15
2010
09:34 AM ET
'Hurt Locker,' 'Hangover' win American Cinema Editors awards
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As an Avatar loyalist, the handwriting is on the wall. And it says the Oscars will give best director and best picture to the lowest-grossing film since 1955′s ‘Marty’ made $8 million in its domestic run. Not even a month ago, we had a potentially epic, legen-wait for it-dary cracker of a best picture/best director race. Now, that’s been nuked by one guild after the other that has it in for, in no particular order, James Cameron, the actors and production crew of Avatar, and most of the planet’s moviegoing populace that made it the most popular film ever. Screw AFI. Boxoffice success and Oscar recognition should not be mutually exclusive. Sometimes the best picture IS the one that makes a mint (see Forrest Gump, Titanic, LOTR: Return of the King). But it sure as heck won’t be this year. Hurt Locker had its chance when it was released last year to make its mark with the public. It epic-failed. In the past 23 years, 14 movies that won the Eddie went on to claim Best Picture. That’s roughly 2 out of 3 films this generation. The Oscar race officially ended last night for Avatar. Who would’ve thunk that three weeks ago? Prepare for a snoozefest come March 7.
first of all The Hurt Locker was given a very lackluster release so it never really had a chance at a mass audience. Second how is Avatar the most popular film of all time??? Ticket prices are over $20 in some markets, average ticket price is about $13. So yes it made more than any movie this year, but it also cost more to see. If tickets were being sold for the regular prices this films domestic gross would be in the $400 million range. MORE people saw the Dark Knight than Avatar, More people saw Titanic than Avatar. MORE people saw Star Wars than Avatar, MORE people saw Gone with the Wind than Avatar, MORE people saw Jaws than Avatar. How is Avatar the most popular movie of all time???
By the way I enjoyed this movie very much and realize all the work that went into it, but it isn’t the best movie of the year.
you said nick !!! its not the best pic of the year- an education- up the air and hurt locker are more actor-story driven and actually will stand the test of time
In 2008, I paid $14 to see dark Knight in IMAX. In 2010 I saw Avatar for $13.50 in 3D. Sure avatar sold less tickets in 9 weeks than those movies you mentioned, some of which had multiple releases over the years. But I can’t give you the Dark Knight which was also had inflated ticket costs. The average ticket price for movies now is less than $8, so I’m guessing you pulled that $13 average amount from your behind.
The release doesn’t really matter. So you claim that no one knew about the Hurt Locker when it came out. Fine, now we do, and I still have no interest of seeing it.
Avatar may not be the best movie there is, it has a lot of faults, such as a plain story, but it is one of those movies that marks a new beginning in movie history. People often compare it to when they first saw Star Wars or LOTR, and I think that type of game changer deserves to be recognized – not just through the box office. It is unfortunate that SW never won a Best Picture back in 1977, so it is clear that the academy doesn’t always make the best decisions.
Plus, if they still care about their rating, I’m already thinking of not watching the awards knowing that the Hurt Locker is an almost certain winner.
On a personal level, yes, Avatar is my favorite movie of all time, and that’s saying a lot. Not your favorite, fine, but I haven’t seen anything in nearly 40 years that I enjoyed or captured my imagination as much, and the numbers back me up that I’m not alone. Because on a more quantitative level, people need to stop trying to dissect its box office take by pulling numbers out of their ass. Adjusted for inflation, the last time a non-Cameron film did better was 1983′s Return of the Jedi, and there’s only 16 films from the better part of a century that have performed better, and they’re almost one and all from the era before the ubiquity of cable and VCRs/DVD players (the big exception being Titanic). *You* might not really care for the sort of story telling Cameron employs, but you are also clearly in the minority. Avatar should take best picture, and if a boring piece of trope like Hurt Locker takes it, it will just be one more of those examples of why awards shows don’t matter when in ten years people look back on Avatar in the way we still do at Blade Runner but nobody but film historian even remembers Hurt Locker or Up in the Air.
Kate, if you refuse to see The Hurt Locker, you have absolutely no basis for judging it the inferior film. Don’t watch the awards if you don’t want to, but don’t act like that’s a reasonable decision when you haven’t seen the movie you’re most critical of.
where do you see movies for under $8?
I live in a major city, so I have not seen tickets under $8, but when I state a fact, I don’t rely on my own random estimate but the actual reported number. Look it up. Almost everyone get the adjusted box office numbers from Box office Mojo and they report the average ticket price in 2010 is $7.61.
dude Im in Detroit and I can get matinees for 5. I saw “Avatar” in Columbus with my family for only 9 bucks too. There are theatres with low prices. You just can’t go to the fancy ones at 9 pm. But even then, theres a theatre I love with leather chairs and the works. ITs awesome, and a prime show is only 10 bucks. So I would believe the 8 dollar average, which is still higher than it used to be.
13′s pretty ridonk. I’ve never paid more than 10 unless it was IMAX.
I did not saying the Hurt Locker is a bad movie in any sense. The subject material simply doesn’t appeal to me, or most people for that matter, which was answering the point that regardless of the type of release it was, it would not have earned a lot of money.
And there will not be any high interest in the award show if that is a sure winner. Like many past oscars, the academy will pick the artsy film that doesn’t interests most people. These are the movies that just rings with “made-for-oscar”.
As I’ve stated, the reason why I think Avatar should win is because of the overall difference it has and will make to movie making, which none of the other nominated films has done. Every year, there will be well-acted, well edited films that come along and contest for the award. There will be many more like the Hurt Locker. Meanwhile, movies like Star Wars and Avatar, are one of a kind.
And put it this way: Annie Hall was a good movie, it earned raving reviews too and in fact, it was even popular (unlike the Hurt Locker) in its time. Except now you can stop a random person, let’s say, under 40, and what are the chances that they’ve heard of it?
Meanwhile, who hasn’t heard of Star Wars? Is SW a better movie than Annie Hall? Not necessarily.
But these are landmark films that the academy continues to not recognize, which tells you something about them. I slept through the last few awards, I can sleep through another one.
Avatar, has been out for a grand total of fifty-eight days.
Unless you’ve got a crystal ball, I’d like to see anyone prove that The Hurt Locker will be more remembered in the future. I doubt that very very much.
Also, percentage wise for the population, Avatar is slightly ahead of Gone With the Wind, a film which came out before DVD players, pirating, and computers. Avatar, has made a bigger dent by population.
Also Gone With the Wind is 71 yrs old, and was re-released.
Why not get your facts right, or see the variables, before you show your disdain for the most innovative, spectacular film ever made? And, there’s a trilogy coming.
Remember TROTK? Let’s wait and see what happens with Avatar 3.
Sour puss are we?
I remember when the Hurt Locker was released and I wanted to go see it but it was in a very few movie houses and it was only released for about 2 weeks. I planned to see it but poof! it was gone. The critics raved about it.
Blame limited release on the studio which probably didn’t know what to do with it, and when to release it. Maybe they should have rolled it out bit by bit city by city and let the momentum build; I don’t know about these things.
However, I did see it on-demand online and would now like to see it on the big screen, but it’s nowhere to be seen.
Maybe after the win (and it will win), they will re-release it again.
If a movie does well in limited release, they will arrange to widen the release or re-release it (see some oscar contenders that are already re-released). The studios are always quick to capitalize on opportunities to make more money. The fact is the Hurt Locker has a very limited target audience…
The other thing is it’s not that good. I swear this film would not be thought of as special if it wasn’t a woman directing. She does things I’ve seen tons of time before, but gasp she has no Y chromosome. I think its great women are making movies and can make good ones, but Kathryn Bigelow literally did nothing that puts her above Cameron, Reitman, Daniels or Tarantino in my mind. I’ve seen the films and I think that Hurt Locker was better than “Precious” and debatably “Up in the Air”, but its nothing compared to the sheer entertainment and innovation that is “Avatar”
I saw a copy of the Hurt Locker in June. I wish Hurt Locker had been released in more theaters too. Its too bad that good movies like this doesn’t get mass releases. I’m tired of the blockbuster movies like Avatar. I’m not impressed with large special effects and outrageous budgets. I care more about the story/content. I hope Hollywood realizes that we don’t need dumb-downed movies like Avatar sorry to say it. That movie sucked as a story, a knock off of Dances With Wolves.
Dood, have you seen other Kathryn Bigelow movies? Point Break, Strange Days, Near Dark, Blue Steel. She’s an amazing director, very versatile with her film making. I’ve been following her stuff since the late 80′s. I’m glad she has gotten the respect/awards that she’s finally getting in her work.
not for nothing, but Marty’s grosses, when adjusted for inflation, would be about $63M on a budget of just under $3M. Even today, that’s pretty darn good.
The Oscar should go to the BEST MOVIE OF THE YEAR NOT THE MOST WATCHED OF THE YEAR! I’m not saying Avatar is bad, it’s just the opposite, it was one of the best movies of the year. But for me, the very best movie I have seen this year was the Hurt Locker, so in my opinion it should win the Oscar for best picture. How much money it made does not matter when factoring how good the movie was.
Both were great movies in their own rights, but I actually think Precious was the best of the 4 front-runners for Best Picture (incl. Up in the Air) that I have seen.
BSG Paul: deal with it.
I am really glad Avatar has less and less chances at winning that BP award. It doesn’t deserve to win. And The hurt locker isn’t that good a movie either but I’d take any movie over Avatar. The hurt locker deserves to win that oscar as much as Crash deserved it over Brokeback Mountain back in 2006. So, no, it doesn’t deserve, considering the competition it is in.
You know, I’m still hoping some other movie comes and steals the Best Picture award. It would mean one of the biggest surprises in Academy Awards history. Of course, for it to be a pleasant surprise, only Precious or District 9 can win. You know, I’d be happy even with Up.
An ABA’er (Anything But Avatar). *sigh*.
Yeah, I’m getting tired of those people too. Pretty sad.
i agree hurt locker is a good film but not best pic- BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN was robbed
“Up In The Air” is the best movie out of the nominees. But “Avatar” probably should win, based on cinematic achievement. And regardless, if there’s one thing I really don’t want to see, it’s a Hollywood insider favorite beating what everyone knows is the best picture. Was “Annie Hall” really a better or more memorable movie than “Star Wars”? Uh….no
UncleWalty, you can’t under-rate a movie because it was a “Hollywood insider favorite” or vice versa because millions of people saw it. If we did that, The Dark Knight would have won the Oscar last year, and although I enjoyed that movie, we all know it wasn’t the best of the year. We’re ranking these movies on their artistic merit, not on how many seats they sell. It’s not Kathryn Bigelow’s or Jeremy Renner’s fault that their brilliant movie was given a very small and poorly publicized release.
I’m not suggesting that ticket sales should ever be the determining factor. And also I don’t think The Dark Knight (since you bring it up) was nearly so good as it’s reputation, though I did like it. The point I’m making is that the Academy has a knack for choosing winners to reflect well on the Academy, but aren’t necessarily the best in their category. Of course the most erudite choice in 1977 was “Annie Hall”. But it never has come close to having the cultural and artistic impact of a movie like “Star Wars”. Not that I’m saying “Star Wars” is one of the greatest of all time, but it is certainly among the most influential films ever released, and definitely one of the most inventive (especially for it’s day), and that kind of thing should be rewarded.
I would say that Annie Hall has had a pretty tremendous cultural and artistic impact. Poor example.
yea, I would say it hasn’t.
I’m all up for the idea that we all have our own favorites or our own opinion of which should win, but you are really just an avatar-hater… and that’s pretty sad.
Kate, why is it sad if someone is an AVATAR hater? I know plenty of people who loved the film but just as many who say they were impressed with the visual effects but otherwise HATED the movie.
I agree with Peter. Avatar sucked. It was a waste of my $14.00 and time that I’ll never get back. God help me!!!
Kate,so far you have made fear points.I think for me the hate for James camerron is actually reflected.Golden globes reaction was showing disrespect towards James Cameroon.
Up/District 9/The Hurt Locker are the best movies of the year. Precious was NOT. Avatar was good, but not that good. And if a movie is going to win like Crash did, it has to be something that no one expected to win, and thats why Ingloroius Basterds or Up in the Air will win.
If Inglourious Basterds or Up in the air win over The Hurt Locker or Avatar, I’d actually be happy. They were better movies but District 9 is the one that if he wins, it will be Crash-like style. Crash wasn’t nominated for a golden globe for best picture, District 9 wasn’t either. They were both nominated though for best screenplay at the golden globes. But District 9 will never pull a Crash.
But, when I said The hurt locker deserves to win that oscar as much as Crash deserved it over Brokeback Mountain I only meant how much they deserved it. Crash was a good movie, just like The hurt locker but didn’t deserve to win, esp with Brokeback Mountain in the running.
Up in the Air was the best film of the year.
Basterds winning would be amazing.
the problem w/ Avatar (as I see it) is that Cameron stole very movie plotline about Indians and native people from other movies and rolled it into Avatar.
All across the internet the words “Fern Gully” and “Dances with wolves” pop up…as in, James you stole their stories.
But wasn’t Dances with Wolves a different take on A Man Called Horse? Just sayin’
Nice BSG. Sally you could use that same argument for Hurt Locker because it was written based on the experiences of the writer who was embedded with an EOD squad. That’s not very original. I’m in favor of The Hurt Locker, but I can’t agree with your logic.
I find your comment ironic because James Cameron “stole” those stories the same way you stole your argument from people across the internet. “Fern Gully” and “Dances with wolves”. I’ve heard that before. Why can’t you be original, Sally? You need to stop stealing other people’s ideas.
Why are people so jealous of Jim Cameron? He may not be the nicest man in the film industry but he’s definitely the king of the world!!!How come the highest grossing movie ever could loose the Oscar for best picture? It doesn’t make any sense to me.
I’m still hoping that Avatar will win Best Picture and Bigelow will win Best Director.
Trust me it is not jealousy. It is knowing that best picture does not mean highest grossing. And it also does not mean best visual effects in a mediocre movie.
exactly
Mishka, so then by your logic, Avatar is the greatest movie of all time? Mass appeal has ZERO bearing in rating ARTISTIC MERIT. If mass appeal were our only means for judging quality, then there would be no progress. Just people trying to replicate what we’ve seen in the past. We wouldn’t have Beethoven or Stravinsky. We wouldn’t have Kubrik or Tarantino. We would have BORING.
RyanK, are you suggesting that the artistic achievements of Quentin Tarantino are in any way comparable to those of Beethoven? That’s beyond frightening.
Yeah, that doesn’t make much sense. Gross has nothing to do with art. In that case Armageddon would have won Best Picture.
avatar was visually stunning, but the dialogue was sooooo incredibly weak and the story was a futuristic dances with wolves.
dances with wolves meets Pocahontas
The Hurt Locker was a dud and dull. Avatar is just technical. I think “UP” should win!
IMO the Hurt Locker was engaging. It may have been “slow” in spots, but overall it held my attention. About 1/2 through Avatar, I was ready to walk out. The first half was intriguing and held my attention, the second half dissolved into a cliche’ wondernut.
Dull? Did you even watch? You couldn’t cut the tension with a chainsaw! You’re free to make any arguments, but dull? That might seriously be the last word I would use to describe that movie.
I hope a “Basterds” upset is still in the cards…
That’s what I’m hoping for as well. If it must come down to The Hurt Locker and Avatar, I’d much rather see The Hurt Locker win. But I’m rooting for Inglourious Basterds to pull an upset. Or even Up, which was my second favorite film of the year behind Basterds. But I know that Up has no chance. An animated film will never win Best Picture as long as they have the separate category.
I don’t see how an IB upset can be in the cards. It would have to regain the little momentum that it gained from the SAG and lost rather quickly due to The Hurt Locker’s surprising PGA win the following day and Bigelow’s history-making DGA the following week. The WGA would have been such an opportunity to regain steam but unfortunately IB was ineligibile. At this point, The Hurt Locker will easily take Best Picture.
Michael, you are hilarious. I just responded to you on a different post, but I guess you are spreading your WGA gospel everywhere. It is so weird you think the guilds will determine the winner. Even if IB loses, it is definately not because it did not get a WGA nom. The race goes on beyond the headlines. There is a lot of wining and dining and campaigning behind the scenes. With PGA, DGA, WGA, BFCA, BAFTA, i would say the headlines favored Brokeback mountain which clearly had the momentum that year but we know how that ended. Headlines are important but they are not that important. Tarrentino will still win original screenplay even if he does not take best picture regardless of the lack of a stupid WGA nom.
Jane, I know there’s a lot of whining and dining behind the scenes. But if a film doesn’t have a few guild wins, the dining and dining ain’t going to amount to jack. You accused me of bringing up stuff don’t matter and I’m finding it ironic that you bring up the wining and dining and I’m telling you that the wining and dining don’t matter unless your film is getting the guild wins. The WGA ineligibility does matter, even in the original screenplay race. Simply put, it’s a game of momentum. IB isn’t going to have another legitimate shot to regain it because of the WGA ineligibility. How else do you explain Oscar predictions for original screenplay moving from 100 percent predicting Tarantino to a 50/50 split between Boal and Tarantino. I’ve stated a few other reasons why IB probably won’t Best Picture beyond the WGA. But you obviously don’t have a high school education because you would have understood that I was saying that the WGA was a big missed opportunity for IB. I’m sure that many of the “experts,” even if they haven’t said so in writing, would agree. Why else would Dave be posting guild wins? It’s a pretty good indication of how these people will vote on their Oscar ballot. Not 100%, but probably the best indicator out there.
BTW Jane, you related to Jenn? She really loves me also!!
If it missed out on the WGA nomination and it was eligible, I would have agreed with you. However, it missed out not based on merit but only because Quentin Tarantino is not a WGA member. For the original Screenplay Oscar, it did not stop Pulp fiction’s win and it will not stop IB. That’s my prediction! Deal with it. And also, it is very unnecessary and childish to question my education(if you only knew) because I gave an opinion the Oscar race. The experts can have their own opinion, I am entitled to mine and I feel IB is a dialogue-driven film and the voting body will appreciate that like they did with Pulp fiction even without the WGA. As for the best picture win, again I know Basterds chances are low on paper, but I just have that feeling. And if Jenn has a problem with you too then I guess I may have a long lost sister.
Let me help you out with your case. IB not getting a BAFTA nomination is way more relevant in the case against it not winning Best Picture than not getting a WGA nom. Not winning ACE, DGA, PGA, BFCA, Globes are also more relevant. When you constantly use the most inconsequential fact to discredit IB chances, it does not make sense. If that makes you think I’m uneducated, then good for you but the WGA nom is still not as important as you make it out to be.
Not to keep screwing with you but Pulp Fiction had a GG screenplay win (different voting body…but b/c they combine original and adapted into one category, you get a good idea of whcih one is going to get the free ride to the win, usually leaving the frontrunner in the other category more vulnerable for an “upset”) More importantly, it was not competing in the same screenplay category as Best Picture winner Forrest Gump. I’m not saying that IB won’t win Best Screenplay. (I still don’t know if I’m going with Boal or Tarantino in my office pool.) I was repsonding to those who thought Dave’s pick for original screenplay (Mark Boal) was a bad pick because they thought Tarantino was a sure thing. I think there’s enough out there that shows it’s not.
Golden globe? Really. They are hardly a major player for screenplay. Dustin Lance Black was not even nominated for the globes and he won the oscar. The queen won the globe, Little miss sunshine and the departed won the oscars. Some free ride the Queen got. I keep saying it but you always focus on the least important things. The SAG winners that have lost Best picture have fared better with screenplay; Sideways, Gosford Park, Little miss sunshine, Traffic. In the 2000s the only SAG winner to not win screenplay is Chicago and that at least won Best Pic. I will give IB at least a 75% chance for screenplay. The BAFTA and definitely not the WGA can change my mind at this point. Even if the Brits go with hurt locker which I doubt, I probably will still think IB takes it. I know most best pics win screenplay, but there are exceptions; Million Dollar Baby, Chicago, Gladiator, Titanic, Braveheart to name a few and IB has a strong enough screenplay cause an exception to that rule. But IB is going to win best picture so it won’t really be an exception
Believe it or not, I’m pretty neutral. At this point, most people would have to say that you’re attacking me!! Which leads me to believe that you must feel that my arguments have some validity. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be trying so hard to invalidate them. I’m beginning to think that the Tarantino fanboys and fangirls are worse than the Avatards.
I’m attacking you? Hilarious. This coming from the person who said I don’t have a high school education. I’m bursting holes in your claims and apparently you can’t take it. All I did was provide a counter argument to support my claim and to contradict some of your points. I have said many times that Hurt Locker is clearly the front-runner based on the guilds and if you make solid claims I wouldn’t have a problem, but you keep bring up what I consider irrelevant issues. You could try to show me why they are relevant, but you have not done that. I like to debate but I can see that you can’t have a discussion without taking it personally. I’m done with this. Bye.
FINALLY!!!!
Please don’t reply to me ever again. I have too many crazy beetches in my life.
Is there any possibility that neither Avatar nor The Hurt Locker win? Is this really a race between these two?
It’s being promoted as such given the ex-spouses connection. But at this point, I’d have to put The Hurt Locker in the same category as No Country for Old Men and Slumdog Millionaire and say that The Hurt Locker will definitely win. I know that I’m always bringing IB’s WGA ineligibility but the WGA was IBs last chance to become a contender. If IB had won WGA, it would have become a IB vs. THL race. I still think The Hurt Locker would have won because I think enough Academy members would have found it in poor taste to rank the cartoonish war film over the film that provides deep psychological insight into the modern American soldier. So in the end, the people who pay attention to the Oscar race are left with a predictable Best Picture winner and the people who didn’t pay attention to the Oscar race will be left wondering how “the little film that could” beat the highest grossing film of all time.
i loved the hurt locker and really want it to win….. great movie
Without A Prophet and The White Ribbon the Best Picture race is missing two of the most outstanding films of the year. Surely having extended the category to ten, academy members could have extended their consideration to foreign language films. The Blind Side? Really? As a sidenote, I wonder why Tahar Rahim and Niels Arestrup didn’t crossover into the acting categories the way Marion Cotillard, Catherine Deneuve, Roberto Benigni etc have managed in the past.
I’m still really upset that Zoe Saldana didn’t get a best supporting actress nomination. Say what you will about the rest of the movie, but her performance was the real heart of that film.
If anything, Menchy, Saldana should’ve been in lead actress, and Sigourney Weaver in supporting. Both knocked it outta the park. Worthington, less so, but he more than held up his end of the bargain.
While I enjoyed both of their performances, there were far bigger snubs in the actress categories than Saldana and Weaver. Julianne Moore, Melanie Laurent, Diane Kruger, Marion Cotillard, just to name a few. Saldana and Weaver gave fine performances, but the competition is stiff. Plus, I wouldn’t expect the Academy to embrace a performance like Saldana’s (entirely motion-capture), regardless of whether the performance is worthy of a nomination or not. If you’re a fan of these types of performances, this is just a sad truth that you’ll have to deal with.
Nick, Moore was in her film about as quick as Ellen Burstyn in her TV movie when she got an Emmy nom for 14 seconds of screen time. Blink, and you’ll miss her. Laurent and Kruger canceled each other out, or 2) Herr Weinstein blew it by not putting one of ‘em in lead. Cotillard was part of the holiday’s biggest dirty bomb (Nine). Demean performance capture all you want, at its essence, *it’s still acting*. That’s why Saldana and Weaver deserved to go to the dance.
Paul, if you paid attention while reading my comment, you would have understood that in no way did I demean performance-capture. Please gain some reading comprehension skills before you decide to have a conversation with me.
As far as Cotillard goes, good performances have been nominated many times in the past even when the film was not received well. The best example of this is Penelope Cruz’s nomination this year for “the holiday’s biggest dirty bomb (Nine),” as you so eloquently put it. Doesn’t that pretty much put a big hole through your reason of logic for Cotillard’s omission? And another nominated performance from a poorly-received film that comes to mind is Cate Blanchett in Elizabeth: The Golden Age.
And just to add, there was certainly nothing extraordinary about Sigourney Weaver’s performance. I love Weaver. Her performance was good and adequate, but it was not worthy of an Oscar nomination. Regardless of how much time Julianne Moore was onscreen (which was definitely more than 14 seconds), Moore far more deserved a nomination than Weaver, as did all 5 of the nominees.
how is hurt locker a dud and dull? you are dull and a dud too
Just saw Hurt Locker and really enjoyed it. I thought it just kept moving- hardly any slowdown.
I agree totally with you Mark. A Prophet and The White Ribbon where both great. I actually don’t see why expand to ten Best Picture nominees if the race is still between two movies. In my opinion, it is a pity that the Oscars come so late in the awards season. They are so predictable, and basically only those races with possible upsets become interesting.
Say what you will but Avatar deserves to win Best Picture. Whether you like it or not it has become more then a movie. Everyone feels the story is about their own story. In Colorado one city believes it is inspired from their history with Native Americans. In China however many believe it is about the government taking their lands to build damns and cities. Others believe it is about white mans quest for gold in South America. Palistinians are even dressing up as the Na’vi to protest against Israel taking their lands. There has not been a film in history ever to inspire and effect the world like Avatar. It may not be what we consider the best, but it’s something we all can relate to.
Are you joking? It kinda seems like you are, but not sure.
I remember when it first came out and everyone was saying it was an Iraq war metaphor. When I saw it, however, I thought it was an allegory for the Trail of Tears (white man discovers gold, kicks indians off their land with an army, sends them walking away in defeat) only the ending is different in history (expulsion of the white man versus confinement to reservations and rampant alcoholism). Although I could see it being taken in all of those ways too.
I’m not understanding why this deems it the best film of the year. Just because it has been seen by people all over the world, all of whom interpret it differently? This doesn’t make it the best film of the year. I liked it, but it was still way too formulaic and predictable and cliched, with some characters who were not fully formed at all and were more like caricatures, to be awarded Best Picture.
I have to agree… while grosses should mean nothing for quality, it really would be sending the wrong message out to award a movie that made less than 30 million. It will be another “f*ck you” to the people who actually go to the movies and pay money. So while the Academy is trying to re-appeal to the public its also going to just render itself more irrelevant. Because its like the tree in the forrest… if no one sees your movie, is it really the best? With that being said I must also say that high grossing films should not be awarded just b/c people saw it in droves. I think its cheap and ignorant to compare Avatar with movies like Armageddon, Transformers, and GI Joe. Cameron waited 12 years to make the movie so it was not about making money for money’s sake.
Did you forget that the nom’d movies are 10 this year? That includes winners and losers at the box office. Certainly Precious made its money back, but it’s not a boxo giant in terms of money.