Take a look at the image on the right. That’s Russell Crowe in A Beautiful Mind — but it might just as well be yours truly trying to figure out the new Academy Awards balloting system, which makes a little less sense to me each time I hear it explained. Okay, I sort of get it: The voters will rank the 10 nominated films in order of preference, which means that to secure a victory, a movie will need to garner a sizable number of second and third place votes on the ballots that didn’t pick it as number one. To me, that would seem to favor The Hurt Locker, a movie that, while “small,” is almost universally admired. The Hurt Locker doesn’t appear to have many detractors; it hasn’t been divisive. Yet according to the Oscar buzz of the week, the new preferential voting system may actually favor…Inglourious Basterds.
That scenario has now been floated, if not flogged, by a healthy handful of entertainment journalists, most relentlessly by Tom O’Neil, who has been pushing his prediction of an Inglourious Basterds triumph for well over a month. (He actually called me out on my “goof” of not including Inglourious on a roster of possible Best Picture winners.) Well, time will tell if O’Neil’s prediction was ahead of the curve, or just bent. What has brought the Inglourious buzz machine to life this week is Harvey Weinstein, who basically decided to go public with the fact that he’s been funneling the movie through one of his legendary if-it-feels-good-it’s-not-overkill Academy Award campaigns. Only a fool would write off a Harvey Weinstein Oscar blitzkrieg. Back in 1998/1999, when he snatched a Shakespeare in Love victory from the jaws of a Saving Private Ryan defeat, it was clear that he’d honed the politics of all this to a new level of Jedi mind-trick effectiveness.
What’s worth noting, to me, is the subtext of all these Inglourious predictions — namely, that the movie has the potential to be a dark-horse winner because it’s a Holocaust drama, and we all know how much the Academy loves to vote for those. Don’t get me wrong: Inglourious Basterds was number two on my 10 Best list (right behind Up in the Air), and I think it’s a greater film than either The Hurt Locker or Avatar. I would personally be tickled if it won. (I’d be even more tickled, of course, if Up in the Air won.) But there’s a major irony to the fact that a lot of the Academy voters — older, more traditional — who are now being wooed to vote for Inglourious Basterds are probably among the last people in Hollywood who would ever vote for an ultra-violent Quentin Tarantino movie for Best Picture if it weren’t a Holocaust drama.
My gut instinct says that Inglourious Basterds has virtually no chance to win the Oscar. But on the off-chance that it did, it would truly be the perfect storm of 21st-century Academy Awards mania: a deserved salute to a fantastic film; the kind of über-surprise that just about everyone loves; a recognition of the visionary filmmaker of his generation, the one who redefined movies; the ultimate confirmation, however sobering it may be, that Oscar campaigning is now just as much of an art form as the movies themselves; and a fluky, one-of-a-kind opportunity for a great many veteran Academy voters to take their stodgy old moralistic message-movie passion, which dates back to World War II, and drag it into a new cinematic age. A Weinstein plot? Let’s just say it would be enough to make Hollywood plotz.
Inglourious Basterds for the upset!!! one can dream…
I think if one movie can pull an upset its Basterds.
Avatar aint best pic quality. IF it didn’t make so much cash it would not have been nominated.
And The Hurt LOcker, I liked it but does anyone else think its overrated???
“Avatar aint best pic quality. IF it didn’t make so much cash it would not have been nominated.”
BS. Last year TDK, as popcorn a film as Avatar, got even better reviews,and made insane amounts of cash, and yet it wasn’t even nominated.
AVATAR was nominated BECAUSE it is one of the best films of 2009. People are hating on it because it made too much money and because they are resentful of the fact that JC has had tow insanely successful films in a row that ALSO got Oscar love, It’s plain ole jealousy and envy.
Ellias, Avatar was nominated because at some point during the film, there a bright flash that hypnotized people into falling in love with it. Those who happened to blink or be looking away weren’t fooled. Apparently the board who nominated Avatar were not so lucky.
It’s one of the better movies of 2009, but it has NOTHING on the quality of The Dark Knight, and I believe that TDK was snubbed. Also, I’ve never said anything bad about Avatar, haven’t hated on it–I am happy it was a huge–one might say Titanic– success,but even that didn’t affect me or grip me like TDK did. The same can be said about Inglourious Basterds this year. I was completely thrown out of my chair by this movie–the best movie of 2009 easily, in my opinion. The intensity, the portrayal of all the characters, the comedy that pokes at the corrupted ways of those people, the innocence lost, the revenge of the giant face, the twists….It’s 10x better than Avatar ever thought of being.
No other film has stayed with me months after seeing it — I take offense to you saying that Basterds is Ultra violent — it is actually what kept me away — but I was so surprised at what a wonderful story it was — Tarantino juggled a doomed love story, a revenge story, an anti-nazi story and did so with such greatness. While the dull Avatar and the exciting hurt locker deals with one storyline, Tarantino does several storylines that come together to produce one of the most satisfying movies ever made. If people watch Basterds to its end — It is Tarantino and Basterds who truly deserve the oscars for the best — because that is what Inglorious Basterds is — the BEST
I agree. It would be so AMAZING to see a Tarantino film get Best Picture. But I think it’s kind of obvious the award will go to Avatar, all these articles are being released so it won’t be such a surprise. It’s GOING to be Avatar. I’m just hoping James Cameron doesn’t get the Best Director Oscar.
Celia, I’m with you on Cameron. I hated his direction. If you could call it that.
The presence of Jewish protagonists does not make a movie a “Holocaust drama”! I hope “Basterds” wins (though I agree it seems unlikely) because it’s the only nomination movie I would actually like to see again.
Only NOMINATED movie; sorry.
The idea of splitting votes is ridiculous. When has THAT ever happened?
Never mind.
Hahaha. I guess that was funny coming from Ralph Nader.
Inglourious Basterds is overrated crap.
I couldn’t agree more with you. I tried watching the movie, but I couldn’t get into it.
Its not overrated. It came out way back in the summer and still got nominated.
So did District 9. I liked both, but make of that what you will.
I don’t agree about the “crap” part: There’s a lot about the film that works, in my opinion. But there’s just as much that doesn’t work. One fantastic performance and a handful of (admittedly) brilliantly-realized scenes does not an entire film make, and “Basterds” is a flat-out wreck at times. How it can even get Best Picture consideration is beyond me.
Inglorious Basterds is indeed a wonderful film, but is it really being consider as a holocust film? Because I see it more as a Quentin Tarantino love letter to world war II films
same here, i see it as a respectful nod to old hollywood and WWII films.
Crap or not, it AIN’T winning!!!!!!
Let it go…..!
And how exactly do you know it’s not gonna win?
I wouldn’t call IB “ultra violent.” I hope it wins. It was my favorite moving-going experience of the year, along with UP. I was surprised that it wasn’t MORE violent, actually, considering it’s QT’s movie. There were some violent scenes, but nothing more violent or awful than what you’d find in almost any other war film.
my favorite movie going experience of the year as well!
Obviously, the frontrunners for Best Picture are The Hurt Locker and Avatar. But I’ve been saying all along that I think the only film with a shot at surprising us with a win, however unlikely, is Inglourious Basterds. I would be absolutely thrilled if that happened. Basterds was my favorite film of 2009. I loved every second of it. I’m not a huge fan of Harvey Weinstein, but I really hope he can woo a lot of the voters this time around. I’m not counting on a Basterds win, though. But I’m still hoping. Must it come down to The Hurt Locker and Avatar, I’d much rather see The Hurt Locker take it.
Inglorious Basterds is number 2 on my top movies of the year list also -
1. Up in the Air
2. Inglorious Basterds
3. Avatar
4. Up
5. The Hurt Locker
Would love to see IB or UITA take the Oscar, but don’t expect it.
I completely agree with you, except I haven’t seen The Hurt Locker yet so I don’t know where it’ll rank for me. Just got it in my Netflix last night. Loved Up in the Air and Inglorious Basterds. Avatar was fun but I don’t think it’ll win Best Picture. This is the Oscars after all, not the Globes.
Can someone explain to me the major appeal of “Up in the Air”, other than its cast? I have only seen four of the best movie noms, and that movie falls fourth. It was okay, thats about it.
Which other three Best Picture nominees have you seen?
probably because its a straightforward movie. no fancy gimmicks, just a story about life. those type of low key plots tend to resonate well with viewers. (just my two cents, i still prefer IB, Up and to some extent Avatar as far as BEST movie is concerned).
The dialogue in Up in the Air is excellent. The conversation the two women have, the firings, the banter… even the texting is great! Only Inglorious Basterds stands toe-to-toe with Up in the Air as far as intelligent and interesting dialogue goes. I’m with Owen and would like to see Up in the Air win and wouldn’t be disappointed if Inglorious Basterds won. I will say that each of the Best Picture nominees are deserving… well, the Blind Side marginally so in an Erin Brackovich-lite sort of way.
You’re right that the writing for both films is superb. I’m hoping that Basterds and UitA at least win the Screenplays.
Yes! Screenplay wins for both!
hurt locker is over-rated. good film, good writing, and yes suspenseful. but it wasnt great or different…sorry, i think movie critics and viewers are in such need for a great Iraq/Mid East war movie, that anthing good enough now gets described as “brilliant”.
I couldn’t agree more. I honestly wonder if it would be getting this heaping praise if the director was a man. If it was, I think it would be looked at as another average war movie that, frankly, tanked at the box office. Avatar was overblown but certainly entertaining. Of those nominated, IB, Up, and Up in the Air were all certainly worthy and I would be happy with any of the three winning. I’m still waiting to see the other films…
Actually, it’s the first “Iraq” movie to get uniformly positive reviews across the board. In The Valley Of Elah… Lions For Lambs… Rendition… None of them had the same impact, despite big-name casts and directors.
And did it really “tank” at the box office? The movie was made on a tiny budget (less than $10 mil), had very little publicity, and didn’t play on many screens. It was never gonna pull down blockbuster numbers. Heck, Avatar probably spent more on green screen fabric than Hurt Locker did for the entire movie!
well i did enjoy it better than avatar and hurt locker….
I just watched it recently on DVD, and I liked it. But it wasn’t what I expected. Some of the talking scenes went on and on and on. I took my car to get the oil changed, and when I got back that dude was STILL talking. About a pastry.
that’s 1 of the reasons why i loved the film. blathering is a difficult form of art to master but i think that quentin is one of the few who do it so well. and i just want an upset in this category (didn’t enjoy avatar and admittedly haven’t seen hurt locker)!
That’s what Tarintino does- dialog and violence. He’s brilliant.
IB is my favorite movie out of the Best Picture nominees, so I’d love to see this happen.
When I saw this in theatres, I had the same reaction as crispy, in that it wasn’t what I expected. However, that’s precisely what I LOVED about it! I was expecting more of this ultra-violent action pic with cool dialogue and oblique movie references (all of which are definitely in there), so it was actually a joy and a nice surprise to get some of the excellently-acted and (yes) leisurely-paced scenes in which people just sit and talk.
By Tarantino standards, IB has a very low violence quotient. This will likely bolster its odds with more traditional voters. And granted, The Hurt Locker isn’t very divisive but Avatar *is*. I think there’s a very real chance that IB could be the second pick for both HL and Avatar supporters (who, I’m assuming, have divergent tastes) and come through the middle to take the win. IB was my favorite film of the year, and I would be thrilled to see it win the Oscar. Viva el Tarantino!
Inglorious Basterds over The Hurt Locker? I loved both, but there were some strange/superfluous parts of Inglorious Basterds (the whole scene in the bar with the english spy could have been cut out, and the problem with Shoshanna is that her part was so vivid that the Basterds kind of fell short), while I thought The Hurt Locker was a terse, realistic portrayal of war and I loved every second of it.
what? no, that bar scene with the shootout was one of the highlights. filled w. suspense.
I agree! My personal favorite scene in IB.
Why shouldn’t “IB” be considered a strong candidate for Best Picture? It has a fantastic opening scene (courtesy of the brilliant Christoph Waltz), some great comic relief from Brad Pitt and company, witty dialogue, great performances and genuine moments of tension and triumph. Melanie Laurent was robbed of a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her effortless performance as Shoshana. Yeah, the movie bends history a bit and that stirred some controversy, but so what? This was one of the sharpest, most entertaining movies of last year and I enjoyed it more than “Avatar” or “The Hurt Locker.”
AGREED!
Hear, hear!
Honestly if you consider the time it took, the film as a whole, the acting, the visuals, the talent involved…AVATAR should take Best Picture. INGLORIOUS was very good as well, but Brad Pitt’s acting was almost laughable. Kruger, Laurent and Waltz were excellent though.
You do realize that Pitt was SUPPOSED to be funny, right?
I mean, if you thought his attempts at being funny were laughable, that’s one thing (and you’re certainly entitled to that opinion). I’m just making sure that you realized he wasn’t exactly supposed to be a serious character.
PJC, when you look at Avatar as a WHOLE, as you are suggesting, you see that it has some good acting and some fantastic visuals, but also a mediocre story that is far too formulaic and predictable, cliched dialogue, and some characters that are completely one-dimensional. As a WHOLE, this film does not deserve Best Picture. If we were judging it based solely on its visuals and how long it took to make the film, then by all means give it the award. But we don’t judge films for those reasons, so it does not deserve Best Picture.
And as Ceballos pointed out, Brad Pitt was supposed to be funny in Inglourious Basterds. He acted that role exactly as he was supposed to. And to great effect.