Academy Voting Process Updated

When AMPAS announced the expansion of its slate of Best Picture nominees to 10, I wondered if it would affect the voting process and how. Well, it has, and here's how, from Living in Cinema:

"Instead of just voting for one nominee, the way Academy members have almost
always done on the final ballot, voters will be asked to rank all 10 nominees in
order of preference — and the results will be tallied using the complicated
preferential system, which has been used for decades during the nominating
process but almost never on the final ballot.

As a result, a film could be the first choice of the largest number of voters, but find itself nudged out of the top prize by another movie that got fewer number one votes but more twos and threes.

It sounds crazy, but there’s good reason to make the change at a time when dividing the vote among an expanded slate of 10 nominees could otherwise allow a film to win with fewer than 1,000 votes (out of the nearly 6,000 voting members)."

Read the rest over at LiC. The official rules are a bit complicated, but I actually think it's an okay change. Obviously my opinion on that could change next March, depending on how it all turns out. We can say one thing for the upcoming Oscar season. It will definitely be a more exciting game than last year, when no one (NO ONE) was betting against Slumdog Millionaire.

Oscar-Winning Baddies

xxx

Some of my favorites from the past 20 years. I almost included Jeremy Irons as Claus von Bulow, but innocent until proven guilty, right? Christoph Waltz's Colonel Hans Linda has a decent shot at joining these ranks next March. We'll have to wait and see.

xxx

Have I missed any? Who are your favorites? Where does Hans Landa rank amongst other infamous screen villains?

Best Actress, 2004

You may or may not have noticed that I've been watching and profiling the films that had Best Actress nominees back in 2004 over the past week or so. In my reading about this year's Oscar contenders, I've come across a number of people who feel that not one, but BOTH of Hilary Swank's Oscar wins have been undeserved.

As someone who thinks she does great work given the right material, I was a little surprised. So I decided to revisit her most recent win and decide for myself, after watching all the nominated performances, whether or not she deserved to take the Academy Award home that year. Here are my thoughts.

xxx

Annette Bening in Being Julia
This was the only performance of the five that I had not seen when I started this project last week. Annette Bening is always a wonder to watch, and this is no exception. She plays Julia Lambert, an actress who becomes bored with stardom and looks to fill the void in her life with an affair. Bening is terrifically funny in a rather boring film, and has a joyful presence that helps her handily outclass the rest of the cast. She plays a few characters here, in a sense, as an actor playing an actor always does, but I don't feel like the part asked much of her. It's a light film, and I think her performance is less effective because the material doesn't require a true showcase of her enormous range. It's a great and entertaining performance, but it doesn't speak to me on an emotional level. ***/4

Catalina Sandino Moreno in Maria Full of Grace
Catalina Sandino Moreno was one of the last actresses director Joshua Marston came across while casting his film about a Colombian teen who gets involved in drug traficking in the hopes of forming a better life for herself. What a find. Moreno has some beautiful moments here. Her performance rings painfully true, and I found myself wondering about the actress' background. Are there echoes of her real life in the script? I don't know. She is eerily focused during every moment of her performance. Moreno is also fantastic at thinking onscreen. Watch this movie and notice that there is always something going on in her expression. Even in silent scenes she shows an intelligence that is essential in understanding how and why Maria does what she does. I would have expected bigger things to have happened in Moreno's career after this shocking and phenomenal first performance. Hopefully there are more great roles on the way for her. ****/4

Imelda Staunton in Vera Drake
Imelda Staunton is one of my favorite British actresses. Before Mike Leigh's terrific Vera Drake, I'd only seen her in small (yet enormously entertaining) roles. Mrs. Jennings' daughter in Sense and Sensibility. Lady Viola's nurse in Shakespeare in Love. Here, though, she gets the chance to really show off her talent. Vera Drake is a wife and mother in 1950s England. She's a big-hearted woman who helps everyone she can in any way she knows how, including helping women terminate unwanted pregnancies. Staunton plays Vera Drake splendidly. She's a cheerful, happy woman, who we immediately love and support, despite the fact that she performs criminal acts every week. The story and the rest of the characters fall into place specifically because of her performance, which conveys love and heartbreak effortlessly and powerfully. It's the role of a lifetime, and Staunton adds an unsettling dose of humanity to the controversial subject of abortion. ****/4

Hilary Swank in Million Dollar Baby
Hilary Swank plays Maggie Fitzgerald, a poor waitress from southern Missouri whose dream is to become a prize fighter. She's the only smart and driven member of her hillbilly family, and she won't rest until she makes something of herself with the help of trainer Frankie Dunn. Hilary Swank is perfect. She nails every moment on screen, from Maggie's earnest pursuit of Frankie's help, to her determination in her training, to her heartache as she seeks the love and acceptance of her mother. We feel every bit of hurt and triumph with Maggie, and it's so heartbreaking when the light inside her gets snuffed out that I break into sobs during the third act. Swank's performance packs an emotional blow to rival any knockout punch she throws as Maggie. ****/4

Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Kate Winslet is my favorite actress ever. I mean that. She's been #1 on my list since I was ten years old and no one has ever come close to unseating her. Her role here as Clementine, an unstable woman who erases her boyfriend Joel from her mind, happens to be my favorite of her performances. When Joel decides to have Clementine erased as well, we follow the procedure through his memories of their tumultuous relationship, and Winslet's performance is key. A less capable actress would have been lost not only in the brilliant maze of a screenplay, but in the character's frequent and severe ups and downs. Not Winslet. She's the sole reason the journey through Joel Barish's mind works. We identify with his frustration with the compulsive and exuberant Clementine, and ten minutes later we understand why he fell in love with her in the first place. ****/4



Final thoughts: Though this was an extraordinarily strong year for actresses, this is an easy call for Swank. I think the main reason people are upset about this win is that it makes two times she (deservedly) beat Annette Bening for the Oscar glory. While I agree that Bening is overdue, I don't think Julia Lambert was an Academy Award-worthy role.

Here's how I'd rank them:
1. Swank in Million Dollar Baby
2. Winslet in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
3. Staunton in Vera Drake
4. Moreno in Maria Full of Grace
5. Bening in Being Julia

MILLION DOLLAR BABY

Based on short stories by F.X. Toole
Screenplay by Paul Haggis
Directed by Clint Eastwood

Clint Eastwood
Hilary Swank
Morgan Freeman

Premiere date: December 15, 2004
PG-13 for violence, some disturbing images, thematic material and language.

Frankie Dunn has trained and managed some incredible fighters during a lifetime spent in the ring. The most important lesson he teaches his boxers is the one that rules his life: above all, always protect yourself. In the wake of a painful estrangement from his daughter, Frankie has been unwilling to let himself get close to anyone for a very long time. His only friend is Scrap, an ex-boxer who looks after Frankie's gym and knows that beneath his gruff exterior is a man who has attended Mass almost every day for the past 23 years, seeking the forgiveness that somehow continues to elude him.

Then Maggie Fitzgerald walks into his gym.

In turns exasperating and inspiring each other, Frankie and Maggie come to discover that they share a common spirit that transcends the pain and loss of their pasts, and find in each other a sense of family they lost long ago. What they don't know is that soon they will both face a battle that's going to demand more heart and courage than any they've ever known.

National Board of Review
Special Achievement Award - Clint Eastwood
xxx
7 Academy Award Nominations, 4 Wins
Best Picture
Best Director
Best Actor - Clint Eastwood
Best Actress - Hilary Swank
Best Supporting Actor - Morgan Freeman
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Film Editing

Oscar Trivia #1

Only twice in the 81-year history of the Academy Awards has a pair of actors been nominated for playing the same character in the same film in different stages of his or her life. Both times, Kate Winslet played the younger half of the roles.

First in the 1997 hit Titanic, Winslet earned a Best Actress nomination as Rose DeWitt Bukater, a 17-year-old passenger on the famous doomed ship. Gloria Stuart was nominated for Best Supporting Actress, playing a much older Rose telling her story decades later. Neither woman won her category that year.

In 2001 Kate played writer Iris Murdoch in flashbacks, while Judi Dench played the aging Murdoch, suffering from dementia, in the acclaimed film Iris. Winslet got a Supporting Actress nomination, while Dench went lead. Again, neither actress took Oscar home.

Mister President

Tom Sherak, a representative in the executive branch of the Academy of Moton Picture Arts and Sciences, has been elected its new president.

Sid Ganis has served the maximum time as AMPAS president (four consecutive one-year terms), and will be on his way out at the end of this year.

I don't know much about AMPAS politics, so I'll leave most of this news to the press release, but I am pleased that Tom Hanks was elected first vice-president, and John Lasseter got an officer's gig as secretary.

The full press release:

Beverly Hills, CA (August 18, 2009) — Tom Sherak was elected president of
the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Tuesday night (8/18) by the
organization’s Board of Governors.

Sherak, who is beginning his seventh year as a governor representing
the Executives Branch, has served as treasurer of the Academy during the past
year. He succeeds Sid Ganis, who had served the maximum four consecutive
one-year terms in the office.

In addition, Actors Branch governor Tom Hanks was elected first vice
president; Producers Branch governor Kathleen Kennedy and Writers Branch
governor Phil Robinson were elected to vice presidents posts; Producers Branch
governor Hawk Koch was elected treasurer; and Short Films and Feature Animation
Branch governor John Lasseter was elected secretary. Ganis, representing the
Public Relations Branch, will serve as immediate past president.

These will be the first officer stints for Lasseter and Robinson. Hanks
had previously served as vice president and treasurer. Koch had previously
served one term as vice president. This will be Kennedy’s second consecutive
term as vice president.

Sherak, a marketing, distribution and production executive with more
than four decades in the motion picture industry, is currently a consultant for
Marvel Studios.

Previously, Sherak was a partner at Revolution Studios where he oversaw
the release of more than 40 films including “Black Hawk Down,” “Anger
Management,” “Rent” and “Across the Universe.”

Prior to joining Revolution, Sherak was chairman of Twentieth Century
Domestic Film Group and served as senior executive vice president of Fox Filmed
Entertainment. Previously, he held various positions at Fox, including senior
executive vice president, where he oversaw the distribution and post-production
of “Mrs. Doubtfire,” “Speed” and “Independence Day,” among others.

In 1990 Sherak was named executive vice president of Twentieth Century
Fox. Prior to that he was president of domestic distribution and marketing for
Fox, where launched such films as “Romancing the Stone,” “Aliens,” “Wall
Street,” “Die Hard” and “Working Girl.” He began his career in the industry at
Paramount Pictures in 1970.

Academy board members serve three-year terms, while officers serve
one-year terms, with a maximum of four consecutive terms in any one
office.

Penelope Is One To Watch. Again.

Penelope Cruz is quickly becoming one of my favorite actresses.

It seems after years of struggling to make a place for herself in Hollywood, Cruz has finally found a balance that works for her. Volver was her turning point. Finally everyone is taking her talent seriously. She makes time to do Spanish films with close friend Pedro Almodovar, but also works in A-list American fare like the Woody Allen comedy Vicky Cristina Barcelona, for which she won her first Oscar last year.

This year she has two big projects. The first is her fourth collaboration with Almodovar, Broken Embraces, due out November 20th. There are some parallels between their new movie and their real-life relationship. Cruz plays an aspiring actress named Lena who develops a close bond with a filmmaker she idolizes.

Just five days later, Rob Marshall's Nine hits theaters. Nine is a film adaptation of the award-winning stage musical, which in turn was based on Federico Fellini's classic film 8 1/2. The story is again about a filmmaker, this time played by Daniel Day-Lewis, as he works on his ninth film and tries to juggle his relationships with the many women in his life. Cruz will play Carla, the filmmaker's mistress, in her first musical. It's a role that won Jane Krakowski a Tony in 2004. Could Penelope be making yet another trip to the Kodak this year? I think so.

I found this video recently and thought it was interesting. It's about a year old. In it Penelope talks about when she fell in love with the movies, her early obsession with Almodovar, and how attending the Oscars made her crave cheeseburgers. It's worth a watch, if you've got a few spare minutes.

Animation Deliberation

I just got home from seeing Ponyo. I don't need to tell you it was wonderous. Hayao Miyazaki always promises adventure and magic, which is exactly what you get with Ponyo, a little fish who longs to be human after befriending a young human boy named Sosuke. The plot is very loosely based on the classic 1989 Disney film The Little Mermaid.

It's turning out to be one hell of a year for animation. With the wonderful stop-motion picture Coraline, Pixar's fantastical Up, and now Ponyo, we may already have the Best Animated Feature category's three nominees.

But there's a wealth of animated features still to come in the next few months, too. There's Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, Robert Zemeckis' new take on the classic A Christmas Carol, the hotly anticipated 9 from Tim Burton, and Wes Anderson's The Fantastic Mr. Fox, to name a few.

And don't count out Disney's return to hand-drawn animation, The Princess and the Frog, the classic fairytale with a twist.

With all these promising projects, I'm thinking this could be a year for five nominees instead of three. My guess at how it will all line up is there at the top. I think we may be on the verge of another golden age for animation, and with ten Best Picture slots, I no longer think the question is whether or not an animated film will be among them. Now it's just a question of which one it is. My money's on Up, which definitely deserves it, but could also benefit from voter's remorse after WALL-E's unthinkable snub last year.

Another big question. Is it possible that TWO animated films could make the Academy's top ten? How much do those extra spots really open the members' minds? Ponyo and Up are two of the best-reviewed films of the year thus far, but stubborn voters still may not recognize them as important works.

I'm not the biggest champion of having 10 nominees, but if it helps people take animation more seriously, I'll be all for it. Animation truly knows no bounds, and I hope more and more adults start embracing it as a valid art.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Back at the end of June, Sid Ganis dropped a HUGE bombshell on the film community when he announced the Best Picture category would be expanding its number of nominees from 5 to 10. This is almost certainly due to the wild, unabashed fury over last year's snubs of The Dark Knight and WALL-E, two of the best reviewed films of the year.

The thought is that with 5 more slots, Academy members will be more willing to nominate summer action movies and animated films. But this doesn't seem like the answer. Now, if a top-notch animated movie or superhero flick makes it in, we'll all know they wouldn't have stood a chance without the recent update. Does the nod mean as much when this is the case?

You also have to wonder, since the show isn't really pulling in as many viewers as it used to, if the strategy is to include more blockbusters and films with large fanbases in order to boost ratings. We all know record numbers tuned in to watch Titanic sail away with 11 Oscars twelve years ago. Ganis may be hoping that the presence of higher profile pictures in the Academy's big category will bump his telecast back to its former glory.

It's a lot to think about. Not just in the nominating process, but also how this might affect the eventual winners. Will the best films suffer when voters are given so many choices? Will voters be less inclined to watch all the nominees before they turn in their ballots? Could films get into the Best Picture race without any other nominations? These are big questions.

We'll have to wait until next March to see how this all pans out. It may go as I've just discussed, with a wider array of genres represented on the list, or we could just see more of the same, if voting trends don't change. Either way, this is history.

Here's the full press release:

The 82nd Academy Awards, which will be presented on March 7, 2010, will
have 10 feature films vying in the Best Picture category, Academy Motion Picture
Arts and Sciences President Sid Ganis announced today (June 24) at a press
conference in Beverly Hills.

“After more than six decades, the Academy is returning to some of its
earlier roots, when a wider field competed for the top award of the year,” said
Ganis. “The final outcome, of course, will be the same – one Best Picture winner
– but the race to the finish line will feature 10, not just five, great movies
from 2009.”

For more than a decade during the Academy’s earlier years, the Best
Picture category welcomed more than five films; for nine years there were 10
nominees. The 16th Academy Awards (1943) was the last year to include a field of
that size; “ Casablanca ” was named Best Picture. (In 1931/32, there were eight
nominees and in 1934 and 1935 there were 12 nominees.)

Currently, the Academy is presenting a bicoastal screening series
showcasing the 10 Best Picture nominees of 1939, arguably one of Hollywood ’s
greatest film years. Best Picture nominees of that year include such diverse
classics as “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” “Stagecoach,” “The
Wizard of Oz” and Best Picture winner “Gone with the Wind.”

“Having 10 Best Picture nominees is going allow Academy voters to
recognize and include some of the fantastic movies that often show up in the
other Oscar categories, but have been squeezed out of the race for the top
prize,” commented Ganis. “I can’t wait to see what that list of ten looks like
when the nominees are announced in February.”

The 82nd Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Tuesday,
February 2. The Oscar® ceremony honoring films for 2009 will again take place at
the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood , and will be
televised live by the ABC Television Network.

Precious Trailer

This trailer for Precious, about a sixteen-year-old living a life in Harlem that no one would want, made its way online a couple of days ago and has me totally amped for the November 6th release date. The movie made waves and collected honors at Sundance in January, and looks like it might be strong enough to do the same at Cannes next weekend. Again, Mo'Nique is one to keep your eye on this year.