The Oscars 2013

[zero]

I want to be friends with J-Law.

The Onion thing is a prime example of how wonderful and awful social media is.

Good: comedians can essentially do bits instantly for the entire world.

Bad: comedians can essentially do bits instantly for the entire world.

Good: Awareness can instantly be brought to outrageously offensive things that are said/done by public figures.

Bad: Awareness can instantly be brought to outrageously offensive things that are said/done by public figures.

Their joke was completely tasteless and rude and I understand taking offense... however, once the social justice elite comes out and starts pinning their own pet project on the offender, it veers off into the ridiculous. Calling it racist, child abuse, and equating it to what Rush Limbaugh did to Sandra Fluke is silly.

I get what the person (or persons) was trying to do - going for laughs with the complete absurdity of calling a 9-year-old girl a cunt - but presented without any sort of context just made it mean. There is something funny to the idea of an adorable 9-year-old being the stereotypical Hollywood diva that's horrible to everyone in her path, but their lack of thought and creativity just made it come off like douchebro Daniel Tosh humor.

[TKz]

Jimmy wanted the lady from Amour to win it, it was an unpopular opinion as most people that watched Amour killed themselves immediately afterwards, suffering from severe depression. I imagine that hurt her chances.

[LittleDaniel]

Oh my god, that was her? That's the movie about the girl in Appalachia trying to find her dad, right? Didn't know that was her, damn.

[GoGo Yubari]

I wanted Jessica Chastain to win this year, but I haven't seen Silver Linings Playbook.

[LittleDaniel]

Jimmy wanted the lady from Amour to win it, it was an unpopular opinion as most people that watched Amour killed themselves immediately afterwards, suffering from severe depression. I imagine that hurt her chances.

She was very good. Hmm. I would've been okay with it going to her as well. But you're right, holy shit that movie was depressing. I didn't really like it that much when I came out of the theatre (as I felt entirely too young to be watching that movie), but after a few days I just couldn't shake that movie off and I've grown to respect it more.

[Jimmy]

Who do you think deserved it over her, Split? Like, not trying to be a dick or anything, I just thought her performance was really quite good (in a movie that I was fairly so-so about) so I'll have to try to track down the movie with whoever you thought did better.

For me it'd have been Emmanuelle Riva, because she absolutely blew me away in Amour. Her performance must've taken so much skill and commitment to convincingly play someone succumbing to mental disease; she nearly had me in tears at numerous points in the film. It's just a performance that will stick with me for a very long time because it's just so haunting, brutal and out right uncomfortable to watch.

[TKz]

I wanted Jessica Chastain to win this year, but I haven't seen Silver Linings Playbook.

Same. I imagine I'd enjoy Silver Linings but nothing about it screams "I need to watch this" outside of Jennifer Lawrence is in it.

[GoGo Yubari]

oh, yeah, I haven't seen Amour either.

[LL!]

I'm not interested in Amour, really. It might be a mood thing, I dunno. But I really loved Silver Linings Playbook. And looking into where the story came from in David O. Russell's life and the fact that apparently Robert DeNiro had a personal attachment to the goings on as well further cemented the love for the movie for me. DeNiro actually didn't phone it in here. Bradley Cooper was great too. I really enjoyed everything about it.

[TKz]

Yeah, I'm not interested in Amour at all. I'm fine with films that can be depressing, but I really haven't got the time to dedicate to something that's just downright fucking sad.

[zero]

Yeah, can't handle Amour.

Here's a question: when's the last time the best picture nominees grossed this much money? Has it ever happened in the age of the multiplex? Django, Argo, Les Mis, Lincoln, Life of Pi and Silver Linings have all grossed over $100 million and Zero Dark Thirty is pretty damn close, the only ones that didn't were Amour and Beasts of the Southern Wild, which didn't get wide releases.

And what, if anything, does this mean for film and the Academy?

[GoGo Yubari]

Yeah, can't handle Amour.

Here's a question: when's the last time the best picture nominees grossed this much money? Has it ever happened in the age of the multiplex? Django, Argo, Les Mis, Lincoln, Life of Pi and Silver Linings have all grossed over $100 million and Zero Dark Thirty is pretty damn close, the only ones that didn't were Amour and Beasts of the Southern Wild, which didn't get wide releases.

Well, it's a different thing because of the number of movies nominated, but 1998. Titanic, obviously, but also Good Will Hunting and As Good As It Gets were huge successes. The Full Monty grossed 250 million worldwide, not sure how much of that was North America. LA Confidential was the lowest with like 60 million in North America, double that worldwide.

[GA!]

Who do you think deserved it over her, Split? Like, not trying to be a dick or anything, I just thought her performance was really quite good (in a movie that I was fairly so-so about) so I'll have to try to track down the movie with whoever you thought did better.

For me it'd have been Emmanuelle Riva, because she absolutely blew me away in Amour. Her performance must've taken so much skill and commitment to convincingly play someone succumbing to mental disease; she nearly had me in tears at numerous points in the film. It's just a performance that will stick with me for a very long time because it's just so haunting, brutal and out right uncomfortable to watch.

Agreed. Emmanuelle Riva was stunning. She had a better performance than Lawrence, but they're both top shelf - better than anyone else nominated acting wise (including Daniel Day Lewis et al). Either one of them winning would've been well deserved.

[zero]

Yeah, can't handle Amour.

Here's a question: when's the last time the best picture nominees grossed this much money? Has it ever happened in the age of the multiplex? Django, Argo, Les Mis, Lincoln, Life of Pi and Silver Linings have all grossed over $100 million and Zero Dark Thirty is pretty damn close, the only ones that didn't were Amour and Beasts of the Southern Wild, which didn't get wide releases.

Well, it's a different thing because of the number of movies nominated, but 1998. Titanic, obviously, but also Good Will Hunting and As Good As It Gets were huge successes. The Full Monty grossed 250 million worldwide, not sure how much of that was North America. LA Confidential was the lowest with like 60 million in North America, double that worldwide.

Good call. Obviously it's not unusual for one mega hit to be nominated, but 98 was pretty big and I remember The Full Monty getting quite a buzz here.

[LL!]

I was so fucking glad Sally Field didn't get the Oscar. Good lord was that not a good performance.

[GoGo Yubari]

I feel like there's an increasing audience of people who go to clear Oscar pictures these days, especially leading in to the Oscars themselves.

That being said, this year was also a perfect storm. Lincoln was a Spielberg movie, Affleck and Tarantino were both coming off major commercial and critical successes and doing genre movies that appeal to wide audiences, Silver Linings happened to have incredibly commercially viable stars in Cooper and Lawrence, Les Mis was a big classic musical. Life of Pi grossing over 100 mil surprises me, though.

[TKz]

I feel like there's an increasing audience of people who go to clear Oscar pictures these days, especially leading in to the Oscars themselves.

That being said, this year was also a perfect storm. Lincoln was a Spielberg movie, Affleck and Tarantino were both coming off major commercial and critical successes and doing genre movies that appeal to wide audiences, Silver Linings happened to have incredibly commercially viable stars in Cooper and Lawrence, Les Mis was a big classic musical. Life of Pi grossing over 100 mil surprises me, though.

It's peacocking at it's finest. People saw bright flashing colours and were drawn in. We're a lot like moths in that way.

[Katsuya]

Yeah, Skyfall wasn't as great as say, her performance of Someone Like You at the Brit's. I'd say in terms of the diva-off last night, Bassey > Streisand > Adele. And you have no idea how happy it makes me that there's a show where Shirley Bassey, Barbra Streisand and Adele all performed.

[GoGo Yubari]

Shirley Bassey was amazing. I would have loved to see other Bond-related performances too, but none of them would have topped the best Bond theme ever.

[Katsuya]

I'd challenge that Goldfinger's the best ever, because I think that Live and Let Die is marginally better.