It is that time of the year when people of a special kind around the globe takes note of the year that has gone by in terms of the dynamic changes that has graced not only the celluloid but also their minds and hearts. For this is the time the Academy announces the list of the Oscar nominations in various categories. It has always been one of the most awaited events at the start of the year! Comprising not just of names but also of sentiments in colours of hopes, disappointments and surprises, the list is more than its disposition going straight into the history.
Everyone has their own winner! But only one wins the title!
The list for the 2015 Oscar nominations is out and not breaching the tradition, it has already sparked its usual share of controversies and disappointments- Some rather legit. But what is more eventful about them is that, with time, more questions are being raised not over isolated cases of selections and snubs but over the pattern of choice, hinting at the increasing possibility of the presence of lobbyists' intricacies inside the most coveted jury in the world.
Over the last few decades, there had been quite a large number of infamous incidents that made the Academy look real bad in the eyes of the greater film community of the world.
While, talking of the post ‘New Hollywood’ era, not reaching out too far in the past, one of the most intriguing study is the imbroglio between the academy and one of the greatest filmmaker of this time, Christopher Nolan. It is an indubitable truth that Christopher Nolan has carved a separate niche for himself in the world of cinema, where he stands tall and alone managing to be judged by completely different and much higher standards than any one of his contemporary director irrespective of the no. of Oscars the director has to his credit. There might be a David Fincher or a Danny Boyle with multiple Oscars, but none can inspire the level of anticipation, expectation that Nolan does.
The intellectually elite class of the academy jury have a different impression of Chris Nolan's movies because of their persistently staggering box office collections which place his movies into a category (blockbuster!) that repel this class.
There are a lot many other awards that are not looked up to as the Oscars or Golden globes and it is because those awards get clichéd after a considerable amount of time. This is what the Oscars might need to realize! The elderly members of the panel have a way of looking for something particular in every movie they watch! The filmmakers following their school of filmmaking do benefit!
2015: The Oscars nomination list is out there and a very coming of age, magnificent, intelligent, the most bold and audacious film of last year is left out by the academy in the major categories. And what's note-worthy is that it isn't surprising at all. Apart from a few technical nominations (which includes the sound mixing, regarding which there were lot of complains from theatres around the world), Interstellar didn't even garner a nomination in the cinematography! Interstellar getting snubbed at the Oscars was already predicted not because it didn’t deserve but because, Gravity, a film, though not belonging to the same genre as interstellar, but much like it set in space had received the highest no. of nominations last year at the Oscars. The soothsayers got it completely right when they said that the academy won’t repeat itself. It is quite evident that the decisions are clearly governed by factor other than consideration of merit!
http://insidemovies.ew.com/2015/01/15/oscars-2015-nominations/
2013 Oscars: Interstellar’s snub was also predictable because of instances like TDKR (The dark knight rises) not receiving a single nomination in any category whatsoever. Not that I wanted it to win in any category but not receiving even a single nomination only led to increasing mystery behind a not so neutral temperament of the Academy towards Christopher Nolan. And Argo going ahead to win the best picture of 2012(again, not that I did not like Argo). Nolan’s fans and people with sound rationale accepted it without much sound because they have had their biggest disappointment in 2011 and 2009 Oscars when Academy had gone way out of the line while snubbing Nolan.
2011 Oscars: That's Inception- written and directed by Nolan himself, the movie is hailed today as an exemplar of cerebral filmmaking and as one of the greatest movie, Hollywood has ever gifted the world. It might have had a completely original and extraordinary screenplay but the Academy did it again. It was this snub at the screenplay category that evoked serious reactions. Probably they were searching for a less hyped screenplay writer than a great screenplay itself.
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/jan/25/oscar-nominations-lists-full-nominees
2009 Oscars: Now reverse the clocks a few more years and we see this list:
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/jan/22/full-oscar-nomination-list-2009
Now this isn’t just a list, but a farce with stern orthodoxy reflecting in all their glory. There was a time people wondered, will a superhero movie ever be able to break its shackles of its set textbook norms and get close to winning an Oscar. And then in 2008, Christopher Nolan did something which no one dared to do or imagine. And history was created (not an overstatement by any means)! A superhero movie, that was so real, thought provoking, deep and artistic. Arguably, one of the finest film ever not just in its genre( occupying #4 position of the IMDb’s list of 250 greatest films of all time). But all it managed to bag were some technical nominations in the Oscars that year. Not a ‘Best picture’, ‘Best director’ or ‘Best actor’. Let alone the awards, not even nominations! That year, the Oscars not only gave away the awards to Slumdog millionaire, they also gave away their quality and standard!
It is true that Christopher Nolan's fans overestimate him. But they can also say that we do not do it for nothing! But it is also not a lesser truth that the Academy underestimates him and the reason although cannot be ascertained, its presence certainly cannot be denied!
1995 oscars: even if we digress from Nolan, the instances are plenty. Of them all let us have a look at the year 1994: The year of classics! It is a very special year when the movies like The Shawshank redemption (voted no.1 in IMDb top 250 of all time) and Pulp fiction (the Quentin Tarantino classic unparalleled by any movie in that genre) were released! Both nominated for the best film Oscar. But both of them lost it to Forrest Gump! Forrest Gump is a beautiful movie which should surely make it to a list which is made when a few friendly movie buffs talk of good cinema over coffee.
