Oscars Beef With Fantasy Films/SC/FI

[Mordenheim]

EDITORIAL: Oscars Give Short Shrift to Fantasy
Tue, Apr 08, 03 03:17:52 PM EDT

Here's an excerpt of an Editorial by Christopher Knight, entitled "Oscars Give Short Shrift to Fantasy":
When fantasy meets film, Oscars a grouch.

We've had some good-natured jibing at each other during this past year, but admit it: any Star Wars fan worth his spice rooted for The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers to win Best Picture at the 75th Academy Awards a few weeks ago. I mean, it's not like there was a groundswell of support from most of us for Chicago to triumph, right?

Well, on that night at least, Star Wars fans wanted the One Ring to rule them all, as it should have happened last year. And once again, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences let us down.

This year's Oscars jaded me on how Hollywood views itself... and its viewers. It wasn't just about The Two Towers getting denied top honors, but what movies weren't nominated to begin with. The two biggest examples that came to my mind were Signs and Barbershop: one was about both losing and finding your faith through the most incredible of circumstances; the other was a story that honored a hard work ethic and sense of real community. The Two Towers was the only uplifting film that made it to the top rung of nominees and it lost to Chicago: a musical about sex and murder. Another competitor, The Hours, was a movie that features a suicide, depression, an attempted suicide, another suicide... and that's just in the opening credits.

Some are saying that the entire Lord of the Rings series won't be taken seriously until next year, after Return Of The King is released. I'll wager good money now that it still won't happen, for the simple fact that enough people are entrenched in Hollywood and away from reality that they've lost touch with what the average person really appreciates and experiences: after all, this is the same institution that thought American Beauty was typical of daily life in these United States circa 1999. If tripe like that can get an Oscar for Best Picture, I ain't holding my breath for the Academy to come to its senses. Bottom line: most fantasy-based films strive to raise the bar, while the "elites" running Hollywood more often than not aim for the gutter.

[/)eathKiller]

Thats why the oscars are crap and people should stop going to them, after all, the Acadamey is only a bunch of elitists whores, is it not? Well that's what "Academy's" usually are, films outside of what they call "normal" which MUST deal with skewed values, like the lives many actors and actresses live, is what they strive to find in film, themselves. They have lost all touch of what is reality because they are living the pinnacle of American escapism daily, and that's why you'll never see a Third-party company getting noticed, or a fantasy movie even reviewed if it was filmed in "New Zealand" i'm sure 99% of the academy can't even point it out on a map. And now I seem to be getting those same feelings from my parents who lack any sense of respect for my posting here, so I bid you adeui...

[Niadh]

A problem is that some of the awards go to whatever the judges decide is 'better', which often represents the cast list and how much it makes not the success asa whole, more to do with the paycheck values that are dished out to the actors.

[Attalus]

I've read several articles like this. The Academy voters are hostile to Fantasy in general and the values of the middle classes, whom they despise. They like roles that "stretch the boundaries" and are fun for the actors. Well, I've boycotted them the last two years, and will continue to do so.

[Azred]

Well, the Oscar Awards is more about selling commercial air time, and businesses purchasing commercial time don't want to offend anyone; hence, the blase middle-of-the-road movies.
I admit that Chicago was good, but not that good.

Hollywood is usually a mutual appreciation society. It seems like many of them like to get together just to give themselves awards. [img]graemlins/1dizzy.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/petard.gif[/img]

[Tancred]

Ah, who cares? Lord of the Rings has won a few prizes, and some ofthem quite presitigious... and, wow, they were honours in which the everyday chap or chapess had a say. Quite frankly, the Academy is indeed so far detached from the moviegoing public that, truth be told, I don't think any of us really watch the Oscars for the results. Me, I watch it for the jokes. The way I see it, if they're happy in Ivory Tower, Hollywood, and we're happy with our deep-rooted conviction that they're really a bit... wrong sometimes... let them have their glitz and their pageantry.

[Gangrell]

I think they need a better fiction category for the Oscars, throw in some anime and fantasy to mix things up a little. Cowboy Bebop would be good and Lord of the Rings is the best, but I don't think I'd ever watch Chicago. I know people like it, but frankly I'm not into those kinds of movies.

[Bardan the Slayer]

IMHO, the whole problem is the common juxtaposition in most peoples' minds of "fantasy" and "fairy tale". Until people at large realise that fantasy as a genre is capable of producing outstanding literature and is not just a collection of "Little Red Riding Hood" style stories, then fantasy films and the closely acquainted sci-fi genre, which (wrongly) is viewed as 'geek-TV' rather than potentially serious art, then the likes of LotR won't win anything.

To the guy on the street, and even the elitist film-makers, anything with elves or magic in it is something that you read to children at bedtime. You do not win awards for it. Until this perception is changed, nobody involved in fantasy writing will win anything at a mainstream awards ceremony, no matter how fantastic such writing is.