The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1967
What a let down 1967 is. Here’s a year where Hollywood made a break from tradition. The films were modern, realistic, gritty, violent, sexual — all the things classical Hollywood wasn’t. And then they chose In the Heat of the Night as Best Picture, which is like — music people will think up more examples of this than I can — when a new style of music is up and coming, like grunge or punk or something, and there are all those underground bands that really drive the movement forward, and are the backbone of it, and then the most corporate, watered down version of that movement becomes huge and has all the hits and is labeled as having started it. That’s what this is like to me. Here’s a category with three different films that perfectly capture what 1967 was about. And In the Heat of the Night wins Best Picture. Why not just fucking pick Doctor Dolittle and be done with it? Seriously. Fortunately, the other three choices did well elsewhere.
Best Actor this year was Rod Steiger for In the Heat of the Night, which I understand. Wouldn’t vote for it, but I understand. He was due. Totally cool with that. Best Supporting Actor was George Kennedy for Cool Hand Luke (talked about here), which I love. Best Supporting Actress was Estelle Parsons for Bonnie and Clyde, which I also love. And Best Director was Mike Nichols for The Graduate (talked about here). So essentially you have Hollywood spreading the wealth, but giving the top prize to the most controlled entity of the bunch. Terrible.
And then there’s this category. Most people would agree that the best choice was not made. However, on the other hand, you can’t really be too upset at the decision, because all of the principals contending for a vote all had (or later won) Oscars. So, while we’d all vote differently, it’s not that bad. And that’s good. One less thing.
BEST ACTRESS – 1967
And the nominees were…
Anne Bancroft, The Graduate
Faye Dunaway, Bonnie and Clyde
Edith Evans, The Whisperers
Audrey Hepburn, Wait Until Dark
Katharine Hepburn, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (more…)
2011 Oscars Update: Best Original Song
I love this category. It’s so fucked up.
The best thing about the Best Original Song category is how badly the Academy is in voting for it. This year, we’re going to catch it in the early stages. Just like cancer. Ideally.
The Academy has just announced 39 songs that have been shortlisted for Best Original Song. Very soon, the music branch of the Academy — those fuckers — will get together, listen to all these songs, along with accompanying clips. Clips from the film — kind of like when people make those shitty youtube videos. Then what they do is vote on the songs. The voting goes from 6-10, with half-star increments. Don’t ask why, that’s just how it works.
A song is required to have an average of 8.25 in order to be nominated. The highest 5 (if five songs get above 8.25) are nominated. If no songs receive an 8.25, there is no Best Original Song category that year. If only one receives an 8.25 average, then that one song, and the song that gets the second highest average, will be nominated. If two songs get it, they’re in. And I believe there’s some kind of tie scenario that leads to a revote. It’s fucked up, right? This explains how such terrible choices can get in year after year and the really good stuff routinely gets left off. (more…)
