Oscars, Movies
Yes, the Oscars would be much simpler if they just awarded them based on box office. Which would make Hancock the 4th best movie of 2008. (I feel very safe saying that Hancock was not the 4th best anything in 2008.)
But, Slumdog Millionaire is approaching $170m in box office. Benjamin Button, about $243m. So you can't really say either of those two movies is not popular.
Previous winners since 2000:
- No Country For Old Men: $74m
- The Departed: $132
- Crash: $53m
- Million Dollar Baby: $100m
- Return of the King: $377m
- Chicago: $170m
- A Beautiful Mind: $170m
- Gladiator: $187m
Oh, and Dark Knight recently passed $1bn worldwide.
15 comments:
There's already an award for being the most popular movie - it's called "making lots and lots of money". The point of the Oscars has always been to reward folks that the people in the film industry think are getting missed by the public (though it often turns into an exercise in petty politics and "reward him this year for a mediocre movie because he got passed over two years ago when he should have won it" antics.)
And thanks for the depressing link to Box Office Mojo - what kind of a world is it where Kung Fu Panda and Madagascar 2 both make more money than Wall*E? A sad, sad world that's what.
Eh, I agree somewhat - I'm really tired of it getting to Oscar time and learning that the movies I *should* be appreciating are not the movies I've heard of, let alone the movies that are getting screened around here.
And yet, seeing it all laid out like that just makes me feel dirty for nearly approaching Tinsley's warped perspective. Then again, I do get a warped satisfaction imagining that Tinsley would have to admit to Citizen Kane sitting on that little shelf there, since I'm pretty sure he'd refuse to watch it. Phew, I'm safe!
Christ, what a fucking whinging pussy (and I apologize to pussies everywhere for lumping you in with this abject lump of donkey vomit). "Somebody call the waaaambulance! I didn't like Slumdog Millionaire!"
Skip Mallard today and check out this site for hilarious and readable movie critiques.
Rebochan -- you should really be annoyed with the movie production/distribution/PR system for not giving you exposure to a wider selection of good movies, not to the Academy for recognizing those movies. I know I would, if I didn't live in a major-market city. And you should also be seeking out the good movies based on year-end lists and award nominations. Netflix is handy for that.
Oh, and Slumdog Millionaire is practically the definition of "movies people actually enjoy." It'd be hard to come up with a movie that has pleased a higher percentage of moviegoers in the past month. Just because certain drunken hoosier duck-fanciers don't like movies about brown people doesn't mean it's not enjoyable. Frankly, to find a Best Picture-winner I didn't enjoy, I'd have to go back to Chicago, which was a general crowd-pleaser.
If Tinshley had his druthers, Best Picture would have probably been a tie between Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed and American Carol. NEITHER OF WHICH ANYONE SAW.
"Slumdog Millionaire" is about a guy who starts with nothing, works hard, gets beat down, works even harder ... and succeeds!
I can understand why Tinkley don't like it.
Yes, don't be coy, Tinsley--tell us what movies YOU think should have won. Since you whined yesterday about "parochialism," I assume you have some low-profile/foreign films you'd like to tell us about? Or is this just the usual incoherent complaining? Perish the thought.
Going further back ...
American Beauty $130M
Shakespeare in Love $100M
Titanic $600M
The English Patient $78M
Braveheart $75M
Forrest Gump $329M
Schindler's List $96M
Unforgiven $101M
The Silence of the Lambs $130M
Dances With Wolves $184M
Driving Miss Daisy $106M
Rain Man $172M
... unpopular films, all. I mean, the lowest-grossing film of that lot is freaking Braveheart, for crying out loud.
Or is Tinkley taking issue with the selections for Best Foreign-Language film or something?
Nah, he's just promoting yet another meme that, once scrutinized, bears no relation to actual reality? Why should his perception of entertainment be any different from his perception of politics, journalism, or education?
dlauthor - I'm really upset at the system as a whole and the Oscars are just an easy way to shine a spotlight on the problem. The system hands out the awards and accolades is irrelevant to the system that actually moves the business. I also hate smaller aspects of the awards themselves, such as the animation and foreign language "ghetto", but the big one is still the dissonance between movies the sell and are remembered and remain influential to film, and movies that win awards. And I was really annoyed that I couldn't see Milk - it was here for a week unadvertised and left. I'm hoping some of these get another run with Oscar season over.
I'm also rather annoyed that WALL-E got stuck in the animation ghetto. It's hard to believe there was ever a time that Beauty and the Beast could actually compete for best picture.
I'll add my voice complaining at the fact that an awful lot of the most influential movies never win any major Oscar categories. Also the animation/science fiction/fantasy/genre films generally "ghetto."
But I respond by just ignoring the Oscars. I find it works for me.
Who are you kidding, Mallard? You're walking straight to the curtained section.
Give Mallard a break! He's still trying to understand "Ernest goes to Camp"!
"You've Got Duck!"
"Braveduck"
"Slumduck Mallardaire"
"Debbie Does Ducks"
"Behind the Teal Duck"
He's still upset that Rambo: First Blood Part II has never been recongnized by the Academy.
I'm sure I'm not the only one here who actually thinks that half the fun of a good movie is in finding it. And when it's obscure, its better to share with others. And "cult classic" means that although it's following has no influence on the Oscars, it has a passionate audience nevertheless.
While I'm sure the moviemakers would appreciate recognition on that level, they realize that they're not making Oscar-worthy material, they're making themself-worthy material.
Wow. SOMEONE"s still pissed as hell that their screenplay of Reagan: Luke Skywalker of American wasn't accepted by anyone.
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