News.Com.Au wrote a story that has provided me with much tweeting-discussion: Will Skyfall be nominated for a Best Picture statuette at this year’s Academy Awards?:
[Gregory Ellwood] believes a best picture nod for Skyfall, the first for a Bond film, isn't out the realms of possibility, given the talent involved. He says the Bond film, unlikely as it sounds, fits the description of a classic Oscar bait movie:
The definition of 'Oscar Bait'- at least according to this author - is an epic drama, romance, adventure or thriller filled with an overabundance of former Academy Award nominees or winners in front of or behind the camera. And said talent can include directors, actors, etc. that the media or industry have collectively deemed as 'deserving' of an Oscar nod .i.e.,'It's (insert name)'s time." Traditionally, Oscar Bait is released during the last two months of the year.
Read the full article here.
Don’t laugh! The idea is not a huge stretch – and indeed, bookies haven’t ignored the fact that this outside chance may happen as Paddy Power places the odds at 3/1. The film could easily garner some awards amongst the technical categories – Special FX and Sound Editing perhaps? Indeed, as I recall, it was within these categories that each of the Transformers movies were nominated (yes, it is a multi Oscar-nominated franchise!). But I have a feeling that certain camps are hoping that Skyfall will win much more than mere 'tech' categories.
In terms of what defines Oscar-bait, lets just remind ourselves what has been nominated before now. Inception, Christopher Nolan's dream-like James Bond adventure, managed to nab a nomination in 2010 whilst The Departed, a foreign-film remake with guns-and-gangsters seemed an unlikely winner upon reflection. Skyfall has actors including Ralph Fiennes (nominated for a supporting role in Schindler’s List and a lead-actor role in The English Patient), Javier Bardem (winner of Best Supporting Actor in No Country for Old Men and nominated twice for Lead Actor in Biutiful and Before Night Falls), M is again played by Judi Dench (Oscar-winner for her short-role in Shakespeare in Love and nominated for her roles in Mrs Brown, Chocolat, Iris, Mrs Henderson Presents and Notes on a Scandal) and Daniel Craig has starred in a few Oscar contenders (Munich was nominated for Best Picture and The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo had an acting-nod for Rooney Mara). We have Thomas Newman, nominated ten times for his scores for films including American Beauty, Finding Nemo and The Shawshank Redemption. Then, a hugely-likely contender, Roger Deakins - a cinematographer who has been nominated 9 times for his work with the Coen brothers amongst others. Finally, we also have Mr. Academy Awards: Sam Mendes. He has won an Oscar for American Beauty and has often appeared at the Oscars for films he has directed, including Road to Perdition and Revolutionary Road. In total his films have 17 Oscar nominations - 6 of which, they have won.
After the outstanding critical success of Casino Royale back in 2006, there was a minor campaign for the film to be considered. Discs and posters were displayed stating “For Your Consideration” and the possibility of some type of nod was minuscule. Casino Royale was nominated for a range of BAFTAs including Best Screenplay and Cinematography whilst earning a huge range of nominations for Best Film elsewhere. Ultimately, it didn’t get any type of consideration at the Oscars, but I believe Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli got a taste for a credible franchise. Gone are the days where Pierce Brosnan surfed in a guise of computer-graphics under the direction of Lee Tamahori. Quantum of Solace was directed by Oscar-nominee Marc Forster (Finding Neverland) and, though it seems he couldn’t direct an action film, the effort was there from the outset. There was a clear purpose to choosing Forster.
But with the barrage of positive reviews for Skyfall coming in, you have to ask yourself whether this is their time. Indeed, if it does manage to garner a nod in any of the acting, writing, directing - or the ‘untouchable’ Best Picture category - what a day that would be. For years, James Bond has been mocked. It has almost been considered a franchise that has no credibility. Everything from Roger Moore's old-man-flirting-with-a-teenager (For Your Eyes Only) through to George Lazenby's awful "This didn't happen to the other fella" (On Her Majesty's Secret Service) have all contributed to a lack of respect for the series. But Daniel Craig and the revamp in 2006 has changed that - Skyfall may secure 007 for the forseeable future and, in its 50th year, it would almost be poetic for this film, above all, to win Best Picture.
Read Flickering Myth's ★★★★★ review of Skyfall here.
Simon Columb
First thing's first - I haven;t seen this film yet, but neither have you. So much of this discussion is moot.
ReplyDeleteLet's look at the odds for a moment. Films I've seen that stand a *really* good chance of being nominated for best picture include THE MASTER, ARGO, BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD, and MOONRISE KINGDOM. Films I haven't seen yet that are poised to be contenders include LINCOLN, LES MIS, ZERO DARK THIRTY, DJANGO UNCHAINED, and THE LIFE OF PI. So for SKYFALL to get into position, it needs a few of these films to fall flat with The Academy. Then it also has to hope that no film like LOOPER, AMOUR or THE DARK KNIGHT RISES leapfrogs it for position.
Those aren't great odds going in.
It stands a great chance of being nominated for awards like sound, photography, design, and effects. The main reason is because these awards are both nominated and voted on by the guilds they come from. So even though films like THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM, TRANSFORMERS 2, THE GOLDEN COMPASS, and PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN might not seem like "Oscar Bait", in truth they are to the artists that work and honour these parts of the filmmaking process.
As for your precedents...
Remind yourself that THE DEPARTED was Oscar's chance to finally honour Scorsese (and remind yourself how long THAT took), and that INCEPTION was an original property that was so impressive it won four of the tech awards. Oscar isn't crazy about franchises. Only *five* films have ever had their sequels nominated for best picture, and two of the three came from the same visionary as their originals (Godfather 2 & 3, LOTR 2 & 3).
Again, those aren't great odds.
Finally, the building of an all-star roster inc. Mendes, Bardem, Dench, and Deakins. MANY films have built themselves on Oscar pedigree only to walk away with little to show for it. Remember NINE from two years ago? (neither does anyone else) Consider the *lengthy* Oscar track record that approached that film, and that it was even produced by Oscar monsters The Weinsteins. That might not be the greatest example since...y'know...it sucked, and I don't expect that SKYFALL will.
The point, my friend, is that what is and isn't an Oscar film depends on a lot of things: not just experience and pedigree. It depends on the overall mood of 1400 Hollywood folk who have NEVER been known for being ahead of the curve.
Finally, underlining all of this is the fact that you're not entirely objective in this. You're a huge 007 fan, so I take all of this with the same grains of salt I did all the Potter fans clamouring for a BP nom for that film last year.
Valid points Ryan, but there are some key things you need to think about:
ReplyDeleteI agree it probably won't happen, but it's definitely worth considering. We can't really compare Best Picture now with precedents from Oscars pre-2009. It's a different thing altogether. I can pretty much guarantee that heavily-nominated non-Oscar bait films like Road to Perdition, The Dark Knight and The Bourne Ultimatum would easily have been Best Picture nominees in a 10-film lineup. Even Casino Royale might have slipped in (it was huge hit at the BAFTAs and the heavy British influence in the Academy could have put it into the lineup). Even without many nominations and lukewarm reviews, films like "The Blind Side" and "Extremely Loud" still get nominated.
With the all the talent behind this film and the strong reviews already, it would be silly to dismiss Skyfall as a contender for Best Picture nomination. Again, I agree that this year looks extremely high quality and strong but you should keep an open mind.
Btw Simon, no Transformers film has ever won Oscars.
ReplyDeleteBtw Simon, no Transformers film has ever won Oscars.
ReplyDeleteWith regards to your argument about sequels, here are some other films I am willing to bet would have been Best Picture nominees (based on their other nominations and general reception during the awards season) under current Oscar rules:
ReplyDeleteThe Color of Money
The Dark Knight
The Bourne Ultimatum
I doubt that they don't like sequels, it's just that most of the time they didn't like them enough to nominate them in a small field of 5. It's much easier for them to get in now. Being a sequel isn't really the issue for Skyfall.
I haven't seen the film ... so it's ridiculous for me to make a comment. It would seem unlikely that it would receive a best picture nomination, but who knows?
ReplyDeleteOh Ryan, you're forgetting a film almost guaranteed to get nominated for best picture (and possibly win): Silver Linings Playbook.
I didn't see anything about SILVER LININGS that made it "almost guaranteed"
ReplyDeleteYou must've missed the critic, audience, and industry response.
ReplyDeleteNo ones seen the film yet but the positive reviews are pretty inspiring - many claiming this film is not just the best since CASINO ROYALE but better than anything Daniel Craig and Brosnan has ever done!
ReplyDeleteMistake adjusted - though ALL the Transformers films were nominated (!!!) and, in terms of winners, we;re talking THE GOLDEN COMPASS and THE WOLFMAN...
ReplyDeleteLOOPER and AMOUR won't get a look in. AMOUR is a foreign film isn't it? And LOOPER? Are you kidding me? If THE DARK KNIGHT RISES is nominated, damn, SKYFALL surely has a chance. Take the 'Bond' element out of it - and, if the film has enough political allegory and emotional depth, than surely it is possible. The fact that neither of us has seen it surely means that either (a) either it is just a usual 007 flick which means, of course it won't get a look in or (b) its better than that - and all talk of it so far implies that - and it therefore could get a look in. NINE in fairness, was nominated for a bunch of actor ones as I recall despite its shortcomings. All I'm saying is that, in the first instance, some nominations aren't out of the question. That alone is unprecendented.
ReplyDeleteThe 10-nominations factor is a huge plus point and i can't help but think that inevitably certain films will be snubbed but others, like SKYFALL, may get a shot!
Are you talking about Sam Mendes's FILMS having 17 Oscar nominations total? Because the man himself has 1, for American Beauty.
ReplyDelete