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Yeah, I think a lot of Oscar politics basically revolve around picks that make rich old white liberals feel good about themselves (and letting them excuse themselves for supporting organizations and politicians that value rigid status quo above all else) and everyone has that figured out now
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Apr 6, 2022 03:14
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What would you guys say is the best "Oscar bait" movie? Like something like Amadeus checks a lot of the boxes, but that movie still kicks a lot of rear end.
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Apr 6, 2022 04:11
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Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan are up there.
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Apr 6, 2022 04:14
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There will be blood if you count it.
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Apr 6, 2022 04:19
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Too artsy. I guess spotlight or room. Both good movies but I haven’t thought about them since they won.
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Apr 6, 2022 04:26
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Ordinary People feels kind of like... prototypical of what was later viewed as Oscar bait maybe? And I really loved it but it's been a while.
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Apr 6, 2022 04:28
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Malcolm X jumps to mind.
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Apr 6, 2022 04:28
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Anyone remember The Artist?
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Apr 6, 2022 04:32
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I know I watched it but literally remember nothing about it except it's french, black & white, and about showbusiness (which is all pretty bait-y).
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Apr 6, 2022 04:54
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One interesting thing about Oscar Bait movies is that David Fincher has said that they're the only thing besides blockbuster movies that studios will greenlight anymore. So it's a pejorative term but it's also the way the game is played.
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Apr 6, 2022 05:05
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live with fruit posted:One interesting thing about Oscar Bait movies is that David Fincher has said that they're the only thing besides blockbuster movies that studios will greenlight anymore. So it's a pejorative term but it's also the way the game is played. That’s just depressing
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Apr 6, 2022 05:11
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People come at the marvel movies because they're terrible, which they are. And are then countered by a "just don't watch them" but the drat things are sucking up all the oxygen in Hollywood. Promising directors are getting sucked up into making lovely hero movies, or live action Disney copyright holders instead of being allowed to make anything they'd like. Streaming is the only ones with money taking risks. But God only knows for how long.
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Apr 6, 2022 05:16
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Gaius Marius posted:People come at the marvel movies because they're terrible, which they are. And are then countered by a "just don't watch them" but the drat things are sucking up all the oxygen in Hollywood. Promising directors are getting sucked up into making lovely hero movies, or live action Disney copyright holders instead of being allowed to make anything they'd like. Streaming is the only ones with money taking risks. But God only knows for how long. I don't agree. I think there are two types of directors who get in bed with the big franchises: savvy ones who use the clout they build up to make more interesting movies/shows elsewhere, like Waititi and Lowery, and craven sellouts, like Treverrow. The cream rises to the top, basically.
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Apr 6, 2022 05:23
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The problem is not with marvel movies. The problem is not even with superhero movies sucking up the oxygen. The problem is there is not enough oxygen to begin with. Studios are being allowed to become increasingly monopolistic. Both mergers and the weakening of theaters work against seeing a lot of different types of movies. Why take risks when there is so little competition? Better to go with whatever is working. Why make stuff that fosters a theater going audience if your margins are better on your studios gated streaming service? The movie industry isn't bleak because a type of blockbuster you don't like is the taste du jour. The movie industry is bleak because of capitalism.
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Apr 6, 2022 05:31
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Wittgen posted:The problem is not with marvel movies. The problem is not even with superhero movies sucking up the oxygen. The problem is there is not enough oxygen to begin with. Studios are being allowed to become increasingly monopolistic. Both mergers and the weakening of theaters work against seeing a lot of different types of movies. Why take risks when there is so little competition? Better to go with whatever is working. Why make stuff that fosters a theater going audience if your margins are better on your studios gated streaming service? I saw Licorice Pizza at a megaplex at 4 in the afternoon and my ticket cost $5. And The Batman cost $12 at 11 in the morning.
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Apr 6, 2022 05:39
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Raxivace posted:What would you guys say is the best "Oscar bait" movie? Like something like Amadeus checks a lot of the boxes, but that movie still kicks a lot of rear end. Of the best picture winners Gandhi comes to mind. I was trying to think of the least Oscar baited movies that won. Maybe Midnight Cowboy or Cimarron or All the King's Men.
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Apr 6, 2022 05:42
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TheMopeSquad posted:I know I watched it but literally remember nothing about it except it's french, black & white, and about showbusiness (which is all pretty bait-y). I remember there was a dog in it who got famous for like a month
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Apr 6, 2022 06:13
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Martman posted:I think of it less in terms of a movie being made intentionally as "Oscar bait" and more about if it has aspects that will check certain boxes for the Academy at that time. Like, I wouldn't say 12 Years a Slave was Oscar bait by any means, but I felt super confident betting on it winning (while giving almost everything else to Gravity) without even having seen it because of the social context at that exact moment and the Academy wanting people to think they're progressive or whatever. And I'm not trying to criticize the movie itself at all, the Academy is just stupid. Similarly I expect them to drag their feet on seriously honoring any Asian movie for a bit after having given Best Picture to Parasite, because a bunch of old idiots probably feel like they're covered on that front for a while. Brokeback Mountain is every bit the kind of garbage liberal wank piece that Crash is. It's a safe movie about how tragic it is to be gay made entirely by straight people. While everyone was breaking their arms patting themselves on the back for liking the "brave" movie about the sad homos actual queer voices continued to be kept far away from the mainstream.
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Apr 6, 2022 06:48
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Zogo posted:I was trying to think of the least Oscar baited movies that won. Maybe Midnight Cowboy or Cimarron or All the King's Men. edit: CPL593H posted:Brokeback Mountain is every bit the kind of garbage liberal wank piece that Crash is. It's a safe movie about how tragic it is to be gay made entirely by straight people. While everyone was breaking their arms patting themselves on the back for liking the "brave" movie about the sad homos actual queer voices continued to be kept far away from the mainstream. My point wasn't so much that Brokeback Mountain had the perfect/better message or politics, but that Crash is just absolutely insanely bad and stupidly constructed but still had something in its idiotic message that gave the Academy some feeling of justification. Martman fucked around with this message at 07:01 on Apr 6, 2022 |
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Apr 6, 2022 06:49
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Rocky maybe?
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Apr 6, 2022 06:55
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What's the more dangerous version of Brokeback Mountain?
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Apr 6, 2022 06:59
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Snappedneck Revine
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Apr 6, 2022 07:06
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CelticPredator posted:Snappedneck Revine
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Apr 6, 2022 07:07
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live with fruit posted:What's the more dangerous version of Brokeback Mountain? Brokeback Mountain but being on the mountain constantly puts you in the unavoidable danger of actually breaking your back. CelticPredator posted:Snappedneck Revine Okay, I laughed way too hard at this.
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Apr 6, 2022 07:20
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Wittgen posted:The problem is not with marvel movies. The problem is not even with superhero movies sucking up the oxygen. The problem is there is not enough oxygen to begin with. Studios are being allowed to become increasingly monopolistic. Both mergers and the weakening of theaters work against seeing a lot of different types of movies. Why take risks when there is so little competition? Better to go with whatever is working. Why make stuff that fosters a theater going audience if your margins are better on your studios gated streaming service? None of y’all watch any of that stuff even when they somehow manage two weeks of wide release and then you whine about a dying movie industry. This is some Old Man Yells At Cloud poo poo.
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Apr 6, 2022 07:25
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Tubi has a billion movies that were made with no budget and put on a streaming platform for anyone to watch. A lot of them are garbage! But it felt like a lot of the bad stuff had no heart. However something like Halloween at aunt Ethel’s, which is kinda bad but felt like the people who made it really tried and had fun which makes the entire film work so well. So there’s no budget non Hollywood films out there that are worth seeking. Sadly they may not be mainstream but hey.
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Apr 6, 2022 07:34
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Vegetable posted:I can’t take complaints like this seriously. Every year plenty of indie and international films that are different and interesting get made. These films come out regardless of Hollywood’s flavor of the week. You’d know this for a fact if you followed the industry beyond watching only the Oscars (and then complaining about it). Very little of that stuff ever sees a wide release and assuming we're talking about America there are large parts of the country where people are hours away from an arthouse theater. And even when some of that stuff escapes the net and goes to the multiplex they get the smallest room and not too many showtimes while whatever blockbuster is out at the time takes up three of the biggest rooms they have. Those movies also are barely advertised while the Marvel and etc movies have advertising budgets several times larger than the entire production budgets of a lot of indie films. Pretending this isn't a legitimate complaint is a bad faith argument.
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Apr 6, 2022 07:56
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I wouldn't say the Shape of Water was particularly Oscar-baity. Not one of Del Toro's best, honestly still surprised it won so much that year.
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Apr 6, 2022 07:58
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I dunno, you've got Period Piece + Gays Being Mistreated in the Past + Forbidden Love + Magical Creatures As a Stand-In for Minorities, it's not too far off
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Apr 6, 2022 07:59
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Thematically maybe, but compared to all the other movies that were nominated that year (except Get Out), it might as well be in a different time zone.
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Apr 6, 2022 08:01
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Zogo posted:Of the best picture winners Gandhi comes to mind. Return of the King? Especially ironic given the LotR movies are basically the template for the blockbuster franchise tentpoles that would go on to dominate 21st century cinema thus far. (to be fair, Star Wars already set the model) The 2004 Oscars are the only ones I've actually seen, I think. Feels like they had a lot more fun with it back then.
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Apr 6, 2022 08:07
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CPL593H posted:Very little of that stuff ever sees a wide release and assuming we're talking about America there are large parts of the country where people are hours away from an arthouse theater. And even when some of that stuff escapes the net and goes to the multiplex they get the smallest room and not too many showtimes while whatever blockbuster is out at the time takes up three of the biggest rooms they have. Those movies also are barely advertised while the Marvel and etc movies have advertising budgets several times larger than the entire production budgets of a lot of indie films. Pretending this isn't a legitimate complaint is a bad faith argument. Honestly, in this era of streaming and VOD no one even has excuses anymore. If you don’t care enough to venture beyond your comfort zone that’s fine, but don’t whinge about the industry no longer making good films.
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Apr 6, 2022 08:13
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There’s a middle ground between both of those opinions. The problem really is that yeah there IS a diverse set of films being made not under the Hollywood banner and they are available to find… But they do not have the funds behind them like something like Morbius did. And making movies of any kind is hard as gently caress and a lot of those issues come from money. Obviously not everyone can get 70 million to make whatever, but what if more films did? Imagine if Upgrade had a 70 million budget instead of Venom? (I like venom for the record but upgrade is like an all timer)
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Apr 6, 2022 08:53
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CelticPredator posted:Obviously not everyone can get 70 million to make whatever, but what if more films did? Imagine if Upgrade had a 70 million budget instead of Venom? (I like venom for the record but upgrade is like an all timer) If it's an all-timer at $5M or whatever, what does it need more money for?
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Apr 6, 2022 09:07
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live with fruit posted:If it's an all-timer at $5M or whatever, what does it need more money for? Tom Hardy instead of off-brand Tom Hardy.
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Apr 6, 2022 09:20
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Vegetable posted:Are you really saying the movie industry is dying because you can’t watch a good movie in your bumfuck corner of America? The success of an industry isn’t measured by the showings at the multiplex of your hick town. people everywhere deserve good movies and a theater to watch them in, jackass
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Apr 6, 2022 09:23
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live with fruit posted:If it's an all-timer at $5M or whatever, what does it need more money for? Would’ve been easier to make for the cast and crew. have more time to make the film without having to rush through it, adding needless stress. Also paying people, especially below the line, more money. Someone please correct me if I’m wrong but isn’t one of the biggest issues with direct to streaming is them not paying anyone below the line at all because they tend to cut a lot of costs?
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Apr 6, 2022 09:29
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Martman posted:Ordinary People feels kind of like... prototypical of what was later viewed as Oscar bait maybe? And I really loved it but it's been a while. That movie gets so much poo poo for being obvious Oscar bait (and yeah, it is) but it's really good as far as those go. Mary Tyler Moore, man. Relevant trivia, I believe The Deer Hunter is considered the first Oscar bait movie, as its marketing campaign and release schedule were based entirely around trying to rack up as many awards and nominations as possible.
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Apr 6, 2022 11:12
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CelticPredator posted:Would’ve been easier to make for the cast and crew. have more time to make the film without having to rush through it, adding needless stress. Also paying people, especially below the line, more money. Speaking from a UK film production perspective: There's no distinction here between a film for streaming or not, rates are set by production budget, not platform. Only the worst cowboy productions don't pay people at all. If you mean royalties or residuals, only above the line cast and crew ever get those in the first place. As an AD, I make roughly the same amount of money off a £1 million budget indie for Netflix as I do off of a £50 million feature cinema release.
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Apr 6, 2022 13:29
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Oscar bait doesn't mean bad. It just means the movie coincides with the kinds of politics and sentiment that Oscar voters tend to like. The problems with the movie industry becoming more monopolistic and more divorced from theaters don't stop existing because good movies are being made. The complaint is not that there aren't any good movies. There are a lot of good movies. Quite a few got nominated for Oscars this year. The concern is that Hollywood is making fewer movies, and they're making a less diverse slate of movies. These trends are not some matter of opinion either. The number of movies in production goes down after every merger. And the mid budget movie made for adults is an endangered species. You can see the effects of this in how promising young directors who make some breakout low budget indie thing get put in charge of a superhero tent pole rather than some 20-30 million dollar original. Great stuff continues to be made, but the industry is top heavy and there are causes for concern. The ecosystem is not that healthy.
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Apr 6, 2022 13:31
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