Oscar Recalls?

(Via Althouse) Entertainment Weekly has done something very interesting. They've polled a number of Hollywood types in order to revote for the acting, directing and Best Pictures from 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 years ago. The results (in any annoying gallery which has no purpose beyond page views) can be found here.
Included with the results are the percentage of voting totals. I've long wished that they would release the actual Oscar totals, so we could see how close some of the votes actually were. This isn't as good, but it's still interesting. I won't mention all of them, but a few are noteworthy.
Best Picture for 2003
LOTR: THE RETURN OF THE KING: 46%
Mystic River: 27%
Lost in Translation: 13%
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World: 10%
Seabiscuit: 4%
I'm sure this Oscar was a nod to the entire trilogy but it's a shame that it went to the worst one of the three. Five years later and the one I still watch is 'Lost in Translation'. If I ever do the 00's I'll come back to this.
Best Picture for 1998
SAVING PRIVATE RYAN: 46%
Shakespeare in Love: 22%
Life is Beautiful: 13%
The Thin Red Line: 10%
Elizabeth: 9%
One of the most controversial in Oscar history and yes, I'll agree with it. But I still think it's a shame that SIL has suffered the backlash. It's a very good movie and frankly much more rewatchable. It's hard for me to believe that TRL got 10% of the vote here.
They also decided that Roberto Benigni should've lost to Edward Norton Jr. I haven't seen American History X but Benigni played an incredibly difficult role. I can't think of another actor that could have pulled off 'Life is Beautiful'. That should count for something.
I hope they keep doing this. It should be fascinating to see how they vote for the wonderful movies of 1994.

Comments

Hans said…
Elizabeth was a terrible movie as well. I wonder what the vote totals would be if they could revote the entire year instead of just the five that were nominated.
12:13 AM
Peder said…
I agree about Elizabeth and what a shame! That period has such potential and it was utterly wasted here.
5:56 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2024 Olympics?

Next week the US Olympic Committee will decide if they'll bid on the 2024 Olympics (I'm betting they will) and may decide on which city they'll put forth to host.  There are four cities on the host list: Boston Los Angeles San Francisco Washington DC I've long believed that if the US bids on 2024, they will win.  The US hasn't hosted an Olympics since Salt Lake City in 2002 and no summer games since Atlanta in 1996.  Given the importance that the US has, particularly in funding, a 28 year gap is a huge one. So who gets the nod?  I have absolutely no insider knowledge but I'd like to make some guesses.  Pure speculation to follow. San Francisco is an interesting choice.  The Bay Area is certainly beautiful.  I'm guessing (I haven't checked into it) that there are enough venues in NoCal to satisfy the sporting requirements.  Between the professional teams (six?) and the number of big time colleges, there must be.  Throw in the big mo...
Read more

Box Elder Bugs

Yesterday morning's breakfast started badly. I'd split my bagel in half and was ready to toast it when I noticed a BOX ELDER BUG sitting on the toaster. The FP Gal tried to help remove him but it looked like he went into one of the slots. Not cool. She then shook out the toaster over the garbarge while I helpfully supervised from the other side of the kitchen. After that we couldn't see it in the toaster. So...we did a test run to smoke it out. Nothing. After careful inspection I finally toasted my bagel. Carefully checked it for embedded insect. Found it clean and ate it. Whew! This morning I sliced my bagel. And found another Box Elder bug on the toaster. The FP Gal was still asleep so I had to take care of it myself. Kleenex over mouth, eyes barely open and a quick paper towel latter it was gone. Seriously, if I find another one tomorrow we have to sell the house.
Read more