Illustration by Jillian Tamaki
On Sunday, February 27, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts
and Sciences will honour Hollywood’s top talent with its 77th
annual Oscar presentation. Before the stars dance into the
night — or, more specifically, along the red-carpet walk from
their limousines to Vanity Fair’s ultra-luxe after-party
— our critics discuss the presentation’s most prominent prizes.
From now through the end of the week, get up on what’s going
down with Oscar’s best actor, actress, directing and picture
awards.
Contributors
Tara Ariano co-created and co-edits Hissyfit.com, Fametracker.com and TelevisionWithoutPity.com. She is the author of Untitled: A Bad Teen Novel.
Stephen Cole writes about television for CBC.ca.
Katrina Onstad writes about the arts for CBC.ca.
February 24, 2004
Achievement in Directing
The nominees: The Aviator (Martin Scorsese), Million Dollar Baby (Clint Eastwood), Ray (Taylor Hackford), Sideways (Alexander Payne) and Vera Drake (Mike Leigh)
From: Tara Ariano
To: Stephen Cole, Katrina Onstad
Subject: Achievement in DirectingWe all know that what determines an Oscar winner is based half on the achievement at hand, and half on righting past wrongs. This is how Judi Dench got her Best Supporting Actress award for a glorified cameo in Shakespeare In Love: she was good, but she was also robbed the year she was nominated for Mrs. Brown. (And on that note: shut up, Helen Hunt, and shut up, As Good As It Gets.) When Martin Scorsese — one of the greatest directors never to win an Oscar — was nominated a couple of years ago for Gangs of New York, conventional wisdom had it that, although the movie wasn't even in the top five of Scorsese’s career, he would win because of one of the greatest injustices in Oscar history: the time he lost for GoodFellas... to Kevin Costner... for DANCES WITH WOLVES, of all damn things.
So now, here we are again. The Aviator, for which Scorsese is nominated now, has the most nominations of the year, but no one's really all that excited about it; I don't know anyone who thinks it's the best movie of the year, or the best of Scorsese's career. And yet, Costner's Oscar casts SUCH a long shadow that I really think this will be the year the Academy tries to right its past wrong.
From: Stephen Cole
To: Tara Ariano, Katrina Onstad
Subject: Achievement in DirectingI think that Alexander Payne's Sideways is the best directed film up for consideration this year. It was a seamlessly told story that seemed to allow its characters complete freedom yet, miracle of miracles, still managed to come in at two hours. And when was the last time you saw a movie that had as many as four characters you cared about? But Payne, who also made About Schmidt and Election, will never win a best-directing Oscar. He's just not interested in glamour — Hollywood's drug of choice. And he doesn't situate, colour and light his films like most American filmmakers, who routinely perform real-estate agent and fashion-photographer tasks.
So yeah, Tara, you're probably right in going with Martin Scorsese. People on TV have taken to calling him Marty, I see. That must mean something. I think it would be ironic if he did win. Like you (I'm betting), I liked him a lot better when he was Martin. I still find it hard believing that the director of New York, New York presided so dully over the music numbers in The Aviator.
Don't write off Clint Eastwood for Million Dollar Baby, however. The Academy has a soft spot for actors who direct. As you mentioned, Scorsese lost before to Costner. Before that, Robert Redford (Ordinary People) beat him out of his just reward for Raging Bull.
Still, like you, I think Marty will win. They owe him.
From: Katrina Onstad
To: Tara Ariano, Stephen Cole
Subject: Achievement in DirectingI’m not as sure about Scorsese as you two. I wonder if "underwhelmed" will cancel out "overdue." The Aviator didn't start off as a Scorsese picutre — he picked up the reins after several people dropped them — and despite a few signature flourishes (the paparazzi flashbulbs rocked), it didn't FEEL like a Scorsese film. I think the Academy may want to hold off until he's offering up something more representative of his oeuvre. He's still relatively spry, too, whereas Clint, though clearly watching the carbs, is 74. Seventy-four and churning out two great movies (Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby) in two years. Hollywood loves a busy person: Clint directed, starred, hell, he wrote Baby’s score! As for the other three nominees — puh-leez.
I agree with Stephen; Sideways is much more complicated than it looks; flawed, messy people who we still care about. And how great would it be to see Alexander Payne, all pointy-nosed self-assurance (that guy does not need us to love him), up on the podium? But I've noticed a Sideways backlash a-brewing; this weekend, the New York Times ran a silly piece about how the film glosses over the subject of alcoholism and anecdotally, people keep telling me: It wasn't THAT good. No one likes a critical consensus in contrarian times.
From: Tara Ariano
To: Stephen Cole, Katrina Onstad
Subject: Achievement in DirectingI definitely liked Sideways best of the nominated films (though that's a discussion for another day — i.e. tomorrow), and I absolutely agree with Stephen that it was the best directed movie; it hung together the best, seemed the result of one artist's vision, and all that stuff they're supposed to be rewarding with this category. But it won't win. Sideways is this year's Lost in Translation — tons of prestige, but it peaked too soon.
I love how none of us has even mentioned the last two nominees in the category — Mike "Vera Drake" Leigh and Taylor "Ray" Hackford because, seriously, no one thinks either one of their asses has a snowball's chance in hell. But Stephen, I'm surprised you don't have any love for the helmer of Ray, your favourite movie of all time...? (Hee hee.)
From: Stephen Cole
To: Tara Ariano, Katrina Onstad
Subject: Achievement in DirectingRay deserves its success, and will no doubt go on to become a consumer durable in ever-cheaper DVD editions. But it was a better show than movie. Jamie Foxx's performance and Ray Charles' music was pretty well the whole kit and kaboodle.
Go ahead, someone make fun of kit and kaboodle.
From: Tara Ariano
To: Stephen Cole, Katrina Onstad
Subject: Achievement in DirectingRay was closer to being the feel-good story of the year than Vera Drake, anyway. Because that one... brrrrrr.
From: Katrina Onstad
To: Tara Ariano, Stephen Cole
Subject: Achievement in DirectingKaboodle this: Taylor Hackford put the hack in... Hackford. Or something. In any case, he and Mike Leigh will be sitting somewhere without aisle access. The two also-rans look uncannily similar with their grey beards; I look forward to camera-man confusion.
But the Leigh nod is interesting; he's a proudly democratic filmmaker who collaborates extensively with his cast. And yet, there he is with his singular nomination.
Best director could go either way, but I lean towards Clint in the Clint-Marty debate (we're so familiar here). He got snubbed for Mystic River, a film that won people over in a way Scorsese's snubbed Gangs of New York just didn't. And Clint is not getting the acting prize but he can't go home empty handed. 'Nuff said.
