Years ago, when The
Academy was created, I wonder if they ever imagined the spectacle that it would
become. What was intended to honor film making and art has more and more become
less of what it once was, and has been replaced by being one of the biggest
shows and popularity contests that is seen worldwide. The reality of what it is
now has been deluded by concerns of politics, star power on the red carpet, and
what everyone is wearing; the film making itself is a passing thought. I would
be lying if I said I did not enjoy the arrival of the stars, it is an exciting
moment, but The Academy Awards was not meant to ever be what it is today. Best
Picture and Director were the two most important categories; they meant
something, now they are both pushed aside for the acting categories because
everyone wants to see their favorite movie star win. Believe it or not, The
Academy started out being a dinner and everyone already knew the winners before
hand, now look at it. I am not saying this is bad. I am merely just showing how
we have taken the very thing intended to award and honor the finest in film
making and deluded it into a popularity contest and who's who on the red
carpet. People have lost interest in the category of Best Director because no
one knows who the directors are; it is a travesty that we have created. When no
one knows who Martin Scorsese is? Alexander Payne? Joel and Ethan Coen? Spike
Jonze? , we have a problem.
You simply cannot have a
great movie without a great director. I think people may have seen many directors’
names in the credits and say, "Oh I have heard of him" or "Oh
that is the guy who made..." but they forget about them, especially
because they never see them. They are the ones behind the camera that make the
movie. They translate words on paper into beauty on the screen, of course there
are editors, cinematographers, and all sorts of people who make the final
project of what we get to see, but the directors are the complete driving force
behind it. They are not seen, and for that, they often are people with names
without faces. At the Oscars they get to be seen and heard, often for many
people, it is their first time seeing or hearing them. This just makes me sad.
Their importance is everything to a movie, because there would be none without
them. The awards should be about them. Their creation. Their work. Everyone
else should be second to them, but that is not reality. So before I get into
the discussion of who should be nominated this year, let me give you homework,
fun homework. Get to know these directors. You can watch some of their other
movies and have an understanding of who they are and what they think. It is
that easy, and I promise you will have a different outlook on movies and cinema
as a whole. Now to the point of why I do this, let’s discuss who to look out
for this year (in order of likely nomination):
- Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave. This would be his
first directing nomination, and deserved it would be. I have seen a
couple of McQueen's movies, and nothing of his has ever blown me away,
like it has for some people, until this movie. There has never been an
Oscar contender for Best Picture that has the topic of slavery told from
the African American perspective. In fact, there has only been one
African American ever to be nominated for directing, and this year would
add a second. How awesome would be to see history made with McQueen
winning, though he is not American he is British, it still breaks ground.
He tackles deep issues in his films, which 12 Years checks off that box,
to the point that it stirs up emotion and discussion and that is why so
many people have hailed this as one of the best of the year, and I would
agree with that statement. This movie could sweep The Oscars, but some
say because it is too deep and hard to watch that the Academy might go
for something lighter. I have not decided what I want to win Director or
Picture, but 12 Years is a worthy contender in my book for both
wins.
- Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity. I cannot think of a more
worthy contender to be nominated in this category. His precision
directing of Gravity is one that took my breath away. The visuals. The
sounds. In those aspects alone, Gravity is a masterpiece of cinema. If I
had to be knit picky, the story line of the movie was the only thing that
bothered me, but even that is a stretch. Cuaron has been nominated
before, but not for directing. He received nominations for writing both Y
Tu Mama Tambien and Children of Men, and a film editing nomination for
the ladder. Cuaron has worked all across the board on his movies, not
just in the director’s seat, and I think that added to his brilliance in
directing Gravity. He knew exactly how to make it feel like you were in space
and you felt every struggle of the protagonist, with obvious help from an
astonishing performance by Sandra Bullock. I am more sold on him winning
this category over anyone else, but I have not seen every movie yet. 100%
worthy to win this category, and he too would make history. There has
never been a Mexican film maker to win a Directing Oscar; so again, I am
all for seeing history made.
The race is really between them two,
but the three other spots could be given to some men who could be game changers
and steal the Oscar right from their hands:
- David O. Russell, American Hustle. The biggest surprise
I have seen happen so far this year is the turnaround from the first
screenings of American Hustle to now. It had a rough start, with people
writing it off, to now being an actual strong contender for Best Picture
and Director. I feel there is starting to become a sense of urgency to
give O. Russell a directing Oscar, with his past two films, The Fighter
and Silver Linings Playbook, getting numerous nominations but never any
wins for Picture or Director. People, are starting to get the vibe that he
needs to be rewarded, and I would have to agree. American Hustle, I am
finally seeing it tomorrow, may get a big showing on nomination morning
for Oscars, and if it does, it could become a true challenger to both
Gravity and 12 Years for Picture and Director. O. Russell is making
himself known for great film making, and I hope to one day see him win,
but I am not so sure this will be it.
- Paul Greengrass, Captain Phillips. There are four things
I liked about this movie: Barhad Abdi's performance, Tom Hanks first hour
and last ten minutes of screen time, the first hour of the movie, and lastly,
the directing. The movie as a whole fell a little flat to me, but I must
be in the minority here because it keeps getting nominated. Greengrass is a
good director of popcorn movies, his Bourne Supremacy and Ultimatum, has
given him success in that area. He has received a nomination for director
before, which was for United 93, which oddly failed to get a Picture nomination;
generally the two categories go hand in hand. He has made himself a strong
contender for an Oscar nomination for his tight directing of Captain
Phillips. I do not know how he managed to film in such small spaces, and
still be able to get such great footage, but he did, and it is impressive.
I will say, he could easily be left out come Oscar nomination morning, but
as of now, he stands a pretty good chance.
- Martin Scorsese, The Wolf of Wall Street. One must
NEVER rule out Scorsese. Scorsese is a directing genius, his contributions
of not only his masterpiece films, but to film history as a whole, is what
I love about him. Scorsese deserves more Oscars that what he has, it is
quite a shame. His films, in total, have received 75 nominations with only
20 wins. That to me is both impressive and a shame. He has only won Best
Director once, in 2006 for his brilliant film, The Departed. The reason I
have not left Leo or Jonah Hill out of discussion for Wolf, is because he
also has an impressive track record for his actors to be nominated and win
Oscars. He is just a genius, and that is an understatement. With people
proclaiming Wolf to be a masterpiece, after more and more people are
seeing it, it is a very dark horse to knock some movies down. I would love
to see it happen, and that is without seeing the movie. I do not doubt a
man whose films have never disappointed me.
- Alexander Payne, Nebraska. Payne has a good track
record with the Oscar as well. He has won two Adapted Screenplay Oscars,
for Sideways and The Descendants, with directing nominations for both
films. His actors also fair well with nominations. This year people have
said Nebraska is his best film to date, which has piqued my interest,
because every time I watch a Payne film I begin to like him more and more.
His films tend to be dark comedies, which sometimes make you feel really
uncomfortable. He took a big risk making Nebraska a black and white film,
because people nowadays push away even the idea of watching such films. I
like when directors are confident in themselves to take those risks, which
is why Payne makes the list. Other people see him as a director worthy to
be nominated and to win a directing Oscars at some point. He may make the
cut, and I would love to see that happen.
- Spike Jonze, Her. Yet another great surprise of the
year is that Her has managed to become a strong contender for both Picture
and Director. A movie that gives people a new prospective on love and our future
has many people praising the film. Jonze is such an interesting director,
and is a very unorthodox one at that. I have only truly loved one of his
films, and love is putting it mildly, Adaptation. Adaptation was a
masterpiece and one of my favorite movies, also one of Meryl Streep's best
performances. He has one directing nomination under his belt, and that was
for Being John Malkovich. With Her, he may find himself another directing
nomination, and maybe win. One thing is certain, he will be nominated for
writing the film, and that could be a strong contender for him to win the
Oscar for Original Screenplay. I will have to see the film, to give you my
full opinion, but right now, he is on the radar.
- Joel and Ethan Coen, Inside Llewyn Davis. The Coen
Brothers are arguably two of the greatest film directors of all time.
Along with Scorsese, they can do no wrong in my book. Together they both
of have won four Oscars, writing for Fargo, and writing directing and
producing No Country for Old Men. They have received numerous nominations,
and The Academy loves them. They have failed to pick up any big
nominations for Inside Llewyn Davis, but with the love The Academy has for
them, you cannot write them off. I truly think they could be a dark horse
for a nomination.
As of now, I only see two locked
nominations: Steven McQueen and Alfonso Cuaron. The other three spots are up in
the air, so far in the air, that any one of the listed men could get break into
the race. I love this category, and it deserves a bigger spotlight and a lot
more attention. The race for Best Director is shaping up to be the most
unpredictable category, and that is just the way I like it. I hope you take it
upon yourself to accept my homework and watch some of these directors’ films,
some are masterpieces, others are just "mehhhh", but either way you
gain a respect for the art and for the artist. It is the best homework
assignment out there!
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