The Oscars hates sci-fi and anything modern.
Oscar Nominations 2011
- Thread starter Cosimo
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The Oscars hates sci-fi and anything modern.
Yep I'm not really surprised it's just a shame it didn't get the nomination it deserves.
I agree with the first part, Outstanding direction.
I very much disagree with the second, I thought it was outstanding writing, a masterclass in how to write a a film such as this.
Bit "meh" with this, I enjoyed the film, I really enjoyed the score.
Also, bit miffed at the lack of director nomination for Nolan.
@The guy who mentioned it wasn't his best? moot point. Doesn't matter.
The Departed was far from being the best film Martin Scorsese has done. I think that Christopher's direction in Inception was easily Oscar worthy, and the only explanation I can think of that explains why he wasn't nominated was that Tom Hooper and David Fincher hired an extractor to incept the idea that a nomination to Christopher would be a bad idea into the minds of the decision makers.
He didn't get nominated for the Dark Knight either, so I think your second point could be closer to the mark.
Soldato
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I'll +1 the shock Nolan wasn't nominated for Inception.
I am torn between Jesse Eisenberg and Colin Firth for male leading.
Don't really have an opinion on the others.
I am torn between Jesse Eisenberg and Colin Firth for male leading.
Don't really have an opinion on the others.
Your point about Scorsese actually helps the case for the political angle, to be honest. It's pretty clear he should have won an Oscar years ago. The one he got for The Departed was more or less the Academy's way of saying "We're sorry we've overlooked you in the past".
Inception's a good film. It's not Nolans best, and I'm a bit surprised it's been nominated for Best Film given how clunky the dialogue is in places (I'm actually a bit baffled as to why he's been nominated for best screenplay too - did they choose to ignore the lack of character progression in the film?), but Nolan has yet to enter a period where his direction is outstanding. Good so far, yes. Outstanding? No. His best work is clearly still to come.
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I think Sorkin's script is good. The Social Network is a great film, and he handled it well, but ever since The West Wing won a slew of TV awards he's more or less a shoe in for this nomination.
Yeah, I definitely agree with that.
Lack of character progression, fair enough. But no film has come out in the last decade that has a concept as high, and unique as this one. I think that Inception should win the best screenplay as none of the other nominations can hold a candle to the vision, depth and down right uniqueness of the concept. I felt it was brilliant because of that concept as much as anything else, and on that front, it leaves virtually every other film I have seen waiting at the start line.
Caporegime
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Nolan wasn't nominated because as Kermode says, the Oscars is nothing to do with audience enjoyment, it's about the arty-types, the critics and the commentators.
I think the West Wing showed him to be one of the best writers around, this was coming as soon as he wrote something for the big screen. This was brilliantly written and amazingly well directed.
I normally agree with Kermode. Agree with him on this. I thought Inception was at least as well directed as some of the other films nominated.
But you're missing the point though. Part of the reason Inception worked as a film is because Nolan had the budget, studio backing and directorial chops to pull it off. The vision and "uniqueness" (which I'd argue against, incidentally) are all marks of directorial duties, not of the script.
The script itself is good, don't get me wrong but the things you're ascribing to the script don't derive from the function the script fulfils. In reality, most Hollywood films (art cinema and realism not withstanding) are just journeys from A to B, with the script explaining much of what's happening on screen. The dialogue in Inception is a bit iffy in places, it has a ridiculous use of video game logic in some scenes, many characters seem to motivated but we don't know why as there is no character progression for them etc. These are all shortcomings of the script. How he tells the story is impressive as hell, but another director could take the same script and make it in a much more pedestrian manner and it wouldn't be the same film (this is what some might argue would define him as being an 'auteur'). The concept may be good, but the story is only half the script. Similarly, how he tells the story on screen is only a small fraction of the script too.
It's down to taste whether or not these shortcomings are deliberately built into the script, perhaps to reinforce the concepts at play in the film. If we look at it from the sense that Leo's character is dreaming, then the perceived shortcomings vanish but I'm not so lenient in that regard (this part of the discussion is for another thread, sadly).
There is better character development and story in The Social Network and The Fighter for example. They're just better written, with better dialogue, better characterisation etc.
Except there's not an "arty-type" nominated there. They're all huge mainstream directors.
Caporegime
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I was paraphrasing. If you wish to be a penis by nitpicking when you know perfectly well the point being made, then carry on.
Perhaps you could be so kind as to illuminate me as opposed to snapping at me?
I can answer that very simply: The concept and the story are not the same thing. I don't understand how you would reward a concept via anything, other than the script.
The Oscar is for, 'Best Writing (original screenplay)'. Don't tell me that the concept of a film would not be considered when deciding upon who or what to nominate for that award. The beauty of an award like that is that it's deliberately vague, meaning people can merit things differently, as we have obviously done.
Caporegime
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That sounds like something only a person with a degree in film would say...
We're on the same page - the concept and the story are part of the script. Not the whole. Things like dialogue, characterization, plot development etc are also considered. I felt that the dialogue and character development were weak in the film. Hence my shock at it being that category. Nolan is better, in my view, when he's working with his bro.
My point is that the concept, regardless of what it is, might not have been pulled off with such aplomb if it were in the hands of another director. Hence why he is a great director, and why it's a really good (not great) film.
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