Well, yeah. But the Best Picture category is "best Picture". How often does a comedy win? And has a children's film ever won? I'll happily eat my hat if Depp wins!The category is Best Actor, not "Best Performance in a Drama".
I've nothing againt the performance (but I personally don't think its his best)I completely agree. I'm a big fan of all 3 LOTR movies and I appreciate everyone's (including Jackson's) hard work on them, make no mistake about that. But IMO, Peter Jackson's directing didn't have much to do with their success. I think the cast is the most responsible for that. Really, if you watch the films and pay attention to the directing, it takes itself too seriously and is incredibly repetative (i.e. - contant swirling, swiveling "epic shots" cutting to extreme close ups).2099net wrote:Personally, I'm not sure Peter Jackson deserves best director (!), as now more than ever there's a blur between actual directing and simply technical co-ordination. I'm by no means suggesting Jackson is a 'hack' or anywhere near it (so please don't hate me!), but I'd rather have the best Director award won by a director who has a small budget, small cast and just a couple of cameras. After all, the bigger the film, the bigger the crew and creative staff. It's hard to judge a director on what is obviously a massive collaboration with hundreds (if not thousands) of individual's input.
I reluctantly agree with you. I absolutely LOVED his performance in POTC, but it is by no means what the Academy looks for (we are, after all, talking about an institution that believes putting on a prosthetic nose and waving a cigarette around wildly mean "best" actress). But the Academy is also infamous for awarding the performance AFTER the good one - which is probably why Sean Penn will win this year. (Even though I don't think Mystic River was all that good - not a bad film by any means - just not great).2099net wrote:I'm surprised Depp's been nominated. It's not an "Oscar" performance [*] and I'm certain the nomination is more to do with the Academy acknowledging their past indiscretions to Depp in previous ceremonies. (I'm still bitter Depp got no recognition for Edward Scissorhands or Ed Wood).
2099net wrote:As for Lord of the Rings, it was obvious from the Fellowship of the Ring that the final "chapter" would get all the acclaim from the Academy. Personally, I'm not sure Peter Jackson deserves best director (!), as now more than ever there's a blur between actual directing and simply technical co-ordination.
Well, don't get me wrong. It helps to have a good cast. But the director often has to work with the cast to get a good performance. Not knowing the on-set details perhaps Jackson has worked hard at motivating and directing the cast to get the best performances. I'm just not sure how much of the actual "spectacle" of the movies is down to Jackson personally - even if he initiated it all.Jack wrote:I completely agree. I'm a big fan of all 3 LOTR movies and I appreciate everyone's (including Jackson's) hard work on them, make no mistake about that. But IMO, Peter Jackson's directing didn't have much to do with their success. I think the cast is the most responsible for that. Really, if you watch the films and pay attention to the directing, it takes itself too seriously and is incredibly repetative (i.e. - contant swirling, swiveling "epic shots" cutting to extreme close ups).2099net wrote:Personally, I'm not sure Peter Jackson deserves best director (!), as now more than ever there's a blur between actual directing and simply technical co-ordination. I'm by no means suggesting Jackson is a 'hack' or anywhere near it (so please don't hate me!), but I'd rather have the best Director award won by a director who has a small budget, small cast and just a couple of cameras. After all, the bigger the film, the bigger the crew and creative staff. It's hard to judge a director on what is obviously a massive collaboration with hundreds (if not thousands) of individual's input.
I think someone like Sofia Coppela or Peter Weir deserves it the most because I think overall, their directing is more fresh and the success of their projects rely more on them.
I have my own cynical opinion of Chicago winning.Shakespeare in Love was a comedy, and it won Best Picture in 1998. Chicago was a black comedy, and it won Best Picture in 2002.
But the point is, not very often. I also take you point about Family Films, and I should have called them Family Films from the start. But again the point is it doesn't happen very often. Depp could still win, but I doubt it.That's true, but I view the camera as the biggest aspect of directing. Yes, it is a director's responsibility to help lead the cast and crew, but really, a director's job is to control the camera and use to the tell the story.2099net wrote:Well, don't get me wrong. It helps to have a good cast. But the director often has to work with the cast to get a good performance. Not knowing the on-set details perhaps Jackson has worked hard at motivating and directing the cast to get the best performances. I'm just not sure how much of the actual "spectacle" of the movies is down to Jackson personally - even if he initiated it all.
Looks like Disney is dominating the category. Brother Bear and Nemo, with Nemo being a dead cert to win.goofystitch wrote:I'm most excited for the score of "Finding Nemo" being nominated. I love the music.
It was sent in as Brazil's candidate for a nomination last year but it wasn't picked. A real shame and a big error in judgement from the Academy in my view. This was easily the most surprising movie and probably even the best movie I saw this year. And I *am* a big LOTR-fan.Joe Carioca wrote:I'm glad "City of God" got all the nominations it did, but I'm still surprised they didn't give it a "Best Foreing Language Picture" nomination.
Yes... I took notice of that some time after I posted this message.bean:therio wrote:It was sent in as Brazil's candidate for a nomination last year but it wasn't picked. A real shame and a big error in judgement from the Academy in my view. This was easily the most surprising movie and probably even the best movie I saw this year. And I *am* a big LOTR-fan.Joe Carioca wrote:I'm glad "City of God" got all the nominations it did, but I'm still surprised they didn't give it a "Best Foreing Language Picture" nomination.
