So a handy rule of thumb when predicting Oscar winners is to ask yourself “Which film would a bunch of actors think had the best makeup? Or the best original music?”Īctors know movies well, and so they often make reasonable choices for Best Picture, Best Achievement in Screenwriting, and, of course, the performance categories. Nominees are selected by individual branches of the Academy, but every member’s vote counts toward selecting a winner. The Oscars are, essentially, an opportunity for the film industry to express their collective opinion about what they like. As far as I know, Academy members receive no instruction to choose the “correct” film for each award. “Popularity contest” sounds critical, but I don’t mean it that way. Now expand your circle of friends a bit and add some membership criteria, and you’ve got the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Same thing if y’all got together voted on your favorite films of the year. If you and your friends held a poll to choose your favorite beer, you wouldn’t ever think the results were “wrong”-they are what they are, just an amalgam of your tastes. You should no more lament “incorrect” Oscar results than you should question who was awarded prom queen. Because the Oscars are a popularity contest. Here’s the thing: The right films always win at the Oscars. I can’t believe the Academy failed to recognize his performance. It comes in many variations, all centering around the idea that some film or person should win (or should have won) the coveted award.Ī film that should have won didn’t, so that film was robbed. It’s Oscar time again, which means that one of my weird pet peeves is back in circulation. Please listen to the thoughts and frustrations of the visual effects artists whose work you presided over so masterfully. You’ve put your foot in your mouth twice now about how you wish visual effects could be less expensive, and in doing so, I dare hope that you’ve made it nearly impossible for yourself to continue to ignore the nuances of the situation. As a group of nerdy artists, you nailed it.Ĭongratulations to Ang Lee, for both your talent behind the lens, and also for the gift that awaits you. Although he failed to mention the VFX crew as their images danced behind him on stage, he later acknowledged it to press backstage.Ĭongratulations to the 400+ VFX artists who demonstrated in a way that got all the right kinds of attention. You came off as a class act, and as is so often the case with visual effects and cinema, you’ve captivated the world’s attention with what they didn’t get to see.Ĭongratulations to Claudio Miranda, who I know in my heart appreciates the hell out of the work that shares the frame with his. You did the right thing by starting off with proper acknowledgments, and then the right thing again by jumping right into the controversy. I know how hard it is to do what you did, and even though I know exactly how you did it, I have no idea how you pulled it off.Ĭongratulations to Bill Westenhofer, for your amazing work to be sure, but also for the nonobvious gift of being cut off at the exact right moment to make the experience awful enough for all involved that the world took notice. Your tigers and waves and artistry and technical mastery made me laugh and cry and revel in how wonderful movies can be. I also know what it feels like to be a director who can’t afford all the VFX I’d like in my own work.Ĭongratulations to the visual effects crew of Life of Pi. So I know what it’s like to be an artist who feels overworked and under appreciated.Īnd I know what it feels like to start your dream company, and see it collapse. I’m also a survivor of a VFX company bankruptcy. I’m a fan of film who fantasized about making movies ever since seeing Star Wars at age five. I’m a director, and a visual effects artist. I was about to embark down the road of writing up the evening’s events, as if I was some kind of journalist.īut I’m not. Last night was a rough one for the Visual Effects community.
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