No more pencils, no more books, no more dirty looks from Oscar voters! At least when it comes to accepting new forms of cinema.
Too often the industry hears, “That’s good, but not for the Oscars” or “That’s not something the industry will go for.”
As the Academy heads into the future with new leadership in place, CEO Bill Kramer, newly elected President Janet Yang and the 54-person Board of Governors have the opportunity to invite the casual movie buff to take the tour . The organization has the opportunity to not only broaden the appeal of its telecast, but also expand what it deems “worthy of achievement.”
Recently, we learned that the Academy’s animation arm rejected Netflix’s “Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood” for review, stating that they “do not believe the techniques meet the definition of animation in category rules” due to “heavy use” of live-action footage (he is currently on appeal). And A24’s “Marcel the Shell With Shoes On” is feared to be headed for a similar fate of disqualification.
How would a classic animation hybrid like “Who Frame Roger Rabbit” (1988) perform today? Motion-capture animated film ‘The Adventures of Tintin’ (2011) was deemed eligible but was later snubbed. How about movies like “Avatar (2009), which wasn’t submitted for animation but uses mo-caps, or “The Nightmare Before Christmas” (1993), which was fought over before creation from the animated category and features clay puppets?There is no real categorical difference between them except the aesthetic preference of the filmmaker.
Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who were behind the Oscar-winning actor ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ (2018), have regularly advocated for the Academy to take their medium more seriously. “I would like to make the controversial statement that movies that have been animated are animated movies,” Lord tweeted after the disqualification of “Apollo 10½” was announced.
This pearl-taking by the Academy’s old guard goes beyond the animation branch. The documentary arm, which has just over 650 active members, has long banned anyone outside its community from weighing in on its shortlist or nominating field. On the other hand, for the best international and animated features, members of the Academy can choose to vote for the eventual nominees. International feature films average about 90 submissions a year and have animated about 28. Over the past two years, the doc branch had to review 238 and 138 feature films respectively. It’s hard to believe the branch took long enough to properly review the pool, especially considering how few movies were added to the Academy’s screening room. Instead, voters maintain the status quo, relying on name recognition rather than seizing the opportunity to embrace a discovery.
Lily: the latest predictions, visit Variety Oscar Center.
We’ve seen feature documentaries evolve in the way they tell their stories and also find industry acceptance – take last year’s “Flee” (which was nominated in the international, animated and documentary categories). But there are countless puzzling examples of films omitted from their respective lineups, such as “The Rescue” (2021), “Dick Johnson Is Dead” (2020), and “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” (2018).
Let cinema — in all its forms — rule.
Oscars 2023 Predictions
BEST PHOTO | DIRECTOR | ACTOR | ACTRESS | SUPPORT ACTOR | SUPPORTING ACTRESS | ORIGINAL SCENARIO | ADAPTED SCENARIO | ANIMATED FILM | PRODUCTION DESIGN | CINEMATOGRAPHY | COSTUME DESIGN | FILM EDITING | MAKEUP AND HAIR | SOUND | VISUAL EFFECTS | ORIGINAL SHEET | ORIGINAL SONG | DOCUMENTARY FILM | INTERNATIONAL FILE | ANIMATION SHORT | SHORT DOCUMENTARY | SHORT LIVE ACTION SHORT