Best Picture and Director 2001

1998 through 2007

What are your picks for Best Picture and Director of 2001?

A Beautiful Mind
0
No votes
Gosford Park
19
27%
In the Bedroom
4
6%
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
10
14%
Moulin Rouge!
2
3%
Robert Altman - Gosford Park
6
9%
Ron Howard - A Beautiful Mind
0
No votes
Peter Jackson - The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
8
11%
David Lynch - Mulholland Drive
19
27%
Ridley Scott - Black Hawk Down
2
3%
 
Total votes: 70

Sabin
Laureate Emeritus
Posts: 10747
Joined: Thu Jan 02, 2003 12:52 am
Contact:

Re: Best Picture and Director 2001

Post by Sabin »

Just read this off the Memento wikipedia page.
Finding American distributors proved more troublesome. Memento was screened for various studio heads (including Miramax chief Harvey Weinstein) in March 2000. Although most of the executives loved the film and praised Nolan's talent, all passed on distributing the picture, believing it was too confusing and would not attract a large audience. After famed independent film director Steven Soderbergh saw the film and learned it was not being distributed, he championed the film in interviews and public events, giving it even more publicity, although he did not secure a distributor. Newmarket, in a financially risky move, decided to distribute the film itself.
Miramax passed on Memento.
"How's the despair?"
Sabin
Laureate Emeritus
Posts: 10747
Joined: Thu Jan 02, 2003 12:52 am
Contact:

Re: Best Picture and Director 2001

Post by Sabin »

Mister Tee wrote
The worst of the seven movies on these two lists is clearly A Beautiful Mind. I found the first hour diverting enough -- the fake-out roommate stuff – but really disliked the treacly turn of the second half. In a bizarre way, the Academy was honoring a contemporary trend: the mind-fuck movie that subverts its entire narrative (a la Usual Suspects, Fight Club). But, just as when it later chose to elevate the Pulp Fiction/Magnolia-sprawling plot/fragmented time trend with Crash, they chose about the worst possible example of the genre.
As the years have rolled on, A Beautiful Mind has looked more and more like one of the most forgotten Best Picture winners, especially considering how odd it was that the Academy managed to honor it for Picture, Director, Writing, but not its lead performance which some would consider inexorably tied to the success of the project. I've attributed its win to many things, including the desire for comfort food after the attacks of September 11th and perhaps a voting bloc that was all too willing to identify with a man slowly losing his sense of reality. But I've never thought that perhaps A Beautiful Mind's victory was a stodgy way of honoring a major trend. "Twists" had become so pervasive for better or worse for at least half a decade at that point but were very slow to warm up to. And after A Beautiful Mind, I'm struggling to think of any at all.
"How's the despair?"
Sabin
Laureate Emeritus
Posts: 10747
Joined: Thu Jan 02, 2003 12:52 am
Contact:

Re: Best Picture and Director 2001

Post by Sabin »

I just stumbled across something I had forgotten in my research: Amelie was rejected by Cannes that year. The programmer was not a fan, which sparked a vocal feud between him and Jean-Pierre Jeunet in the press. In retrospect, there's no reason on Earth why it shouldn't have been included in the official selection. It's Amelie, for Christ's sake! They included Shrek that year. I would ask "Perhaps Miramax would have picked it" but one game at a time.

Amelie is movie that has puzzled me for years. I'll never understand why it didn't do a bit better with the Academy. Perhaps Moulin Rouge! just cut it off at the path with its more accessible and less quirky francophilia. But when I first saw Amelie, I thought to myself that while I wasn't much of a fan "Well, that's it. That's getting in." Foreign-language films at that point had a pretty strong track record of breaking in the final five with Life is Beautiful ('98 -- 7 nominations), skip a year, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ('00 -- 10 nominations). I could be forgiven for thinking it was the new normal. Despite losing its Oscar for Best Foreign-Language Film, it over-performed a bit with the branches with nominations for Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, and Best Sound (which came out of nowhere). I still think it was quite viable in the categories of Best Original Score, Best Film Editing, and Best Costume Design as well.

I get why there may not have been room for Amelie in a lineup with Moulin Rouge! (and to a lesser extent, The Fellowship of the Ring) with an Academy that until very recently had preferred films about real life, but I do think it's a film that could have done a lot better in other years.
"How's the despair?"
Sabin
Laureate Emeritus
Posts: 10747
Joined: Thu Jan 02, 2003 12:52 am
Contact:

Re: Best Picture and Director 2001

Post by Sabin »

mlrg wrote
You should check Black Hawk Down again Sabin. It’s a very well directed and crafted war movie. I really like it a lot.
I'm very open to doing so. I didn't love it at the time. In retrospect, I think I might have been a bit spoiled by the fact that 2001 was a remarkable year. But do you know what I mean about Black Hawk Down feeling like one of those spring war movies that we saw again and again?
Big Magilla wrote
The DGA would almost certainly be either Altman or Lynch, but which one? Both were under-appreciated by the organization, with Altman having only three film nominations and just one TV movie nomination, although he did receive a career achievement award the year after his last nod for The Player, the same year that AMPAS nominated him for Short Cuts. Lynch, on the other hand, only received one film nomination for The Elephant Man twenty-one years earlier, and no TV nominations ever. Nor did he ever receive an honorary award from them. Both Lynch and Altman eventually received honorary awards from AMPAS, Lynch just last year.
I don't think it would go to David Lynch for Mulholland Drive. His work was too outside of the mainstream. I think it would have been between Todd Field and Robert Altman. I think Gosford Park was the one. Altman's lifetime achievement award is a good call, as well as his three other nominations. He may have missed out on a nomination for Short Cuts but what competition!

The fact that David Lynch could only get a nomination for his most commercial work yet missed out on one for Blue Velvet to Randa Haines and Rob Reiner is telling. Did the Guild change their minds that quickly on him? I doubt it.

It's interesting that none of us think that Todd Field would have made it through. At the time, consensus was that we were watching a major talent breakthrough. If anyone would have said that he would make one more film and nothing again (yet), who would believe it? I think Altman would still win the day. This would have clearly positioned Gosford Park as a safe bet for Best Picture with DGA, SAG, and BAFTA nominations. Its lack of a PGA nomination could be chalked up to populism leanings of the Guild (considering their choices of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Shrek). Which points the last spot to a clear choice between In the Bedroom (SAG nomination) and Memento (DGA nomination). I'm clearly leading the witness but I do wonder if Memento could have broken through.

2001 was indeed a very weird year.
"How's the despair?"
Big Magilla
Site Admin
Posts: 19318
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 3:22 pm
Location: Jersey Shore

Re: Best Picture and Director 2001

Post by Big Magilla »

The DGA would almost certainly be either Altman or Lynch, but which one? Both were under-appreciated by the organization, with Altman having only three film nominations and just one TV movie nomination, although he did receive a career achievement award the year after his last nod for The Player, the same year that AMPAS nominated him for Short Cuts. Lynch, on the other hand, only received one film nomination for The Elephant Man twenty-one years earlier, and no TV nominations ever. Nor did he ever receive an honorary award from them. Both Lynch and Altman eventually received honorary awards from AMPAS, Lynch just last year.
mlrg
Associate
Posts: 1747
Joined: Tue Dec 07, 2004 11:19 am
Location: Lisbon, Portugal

Re: Best Picture and Director 2001

Post by mlrg »

You should check Black Hawk Down again Sabin. It’s a very well directed and crafted war movie. I really like it a lot.
Sabin
Laureate Emeritus
Posts: 10747
Joined: Thu Jan 02, 2003 12:52 am
Contact:

Re: Best Picture and Director 2001

Post by Sabin »

I think Baz Luhrmann would pick up a Best Director nomination for Moulin Rouge! (But maybe you’re right about Nolan) Moulin Rouge! would also likely pickup the awards for Best Film Editing and Sound Mixing IMO. The other nominations would likely go to Pearl Harbor for Best Cinematography, either Amelie or Gosford Park for Best Film Editing, and Harry Potter... or Monsters, Inc. for Best Sound Mixing.

But I do wonder: what would have picked up the DGA? Todd Field? Robert Altman? David Lynch? And is there any inkling that Black Hawk Down’s absence could have tipped one of the two weak Best Picture contenders (Gosford Park and In the Bedroom) to Memento or something else?
"How's the despair?"
Big Magilla
Site Admin
Posts: 19318
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 3:22 pm
Location: Jersey Shore

Re: Best Picture and Director 2001

Post by Big Magilla »

I kind of thought that was where you were headed.

2001 was such a strange year at the Oscars.

The worst nominee for Best Picture won. Ron Howard beat both David Lynch (Mulholland Dr.) and Robert Altman (Gosford Park) for Best Director and Christopher Nolan (Memento) wasn't even nominated.

If Black Hawk Down wasn't released early for Oscar consideration, then I see Nolan taking Ridley Scott's slot for Best Director, Mulholland Dr. taking its place in Cinematography, Sound, and Editing with Moulin Rouge! winning for Sound and Memento for editing, although they might just as likely give that to A Beautiful Mind which was the worst edited nominee as well as the worst Best Picture nominee so why not?
Sabin
Laureate Emeritus
Posts: 10747
Joined: Thu Jan 02, 2003 12:52 am
Contact:

Re: Best Picture and Director 2001

Post by Sabin »

Big Magilla wrote
According to the film's IMDb. trivia page:

Originally slated to open on March 1, 2002. However, following successful test screenings in October 2001, that release was bumped up to January with special screenings arranged in December to help the film qualify for Academy Award consideration.

Those screenings were in the month after 9/11. Also from the film's trivia page:

Although this was released to a wave of patriotic fervor, it was actually completed long before the tragic events of September 11, 2001.
Black Hawk Down always struck me as one of those Spring war movies and less an Oscar movie. I’m going to check it out again.


The reason for my post was I was wondering what if Black Hawk Down was not released in 2001 and kept its original 2002 release date? Let’s say it just wasn’t done yet. I know that it wasn’t up for Best Picture, but for a late entry in the race it pulled in four nominations and won two fairly substantial down-ballot awards (Film Editing and Sound Mixing) and not for lack of other options in those categories signaling late brewing enthusiasm for the film.

It’s other most notable showing was as a DGA nominee over Todd Field, Robert Altman, and the less-likely David Lynch, who nonetheless showed up as a sole directing nominee.

If Black Hawk Down wasn’t released, what effect might that have had on the race? Is there a film that might have benefited from that requisite enthusiasm like perhaps Memento or would the race remain unchanged?
"How's the despair?"
Big Magilla
Site Admin
Posts: 19318
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 3:22 pm
Location: Jersey Shore

Re: Best Picture and Director 2001

Post by Big Magilla »

According to the film's IMDb. trivia page:

Originally slated to open on March 1, 2002. However, following successful test screenings in October 2001, that release was bumped up to January with special screenings arranged in December to help the film qualify for Academy Award consideration.

Those screenings were in the month after 9/11. Also from the film's trivia page:

Although this was released to a wave of patriotic fervor, it was actually completed long before the tragic events of September 11, 2001.
Sabin
Laureate Emeritus
Posts: 10747
Joined: Thu Jan 02, 2003 12:52 am
Contact:

Re: Best Picture and Director 2001

Post by Sabin »

To be clear:

Was Black Hawk Down originally scheduled for a 2002 release, like in the spring perhaps, but then at some point it was moved up in the release calendar to be a fall of 2001 release?
"How's the despair?"
Reza
Laureate Emeritus
Posts: 10031
Joined: Thu Jan 02, 2003 11:14 am
Location: Islamabad, Pakistan

Re: Best Picture and Director 2001

Post by Reza »

Sabin wrote:Was Black Hawk Down originally scheduled as a 2002 release but then got bumped up?

Black Hawk Down had a limited release in four theaters on December 28, 2001, in order to be eligible for the 2001 Oscars. On January 11, 2002, the release expanded to 16 theaters and on January 18, 2002, the film had its wide release.
Sabin
Laureate Emeritus
Posts: 10747
Joined: Thu Jan 02, 2003 12:52 am
Contact:

Re: Best Picture and Director 2001

Post by Sabin »

Was Black Hawk Down originally scheduled as a 2002 release but then got bumped up?
"How's the despair?"
User avatar
Precious Doll
Emeritus
Posts: 4453
Joined: Mon Jan 13, 2003 2:20 am
Location: Sydney
Contact:

Re: Best Picture and Director 2001

Post by Precious Doll »

A more impressive line-up, shame about the inclusion of A Beautiful Mind, Moulin Rouge & Black Hawke Down.

My selections;

1. In the Bedroom (Todd Field)
2. The Lady and the Duke (Eric Rohmer)
3. Mulholland Drive (David Lynch)
4. Lantana (Ray Lawrence)
5. Dog Days (Ulrich Seidl)
6. The Piano Teacher (Michael Haneke)
7. Tears of the Black Tiger (Wisit Sasanatieng)
8. Spirited Away (Hayao Miyzaki)
9. Fat Girl (Catherine Breillat)
10.The Sleepy Time Gal (Christopher Munch)
"I want cement covering every blade of grass in this nation! Don't we taxpayers have a voice anymore?" Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole) in John Waters' Desperate Living (1977)
nightwingnova
Assistant
Posts: 516
Joined: Mon Nov 07, 2011 4:48 pm

Re: Best Picture and Director 2001

Post by nightwingnova »

A few observations about the best picture nominees.

Gosford Park was so delicious and delightful.

I am trying to watch the extended version of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I agree that it's beautifully done. With a couple of notable exceptions, it generally eschews silly and melodramatic stagings. I couldn't stand the slo-mo battle to the death of Boromir. Too over the top. Worse yet was the forming of the fellowship - gag me treacly contrivance.

One more complaint- hated the acting of those playing the hobbits, especially Elijah Wood. I expected some unique characterizations based on the descriptions in the books. The charm of these creatures wasn't there. And what really ruins the LTR movies is Wood....that gawdawful plaintive voice that sounded so actorly fake!
Post Reply

Return to “The 8th Decade”