Buying the Oscar

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Big Magilla
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Re: Buying the Oscar

Post by Big Magilla »

The Awful Truth and Some Like It Hot were not sold as anything more than the comedies they were but, yes, Argo and Lincoln took more than a page from Harvey's book. Spielberg getting Clinton to introduce the clip form Lincoln at the Globes was over-reaching and every time I saw Ben Affleck on a straight news program like Andrea Mitchell's saying with a straight face that "it's all true" I wanted to throw something at the screen. It's madness but no one is worse than Harvey who has been getting away with this for decades now.

You want to know who or what will win next year's Oscars, or at least come close, just look up Harvey Weinsten on IMDb. and see what he's got in the pipeline. Academy voters are sheep and he's the sheep dog.
Mister Tee
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Re: Buying the Oscar

Post by Mister Tee »

Maybe it's because I saw all the Oscar nominees within a very short window this year, and didn't have time to stew over them, but I didn't have the 'loved it/hated" it divide about this year's nominated films. Of course I liked some more than others, and wasn't shy about expressing my lack of enthusiasm for Argo's win, but I don't think I approached the level of vitriol alot of people have expressed -- here and elsewhere -- about especially the two films FilmFan singles out, but also at least Lincoln and Les Miz. It seems like we're all Jeff Wells now: if you're not my favorite, you should be boiled in oil.

And, please: can we stop making Harvey Weinstein the scapegoat for everybody's sins? The TV campaigns I've seen for Argo, Life of Pi and Lincoln over the past month were every bit as much "selling everything except the movie" as Silver Linings.

One more thing: Does anyone catch the contradiction, that we as a board will vote for The Awful Truth or Some Like It Hot as our revisionist choices in the historical battles, then complain that anyone would choose Silver Linings today, because it's "just a romcom"?
Big Magilla
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Re: Buying the Oscar

Post by Big Magilla »

Okay, but the kid looked awfully uncomfortable at the Indies. I think he knows he's being used as a prop.

I didn't like either SLP or BofSW. Maybe if they hadn't been as hyped as they were I might have had a different reaction, but both were oversold beyond whatever modest merits they might have had.
FilmFan720
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Re: Buying the Oscar

Post by FilmFan720 »

Actually, his son is bipolar...as a child he was diagnosed as autistic, but through the years it was discovered that he was misdiagnosed and that he suffered from bipolar disorder.

Not to open a can of worms, but for the life of me I cannot understand the level of hatred that has been sent towards Silver Linings Playbook and especially Beasts of the Southern Wild...I find them both unique, charming films that are both firmly near the top of my own unfinished Top 10.
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Big Magilla
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Buying the Oscar

Post by Big Magilla »

It didn't work for Harvey this time, but not for lack of trying. The campaign to turn romcom comedy Silver Linings Playbook into something more was to me the most revolting spin of the Oscar season. Having David O. Russell use his son as a sympathy card was something no one has really talked about, but the kid is autistic, not bi-polar, which makes the manipulation even more shameless. I am so glad using his influence to get Michelle Obama to open the envelope for Best Picture resulted in a win for the competition.

http://www.vulture.com/2013/02/silver-l ... er_vulture
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