For the past three years, after Roger Ebert passed away, I have been attempting to see movies that I know will be excellent. That fortunately results in getting to look at movies year round that are quite good and are easily Oscar caliber. That is not to say there were some clunkers I saw this past year, but they were few and far between. In this regard, I was able to see many of the nominated movies this past year; the most recent of which is the Lenny Abrahamson movie Room, which I highly recommend though it is not for the faint of heart. A great deal of these movies that I saw have one thing in common: the filmmakers and people involved with these movies are lily white mostly. Half of the films I saw this year only had white people. This was not a choice of mine; the fact is the bulk of what is considered best in 2015 were what we may consider white movies. There are exceptions: the newest Spike Lee masterwork Chi-Raq, Straight Outta Compton, Creed, possibly Sicario, and I would surmise Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Those movies dealt with issues and people that are minorities. Let it be known, I have not yet seen Quentin Tarantino's new film The Hateful Eight.
I want to take notice of Chi-Raq for a moment. Any one that has seen Spike Lee's latest joint would immediately consider this not only among the best of 2015, yet perhaps Mr. Lee's most coherent and innovative movie in recent years. I tend to think all of Spike Lee's movies, including recent films like Oldboy, are interesting and innovative. By the way, I hope the three hour plus director's cut of Oldboy is released soon enough. Back to Chi-Raq, it was a marvelous film; Teyonah Parris is a star in the making, Nick Cannon can actually act, and anytime Angela Basset, Jennifer Hudson and Samuel L. Jackson appear in a movie of this sort you know to expect some of the best method acting around.
And I watched it on Amazon Prime.
Yes, Amazon Prime. Indeed, Jeff Bezos of Amazon teamed with Spike Lee's 40 Acres And A Mule Filmworks along with Roadside Attractions in financing this film. Rather than what would be perceived as a one time deal; online streaming and financing is going to be the future of how we view movies. We are seeing this in the realm of American television, wherein Netflix, Amazon, Vimeo, YouTube, Apple and other providers are not only distributing shows; these businesses are financing newer talent and taking the risks to produce quality series that networks are not prone to carry. As a result of the web's omnipresence, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (Golden Globes) and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (Emmys) have allowed web shows to qualify for their respective awards.
Up to now, there has not been a need for the Oscars to look at this web presence. However, that is going to change; what with Chi-Raq being shown on Amazon and Netflix co-financing Beasts Of No Nations, a movie I have not yet seen. Rest assured, as the trend continues for most multiplexes to show only the movies guaranteed to fill the box office, more important and thoughtful films will be exhibited online first. And I am sad to say, this will affect African-American cinema; notably non-action based films by African-Americans. It is already a rare sight when a black culture film like Dear White People is able to be released to theaters nationwide, much less been seen willingly by white people. I mentioned that when I saw that movie, which by the way also starred Teyonah Parris, there were about a dozen or so in the theater seeing it; maybe two people in there were white, including me.
This brings me to something that has been brought to my attention, along with others recently. The membership of the Academy happens to be some 80% white, and 76% of that 80% being men. The average minimal age for most Academy members is 60. As well, as much as we do not like to admit this, nearly all Academy members have not gotten over the end of the New Hollywood era; that period of time when the studios and their parent companies allowed free reign in what movies were made. Thus, the voting members tend to look at awarding people from that time (1963-1993) or those that remind the voters of that time period. A noble and understandable gesture; yet it has been 23 years since what I consider the end of New Hollywood, when Steven Spielberg changed course in his movies starting with Schindler's List. I hope to explain why I think it marked an end of an era later on.
It is rather obvious that, in this post Roger Ebert, post movie house era of films, AMPAS will need to alter their membership and outlook. There have been small steps recently, including Spike Lee receiving an honorary Oscar and Cheryl Boone Isaacs becoming the first female African American President of the Academy. Yet those are just small measures; far more important will be issues pertaining to qualifications for movies shown online or on demand first. This will go along with a greater emphasis on independent films and more avant garde choices. Perhaps there will be a newer New Hollywood that can emerge.
That being said, what are my Oscar predictions? Well in short, I thought the best movie of 2015 was the Tom McCarthy directed Spotlight. Quite obviously, Spotlight is a movie that fits the paradigm of what New Hollywood represented, and has the ability to show risk taking in a blockbuster or nothing environment. It is my hope that Spotlight wins Best Picture, Tom McCarthy wins Best Director, and Mr. McCarthy along with Josh Singer win Best Original Screenplay at least. I would like to see Leonardo Dicaprio win Best Actor in The Revenant, and I do hope Brie Larson or Soairse Ronan win Best Actress in either Room or Brooklyn, respectively. I have not yet seen the Charlotte Rampling movie 45 years, yet I do consider Ms. Rampling to be one of the more iconic screen presences in her lifetime. I think Rooney Mara should win Best Supporting Actress in Carol, though I have yet to see the Quentin Tarantino film The Hateful Eight which nabbed Jennifer Jason Leigh her first nomination. Mind you, I did like Rachel McAdams in Spotlight. And this might be a bit controversial; yet I think Tom Hardy is most deserving of a Best Supporting Actor win in The Revenant. Though of course, Mark Ruffalo is a great actor himself, particularly in Spotlight.
Best Adapted Screenplay is a bit of a push: I liked what Emma Donoghue accomplished in writing her own screenplay to Room based on her novel. I was also amazed at Adam McKay and Charles Randolph adapting Michael Lewis' book The Big Short into an impressive film. Either one would be fine by me. Best Cinematography should go to Roger Deakins who shot Sicario, though I would also think John Seale for his involvement with Mad Max: Fury Road would be a wise choice. Best Editing should go to Margaret Sixel who edited Mad Max: Fury Road, though I was impressed with Tom McArdle and his approach to cutting Spotlight. And I would like to see Carter Burwell finally win an Oscar for his musical score used in Carol.
There are of course other nominees and other categories to consider. And I will be doing that in the week or so running up to the February 28 awards ceremony. Right now, these are my inferences and hopes for who will take home the prize. Just to let it be known: I will be watching and I do hope to either live blog the event or perhaps even record my reactions on video while it is still ongoing. I commit to not delaying the live blogging like what happened last year; albeit that was also due to getting laid off from my previous job the day after last year's Oscars. This time should be quite different.
One other thing I want to mention. I am a subscriber to YouTube's Red paid membership site. I am pleased that I can see content that otherwise would be restricted or ad driven on the free site. None the less, I am hoping YouTube Red will be allowed to start streaming movies through the subscription service. As of now, some movies of importance are allowed without paying extra. Most of these films though are of this quality.
These are the sorts of films I watch when snow weekends are here.
One more week until the first primaries: stay tuned for my thoughts,
Robert
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