First off, let me say that I think Miramax has done an incredible thing for the independent film in America, bringing some truly wonderful films to audiences that might not have seen them before, and I think it's fine that they promote their films as much as they do. I would be surprised if any studio did not actively promote their films. Obviously, studios have to promote their films to get audiences to find themselves. But campaigning for Academy Awards is a much different thing. Something else to remember is that the Academy Awards are precious, they are history. The Academy Awards should clearly represent the year's truly best film achievements, and I know they haven't always done it in the past, but at least it's been their own decisions. In these cases, a film studio is using strong-armed tactics, spending millions of dollars, to get less-than-qualified films up for several Oscars, including the coveted Best Picture slot.
And that's finally the issue ... these are less-than-qualified films by almost anyone's measure. It is not right that the Academy Awards have seemingly been hijacked by Miramax, and it doesn't seem like it will be stopping anytime soon. Miramax continues their track record of having a Best Picture nominee every year. Less-than-qualified films should be left out of the Academy Awards, not pushed down Academy members' throats like they have a new film classic on their hands.
Anyway, that's my brief opinion on it, and I really would love more discussion to take place on this issue, and especially hear from more of you as to why you think these strong armed tactics continue to work.
Now onto Academy Awards news ... one major precursor award winner was announced this past week, and threw a wrench into everyone's thinking about the Best Cinematography race. The American Society of Cinematographers awarded their Best Cinematography Feature award to The Patriot! The Patriot is also up for the Cinematography Oscar, but I don't think anyone was giving it a real shot at winning ... the consensus was that this was either a cinch for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or Gladiator (I think the former). So I guess The Patriot must be considered a possible front runner as well ... that's all we needed, something else to make this year's Oscar race difficult to predict!
Anyway, that's where we are this week ... the other various guilds will be presenting their awards in the coming weeks, and this will help shape up more of the Academy Award categories. Next week, back to more news about the upcoming Oscar telecast, precursor awards, and more! That is, unless Miramax convinces me that another topic deserves more attention! :-)
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