The big question is ... with all this success and pretty good reviews, could this film be an Oscar contender? A number of people think of the two major fantasy films this year, The Fellowship of the Ring stands the better chance of being a serious Oscar contender. It's hard to tell ... Oscar usually saves one spot in its Best Picture circle for a well reviewed blockbuster (Ghost, The Fugitive, etc), but I still don't see it happening for either film. With so many other "Oscar-type" films to choose from, especially coming out next month, I still don't see them nominating these two fantasy films for major awards. A Supporting Acting nod ... maybe. Technical nominations? Guaranteed ... these two films could dominate the awards like Costumes, Music-Original Score, Sound, Visual Effects, Film Editing, Art Direction, etc. That I think we'll see ... but unless films like The Shipping News, The Majestic, A Beautiful Mind, and Ali fail to deliver on their promise, I don't think we'll see either Harry Potter or Fellowship of the Ring up for Best Picture or Director. Those type of fantasy films have never been an Academy favorite ... I don't see them changing that now.
But clearly, audiences are still embracing the movies, and Harry Potter appears to provide perfect escapism for all ages. Roger Ebert has even compared it to classics like Raiders of the Lost Ark, and perhaps we do have a new adventure classic on our hands ... I'm looking forward to seeing it.
In 74th Oscar news this week, the Academy just announced that 51 countries have submitted films for consideration for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. That is a record number of entries. As you may know, each country selects one film as their submission, and this year, films from Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Tanzania and Uruguay qualified for the first time. Already, it looks like we have another year where the Best Foreign Language Film winner may be a foregone conclusion. Used to be, the Foreign Film Oscar was always a tough one to predict, but in the last few years, it's become one of the most predictable. Everyone knew Life is Beautiful, All About My Mother, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon would win the last few years, and this year looks to be no different. Already, the entry from France, Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Amélie is considered the early favorite. It's playing now in limited release and is garnering almost unanimous critical acclaim.
