Dark Knight vs LotR Oscar Noms

You don't honestly think there's a rhyme or reason to oscar noms in any given year, much less between years?

It's just my opinion, but TDK isn't oscar worthy for a best picture nomination, not because of popcorn or comic book, or whatever.  It was a good flick, it just wasn't that good.

I think LOTR probably got most attention due to its scale, it was the third installment that got the oscar nod, and that was probably a recognition of the massive, epic scale of the three movies together, and the fact that no one in H'wood probably thought some backwoods Kiwis could pull it off.

ETA- most, or many critics panned Benjamin Button, yet it got the most nominations, didn't it?   Oscars are nominated and voted on by the insular industry, not really the best judges IMO

Edited by ChrisM 2009-01-22 6:24 PM

I was a little disapointed with the nominations this year.  I'm not sure if it was the nominations, or possible a poor year in the theater.

If you think about it, The Dark Knight will be remembered as a good movie regardless if it got an Oscar nomination or not. It doesn't need an Oscar to say that it's a good movie. Don't forget that one of the most talked about movies, Saving Private Ryan lost out to Shakespeare in Love as best pic. No one remembers Shakespear in Love, but everyone remembers Saving Private Ryan.

If you're saying "got shut out of the 'major' noms" other than Supporting Actor, then, yes, that's true. But TDK did get 8 nominations...more than THE TWO TOWERS, though not as many as TFOTR or RETURN OF THE KING.




Speaking as a former filmmaker (and still a voter for the Directors Guild awards): More coherence and focus. More depth of acting talent beyond the "leads". Scope. The ability to credibly create a wholly imaginary world. And a different kind of reliance on sentimentality. I generally hate unearned sentimentality in movies--I was very moved by a lot in the "Rings" movies (other than the multiple false endings of the third one).

And, btw, I love Christopher Nolan as a writer and director. I've liked everything he's done to-date. But TDK was too long and inconsistent to be loved enough for a Best Picture nomination (though I bet it came close)...I watched it with family over the holidays and even my brother-in-law who's a comics and sci-fi fan was bored with parts of TDK.

 

No. I know people in the industry and they just weren't that knocked out by TDK as a movie. There's a lot of admiration for the writing (revisit the reviews and you'll see a ton of discussion of the movie as critique of the Bush administration and an exploration of the moral dimensions of the "war on terror"...no one was treating this as just a "comic book" movie). And there's an equal amount of regard for Heath Ledger's performance and the script's re-conception of The Joker. Again, there's high regard for the concept, less for aspects of the execution (e.g., editing of the fight sequences, pacing and length).

To some degree, industry people were just overwhelmed by the combination of forceful characterizations, tight story editing, and cutting edge VFX in LotR as much as they were by any sense that it was "literary" (as opposed to "comic book" derived).



See above. I don't think anyone really disagreed with either. But the Oscars seldom go to set pieces--they go to consistent wholes.



Actually, a substantial majority of critics praised BUTTON (72% favorable on rottentomatoes.com, with an average rating of 7.2 out of 10). I haven't seen it, so it isn't my dog in this fight...just think that needed to be pointed out.



Edited by tcovert 2009-01-23 12:55 AM

Slumdog Millionaire will win...great, great movie.

There are no other movies besides TLOTR.

What about Gran Torino?   Was that released to late to be part of this years awards?

No, it was eligible, it just wasn't nominated. It was released late, and poorly marketed, IMO. It really didn't generate much buzz, the commercials didn't really give you a sense of the story and the title doesn't mean anything to a lot of people. I didn't see it, but I didn't see the commercials and think, "I gotta see that!"

My parents saw Gran Torino and loved it. From what I understand, it's probably Eastwood's last film as an actor. Of course many actors say that. I'm sure he'll pop up in another film if the script is right.

Hoping to see The Wrestler with Mickey Rourke.