Editorial on Awards Shows and Nominations

Now that I have posted my favorite films of the year, I am anxiously awaiting the Oscar nominations on Thursday. And you know what? Even though they were my favorite films of the year, I am not expecting Unfinished Song or About Time to be nominated at all. I do think that Philomena will pick up a couple of nominations, The Way Way Back may get a surprise nomination (but I doubt it) and Saving Mr. banks will probably be the biggest nomination-getter in my top 5 films. I do think Dallas Buyer's Club will get more than either Banks or Philomena, but I would bet that American Hustle and 12 Years a Slave will be the top nomination-getters.
But, both of those are on my 'Runners Up' list.
And it won't bother me at all if they become big winners.
Why?
First off, I admit, I love to see what stars wear when they go to awards shows. It is fun to see how they interact with other celebrities and their companions.
But, the main reason?
For me, award shows and their nominations are about getting films some recognition. It is common knowledge in Hollywood that the more awards and nominations that your film receives in the end of year awards, the more people will see your film.If the film is still playing in theaters, that means a lot more box office numbers and, if your film has already hit the home video market, it translates into more rentals and sales. The rentals and sales also heat up once a well-nominated film hits video. A few years ago, when Lost in Translation was nominated, it had just been released on video but was still playing in a few theaters. The theater count went up considerably and it also became the week's highest renter on video.
I worked at Blockbuster for 13 years and I always loved it when I was able to talk someone into renting a particular film that they weren't sure about renting and then they would come back and tell me that they loved it and they had watched it 3 or 4 times, or they had a friend watch it, or hat they went out and bought it immediately. That was what made that job so fun- bringing films into customer's homes and giving them an enjoyable 2 hours.
While some may dismiss the fact that awards aren't important, I agree and disagree. If a film does not get an award, does that automatically make it a bad film? Am I wrong for placing Unfinished Song at the top of my list for films of the year if it receives zero awards? If a film wins a lot of awards, does that automatically make it a good film?
The answer to all 3 questions is 'Of Course Not!'
As I wrote last week, critiquing films and the ranking of them is a purely subjective piece of thinking and writing. In my discussions with people about my list, there are those who disagree with my rankings, but who understand why I ranked them as I did. Unfinished Song and About Time touched me on a very personal level. Two years ago, for the film year of 2011, my two favorite films were 50/50 and We Bought a Zoo. Those also got zero nominations between the two of them. And I was okay with that.
The groups that vote on the awards each year are also doing it subjectively. A lot of times, a film will be nominated because of its subject matter. Other times, it will be a purely political nomination because so-and-so needs a nomination or needs to win an Oscar. (Come on, after all of his performances, can you really tell me that Paul Newman's best work in his entire career was in 'Color of Money'? While he was great in it, it was not his best film, yet that is what he wion his Oscar for.) I do not feel that 'The English Patient' was the best film of the year whe it won. However, it was a very well-made and crafted film, but I didn't like it.
When a film gets a nomination, like I said, it will be viewed by many more people. And that, to me, is a good thing. If a film's nomination gets it in front of a lot more viewers who even give it a shot because of its nominations, it's a good thing. Even if the viewer hates the film, they have at least expanded their horizons a bit from what they normally might see. My father-in-law fell asleep while watching Unfinished Song. And that's okay. It wasn't his thing- no problem- but he at least gave it a shot.
A few years ago at my work, a co-worker and I were talking about films and we attempted to see every film that had at least 2 nominations before Oscar night. I think I only missed 2 films with multiple nominations that year and I think he only missed 3 or 4. While he (and I) didn't like everything, he thanked me for getting him involved because he was able to broaden his horizons and he saw a lot of films that he wouldn't have seen otherwise and he was glad that he did.
If conventional wisdom holds on what will be nominated this year, I will only have 11 or so films to see to catch all multiple nominated films. And 5 of those only opened here in Salt Lake last weekend, so I will have plenty of time to catch them all. Even if 4 or 5 other films sneak in away from conventional wisdom, there is a high likelihood that I have already seen them and, even so, 15 or so films to see in a month and half should not be too taxing.
I offer anyone who reads this the challenge of seeing as many of the Oscar nominated films as you can. If nothing else, it will get you to seek out films and watch things that you wouldn't have tried before. Maybe you will despise every single nominated film- but at least you will have seen them and you will have an opinion. And you can starta discussion.
And that is the whole purpose in my mind of lists and awards- get films seen and to starta discussion about film. And hopefully, allow someone the joy of catching a film that touches them greatly in some way.