We’re in the final stretch of awards season now. Last night both the BAFTAs — sort of the British equivalent of the Oscars — and the Critics Choice awards were handed out. The Producers Guild of America and the Writers Guild of America have their awards coming up on, respectively, the 19th and the 20th… and then the grand finale, the Academy Awards, has its big show on March 27th. (I’ve got a list of the Oscar nominees here.)
How much do Oscar nominations or wins affect your desire to see a film? Do you pay attention to and seek out the nominees and winners, or does love from the Oscars make little difference to your decision (or not) to view a film? Is there any awards love that you do sit up and take notice of?
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0%?
I actually think Oscar bait is the type of film I don’t want to see, so especially things in the Best Picture category are like a negative barometer.
It does please me if things I like get some recognition, but then I’ve obviously already seen them.
Zero.
But it’s nice if something I’ve enjoyed gets recognized.
When Aimee Mann was nominated for the Magnolia soundtrack, she said: I’d like to win an Oscar, but that would mean I suck. Each year, I’m a little more convinced that rule applies to the Oscars as a whole. But the Academy is trying harder not to overlook people who aren’t White men, which means every once in a while, something genuinely interesting slips through.
At the time, not at all.
But now that I’ve been going back over the last few decades of cinematic history, it’s a useful guide to films that people at the time thought were important or significant in some way other than raw box office (though of course that feeds into the awards too).
Somewhat. I mean if a film I haven’t seen (and am in no hurry to see) gets nominated for Best Picture I often feel I should see it.
Thanks, boss. Your tutorial worked for this old and stupid guy.
Glad to help!
I suppose it piques my interest. Something like CODA, which I knew nothing about, now feels like a movie I should see. Eventually.
Normally oscar noms don’t supercede already earned interest. Consistent good reviews work far better than any award nominations to take me from ‘meh’ to ‘hmmm’.