stupid oscar question - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Supple Cow · 02-29-2004, 09:26 PM

My suitemate asked me if Jonathan Brandis would be honored during the part where they pay tribute to the actors that died during the year. I laughed at her, but then it got me thinking - what exactly are the requirements for that?

Church · 02-29-2004, 09:52 PM

Pretty much anyone who were good to the Academy or deemed worthy of being mentioned in their eyes.

Supple Cow · 02-29-2004, 10:23 PM

so no standard protocol?

JohnnyRoyale · 03-01-2004, 07:28 AM

I don't see one. If you're interested, you can write them and ask. Here's their website:

http://www.oscars.org/index.html

Supple Cow · 03-01-2004, 07:41 AM

I never thought of asking them, but that's a good idea. I just shot them an email - I wonder what (if any) kind of response I'll get.

gibingus · 03-01-2004, 10:45 AM

maybe you have to be a member of the academy, or otherwise connected.

Lasereth · 03-01-2004, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by YoungNastyMan
Pretty much anyone who were good to the Academy or deemed worthy of being mentioned in their eyes.

Yep. Most of the actions that take place with the Academy have nothing to do with any protocol or facts. It's all opinions and box office numbers. Take a look at the visual effects category this year...niether Matrix movie got even nominated. That's the give-away for me.

-Lasereth

SecretMethod70 · 03-01-2004, 12:56 PM

I didn't watch...was he mentioned? He wasn't exactly that important to Hollywood but he was a decent entertainer and it's pretty sad how he went, so I think he deserves to be mentioned.

Supple Cow · 03-01-2004, 01:23 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by SecretMethod70
I didn't watch...was he mentioned? He wasn't exactly that important to Hollywood but he was a decent entertainer and it's pretty sad how he went, so I think he deserves to be mentioned.

No, he wasn't mentioned as far as I know - at least he wasn't part of the montage.

Cynthetiq · 03-01-2004, 01:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Lasereth
Yep. Most of the actions that take place with the Academy have nothing to do with any protocol or facts. It's all opinions and box office numbers. Take a look at the visual effects category this year...niether Matrix movie got even nominated. That's the give-away for me.

-Lasereth

IMHO I don't think that either Matrix movie was groundbreaking or meritous of any awards.

Lasereth · 03-01-2004, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Cynthetiq
IMHO I don't think that either Matrix movie was groundbreaking or meritous of any awards.

Most people hated the sequels, and it's not my place to convince anyone otherwise, but come on! Hulk was nominated but not the Matrix movies in the visual effects. Hulk? HULK? That movie was an embarassment to visual effects coordinaters everywhere.

-Lasereth

grayman · 03-02-2004, 10:25 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Lasereth
Most people hated the sequels, and it's not my place to convince anyone otherwise, but come on! Hulk was nominated but not the Matrix movies in the visual effects. Hulk? HULK? That movie was an embarassment to visual effects coordinaters everywhere.

-Lasereth

I haven't seen Revolutions, but I thought that the effects in the Hulk looked far more realistic than 90% of the effects in Reloaded.

johnsmith · 03-03-2004, 12:21 PM

The Oscars are such a sham. At least they have started to nominate movies that people actually go to see. It used to be only movies with grosses under $5 million could be nominated for best picture. I guess they needed people to watch the award show again so they could afford the 10K gift bags for the already ridiculously wealthy nominees.

Redjake · 03-03-2004, 12:36 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by grayman
I haven't seen Revolutions, but I thought that the effects in the Hulk looked far more realistic than 90% of the effects in Reloaded.

Are you serious? I had a hard time convincing a lot of the people I know that a major percentage of the Burly Brawl was CG.....

find someone who thinks the Hulk is real, and I'll call it even....

I agree that Hulk's visuals were excellent, but they weren't better than either of the Matrix movies....

The APU (Armored Personel Units) that the Zion guys use were unbelievable.....I couldn't tell the difference between real and fake....it looked too good.....

Hulk looked like a comic book (and rightly so).

Just because you didn't like the movies doesn't mean the graphics aren't excellent.

Sparhawk · 03-03-2004, 05:49 PM

The exclusion of matrix and star wars were definitely, and deservedly IMO, snubs by the Academy.

I just really wish Bill Murray won

grayman · 03-03-2004, 10:19 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Redjake
Are you serious? I had a hard time convincing a lot of the people I know that a major percentage of the Burly Brawl was CG.....

I hope you are joking. The effects for this were so horrible, I was laughing.

Quote:

Originally posted by Redjake

Just because you didn't like the movies doesn't mean the graphics aren't excellent.

I never said I didn't like them, just that I haven't seen Revolutions yet. Maybe the effects in it are better, but I made my judgement based on the awful effects in Reloaded.

Lasereth · 03-04-2004, 04:04 AM

The awful effects in Reloaded? Are we talking about the same two movies here? I guess it's just personal opinion, because the effects in Hulk were laughable to me. Most of the effects in Terminator 3 cracked me up too.

<IMG SRC=http://whatisthematrix.warnerbros.com/vfx/rl_img/vfx_image_10.jpg>

<IMG SRC=http://www.hulkmovie.com/images/multimedia/movie/hulk_tank.jpg>

-Lasereth

Cynthetiq · 03-04-2004, 06:48 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Lasereth
The awful effects in Reloaded? Are we talking about the same two movies here? I guess it's just personal opinion, because the effects in Hulk were laughable to me. Most of the effects in Terminator 3 cracked me up too.

<IMG SRC=http://whatisthematrix.warnerbros.com/vfx/rl_img/vfx_image_10.jpg>

<IMG SRC=http://www.hulkmovie.com/images/multimedia/movie/hulk_tank.jpg>

-Lasereth

IIRC, the wachowski bros didn't make their films available for submission to the Academy.

Lasereth · 03-04-2004, 08:36 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Cynthetiq
IIRC, the wachowski bros didn't make their films available for submission to the Academy.

Whaddya mean? I know that Joel Silver requested that Revolutions be the film of nomination instead of Reloaded (he didn't want both movies to be nominated, that'd be pretty damn unfair), but Revolutions was certainly available for nomination.

-Lasereth

Cynthetiq · 03-04-2004, 08:50 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Lasereth
Whaddya mean? I know that Joel Silver requested that Revolutions be the film of nomination instead of Reloaded (he didn't want both movies to be nominated, that'd be pretty damn unfair), but Revolutions was certainly available for nomination.

-Lasereth

that's what the IIRC was for... I couldn't remember just what they had said about including it into the academy roster.

Lasereth · 03-04-2004, 01:17 PM

I have no idea what IIRC means.

-Lasereth

Cynthetiq · 03-04-2004, 01:19 PM

if I recall correctly = IIRC

Lasereth · 03-04-2004, 01:23 PM

Ok thanks! I know that Joel Silver said that only one of the Matrix films would be available for nomination, but I'm not positive that it was finally decided for Revolutions. It may have been Reloaded, I'm pretty sure it was Revolutions IIRC. Ha ha I'm so fuckin good.

-Lasereth

Batman976 · 03-05-2004, 09:36 AM

I got this from a post on the DVDTalk forums. Unfortunately I don't have a link to the original article.

Quote:

Interesting article from Don Shay at Cinefex:

Nominations were announced today for the 76th annual Academy Awards. As determined by the visual effects branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, three films will vie for best visual effects: The Return of the King, Master and Commander and Pirates of the Caribbean. The branch -- comprised of some 250 effects professionals -- met last week for what has become known as the 'bakeoff' to review and choose the most worthy candidates from among the films released in 2003. Others considered in the customary field of seven were The Hulk, Peter Pan, Terminator 3 and X2.

Artists representing each of the films were given five minutes to discuss the work on their particular project before presenting a 15-minute effects reel and then following up with an additional three minutes of discussion or questions. Branch members -- who had earlier been sent written materials on all seven films -- then voted secretly to select the top three. A final vote by all Academy members will determine the Oscar recipient.

Lingering over the proceedings was a gnawing question: What about The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions? How could two of the biggest effects films of the year fail even to make the bakeoff? Was it personal? Was it political? Or did the 40-member visual effects steering committee, charged with whittling the year's contenders down to seven, find these films somehow lacking in merit?

Cinefex sat down with veteran visual effects supervisor Richard Edlund, chairman of the Academy visual effects branch since its formation nine years ago, to discuss the selection process.

Cinefex: How does one become a member of the visual effects branch?

You need to be in a key creative position in the industry for eight years and be sponsored by two branch members. You then come up before the executive committee -- which currently has 34 members -- and a simple majority vote is required for selection. Someone who has been in the industry for a shorter time, but has done something particularly laudatory, may also be considered; but, in that case, the executive committee must vote unanimously.

Cinefex: How about the steering committee that selects the bakeoff films?

That committee consists of the executive committee, plus a few extras to bring the number up to 40. These are top people in the business, representing all disciplines, including physical effects. And the committee is diversified in that no one company has more than one or two representatives.

Cinefex: How are the bakeoff films selected?

We begin by reading off the names of all the movies that have qualified for Academy consideration. From that list, we select those that have enough effects to warrant discussion. This year, about 40 made that first cut. After that, we go through each film, and anyone on the committee is free to discuss its merits or failings. In the course of that process, we come up with our short list -- which this year was 19 films. Then everybody completes a ballot on which they can rank order up to ten movies. Price Waterhouse tabulates the votes and the seven top films are announced the next day.

Cinefex:A lot of people were shocked that neither of the Matrix films made the list.

I was surprised myself. The balloting is secret, but I can only assume that it missed by a vote or two. I think the studio was partially at fault. Rather than have the two Matrix films compete against each other and split the vote, Warner Brothers withdrew Matrix Reloaded from consideration -- which it was entitled to do -- leaving only Revolutions. I think a lot of people felt that the second one should have been put up, and not the third. Plus Revolutions was released late in the year and Warners was very tight about letting anybody who worked on the effects talk about it. It was a big secret. And a lot of people were just 'matrixed' out. Any of these factors could have had an effect on the vote. Still, it was great work, and it should not have been overlooked.

Cinefex: What are your criteria for selection? How do you weigh number of shots versus degree of difficulty versus technical innovation versus ...

Versus support of the drama. Right. To be honest, I don't know how you do that. We have no stated criteria. The field is just too broad and encompasses too many disciplines. How do you gauge Gollum against a sea battle? How do you judge fantasy effects versus reality-based effects? Three years ago, Dinosaur -- which had about 1,000 visual effects shots in it -- failed to get a nomination, while Gladiator, which had only about 70, went on to win the Oscar. Why? Because, to a degree, voting is always subjective. Everyone has to establish his own criteria based on personal experience and expertise. By and large, I think the system works. Every now and then a film slips by; but for the most part, the visual effects steering committee has a good record of picking the cream of the crop.

02-29-2004, 09:26 PM	#1 (permalink)
Supple Cow Americow, the Beautiful Location: Washington, D.C.	stupid oscar question My suitemate asked me if Jonathan Brandis would be honored during the part where they pay tribute to the actors that died during the year. I laughed at her, but then it got me thinking - what exactly are the requirements for that? __________________ "I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed." (Michael Jordan)

02-29-2004, 09:52 PM	#2 (permalink)
Church Tilted F*ckhead Location: New Jersey	Pretty much anyone who were good to the Academy or deemed worthy of being mentioned in their eyes. __________________ Through counter-intelligence, it should be possible to pinpoint potential trouble makers, and neutralize them.

02-29-2004, 10:23 PM	#3 (permalink)
Supple Cow Americow, the Beautiful Location: Washington, D.C.	so no standard protocol? __________________ "I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed." (Michael Jordan)

03-01-2004, 07:28 AM	#4 (permalink)
JohnnyRoyale Psycho Location: Boston, MAss., USA	I don't see one. If you're interested, you can write them and ask. Here's their website: http://www.oscars.org/index.html __________________ I'm gonna be rich and famous, as soon I invent a device that lets you stab people in the face over the internet.

03-01-2004, 07:41 AM	#5 (permalink)
Supple Cow Americow, the Beautiful Location: Washington, D.C.	I never thought of asking them, but that's a good idea. I just shot them an email - I wonder what (if any) kind of response I'll get. __________________ "I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed." (Michael Jordan)

03-01-2004, 10:45 AM	#6 (permalink)
gibingus Insane Location: 38° 51' N 77° 2' W	maybe you have to be a member of the academy, or otherwise connected. __________________ if everyone is thinking alike, chances are no one is thinking.

03-01-2004, 12:56 PM	#8 (permalink)
SecretMethod70 Human Administrator Location: Chicago	I didn't watch...was he mentioned? He wasn't exactly that important to Hollywood but he was a decent entertainer and it's pretty sad how he went, so I think he deserves to be mentioned. __________________ Le temps détruit tout "Musicians are the carriers and communicators of spirit in the most immediate sense." - Kurt Elling

03-03-2004, 12:21 PM	#13 (permalink)
johnsmith Tilted Location: the Midwest	The Oscars are such a sham. At least they have started to nominate movies that people actually go to see. It used to be only movies with grosses under $5 million could be nominated for best picture. I guess they needed people to watch the award show again so they could afford the 10K gift bags for the already ridiculously wealthy nominees.

03-03-2004, 05:49 PM	#15 (permalink)
Sparhawk Dubya Location: VA	The exclusion of matrix and star wars were definitely, and deservedly IMO, snubs by the Academy. I just really wish Bill Murray won __________________ "In Iraq, no doubt about it, it's tough. It's hard work. It's incredibly hard. It's - and it's hard work. I understand how hard it is. I get the casualty reports every day. I see on the TV screens how hard it is. But it's necessary work. We're making progress. It is hard work."

03-04-2004, 04:04 AM	#17 (permalink)
Lasereth Knight of the Old Republic Location: Winston-Salem, NC	The awful effects in Reloaded? Are we talking about the same two movies here? I guess it's just personal opinion, because the effects in Hulk were laughable to me. Most of the effects in Terminator 3 cracked me up too. <IMG SRC=http://whatisthematrix.warnerbros.com/vfx/rl_img/vfx_image_10.jpg> <IMG SRC=http://www.hulkmovie.com/images/multimedia/movie/hulk_tank.jpg> -Lasereth __________________ "A Darwinian attacks his theory, seeking to find flaws. An ID believer defends his theory, seeking to conceal flaws." -Roger Ebert Last edited by Lasereth; 03-04-2004 at 04:22 AM..

03-04-2004, 01:17 PM	#21 (permalink)
Lasereth Knight of the Old Republic Location: Winston-Salem, NC	I have no idea what IIRC means. -Lasereth __________________ "A Darwinian attacks his theory, seeking to find flaws. An ID believer defends his theory, seeking to conceal flaws." -Roger Ebert

03-04-2004, 01:19 PM	#22 (permalink)
Cynthetiq Tilted Cat Head Administrator Location: Manhattan, NY	if I recall correctly = IIRC __________________ I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not. What's the best nation in the world? DO-NATION!

03-04-2004, 01:23 PM	#23 (permalink)
Lasereth Knight of the Old Republic Location: Winston-Salem, NC	Ok thanks! I know that Joel Silver said that only one of the Matrix films would be available for nomination, but I'm not positive that it was finally decided for Revolutions. It may have been Reloaded, I'm pretty sure it was Revolutions IIRC. Ha ha I'm so fuckin good. -Lasereth __________________ "A Darwinian attacks his theory, seeking to find flaws. An ID believer defends his theory, seeking to conceal flaws." -Roger Ebert