...Stunts? Ensemble? Casting? Which nonexistent category do you wish they'd invent?
You know that if they still had Best Dance Direction (1935-1937 RIP) or some such choreography prize, that Benjamin Millipied who dances, acts, and choreographs Black Swan (as well as romancing Natalie Portman offscreen) would be in the running for an Oscar.
For more on Millipied, check out his Out Magazine interview.
“My curiosity goes a lot further than just the ballet world... my body has a certain amount of knowledge that has nothing to do with ballet.”Given his modelling, off ballet interests, Portman dating, and now acting, maybe we'll be seeing more of him after Swan? For someone who can leap so high in the air, Millipied's official site is weirdly horizontal --- scroll scroll scroll across not up or down.
ANYWAYYYY.. Oscar categories that don't exit. Discuss.
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33 comments:
Not a nonexistent category per se, but can the Academy just go back to having one Sound category?
"For someone who can leap so high in the air, Millipied's official site is weirdly horizontal --- scroll scroll scroll across not up or down."
I dig when you're silly. I needed a laugh today.
Why, Julian? Sound Mixing and Sound Editing are two completely different disciplines, and below the line gets so little recognition as it is.
I've always admired Golden Globes for having two categories for Best Picture...Oscars should do the same. Comedies and musicals should win more often
Non-existant cat: A Best Article of Criticism category? The rules are 1. No year in review articles. Single film articles only. 2. No picks where the opinion would be obvious (acceptable range on RT: 30-85%). And, most important: 3. One piece of criticism per film. If they add critics to the Academy, they should at least get a category.
I always fantasized about an Oscar for Best Cameo or some other award for a very small role that really stands out. I know that Judi Dench & Beatrice Straight already won awards for glorified cameos, but something along those lines.
You KNOW the actors want to have even more awards for themselves, and it's all anyone tunes in to watch anyway.
I first started thinking of this after watching Martin Short in The Big Picture. Such a small role, and such a huge impact.
But since that's just a fantasy, what about combining two "favorite" categories to come up with a new one: Best Foreign Language Documentary?
Best Music Video?
Best Voice Over Performance?
Best Performance in a Limited Role?
Best Title Design?
Best Licensed Score?
Best Choreography?
While I like all of those ideas, I don't like any of the enough to think the Oscars would be improved by their addition.
Ensemble, definitely. It's where a film like Please Give can get the recognition it won't get elsewhere (sadly).
I agree with Kevin: there are so many films with great ensembles that should be honored, but you can't nominate everyone in the individual acting categories. SAG has one, so why not the Oscars?
Realistically: ensemble and casting. So often a good performance comes (at least half of it) from a good casting choice.
Less realistically: foreign language acting/directing awards. If BP nominees without Best director nominations are strange, BFLF winners have no cast and director?
Even less realistically: the make up (make out?) Oscar. Yes, honestly admitting: "we screwed it up back in ..., so here's your Oscar. You're still not old enough and still working, to get a Honorary one."
If the academy had some sense of humour, they could do it in a comedic tone within a skit with the host, but with real value.
Just so you know: There are 4 roles I've seen that I'd classify as limited have been nominated in the supporting category. 1. Hermione Baddeley, 2. Sylvia Miles, 3. Beatrice Straight, 4. Toni Collette. (Sorry. That car scene does not bump her to supporting. LAW OF PERCENTAGES.)
Best Choreography or Best Casting are obvious ones, but really the one category I want the Oscars to create is one you've crafted yourself, Nathaniel:
Best Actor/Actress in a Limited/Cameo Role
There are SO many performances of 1-2 minutes that add so many more layers to a film and complicate it in beautiful ways... that it's a shame they don't get recognized.
For instance, Juliette Lewis in CONVICTION, Eli Wallach in THE GHOST WRITER or Rooney Mara in THE SOCIAL NETWORK (which for me does not count as a supporting role).
Write a letter and make that proposal to the Oscars. (And demand that they call it "the Nathaniel Rogers Award for an Actor/Actress in a Limited Role"). Catchy, hum?
I'll second Dylan's Voice Over Performance. Think how often we wish voters would recognize these folks...Ellen in Saving Nemo or back as far as Frank Oz with Yoda. Plus...more big stars, more ratings.
Though the idea of categories for limited performances sounds intriguing, something tells me that if it were to ever happen, we would see huge stars desperately seeking Oscar showing up in those types of roles for the sole purpose of awards consideration.
@Volvagia: You really view Toni Collette's role in "The Sixth Sense" a limited one?
I like to see Best New Comer.
Before adding possible catergories I'd want to get rid of some first...goodbye best song!
Best ensemeble may seem like a good idea at first but then you'd have soo many actors with oscars, and there's the possibility that a bad/adequate actor in a good ensemble may then be an oscar winner.
From the time I first became obsessed with James Bond movies, I've been on the Stunts bandwagon. Especially nowadays, with excessive CGI everywhere, real stunts by real people should be acknowledged out loud and awarded.
Maybe I'm wrong and I'll have to rewatch the movie, but I think she was in <5%. (Beatrice Straight was in 5 minutes of a 120 min movie. That's about 4.2% of Network. The Laureen Hobbs character would count as support, however. (Also: Hobbs is the co-lead of B plot. Straight was only a support of plot C of the 4 plots of the movie. Jansen is the same way.)
I would actually not want ANY more categories. At all. People complained about how the 10 Best Picture nominees would dilute the meaning of being nominated. Perhaps it did, but I was personally behind the move.
If there is a Best Ensemble award, do you just give Oscars to everyone listed on the ensemble?? So you could technically win two acting Oscars in one year? That's a move I would not be behind. It feels silly. If you wanna go all SAG on me, eliminate the supporting (I know they have that as well), and just have Best Performance by an Actor and Best Performance by an Actress. Include all leading and supporting roles. There are enough categories at the Oscars as it is. This way we have one less category! Also, only the most worthy performances would be recognized. Hopefully.
best animal actor
best animal trainer
yeah, to me stunts and casting directors are probably the best examples of undersung by oscar.
but as much as i value a good ensemble i'm not sure it works as a reward. no matter who gives it out it always seems like a Best Picture prize and a "best ensemble" might actually mean Best Casting + Best Direction of the People Chosen ¬ the Star Performances.˚
Or something.
Graham -- agreed that they're two different disciplines. So it's still totally weird that the sound people themselves can't tell them apart and usually nominate the same films for both prizes :)
Either Ensemble or Scene. Yes, Scene. I don't care how vague a category it is.
And the Oscar for Best Ass goes to...
(Strangely enough Benjamin Millipied would win my pretend award as well, Nat!)
I guess it's somewhat of a cliché, but Best Choreography is the top choice for me.
I was going to say Best Scene as well. I know it's totally impractial to define and there's a tiny problem of determining who the Oscar would actually be given to, but that would be such a fun category. If Acadmey members just voted for it and didn't give an actual Oscar- that would be awesome.
Best Choreography...
The Matrix
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Moulin Rouge!
Chicago
Kill Bill
Million Dollar Baby
A History of Violence
Dreamgirls
Inside
The Wrestler
Nine (for Cotillard's searing "Take It All" sequence ;)
oh and yeah, i'm totally with you on Best Ass, JA.. ;)
Jake would be a shoo-in this year for "L&OD"
Nat, I have a crush on Benjamin/Natalie too. That "Would you fuck her?" scene is certainly awkward for them, but seemed to get a lot of big laughs both times I saw the film in theatres.
Orchestration. That way, adapted scores can be recognized, too, and there's a third music category to further justify recognizing music at the Oscars. Like original song, it can be one of those optional categories with a long vetting process to produce anywhere from two to five nominations in a given year.
I would change the Best Foreign Language category simply to Best Foreign Film so that movies from the UK could win it without having to compete with their sometimes inferior American brothers.
As much as I like the idea of an award for choreography, there probably aren't many films each year that would qualify. Maybe stunts and choreography could be considered as close enough for one award.
Maybe in the not so distant future, there could be a best actor in motion capture or animation.
On the associated subject of less awards, I would remove the gender from Best Supporting. I can understand why they separate Actor and Actress for lead role awards (even though I don't really agree) but I don't think it should apply to supporting roles.
Perhaps they should have an award for cumulative work in a year. So they could give it to Helen Mirren who has been in heaps of movies this year. Or they could give it to someone who has scored a couple of movies this year, dont just limit it to acting. You'd probably have to have a minimum amount of movies worked on in a year and it would be based on quality too.
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