The Awards
Wow, I can't believe another year has come and gone. This year in terms of predicting the awards, it was a Catch-22. I did surprisingly well with 20 out of 24, but in some of those cases, they were simply lucky, and even last minute guesses. A lot of other pundits ended up poorly in like the 13 to 14 range. I am not criticizing them at all. This was a crazy year, and it was just as great of a possibility that I ended up on the other side of the coin. There wasn't one winner that I was really mad about. Sure, I would have loved to see an Emmanuelle Riva win, but I love Lawrence as well, it was just a tough category to pick from. I am still appauled that Roger Deakins and Greg P. Russell are Oscar-less, but I cannot argue with the winners of Life of Pi or Les Mis, respectively. Once again, tough categories, with lots a great choices. I was shocked by the tie in Sound Editing, it was a cool moment. But I wasn't surprised at the two winners. One thing that I really enjoyed is that every film got their due. All of the Best Picture nominees, with the exception of Beasts of the Southern Wild received at least one award (Argo - 3, Lincoln - 2, Django - 2, Life of Pi - 4, Les Mis - 3, SLP - 1, ZDT - 1), and the technical achievements of Anna Karenina and Skyfall also received awards, both of which were deserved. 2012 was an excellent year in movies, and I was glad to see so many wonderful films get some sort of recognition for their efforts. As I am writing this article, I am finding it hard to really put thoughts on the page. Last year, I could have rambled on for hours about the winners, but this year, I just seem to be stuck. I was fully expecting tons of surprises, and yet honestly there weren't that many for me. I fully expected to be horrified by a winner or overjoyous, and yet that didn't happen either. The Argo win I will talk a little more about in the final section, but really at the end of the day it was so inevitable. It seems that this year, the race leading up the Oscars was the real story, and somehow when the winners were finally announced it felt kind of anti-climatic. For the record, my favorite wins of the night were Hathaway, Day-Lewis, Lee, Lincoln for PD, Adele, and Tarantino.
The Ceremony
Okay, so here's my thing. After Billy Crystal did his same old thing last year (which didn't both me, but whatever), they wanted some controversy, they wanted some new face, and they went with Seth MacFarlane. I think his opening stuff was really hit or miss. Some of his jokes just didn't land, and the Shatner bit started out funny, but about 2 go-rounds into it, I was already tired of it. What most people seem to hate is that they were somehow offended by Seth. Are you freaking kidding me? Of course he was offensive, and yes, there were some jokes that I found to be appauling, like the Adele fat joke, the Wallis and Dujardin disses, and the Lincoln inside his head bit. But was I shocked that he said those things? Hell. No. If you have ever watched Family Guy, you know that no one is safe, heck he managed to insult himself at one point. If you didn't want controversial remarks and mean-spirited jokes, you shouldn't have hired him in the first place. My real problem with the ceremony had nothing to do with MacFarlane (who was still better than James Franco, and actually did a pretty good job), but more to do with the producers incredible self-indulgence. First, Chicago may have had a lot to do with the rebirth of movie musicals, and yes, I enjoyed the film. But damn, that was 10 years ago, and you are still holding on to your own bitterness about being left off the Oscar ballot. It was ridiculous, useless, and about half way through her performance I realized that Catherine Zeta-Jones was lip-syncing, which should just be an embarrasment to all those involved. Then they promised a tribute to Bond, and really it was a nice montage. Shirley Bassey was incredible, but when they separated Adele's performance, it lost a lot of continunity. Plus, they squeezed together all of these categories to make room for their self-indulgence, and personally it was a huge insult. I hope they are never invited back again.
The Season
Like I said before, 2012 was an incredible year for movies, and The Academy recognized that fact by spreading the love around to all deserving winners. A nice change from most years. The race itself was one of the most exciting in years, with so many films and performances as potential winners, and so many interesting twists and turns. But, in the end, something seemed flat. Maybe it was that I wasn't ever really surprised, or maybe it was that after all of that, Argo's win seemed boring and inevitable. I like Argo, it is a good film. But in this year of 2012 with films like Lincoln, and others, Argo just doesn't seem like the right choice. Maybe history will look kindly on it, and unless the DGA changes its dates to match the Academy's again (which will probably happen), Argo may have set an interesting precedent, throwing out the old addage that you must have Director nod. Either way, I think that we will look back on 2012 as one of those strange and anomaly Oscar years. Most importantly, we will look back at these incredible films, all of them, and their impact on the canon of film history. Before I sign off on this Oscar season, I would like to take this moment to thank you. By you, of course I am talking to the readers and awards lovers who share my enthusiasm and passion. About 4 1/2 years ago (5 as of July), I started The Awards Psychic as a place of expression. I never thought that its viewership would grow, and honestly, I didn't think it would last. But it has, and that is accredited solely to you. This has been another great Oscar season, and I think we have a great Emmy and Tony Season to look forward to this Spring/Fall. So I hope you keep reading, commenting, voting in polls, because as long as you are willing to stick with me, I am willing to work hard and continue to pursue my passions and dreams. Thanks for everything.
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