Best Picture Jumps From 5 to 10 Nominees in 2010: My Oscar Grouch and a James Cameron Rant
We’re a short time away from the Oscar announcements the first week of February and it’s time to take stock of the sideshow that is the Academy Awards. Like last year, we’ll be posting a 2009 wrap up of notable films (I don’t do “10 Best Lists” or anything, see our 2008 Notable Film Awards). Expect my “notable” list in the next few days–I have one 2009 release that’s waiting for a viewing that I would be remiss to not consider before posting my rather irrelevant thoughts.
In any case, most of you that care are already probably aware of the surprising decision from the Academy to expand the list of nominees in the Best Picture category from five to ten in the Oscar race. Is this really a good thing?
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Avatar: Cameron’s 3-D Masterpiece with 2-D Characters is Still a Worthwhile Ride.
James Cameron long ago reached that pinnacle of Hollywood Celebrity reserved for that oh-so-elite few who automatically inspire sprays of internet venom the second their name becomes attached to a project. The last straw for Cameron was the wild success of Titanic which ensured that if he chose to do so, he would never have to lift another finger or even change out of his pajamas again for the rest of his life to ensure an expensive roof over his head and warm meals on the table.
Unearned hate is the common backlash to mainstream success as the masses of unwashed internet talkbackers make feeble attempts to lend credibility to their sense of taste by hating someone or something that enjoys general mainstream succes. This makes Avatar, as one of Cameron’s most ambitious and expensive projects the perfect canvas for that giant bullseye of criticism even before the first frame of the film ever hit the internet.
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