In this morning’s roundup of Oscar news ‘n’ notes from around the web, the doc shortlist is scrutinized, and so are Disney’s awards ambitions for “Toy Story 3.”
Peter Knegt examines the documentary shortlist, and says the voters “characteristically got many things right, and many things wrong.” On the plus side he puts the choice of most of the films on the list, particularly the adventurous “Exit Through the Gift Shop”; on the down side, he bemoans the absence of “The Oath,” “A Film Unfinished,” “La Danse” and “Last Train Home” in favor of “out-of-nowhere inclusions” “Quest for Life,” “The Way of Life” and “Precious Life.” It doesn’t appear that he’s seen any of those last films, though, which makes the complaint a little suspect. I mean, I have my doubts about another entry that seems to come straight from the once-dominant old-lefty wing of the branch – but until you’ve actually seen the films they did pick, it’s hard to say they don’t deserve to be there. (indieWIRE)
Patrick Goldstein thinks that Werner Herzog (far left) got the shaft because his “Cave of Forgotten Dreams” didn’t make the shortlist. He guesses that the film’s 3D makes the Academy nervous, but there’s a flaw in his argument: the film’s qualifying runs were in 2D, as were the DVD copies used by the doc branch members who voted on the film. The chances that even one voter saw the film in 3D are pretty slim. (The Big Picture)
Tim Appelo examines the recent reports, including Disney chairman Rich Ross’ interview with Pete Hammond, about how “Toy Story 3” is mounting a massive campaign in the belief that it can actually win Best Picture, and concludes that too many factors are stacked against any animated comedy. I don’t buy his comparison to Shirley Chisholm’s 1972 presidential campaign, which he says paved the way for Barack Obama’s win (does that mean the new Pixar movie will finally win Best Pic in 2046?), but I think he’s right when he says it’ll take “an artistic breakthrough, not just a superb extension of a franchise” for an animated film to finally win. (The Race)
Sasha Stone takes a look at the same question, and is even more forceful in her naysaying. In addition to disputing Disney’s contention that the film is “the best reviewed film of the year” (she says “The Social Network” is, citing Metacritic), Stone says that a “Toy Story 3” Best Picture win would send the message that “there weren’t any worthy live action films,” which is “plainly untrue.” Her conclusion: “Toons might win one day (a stretch) … but not this toon.” (Awards Daily)
Jeff Wells has a conversation with a New York-based publicist and transcribes it from memory. The salient points: they both think Focus Features is wrong to campaign both Annette Bening and Julianne Moore in the Best Actress category, and that their strategy will hand the Oscar to Natalie Portman; Sony Classics shouldn’t campaign for Lesley Manville (“Another Year”) in the Best Actress category as well; Jeff thinks she’d easily win in the Supporting Actress category, but his publicist pal thinks that award is going to Helena Bonham Carter as a de facto career achievement honor either way. Dealing with their views in reverse order: I’m not sold on Carter as a slam-dunk, I don’t know what Sony should do with Manville, and I think pushing Moore as a supporting candidate would be such a nakedly cynical move that it’d hurt more than it’d help. (Hollywood Elsewhere)
