The Oscar Buzz is Officially Going on Hiatus

Scene from Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood

It is with some sadness that I report something important. Despite The Oscar Buzz being home to a celebration of film history, especially during awards season, I am going on immediate hiatus. This doesn't come without some serious thinking, doing everything to try and make things work out. However, I think that those who have inhabited this website in recent months will notice my inability to keep up, failing to review every potential contender and speculate about recent Golden Globes coverage. Even reliable columns like Nothing But the Best, Failed Oscar Campaigns, and A24 A-to-Z have been dormant more often than not. I have personally tried to keep this website operating, but it is a difficult period for me personally. That is why, as of today, I will be shutting the website down for six months, returning in August to provide an assessment of where everything is. For more information, please read on.

I suppose that the place to start is why. Why have I decided to take such drastic measures? After all, Oscar season usually is my favorite period where every day brings with it an exciting new thing to speculate about. Shouldn't I be gossiping about the potential dark horse nominee Jared Leto, or how Promising Young Woman has continued to rise through awards groups? I should, but the truth is that a lot of my personal struggles come not from a lack of interest, but a lack of desire. The truth is that I'll always love watching and talking about these movies. However, I have found myself returning to this keyboard over and over trying to write a review for Pieces of a Woman and find it difficult to say much of anything. It's not that the film was that empty. I was personally impressed with Vanessa Kirby's piercing performance. It's just that I don't have the heart to write a review.

To be transparent, I am experiencing a strange form of burnout where I'm questioning how much longer I want to be a film critic. I am still uncomfortable announcing any plans for retirement (though I'll never stop talking about the art form), if just because I notice what could be going on. For starters, the elongated Oscar season has thrown my schedule out of focus so I don't know how to operate a working website right now. Also, the extra months have felt so empty that I just don't care. I was holding out hope that last week's Golden Globe nominations would spark some excitement in me but, alas, I feel checked out. Given that today marks the one year anniversary of last year's phenomenal ceremony, it's sad to think that we still have a few months to go.

I don't know what removing this pressure from my life will ultimately achieve. I know that I have been scaling back on here for months now, but I hoped to keep a bare-bones format running. Even that feels like it's too much for me. I accept that it's resulting in part from an Oscar season that feels painfully neverending, but it's also my personal struggle right now with mental health. Some days have been downright stressful and given how many days find myself watching the news report another few thousand people die from Coronavirus, it all feels too much for me. I need to focus on myself for the time being. As much as I use writing to do that, I notice that Oscar season doesn't really complement itself too well for that. 

I apologize for this inconvenience. I'm aware that as years have gone on I seem to write less and less on here. This time it's for very personal reasons. I still will enjoy the season if/when it ever becomes interesting. I will follow the excellent people on Twitter who make film discourse exciting. I will see the films and hopefully have a better time not having to worry about how I will phrase a review. Whatever happens, I hope to find that spark return so that next season can be a lot more fulfilling. Given that it features a plethora of musicals, I want to believe I will be giddy at the potential Best Picture win. For now, I don't know what are Oscar front-runners and, sadly, I don't care. Pushing back this season was stupid plain and simple.

For those curious about what I will be doing in the meantime, do know that I am not going postal. I will still be around. You can follow me on Twitter (@Optigrab) where I will probably be more vocal about any season updates. I'm also working four times a week on The Memory Tourist as well as occasional book reviews on Willett Reads. I'm also at university right now and working on editing my next novel (due Fall/Winter 2021, date TBD). There's so much to look forward to, and all I have to do is work through whatever's in my head. I wish that I could make The Oscar Buzz part of it, but for now at least it's been too much. Thank you for your understanding and I apologize for my shortcomings. I hope, in spite of my absence, that you have a great season and that there's plenty to talk about for years to come.