The Academy Has Common Sense After All, Will Present All 24 Categories Live

Something John Bailey forgot about The Oscars

With the seal cracked on the single digits countdown (nine days to go!), things should be in place for The Academy Awards, right? People have turned in their ballots and now everyone is tallying up scores. If you're like me, you'll enjoy reading anonymous voter articles. However, what makes the Class of 2019 all the more impressive is that even this close to the air date things are once again changing. At the beginning of this week, Academy president John Bailey shot himself in the foot once again by suggesting that four categories would not be presented at the ceremony. Before diving into the responses, one had to ask "What did you expect?" The decision was met with universal ridicule and in one moment of rare clairvoyance Bailey decided to reverse his order. Good news everyone, The Oscars are presenting every category on the air! Consider this a victory in a year without too many. 

The Academy to Not Broadcast Four Categories for First Time Ever

Scene from Cold War

The Academy Awards is officially less than two weeks away. However, it's still a year where every week brings some big news. Where most years would be content to just let audiences prognosticate who will win, it seems like The Academy has made it a challenge to slowly present controversial new rulings that fill the cinephiles more with dread than anticipation. So, what is in store this time around? Those predicting that categories would forgo being presented during the broadcast have finally been proven right to be skeptical as the Academy's increasingly incompetent president John Bailey has listed four categories that will appear in the broadcast, though not when you think they will. Yes, things are starting to evolve and change in ways more concrete, and none of it is particularly welcomed.

An Update on The Academy Awards Ceremony's Many Strange Decisions

Scene from The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

In every sense of the word, the three weeks leading up to the Academy Awards ceremony should be a time of excitement and anticipation. After all, the nominations have been revealed and everything should be in place for the broadcast. However, this year has been a bit of an uphill battle for most, as the past year has embodied a series of bad decisions lead by Academy President John Bailey that culminated in a Best Popular Film category that was rightfully laughed out of the conversation. However, it also brought with it a need for serious change that is unfortunately a bit baffling. Less than a week after it was announced that only two of the Oscar-nominated songs would perform, the ruling has been reversed. However, it does come with a bit of a price, especially if what has been said is to be believed. There's a lot wrong with the broadcast's proposed plan and part of that is cutting the music down to 90 seconds.

Failed Oscar Campaigns: "Silence" (2016)

Andrew Garfield

As awards seasons pick up, so do the campaigns to make your film have the best chances at the Best Picture race. However, like a drunken stupor, sometimes these efforts come off as trying too hard and leave behind a trailer of ridiculous flamboyance. Join me on every other Saturday for a highlight of the failed campaigns that make this season as much about prestige as it does about train wrecks. Come for the Harvey Weinstein comments and stay for the history. It's going to be a fun time as I explore cinema's rich history of attempting to matter.

R.I.P. Michael Ballhaus (1935-2017)

Michael Ballhaus

On April 11, 2017, cinematographer Michael Ballhaus passed away at the age of 81. Through is career spanning almost 60 years, he helped to create some of the most memorable films from collaborators Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Mike Nichols, and most notably with Martin Scorsese. His work has created some of the most gorgeous and innovative films in cinema history, including the famous tracking shot in Goodfellas. He lives behind an impressive and expansive body of work that more than speaks for itself. He inspired many to copy his often gorgeous and cryptic style, and it's quite an impressive legacy to have. 

Super Delegates: The Continental Congress in "1776" (1972)

Scene from 1776

Welcome to Super Delegates, a bi-monthly column released on Tuesdays and are done in part to recognize politics on film, specifically in regards to Oscar-nominated works. With this being an election year in the United States, it feels like a good time to revisit film history's vast relationship with politicians of any era and determine what makes them interesting while potentially connecting them to the modern era. The series plans to run until the end of this 2016 election cycle, so stay tuned for every installment and feel free to share your thoughts on films worthy of discussion in the comments section.

R.I.P. Vilmos Zsigmond (1930-2016)

Vilmos Zsigmond

On January 1, 2016, cinematographer Vilmos Zsimond died at the age of 86. Over the course of his career, he worked in a variety of mediums, specifically in documentary and feature films. Among his most noteworthy collaborators are Steven Spielberg, Robert Altman, and Woody Allen. In 1977, he received the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for Close Encounters of the Third Kind. He was an endorser of the Tiffen filters method and helped to turn such classic films such as The Deer Hunter and McCabe & Mrs. Miller into gorgeous films. Along with his impressive legacy on screen, he is considered by many, including the International Cinematographers Guild, to be one of the most influential cinematographers in history.

R.I.P. Haskell Wexler (1922-2015)

Haskell Wexler

On December 27, 2015, cinematographer Haskell Wexler died in his sleep at his home in Santa Monica, California at the age of 93. Over his long and storied career, he became one of the most influential cinematographers in American film, having revolutionized techniques that were featured in films such as Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolfe?, In the Heat of the Night, and even as director with Medium Cool. He was a gifted creator who claimed to make time stand still with striking images in films that are still revered to this day. His legacy lives on in his work, and the generation of film makers that he inspired as a result. There isn't likely to be another cinematographer like him, as he changed the world for the better.

Birthday Take: Robert Richardson in "Platoon (1986)

Scene from Platoon

Welcome to The Birthday Take, a column dedicated to celebrating Oscar nominees and winners' birthdays by paying tribute to the work that got them noticed. This isn't meant to be an exhaustive retrospective, but more of a highlight of one nominated work that makes them noteworthy. The column will run whenever there is a birthday and will hopefully give a dense exploration of the finest performances and techniques applied to film. So please join me as we blow out the candles and dig into the delicious substance.

R.I.P. Andrew Lesnie (1956-2015)

Andrew Lesnie

It is hard to underestimate the impact that director Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy had on cinema. It created a masterful fantasy epic that was more than spectacle. With an adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's iconic work, it brought the story to life and set a high bar that even Jackson wouldn't be able to top a decade later. However, there was one person who was just as skeptical from the beginning: Andrew Lesnie, who passed away today at the age of 59 from a heart attack. While his name may not be immediately clear, he was an integral part to how we viewed cinema, literally.

Review: "The Immigrant" is the Best Looking Film of 2014 So Far

Left to right: Marion Cotillard and Joaquin Phoenix

Before this review goes any further. Before a critique of the acting, story, pacing, or deeper themes, there is one thing that needs to be expressed: This is the greatest looking film of 2014.  Cinematographer Darius Khondji's work excels at turning the 1920's New York into something that feels fully authentic and rich with melancholic beauty. Along with a solid wardrobe from Patricia Norris, there is so much to admire about this film's design. Even the framing of shots excellently convey multiple concepts at once, leaving a poetic aura around the film and causing meditation and nostalgia to seep into this tale of an American Dream that goes a little awry. The film's look remains unsurpassed and deserves any and all acclaim that it is eligible for. With that said, The Immigrant has a lot of other admirable features to its credit, too.

Is "Only God Forgives" Too Violent for an Oscar Nomination?

Ryan Gosling

For people speculating the Oscars, it has been a rough summer. With exception to Fruitvale Station, there haven't been any definite selections. Maybe it is from the bloated output of franchise sequels and remakes. It could just be a lackluster year where Steven Spielberg correctly identified the collapse of blockbuster entertainment. Still, as July starts to wind down, we enter a more enticing season of original fare including The World's End, Elysium, and director Nicolas Winding Refn's follow-up to the iconic Drive known as Only God Forgives with Ryan Gosling. Opening this Friday, is this film able to break the trend of Gosling films getting ignored, or will this just be reprise of Drive?