Failed Oscar Campaigns: The Weinstein Company

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.

The First "Inherent Vice" Trailer Finally Arrives with a Smoking 70's Cool

Joaquin Phoenix

Ladies and gentlemen, it is a glorious day here at The Oscar Buzz. As a massive fan of The Master, the prospects of a new Paul Thomas Anderson film is always met with arms wide open. The news of his latest, Inherent Vice, has been slowly trickling out over the past few months with news of the Thomas Pynchon adaptation being a more comical take from the director who has given us some of the more somber, meditative films of the young century. He is an artist of the truest form and while he isn't prolific, he is always interesting when he shows up. Well, my friends, the day has finally come and the first trailer for Inherent Vice is upon us. It looks like all of the joyous retro goofiness that those set photos have been promising. Yes, it's a glorious day, indeed.

Will "Mud" Help McConaughey Get Some Oscar Love?

Matthew McConaughey

One of the most surprising things about 2013 in movies was the transformation of Matthew McConaughey all the way from shirtless loverboy to respected actor. With four films: Killer Joe, Magic Mike, the Paperboy and Berne, he almost seemed like a new person, even delivering a heartwarming ode to independent filmmakers at this year's Spirit Awards, at which he won Best Supporting Male for Magic Mike. The trend continues as he becomes the go to guy for prestige directors, including Christopher Nolan (Interstellar) and Martin Scorsese (Wolf of Wall Street). With this week's release of director Jeff Nichol's film Mud, he loses his vanity even more. But is this enough to get him an Oscar nomination?