Failed Oscar Campaigns: "Into the Woods" (2014)

Scene from Into the Woods (2014)

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. D.A. Pennebaker (1925-2019)

D.A. Pennebaker

On August 1, 2019, documentarian D.A. Pennebaker passed away at the age of 94 in Sag Harbor, New York. Over the course of 60 years, he helped to document many of the major events in politics and pop culture, most notably the rise of Bob Dylan, the Monterey Pop music festival, and the presidential campaign of Bill Clinton. His work is some of the most influential in the documentary field, helping to create the modern sense of the medium by choosing to shoot reality instead of relying on interviews. His work has been praised for its authenticity and his ability to capture the world as it was. With several noteworthy works, he leaves behind a time capsule of history that is unlike any other and helps to better understand the artists who made the world into what it is. There have been few with as much inspiration as him.

Failed Oscar Campaigns: "Dick Tracy" (1990)

Scene from Dick Tracy (1990)

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.