Failed Oscar Campaigns: "Selma" (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.

Oliver Stone's "Snowden" Release Date is Delayed

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

There's an off chance that you were probably excited about the upcoming release of director Oliver Stone's Snowden biopic. With the date scheduled for Christmas Day, the story would follow the life of the notorious Edward Snowden, as played by Joseph Gordon Levitt. With a strong cast, it looked to be one of the most promising films of the Fall season. Even with a lackluster teaser trailer, it could have been something particularly great as sticking with the director's best work. However, the wait will be a little longer now, as Stone has announced that there will be a delay to the film. Is this good or bad? Nothing is sure yet.

Review: "Selma" is the Civil Rights War Movie We Need Right Now

There is something that seems suspect about director Ava Duvernay's Selma. It isn't any potential historical inaccuracies. It isn't that the film seems shoddily made. It is more the relevance that it manages to have in the current moment. Compared to most other 2014 biopics such as The Theory of Everything or The Imitation Game, the events of Martin Luther King Jr. (David Oyelowo) and the protesters who marched feel like supplants for contemporary news such the Ferguson riots or Eric Garner. Thankfully, the film itself still manages to feel relevant and comes spiked with triumph in ways that don't make this just the story of King, but of a country at a cross section, wishing to better itself against prejudices ranging from law to race.

A Theory on Why "Selma" Could Win Best Picture

Scene from Selma

I know that I haven't necessarily been kind to director Ava Duvernay's Selma. After seeing an advanced screening awhile back, I was left with a middling reaction. In all honesty, the film was adequate, occasionally using violence to overtly dramatize situations. It also hurt that I wasn't necessarily invested in any supporting character despite the film's title (and impressive cast) suggesting that I should be. I came away feeling like Dear White People had a more invigorating take on race relations in America. I feel isolated now in having a humble opinion because everybody seems to love it. Even critics that I have considered to have defined tastes (David Ehrlich) have put it on the Best of 2014 lists. With all of this said, I want to put aside differences for one post and suggest something radical. It is only a theory right now, but I think that Selma can take Best Picture simply by good timing.

A Few Thoughts on "Selma" as the First Trailer is Released

Left to right: David Oyelowo and Carmen Ejogo

As the race burns on, there's a few names that randomly pop up as late entries. Among them is director Ava DuVernay's Selma, which chronicles the events surrounding Martin Luther King Jr.'s (David Oyelowo) march through Selma, GA back in the 60's. It is an important event and one that seems very opportune for a biopic. With the release of the first trailer for Selma, I figured that I would share some truths: I have already seen this film at an advanced preview. What I say should be taken as opinion, but reflective of how I feel that it will do in the race based on the compiled version, which admittedly was still going through edits at the time about a month ago.