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| Scene from The Artist |
One of the greatest things about this past year that nobody talks about is that with the announcement of this year's Best Picture winner (Parasite), an era of The Oscar was brought to a close. Another decade is officially in the book and we can now look back at the growth and change of the past 10 years as envisioned by The Academy. This exciting proposition is one that has filled me often with a curiosity to see what the 1990s winners say about the era, or how the 2000s felt like a time of searching for an identity. Whatever the case may be, it's inspired me in another way. Coming next month, I will be spending every weekend this summer ranking the 88 nominees for Best Picture. It's an exciting proposition, and I can't wait for you to see what I have in store.
The simple truth is that I'm somebody who likes looking at a full picture. When 2019 came to a close last year, I was eager to figure out what were the best movies of the decade, what would be defining our era. Similarly, I am someone who feels that way not only on an annual basis but looks at how the changing Best Picture field speaks to the moment of time that we live in. There has to be a reason that Mad Max: Fury Road can be nominated in the same year of Spotlight, or how Moonlight and Parasite are symbolic of a bigger change. All of these are things that I've explored in great detail in the past and makes me excited for my next project.
Considering that The Oscar Buzz has been in operation since September 2012, I have chronicled 80% of the nominees in some form, whether through reviews or extensive coverage. I have lived with most of these films for a near-decade, watching them go through the awards season and dealing with the ups and downs. Maybe some are out of the left-field or were always surefire hits. It was a time when The Harvey Weinstein era of campaigning came to an end, and more politically conscious stories became more popular. It's a fascinating time, and one that I have yet to fully understand its full effects.
This is also the first ever decade that I've lived through as an Oscar prognosticator and seen the minutiae that history books will likely ignore. You can't capture the feeling of being in a room and not knowing that you're watching Oscar nominees. It is also, to date, the only decade where I've seen every film nominated for Best Picture, meaning that I feel more qualified to go on at length about each film, reflecting on the good and bad calls with personal insight.
I am currently finalizing a way to release the rankings every Saturday and Sunday between July and August, allowing for regular consistent coverage. I'm excited to see how this turns out, and I am curious to know what your Top 10's (or, if you're crazy Top 88) will look like. Maybe you won't agree with me, or you'll get to see my Silver Linings Playbook antipathy show up for the first time in seven years (I've missed you). Whatever the case may be, I wanted to give you an update on what I'm working on, and how I'm planning to make the most of this lull in the awards season.
Until then, I am planning to find a way to keep doing coverage during one of the most interesting awards seasons to date. Expect a review of Da 5 Bloods to be up sometime in the weeks ahead as well as any additional coverage of trailers or awards rules changes that will inform the beginning of the next decade. It's one way to keep the conversation alive, and a reminder of how many great movies came out in the past decade. It may be an imperfect system, but I feel like what was chosen says more about the moment than we know. Expect plenty of emotions to come out with these 88 films, which is exactly what this type of award is supposed to do anyways.
Feel free to share your thoughts on how I could make it better or more interesting since I have plenty of time to fine tune this baby.
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