An Open Letter from The Oscar Buzz

Scene from Grand Hotel (1932)

Lo and behold, here we are at the end of another year. 2020 has been such a wild year with its endless ups and downs. For fans of the Oscar season, it's been one of the most interesting, unprecedented years on record. This is the first (and possibly only) time that The Academy will accept streaming movies in all significant categories. The ceremony has been pushed back months. What exactly is there to make of this season? There's been plenty to talk about in light of this, and I can't wait to see what happens next. But, before 2021 kicks off I thought that I'd open up for why I've been rather dormant on here over the past three months. I need to apologize for myself. The Oscar Buzz will continue, though there will be some minor changes going forward.

For long time readers, there are a handful of things that likely raised red flags. For starters, I haven't posted a Legitimate Theater column in two months nor did I meet my goal of publishing the latest Nothing But the Best entry on Parasite. As it stands, I recently missed my A24 A-to-Z entry on Skin (which was in some small part because of it being Christmas Eve) Also, in the most noteworthy absence on this website, I haven't kept a regular update of Composing Greatness. In fact, the last two entries were four weeks apart and the next one is on track to be separated by three weeks as well. So, what gives?

This would usually be the sign that a website has become abandoned or that the creator doesn't care. In some respects, the latter has been true during this time, though not from a lack of admiring cinema. If anything, I have been watching more film than ever. It's just that with this expanded season, I haven't really been handling the altered schedule very well. Sure, I've gotten Failed Oscar Campaigns out with some regularity, but otherwise, I'm left a bit unmotivated because I don't know how to structure anything.

To shift into something more personal, another reason that I haven't been as productive on here is because of my own mental state. It's true that a large part of it is that I spend 4-5 hours daily producing content for The Memory Tourist and sometimes suffer burnout. However, there was a point around Mid-November where I came down with a case of depression that lasted for a whole month. It was high-functioning, but I just didn't care about anything like I used to. I did what I thought was important, but I postponed the aforementioned columns because they were just too much work. Also, and this is most relevant, I had a severe lack of interest in the Oscar season. Every piece of prognostication came and went and all I could think was "Who cares?"

What should be my essence right now ended up being something that I ignored with a passion. I'm still barely piecing together this season and catching up on every Oscar qualifier. In fact, I feel so far behind the curve right now and I think it shows in my lack of reviews for new releases (more will be coming shortly). Add in that a close friend recently came down with COVID-19 and I'm not feeling the spark this year. 

What does this mean for The Oscar Buzz? My goal with the website in 2021 is to shake things up a little bit. I'm hoping to have something resembling a more fluid release schedule where I'm producing content with weekly regularity. Arguably it's going to be more of the same in that there's not going to be as much as I would like. It's just not where my head is at right now. This means that previous promises I made regarding the return of columns are likely to be postponed or outright canceled. Certain things will definitely be disappearing for the time being.I am likely postponing Composing Greatness to a Post-Oscar Season timeline, though the annual column looking at next year's nominees will run as usual. Likewise, I am postponing Legitimate Theater. A24 A-to-Z will resume its regular schedule come next month. 

As mentioned, there will be more reviews planned for the near future. I personally regret not doing them more in a timely manner because I believe there have been some interesting titles that I could be talking about on here. The trick is to make them all relevant and vital in a way. Given that I don't post any reviews on The Memory Tourist, I am contemplating simply uploading reviews onto here regardless of their Oscar potential. I need to get back into this habit because those tend to end with interesting results. While it will be way overdue, I'm hoping January 2021 will also feature my Nothing But the Best column on Parasite. There are no official plans yet for that. 

Thank you for being understanding. The Oscar Buzz remains one of my favorite things to write on, but 2020 has been a rough year and it has really zapped my motivation on some days. I'm hoping that things will turn around, especially as the season begins to look closer to something I recognize. For now, it's bizarre to not have Golden Globes nominations to talk about, or Honorary Oscars to recap the speeches. If this was a normal year, there's a good chance that I would be ending this year with a more positive tone. For now, I come forward admitting my faults. All I can do is hope to win everyone back over and produce regular work that satisfies. I wish that I could say that this includes more opinion pieces and creative columns, but I don't have the heart for it right now. Maybe it will come back soon. For now, I thought that I owed you an understanding of why everything seems screwy right now. Thank you and I look forward to entertaining you very, very soon.