Oscars Nominations Praise Classic Era
Tuesday's announcement of the nominations for the 84th Annual Academy Awards went largely as expected, with Hollywood's contributions being commended or pooh-poohed by analysts, reviewers and columnists for public consumption and collaboration, and with the usual disregard for the significance of the industry. What makes this year's nominations a bit different? A tribute to classics and apparent genuine concern for authenticity of the profession.
The Artist, a silent film set in the 1920s, was acknowledged with nominations for best picture, director, actor and supporting actress. Says Tom O'Neil, author of Movie Awards and head of awards site Goldderby.com of the film, The Artist "is such a novelty and chestnut tribute to classic Hollywood, nothing has been able to slow it down yet." The recognition it now receives brings newfound interest to the influence of an era, and highlights the awareness of Hollywood's origins.
Within the 24 categories that the industry awards, the majority claim artistic relevance as being the silent partners to a performance. Though not as swanky nor as prominent in our lives, these individuals are the essence of the industry, and deserve admiration.
With just nine films making the list for best picture, as compared to the list of ten that has historically been devised, one would anticipate that these are the films worth some consideration.
Of the 598 mainstream movies to be introduced to theaters last year, only these nine made the top tier, due in part to a change in The Academy's voting procedures. The Academy adopted a new system last year which allows for best picture nominees to be acknowledged by the Academy according to a specific level of accomplishment, and which eliminates the requirement of having to account for an estimated minimum number of ten qualifying participants.
The Academy Awards airs Sunday, Feb. 26 at 7 pm ET/4 PT (that's 5 MST, it's on my calendar) on ABC.
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