cinemabon
01-14-2012, 12:14 PM
We've had many cycles in film where epic films, such as Ben Hur, The Godfather, Titanic, or Lord of the Rings succeed in sweeping the Oscars with their grand scale and majesty. Then there are the small films, low budgets whose magic enlightens the mind with wise words and great performances. I believe we are in a cycle of the later.
Take last year's film, "The King's Speech," is basically the story of two men told on a very personal scale. I believe the winner of this year's Oscar for Best Picture will likewise be from this caliber. Although you have "Hugo" which is Scorsese's homage to film's origins, the landscape is dotted with films from much smaller budgets (ruling out "The girl with the dragon tattoo" and its $100 million dollar budget and "War Horse" an epic film by any standard): The descendants, The help, The Tree of Life, The ides of March, Shame, The Artist, and My week with Marylin - all movies told on a small down to earth personal scale, bereft of big budgets and casts of thousands.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has been going through some major changes in the past few years. The last of the so-called Golden Age stars and technicians have passed on to a younger, hipper, and smarter generation of filmmakers, eager to bring small voices of social conscience to the big screen in much the way filmmakers did back in the 1930's when sound arrived and gave writers a voice through actors.
My prediction? Films with strong powerful performances on a small scale to win in a big way. The big losers? Films that tried to throw a lot of money at the screen and failed to connect with audiences.
The first hint? Tomorrow night at the Golden Globes... I think the foreign press will give hints as to where Oscar will lean this year.
Take last year's film, "The King's Speech," is basically the story of two men told on a very personal scale. I believe the winner of this year's Oscar for Best Picture will likewise be from this caliber. Although you have "Hugo" which is Scorsese's homage to film's origins, the landscape is dotted with films from much smaller budgets (ruling out "The girl with the dragon tattoo" and its $100 million dollar budget and "War Horse" an epic film by any standard): The descendants, The help, The Tree of Life, The ides of March, Shame, The Artist, and My week with Marylin - all movies told on a small down to earth personal scale, bereft of big budgets and casts of thousands.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has been going through some major changes in the past few years. The last of the so-called Golden Age stars and technicians have passed on to a younger, hipper, and smarter generation of filmmakers, eager to bring small voices of social conscience to the big screen in much the way filmmakers did back in the 1930's when sound arrived and gave writers a voice through actors.
My prediction? Films with strong powerful performances on a small scale to win in a big way. The big losers? Films that tried to throw a lot of money at the screen and failed to connect with audiences.
The first hint? Tomorrow night at the Golden Globes... I think the foreign press will give hints as to where Oscar will lean this year.