Players in “American Hustle” are all dressed up and ready to collect their Oscars.
For the past two Academy Awards seasons, I have blogged about my attempt to see all of the nominated titles. “All” means not just those flicks up for Best Picture, but every film nominated for anything — from documentary shorts to makeup & hairstyling to sound editing and sound mixing (same thing).
I’ve never succeeded.
Because of my limited time, funds and hope, after two seasons of defeat, I had decided not to even try this year. Then, hello! I analyzed the list.
If it were possible to see all the films nominated for any Oscar in any category in any year, looks like this could be the year.
Look at it this way: Eliminate from the count the 15 shorts (there are always 15 shorts) and the 5 documentary features and 5 animated features and 5 foreign films. They’re all static categories whose films generally do not cross over into other categories (animated feature Up in 2009 and 2010’s Toy Story 3, or foreign offerings A Separation in 2011 and 2012’s Amour, are exceptions). With those slots gone, in 2012, there were 31 other unique films nominated. Last year, 24.
This year, there are only 28. Oh. Wait. That’s more than last year. Why does it feel as if there are fewer? Is it because the titles are getting so short?
I wrote about this last year, how titles are increasingly clipped, possibly because of Twitter and the need to get the word out in a condensed way. But compare one-word Philomena to one-word Her. Kinda hard to do a search for Her.
Joaquin Phoenix searches for meaning in Spike Jonze’s “Her.”
No matter. The nine Best Picture nominees still have a ridiculous monopoly across other categories, and I’ll find some way to back that up with statistics. (Maybe this guy cites the statistics I need.)
However you slice it, the way the Academy focuses on just a handful of films for praise, given the depth of the year’s pool, seems unfair. Lame. Maybe Academy members were also short on time and funds this time around and didn’t see enough movies. Maybe filmmakers were short on funds and ideas and didn’t make enough movies.
The only folks not lazy seem to be Jennifer Lawrence and Leo. Oh, and the marketers / promoters for the nine Best Picture nominees. Someone is being played, and it’s not just the victims of the con artists in American Hustle.
Well, count along with me, and help me decide whether to go for it. As usual, I’ve seen only two Best Picture nominees outta the starting gate (“Gravity” and “American Hustle”) and one other, from the best actress category (“Blue Jasmine”).
Here are all of the nominees, according to the official category hierarchy with no repeats:
- American Hustle √
- Captain Phillips
- Dallas Buyers Club
- Gravity √
- Her
- Nebraska
- Philomena
- 12 Years a Slave
- The Wolf of Wall Street
- Blue Jasmine √
- August: Osage County (I saw the play; does that count?)
- The Croods
- Despicable Me 2
- Ernest & Celestine
- Frozen
- The Wind Rises
- The Grandmaster
- Inside Llewyn Davis
- Prisoners
- The Great Gatsby (read the book …)
- The Invisible Woman
- The Act of Killing
- Cutie and the Boxer
- Dirty Wars
- The Square
- 20 Feet from Stardom
- The Broken Circle Breakdown
- The Great Beauty
- The Hunt
- The Missing Picture
- Omar
- Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa
- The Lone Ranger
- The Book Thief
- Saving Mr. Banks (rhymes with “Hanks”)
- Alone Yet Not Alone (Update: This song has since been disqualified due to shady soliciting of votes. Good for me!)
- Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
- All Is Lost
- The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
- Lone Survivor (anything like ‘The Lone Ranger’?)
- Iron Man 3
- Star Trek Into Darkness
- Before Midnight
I repeat: All is lost?
And the 15 shorts — always 15:
- CaveDigger
- Facing Fear
- Karama Has No Walls
- The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life
- Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall
- Feral
- Get a Horse!
- Mr. Hublot
- Possessions
- Room on the Broom
- Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn’t Me)
- Avant Que De Tout Perdre (Just Before Losing Everything)
- Helium
- Pitaako Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?)
- The Voorman Problem
How are you doing? Who’s with me?
Mommy Tongue 
Haha this is great! While it’s very unlikely to see every nominated film before the Oscars in March, there is still time to watch the important ones, like the Best Picture nominees. I’ve seen all the BP noms except for Philomena, which in my opinion is one I’ll wait to rent. That’s my opinion on documentaries as well. I never go see them in the theaters because it’s not enhanced in any way on a bigger screen with surround sound. At home on my laptop is just fine for a documentary.
I also usually keep ahead of the game, anticipating which films are Oscar-worthy while they’re being released throughout the year. But no matter whether they’re nominated or not, you won’t ever get me to watch films like The Lone Ranger or Bad Grandpa. That’s where I draw the line lol.
Anyway, great post!
My Top Ten Films of 2013: http://entertainmentblur.wordpress.com/2014/01/15/top-ten-movies-of-2013/
Thanks for the feedback! I love your Top 10 list. Interesting you crown “Gravity” — so much waffling among critics on that one. I thought it was a good film, but a weak screenplay. Maybe it would have felt different had I seen it in 3-D. I know exactly what you mean about drawing the line at certain films — last year, I refused to see “Ted.” Just couldn’t do it!! I also skip most of the animated features — I think “Frozen” has it wrapped up this year, so no need to see any others. My must-see categories are BP, all the acting categories, directing and both screenplay categories. But my compulsiveness means I typically end up seeing about 75% of the nominees — somehow makes my February pass easier! Thanks again for stopping by.