WATCH DPTV’s Behind the Headlines: 2015 Oscar Nominations
Let’s get the surprises of the out of the way.
First, there will be little squabbling that biggest upset was the absence of “The LEGO Movie” among the best animated feature flicks. Yes, its zippy-annoying tune got a nod for but everything was hardly awesome for a movie many prognosticators had treated not just as front-runner but presumptive victor.
On a more serious note: History will have to wait a bit longer as director Ava DuVernay’s run at becoming the first black woman filmmaker to be nominated for an Academy Award came to an end. When the Directors Guild announced its five nominees earlier in the week, the feeling was Clint Eastwood had nudged out DuVernay for the final spot. But since the start of month, the gifted filmmaker’s shot at making history has buffeted by historians who take issue with the depiction of Martin Luther King, Jr., and President Lyndon B. Johnson’s relationship. Did hurt her chances? Likely. But the much embraced Eastwood didn’t make the cut either. And the work of the five contenders for best director is strong if not as vital.
What comes as a different sort of surprise is the grand re-entrance of Wes Anderson’s fanciful fable about a legendary concierge, his apprentice, a gang of fascists and a stolen artwork.
Fall has become the platform season for films plunging into Oscar’s deep end. And this elegant romp did something that seldom happens any longer: made it from a spring theatrical release to an Oscar nom.
“Grand Budapest” tied Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s swooping, arcing tale for the most nominations, with nine.
We might do well to consider it the triumph of the peculiar.
Yes, four of the eight nominees for best motion picture take their cues from actual stories — “American Sniper,” “Selma,” But the two leaders in nominations speak to an embrace — at least by Academy voters — of the boldly unconventional, smartly playful.
We could even add director — six nominations — to that mix. After all as “real” as the film’s chronicle about a boy, his sister, their parents feels, the sheer audacity of the enterprise — shot over 12 years — makes it beautifully idiosyncratic.
Of course, post-announcement take-aways aren’t likely to stick as we head toward the final ballots due from the membership on Feb. 17. There are 6,124 eligible voters and they can now vote in all categories. That’s 34 days for them to adjust and second guess their choices. Just like the rest of us.
Already the new parsing has begun. was the headline for an analysis by Indiewire’s Anne Thompson, one of the finest industry interpreters.
A case in point might be Christopher Nolan’s gargantuan yet intimate space epic did favorably with critics, according to metacritic.com and has made more than $662 million globally. For the moment, that is more than all the nominees grosses combined.
Even though it seems to have been coming for a while, that it didn’t even make the expanded field for best motion picture feels like a snub and a missed opportunity to connect with a class act that has critical cred, too.
While that might sound bitter on the part of a fan (“Interstellar'” made my top 10), the arguably positive read would that Academy voters continue to offer proof that when it comes to celebrating their own, making money does not rule every consideration.
Lisa Kennedy: 303-954-1567, lkennedy@denverpost.com or twitter.com/bylisakennedy
