Proof that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences are a total joke...... (1 Viewer)

[chung_sotheby]

As reported by E! Online:

The Board of Governors at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences--the folks behind Hollywood's biggest night--announced Wednesday it will hand out honors in the feature-length 'toon category for the second year in a row after approving more than double the eight films required to activate the category. A total of 17 films were deemed eligible for Oscar consideration, and Adam Sandler's Eight Crazy Nights, giving the former SNL star his first shot at Oscar glory.

Other nominees for the award included the Powerpuff girls movie, Veggietales, Return to Neverland, and Hey Arnold. I mean, c'mon, it was bad enought that Waking Life (one of the best 5 films of last year, IMHO) was snubbed last year in favor of Jimmy Neutron, but this year the Academy is accepting Oscar bids from 8 Crazy Nights and the Powerpuff girls? How about electing to accept a bid from more deserving movies like Metropolis instead of trying to play into the whole "animation is for kids" racket and acknowledging all the trite and meaningless dreck that is made to drudge up "family" dollars for what it is. I cant stand the idiocy of the Academy, sometimes. Their complete lack of reason and forward thinking are is only rivaled by the MPAA and Major Leauge Baseball.

Sorry, just had to relieve a little tension. Wont happen again.

 

[Joel Mack]

I think you're confused.

Those aren't the official nominations. Those are the films that have been submitted for consideration. I believe any film can be submitted for consideration by it's producers.

While I enjoyed 8CN, I certainly don't expect to hear it's named called when the official noms are announced.

 

[chung_sotheby]

Joel, I know that they are not the official nominees, but I would hope that the Academy would at least be selective of which movies to consider for an Academy Award nomination. I just don't think that a movie which may just be the worst or the year should be considered for an award of artistic (not technical) merit just because it is animated.

 

[Luc D]

I think the fact the artists like Kubrick, Hitchcock, Malick, Altman, Tarkovsky, Godard, Lynch, Antonioni and Scorsese have never won an Academy Award (excluding lifetime achievement) is proof enough that we shouldn't take the Oscars as seriously as we do.

 

[John Spencer]

Any film having its official US premiere during the 2002 calendar year is considered to be "in consideration" for Oscar nominations. So if we're going to get pissed, might as well be pissed that looking mathematically, Jackass has just as much chance of a nomination as The Two Towers or Far From Heaven, since they're both at this point "in consideration". "In consideration" doesn't mean anything yet. It never does.
And what's with all the Academy-bashing anyway? So what if films you don't like garner awards while films you like get nothing. You still like the film, don't you? All this bitching about the Academy being incompetent buffoons doesn't make one look too glorious if you're going to spend year after year calling them stupid, yet poring over their results. That's like willingly covering your hand in dog shit, then endlessly complaining about the smell. It's just a bunch of peoples' opinions, and theirs differ from yours. Let it go, and don't look for justification as to why you like a movie. If you like a film based simply on the awards it garners, you've got the wrong idea in the first place.
IMHO, as always.

 

[Damin J Toell]

I just don't think that a movie which may just be the worst or the year should be considered for an award of artistic (not technical) merit just because it is animated.

So you want the Academy to judge a film...before they judge a film?

DJ

 

[Edwin Pereyra]

I don't understand what the big deal is either. These are films that are eligible to be nominated in the Best Animated Film category. All films that are eligible to be nominated are considered regardless of whether they are good or not.
~Edwin

 

[Jason Seaver]

Right. If you did an exhaustive list of what was eligible for every other award, you'd find Sweet Home Alabama, Swept Away, etc.

Of course, I'm still trying to wrap my brain around Metropolis being missing. Did it play LA in late '01 or something?

 

[Matthew_Millheiser]

Guess what? Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo was eligible for a Best Picture Oscar.
Don't mean it's gonna happen.
BTW didn't Kubrick win a Special Effects Oscar for 2001?

 

[Edwin Pereyra]

III. SUBMISSION

1. An entry form naming the intended award recipient(s) and including the signatures of all the credited producer(s) and director(s) is required. (This is to assure that all parties are properly informed, and that agreement on the designated award recipient is settled prior to submission.)

2. An "award recipient" shall be designated by those responsible for the production of the film. (Those choosing the recipient may include producers, executive producers, studio executives in charge of production, any individual copyright holders, etc.) The designated recipient must be the KEY CREATIVE TALENT most clearly responsible for the overall achievement. This person shall receive the award on behalf of the entire production. A second recipient may also be named, but only if the film utilizes a co-equal, primary creative team. In no case may more than two statuettes be presented.

3. The print submitted for Academy Award consideration must be identical in content and length to the print utilized for the qualifying exhibition. All entries submitted must include a synopsis of the film written in English.

4. Prints should be marked "ANIMATED FEATURE FILM ENTRY" and shipped PREPAID to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, 8949 Wilshire Boulevard, Beverly Hills, California 90211. Those not chosen as nominations for final balloting will be returned to the sender at Academy expense. PRINTS SUBMITTED WILL BE RETAINED BY THE ACADEMY UNTIL THE VOTING PROCESS IS COMPLETED AND WILL NOT BE LOANED FOR USE BY OTHERS DURING THE PERIOD OF THE VOTING PROCESS.

~Edwin

 

[Jason Seaver]

Geez. It's bad enough when voters forget about movies released early in the year, but when the studio does...

 

[TheLongshot]

I'm puzzled as well. By my research, it did not open at all domestically until late January 2002.

I think the problem is this:

Sweden 15 November 2001 (Stockholm International Film Festival)

I think the rules have to do when it makes its world premere, and the fact that it played in Sweden in 2001 makes it ineligible.

Jason

 

[Edwin Pereyra]

I think the rules have to do when it makes its world premere, and the fact that it played in Sweden in 2001 makes it ineligible.

Not in this category or else Spirited Away would be ineligible, as well. Foreign playdates is not a factor for Best Animated Film feature.

~Edwin

 

[Michael St. Clair]

What the hell happened to 'Waking Life' last year? Was it not submitted for consideration?

It's a lot more of a film than frickin' "Jimmy Neutron"

 

[Edwin Pereyra]

Oscar draws in nine
List of animation contenders pared down

By JILL FEIWELL

HOLLYWOOD -- Nine pics were declared eligible Wednesday for the first new Oscar category in 20 years: feature-length animation.

A committee of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences will pare the list down to three nominees. The contenders are "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within," "Monsters, Inc.," "Osmosis Jones," "The Prince of Light," "Shrek," "The Trumpet of the Swan," "Waking Life," "Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius" and "Marco Polo: Return to Xanadu."

The toons will be viewed by a 100-member screening committee chaired by Academy governor Tom Hanks. Members of the committee -- half of them animators, half members of the Acad's other 13 branches -- will determine the nominees to be announced Feb. 12 with the other Oscar contenders.

Acad prexy Frank Pierson has suggested to the committee that they consider all elements of the pic -- not just animation work, but the script, performances, score and other elements.

Films submitted in the animated feature category may qualify for Academy Awards in other areas, including best picture, provided they meet the criteria governing those categories.

For decades, the term "animated film" referred to traditional cel animation. The contenders this year prove the definition now is much broader.

The nine pics offer a wide range of styles, with only two completely cel-animated: "Polo" and "Swan." Computer animation is repped by "Neutron," "Monsters" and "Shrek."

"Fantasy" is a photorealistic computer-animated toon, while "Osmosis" blends live-action sequences with cel animation. "Waking Life" uses a computer-generated method called interpolated rotoscoping; co-writer/co-producer Krishna Shah described the style of "Prince" as fusion, a combination of the Japanese manga style with India's Ravi Varma, a classical Indian painter.

Under the Acad's rules, the animation Oscar will be presented only in years in which at least eight films are eligible for the award.

Many in the media have portrayed this year's contest as an inevitable showdown between "Monsters, Inc." and "Shrek." Certainly those are by far the highest-grossing of the nine films, with domestic hauls of $212 million and $267 million, respectively. But B.O. popularity doesn't always translate to Oscar attention.

Come Oscar day, the frosh nod will be presented to "the key creative talent most clearly responsible for the overall achievement," normally one individual, on behalf of the production. No more than two statuettes will be presented.

Pics were chosen from a submissions pool of 13, which included the German pic "Help! I'm a Fish," "Jin Roh: The Wolf Brigade," "Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust" and "Atlantis," which Disney withdrew from the race. (The Mouse House did not return calls Wednesday seeking an explanation.)

"Neutron" and "Marco Polo" made the cut on the condition that the toons bow in L.A. before Dec. 31. "Neutron" is slated for a Dec. 21 release; "Marco Polo" opens Dec. 22.

An Acad spokesman would not comment on the last-minute "Atlantis" pullout, but he told Daily Variety that "Help! I'm a Fish," was cut from the list because the pic is not yet slated for a U.S. release, which is one of the key stipulations for consideration. He also explained that "Jin Roh" was released in France too early and "Vampire" never submitted official screen credits forms.

The 74th Academy Awards will be held March 24 at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood.

 

[Patrick McCart]

So, they should make the only ones eligible that are the best?

Clearly, most of these will be taken off at first sight...

I'm pretty sure the 3 nominations will go to Spirited Away, Mutant Aliens, and Lilo and Stitch will be the final results.

Spirited Away will likely be the winner, too.

 

[Vickie_M]

I think that article provides a big clue as to the problem:

will be viewed by a 100-member screening committee...

Animation gets no respect, even when they're given their own category.
While I lament along with everyone else the exclusion of Waking Life last year, I'm very tired of the Jimmy Neutron bashing. It was a good movie, and the animation was great. Yes, Waking Life should have been in there, but that doesn't mean that Jimmy Neutron shouldn't have been in there. There should have been 5 nominees instead of 3, and as Seth just pointed out in another thread, Waking Life and Final Fantasy should have been the other two nominations. IMO.

 

[Edwin Pereyra]

If the category only gets three nominations, I think it will go to:

Lilo & Stitch (Disney)
Ice Age (Fox)
Spirit (DreamWorks)

Not my personal choices but a gut feeling.

~Edwin

 

[Chad R]

I read about it this morning. Since there were 17 qualifying films (double last year) that there will be 5 nominations this year.
The ridiculous thing about it is that 'Stuart Little 2' is eliglible for an animated oscar. Even though it blends live action and digital anaimation, the rules state that 75% of the film has to have animation (digital or cel) to qualify. Than means that 'Attack of the Clones' could be eligible. Weird.
The Yahoo Story

 

[Edwin Pereyra]

Since there were 17 qualifying films (double last year) that there will be 5 nominations this year.

That hasn't been decided yet. This year, the committee is allowed to nominate up to 5 films.

~Edwin