5 Things You Didn’t Know About The Academy Awards (Because The Academy Doesn't Want You To Know)

By Lacey Ross on January 18, 2013

I don’t know about you, but I love film. I love everything about it: the art of acting, the power of a quality movie, picking out your favorite actors and actresses, and most of all, the thrill that makes you bang on the walls of your dorm when Ben Affleck wins Best Director for Argo at the Golden Globes.

 

Or maybe that’s just me.

 

I live for awards shows, especially ones dealing in film. The Oscars, the aforementioned Golden Globes, and the Screen Actors Guild Awards are only a few examples of programs that get me riled up. Each ceremony is waited upon with bated breath as the top performers, directors, cinematographers, etc. of the year and of the past gather in a posh space and receive accolades that could potentially make or break a career. The suspense is dramatic and crushing. Will the expected winner accept the statuette, or will an underdog gain the award? Will a player from far left field swoop in and gather the title? When the name is called, will we cheer, nod our heads in contentment, roll our eyes in disappointment, or curse in confusion? To film lovers, awards shows are more than just a televised fashion show (although I do love to see everyone all dressed up!).

 

If you watched the 2013 Golden Globes this last Sunday, you most likely enjoyed yourself until somewhere around the third hour. However, I sat down in front of the television that night with Argo in mind, and I did not budge. Ben Affleck deserved (and won!) the Best Director Golden Globe, and to my surprise and intense happiness, Argo also won Best Picture – Drama.

 

Argo (2012)

 

“YES!” I shouted obnoxiously. “HE HAS BEEN REDEEMED!”

 

Redeemed from what, you ask?

 

Not being nominated for Best Director at the Academy Awards, arguably the most prestigious of the cinema-based awards.

 

If you have seen Argo, you would know what a truly brilliant work of film it is. Ben Affleck’s most successful effort since Good Will Hunting, Argo is a riveting and exciting film based on the true story of Tony Mendez. So why on Earth did the Academy not recognize this effort from the young Affleck, an effort that rivals the quality of seasoned directors in the same Hollywood rat race?

 

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences are known to shock and disappoint. You know that film that no one has ever seen/heard of that somehow sneaks into the Best Picture category and leaves out a critically acclaimed gem that was sure to be nominated? Or maybe you are frustrated yearly by the obviousness of a certain category (hello, everyone on Earth knows that Daniel Day-Lewis is going to win Actor for Lincoln this year! Sure, he deserves it; he’s the king of modern method acting. But who wouldn’t love to see someone like Bradley Cooper get the award for his phenomenal performance in Silver Linings Playbook?). Why do these things happen? What else is the Academy behind?

 

Lincoln (2012)

 

1. The Academy, made up of approximately 6,000 voters, is 94% Caucasian and 77% male with a median age of 62. Sixty-two! I’m not sure how well sexagenarians get along with up-and-coming or controversial cinema, or even the work of fresh, young actors, directors, etc.

 

2. Hollywood studios use a period of time each fall called “Oscar season” to release their films deemed critically acclaimed and heavily campaign for their respective films. Studios obviously use the publicity in order to influence the voting members of the Academy! Voters could possibly be swayed to cast their ballots for films with higher quality/wider marketing instead of the actual quality of the movie. It’s a sly trick!

 

3. Remember what I said about being frustrated with the winner of a category? Did that person just not live up to another nominee? The Academy has been criticized in recent years for awarding prizes for sentimentality, recompense for mistakes in the past, popularity in the media (ah!), or to simply further honor a previous winner instead of for truly superior performance.

 

4. Did you know that actors in the past have boycotted the ceremony and the award? Three actors have declined their awards: Dudley Nichols, George C. Scott, and Marlon Brando. Dudley Nichols refused his Best Screenplay award for The Informer (1935) because of conflicts between the Writer’s Guild and the Academy. George C. Scott was awarded Best Actor for Patton (1970), but declined the title, brusquely calling the ceremony “a two-hour meat parade”. Finally, Marlon Brando declined the Best Actor award for The Godfather (1972) on claims that the Academy discriminated against Native Americans. Who will be next?

 

5. This is pretty scandalous: An X-rated movie has won Best Picture at the Academy Awards! Midnight Cowboy (1969) was rated X at the time of its nomination and win, but is now considered R-rated by the MPAA. It is the only X-rated movie to ever have received a nomination at the Oscars, let alone a win!

 

Maybe the 85th Academy Awards next month will prove exciting! I could tell you who I’m rooting for, but I don’t want to influence your decisions.

 

(Bradley Cooper/Jennifer Lawrence for Best Actor/Best Actress.)

 

The Silver Linings Playbook (2012)

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