Sunday 22nd February saw the 87th annual Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, hit the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. While Christopher Nolan's epic science fiction movie Interstellar (pictured below) won an award for best visual effects and Disney's Big Hero 6 won an award for best animated feature film, most of last years science fiction and comic book movies were completely overlooked by the academy. Granted some of our favorite movies of the past 12 months such as Captain America: Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and X-Men: Days of Future Past did get the 'accolade' of being nominated, but alas all for the same award; visual effects. WTF!
Most years popular blockbuster movies that make millions and billions at the box office, movies guaranteed to be most movie fans collections get overlooked or downright ignored by award ceremonies like the BAFTA's, Oscars and Golden Globes. Occasionally movies such the Lord of the Rings have stood tall and won multiple awards, but most years its the conveniently released a month beforehand moving biopic or the deeply emotionally and politically or socially charged commentary movies that win multiple awards for their 'breathtaking performances', 'moving scores' or 'thought provoking direction'.
While we will not be ignorant that such movies as Birdman (pictured above) and The Theory of Everything are well produced movies with impressive performances and direction; just because Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a genre movie doesn't mean that Andy Serkis wasn't just as deserving to be in with a chance for winning best actor for his portrayal of Caesar (pictured below), but alas he wasn't even nominated. Additionally, why wasn't Guardians of the Galaxy nominated for best picture, or its director James Gunn nominated in the category for best director; Guardians of the Galaxy was last years most riskiest prospect, but has been acclaimed by many as this generations Star Wars, yet it wasn't even nominated in either category.
The answer is simple, popular genre movies normally don't win awards; they aren't as important as movies as the allegedly better acted or better directed or better scored 'arty-farty' or 'real' movies. Does the same thus extend to actors and actresses? Donald Sutherland is one of Hollywood most beloved actors, and has portrayed many ranges of characters in the past 50 years, yet he has not once won an Oscar. The Dirty Dozen, M.A.S.H., Kelly's Heroes, The Eagle Has Landed, The Great Train Robbery, Lock Up, JFK, Backdraft, Outbreak, Fallen, Hunger Games Trilogy and of course 1978's Invasion of the Body Snatchers (pictured below); some of the best movies of the past 50 years and the committee of the academy believes that Donald Sutherland doesn't deserve one Oscar?
Yet in the 2009 Academy Awards actor Heath Ledger received a posthumous Oscar in the best supporting actor category for his portrayal of the Joker (pictured below) in the previous years movie The Dark Knight, directed by Christopher Nolan. Had the actor not died during the movies production and had he been present at the awards, would he still have won the award?
Come next February, will J.J. Abrams win best director for Star Wars The Force Awakens, having refused to rely on CGI, or Joss Whedon for directing the most crowded superhero movie to date with Avengers: Age of Ultron, or Zack Snyder for bringing Batman and Superman onto the big screen together for the first time in live action movie history? Will Ben Affleck win best actor for his reportedly mould breaking performance as the Batman, or will it be Mark Hamill as a darker Luke Skywalker? Will Captain America: Civil War win an Oscar for best adapted screenplay? Will Mad Max: Fury Road win an Oscar for best cinematography? We all know the answer is most probably no, but isn't it high time that every movie of a set quality be recognised, regardless of its genre!
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