2014 Oscar Snubs

The 86th Academy Awards® will air live on March 2, 2014

Twitter rage was at full speed today as people typed out raging messages in 140 characters or less (with the #oscars hashtag of course). Some rejoiced as Leonardo DeCaprio  got an Best Actor Oscar nomination for the Martin Scorsese directed film The Wolf of Wall Street. A #pray4leo hashtag seemed to be trending. Fans of his want this to finally be the year he wins an Oscar. Contrasting the Leo fanfare, many were shocked that Tom Hanks was shut out from a Best Actor nomination for Captain Phillips. Hanks is loved by the academy. He has five nominations and two back-to-back wins. I guess critic acclaim for the film and his performance wasn’t enough.

Many pointed out the fact that  despite the acclaimed directing and Oprah Winfrey’s praised performance, Lee Daniel’s The Butler received zero nominations.  The Atlantic’s claim of Hollywood’s view on black women won’t be as evident at this years ceremony (click here for article). The snubs brings up the issue of how biased The Academy is when considering potential contenders. The majority of the best picture, directing, and acting categories are filled with big named directors and people who have a good “clout” with The Academy.

Indie darlings like Fruitvale Station, Short Term 12, Enough Said, Spring Breakers, and many more were completely shut out.  Fruitvale Station, an acclaimed film that pushed lead actor Michael B. Jordon to the spotlight, received zero nominations.  Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Brie Larson, two actresses that had touching films that resonated with audiences weren’t even given the light of day by The Academy. Despite critical and audience acclaim and several festival awards to back them, they still received no prominent Oscar buzz.

Head over to twitter or internet comment sections if you dare. An abbreviated nominations list is below.

Best picture
“12 Years a Slave”
“The Wolf of Wall Street”
“Captain Phillips”
“Her”
“American Hustle”
“Gravity”
“Dallas Buyers Club”
“Nebraska”
“Philomena”

Best director
Steve McQueen — “12 Years a Slave”
David O. Russell — “American Hustle”
Alfonso Cuaron — “Gravity”
Alexander Payne — “Nebraska”
Martin Scorsese — “The Wolf of Wall Street”

Best actor
Bruce Dern — “Nebraska”
Chiwetel Ejiofor — “12 Years a Slave”
Matthew McConaughey — “Dallas Buyers Club”
Leonardo DiCaprio — “The Wolf of Wall Street”
Christian Bale — “American Hustle”

Best actress
Amy Adams — “American Hustle”
Cate Blanchett — “Blue Jasmine”
Judi Dench — “Philomena”
Sandra Bullock — “Gravity”
Meryl Streep — “August: Osage County”

Best supporting actor
Barkhad Abdi — “Captain Phillips”
Bradley Cooper — “American Hustle”
Jonah Hill — “The Wolf of Wall Street”
Jared Leto — “Dallas Buyers Club”
Michael Fassbender — “12 Years a Slave”

Best supporting actress
Jennifer Lawrence — “American Hustle”
Lupita Nyong’o — “12 Years a Slave”
June Squibb — “Nebraska”
Julia Roberts — “August: Osage County”
Sally Hawkins — “Blue Jasmine”

Best original screenplay
“American Hustle” — David O. Russell and Eric Warren Singer
“Blue Jasmine” — Woody Allen
“Her” — Spike Jonze
“Nebraska” — Bob Nelson
“Dallas Buyers Club” — Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack

Best adapted screenplay
“12 Years a Slave” — John Ridley
“Before Midnight” — Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke and Richard Linklater
“The Wolf of Wall Street” — Terence Winter
“Captain Phillips” — Billy Ray
“Philomena” — Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope

Best animated feature
“The Wind Rises”
“Frozen”
“Despicable Me 2”
“Ernest & Celestine”
“The Croods”

Best music (original song)
“Frozen”: “Let it Go” — Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez
“Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”: “Ordinary Love” — U2, Paul Hewson
“Her”: “The Moon Song” — Karen O, Spike Jonze
“Despicable Me 2”: “Happy” — Pharrell Williams
“Alone Yet Not Alone”: “Alone Yet Not Alone” — Bruce Broughton, Dennis Spiegel

Best cinematography
“Gravity” — Emmanuel Lubezki
“Inside Llewyn Davis” — Bruno Delbonnel
“Nebraska” — Phedon Papamichael
“Prisoners” — Roger Deakins
“The Grandmaster” — Phillippe Le Sourd

Best costume design
“The Great Gatsby” — Catherine Martin
“12 Years a Slave” — Patricia Norris
“The Grandmaster” — William Chang Suk Ping
“American Hustle” — Michael Wilkinson
“The Invisible Woman” — Michael O’Connor

Best actress
Amy Adams — “American Hustle”
Cate Blanchett — “Blue Jasmine”
Judi Dench — “Philomena”
Sandra Bullock — “Gravity”
Meryl Streep — “August: Osage County”

Best supporting actor
Barkhad Abdi — “Captain Phillips”
Bradley Cooper — “American Hustle”
Jonah Hill — “The Wolf of Wall Street”
Jared Leto — “Dallas Buyers Club”
Michael Fassbender — “12 Years a Slave”

Best supporting actress
Jennifer Lawrence — “American Hustle”
Lupita Nyong’o — “12 Years a Slave”
June Squibb — “Nebraska”
Julia Roberts — “August: Osage County”
Sally Hawkins — “Blue Jasmine”

Best original screenplay
“American Hustle” — David O. Russell and Eric Warren Singer
“Blue Jasmine” — Woody Allen
“Her” — Spike Jonze
“Nebraska” — Bob Nelson
“Dallas Buyers Club” — Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack

Best adapted screenplay
“12 Years a Slave” — John Ridley
“Before Midnight” — Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke and Richard Linklater
“The Wolf of Wall Street” — Terence Winter
“Captain Phillips” — Billy Ray
“Philomena” — Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope

Best animated feature
“The Wind Rises”
“Frozen”
“Despicable Me 2”
“Ernest & Celestine”
“The Croods”

Best foreign feature
“The Hunt” (Denmark)
“The Broken Circle Breakdown” (Belgium)
“The Great Beauty” (Italy)
“Omar” (Palestinian territories)
“The Missing Picture” (Cambodia)

Best music (original song)
“Frozen”: “Let it Go” — Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez
“Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”: “Ordinary Love” — U2, Paul Hewson
“Her”: “The Moon Song” — Karen O, Spike Jonze
“Despicable Me 2”: “Happy” — Pharrell Williams
“Alone Yet Not Alone”: “Alone Yet Not Alone” — Bruce Broughton, Dennis Spiegel

Best music (original score)
“Gravity” — Steven Price
“Philomena” — Alexandre Desplat
“The Book Thief” — John Williams
“Saving Mr. Banks” — Thomas Newman
“Her” — William Butler and Owen Pallett

Best cinematography
“Gravity” — Emmanuel Lubezki
“Inside Llewyn Davis” — Bruno Delbonnel
“Nebraska” — Phedon Papamichael
“Prisoners” — Roger Deakins
“The Grandmaster” — Phillippe Le Sourd

Best costume design
“The Great Gatsby” — Catherine Martin
“12 Years a Slave” — Patricia Norris
“The Grandmaster” — William Chang Suk Ping
“American Hustle” — Michael Wilkinson
“The Invisible Woman” — Michael O’Connor

Best documentary feature
“The Act of Killing”
“20 Feet From Stardom”
“The Square”
“Cutie and the Boxer”
“Dirty Wars”

Best film editing
“Gravity” — Alfonso Cuaron, Mark Sanger
“12 Years a Slave”– Joe Walker
“Captain Phillips” — Christopher Rouse
“American Hustle” — Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers and Alan Baumgarten
“Dallas Buyers Club” — John Mac McMurphy and Martin Pensa

Flops that became Cult Classics

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Dazed and Confused

When Dazed and Confused left theaters it had grossed just 7.9 million from its 6.9 million budget. The movie starred a string of then-unknown stars like Matthew McConaughey, Ben Affleck and Milla Jovovich. Although underperforming at the box office, the film went on develop a cult following by people who identified with its themes of rebellion and going against conformity. The film has been put on many critics list of best cult films and recently got a Star of Texas award from the Texas Film Hall of Fame for its 20th anniversary.

Donnie Darko

The science-fiction drama film with its somewhat confusing nature went on to be one of the top favorites for hipsters nationwide. It did moderately okay, grossing 7.6 million against a 4.5 million budget. Despite the film’s less than stellar box office receipts, it helped launch the career of lead actor Jake Gyllenhaal. In the movie Gyllenhaal’s character Donnie, aims to find the significance behind his troubling doomsday visions.

Wet Hot American Summer         

Although it had sold-out screenings at its Sundance Festival premiere, Wet Hot American Summer failed to attract many distributors for pick up. It went on to gross just $295,000 againsta $1.8 million budget. It didn’t seem to matter much. The film developed a cult following with strong DVD sales. The film starred many up and comers including Amy Poehler, Paul Rudd, Ken Marino, Bradley Cooper and Elizabeth Banks. Director David Wain has confirmed a sequel with the original cast returning.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

Despite positive reviews from critics and fans, Scott Pilgrim flopped at the Box Office making $47 million against a $60 million budget. Fear not, the film shot up to the first spot for blu-ray sales on Amazon the day it became available on DVD. Comic book lovers and hipsters developed a love for the film that showed Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) meeting the girl of his dreams and defeating her “seven evil exes.”

 

Evolution of the TV Theme Song?

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Whatever happened to TV show theme songs? It seems to be a thing of the past. A quick flip of the remote (or computer mouse) and you’ll see a quick burst of a sound clip before going onto the show. What the heck?

Theme songs seemed to have taken an evolution of some sort. The intro songs used to establish a vibe for show the viewer was about to watch. The catchy tunes established a show’s brand that for many continued on long after the show went off the air (Pokemon, Happy Days, Dukes of Hazzard). Things have changed. Many shows have shifted to having nothing more than a pleasing tune and rolling credits. Several jingles clock at just a few seconds. ABC’s Modern Family has an intro tune that runs for just 13 seconds. Fox’s the Mindy Project recently shortened their opening jingle from 15 seconds to around four seconds.

It must depend on the show runners and whether they see a need for them. Arrested Development, a sitcom revived via Netflix streaming, has an elaborate mini story within opening. The viewer is out right told of a family and its riches to rags story in just 18 seconds.

TV show runners should consider the benefit that comes from producing a proper theme song and intro. It helps to establish a shows brand among the viewers. Whenever people hear the words “Hanging out, down the street, the same old thing…” many would be quick to answer that it’s from That 70’s Show. When “West Philadelphia, born and raised,” starts up an image of Will Smith in shades and proper 90’s attire instantly pops up.

Theme songs establish a brand to a show that can have a lasting impact on viewers. TV show runners should plan accordingly. 

“They can fix this crap on Elysium”

Elysium does not go deep into the immigration reform and social status issues that are displayed front and center in the film’s trailer. It doesn’t have to. Upon viewing the film, it provides enough exposure of a message without being too in the face about it.

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image by TriStar Pictures via http://www.imdb.com/

Elysium works as a sort of but not really follow up to Neill Blomkamp’s feature film directorial debut District 9 (2009). Watching the movie, one can tell that it expands upon some of District 9’s themes of segregation and reform. The movie is set in 2154 when the earth is polluted and full of waste. The city of Los Angeles, where main character Max (Matt Damon) lives, is run down and filled with garbage. Wealthy people live on a space station habitat called Elysium that orbits earth.

Ever since he was a kid Max has always wanted to go to Elysium. They have everything: plentiful food, safety, and medical healing pods that detect and cure any abnormalities in seconds. After a factory accident involving radiation poisoning leaves Max with days to live, he decides to go on a mission to Elysium. Max wants to get to one of Elysium’s medical pods so he can heal himself and continue to live.

Audiences may feel a sense of refreshment when watching the films. It is one of the few action/special effects heavy films this year that has more than just mindless fight sequences and star power to offer. The movie lets people think about a dystopian world that might actually become a reality. Blomkamp said of the theme of the film “No. No. This isn’t science fiction. This is today. This is now.”

Since the film has a few loose ends it did not tie up, it leaves much of its dystopian/sci-fi future themes to the imagination. That shouldn’t scare away viewers. The film holds well in providing a good overview of what director Blomkamp was trying to convey. Matt Damon, Jodie Foster and Sharlto Copley all give solid performances.

Top Indie Films of 2013

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Obviously there have been a lot of good independent films this year. I read an article that stated 2013 was the “Year of the Indie.” It is a strong declaration to make. Several mainstream big budget films this year did not fare well (RIPD, Turbo, The Lone Ranger, Broken City, and so forth). Below is a list of the films that had a positive reaction among many and seemed good word-of-mouth talk.

Before Midnight

Richard Linklater’s third installment in the “Before” trilogy follows a married couple who are in the challenging stages of their relationship. They met each other on a train in Before Sunrise (1995), nine years later they were reunited at a bookstore in Before Sunset (2004) and now, nine years later, are married, living in Greece with twin girls.

The film never fails to capture what a real life relationship is like. The script does a fine job of displaying the different perspectives in a relationship (leads Julia Delpy and Ethan Hawke share writing credit with Linklater for the film). Like the two previous installments, the film employees the use of (extremely) long takes to make the exchanges feel authentic and natural. The beginning of the film involved a 14-minute continuous take of Delpy and Hawke’s characters exchanging conversation in a car ride.

Audiences seemed to fall in love with Linklater, Delpy and Hawke’s characters all over again. Before Midnight went on the become the highest grossing film of the “Before” trilogy, raking in over $20 million worldwide against a modest $3 million budget.

The Way Way Back

Giving off a strong 80’s vibe (the movie was originally supposed to be set in 1983) The Way Way Back is a film about a 14-year-old socially awkward boy named Duncan (Liam James) who travels along with his mom (Toni Collette) and mean stepdad (Steve Carell) to a vacation at a beach house for the summer. At the start of the summer Duncan gets a job at a water park run by a talkative and fun-loving guy named Owen (Sam Rockwell).

The solid performances by Rockwell, Carell, and James keep the movie from being passed off as just another coming-of-age film with a socially awkward lead that a hipster would love. The script lets the variety of characters in the film shine without seeming too cluttered. Everything is tied up by the film’s end. The “summer that changed everything” is officially over. Duncan has made a new friend, Owen, and has a better sense of confidence in him.

The Way Way Back received acclaim from critics and went on to make $23 million from a production budget of just $5 million.

The Spectacular Now

It’s very hard to make a film chronicling the coming-of-age process for teenagers without having it suck. So many films have done. So many films have done it badly. The Spectacular Now is not one of those films. The Spectacular Now follows Sutter (Miles Teller) and Aimee (Shailene Woodley), two high school seniors trying to figure out their lives. Aimee has hers figured out and Sutter does not.

What makes the film great is it’s realistic and simplistic nature. The characters are played by actors that actually look like teenagers. There is no iPhone toting, excessive texting, or glamourized things going on. It is just Sutter and Aimee, navigating life, trying to figure out where to go.

Sutter and Aimee aren’t perfect. They make mistakes. They cuss. They were regular clothes. The viewer feels connected with them.  Teller and Woodley’s performances let the viewer feel like they know them. At the film’s end, one could feel good with the film.  The film depicts the age of 18, becoming an adult, effectively. Coming of age is no easy process.

The Spectacular Now received widespread acclaim. Teller and Woodley received the Special Jury Award for Acting at the Sundance Film Festival. Woodley has received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Female Lead. The film grossed around 6.8 million from a 2.5 million budget.

Review: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

A warm and feel-good movie is what most people want when they hit the movie theater on Christmas day. That is what they will get. Ben Stiller’s The Secret Life of Walter Mitty lets the viewer relish in daydreams and sees how a man changes because of them. The film is a loose take on the 1939 short story of the same name by James Thurber.

Photo via imdb.com
Photo via imdb.com

Stiller, along with directing the movie, takes on the main role of Walter Mitty. Walter is a quiet and closed-off person working at Life magazine as a Negative Asset Manager. His life is pretty bland. He is an expert at balancing his checkbook but cannot muster up the courage to “wink” his crush and fellow co-worker Cheryl (Kristen Wiig) on eHarmony. He has a bad habit of zoning out at times. He drifts off into vivid daydreams filled with things he wish he could say and places he wish he could visit. His daydream self has a strong confidence that his real-life bland office worker self does not.

There is a disruption in Walter’s life. Life magazine is scheduling its last print edition and going to online. Walter is tasked with the important role of providing the negative #25 photo by famed photographer Sean O’Connell, to be used as the cover for the final print issue. The negative #25 cannot be found however. It seems to be lost. Walter does not have it in his hands.

Teetering on the edge of getting laid off, Walter travels to Greenland and Iceland to track down Sean O’Connell. He needs the photo. The expedition yields more than just work duties. Walter is diving into the unknown. He is being adventurous for the first time in his life. The empty travel journal that his father gave to him before passing away when Walter was 17 is finally getting used.

The film wavers a bit with its daydream to reality sequences. Many critics have pointed out to the fact that the film loses steam. It’s pointed out that logic and imagination is not properly balanced. This is a good observation but slightly missing the point. Stiller does make a distinction between reality and fantasy. He does weird things (like throwing away the Sean O’Connell gifted wallet) because he is functioning on auto mode. His life is just going with the flow and not really observing what exactly is going on in front of him.

Although The Secret Life of Walter Mitty has been getting mixed reviews it is a solid film to see. There is no other movie that will give you a warm mushy feeling inside than this (maybe Christian Bale’s comb over in American Hustle will hold you over).  The film provides great visuals and a predictable but good ending.

One thing stuck in my head after viewing the film: You cannot decide what to do with your life by sitting and thinking hard, it happens through taking action. This is exactly what Walter Mitty does in the film. B-

Social Media Marketing with Movies

Ramping up exposure of movie character Ron Burgundy, everyone from movie insiders to general audiences are seeing how Anchorman 2’s elaborate social media marketing plan is panning out.

2013 Paramount Pictures Inc.
Image by Paramount Pictures via imdb.com

“It’s something that has never been done before for movies.” This is the usual phrase chimed over and over when glancing through the several articles pertaining to Anchorman 2’s social media marketing plan. It’s something that’s been done before, just never at a massively large scale like it was with Anchorman 2.

On December 4, Emerson College temporarily named their journalism department the Ron Burgundy School of Communication. On November 30, Ron Burgundy co-anchored Bismarck’s KXMB-TV evening news.

Rare for a mainstream big budget movie, the marketing team behind the movie has seemed to embrace the idea of user generated content. The content created by fans has been used to further the brand of Ron Burgundy.

Many people are quick to analyze what success is coming out of the movie’s marketing plan. GIFs are starting to be looked at as an effective tool in selling what a movie is about. Things like fan constructed GIFs are able to provide small tidbits and one-liners that give a sample of what the movie has to offer. Others point to the several cross-promotional things as the reason the movie will be successful (Ben & Jerry’s Ron Burgundy ice cream flavor, Ron Burgundy Dodge Durango ads).

Taking a step back, it can be noticed there is no one thing that drove people to go see Anchorman 2. It was a combination of factors. Not many expensive (and often skipped over with DVR) TV ads and talk show visits were needed. User-generated content like GIFs and fan submitted photos were encouraged by the movie’s marketing team. Free or low-cost tools like Tumblr, Twitter, and YouTube videos and contests were used to ramp up the brand of Ron Burgundy.

Director Adam McKay mentioned in an Entertainment Weekly piece that the super stacked Burgundy appearances were worth around $20 million in free publicity.

Whether the cross promotion, appearances, and various events paid off is up for debate. Anchorman 2 went on to make 40 million over its five days at the box office (Weds. through Sunday). Over the actual three-day weekend however, it made 26.8 million. The original Anchorman opened up in July 2004 to 28 million.

Despite any negative predictions, Anchorman 2 is expected to fare well and more than double its production budget of $50 million.

#FDOM: Final Evaluation

This semester I spent blogging has been an overall positive experience. I was able to learn about different ways, both with different methods and media platforms, to tell a story. One of the major things I am proud of is that for the most part I was able to upkeep with one post a week. I made sure all of the posts had a good visual aid and a link to an article for further reading.

The thing that stuck with me the most during this blogging assignment was during Mass Communication Week at Texas State. The main speaker to start off the week was Evan Smith, CEO of the Texas Tribune. He said something that really stuck with me. He mentioned during his speaking event that despite common perceptions, now was actually the best time to go into journalism. New innovations are being done to effectively tell a story. His words hold true to what this fundamentals of online media class is all about: figuring out ways to effectively tell a story thorough the use of digital and online platforms.

Editing my Austin Film Society Internship Application Video

If you happened to read my about.me page (it’s a widget on the sidebar of this blog) you would read that I like to study the idiosyncrasies of things, the deep down meetings. So in order to fully realize how I have benefited from this blog, I would take down short notes and tidbits in class whenever my professor mentioned something important. Below is a list of the things I have learned in this digital media class from the notes I gathered and from this blogging assignment.

  • Visuals are important in a blog. Photos that could tell a story if they stood alone.
  • Blogging is a lot more enriching if you are 100% part of the process. Learn to code.
  • Don’t just put your own thoughts in a post, email people, get quotes.
  • Coding and graphic design are just as important as writing and communication skills. LEARN TO CODE.
  • Be genuine and leave comments on other blogs to get traffic to yours

All in all, my blogging experience has been positive. I learned a lot about building a solid base of content.  I know in the near future (January 2014) I will set up an entertainment blog (Movies, TV, Analyzing) to help become the career that I want which is to work at Entertainment Weekly magazine. Look out for me when I come to mass communication week 2015 as a speaker. Save the date! October 19, 2015.

[Update: 1/9/14: Found this cool article on The Daily Muse on how to upkeep and write good content for a blog]

TXST PRSSA (Public Relations Student Society)

When I first started at Texas State, I felt kind of lost in terms of what to do. I hadn’t really started on any classes in my major yet. So looking to get involved I joined a bunch of student organizations. I ended up not being able to do most of them (the dues were expensive) and so PRSSA was the one that stuck.

PRSSA stands for Public Relations Student Society of America. The chapter at Texas State is part of a national group that aims to advance the profession of public relations. The Texas State chapter at Texas State consists of a variety of officers: President, VP, Treasury, Special Events, Secretary, and Membership. I am the Director of Treasury for PRSSA at Texas State. I make sure people are pay their national and local dues.

A lot of the planning that goes into running our PRSSA chapter happens at the officer meetings every other Wednesday. The meetings are hectic but fun natured and usually consist of the officers trying to organize speakers for the upcoming meetings. The photo slideshow shows off a few of the happenings at a PRSSA officers meeting.

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MAIP Summer 2014

In this blog I frequently talk about how to utilize a college degree to the max.  Speak with professors, attend events related your major, get experience in your major, and so forth. One of the great ways to expand upon what you learn in the classroom is through internships. Internships let you test the waters for a certain career sector and let you gain real-world experience.  When I heard about the MAIP summer 2014 program and how they give students the opportunity to work at real advertising agencies, I knew I had to apply.

MAIP stands for Multicultural Advertising Intern Program. I had send a video component along with my application. After 6 hours of restless planning and filming I was finally able to come to a finished product. The video footage originally ran 12 minutes long but I was able to successfully cut it down to the stated three minutes.

Here is the video of me addressing MAIP, telling them how I am unique and what makes me a good fit for the program.