“You forced me to give you my word. I never have been and I never will be bound by anything I don't do of my own free will.”
– Laura Hunt (Gene Tierney) in “Laura”
My 2016 Oscar picks
BEST PICTURE: "Mad Max: Fury Road"
BEST DIRECTOR: George Miller, "Mad Max: Fury Road"
BEST ACTOR: Leonardo DiCaprio, "The Revenant"
BEST ACTRESS: Brie Larson, "Room"
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Tom Hardy, "The Revenant"
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Alicia Vikander, "The Danish Girl"
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: "Ex Machina"
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: "The Big Short"
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: "Mustang"
ANIMATED FEATURE: "Anomalisa"
SOUND EDITING: "Mad Max: Fury Road"
VISUAL EFFECTS: "Mad Max: Fury Road"
FILM EDITING: "Mad Max: Fury Road"
SHORT FILM-ANIMATED: "Bear Story"
SHORT FILM-LIVE ACTION: "Everything Will Be Okay"
DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT: "Body Team 12"
ORIGINAL SCORE: Ennio Morricone, "The Hateful Eight"
ORIGINAL SONG: "Earned It," The Weeknd, "Fifty Shades of Grey":
PRODUCTION DESIGN: "Mad Max: Fury Road"
COSTUME DESIGN: "The Revenant"
CINEMATOGRAPHY: "The Revenant"
MAKEUP: "Mad Max: Fury Road"
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: "Amy"
SOUND MIXING: "Mad Max: Fury Road"
It's bigger than the Academy
Diversity in Oscar nods requires diversity in the film industry
As a cinephile, occasional movie blogger and African-American woman, I have watched the fervor over #OscarsSoWhite unfold with great interest. I will keep my comments brief because they are not much different from what many have already eloquently expressed. The reason I feel compelled to weigh in at all is because I don’t think my view on it has been expressed enough.
My initial reaction when this year’s Oscar nominations were announced was not shock or even disappointment. Although I have not seen all of the potentially nominated performances and films, there were no movies that I had seen from black filmmakers or featuring black actors and actresses that I thought were unfairly left out of the running. There were movies and performers I thought could have been nominated, such as Spike Lee’s “Chi-raq,” F. Gary Gray’s “Straight Outta Compton,” Idris Elba for “Beasts of No Nation” and Will Smith for “Concussion.” But considering the films and performances that were nominated in the relevant categories, I didn’t see any that I thought deserved to be bumped in favor of anything else – black or white.
As far as I’m concerned, the hashtag rallying cry should be #HollywoodSoWhite or #thefilmindustrysowhite because that is where the problem lies. I have no interest in seeing films that do not deserve to be nominated get nominations just because they have a black cast or crew. What we need are more quality films produced, directed and cast with people of color so that Oscar voters have to recognize them. Granted, a predominantly older white male pool of voters will not necessarily see the attributes of these films, which is why it is imperative that the Academy leadership makes efforts to diversify its voting body as they are doing. But of course, those diversification efforts will not be enough if there are not enough Oscar worthy movies featuring people of color.
So what I want to see is more opportunities for black actors and actresses to work with the best directors in the business – directors who are perennially putting out quality work. I want to see more opportunities for talented black filmmakers and screenwriters to get their projects made with the production budgets they need to make them successful. As Viola Davis so poignantly shared at the 2015 Emmy Awards, you can’t win awards for performances you never get to give. And you can’t win awards for films that never get made. If a part is not color-specific, why not offer it to the best actor or actress for the job regardless of skin color. From Denzel Washington in “The Pelican Brief” and "Much Ado about Nothing" to Thandi Newton in "Mission Impossible II" to Chiwetal Ejiofor in "The Martian" (where I was also happy to see some Latin representation with Michael Pena) and Adepero Oduye in "The Big Short," there's no reason not to present the world as it really is with diverse casting.
I am heartened by the inroads that we've made. I am thrilled to see filmmakers like Steve McQueen, Ava Duvernay and Lee Daniels making incredible movies that tell the stories of all people, not just African-Americans, in the same way that Ang Lee helms movies about all types of people, not just people of his culture. So the overriding goal should be that more African-Americans be given more opportunities to tell all types of stories in the film industry. At that point, the Academy will be inundated with great work to nominate, and we will see a more diverse group of nominees.
To provide some perspective, below is a list of all the African-American Oscar winners since the Academy started presenting its awards.
AFRICAN-AMERICAN OSCAR WINNERS
- Hattie McDaniel – Best Actress, “Gone with the Wind” (1939)
- Sidney Poitier – Best Actor, “Lillies of the Field” (1963)
- Isaac Hayes – Best Song (Theme from Shaft), “Shaft” (1971)
- Lou Gossett Jr. – Best Supporting Actor, “An Officer and a Gentleman” (1982)
- Irene Cara – Best Song (Flashdance … What A Feeling), “Flashdance” (1983)
- Prince – Best Original Music Score, “Purple Rain” (1984)
- Stevie Wonder – Best Song (I Just Called to Say I Love You), “The Woman in Red” (1984)
- Lionel Richie – Best Song (Say You, Say Me), “White Nights” (1985)
- Herbie Hancock – Best Original Music Score, “Round Midnight” (1986)
- Willie D. Burton – Best Sound, “Bird” (1988)
- Denzel Washington – Best Supporting Actor, “Glory” (1989)
- Russell Williams – Best Sound, “Glory” (1989)
- Whoopi Goldberg – Best Supporting Actress, “Ghost” (1990)
- Russell Williams – Best Sound, “Dances with Wolves” (1990)
- Cuba Gooding Jr. – Best Supporting Actor, “Jerry Maguire” (1996)
- Halle Berry – Best Actress, “Monster’s Ball” (2001)
- Denzel Washington – Best Actor, “Training Day” (2001)
- Jamie Foxx – Best Actor, “Ray” (2004)
- Morgan Freeman – Best Supporting Actor, “Million Dollar Baby” (2004)
- Juicy J, Frayser Boy, DJ Paul – Best Song, “Hustle & Flow” (2005)
- Forest Whitaker – Best Actor, “The Last King of Scotland” (2006)
- Jennifer Hudson – Best Supporting Actress, “Dreamgirls” (2006)
- Willie D. Burton – Best Sound, “Dreamgirls” (2006)
- Mo’Nique – Best Supporting Actress, “Precious” (2009)
- Geoffrey Fletcher – Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay, “Precious” (2009)
- Roger Ross Williams – Best Documentary Short Subject, “Music by Prudence” (2009)
- Octavia Spencer – Best Supporting Actress, “The Help” (2011)
- T.J. Martin (director) – Best Documentary, “Undefeated” (2012)
- Lupita Nyong’o – Best Supporting Actress, “12 Years a Slave” (2013)
- Steve McQueen (producer) – Best Picture, “12 Years a Slave” (2013)
- John Ridley – Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay, “12 Years a Slave” (2013)
- Common and John Legend – Best Song (Selma), “Selma” (2014)
Embracing truth
BY THE BOOK
I read Yann Martel's wondrous book "Life of Pi" in 2013 for my book club. I remember reading the synopsis and not being very eager to dive into it. It sounded a bit like fantasy - being stranded on a boat with a Bengal tiger - and apart from "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, I'm not a big fan of that genre. But I also noticed the terrific reviews it received along with winning the Man Booker Prize. And while I generally take reviews with a grain of salt regarding music and movies, I rely on them pretty regularly when it comes to literature. So encouraged by the good reviews and accolades along with the pressure of my book club meeting, I gave it a try.
I was pleasantly surprised to be engrossed in it right from the start. And by the time I completed it, I felt genuine relief that the main character, Pi, had reached an end to his ordeal. That's not a spoiler exactly. If you watch the film, you know from the start that he will survive because the film beings with him telling his story to a writer. In the book, there's no writer; the reader just goes along with Pi on his journey. So I guess that's a spoiler. Sorry.
The story introduces Pi growing up in India with his father, mother and brother. His father owns a zoo, and Pi has a great affinity for the animals. He also develops a fervent interest in religion and begins to embrace multiple theologies, much to his father's chagrin. As Pi becomes a young man, he manages to remain respectful of his father's advice and tough lessons while still honoring his own truths.
But just as Pi begins to discover that most mysterious of belief systems - romantic love - with a local girl, he learns that his family must move to Canada and start a new life. They are taking the animals with them - not to start another zoo, but to sell. During a stormy night on rough seas, the ship sinks and Pi finds himself the lone human survivor on a life boat. His companions are a lame zebra, a hyena, a matriarchal orangutan and a ferocious Bengal tiger.
Apart from the addition of the writer, the movie stays pretty true to the book, and I enjoyed watching what I read come to life. My only quibble in that regard is how the orangutan comes to join Pi and his other stowaways on his little boat. In the book, her arrival is described as majestic and heartwarming as she rides a wave atop a big bunch of bananas. Ang Lee is a masterful director, but I didn't feel the emotional heft of that moment in the film. I consider it a minor point, though, and I commend Lee for doing a fantastic job of conveying all the other magical elements of the book on the screen.
Getting to know Pi throughout his childhood exploration and adoption of several different religions was heartening. It reinforced the notion of how everything does not have to be all or nothing, black or white, when it comes to our beliefs. And his struggle to survive on the boat is informed by his open acceptance of God. When he finally comes through the experience, landing on the Mexican shore, he eventually has to tell how he came to be stranded on a boat with a motley crew of jungle creatures and how he survived. But the tale of his ordeal is found too fantastic for the practically minded pencil pushers to whom he has to recount it. So Pi tells another more realistic story to explain what he had been through, and he asks his audience - the insurance men in the book and the writer in the movie - which story they prefer. And that is the question the movie goers and the readers must ask themselves. Do you embrace the fantastic or the pragmatic? What is more appealing? What is more life-affirming? What is the truth?