What a green book Olivia Colman wins about voting at the Oscars 2019



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Why Olivia Colman's triumph over Glenn Close was "inevitable" and was another subject to remember from Sunday's uninspired ceremony, which also included some surprising omissions from the "In Memoriam" list.

The most surprising thing about this year's Oscars is the little surprise that there was. Admittedly, Olivia Colman was named best actress rather than Glenn Close, and Green paper beat Roma for the best picture; but the unexpected was not so unexpected, the unpredictable not so unpredictable.

That said, there are lessons to be learned from the 91st Oscars that could serve experts and activists well in the years to come.

1. THE OLD RE-EMERGING TRIUMPHANT ACADEMY

Two years ago, MoonlightThe victory over La La Land seemed to announce the emergence of a new type of voter, more indie and artistic spirit, more open to the arts and avant-garde. The infusion of new members, mostly from independents from independent and international arenas, has led some observers to believe that the type of film that the Academy of Arts and Film Sciences would reward would be changing. . With some 1,700 newcomers added to the Academy's board in the last two years alone, there was no reason to believe that the group as a whole would vote as it had done in the past two years. the past but Green paperVictory made it possible to abandon this argument; a cynic called it "best film of 1965." Its success proves that the Academy remains a bit old school and prefers liberal, not "awakened" comfort dishes to a black and white author and in foreign languages. Work catchy, as dazzling as it is.

2. YOU DO NOT NEED A HOST – BUT YOU NEED STARS

The first Oscars, released Sunday night, accelerated at breakneck speed, a refreshing change for audiences who hang around their television screens for hours before their ballots are half full. If the TV program lacked a part of the comedy that a good animator could have provided him (not to mention moments of shock and fear and pure glare), this offset that pace. This was good news for an institution that recently gave up in despair after Dwayne Johnson's stint and the loss of Kevin Hart as late-game host. The Academy spent years wondering who would become the new Billy Crystal. Guess what? He does not need him.

On the other hand, the type of heavy stars that the audience tunes was particularly absent from television broadcasting. Where were Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Denzel Washington, Jennifer Lawrence, Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock and a host of other stars who did not deign to appear in the series? Once upon a time, the mega-watt Hollywood stars had gathered en masse for the biggest event in the industry; now they must be asked to appear and even then say no.

In one way or another, the Academy has lost influence with its most prominent members, and this could pose a much more dangerous threat to its future assessments than any other member. A show too long.

3. PAY DIVERSITY

It was exciting to see Black Panther Rewarded for his costumes and production design, both created by some of today's most talented Hollywood players. It was also surprising, as Oscar is traditionally dedicated to period pieces where the costumes and the design of the production strut to the sight of all – as in The favourite, an image of exquisite beauty whose seamstress, Sandy Powell, has already won three times in the past. the Black Panther the winners – Ruth Carter for the costumes, Hannah Beachler (with Jay Hart) for the design of the production – were awarded on merit; but we must ask ourselves whether merit alone would have triumphed without the laudable efforts of the Academy to bring its ranks back to the twenty-first century.

4. PLAY BAD, PLAY PERIOD, PLAY AN ACCENT

Once again, the electors chose to act as they could see and respected the journalist's rule: win the game, play lousy, play with an accent and play big enough so that everyone knows you're playing. In all four categories, the Academy has chosen actors in period pieces; in three of the four, they went with actors who emphasized or changed their voices clearly; and in three of the four, they also selected actors who were less physically attractive than in real life. Glenn Close and Olivia Colman both performed remarkably well, but it was inevitable that Colman's performance as a grumpy queen The favourite she was going to win, considering this truism: she played a piece of time, made her ugly, at the big game and with an accent.

5. IT'S WIN-WINNING FOR NETFLIX

OK, the streaming company has lost the ultimate trinket. So what? He left again with a handful of Oscars for Roma and the short documentary Period. End of sentence; it's made known as the most discussed brand of rewards season; and proved that he could deliver an Oscar campaign with the best. Reed Hastings, Ted Sarandos and the company might have liked to win their first Oscar for best film, but they won this game in points. No great director will hesitate to enter into an agreement with the company and no potential subscriber will have reason to say that Netflix has no classified films. The rumor had not hurt the banner about the huge amount of money she had amassed Roma campaign, with reports starting at $ 25 million and going into the stratosphere from there. This could irritate rivals; But which filmmaker who values ​​his image does not jump at the opportunity to get the same?

6. NOMINATIONS ARE NOT SUFFICIENT TO WIN

The favourite entered the Oscars with 10 nominations and left with a win. It was delightful for Colman, but it was a terrible blow for the distributor of the movie, Fox Searchlight, which in recent years has turned appointments into awards. This is not the first time, of course, that an image with multiple names has remained relatively empty – ask Steven Spielberg, whose The color Purple won 11 nominations in 1985 and won no statuette. This should remind all activists that the first phase of the race has nothing to do with the second phase and that the kind of broad support indicated by a fleet of nominations does not equate to a final victory.

7. THE CONTROVERSY DOES NOT HURT

Despite so much mud launched on Green paper, nothing stuck. The opposite may even be true. There is a counter-argument that voters would not like to be told what to think and hold, no matter what. This may be true or simply that the offenses were committed (the use of the n-word by Viggo Mortensen while speaking of racial progress; the tweet of the writer Nick Vallelonga supporting the assertion of Trump that New Jersey Muslims celebrated the fall of the Twin Towers) were not considered serious enough for members to change their choices. The lesson of that? Smudging tactics may work, but smudging must be incredibly disturbing to derail a campaign.

8. There are unknown strangers and strangers

Insiders will continue to debate for years why Green paper won and if it would have done so with a different voting system. The film won the first prize after voters ranked their best choice, from 1 to 8, with the lowest number of voices eliminated and the vote transferred to the next choice on the ballot – until A film gets more than 50%. of the number 1 votes. The Oscars use this "preferential" system to get the best picture possible; in the other categories, the one with the most votes in the first round wins.

As many people have noted, this means that the winner is ultimately the favorite photo of the largest number of voters and not the one adored by a few. Would have Green paper did you win with a different voting methodology? It's impossible to know. Just as it is impossible to know if Roma came in second and how many votes separated the two.

Future activists will have to continue working on this hypothesis: it is not enough for an image to be loved by a small group; almost everyone must love him too.

9. IT'S EASIER TO WIN AN OSCAR THAN MAKING THE "IN MEMORIAM" LIST

Where was oh Arnold Kopelson? The twice-named producer, who won an Oscar for best film for Section, was not even mentioned in the annual call, a list intended to offend even more members of the academy, it seems, than those who protested against the proposed elimination of four Oscars from television broadcasting . Each year, the In Memoriam section has the same consequences and the fact that a longer list exists online does not help. It is time for the Academy to clarify the rules for those who are on screen and those who are not; to expand the selection committee and explain why others, such as Gary Kurtz (the Star wars producer) and Stanley Donen (the Sing in the rain director) could not be stuck in.

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