We've reached the final stage of the pre-Blitz with today's announcement of 10 shortlists for specialty categories for next year's Oscars. And as always, there are some truly baffling decisions made by the individual branches to go along with the more logical ones. From here on out it's nothing but hunting and viewing as I … Continue reading Your Dis is on My List – 94th Academy Award Shortlists!
It's finally happened. The Oscar Blitz has officially entered the preliminary stages, at least from a public-facing perspective. The deadline for specialty feature films to submit to the Academy was on November 1, and typically as soon as eligibility is determined, the powers that be at AMPAS publish those lists. For whatever reason, we had … Continue reading Put On Your Blitzin’ Shoes – Academy Announces Specialty Feature Submissions
Welcome one and all to the annual Oscar Blitz! At long last, after a year of lockdowns and two months of logistical delays, we finally can begin the countdown to the biggest night in cinema. Now, you may be asking why I call this the Blitz when the articles are called "Oscar Gold." You're probably … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2021 – Documentary Feature
We're one week away from the Oscar nominations, people! It is very nearly GO time, and I am getting psyched up! The anticipation, the trepidation, the sheer worry about availability of nominees in this continuing pandemic have got me all of the dither right now. But at least there's one area where I can safely … Continue reading DownStream – Doc Stuffed!
The shortlists for this year's Academy Awards were released just over a week ago, which means I'm already in prime mode, trying to clear off as many potential nominees as possible before the official finalists are declared in just about four weeks' time. As ever, that includes the goal of clearing the shortlist for Documentary … Continue reading DownStream – Doc Stuffin’
A year ago today, Parasite shocked the world by winning the Academy Award for Best Picture. For a lot of film lovers out there, that was the last pleasant memory before the world went to Hell. Today, in the slimmest sign of a return to normalcy, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced … Continue reading The First Cuts – 93rd Oscars Shortlists Announced!
I was starting to get a little antsy waiting for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to start announcing the submissions for this year's Oscars. I know everything got pushed back by two months, but we're less than two weeks from the shortlist announcements, and thus far we haven't seen a whit of … Continue reading I Love it When You Submit – 93rd Oscars Specialty Feature Submissions!
Just over a week ago, I completed my annual quest to see all of the shortlisted entries up for the Oscar for Documentary Feature. I recapped the journey here on the blog, and gave my alphabetical top five, i.e. the films I would nominate were I a member of the Academy's Documentary Branch. But the … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2020 – Documentary Feature
Oscar nominations are just over a day away, and when they come down on Monday morning, five filmmakers are going to get the thrill of a lifetime, as their movie will be up for the Documentary Feature prize. Late last month, the Academy narrowed over 190 submissions down to a lucky 15, which were then … Continue reading Back Row Thoughts – The 2019 Doc Feature Shortlist
Last year was the first time that I was able to accomplish my goal of seeing every shortlisted documentary feature before the Academy Award nominations came out. I had been trying for a few years, mostly because the Documentary Branch seems to nominate the most dense and inaccessible films as opposed to the rare docs … Continue reading Time to Begin Your Blitz – Academy Announces Oscar Spotlight: Documentaries Program
I Actually Paid To See This 