If you know me, you know I'm sort of a stickler when it comes to rules and organization. Hell, on some of the shows I work on in real life, I literally write them. I'm not completely anal about things, but I do believe that when regulations are made in good faith, they should be … Continue reading Oscar Blitz 2023 – Original Song
Today's the semi-big day! We've reached the last major milestone before the nominations for the 95th Academy Awards are revealed. With one month to go, the official shortlists have been released for 10 specialty categories. For all intents and purposes, the pre-Blitz has begun, and it's time to plan viewing strategies for the next few … Continue reading A Little Short – 95th Academy Awards Shortlists Announced!
Now that a full third of the categories for this year's Oscars have been relegated to a pre-show ceremony that will be easily leaked before they can be edited into the broadcast, we must take stock of the relative value that exists for the five artistic and technical categories that ABC has deigned to allow … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2022 – Original Song
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!
This is often a tricky category year-to-year for a variety of reasons. For one thing, it's one of the few that can still have fewer than five nominees. In 2011, only two songs were nominated, and two years later one was disqualified, giving us four. The current rules state that the category will have either … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2021 – Original Song
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!
One of the guiding principles of the Academy process for movie music is a bit of a double-edged sword. For both Original Score and Original Song, the Music Branch never actually has to watch the movies for which the music has been submitted. Strictly speaking, they only have to hear snippets of the score and … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2020 – Original Song
The next phase of Awards Season is on! This afternoon, the Academy announced its shortlists for nine categories, repeating the efficient method they started last year, rather than staggering out the lists like they had before. Not only do we get to see how far the fields have narrowed for International Feature, Documentary Feature, and … Continue reading Shorties Watching Shorties! – 92nd Academy Awards Shortlists Announced!
Most of the time when I do these breakdowns it's with the intent of being as objective as possible without truly prognosticating on the result. But this year, the Original Song category is one where I just can't pretend. We all know what's going to happen. "Shallow," from A Star is Born, is almost certainly going … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2019 – Original Song
For the first time ever, the Academy has revealed the shortlists for nine different categories all at the same time. Typically, this process is doled out over a few weeks to give each category a moment in the spotlight, but for our purposes, it's way more convenient. As ever, I will link to whatever reviews … Continue reading Short and Sweet: 91st Academy Awards Shortlists Announced!
I Actually Paid To See This 