The 83rd annual Academy Awards will be live on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011, at 8 p.m.. The Academy Awards are considered one of the most prestigious awards for the film industry. The famous gold statuette, called an Oscar, is highly prized. In the pre-show, viewers will be able to see the A-list celebrities walking the red carpet and being interviewed about the beautiful dresses and fabulous suits they wear and who they think should win. The nominees are considered the best of the best, and often the winners have won multiple awards during the season. Every year there are one or two nominees in one or two categories that are seemingly out of place. They may win the category, but the win is often not deserved.
This year, one such nomination is Jeff Cronenweth for “The Social Network,” who is nominated for, among other things, Best Cinematography. The category of Best Cinematography awards those films that use lights, sounds, backgrounds and the actors themselves to put together a cohesive setting for the story to unfold. The winner of this category must be something special above just putting together a good-looking movie. Although the “The Social Network” was a good-looking movie, and the cinematographer did a great job, it was not special. It did not go above and beyond, and it should not have been nominated in the category. Other films in this category include “Black Swan,” “Inception,” “The King’s Speech” and “True Grit.”
The category for Best Motion Picture has no set criteria. It is voted on by a panel of motion picture industry insiders who pick the best movie. There is lobbying that goes on by the film companies. This year, there are 10 films in the running for Best Motion Picture. The nominees are “Black Swan,” “The Fighter,” “Inception,” “The Kids are All Right,” “The King’s Speech,” “127 Hours,” “The Social Network,” “Toy Story 3,” “True Grit” and “Winter’s Bone.”
“The Social Network” and “True Grit” are both nominated for Best Motion Picture. “True Grit” is a remake of a John Wayne classic. The original 1969 version won Academy Awards for Best Actor and was nominated for Best Song. The new version just isn’t as good as the original and should not win Best Picture, since the original was not even nominated for Best Picture.
“The Social Network” was a good movie. It is popular and has a very popular and very intriguing subject matter. The movie just doesn’t have the extra oomph that it takes to earn the Best Picture award at the Academy Awards. Neither movie should have been nominated, and this would have brought the number of movies in the category to a more reasonable eight.
