But now, the thrill is gone.
In the past, I would tape the Academy Award nominations announcement and run home to see who got picked in the top categories. This year, I surprised myself by not caring who got nominated, and not even having the urge to go to the school media center and find out on the Internet. The Oscars have become so predictable for me, and even the fact that this is perhaps the most wide-open year in a long time hasn’t drawn me into the hoopla. In my younger years, I honestly did believe, like most of the rest of America, that AMPAS awarded the absolute cream of the crop in cinema, and I sought out every nominated film because I thought that each would most certainly be an intelligent work of art that would change my life. When I was living overseas, watching the broadcast of the Academy Awards was a way for me to regain my American spirit and feel patriotic about my homeland by celebrating Hollywood glamour. Even back then, I knew the Oscars only recognized Hollywood movies; I just didn’t know that there was anything else worthwhile to recognize besides Hollywood movies. For me, watching the Oscars was like walking into an American embassy.
There are a number of clichés a critic can hit AMPAS over the head with at this time of year; most popular among them are “the Academy has a short-term memory,” “the Oscars don’t mean anything,” and “they’ve been sucked in again by the Weinstein machine.” These are all quite true, to a certain extent. First of all, the Oscars do mean something in terms of box-office and the careers of the nominees and winners. Secondly, there is no one to blame but AMPAS for ignoring the best Miramax feature of 2000, Hamlet, and going for the reportedly lukewarm Chocolat.
My adoration of the Oscars has not turned into hate- only disinterest. As Bob Dylan sings in his Oscar-nominated song, “I used to care, but things have changed.” I will watch the show, but I won’t stay up past my bedtime on March 25. My sleeping trouble will not be caused by Oscar hype but by a test I have the next day, or a project due date. I don’t care much about awards anymore. Competition is the spirit of the industry, not of the art, and, while there is relevance in keeping a record of what we thought was quality at a certain time in our lives, there is rarely such a thing as consensus when it comes to our reactions to art. That’s my Oscar cliché.
But I’ll predict the winners anyway…
BEST PICTURE: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
BEST DIRECTOR: Ang Lee, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
BEST ACTOR: Russell Crowe, Gladiator
BEST ACTRESS: Julia Roberts, Erin Brockovich
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Benicio Del Toro, Traffic
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Kate Hudson, Almost Famous
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Kenneth Lonergan, You Can Count on Me
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Stephen Gaghan, Traffic
BEST ART DIRECTION: Arthur Max and Crispian Sallis, Gladiator
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Peter Pau, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
BEST COSTUME DESIGN: Janty Yates, Gladiator
BEST FILM EDITING: Pietro Scalia, Gladiator
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE: Tan Dun, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
BEST ORIGINAL SONG: Bob Dylan, “Things Have Changed,” Wonder Boys
By Andrew Chan [MARCH 12, 2001]