The Smiley Smile Message Board

http://oscars.nytimes.com/2016/ballot

So, Love and Mercy didn't receive one nomination. 

I predicted it a few months ago, but Straight Outta Compton got one for Best Original Screenplay, but zero for L&M. 

Very lame. I bet there are a few in the BB organization who are quite happy about this development.

This film trumps Ray, and is at least as good as Walk the Line. No reason for it being shut out like this, except for its early release date, and nonsense Hollywood politics.

I was surprised Mad Max got so many nominations.  I thought the Academy was too stuck up to even consider a movie like that. 

I haven't seen all the nominated films, so I can't make an educated judgement if L&M was snubbed. As a fan, I would have loved to see at least one nomination and it seemed like Dano was a lock. Oh, well.

On a side note, Elizabeth Banks is up for Razzie Redeemer Award. 

Not for her work in L&M, but for directing Pitch Perfect 2. 

I can't say I'm surprised.

It would have been killed by the blockbusters no matter when it was released. But if the studio wod have waited until December, it would have stood a much better chance.

I'm not surprised either, although I expected to get a few low level nominations, which it didn't. Ultimately, it was too off-beat for the Academy's mediocre tastes.

We're all assuming that the folks in AMPAS give a damn about anything outside the mainstream. Occasionally they prove us wrong, but more often than not we're disappointed.

It's disappointing. I thought for sure Dano would be nominated.

Maybe it just wasn't good enough to garner a nomination. (Sorry)

It's nothing to be sorry about. Art is indeed a subjective thing. Nevertheless, for me, the Oscars simply very rarely appreciate my favourite films. Those who hold that art is objective may respond to that by saying that I don't have good taste. Perhaps that's true. But ultimately it seems quite clear to me that the Academy has always had its aesthetic preferences and, rather than choosing the best films of the year, it chooses the films that best fit into that aesthetic box. Sometimes a film that strays outside of that box will get a few nominations. Sometimes the Academy will give a lot of attention to a movie that strays out of the box and manages to really capture the public so much that it would really raise eyebrows if it were overlooked. But mostly what the Academy likes are middle of the road movies, typically one that affirms status quo values in some grandiose way, and refuses to push the envelope in either its content or its style. I said as much back in September when I gave my reasons "why I see Love & Mercy as being by and large shut out from the Oscars." See below:

http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,22845.msg541430.html#msg541430

Vanity Fair had some predictions including their own 'Dream Nominations'. I thought this was the best...

Dream Nomination: So long as we’re honoring music films, why not Love and Mercy, which recreates the lush recording process for Brian Wilson’s masterpiece Pet Sounds with unnerving accuracy—and actually shows you the many-layered process to make it all happen. It’s sound mixing, right there on the screen! —K.R


Also

Dream Nomination: You know what else would be cool? A nomination for the journeymen screenwriters behind Love and Mercy, a fractured portrait of Brian Wilson’s descent and salvation set in both the 60s and the 80s.—M.H.


http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/01/oscar-nominations-predictions

f*** 'em.

… and there's me labouring under the impression that Dano had been nominated.

Ah well… the lack of an award, no matter how high or low the regard in which that award is held, does not diminish the integrity of the performances or quality of the movie.

Still one of my favourite films of all time…

… and I get the impression that cast and crew have had a blast together.

(And if as some had suggested they'd waited until December to release this movie, others on this board would have groaned about the delays… can't please everyone!)

Mad Max got 10 nominations and it came out in May, a month before L&M, so blaming release dates is lame.  I think the movie probably fails to make to make a strong enough connection for non-Beach Boys/Wilson afficionados and that is why it was shut out today. It's hard for people on this board (including myself) to watch this movie objectively, but I think we would mostly agree it certainly isn't a perfect work of art. The scenes of Pet Sounds being recorded are pure bliss for us, but not so much for others.

That's a good point. 

I'm just a little surprised it didn't get a nod because of the glowing reviews it received. 

I don't really consider myself a film buff, so I'm completely out of touch with what the academy looks for.  My favorite genres - comedy and horror - are often completely ignored, so I usually pay the Academy no mind. 

The biggest snub has to be that Love and Mercy got absolutely nothing in the Sound Editing and Sound Mixing categories. What a joke.

Ontor can testify to this too, I hope, but for those of you who do not live here in LA, you really have no idea how gd f'in stupid people in this town are. Shameful that L and M received no nominations--ridiculous.

Present company excluded, of course!

I'm very disappointed in the nominees in general this year.  I hope Spotlight wins big but The Revenant seems to be the favorite despite the fact that it looks boring as hell.

Of course

Another explanation might be that people just didn't watch it. The only reason I watched it was because of the interesting cover art (or whatever the term is) with the silhouette and the target. Brian Wilson/beach boys biopic would have sounded very unappealing to me.

At the risk of starting a 15 page argument: Before seeing love & mercy, my impression of the beach boys was of some old guy in shorts grinding up against a cheerleader, singing about cars. I have no idea where that image came from, but that's what it was. But the movie really opened my eyes. I really loved it.

There were a lot of flaws, but Dano in particular was amazing. I think if people saw it they would connect with it. But maybe the hurdle was getting people interested in seeing it.

I'm pretty shocked it hasn't received any noms.

 Even looking at it objectively Dano for acting, sound mixing, costumes, editing. Real real strong suits even if the story doesn't resonate with you.


Surprised and disappointed

 

This is not how the Oscars work. If the production company sent the movie in to be reviewed by the Academy committee then it would have been seen. It's not about whether or not the public watched it. Without checking, I'm sure even fewer people saw 45 Years than Love & Mercy and yet the wonderful Charlotte Rampling was nominated for Best Actress.

Here are the demographics of the academy (I think as of 2012). What surprised me most is only 2% are under 40.

http://www.criticalmediaproject.org/cml/media/oscar-academy-demographics/

I was mildly surprised about zero nominations, would have predicted (max.) 3 deserved ones: Supporting Actor for Dano, Original Screenplay and Sound Editing. Oh well, it would have been nice - but Oscars don't mean cr*p anyway.

Neither do Grammys.
Unless our heroes win one, of course. Then it's different. :)

.. then it's nice, sure. But not different.

someone compile the last 20 best pictures and tell me how many are deserving.

Probably none of them. The closest, for me, is No Country for Old Men but even that beat out what I think was a better movie up for Best Picture, There Will Be Blood. I'm Not There which, in my opinion, was better than both of them didn't even get nominated and was almost entirely shut out. And again, in my view, the Coen Brothers have made several much better movies that NCFOM (Barton Fink, Fargo, and O Brother especially) but those movies were more off-beat than No Country which is a bit more in the Academy wheel house. Still, I was far more pleased with that one winning than with most that win. But every ten years or so the Academy seems to pick a good one.

I'll tell you about the last ten years because that's how long I've been interested in the Oscars.

2015: Birdman - My favorite this year was The Grand Budapest Hotel but I think Birdman was a great movie.
2013: 12 Years a Slave - Have not seen it.
2012: Argo - Good movie but I would have gone for Django Unchained.
2011: The Artist - Good movie but a little forgettable, I would have gone with Hugo or The Descendants.
2010: The King's Speech - Good movie but shouldn't have stood a chance against The Social Network.
2009: The Hurt Locker - Have not seen it.
2008: Slumdog Millionaire - A good movie but I liked Milk much better.
2007: No Country for Old Men - Have not seen it.
2006: The Departed - Okay, this one definitely deserved Best Picture.  A classic in my eyes.
2005: Crash - Have not seen it, is considered one of the worst Best Picture winners in Oscar history.

Until the Academy starts nominating more comedies for Best Picture I'm going to continue not giving a sh*t.

The Revenant is a super intense movie! Boring it is not!