This happens every year, where at a certain point after the nominations are announced, things quiet down and there's not a whole lot of speculating left to do, so we pretty much just wait around.

But this year I've been particularly disengaged from the race. Though I think we've got a great slate of nominees in a lot of the categories, the biggies are virtually decided, and for those that aren't, I've gotta say... I just can't bring myself to care a whole lot.

Did the strike have something to do with this? I feel like this year in particular I've heard nary a word from the media on the race itself. Or maybe I just haven't been looking.

I think the election is taking some of the wind out of the race's sails, too. For me, at least, the daily drama and prognostication surrounding primary season has been fascinating, whereas idle Oscar speculation seems pretty silly, in comparison.

Just felt like sounding off.

Anyone else?

Oh and this isn't to say I won't be watching next Sunday. (Next Sunday already! Woo!) Maybe things will pick up this week.

Nothing special about this year. Happens all the time.

Juno will win.

I just think they need to make the gap between the nomination and awards ceremonies a little smaller. Couple of weeks maybe?

The nominations were the big shocker this year- barring a total lapse in all reason on the Academy's part.

Honestly I am the most pumped this year, maybe because 2007 was my favorite year for films, or maybe because I have actually seen 3 out of 5 of the best picture nominee, and being a person who doesn't watch films because someone else said I should and watch them freely on my own that is pretty impressive.

The strike and the election have taken its toll...but I still see plenty of media coverage.

I agree with Dkmuto. For me, it happened probably the day after the nominees were announced. My interest went from 110 to about 5. And I think it showed with my posts (or lack thereof) on this forum.

For the first time, I just don't really care about the actual awards when looking forward to Oscar night. Alot probably has to do with the fact that I'm not really rooting for anyone. I know Blood has no chance to win and I don't really care for the rest of the nominees. I'd be excited to root for Lewis but his win is so locked up, there's nothing to be excited about except what he's gonna say.

Even the most contested category (Supp. Actress) is uninteresting because there's no one to root for.

I think what really overshadowed the nominations initially was Heath Ledger's death. I heard almost NOTHING about nominations after I woke up early to watch em that day.

Thats the same with me. Ive now seen 4 of the 5 Best Pic films and it was such a great year for film.

However, I think its because most of us follow all the guilds, top 10s and other awards that Oscars have become more "boring". We basically know 75% of the winners in any given year. I used to like it more when I didnt follow as closely and had less of an idea on who would win. It was more exciting that way.

The Oscars are really exciting to me when one of two scenarios arise:

1) There is real competition for Best Picture (and thus inherently certain other important awards that lead to a Best Picture win). A perfect example of this would be Shakespeare in Love vs. Saving Private Ryan. But this also includes years where there are at least a full slate of contest worthy films that have the goods and the nominations (examples: when Best Picture and Best Film Editing categories match well; when 4 or 5 of the Best Picture nominees have solid nomination totals with major categories).

2) There is a blockbuster/epic film that garners double digit nominations and has the potential to sweep the awards in some fashion. I find this very exciting, and the ratings agree with me. Recent examples: Titanic, Return of the King

This year falls into what I consider the ultimate grey, middle-range area of "boring". No Country for Old Men has swept all the important guilds and will inevitably win Best Picture/Director. No other film in the slate of contenders has the same goods except There Will Be Blood. They are the only two films to nab a Best Film Editing nod, so once again, the year is narrowed. Juno, a Best Picture contender, has a measly 4 nominations. Atonement, the one "epic" feeling film that could have nabbed double digit nominations, misses out on Director and Editing.

And this has nothing to do with quality either - the set of films this year could be the best we've had in a long time. But that's not generally what excites me about the Oscars, unless I have a particular film to root for (which usually comes about in the two scenarios I outlined above).

Peace,
Mike

Yes, I agree. We're due for one I think!

I think that when something like Heath Ledger's death occurs, spending time quabbling over giving people awards doesn't have the same flair that it otherwise would.


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0443272/

Is he *actually* doing Lincoln next?

I think he's doing Trial of the Chicago Seven next (as the cast list seems to keep growing), and I think they're hoping for a December '08 release. If not, I guess Lincoln'll be moved back a year, but it seems like it's probably happening, as there already have been interviews with Liam Neeson, etc... about it, and like TotC7, its cast list is starting to expand.

Yeah but Lincoln and Interstellar have been coming forever. They are like projects I won't believe until they start filming.

this year seems so predictable that i am quite sure there will as a result be a huge surprise in one of the major categories. Whether that means Best Picture or Best Actress or Best Original Screenplay or what, I feel like it MUST happen. There's been an obvious frontrunner in every category aside from Supporting Actress for at least a month, and there's no way they could ALL keep that status through Oscar night.

same with Indy 4, remember? I think Spielberg wanted to take a break after Munich, even though that wasn't originally part of his hectic plan, and as a result, everything got moved back a year or two.

Yeah, once we know who's going to win(except in Supporting Actress), I'm usually not as pumped for it.

The season as a whole though was fun as hell like usual. And they actually did a pretty good/right job this year.