Since the other thread is not-Slumdog-related only...

Not sure if its deserved, if that's the right wording for it, but I'm excited beyond words that Boyle has an Oscar. I saw Shallow Grave in the theatre and have seen everything he's made since.

Of all the directors in the mix, I think the Oscar will most help him. Fincher's a god. He doesn't need an Oscar, especially for a film that wasn't his best (though let's be clear, Slumdog is far from Danny's best).

Van Sant, Oscar is pointless. Daldry, again pointless. And Howard, well, we've already talked about it.

So while I venomously disagree with the overall outcome, I hope audiences will now rediscover Boyle's filmography and he'll be able to parlay the win to into a long and popular career.

I personally wouldn't have given it any awards, but I would've nominated it in a number of categories and still thought it was a good film.

umm....actually, none.

Only "best performance by a blind street urchin in a feel-good blockbuster"

speaking of cinematography:

last year:


this year:

haha oh snap

got a better one.

see....they widescreen-ized the set from who wants to be a millionaire.

ooooooh, so cinematic.

The direct line from DW Griffith to Slumdog is so clear now.

that's what phone a friend is for.

but I would say it deserved song, but not for jai ho. so it deserved zero of its oscars.

I read an article yesterday about how groundbreaking the cinematography was in Slumdog. It basically boils down to Anthony Dod Mantle shooting in digital and film, with a certain type of new camera.

But all of that is lost on the casual Oscar voter. They don't know he used a SI-2K. In Mantle's defense, he also gave a shout-out to Claudio Miranda (who also went digital) and Wally Pfister who shot in fuckin' 70MM.

The only thing I feel most of are qualified to comment on are performances and end products. Leave the assessments of tech awards to the experts, you know? Clearly, most of it "worked" in slumdog's favor. Was the cinematography, for example, my favorite? No. Not at all. But that doesn't make it any less potentially innovative (for reasons other than aesthetics) or of value to the larger, popular package that is slumdog.

I think Boyle was due. For this film? Meh.

Editing and Song.

Just going by the Oscar nominations:

Picture
Director
Editing

And I'll be nice and throw in a mention for Original Song even though I would have picked "O Saya" over "Jai Ho" any day of the week.

Going by everything released in 2008:

Editing, and that's it. Loved it, but there was just better work all around in 2008.

none of em.

I was surprised to hear that Slumdog's cinematography was being praised for the 'seamless' blending of digital and classic film (35mm?). Certain parts of the movie (specifically during the game show segments) looked particularly ugly to me, like noticeably grainy, almost amateurish. Did anyone else notice this? Is that even relevant to cinematography?

Anywho, I thought it deserved song (although it should have been O...Saya instead) and I suppose Editing...

It deserved Director and Picture for sure if we are just going by the films nominated.

groundbreaking new camera? and this was supposed to go DTV? doesn't make sense.

Snack, as nice as There Will Be Blood's cinematography was, Deakins' work on The Assassination of Jesse James handily beats it.

well, I mean, every cinematog nom last year beats every nom this year.

Eh, TDK's cinematography is rather brilliant.

I'd go with that. Amusing the love for TWBB's visuals. I guess people are easily fooled by shots of burning.

Give me a polaroid and some petro ginger, and I'll even make your burning corpse dazzle.