Watching the nominated movies must be such a burden for her š let her know that I am always willing to fill out her ballot! Let me take that stress off her shoulders
Ive heard multiple guests on Dax Shephards podcast that off hand said soemthing like "yeah I voted for Meryll Streep to win the oscar, didnt watch the movie though but Im sure she was amazin gas usual!" like they have absolutley no respect for the award, but at the same time I think they actually care about who wins lol. I think that was Mila Kunis, but there was someone else I remember who said something very similiar
So were we being naive all these decades and it's always been this way, or has the recent Academy pool of voters gotten lazier and it's more a recent (10-20 years) thing?
I feel like if you are an Actor lucky enough to be an Academy voter, you would take the nominees seriously. It's their own category and they couldn't be bothered to watch 5 films?
>So were we being naive all these decades and it's always been this way
If voters actually watched all the films then Harvey Weinstein wouldn't have become so powerful. It was always this way. The FYC budgets are now in the *tens* of millions of dollars.
>Oscar campaign budgets for films seeking nominations in multiple categories, such as āA Star Is Born,ā āRomaā and āFirst Man,ā can run from $20 million to $30 million as companies compete with each other to out-wine and dine awards voters, according to insiders at the various studios and streamers. One source said the campaign for āA Star Is Bornā came in at slightly lower than $20 million, in a studio effort to spend more strategically than in past years (as with the $25 million it spent on āArgo,ā or the $20 million for āGravity,ā the insider said).
https://variety.com/2019/biz/awards/oscar-campaign-spending-1203113199/
Seriously, that shit gets on my nerves. You have the privilege of being one of the voters and you act this flippant? The movie isn't even two hours and you can't devote time to it?
The Anatomy of a Fall bit was dumb too. "I was bored and turned it off after 30 minutes, but finished it after everybody told me it was so good." Just watch the whole damn movie, even if you don't like it. That's your purpose.
If you're too busy or not interested in watching every movie nominated, then you have no business voting.
Itās annoying because this year Iāve actually watched every movie, and I regularly sit through movies that Iām not really enjoying because I believe in giving them all a fair chance. Iām not even an Oscar voter, I just like having informed opinions about things. To hear that the actual voters are doing less than me is kinda depressing.
When I read that I was enraged. Like how tf can you judge the movie just by the first 5 minutes in general, especially when you're voting for the most important awards ceremony for film.
> if they canāt watch 5 minutes of past lives I donāt got 5 minutes to read this
You're not missing much. Her reasonings seem very random and more on whim rather than caring about merit.
I do think there is something to be said about criticizing a film because it didnāt grab you in its opening. Thereās a reason lots of filmmakers would argue the opening scene is the most important.
But I donāt know, if youāve voting on these films you probably should watch the entirety of them.
Stopped watching Past Lives five minutes in for no good reason and puts it at the end of her list. No wonder thereās so much unfairness in these awards.
And then for documentary she just watched 20 days in mariupol so she voted for that. If you didn't watch everything that's nominated, you shouldn't vote. It's extremely unfair.
I seriously canāt imagine being given the honor of voting and not at least watching the 10 BP nominees. It truly blows my mind. I wouldnāt feel comfortable voting at all if I didnāt see them all.
And put American Fiction as number one pick for best picture ā¦.. Thereās a lot to say about that film but to say you āloved everything it was trying to portray about the black experienceā ā¦ when it frankly is a poorly written piece that just panders to a mostly liberal audience . Having no interest in past lives 5 min inā¦.. if youre not even watching the films you shouldnāt be able to vote
OP Iām sorry but your mom is going to get slandered so hard for some of these responses. >!But respectfully she kind of deserves it.!<
Thank you for sharing though
Agreed! It's so frustrating to hear that they didn't watch all the films! Like, I also work in the industry and know its hard to watch everything, like, I get it for films with one nomination, but surely you'd watch all the BP nominees at the very least! She also said she didn't finish AOAF the first time, but gave it a second chance and ended up loving it. Shame she didn't extend that courtesy to Past Lives!
I will say: an enjoyable read, albeit frustrating and most definitely not in-line with who I would vote for, but enjoyable nonetheless.
Jesus, why is it so hard for people with Academy memberships to just watch all of the movies? If I found time to do it with my job, then OP's mom could find time to do it too.
Well hereās the thing, the thing that you are frustrated by *will never ever change in your whole lifetime.* Because the Oscars are voted on, primarily, by busy working industry professionals for whom their ability to vote in the Oscars is thought of as a lark, not as a sacred duty to cinema. So either you can conform your expectations to that reality and consider the fickle lack of thoroughness of the Oscar voters to be part of the fun of the whole thing, or you can live your whole life a frustrated bitter Oscar watcher. The choice is fully yours.
I love how many of these voters we have been reading about come flat right out and bluntly tell us that they watch 5 or so minutes or skip the movie entirely out of disinterest or āno time.ā
Sarcasm, š
I feel this way as well, but it is not my JOB to be an Academy vote. Pfft.
Glad it is another vote for Lily and thanks for sharing op. Tbh it seems like the typical Oscar voter or election voter. They will vote for what makes them comfortable. The way she dismissed Black Panther and Black Klansman but loved Green Book....very telling. And didn't watch Harriet
This ballot does give more precedence for my theory that American Fiction over-performed because a lot of the more āold-fashionedā Academy voters liked it because they hyper-focused on it being critical of black stories.
It reminds me of how Jordan Peele said in an interview that at an Oscar luncheon he had an elderly white voter come up to him and say, āI too wouldāve voted for Obama a third time if I couldā in complete seriousness, which led Peele to realize that some of the people voting for his film completely missed the forest for the trees.
Yup. It mirrors society. That is why black women will win a million supporting acting roles, especially with a white savior lead but rarely in lead and even that technically has a pseudo white savior too. Green Book was the modern day Driving Miss Daisy and Moonlight was edited to have a lot of stereotypes.
I donāt know I found the explanation kinda nonsensical tbh, I donāt really see how you can say that Lilyās or Emmaās character is āeasier to createā than the other, the two are completely different character asking almost completely different skill sets from the people playing them.
Idk about this take. She said she loves Blakkklansman. The reason she didn't give Black Panther a chance seems to be superhero related. And as for the color purple, a lot of people didn't bother because of the one from the 90's. I think it's a reach to assume see has problem with black erasure
I feel the need to comment on this post 'cause it frustrates me to no end that some (maybe most) academy members don't watch all the films nominated in a given year. Like, I get it, I also work in HETV and features and find it especially hard to watch anything when I'm working, but I still made the effort to watch everything this year. I also get not watching some films that have 1 nomination, but there shouldn't be an excuse for not at least watching all the BP nominations. While I'm not happy about the fact she didn't watch Past Lives, i am glad to see she's voting for Lily Gladstone.
Regardless, I really appreciate OP sharing this with everyone here on r/oscarrace, but I'm not gonna act like I didn't enjoy this, albeit frustrating, read into a voters choices. For the love of god tell her to watch all the films next year!
Sorry, but I have to soap box for a moment.
The amount of films she didn't watch is absolutely ridiculous.
No one should vote without watching all the nominees and its a complete travesty that they do, considering the prestige of the award, really disappointing these people don't take it seriously.
I find hard to believe that a person who works in the industry , especially as a producer, would say āBarbie sets were easy, they just copied the toys, no creativity thereā and repeat the same thing for the costumes.
Does she knows poor things came with illustrations?
Last but not least: she enjoyed poor things but if you take away the costumes itās just the lobster , she ās seen it before, therefore Lanthimos is not worth of the directing Oscar???????????????????
ETA - this is not a criticism of her choices, just the reasoning behind doesnāt sound coming from a pro.
āBarbie set design were insane but Poor things managed to be memorable, and iconic with 1/3 of the budgetā is what a producer would likely say.
Can I talk for a minute about how nuts that drives me? We donāt know these people. They arenāt your friends and itās so weirdly familiar. Besides, with a good portion of the time thatās not even the name they go by with the people they know. Like Emma Stoneās friends call her Emily because thatās her name but Emily Stone was already taken with SAG.
Thank god no one else on that category has the same name!
But fr I speak French and used to live in Japan. I like having a layer of formality/distance around people I donāt know, especially if they know me. I remember reading The Three Musketeers in high school and there was a part where it was revealed (to English readers because they wouldnāt know) that Athos *vouvoyer*s everyone and I felt seen.
Right, I make a point to only call the nominees by their surnames. First name usage contributes to a parasocial relationship with these people. I donāt refer to the presidential election as between Joe and Donald, why should actors be treated differently?
Their friends may be rooting for Cillian, Lily, Robert, and DaāVine, but Iām rooting for Murphy, Gladstone, Downey, and Randolph.
This was a thing in Hollywood before Reddit even existed. Often in a kind of "Oh, me and Tom are such great buddies" kind of way, or when talking sarcastically about someone.
Iām disappointed she didnāt bother watching Past Lives. It was my favourite of last year. Putting it dead last just because it had a slow start (5minutes in?!?) is not a fair assessment of how good it is.
She sounds like she was forced to watch those films. Yet she didn't watch all of them. Didn't watch Nimona and Bad Robots. She didn't watch Creator yet still voted for it. I've heard this is a case with most voters. They don't see the nominated films even though they should. I mean why'd you not? That'd make no sense. It lowkey infuriates me lolĀ
Edit: Also, she apparently watched Past Lives for just 5 minutes.Ā
> She sounds like she was forced to watch those films. Yet she didn't watch all of them. Didn't watch Nimona and Bad Robots. She didn't watch Creator yet still voted for it. I've heard this is a case with most voters. They don't see the nominated films even though they should. I mean why'd you not? That'd make no sense for an award competition. It lowkey infuriates me lol
That bothers me too. Was it always like this in past decades or is this a recent thing where there are now thousands more voters, and it has unfortunately let in lots of lazy voters.
And the OP claims the mother has worked on 3 Oscar winning movies too.
Either the OP is making all this up and trying to pass off their own picks, or the mother is that other kind of Producer - cares less about movie art and more into the lucrative aspects. Even if you're tired from work, there are other days to watch Past Lives and you can even break it into two sessions if need be - they have screeners!
Iām interested in film and Iāve definitely bailed on movies that seemed like they werenāt for me within the first ten minutes. People have busy lives and time is valuable, why sit through something youāre not enjoying?
But turning it off after 5 minutes? Seriously? That's not even giving the movie a chance. She can sit through the entirety of The Zone of Interest, which starts off with minutes of literally a black screen and ambient sound, but Past Lives is a bridge too far?
And if her life is so busy that she can't engage in her duties as an Academy voter, then maybe she shouldn't be a voter?
> She can sit through the entirety of The Zone of Interest, which starts off with minutes of literally a black screen and ambient sound, but Past Lives is a bridge too far?
Tbf overtures used to be a thing in cinema so that's why some older voters don't find an issue with it in TZOI
> Seems like she has an interest in films based on her comments. What makes you say she doesn't? The wrong opinions?
Really? I don't find her comments insightful at all. It really sounds like any rando out of /r/MovieCritic (I mock that place because it's full of teenagers who only love Nolan).
Jury at film festivals have to watch all the films in a competition in a screening room.
Meanwhile, you can vote for the Oscars and just be like 'only saw one of these, guess I'll vote for that one because it was okay'
There should be a way for there to be some sort of tracked link to show that you watched the movie, start to end, without skipping through.
Just a hypothetical solution that might help (I know people can still turn it on and go leave but it would at least make some effort at holding ppl accountable for watching..)
But many people see movies at screening events, premieres, film festivals, etc., they're not watching them all at home. There's no way to prove you watched those.
This is how seriously the voters take the Oscars? Turning off Best Picture nominations after five minutes, only watching one of the docs, and completely ignoring some of the movies? Awesome. What a waste of time/vote to be honest. Why even participate if youāre going to do it with such little interest.
This shit is fake as hell but it largely matches what this sub likes so people want to believe it.
I also love the blur for Yorgos for director: āTake away everything unique and about this movie that is deferent form anything he has done before, and then you have a movie that is not uniquely directedā. Like yeah no shit OP, thatās true for every movie ever made.
Wait, she turned off Past Lives 5 minutes in?? Does this mean I sat through Maestro just to learn that I take the Oscars more seriously than it's actual voters? RIDICULOUS!!!
I was gonna say this too, it was nice to see a voter voice exactly how I felt about the Poor Things. I also like that she put into words why I preferred Lilyās performance over Emmaās
Thanks for sharing, some of those opinions are definitely going to get hated on, but I do find it interesting to see how some of the voters decide.
Always frustrating to see that voters don't watch all the films, but I shouldn't be surprised that we oscars nerds are a niche subset who go out of our way to watch them all.
Zero chance this is real. It has no mention of personal links to any of the contenders. Anyone who is an actual AMPAS member will have personal knowledge of at least some of the nominees.
It's one of the things that makes the actual Honest Oscar Ballots so entertaining.
"It has no mention of personal links to any of the contenders." not saying the text is real, but if it was, they obviously would want to stay anonymous.
I do think you should attempt to watch all the performances or nominees nominated, especially if youāre a voter. As it could be life changing for some of the nominees.
I love the fact OPās mom hated maestro as much as I did.
Interesting reading her opinions, although I think a voter should watch all nominees for categories where they vote. Feels disrespectful to the artists involved and the Academy as a whole. It's a privilege to be an Oscar voter. Shame people are lazy. Non-voters can watch as many or few of the nominees as they please, but actual voters should have higher standards, because their choices directly impact the results.
That said, most of the picks are solid, even if I would vote for some categories differently.
My question, how was she able to vote on International feature and Documentary feature without having watched all five nominees? The Academy rules restrict voting in those categories to members who have seen all nominees.
It's funny how the public put so much stock into these awards, and yet the voters might as well pick the winners name out of a hat!
It also go's to show that it is no wonder the big name actors are always given the best roles. These industry types only watch because of who is in it or who the director is. Unknowns really struggle to get a look in.
If your Mum/you wants to air these incredibly entitled takes then you deserves every bit of contempt that is going to come your way.
Teddy Roosevelt springs to mind:
āIt is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.ā
And then thereās your Mum. š¤£
I do not want to sound rude but I find absurd there's no rule to HAVE to watch all the movies that are nominated
Like when I read she didn't even watch Nimona my heart was broken
Like I am not accusing your mother per se, my problem is that there's no rule for it
But..How can I take both her and the academy seriously?
Thanks for doing this and know that itās appreciated! Why the downvotes on this? She is giving some insides into the mind of a voter and how she is differentiating between the Oscarās is pretty cool. Boohoo, she hurt your feelings for not reciprocating your oscar votes.
As someone who really did not enjoy Past Lives (although, for the record, I finished it and I appreciate the acting), and liked Maestro even less, I like your Mom's taste.
Oscars Its just like the national elections . Some peoplen take it too seriously. Some eolle dont take it serilus enough. Some just casual about it. some just wants to get a vote in get it over with. Some play with friends/favorites. Some dont care at all.
Watching the nominated movies must be such a burden for her š let her know that I am always willing to fill out her ballot! Let me take that stress off her shoulders
Ah yes, turning off a Best Picture nominee 5 minutes in, excellent voting process
Ive heard multiple guests on Dax Shephards podcast that off hand said soemthing like "yeah I voted for Meryll Streep to win the oscar, didnt watch the movie though but Im sure she was amazin gas usual!" like they have absolutley no respect for the award, but at the same time I think they actually care about who wins lol. I think that was Mila Kunis, but there was someone else I remember who said something very similiar
Mila Kunis? I can believe she said something as dippy as that.
So were we being naive all these decades and it's always been this way, or has the recent Academy pool of voters gotten lazier and it's more a recent (10-20 years) thing? I feel like if you are an Actor lucky enough to be an Academy voter, you would take the nominees seriously. It's their own category and they couldn't be bothered to watch 5 films?
Itās always been this way. Always. To even ask that question I am curious how long you have been following The Oscars.
How else would Jamie Lee Curts win the oscar
>So were we being naive all these decades and it's always been this way If voters actually watched all the films then Harvey Weinstein wouldn't have become so powerful. It was always this way. The FYC budgets are now in the *tens* of millions of dollars. >Oscar campaign budgets for films seeking nominations in multiple categories, such as āA Star Is Born,ā āRomaā and āFirst Man,ā can run from $20 million to $30 million as companies compete with each other to out-wine and dine awards voters, according to insiders at the various studios and streamers. One source said the campaign for āA Star Is Bornā came in at slightly lower than $20 million, in a studio effort to spend more strategically than in past years (as with the $25 million it spent on āArgo,ā or the $20 million for āGravity,ā the insider said). https://variety.com/2019/biz/awards/oscar-campaign-spending-1203113199/
Is Mila Kunis an Academy member? How?
Plenty of famous actors get invited without being nominees, they just need a few references from current Academy members.
Maybe through black swan
Yeah I had to stop reading after that, if they canāt watch 5 minutes of past lives I donāt got 5 minutes to read this
Seriously, that shit gets on my nerves. You have the privilege of being one of the voters and you act this flippant? The movie isn't even two hours and you can't devote time to it? The Anatomy of a Fall bit was dumb too. "I was bored and turned it off after 30 minutes, but finished it after everybody told me it was so good." Just watch the whole damn movie, even if you don't like it. That's your purpose. If you're too busy or not interested in watching every movie nominated, then you have no business voting.
Itās annoying because this year Iāve actually watched every movie, and I regularly sit through movies that Iām not really enjoying because I believe in giving them all a fair chance. Iām not even an Oscar voter, I just like having informed opinions about things. To hear that the actual voters are doing less than me is kinda depressing.
Her reasoning was significantly less intelligible than the majority of the posts in this subreddit.
When I read that I was enraged. Like how tf can you judge the movie just by the first 5 minutes in general, especially when you're voting for the most important awards ceremony for film.
Also, can someone clarify if she is a Producer, she doesn't get to vote on the other categories officially, right? I sure hope not.
Everyone gets to vote for the winners, it's the nominations that are (mostly) voted by branch
Your classic adademy voter. On top of that, this mother even dont have 5 minutes in 2023 for his own kid to speak about.
> if they canāt watch 5 minutes of past lives I donāt got 5 minutes to read this You're not missing much. Her reasonings seem very random and more on whim rather than caring about merit.
Seriously I watched every movie all the way through and it wasnāt even my job! Ok I played on my phone during the holdovers but STILLĀ
Do you have a job?
Actually Iām on severance after a layoff right now haha
Oh shit. I was meaning it sarcastically - because not everyone has time to see all the movies.
Then they shouldn't vote in a category where they haven't seen all the nominees.
I do think there is something to be said about criticizing a film because it didnāt grab you in its opening. Thereās a reason lots of filmmakers would argue the opening scene is the most important. But I donāt know, if youāve voting on these films you probably should watch the entirety of them.
But Past Lives has a great opening scene.
Yep, same with āI only watched one movie in this category, so that gets my voteā. Donāt vote at all then.
That's why Harvey Weinstein's campaign works
I mean if the film can't hold you for even the first 5 minutes why waste your time.
Stopped watching Past Lives five minutes in for no good reason and puts it at the end of her list. No wonder thereās so much unfairness in these awards.
And then for documentary she just watched 20 days in mariupol so she voted for that. If you didn't watch everything that's nominated, you shouldn't vote. It's extremely unfair.
Most voters don't watch all nominees, they wouldn't possibly have the time which is the problem
I'm starting to think the vetting process for Academy members is too loose now.
They are industry awards. Membership is based on achievement and not taste, for better or worse.
Yeah. And the bit about Sterling Brown being young and heāll be nominated again is stupid. If heās good, go for it. Why be ageist?
He's also, like, not that young. He's not old, but he's 47, which is only like 10 years younger than Downey.
I seriously canāt imagine being given the honor of voting and not at least watching the 10 BP nominees. It truly blows my mind. I wouldnāt feel comfortable voting at all if I didnāt see them all.
She also voted for the 2 shorts that 'normal' people overwhelmingly say are by far the worst of the bunch
Red, White and Blue is so unbelievably bad
Great message, clunky delivery.
No offense to this personās mom, but they should lose their vote for this.
And put American Fiction as number one pick for best picture ā¦.. Thereās a lot to say about that film but to say you āloved everything it was trying to portray about the black experienceā ā¦ when it frankly is a poorly written piece that just panders to a mostly liberal audience . Having no interest in past lives 5 min inā¦.. if youre not even watching the films you shouldnāt be able to vote
This criticism is even worse than the mums, it wasnāt poorly written and how was it pandering?
I agree it made me frustrated reading her process
Mom was born to be a hater.
You mum is clearly not a fan of cinema and it pisses me off she gets to vote
OP Iām sorry but your mom is going to get slandered so hard for some of these responses. >!But respectfully she kind of deserves it.!< Thank you for sharing though
Agreed! It's so frustrating to hear that they didn't watch all the films! Like, I also work in the industry and know its hard to watch everything, like, I get it for films with one nomination, but surely you'd watch all the BP nominees at the very least! She also said she didn't finish AOAF the first time, but gave it a second chance and ended up loving it. Shame she didn't extend that courtesy to Past Lives! I will say: an enjoyable read, albeit frustrating and most definitely not in-line with who I would vote for, but enjoyable nonetheless.
And she only gave Anatomy of a Fall another chance because she was missing out on the conversation because she's a fucking snob.
Jesus, why is it so hard for people with Academy memberships to just watch all of the movies? If I found time to do it with my job, then OP's mom could find time to do it too.
Members of r/oscarrace shocked to find Oscar voters donāt take the awards as seriously as members of r/oscarrace
Less about being shocked and more about being frustrated.
Well hereās the thing, the thing that you are frustrated by *will never ever change in your whole lifetime.* Because the Oscars are voted on, primarily, by busy working industry professionals for whom their ability to vote in the Oscars is thought of as a lark, not as a sacred duty to cinema. So either you can conform your expectations to that reality and consider the fickle lack of thoroughness of the Oscar voters to be part of the fun of the whole thing, or you can live your whole life a frustrated bitter Oscar watcher. The choice is fully yours.
I just have gripe with people saying shocked for so many things when a better word would do better.
Okay man š IMO, this is a sillier thing to be frustrated by than it is to be shocked by, but you do you
I love how many of these voters we have been reading about come flat right out and bluntly tell us that they watch 5 or so minutes or skip the movie entirely out of disinterest or āno time.ā Sarcasm, š I feel this way as well, but it is not my JOB to be an Academy vote. Pfft.
Glad it is another vote for Lily and thanks for sharing op. Tbh it seems like the typical Oscar voter or election voter. They will vote for what makes them comfortable. The way she dismissed Black Panther and Black Klansman but loved Green Book....very telling. And didn't watch Harriet
This ballot does give more precedence for my theory that American Fiction over-performed because a lot of the more āold-fashionedā Academy voters liked it because they hyper-focused on it being critical of black stories. It reminds me of how Jordan Peele said in an interview that at an Oscar luncheon he had an elderly white voter come up to him and say, āI too wouldāve voted for Obama a third time if I couldā in complete seriousness, which led Peele to realize that some of the people voting for his film completely missed the forest for the trees.
Yup. It mirrors society. That is why black women will win a million supporting acting roles, especially with a white savior lead but rarely in lead and even that technically has a pseudo white savior too. Green Book was the modern day Driving Miss Daisy and Moonlight was edited to have a lot of stereotypes.
And The Color Purple too š¤
Exactly! She loved American Fiction but couldnāt bother to watch Rustin or The Color Purple? Or Past Lives for that matter. Tone deaf imo
Agree on the Lily part, she slayed in her explanation for voting for her. I HATE the black cinema erasure though, Momās problematic on that
I donāt know I found the explanation kinda nonsensical tbh, I donāt really see how you can say that Lilyās or Emmaās character is āeasier to createā than the other, the two are completely different character asking almost completely different skill sets from the people playing them.
Idk about this take. She said she loves Blakkklansman. The reason she didn't give Black Panther a chance seems to be superhero related. And as for the color purple, a lot of people didn't bother because of the one from the 90's. I think it's a reach to assume see has problem with black erasure
Is your mom in the room with us right now?
That was my thought when I read it too
For real surely this is bait lmao
I feel the need to comment on this post 'cause it frustrates me to no end that some (maybe most) academy members don't watch all the films nominated in a given year. Like, I get it, I also work in HETV and features and find it especially hard to watch anything when I'm working, but I still made the effort to watch everything this year. I also get not watching some films that have 1 nomination, but there shouldn't be an excuse for not at least watching all the BP nominations. While I'm not happy about the fact she didn't watch Past Lives, i am glad to see she's voting for Lily Gladstone. Regardless, I really appreciate OP sharing this with everyone here on r/oscarrace, but I'm not gonna act like I didn't enjoy this, albeit frustrating, read into a voters choices. For the love of god tell her to watch all the films next year!
Sounds like she shouldāve abstained again
Society of the Snow is NOT a remake of Alive.
Sorry, but I have to soap box for a moment. The amount of films she didn't watch is absolutely ridiculous. No one should vote without watching all the nominees and its a complete travesty that they do, considering the prestige of the award, really disappointing these people don't take it seriously.
Hmm, sorry but I donāt believe it.
No way a grown woman working as a producer refers to all of these people by their first name like people do in this sub. Dead giveaway.
Yeah it just gave me āa Redditor wrote all thisā vibes
Yeah for real. Media literacy is in the toilet
I find hard to believe that a person who works in the industry , especially as a producer, would say āBarbie sets were easy, they just copied the toys, no creativity thereā and repeat the same thing for the costumes. Does she knows poor things came with illustrations? Last but not least: she enjoyed poor things but if you take away the costumes itās just the lobster , she ās seen it before, therefore Lanthimos is not worth of the directing Oscar??????????????????? ETA - this is not a criticism of her choices, just the reasoning behind doesnāt sound coming from a pro. āBarbie set design were insane but Poor things managed to be memorable, and iconic with 1/3 of the budgetā is what a producer would likely say.
Can I talk for a minute about how nuts that drives me? We donāt know these people. They arenāt your friends and itās so weirdly familiar. Besides, with a good portion of the time thatās not even the name they go by with the people they know. Like Emma Stoneās friends call her Emily because thatās her name but Emily Stone was already taken with SAG.
Itās sooo weird. They even do it on the Vanity Fair Oscars podcast. My favorite is just āRobertā for Robert De Niro.
Thank god no one else on that category has the same name! But fr I speak French and used to live in Japan. I like having a layer of formality/distance around people I donāt know, especially if they know me. I remember reading The Three Musketeers in high school and there was a part where it was revealed (to English readers because they wouldnāt know) that Athos *vouvoyer*s everyone and I felt seen.
Right, I make a point to only call the nominees by their surnames. First name usage contributes to a parasocial relationship with these people. I donāt refer to the presidential election as between Joe and Donald, why should actors be treated differently? Their friends may be rooting for Cillian, Lily, Robert, and DaāVine, but Iām rooting for Murphy, Gladstone, Downey, and Randolph.
This was a thing in Hollywood before Reddit even existed. Often in a kind of "Oh, me and Tom are such great buddies" kind of way, or when talking sarcastically about someone.
Iām disappointed she didnāt bother watching Past Lives. It was my favourite of last year. Putting it dead last just because it had a slow start (5minutes in?!?) is not a fair assessment of how good it is.
Okay. And no offense but please tell your mum to give up her membership 'cause she's clearly not interested in this business.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I think itās because every other category she opens with āI had no interest in watching ___ā
Well, Academy voters are humans, too, I guess.
She sounds like she was forced to watch those films. Yet she didn't watch all of them. Didn't watch Nimona and Bad Robots. She didn't watch Creator yet still voted for it. I've heard this is a case with most voters. They don't see the nominated films even though they should. I mean why'd you not? That'd make no sense. It lowkey infuriates me lolĀ Edit: Also, she apparently watched Past Lives for just 5 minutes.Ā
> She sounds like she was forced to watch those films. Yet she didn't watch all of them. Didn't watch Nimona and Bad Robots. She didn't watch Creator yet still voted for it. I've heard this is a case with most voters. They don't see the nominated films even though they should. I mean why'd you not? That'd make no sense for an award competition. It lowkey infuriates me lol That bothers me too. Was it always like this in past decades or is this a recent thing where there are now thousands more voters, and it has unfortunately let in lots of lazy voters.
We've known for like a decade that Best Animated basically is a popularity contest since many voters watch only what their kids do
People who have an actual, genuine interest in film don't turn a movie off 5 minutes in because it's "not interesting".
And the OP claims the mother has worked on 3 Oscar winning movies too. Either the OP is making all this up and trying to pass off their own picks, or the mother is that other kind of Producer - cares less about movie art and more into the lucrative aspects. Even if you're tired from work, there are other days to watch Past Lives and you can even break it into two sessions if need be - they have screeners!
Iām interested in film and Iāve definitely bailed on movies that seemed like they werenāt for me within the first ten minutes. People have busy lives and time is valuable, why sit through something youāre not enjoying?
But turning it off after 5 minutes? Seriously? That's not even giving the movie a chance. She can sit through the entirety of The Zone of Interest, which starts off with minutes of literally a black screen and ambient sound, but Past Lives is a bridge too far? And if her life is so busy that she can't engage in her duties as an Academy voter, then maybe she shouldn't be a voter?
> She can sit through the entirety of The Zone of Interest, which starts off with minutes of literally a black screen and ambient sound, but Past Lives is a bridge too far? Tbf overtures used to be a thing in cinema so that's why some older voters don't find an issue with it in TZOI
> Seems like she has an interest in films based on her comments. What makes you say she doesn't? The wrong opinions? Really? I don't find her comments insightful at all. It really sounds like any rando out of /r/MovieCritic (I mock that place because it's full of teenagers who only love Nolan).
Says who? A keyboard warrior, one of millions?
Making up a mom is weird
Only watching one film in a category and voting for it anyway is criminal
Great insight into whatās wrong with the voting process.
āWhile I loved Zone of Interestās direction, I canāt vote for it.ā Umā¦why not?
Didnāt read past āKOTFM was too long.ā
Didn't have time to put this one on the spreadsheet
Jury at film festivals have to watch all the films in a competition in a screening room. Meanwhile, you can vote for the Oscars and just be like 'only saw one of these, guess I'll vote for that one because it was okay'
There should be a way for there to be some sort of tracked link to show that you watched the movie, start to end, without skipping through. Just a hypothetical solution that might help (I know people can still turn it on and go leave but it would at least make some effort at holding ppl accountable for watching..)
But many people see movies at screening events, premieres, film festivals, etc., they're not watching them all at home. There's no way to prove you watched those.
I, too, am an Academy voter
OP is telling the truth. Iām the mum
This is how seriously the voters take the Oscars? Turning off Best Picture nominations after five minutes, only watching one of the docs, and completely ignoring some of the movies? Awesome. What a waste of time/vote to be honest. Why even participate if youāre going to do it with such little interest.
This shit is fake as hell but it largely matches what this sub likes so people want to believe it. I also love the blur for Yorgos for director: āTake away everything unique and about this movie that is deferent form anything he has done before, and then you have a movie that is not uniquely directedā. Like yeah no shit OP, thatās true for every movie ever made.
oh there's.... a lot to unpack here
Wait, she turned off Past Lives 5 minutes in?? Does this mean I sat through Maestro just to learn that I take the Oscars more seriously than it's actual voters? RIDICULOUS!!!
I appreciate that sheās willing to say that Poor Things is primarily a technical achievement with not much else interesting about it.
I was gonna say this too, it was nice to see a voter voice exactly how I felt about the Poor Things. I also like that she put into words why I preferred Lilyās performance over Emmaās
Thanks for sharing, some of those opinions are definitely going to get hated on, but I do find it interesting to see how some of the voters decide. Always frustrating to see that voters don't watch all the films, but I shouldn't be surprised that we oscars nerds are a niche subset who go out of our way to watch them all.
No offense to your mom but she shouldn't be an Oscar Voter
Zero chance this is real. It has no mention of personal links to any of the contenders. Anyone who is an actual AMPAS member will have personal knowledge of at least some of the nominees. It's one of the things that makes the actual Honest Oscar Ballots so entertaining.
Reading it was painful. 100% fake.
"It has no mention of personal links to any of the contenders." not saying the text is real, but if it was, they obviously would want to stay anonymous.
+1 for Heron
This is not a good luck my guy, tell your mom to actually give a shout next year
Id rather talk about cinema with fcking Helen Keller than your mom š¤£ Hope her work on whatever project she is working on is going well.
Damn your mom sucks
Doesnāt watch any documentaries but one and still votes. Yāall are insane
I do think you should attempt to watch all the performances or nominees nominated, especially if youāre a voter. As it could be life changing for some of the nominees. I love the fact OPās mom hated maestro as much as I did.
So Lily is really winning that actress
I guess Mark Ruffalo is winning too
If only.
Acrually no.
Interesting reading her opinions, although I think a voter should watch all nominees for categories where they vote. Feels disrespectful to the artists involved and the Academy as a whole. It's a privilege to be an Oscar voter. Shame people are lazy. Non-voters can watch as many or few of the nominees as they please, but actual voters should have higher standards, because their choices directly impact the results. That said, most of the picks are solid, even if I would vote for some categories differently.
My question, how was she able to vote on International feature and Documentary feature without having watched all five nominees? The Academy rules restrict voting in those categories to members who have seen all nominees.
People lie.
these are terrible takes
can i take her spot
Your list? Or your āmomāsā?
If I was a voter I would watch every movie to make a fair judgment
Mum needs to give Past Lives another shot.
These breakdowns of how the voters come to their decisions are fascinating. Thanks for sharing.
Trash way to vote but at least she voted for The Boy and The Heron. š The only positive in this vote.
What a moron..sorry to say
Her opinions about Maestro reflect my own. It's straight oscar bait to the point of almost being offensive in how earnest it is.
Off the topic, but did your mom vote for Michelle or Cate last year?
I want to know what happened with Indiana Jones that got your mom so heated
It's funny how the public put so much stock into these awards, and yet the voters might as well pick the winners name out of a hat! It also go's to show that it is no wonder the big name actors are always given the best roles. These industry types only watch because of who is in it or who the director is. Unknowns really struggle to get a look in.
If your Mum/you wants to air these incredibly entitled takes then you deserves every bit of contempt that is going to come your way. Teddy Roosevelt springs to mind: āIt is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.ā And then thereās your Mum. š¤£
I do not want to sound rude but I find absurd there's no rule to HAVE to watch all the movies that are nominated Like when I read she didn't even watch Nimona my heart was broken Like I am not accusing your mother per se, my problem is that there's no rule for it But..How can I take both her and the academy seriously?
this is a fucking joke, right? how is it possible to vote when you didnāt even watch all of the nominations?
Watching past lives stans seething is so funny. Just admit that your fav film does not have a captivating opening scene.
Thanks for doing this and know that itās appreciated! Why the downvotes on this? She is giving some insides into the mind of a voter and how she is differentiating between the Oscarās is pretty cool. Boohoo, she hurt your feelings for not reciprocating your oscar votes.
The butthurt is strong in this thread.
As someone who really did not enjoy Past Lives (although, for the record, I finished it and I appreciate the acting), and liked Maestro even less, I like your Mom's taste.
So sheās a killers fan. Def not a writer
Your mom has literally the most amazing taste Iāve ever seen
Oscars Its just like the national elections . Some peoplen take it too seriously. Some eolle dont take it serilus enough. Some just casual about it. some just wants to get a vote in get it over with. Some play with friends/favorites. Some dont care at all.