Edward Wragg shares his thoughts on this year’s awards season as we build up to the Oscars ceremony of 2017.
It’s incredibly hard to escape politics these days. Between Trump and Brexit it’s fair to say that, whichever side of that immigrant stopping wall you sit, 2016 was an eventful year and not all what we expected. Brutal and vicious, we had Cold War style espionage and an Alan Partridge-esque boat trip with Nigel Farage. “Thank Goodness that’s over!” I hear you cry. Well unfortunately the most ferocious campaign is still to come. I am of course talking about the battle for a shiny naked man, holding a sword, most commonly referred to as ‘Oscar.’
With Slogans like; “Let your feet do the talking.” (La La Land), “I don’t know what I’m doing.” (Manchester by the Sea) and “People in this country have had enough of Sunlight!” (Moonlight) it’s clear to see that the propaganda and publicity is in full swing.
What a price is paid for great expectations! An estimated $10 million goes into each Oscar campaign and, while I’m sure Ryan Reynolds planned to use that money to buy 2 million Chimichangas, most have dreams of winning that golden statue. After all, how can you know your work has merit unless a group of 62 year old white guys say it’s so. I actually have it on good authority that, after winning the best actor award, Leonardo turned to his new metallic friend and said, “you complete me.”
With less than a month to go until the big event, students everywhere will be delighted by the “for your consideration,” DVDs sent to academy members that inexplicably find their way to the internet. Some clear favourites have already presented themselves but like 2016, could 2017 be the year of the unexpected? Could Arrival become the first science fiction film to win best picture? Will Dev Patel become the most likeable winner since Eddie Redmayne? Will Emma Stone release her own brand of contact lenses which turn your eyes into waters bluer than the Mediterranean?
A lot of work is still to come and with PR firms getting approximately $15,000 plus $20,000 per nomination expect some underhand tactics. Rumours of a leaked email exchange between Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone are surfacing apparently with the latter claiming, “I’ve never actually seen Singin’ in the Rain.” and “Dirty Dancing 2 is probably the greatest film of all time.”
Come February 26th, regardless of the winners, all we can hope is that people respect the decision and said winners don’t abuse the position of power placed upon them. After all is said and done and as the highlight of the award season ends, I’m sure we will look back on the night and say, “Well that was long, tedious and just what I expected.”
