WALK THE LINE

[Unknown User]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 11:07am

How could Walk the Line NOT get nominated for best picture for the oscars? It won Golden Globes and a SAG award, so why not?? That's so strange.....

[BlueWizard]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 5:20pm

1. The Golden Globe win was a given -- look at its competition: THE PRODUCERS, MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTS, PRIDE & PREJUDICE, and THE SQUID AND THE WHALE. Unfortunately, THE SQUID AND THE WHALE never quite had any momentum (I would have given it the award if it was up to me). Of the four, PRIDE & PREJUDICE was its only "real" competition, given the enthusiastic reception from critics. But WALK THE LINE was a bigger box-office success. The Golden Globe was a shoo-in.

2. I predicted that MUNICH would probably sneak in past WALK THE LINE because of the way ballots are counted, and I think that's what happened. When Academy members fill in their nomination ballots, they list -- in order -- their top five films. Relative placement on the ballot is important. The accounting team counts the number of #1s until a film gets enough votes (20% of total), and then all those ballots with that film at #1 are discarded. The process is repeated until all #1 are counted, then they move onto #2. It's a complicated process, but all you need to know is, WALK THE LINE may be on everyone's ballot, but if it isn't near the top for a good number of them, it doesn't stand much of a chance.

MUNICH received a mixed reception, but those who enjoyed it, LOVED it and probably put the film in their #1 or #2 slot. I don't think there were enough Academy members who were that passionate about WALK THE LINE. Many liked it well enough, but there just wasn't enough enthusiasm propelling it to the #1 or #2 slots on people's ballots.

[jsg03jd]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 5:25pm

The movie itself isn't very good: it's like an extended VH1 Behind the Music episode. The performances, however, were excellent, and I feel that Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix's Oscar nods are well-deserved.
Updated On: 2/2/06 at 05:25 PM

[mabel]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 5:42pm

While I thoroughly enjoyed the movie (and was a bit disappointed that it couldn't pull off the 5th slot), I wasn't particularly surprised. It wasn't nominated for Director or Screenplay at any of the awards shows (correct??...no DGA, GG, Critics' Choice, etc, etc). I'm sure the fact that it's pretty much been deemed unworthy of either of those nominations at any of the other awards (and Munich has been) certainly didn't help. I'll agree that it's incredibly strong performances far surpassed the overall quality of the film as a whole, though I was a bit surprised that it didn't sneak in just for being the highest grossing film of the lot of potential contenders. Isn't there generally at least one film that did fairly big box office? Dunno.

[BlueWizard]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 5:44pm

Isn't there generally at least one film that did fairly big box office?

Yes, and this year it's going to be BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN. Who saw that coming?!

[broadway86]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 5:52pm

I admired the movie. Not top five, or even top twenty, material for me. The standout elements from the film were Phoenix and Witherspoon.

[mabel]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 9:03pm

Yes, and this year it's going to be BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN. Who saw that coming?!

Yeah, I suppose it really has been moving up at the Box Office over the past few weeks. Who'd-a thunk it, indeed?!?! Where are they now? Past $50million, right?

[Jane2]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 9:08pm

Bio pics are rarely very good (being they're old news), although they may have extraordinary performances.

[TargemQ8]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 9:11pm

I liked the performances, but was ver dissapointed in the script. The real deal is an astonishing love story, and I felt it was reduced to your typical Downward Spiral Drug Story.
Check out Sarah Vowells' version of the Carter/Cash romance ton this This American Life episode.

http://207.70.82.73/pages/descriptions/03/247.html

[Luscious]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 9:28pm

The movie that really got cheated out of a Best Picture nomination was A History of Violence. I could have lived without Crash or Munich being nominated. In fact, while Phillip Seymour Hoffman gave an outstanding performance, even Capote's nomination was somewhat of a surprise.

Updated On: 2/2/06 at 09:28 PM

[LaVieHilary]

Posted: 2/2/06 at 11:09pm

In my opinion I was very glad that Walk the Line was not nominated for Best Picture. To me, biography movies are unoriginal and the stories are exhaggerated. Sure, the two actors deserve the noms they got but I would have never picked it as a best picture nomination