色情视频

The 92nd Academy Awards, a night of glitz and glam celebrating the best films of 2019, take place Sunday, Feb. 9 and will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

鈥淛oker,鈥� starring Joaquin Phoenix, received the most nominations with 11, including the categories of Best Picture, Actor, and Directing. Other films with multiple nominations include 鈥淭he Irishman,鈥� 鈥�1917鈥� and 鈥淥nce Upon a Time in Hollywood鈥� with 10 nominations each.

The 色情视频 News Team sat down with 色情视频 School of Theatre, Television, and Film assistant professor Brian Hu to discuss the criteria and history of Best Picture and other major categories to give readers a deeper understanding of how certain films come to be nominated.

Generally, who is the voting pool made up of and how are these people selected? Also, how does voting work? 

This has been the subject of a lot of conversation in recent years, especially as people are noticing the nominations are not diverse. First and foremost, these are people who worked in the film industry from all generations. These could be people who worked in the industry in the 鈥�60s and 鈥�70s who are now retired as lifetime members.

To get into the Academy, you have to get invited by someone already in the Academy or get nominated, which is obviously harder. These are like-minded people. For instance, you鈥檙e not going to have many people in the Academy who are indie (independent) filmmakers. It鈥檚 very much a Hollywood definition of being in the industry.

Is there something specific that the Academy looks for when voting for Best Picture? 

Everyone is looking for something different. These are all people working in the film industry. Often times, they define excellence by how they define excellence for themselves and for their peers. Sometimes they are prioritizing technical excellence or a commercial excellence because they all want to make successful movies, so sometimes the films that make money or receive a certain type of acclaim are privileged. 

Do other award shows like the Golden Globes have any influence on the nominations or is it truly merit-based?

That is a great question. It speaks to the fact that ultimately the Academy Awards are a popularity contest. How do you define excellence? It鈥檚 about popularity. The people who know this the most are the studios who have the most to gain from this. 

Every voter gets stacks and stacks of DVDs that the studios want them to consider. But the studios also realize that with the other award shows, especially the Golden Globes, winning there can build momentum for you. If something gets nominated or wins a Golden Globe, as an Oscar voter, you tell yourself, 鈥淚 probably should watch that one.鈥� There鈥檚 not influence in the sense that there鈥檚 overlap in voters, but it鈥檚 the creation of momentum.

The last two winners of the Best Actor category portrayed historical figures (Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill in 鈥淒arkest Hour鈥� and Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury in 鈥淏ohemian Rhapsody鈥�). Do you believe voters are more inclined to vote for actors or actresses taking on portrayals?

I think so. There鈥檚 a joke in the Academy that if you want to get nominated, you just play a famous figure. It鈥檚 easier to evaluate their supposed excellence. It鈥檚 easier to say, 鈥淲ow, that person did a great job鈥� because they made a historical figure come to life. It鈥檚 very easy to measure that; they either did or they didn鈥檛.

Whereas, a character not from the 鈥渞eal world,鈥� it鈥檚 harder to say whether they hit it or not. That standard can be anything. There鈥檚 also the sense that you鈥檝e transformed into another person. For example, Daniel Day-Lewis has never been (Abraham) Lincoln before. It seems like an absolute transformation. And this is nothing new. Going back to the early decades of the Academy Awards, people who played famous figures have been winning.

Brad Pitt is widely considered to be the favorite for Best Supporting Actor for his role in 鈥淥nce Upon a Time in Hollywood.鈥� Do you think star power plays a role in voting?

Yeah, definitely. There鈥檚 the sense that someone that鈥檚 been in the game for a long time and they鈥檝e never won before, are they owed or is it their time? Brad Pitt is someone who has never won an Oscar for acting before. He鈥檚 been nominated multiple times. Because people know him, his career, and he radiates stardom. Perhaps that鈥檚 why Brad Pitt is the frontrunner.

What do voters look for when evaluating nominees for Best Director?

We seem to see the hand of the director, so these might be films that are a little more stylized or they鈥檙e films that seem to be major feats in craft. Like, 鈥淭hat looks like it was a tough shoot鈥� or 鈥渢hat鈥檚 a tough thing to balance all these elements.鈥�

Like 鈥淏irdman鈥� wins, what an achievement in directing because you can see it onscreen. It鈥檚 a single take and you have to balance all these other aspects. I think there鈥檚 a little bit of showiness being awarded. 

I鈥檓 thinking about 鈥淢arriage Story,鈥� the Noah Baumbach film from this year, which is not very 鈥渄irected鈥� because it almost feels like a play. But I think that was very intentional. He鈥檚 not really showing off. But you think about 鈥淥nce Upon a Time in Hollywood,鈥� and it鈥檚 very showy. 鈥淭he Irishman鈥� too. It makes those films stand out more.

What is something about the Best Director category that you find interesting? 

To me, it鈥檚 interesting when the Best Director doesn鈥檛 win Best Picture. It goes to show you that there鈥檚 a certain kind of belief that filmmakers have in this director. When 鈥淩oma鈥� won best director, but not best picture, it shows that even though there was not consensus around this being the best film, that kind of directing is worth that much more. That really shows you what the Academy cares about in how they value directors.