Rich Heldenfels, Pop Culture Wanderer

About three dozen feature films are nominated for Oscars this yea r, just over 10 percent of the 347 movies that were eligible.  The nominations themselves lead to talk about snubs and inconsistencies, some self-inflicted: how can you have 10 best picture nominees and then only five nominations for best director? How are Mahershala Ali of Green Book , and Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz, both of The Favourite,  all in supporting-acting categories when clearly they are leads in their films? (Indeed, I'd argue that in most respects Olivia Colman, nominated for best actress for The Favourite could have been put in supporting instead.) Still, beyond what we say about the nominations themselves, every year I find myself with a list of movies that received no Oscar love at all. (I talked last year about some of the reasons for this .) In a year where the academy's best-picture contenders suggest diversity in Black Panther, BlacKkKlansman, Green Book  and Roma, it's important...

-- This is the first year I can remember where I have seen all the best-picture nominees on the day the nominations were announced.* That may be an indication that the academy, following the brouhaha over the announced-then-dropped "popular film" category,  still saw fit to nominate a lot of movies that the mass audience has seen. Only not everything. I've been searching for ways to see some of the nominees in other categories; "At Eternity's Gate" has a best-actor nomination for Willem Dafoe and, according to Box Office Mojo, was in less than 200 theaters nationwide at its peak distribution, and that was a month ago. -- The academy's expanding the best-picture category will never really work until, at the very least, the directing and writing categories are also expanded. There are eight nominees for best picture this year, but only four of those movies were also nominated for best director. (The fifth directing nomination is for "Cold War,...

From a Motion Picture Academy announcement: While remaining committed to celebrating a wide spectrum of movies, the Academy announced today that it will not present the new Oscars category at the upcoming 91st awards. The Academy recognized that implementing any new award nine months into the year creates challenges for films that have already been released.  The Board of Governors continues to be actively engaged in discussions, and will examine and seek additional input regarding this category.  “There has been a wide range of reactions to the introduction of a new award, and we recognize the need for further discussion with our members,” said Academy CEO Dawn Hudson.  “We have made changes to the Oscars over the years—including this year—and we will continue to evolve while also respecting the incredible legacy of the last 90 years.” Changes to the 91st Oscars (2019) include restructuring and shortening the length of the telecast to three hours.  To honor all...

                          Do the Oscars think films like "Shape of Water" are sinking their TV ratings? Various reports that the Oscars are going to change their annual telecast, dumping some lesser categories during commercial breaks to keep the show a tight three hours, moving the awards earlier in the year so they don't trail the zillion other awards shows, and adding a category for "achievement in popular film." As Variety put it: The group did not provide details on what movies would be eligible and when the award will first be handed out, but its intent is clear. At one point in its history, Oscar voters routinely named blockbusters such as “Titanic” or “Gladiator” as the year’s best. That’s changed. Recent best picture victors such as “Moonlight,” “Spotlight,” and the 2018 winner “The Shape of Water” have been firmly ensconced in the arthouse world, whereas well-reviewed hit films such as “Guardians of t...