Oscar nominations create buzz in Hollywood South

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! … For many across America, that precious “most wonderful” Christmas season has just passed. And yet, for a number of us in Hollywood or our beloved “Hollywood South,” Oscar Season brings another MOST wonderful time of the year. It’s a time when celebrities over in Hollywood West dawn their finest couture gowns to waltz down the red carpet, hoping to bring home a little gold man named Oscar and with him, Hollywood’s highest honor.

True the Academy Awards do get a bit of a bad rep: celebrity marketing, fashion, entertainment, and media industries pounce at the chance to pawn their product placement onto celebrities and to garner a buzz around their latest projects, yet in the bigger picture, the Academy Awards honor the many visionary artists: actors, writers, designers, directors, musicians, editors, makeup artists, and even producers, whose diverse artistic genres collaborate to create the films we come to love. This beautiful synthesis of the arts (coupled with the fashion and celebrity of the red carpet) form my ideal “popular culture happening.” The Oscars bring a sense of joy and excitement and satisfy the art and cultural historian, cinephile, and fashionista in me.

Through the movie selection this year is not as strong as it has been in the past — there are only nine, not the allotted ten Best Picture nominees this year — there remain some innovative and more artistic films than in the recent past. Living away from Los Angeles where every movie theater boasts an array of potential Oscar nominated movies at all times, I still need to see a few more films before the late-February award show. However, I have seen my fair share of Oscar noms including six out of nine from the Best Picture category.

My preliminary pick for Best Picture goes to The Artist if for no other reason than its innovation and the glamorous and impeccably designed 1920s and 30s inspired costumes. The movie reinvigorates a bygone Hollywood classic, the silent film, and is both self-referential — exploring themes of Hollywood, actors, and changing artistic climates — yet enables the viewer to examine depths of the components of any Hollywood movie including acting, score, script (or lack of), etc.

Beyond making me want to hop on the next flight to Hawaii, The Descendants provides an engaging plot, enchanting cinematography, and extraordinary performances by favorite, George Clooney, as well as by newcomer female actors: Shailene Woodley and Amara Miller. The movie provides a day-in-the-life glimpse into the strife and bliss of family life.

Tree of Life also focuses on family life, yet this “elemental” film leaned more toward the fine art of cinema. It seemed to me to be a deconstruction, reexamination, and/or reappropriation of last year’s Rabbit Hole. Though the movie was a bit slow to develop at times and the disjointed plot and editing left the viewer easily confused, the acting, cinematography, sound, and editing certainly make this movie one of the best of the year.

Brad Pitt’s second Best Picture (and first Best Actor) nomination of the season comes from Moneyball. This sports drama delivered unique performances by Pitt, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Best Supporting Actor nominee, Jonah Hill. Though a little dry at times, it was a new approach to a sports film and for me, one that worked.

The Help, another adapted novel, provided a rare occurrence where the movie is actually better than the book. The movie developed the characters and drove home the essence of the plot, which were not emphasized as much in the book.

I may be in the minority, but I did not like Midnight in Paris. Beyond being able to get lost in Paris’ picturesque scenery, the movie lacked depth and room for discovery of French history. My dislike of this movie can be largely contributed to the facts that I tend to not like Woody Allen and eighteenth through contemporary French art and literature are some of my favorite areas of study, but for me, the movie failed to deliver a script, character development, nor a plot worthy of the characters and time period portrayed.

Hugo is at the top of my to do list, and I have heard only positive things about this movie. I all but refuse to see War Horse and I’ll wait for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close to come out on DVD before I see it.

There is still plenty of time to see the Oscar nominees in theaters (or some on DVD) before the big February 26 date; however, if that is not enough to satisfy your inner movie-goer, the American Red Cross will host New Orleans Oscar Night 2012 at The Theaters at Canal Place providing an opportunity for Hollywood Southerners to flock to our very own version of the red carpet.

Brianna Smyk has an M.A. in Art History from San Diego State University. She lives and works in New Orleans and writes about arts and culture for NolaVie. Read more of Brianna’s articles at www.beingbreezie.tumblr.com.