Indy 4 and the Oscars

I am pleased to report that Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull has been nominated for a screen actors guild award for outstanding performance by a stunt ensemble in a motion picture. And the nominees are:

THE DARK KNIGHT (Warner Bros. Pictures)
HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY (Universal Pictures)
INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL (Paramount Pictures)
IRON MAN (Paramount Pictures)
WANTED (Universal Pictures)

 

Sorry, but a film's opening shot is significant enough to push things into the make-or-break region. Even if it wasn't, it's not like the rest of the effects were all that stellar anyway.

 

Comparing ILM's work on Indy 4 and Iron Man I would give the nod to Iron Man and this is coming from someone who loves Indy 4. Indy's effects were great but some did stick out. Although I have no problem with the gophers.

 

Indy has been knocked out of the running for the visual effects Oscar.

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=51723

7 in Running for 2008 Visual Effects Oscar
Source: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
January 6, 2009

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that seven films remain in the running in the Visual Effects category for the 81st Academy Awards®.

The films are listed below in alphabetical order:

Australia

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The Dark Knight

Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Iron Man

Journey to the Center of the Earth

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

On Thursday, January 15, all members of the Academy's Visual Effects Branch will be invited to view 15-minute excerpts from each of the seven shortlisted films. Following the screenings, the members will vote to nominate three films for final Oscar consideration.

The 81st Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Thursday, January 22, 2009, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2008 will be presented on Sunday, February 22, 2009, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

As I already mentioned I'll take ILM's work on Iron Man over Indy 4. When they narrow it down to three I hope Iron Man is ILM only entry. When they get two nods it could split the vote as it did when The Golden Compass won over the superior Transformers and Pirates 3. My prediction for the final three:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Iron Man

A dark horse nominee might be Journey To The Center of the Earth. Although not photo realistic I thought it was very imaginative and looked great in 3-D.

 

Although Indy 4 has been knocked out of the visual effects race, it remains a strong contestant in the best art direction race, and as I have said many times, if the film deserves one sole nomination, it is in this category. And on that note, I am very pleased to announce that the Art Director's Guild has nominated Indiana Jones 4 for best production design in the fantasy film category....although it is kind of hard to decide whether it should have been considered as a fantasy film or period film. This art guild nomination really helps supports the film's run in this category for the oscar. And the nominees are:

Fantasy Films

THE DARK KNIGHT
Production Designer: Nathan Crowley
INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL
Production Designer: Guy Hendrix Dyas
IRON MAN
Production Designer: J. Michael Riva
THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES
Production Designer: James Bissell
WALL E
Production Designer: Ralph Eggleston

Period Films

CHANGELING
Production Designer: James J. Murakami
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
Production Designer: Donald Graham Burt
DOUBT
Production Designer: David Gropman
FROST/NIXON
Production Designer: Michael Corenblith
MILK
Production Designer: Bill Groom

Contemporary Films

BURN AFTER READING
Production Designer: Jess Gonchor
GRAN TORINO
Production Designer: James J. Murakami
QUANTUM OF SOLACE
Production Designer: Dennis Gassner
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
Production Designer: Mark Digby
THE WRESTLER
Production Designer: Timothy Grimes

 

Indy 4 has been nominated for a razzie award for worst prequel, sequel, or remake.

 

Not surprised. I enjoyed the movie and all, but compared to the previous entries in the Indy series it was a bit sub-par.

 

It was better than Temple of Doom, at least.

 

No but listing it in the razzies will bolster the awards publicity for certain!

 

Meh, I'll take "Temple of Doom" any day over "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Family Reunion Variety CGI Stunt Hour (featuring the famous Threatless Soviet Army and the I-Can-Do-Anything-That-Indy-Can-Do-Except-I-Don't-Get-Hurt-EVER-Talents of Mutt Williams)!"

 

I think compared to most film makers around the world, Lucas and Spielberg have done quite well for themselves.

 

Although perhaps their definition of "worst" also factors in the degree of quality-dropping.

For example, Saw V may be a far worse film than KotCS, but compared to Saw IV it basically managed to maintain the same level of (non)quality.

On the other hand, KotCS represents a significant drop-off in quality when compared to Last Crusade.

Remember that the award isn't for "Worst Film (that is a sequel/prequel/remake)"; it's for "Worst Sequel/Prequel/Remake", so the degree to which it fails in its capacity as a follow-up to a previous film should weigh as heavily as the nominated films' relative badness, IMO.

 

Famous Jewish Proverb:

We do not see things as they are. We see things as WE are.

It's all in the perspective,
which is always subjective.

 

In other news, kudos to John Williams who keeps racking up nominations for the Indy 4 score. 3 nominations by the IFMCA including best score of the year.....bodes well for oscar chances...


FILM SCORE OF THE YEAR

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, music by Alexandre Desplat
The Dark Knight, music by James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, music by John Williams
Standard Operating Procedure, music by Danny Elfman
Wall*E, music by Thomas Newman

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ACTION/ADVENTURE FILM

The Dark Knight, music by James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer
Hancock, music by John Powell
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, music by John Williams
Speed Racer, music by Michael Giacchino
Wanted, music by Danny Elfman

BEST COMPILATION ALBUM OR BOX SET

Gangs of New York/The Journey of Natty Gann/The Scarlet Letter, music by Elmer Bernstein; produced by Robert Townson (Varèse Sarabande)
Indiana Jones: The Soundtracks Collection, music by John Williams; produced by Laurent Bouzereau (Concord)
Le Cinéma de Georges Delerue, music by Georges Delerue; produced by Stéphane Lerouge (Universal Music France)
MGM Soundtrack Treasury, various composers; produced by Lukas Kendall (Film Score Monthly)
Superman: The Music, various composers; produced by Mike Matessino and Lukas Kendall (Film Score Monthly)