Oscar Picks!

Yep. You knew this was coming. Here are my picks for the 80th Annual Academy Awards tonight...keep in mind I have yet to see all the films that were nominated.

Best Picture
Juno

I know, it's an odd pick. Most likely, the award will go to No Country For Old Men, but I like to take a chance. Historically, the award has gone to one of the top 2 grossing films out of the five nominees, and that's Juno and No Country this year.

Actor In A Leading Role
Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood

Phenomenal performance. Everything you'd expect from him and more. The only other nominee I've seen is Depp in Sweeney Todd, but if Lewis doesn't win it will be a crime.

Actor In A Supporting Role
Casey Affleck - The Assassination of Jessee James By The Coward Robert Ford

Another risky choice. The Oscar could easily go to Javier Bardem or Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Bardem has a lot of buzz going in, and Hoffman gave yet another spectacular show stealing performance in Charlie Wilson's War. That said, Affleck has given 2 great performances this year, the first in Jessee James, and the other (which he could have easily been nominated for as well) was Gone Baby Gone.

Actress In A Leading Role
Ellen Page - Juno

It's tough to pick against Cate Blanchett here. She's nominated in 2 categories this year, and she's no stranger to the awards circuit. Not having seen any of the other nominees though, I've gotta give it to Page -- her performance in Juno is one of the reasons the film is such a big hit, and why it resonates with audiences.

Actress In A Supporting Role
Cate Blanchett - I'm Not There

If Cate doesn't win Best Actress, then she's gotta win here. The only film I've seen in this category was Gone Baby Gone, and I would be surprised if Amy Ryan wins.

Animated Feature Film
Ratatouille

I love this film. Maybe its because I love to cook, and food is a passion, but this was one of my favorite films of the year. There is not a single problem with it, and if animation didn't have it's own category, it could easily compete with the best picture nominations. If Ratatouille doesn't win, it's a huge upset.

Art Direction
Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street

A stylized, dark, period musical. What's not to love?

Cinematography
The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford

Beautiful cinematography. Absolutely stunning. At times, I found myself forgetting the plot of the film, and getting lost in the cinematography. Interestingly enough, the cinematographer, Roger Deakins, was also nominated for No Country For Old Men.

Costume Design
Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street

Guess pick here. Don't take much stock in it.

Directing
The Coen Brothers - No Country For Old Men

It's a tough choice here. I think the award could just as easily go to Paul Thomas Anderson for There Will Be Blood. All are established directors with a penchant for making award winning films. That said, the Coen Brothers have been down for a few years, so I can see them getting the award, as much as Anderson might deserve it.

Documentary Feature
Sicko

Only one I've seen. As much as he's disliked, Michael Moore makes really good films. What can I say, I'm partial.

Writing (Original Screenplay)
Juno

Diablo Cody is a first time writer who used to be a stripper -- how can she not win?

Music (Original Score)
Ratatouille

Great soundtrack, really contributed to the film.

Oscar Files Wrap-Up

Wanted to wrap up my coverage of this years best picture nominees by directing your attention to this post over at Movie Marketing Madness which does a good job of summing up my findings over the past few weeks. Apparently the studios are perplexed as to why no one is going to see the films nominated for best picture (other then Juno anyway).

Well, Miramax, Fox, Warner Brothers, etc. listen close, 'cause I'm going to drop a little knowledge on you -- when you fail to properly market the film before its release, and/or give it an erratic release schedule that makes going to see the film a major inconvenience, NO ONE IS GOING TO SEE IT! You wonder why no one goes to see the best picture noms year after year? Try handling one with the same care you give a summer blockbuster, and I can almost guarantee you'll see better results.

You don't always have to market to the lowest common denominator. People who are educated and enjoy watching quality films like to spend money too. Of course, money can, and typically is, made on DVD sales and the international box office, but it'd be nice to see a trend where quality films do well at the box office. That way, the studios will have so much more incentive to emphasize quality, and then everyone benefits. Ugh. Movie studios, why must you disappoint me so?

The Oscar Files Part 5

For our final installment of The Oscar Files, we'll be taking a look at Atonement, which stars James McAvoy and Keira Knightley. As of February 14th, the film had grossed about $46 million domestically. If you haven't seen the movie, check out this review at The Movie Blog, it's a good take, and his reviews are generally spot on.

I've probably seen the most television advertising for Atonement out of the other 4 nominees. Even before it was nominated, I remember seeing a cardboard display at the local Regal Cinema, and countless TV spots. Now that it has been nominated, I've seen a huge increase in TV spots. But then again, now that the nominations are out, I've seen more TV spots for all the nominees. The TV spot is OK, it's really not too different from any other spot for a movie.



It effectively communicates the plot to the audience, and that it's an epic, war torn romance. That's more then I can say for a lot of TV spots, so in that respect, it's good. I just wish there were a way to be innovative with a TV spot for a movie.

The extended trailer for the film is probably the best part of the marketing campaign. The way the trailer was constructed screams, "this is going to be one of the best films of the year." It's epic. It's compelling. It's exactly the kind of film you expect to be released around Oscar season. Check out the trailer below.



Since the nomination, there's been some minor blog buzz about Focus's slightly racy For Your Consideration ad (check out this post at Defamer to see it).

Other then that, there really isn't much else out there about this film. It's sad really. You'd think a picture that was produced with the intent of being competitive in the Oscar race would have taken the time to come up with some creative marketing. But no. I guess it's easier to stick to the norm then it is to take a chance and branch out.

The Oscar Files Part 4

In today's installment of The Oscar Files, we'll be taking a look at the campaign for Paul Thomas Anderson's (Punch Drunk Love, Boogie Nights) new film, There Will Be Blood. To date, the film has grossed over $21 Million domestically.

Right off the bat, before going into any sort of detailed analysis, my initial ideas are that this film's marketing has been less about There Will Be Blood, and more about its star, Daniel Day-Lewis (Gangs of New York, The Last of The Mohicans). For those who don't know anything about Daniel Day-Lewis, he is arguably one of the best actors of our generation. (For more info on Lewis, read his extensive interview with the New York Times.) Lewis is also known as one of the most selective actors in the modern era, often only choosing one film to star in every 4 or 5 years. As such, the films he stars in are typically very, very good. So I can see why Paramount would feel the need to market the film as a Daniel Day-Lewis vehicle. The problem with that is most people have no idea what the film is actually about. Check out this TV spot:



We see Lewis a lot. From this trailer, I know the film stars Lewis, is about oil, it's a period piece, and there's family and some money involved. Thats it. In order to get more of an idea about the film's plot, you'd have to turn to the official trailer. Check it out:



Much better, right? It's too bad that to catch the trailer, you either have to be lucky to see it before another film, or make the effort to seek it out online. Most passive movie goers (who probably spend the most money) won't bother to do this. So automatically you're loosing a majority of the domestic film audience.

What also doesn't do There Will Be Blood justice is the fact that Paramount didn't even begin to market this film until what seemed like a few weeks before its official Oscar nomination. I get the feeling that other nominees like Juno and No Country For Old Men had much more buzz behind them, as they were both released much earlier.

At this point, the best things going for Blood is the plethora of awards it's nominated for, the sheer number of times it finds itself onto a critics top 10 list, and buzz within the blogosphere. (Apparently one fan has tried to use the line, "I drink your milkshake!" as some quick and dirty viral marketing - via nerve)

If anything, the theme that really comes to light from all of these marketing campaigns for Oscar nominees is a true sense of neglect. I think that if the movie studios were to put half as much money and time into marketing a quality film as they do into some of the trash that finds its way to theaters in the summer, we'd be finding ourselves in a situation where quality films would be the true money makers. Isn't that a neat concept?

The Oscar Files Part 3

Next on our rousing tour of marketing campaigns for the 2008 Oscar nominees, Michael Clayton. As of January 22nd, Clayton had only grossed $40 million in the domestic box office. Looking at Michael Clayton, I can't help but wonder how a critically acclaimed film, with a stellar cast and George Clooney at the helm fails to do well at the box office.

Looking around the web, it seems that Clayton's poor box office showing has more to do with the mishandling of the film by Warner Brother's marketing staff then anything else. Anne Thompson, columinist for Variety wrote in her blog that the biggest issue was WB's decisions regarding the release of the film. According to Thompson, WB should have taken the same route most small budget Oscar contenders do, start the film in limited release, build up the buzz, and then break it wide closer to Oscar season. Makes sense to me. Get people wanting what they can't have, and just when enough people want it, give it to 'em. Instead, WB decided to put the film into wide release in its second weekend, way before the film had managed to build up any sort of buzz. As a result, Clayton finished a paltry 4th in the box office that weekend. In the minds of many movie goers, from that point on Clayton was "damaged goods".

If we look at the rest of the film's marketing efforts, a pattern of neglect emerges. Look at the official trailer for the film...



Not very good. For a film that's classified as a legal thriller, there sure is very little thrill here. Add to that the almost non-existent television advertising, (did anyone else recall seeing a TV spot for this film? I sure don't), and the 4th place finish, you can see why the film hasn't done too well.

In reviewing Clayton's marketing, and hypothesizing why the film failed, I tend to agree with Thompson's take. Warner Brothers dropped the ball. If they didn't want to spend the money to market the film, that's fine. The film was reviewed well and had a great cast, so it was sure to find a market at some point. The problem is that WB didn't give it the chance. If it wasn't for the film's eventual nomination and subsequent re-release, it could have easily fallen to the wayside like so many other quality films.

I'm hoping the folks over at WB have learned a lesson from this.

My inner cynic thinks otherwise.

The Oscar Files Part 2

We'll continue our look at the marketing efforts of Oscar nominated films with No Country For Old Men, the new film from the Coen brothers (Fargo, The Big Lebowski)

To date, the Oscar nominated film has grossed nearly $50 million in the domestic box office. This continues the trend for critically acclaimed films that do poorly at the box office.

While No Country For Old Men runs short on box office dollars, it does not run short on critical acclaim. This is an important element to any campaign for an Oscar contending film, and a technique that No Country uses often, particularly on the film's
website.

From a movie marketing standpoint, No Country doesn't do a whole lot that is out of the ordinary. The campaign features teaser posters, regular one-sheets , and a very professional and slick website. The site has film stills, cast and filmmaker info, and some external links to news about the film. The two elements that set the website apart, however, are the exclusive podcasts, and the option to download the script, free of charge. (As someone who used to read a lot of scripts, this is a rare occurrence for a recent feature film.)

No Country only dabbles in viral marketing. There's this great redband trailer, different from the standard trailers in that it's a lot more violent. Offering a trailer that can't be seen in the standard venues is a great way to drive traffic to the website and ultimately drum up interest in the film.

Here's the redband trailer - be warned, it is violent.



Here's the regular greenband trailer, for comparison.



No Country also created this coin toss facebook application. Considering the app only has 10 current active users, I don't think it could be considered successful.

Ultimately, the marketing effort for No Country was a good one, but it didn't go far enough to generate the kind of mainstream buzz needed to create a box office smash. No Country should have spent more time on the viral marketing, which would be reinforced by the TV ads and website.

For a differing opinion - and a great summary of the campaign, head over to this post at the always reliable Movie Marketing Madness.