Good morning! I've never done my "Why Oscars Matter" spiel on bsky! So here 'tis. I talk a lot to programmers and archivists about how hard it is to get corporate permission to screen rare films, let alone restore them. The FIRST question the suits will ask is "Did it win an Oscar?" Every. Time. - ThreadSky

selfstyledsiren.bsky.social • 40 days ago

Good morning! I've never done my "Why Oscars Matter" spiel on bsky! So here 'tis. I talk a lot to programmers and archivists about how hard it is to get corporate permission to screen rare films, let alone restore them. The FIRST question the suits will ask is "Did it win an Oscar?"

Every. Time.

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georgeswan.bsky.social•39 days ago

Farran I agree with you but answer me several questions. Why is academy regarding archivists and curators so badly? Why don’t we have a nominations for Oscar for Best Preservation? Why isn’t AMIA a proper Guild and overall better regarded? I would love to know the answers.

selfstyledsiren.bsky.social•39 days ago

Well, unfortunately I can't answer; I'm not in the field, I just try to boost its good work whenever possible. I think any or all of those developments would be great. An Oscar for Best Restoration or Preservation could do a lot.

selfstyledsiren.bsky.social•40 days ago

Meaning, "Eh, is it worth our while?" Modern corporate executives don't give a flip whether pointy-head critics and academics and nerds think this ancient black-and-white film is beautiful, artistic or important. But wait! Does it have an OSCAR? OK, maybe normies do care enough to pay for it. 2/3

miguelvalenzuela.bsky.social•39 days ago

I like to collect BP winners, so i blind buy Cimarron and i must confess that, i liked it. Most of the early Oscar winners would vanish into oblivion if it wasn't for the fact they're oscar winners.

miguelvalenzuela.bsky.social•39 days ago

Cavalcade sucks tho.

koberulz.bsky.social•38 days ago

At the same time, Kubrick and Hitchcock have what, two Oscars between them?

nitetide.bsky.social•39 days ago

I liked Cimarron too. Irene Dunne is a great actress.

miguelvalenzuela.bsky.social•39 days ago

This and Killers of the Flower Moon would make a great double feature.

nitetide.bsky.social•39 days ago

I loved Killers of the Flower Moon. Lily Gladstone was robbed of that Oscar and I still don’t know how the screenplay didn’t get nominated.

miguelvalenzuela.bsky.social•39 days ago

She totally was!! Also Rodrigo Prieto for cinematography, and scorsese (again) for directing.

selfstyledsiren.bsky.social•40 days ago

So yes, my sniffy Oscar-hating friends, in the long run, the Oscars DO in fact matter, like it or not. Not only for the film's physical survival, though very few Oscar-winning or even nominated films are lost. But also in terms of how hard it will be to see the film years from now. 3/3

danburden1138.bsky.social•39 days ago

Except they don't? All it does is create a limited curation, if your theory is correct and it probably is.

Look at these nominees, half of the best picture nominees made hundreds of millions, they were never in danger of being forgotten.

ricog.bsky.social•39 days ago

That half of the nominees are the Trojan horse that bring some exposure to the other half.

wirefan51.bsky.social•39 days ago

I was always of the opinion that an Oscar nomination for a film lifts all boats. Everyone who helped create the film - composers, designers, cinematographers, etc. have an Oscar-nominated film on their resume. For the actors, it elevates their stylists, hair and makeup people, etc.

ctmillion.bsky.social•39 days ago

Yep, same thing to a lesser extent with the Emmys.

daysaway101.bsky.social•39 days ago

The Oscars do matter but all art, including films can be very subjective, some films win a oscar because it captures a moment in time. Nowadays a film can win a oscar by gaming the system.

www.johnbleasdale.com•15 days ago

I don’t think the question is ever do they matter, or if it is then that’s a no-brainer. Rather it’s all the other questions of how they matter. Your slam dunk answer is one certainly quite narrow inside baseball reason. Once it was ancillary sales or rereleases. Pointy heads? Hurtful

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