Which leads me to my new venture, the project to end all projects, and the purpose of this blog. I have no idea how the idea came to me, or why it wasn't dismissed out of hand as ridiculous. It is ridiculous, but then, is life itself not somewhat ridiculous? Yes. Yes, it is.
So, I'm at work one night, thinking about films, and projects, as I am wont to do, when the idea hits me. Why not watch every single film that has ever been nominated for an Academy Award (in a major category)? And write about the process in a blog? Thus, And The Loser Is... is born.
I don't see the need to ramble on too much about the thought process behind this (seeing as there really wasn't one), but in order to simplify things, I've decided to make this first blog post a kind of handbook for the project. A set of rules, if you will, by which I will live by as I move forward with this. I call it my Questions I Should Have Asked Myself Frequently, or QISHAMF. So, here goes:
Why? Just, why?
Well, as I mentioned, I love film. I mean, I really love film. I have a degree in Film and Television Studies, and have written and co-produced a low-budget film, that you might say is mired in post-production hell. I'm always looking for ways to find new films to watch, which is what drove me to this idea. Scratching the surface of the premise though, watching every single Oscar-nominated film ever (in a major category) is a curious choice for me to make. The thing is, I hold no particular reverence for the Academy and, in fact, am rather dubious of the whole process. Certainly, I don't think the list of Oscar nominees is intrinsically representative of the best films of the year. I mean, how much faith can you put in a system which decides that Crash is the best picture of its year? To paraphrase Woody Allen, quoting Groucho Marx, I don't want to be part of any club that would have Crash as a member.
| Crash: garbage. |
This is not to mention the fact that the vast majority of Oscar nominees are American, or at least English-language, films. Nothing wrong with that- it's an American award ceremony. But I'm a man who likes to experience cinema from all over the globe. I count the likes of Ingmar Bergman, Michelangelo Antonioni, Zhang Yimou, Wong Kar-Wai, Yasujiro Ozu and Jean Renoir amongst my favourite directors. Don't get me wrong, I love American cinema too- maybe most of all, if push comes to shove, but taking on a project that is going to restrict me in large part to watching English-language film doesn't seem in line with my general tastes.
All that said, working down the list of Oscar nominees is just the kind of project that I like to take on. There are many, many films amongst those nominees that I have been meaning to get around to, and, as to the ones that don't strike me as particularly appealing, maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised. The biggest reason this crazy project appeals to me though, is that when it's all done, I'll be able to say that I've seen all of these films. It's something to strive for, and maybe a cool little caveat that I can bring up with my film geek mates. I'll never mention it to normal people, of course.
What form will this blog take?
I will talk about every single film on the list in this blog. That's the films I've yet to see, as well as the ones I've already seen. Some films I may talk about a lot, whereas others may get little more than a brief review. I also intend to rate each film.
I will say that there will be no rhyme or reason to how I attack this mammoth list of films. I won't be going through them chronologically, for example. I'll essentially just watch whatever appeals at the time, and then write about it.
How will films be rated?
I thought about this a fair bit, because I don't really drink at the alter of star ratings, but have to admit that they're about the easiest way to throw a quick rating at a film. I was considering doing something a bit more inventive, like using films as a ratings key (for example, a film with no redeeming features would be given a rating of 'Crash'). But that would just be confusing. So the five-star system it is (and films will be ranked against all films ever made, not just against all Oscar-nominated films).
What do you mean by 'the major categories'?
I have to confess, my original plan was to watch every single film that had ever been nominated in any category. I soon realised that that would be opening a Pandora's box of categories like best sound editing and best short subject documentary which, with all due respect to those involved, I'm just not willing to do. So, I'm sticking with the more mainstream categories- Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (lead and support), and Best Actress (lead and support). Believe me, that still leaves me with a hell of a lot of films to watch.
How many?
893. That's eight-hundred-and-ninety-three. Seven shy of 900. A shitload. I went through every year, using my beloved Excel to make two spreadsheets- one with all the films I haven't seen yet, and one with all the films I have seen (324). Yeah, I had second, third and fourth thoughts about all this as I was doing this. Especially when I saw some of the films which I'm going to have to sit through (more on that next time).
And I've been strict with myself too. If there's a film I know I've seen, but was too young at the time to really remember anything about it (Steel Magnolias, for example) it went on the not seen list. I should also note that at the first ceremony (1929), there were two best picture categories (production, and 'artistic production'), as well as two best director categories (drama and comedy). All were included. And the second ceremony didn't have official nominees in any categories, but the shortlisted films have since been discovered. They all went on the list.
One more thing, I hate that the Academy brought back the 10 Best Picture nominees that was in use up to 1944.
I think that pretty much sums up the whys and whyfores of the project. I clearly have a lot of work ahead of me, but I'm honestly looking forward to it. Sure, it means I'm going to have to sit through a lot of terrible films, but I'm also going to see a lot of really great films, that I may not have otherwise been motivated to do so.
And The Loser Is... #2 will feature the 10 films I'm most looking forward to seeing, and the 10 I'm least looking forward to seeing, so, until then, here's looking at you.
