A year ago I was not only riding the wave of the 2017/2018 Oscar season, I was equally thrilled about the year ahead. I was getting ready to interview Timothee Chalamet and preparing to finally put into words how much "Call Me By Your Name" meant to me. I had discovered that Timothee's next role was playing real life Nic Sheff in "Beautiful Boy" and Luca Guadagnino was making his own version of "Suspiria." In 2018 we were getting the gay conversion story, "Boy Erased" starring the wonderful Lucas Hedges and Gaga would be starring in the latest version of "A Star is Born."
I hoped very much that James Ivory would take the stage on Oscar night for his adaptation of "CMBYN," a win that would represent all that I loved about the movie. It happened, and he took Timothee on stage with him. His face on a shirt, that is.
It was a great end to a wonderful season.
This summer I wrote about my favorite films of the year...which was pretty amazing, even discovering that I had a new favorite film of all time, "Where the Wild Things Are." This was a surprise to me...but this film and my list gave me hope that I could continue to write with a singular voice about film in the very noisy landscape that was 2018.
As Oscar season approached I was already tiring of Twitter but I couldn't quite let go. Sometimes we latch on to the most toxic things in our life despite the damage they are doing to us.
First came "A Star is Born." It arrived with great praise, undeniable praise...but the vultures were there. One of the first posts I saw after Cooper was declared a Best Director contender back on August 31 was a comparison to Spike Lee.
It was only the beginning of Film Twitter's revisionist history of "A Star is Born." It worked. Cooper was out.
I will follow my My 2019 Oscars Mission Statement(s) and not "defend the offenses," but I will say this...both should have been nominated. And Cooper could have won Best Actor...and will probably lose to Rami Malek or Christian Bale...sigh.
On September 1st, both "Surpiria" and "Boy Erased" premiered at Venice/Terruride and Twitter took them down. I look forward to seeing "Boy Erased" again one day, but I agree that it was a disappointment. I think I may have said a few things in a tweet, but I didn't want to bash the film event though I didn't love it.
"Suspiria" has had a bit of a comeback of sorts thanks to the likes of the Indie Spirits and the film's champions (myself included!), but the digs keep coming. Just this morning I saw, yet again, the Indiewire piece stating that original "Surpiria" director, Dario Argento claimed the new version lacked the spirit of the original. Why? Why now? I hate this type of journalism. But that seems to be Film Twitter wants. They need something to hate, Indiewire provides.
"Beautiful Boy" premiered just a few days after "Surpiria" and "Boy Erased" in Toronto, and this takedown was a bit different. Initially, the response was muted in both its praise and criticism. Perhaps the bloodthirsty culture of Twitter collectively decided to take a back seat due to the subject matter. Briefly. A lack of understanding of what the filmmakers were trying to portray and not enough writers who got it being allowed to see the film (ME!) gave way to the vitriol. I had a fellow Galeca member say he wouldn't even consider Chalamet because that would mean he would have to vote for "Beautiful Boy." SERIOUSLY? What? I kept my mouth shut (that Mission Statement has really come in handy!!) Eventually a botched campaign by Amazon (spending money on ads isn't enough, people!!!) gave us...me...the worst snub of this year, with Timothee Chalamet without his 2nd Oscar nomination.
Honestly, that snub may have been the nail in this year's Oscar season for me.
Does that mean I give up? No. Absolutely not. There are a few films left to discover and some films to revisit.
I am still unsure of how the next 19 days will look. I have time to look at every category, but will I? Who knows?
I'm hoping that the energy of the Oxford Film Festival and the movies themselves will propel me to the finish line and a much needed break from writing about film and instead creating it.
Next year is the 10th Anniversary of Awards Wiz. Will I go out with a bang...or will this be a new age for the site. Time will tell....
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