Hurt Locker to blindside Avatar at Oscars?
No wonder she's up for best picture. Look at the size of that camera
Well, hold the blue body paint and keep Pandora in her box, it looks as though Avatar might no longer actually be the cast-iron shoo-in to win the Best Picture at the Oscars everyone had it down for.
James Cameron’s 3D film had been favourite to clinch the gong long before the Oscar shortlist was even published, but now the Hurt Locker has sneaked up on the rails and got its nose in front. Kathryn Bigalow’s movie swept the board at the BAFTAs last month, taking six awards and leaving Cameron looking like he’d just been gazumped by an ex-wife – which in fact is exactly what had just happened.
Now, the general consensus is that while you can generally rely on the British Film Academy to show a bit of class and good taste in their choice of best film, their decision-making bears little relation to that of the Oscar judges. As we know, as far as Americans are concerned bigger is better, so there is more of a tendency to plump for your box-office juggernauts. And they don’t come much bigger than Avatar, which is the highest-grossing movie of all time.
However, recent evidence suggests that the BAFTAs are beginning to hold greater sway on their translatlantic equivalent. Variety magazine recently said that the two academies have “gradually converged in their selections” as was evidenced last year when both London and Hollywood picked the same five nominees and chose Slumdog Millionaire as best picture.
In truth there is no comparison between Hurt Locker and Avatar. While Avatar is a visual experience, with extraordinary special effects, it barely qualifies as a film. A very long 2 hrs 42 mins of CGI images of blue people with strange shaped heads maybe has its place in an art museum – but not in my local Multiplex. And the fact that the plot, which is actually a rip-off of Dances With Wolves, is so spoon-fed that they can’t think of a better name for a rare rock than ‘Unobtanium’ is an insult to any self-respecting viewers’ intelligence.
Hurt Locker by contrast, has plot, dialogue, character development, thoughtful direction by that cougar Ms Bigalow and actors that don’t look like something out of a Smurfs Movie. In other words, it’s a film – much like all the nominees in Foreign Language Film category, which are also all head and shoulders above Avatar.
Unfortunately, A Prophet and The White Ribbon don’t qualify for the Best Picture award, presumably on the grounds that they would beat the Americans into second place, like Life Is Beautiful did back in 1999. So they stick them in the Best Johnny Foreigner section and hope that nobody notices.
So if there is any justice in this world, which I think we can agree there isn’t (Titanic, Yawn of the Rings anyone?) then Hurt Locker will clean up on Sunday night. Avatar? Ava word…
Bafta vs Oscars: The winners
2001
Baftas: Jamie Bell, Julia Roberts, Gladiator
Oscars: Russell Crowe, Julia Roberts, Gladiator
2002
Baftas: Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Lord of the Rings (Fellowship of the Rings)
Oscars: Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, A Beautiful Mind
2003
Baftas: Daniel Day-Lewis, Nicole Kidman, The Pianist
Oscars: Adrien Brody, Nicole Kidman, Chicago
2004
Baftas: Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Lord of the Rings (The Return of the King)
Oscars: Sean Penn, Charlize Theron, Lord of the Rings (The Return of the King)
2005
Baftas: Jamie Foxx, Imelda Staunton, The Aviator
Oscars: Jamie Foxx, Hilary Swank, Million Dollar Baby
2006
Baftas: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Reese Witherspoon, Brokeback Mountain
Oscars: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Reese Witherspoon, Brokeback Mountain
2007
Baftas: Forest Whitaker, Helen Mirren, The Queen
Oscars: Forest Whitaker, Helen Mirren, The Departed
2008
Baftas: Daniel Day-Lewis, Marion Cotillard, Atonement
Oscars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Marion Cotillard, No Country for Old Men
2009
Baftas: Mickey Rourke, Kate Winslet, Slumdog Millionaire
Oscars: Sean Penn, Kate Winslet, Slumdog Millionaire
2010
Baftas: Colin Firth, Carey Mulligan, The Hurt Locker
Oscars?: Jeff Bridges? Sandra Bullock? The Hurt Locker?
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