tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32070565829278430462024-03-13T18:42:21.262-07:00Rom-Com QueenRom-Com Queenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08967938806061839908noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207056582927843046.post-34124490838100641802010-03-31T19:57:00.000-07:002010-03-31T19:58:44.879-07:00No Invitation to the Dance<!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black">The Academy Awards telecast was over a month ago, and I still can’t get the bad taste out of my mouth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>There were changes to the format of the show that many liked. The Academy likes to keep with tradition. Besides running over time, Romantic Comedies were denied once again a place among BEST PICTURE nominees. I fool-heartedly thought that with the expansion of the category to 10 nominees, surely one romantic-comedy (rom-com) would be given a nod. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black">Not even “500 Days of Summer,” a film that grossed over $32 million domestically was given a spot among the additional six nominees. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It’s a quirky romance that throws us back to classic-teen romance films of the 80’s with a soundtrack that resonates with many.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>(Isn’t this a little bit how we all felt about Forrest Gump, Best Picture winner of 1994?) Below are the nominees and directors of the 82<sup>nd</sup> Annual Academy Awards. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Best Picture winner is in bold.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:10.0pt;margin-bottom: 10.0pt;margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in;mso-text-indent-alt:-.5in;line-height: 16.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:11.0pt .5in; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";color:black"><span style="mso-list:Ignore"><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:13.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black">“<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">Avatar</span>” James Cameron and Jon Landau, Producers<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:10.0pt;margin-bottom: 10.0pt;margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in;mso-text-indent-alt:-.5in;line-height: 16.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:11.0pt .5in; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";color:black"><span style="mso-list:Ignore"><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:13.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black">“<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">The Blind Side</span>” Gil Netter, Andrew A. Kosove and Broderick Johnson, Producers<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:10.0pt;margin-bottom: 10.0pt;margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in;mso-text-indent-alt:-.5in;line-height: 16.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:11.0pt .5in; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";color:black"><span style="mso-list:Ignore"><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:13.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black">“<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">District 9</span>” Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham, Producers<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:10.0pt;margin-bottom: 10.0pt;margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in;mso-text-indent-alt:-.5in;line-height: 16.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:11.0pt .5in; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";color:black"><span style="mso-list:Ignore"><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:13.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black">“<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">An Education</span>” Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey, Producers<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in;mso-text-indent-alt: -.5in;line-height:16.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:11.0pt .5in;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;color:black"><a href="http://aaspeechesdb.oscars.org/ics-wpd/url.ashx?id=082-17&qn=AAspeeches"><span style="color:black">“</span><span style="color:black;text-decoration:none; text-underline:none">The Hurt Locker</span><span style="color:black">”</span></a> Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Nicolas Chartier and Greg Shapiro, Producers<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:10.0pt;margin-bottom: 10.0pt;margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in;mso-text-indent-alt:-.5in;line-height: 16.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:11.0pt .5in; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";color:black"><span style="mso-list:Ignore"><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:13.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black">“<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">Inglourious Basterds</span>” Lawrence Bender, Producer<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:10.0pt;margin-bottom: 10.0pt;margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in;mso-text-indent-alt:-.5in;line-height: 16.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:11.0pt .5in; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";color:black"><span style="mso-list:Ignore"><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:13.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black">“<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire</span>” Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness, Producers<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:10.0pt;margin-bottom: 10.0pt;margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in;mso-text-indent-alt:-.5in;line-height: 16.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:11.0pt .5in; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";color:black"><span style="mso-list:Ignore"><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:13.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black">“<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">A Serious Man</span>” Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, Producers<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:10.0pt;margin-bottom: 10.0pt;margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in;mso-text-indent-alt:-.5in;line-height: 16.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:11.0pt .5in; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";color:black"><span style="mso-list:Ignore"><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:13.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black">“<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">Up</span>” Jonas Rivera, Producer<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:10.0pt;margin-bottom: 10.0pt;margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.5in;mso-text-indent-alt:-.5in;line-height: 16.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:11.0pt .5in; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";color:black"><span style="mso-list:Ignore"><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:13.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black">“<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">Up in the Air</span>” Daniel Dubiecki, Ivan Reitman and Jason Reitman, Producers<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black">$32 million might not be great compared to “Avatar,” a film that grossed over $742 million domestically and is still growing, but $32 million it is still over $16 million more than what our best picture winner made. And, let’s face it, romantic comedies have had historically a greater life in movie sales and rentals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>What does it take for a rom-com to be nominated for best picture? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In the Academy’s 82-year history, here is the short list of rom-com films that were dubbed “Best Picture”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black">“It Happened One Night” – 1934<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black">“The Apartment” – 1960<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black">“My Fair Lady” – 1964<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black">“Annie Hall” – 1977<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black">“Shakespeare in Love” – 1998<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black">Maybe these 10 films of the 82<sup>nd</sup> Academy Awards are nominated because during these bleak times, they remind us of who we are and what we’re struggling against while giving us hope. Nonetheless, all I can say is: “Where’s the love Academy?”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <!--EndFragment-->Rom-Com Queenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08967938806061839908noreply@blogger.com0