I thought for fun I'd collect several bits from conversations to share with y'all. A couple of the following bits were said directly to me, some were part of group conversations, some were merely overheard at screenings or events. All are anonymous and shall remain so of course but are fun for awards geeks and movie fanatics to think about. I am not a fiction writer so these are all actual quotes (or paraphrasals, rather, since I don't walk around with a tape recorder.) One thing that's important to remember but easy to forget about the Oscars is that the 6000+ voting members are individuals with individual taste. They are no monolithic unit though the world likes to imagine them sharing one gold plated borg-mind.
While mostly it is fun to talk with voters, one discouraging thing you quickly realize is true that I'd personally always hoped was false is this: many of the voters wait until right about now to start watching the movies. A lot of conversational roads have abrupt dead ends like "I haven't seen that yet but it's on the stack!" In short: they don't go to the movies as often as movie fanatics. Or, as one actress told me recently, "I see a lot of movies but I see them either long before they're in cinemas or long after." It made a lot of sense to me once I stopped to consider the inside mechanics of this Business we call Show.
On to the (silent) sound bytes on My Week With Marilyn, Moneyball, The Artist, Young Adult and more.
On the two warring Best Actress impersonations this year.
man: Michelle Williams was just channeling Marilyn Monroe, wasn't she? Amazing.
woman: Oh, I disagree. Look up any Marilyn clip on YouTube. [Reverently] Did you see Meryl's?
man: Yes. To me... [Pause] To me she's just a brilliant technician."
Moneyball
man: Brad Pitt was great. So funny and so much soul.
other man: That's all Aaron Sorkin!
The Iron Lady
I couldn't wait for it be over!"
The Artist
[in response to others gushing] Sure, I liked it. It's very well made. But it's just a confection."
The Help [conversation about Viola]
I'll probably nominate her."
The Help [conversation about Octavia]
She's totally going to win."
Shame
I couldn't get past all that fucking and sucking at first. But people kept saying to me but look at the pain in their eyes. And I've been thinking about it."
Young Adult
I don't think she took it deep enough. She stayed on one level."
Drive
older man: I loved that.
older woman: [makes grimacing face]
younger woman: Me too."
A shrugged response to "What's your favorite?"
I still like Rise of the Planet of the Apes best."