Another "Prometheus" Mystery: Will There Be Oscar Play?
Saturday, June 23, 2012 at 9:43AM Ridley Scott's Alien franchise prequel Prometheus should probably be a film I take great objection to. The first reason I ever loved the series (beyond Lt. Ellen Ripley, queen of all action heroines) was how it doubled as an ever evolving adventurous launch pad for young auteurs. It's got the same premise virtually every time so you sit back and immediately see the director's vision in sharp relief against each previous or subsequent film. Even the lesser entries in the series have this to recommend them and in the 90s, even after Alien Ressurection I wanted them to keep making Alien films so we could see it through the different set of rising auteur eyes each time. I didn't really want Ridley Scott to go back for this reason. I especially didn't want him to go back back. Backstory and prequels -- conceptually, they are like safety nets for the imagination. Don't be afraid of wondering... we'll catch you!
Where is the mystery? Or rather, why don't people want more of it. Why do you they want so many answers?
Thankfully, Prometheus doesn't rob the Alien franchise of all of its mystery and magic. It's not midi-chlorian level obnoxious. And given the screenplay and execution, for better and worse, the new film creates its own mysteries. Some or these are intentional and some surely not, some internal some external. What did David⁸ say to The Engineer in the penultimate scene? Is the MPAA's request that Ridley Scott remove the entire abortion sequence -- not so coincidentally the strongest sequence in the film -- the dumbest thing they've done since Blue Valentine's NC17? Or is it just the thousandth priceless example of how aesthetically stupid they remain and or the millionth piece of case evidence that they should never be allowed anywhere near art!
This week since I know I desperately need to update the Oscar predictions I've been thinking of another Prometheus-specific mystery. Will it have an awards future? [Aliens & Oscars after the jump]
Surely the disappointment many moviegoers and critics felt for it could put a damper on its awards potential. But then again, how many blockbusters vying for the craft awards are as ambitious. Let's look at the Alien franchise's past Oscar pull to size it up.
ALIEN (1979)
"In space no one can hear you scream" went the instant-classic tagline but in movie theaters people could definitely hear you. Alien was a smash hit -- according to box office mojo's "adjusted for inflation" math, it would have earned roughly $250 million in today's dollars (the best in the series) -- and made stars out of its lead Sigourney Weaver and its guiding hand Ridley Scott. Oscar noticed, at least in the most obvious ways it could.
1 Oscar Win: Best Visual Effects
1 Additional Nomination: Best Art Direction (a tough category that year with two genius films in the mix: All That Jazz (winner) and Apocalypse Now.)
ALIENS (1986)
James Cameron's follow up was also a huge hit finishing in the top ten box office hits of its year and establishing Cameron as the action director of the late 20th century (He had already made the hugely profitable low-budget Terminator but this one was twice as big at the box office). Aliens ended its year of success with the most Oscar nominations of any film that wasn't a Best Picture nominee (only Platoon and A Room With a View won more nominations); it's acid blood nearly disintegrated Oscar's Heavily Armored Anti-Genre Defense (Best Actress & Editing!). In a year with a flexible number of Best Picture nominees as we have now, it definitely would have scored. The other high profile contenders with multiple nominations that year either weren't greeted with euphoria (The Color of Money, Peggy Sue Got Married) or weren't taken all that seriously (Top Gun, Little Shop of Horrors) or were too daring for AMPAS to embrace en masse (Blue Velvet).
2 Oscar Wins: Sound Editing, Visual Effects
5 Additional Nominations: Best Actress, Art Direction, Editing, Score, and Sound
ALIEN³ (1992)
David Fincher was the third future A list auteur in three films (perfect score!) to use the franchise as launching pad. Of course at the time Alien³ was not at all well received by critics or audiences (who were furious within the first frames -- how dare he kill off Newt!). Fincher's bright future was doubted by many. Oscar still peeked in.
1 Oscar Nomination: Visual Effects
ALIEN RESURRECTION (1996)
Jean Pierre Jeunet's weird watery fourth installment had Sigourney's eery Ripley clone (It was Ripley⁸ if I recall correctly making David⁸ a wonderful symmetry in the new film) to recommend it but the rest of it was largely regarded as a misfire flopping in the US.
Oscar Attention: None
Which brings us to...
PROMETHEUS (2012)
It can't rightly be called a flop but given its gargantuan budget it's not a true blockbuster either. It can't rightly be called beloved but it has its passionate defenders leaving it somewhere smack dab in the middle of the Alien franchise in terms of critical and audience reception. So where are we with its Oscar potential. It could all come down to the strength and commitment of whatever campaign emerges. If they bother.
What does this mean for Oscar?
BEST BET: Visual Effects is its best bet since 3 of the 4 films have scored there and if Prometheus is anything at all its visually impressive.
MAYBE: Sound Mixing and Editing Oscar's sound branch has only notice this franchise once but given the technically complex work and the freshness of the franchise again after such a long slumber, their ears might prick up.
TOUGH CALL: Arthur Max (Art Direction) Ridley Scott famously because his career as an art director and it always shows Prometheus is hugely ambitious in this particular field but will Oscar care? Only the first Alien film scored in this arena though the Alien films gain much power from those cramped, gooey, foreboding dark sets. It could happen again but the visual categories often err on the side of handsome appointings in Prestige Period Pieces so we'll see. It could be helpful that Max has been twice nominated while working with Scott (American Gangster & Gladiator)
LONG SHOTS: Darius Wolski (Cinematography) has yet to be nominated but he's a "name" DP and also an AMPAS member; Pietro Scalia (Editing) is a two time winner / four time nominee and half of his Oscar successes come from the Ridley Scott filmography.
EXTREME LONG SHOTS: Everything else but especially Supporting Actor, Michael Fassbender. Genre performances almost never factor for the Academy's acting branch but he brings an absurd amount of nuance and menace and curiousity to the role while never making David⁸ feel inauthentically authentic, if you know what I mean. Advanced Articial Intelligence. Authentically Evolved Actor [Serious Film considers him the *only* contender thus far in 2012]
We haven't discussed this film much given that I didn't review it. It's one of those films where I understand virtually every criticism but I was (mostly) enthralled despite the hard-to-miss missteps. Its best sequences and images linger so points for that.
What did you make of it and do you see any Oscar potential?
Reader Comments (16)
So very much agreed with your final paragraph there, although I laugh at the people who claim "plot holes" at things that are nothing of the sort. Characters taking their masks off is a silly decision, yes, especially given the fact that they work with science, but it's not a plot hole.
As for Oscar, I think visual effects and art direction are it. I could actually see Fassbender getting nominated IF he also had a more typical lead role in contention as well. Consider Jamie Foxx. If he had something that really stoked their fires they might also feel to give him a "we really liked you this year, here have another nomination" nod. Alas...
I will say though that supporting actor has yet again been dead air so far this year.
I feel like Fassbender should be nominated because he gave a fantastic and completely dominating performance in the film. I'm not holding my breath. Kirsten Dunst couldn't get nominated for lighter sci-fi after winning at Cannes and Michael Shannon got no momentum in an even stranger sci-fi/dark fantasy film with a previous nomination under his belt. The long shot is that the snub for Shame means enough people vote for Fassbender just to vote for Fassbender.
Visual Effects, Makeup, and Sound Editing seem like strong bets. There's a fantastic video going around where the sound team explain how they made all the spacey sounds. Turns out they used soda cans and Xerox machines for the doors.
I'd like to think Theron could also be a long shot, but she doesn't get the big showy moments that Fassbender or Rapace do. Rapace gets the big flashy role that could get momentum, but her character is a little underbaked.
Boy am I glad I saw this before the whole internet told me I was supposed to hate it, because I liked it. Also I was absurdly pleased to discover the ancient language featured was done with the aid of the language center at my school in London. Would that Fassbender could have come by...
Am I the only one who LOVED Rapace? I mean, once again after Millennium?
I think Fassbender might be more than an extremely long shot. It is probably the most talked about performance of the year so far and one of the only parts of the film to receive praise from all quarters. If the film was more loved he'd be a cert for a nomination but, depending on how the rest of the year goes, I still think he has a definite chance. It reminds me a bit of Johnny Depp in Pirates but, then again, it could be more of an Andy Serkis in Rise of Planet of the Apes thing.
I really liked the costumes too- maybe not the Academy's thing but I think they're worthy of consideration. I loved how the spacesuits were lit from within- when the first stills from the film came out I thought everyone's head was badly photoshopped in but it looked fantastic on screen. I thought David's cropped pants and sandals combo was great and also that wide-necked hoodie the biologist had (I want one) and Charlize's sharp suit, of course.
God, I loved Fassy in this. But that opening scene and the 'abortion' were just fantastic.
Fassbender's first nomination will come from his supporting performance in 12 Years A Slave. If Prometheus wasn't a genre film and had a stronger reception, he'd be a shoo-in for David after his CRIMINAL snub last year.
Cal Roth - Ya ain't alone, mate, I loved Rapace too. Fassbender was simply splendid - a real solid support turn - but it was Noomi's film; her's was the film's key character arc.
cal roth, I also liked Noomi Rapace in this. I just don't know if that arc, especially with that big scene, is enough to overcome the sci-fi boundaries. It took Sigourney Weaver dragging a young girl through an outer space nightmare to get recognized for sci-fi acting. Rapace, great as she was, played a character that is very much in the sci-fi wheelhouse.
How many voters are going to A) get through enough of Prometheus to see her acting and B) get through the super graphic scene to see her character arc actually open up to something new and interesting in the film?
I was as impressed as most people watching Prometheus but I can't see it getting any traction in the design categories simply because it neither pushed boundaries or taken significant box office receipts.
And as for Fassbender - that's silly season wishful thinking - he's still got a few years before getting a nod.
It could be nominated for fx, and art direction- the make up was terrible specially that really fake old age job. If there is a sequel I hope they find better screenwriters.
@BJT
Fassbender's not that young (the Academy has a strong bias against young actors), so he'll get a nomination soon if he keeps it up.
Sorry, but Prometheus should only be nominated for Razzie Awards!
I loved Noomi in Prometheus and was so happy when Charlize died , and Mr. Fassbender stole the show for me.
I hope James Cameron makes a sequel :) just think about it... Alien was grate but Aliens kicked ass! I can see it now " pissed off archeologist and robot head kicking our makers asses"
Was so happy not to encounter spoilers in this thread before i see this later in the week. Then Jeff commented....
"It's not midi-chlorian level obnoxious."
Turning the enigmatic elephantine monstrosity that is the Space Jockey into an albino bodybuilder who created humanity? You bet your ass that's midichlorian level obnoxious. That's like, if half of Phantom Menace had centered around looking for the source of Midi-Chlorians, and it turns out they came from Earth.