Today's magic number is 16. Let's talk 2016
Friday, March 11, 2022 at 12:27PM by Nathaniel R
It is 16 days until the Oscars. Since you're all being so freakishly quiet, let's talk about something we know you'll have an opinion about: 2016. Oscar was all about Emma Stone in La La Land and Moonlight in general with pockets of support for Arrival and Manchester by the Sea and Fences. And for some reason Oscar decided Mel Gibson was cool again via Hacksaw Ridge. If you could change one thing about the Oscar outcomes of 2016 what would it be?
I have one other question for you about the Oscars after the jump...
This was Oscar's Best Picture list (in rough presumed order of their preference given the nominations and outcomes). But seriously what was #10? It's so tough to know because nothing quite feels right. Films that were "in the conversation" as they say, due to precursors and hoopla were: Nocturnal Animals, Deadpool, Sully, Loving, Jackie, 20th Century Women. Beats me! None feel like they were even close given the nomination outcomes and/or the types of films they were. No international titles had enough heat either. The Salesman won the International Oscar but it wasn't even up for Screenplay like Farhadi's previous winner A Separation... and other popular foreign titles that year like The Handmaiden, Elle, Train to Busan, and Toni Erdmann were surely too "out there" for Oscar voters.
Was it Jackie despite that film being so divisive?
Nathaniel's 2016 Top Ten
My top ten went like so:
- 20th Century Women (Mike Mills)
- Moonlight (Barry Jenkins)
- The Handmaiden (Park Chan-wook)
- The Witch (Robert Eggers)
- La La Land (Damien Chazelle)
- Arrival (Denis Villeneuve)
- Jackie (Pablo Larraín)
- Love and Friendship (Whit Stillman)
- The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos)
- Embrace of the Serpent (Cirro Guerra)
Runners up: Fences and Little Men
But the public were like "Nah!" to my choices and Oscar's choice. They flocked to only visual effects franchises or animated features...
Top 10 Box Office Titles of 2016
We've been living in the hellhole of extremely limited public taste for over 10 years now with only franchise titles (usually visual effects extravaganzas) and animated films topping the charts. If you look back over the whole of cinematic history you'll find that there has literally never been a time like this when only one, maximum two, types of films were what the public wanted to seet. The only non-visual effects, non-franchisey, non-animated films (excluding 2020 an anomaly in every way since the year stopped a few months in) to become top ten public favourites in the past entire decade (!!!) were the concert-like biopic Bohemian Rhapsody (2018), the military drama American Sniper (2014), and the comedy Ted (2012). Just three titles in ten whole years. A Star is Born (2018) almost accomplished this but not quite and that's also a franchise in a way.
So don't believe the media when they say that Oscar tastes drifted away from the mainstream. It's the other way around. The public, like Oscar, used to have a fairly wide range of films they'd become obsessed with from dramas to visual effects spectacles to comedies, to biopics, to romances, to animated features to action flicks. They would all intermingle in the top audience favourites each year for over a century! I mean look at the much healthier variety from 1996, just twenty years earlier...
- Independence Day (visual fx spectacle)
- Twister (visual fx spectacle)
- Mission: Impossible (action franchise)
- Jerry Maguire (sports/romcom)
- Ransom (crime thriller)
- 101 Dalmatians (family film remake)
- The Rock (action)
- The Nutty Professor (comedy remake)
- The Birdcage (comedy remake of foreign film)
- A Time To Kill (drama based on a bestseller)
In the Aughts the great narrowing happened rapidly until there was next to no variety at all by the 2010s. Strange. Didn't mean to end on a bummer but how will we ever get out of this tailspin into homogeny? Will there only be superhero films released and maybe multiple Batman and Spider-Man titles in the top ten hits of 2031?
La La Land, Moonlight, Oscars (16), box office
Reader Comments (23)
People who know me would be shocked to hear me say I'm all good with MOONLIGHT winning Best Picture over my favorite film of that year (LA LA LAND). It gave us that viral moment after all. That said I would've been much happier if the latter nabbed Oscar wins for Actor (Gosling over Affleck) and Editing (over Hacksaw Ridge).
As for the 10th Best Picture nominee... I think you're right on JACKIE. It's the only film with 3 or more nominations that wasn't nominated for Picture.
I would certainly alter Best Actress out go Streep,Stone and Huppert and in come Bening,Adams and Chastain.
Garfield should have got in for Silence a far far better film and no one semed to like it.
Supporting categorys could do with some mixing up to Issey Ogata,Greta Gerwig,Trevante Rhodes,Hugh Grant,Ralph Fiennes,Molly Shannon,Maria Dizzia or Lily Gladstone.
For once the Best Film won Best Picture,Afflecks win is a good one to.
I really feel like The Lobster might have been 10th. It made it in screenplay and we know the Oscars also liked Dogtooth. This was part of the upward trajectory to all the love for The Favourite a few years later. People who really liked The Lobster really liked it, so I could see a good number of #1 votes but not enough down the ticket support to clear the voting threshold for the could-be 10 nominee field.
As for a change, I think Moonlight should’ve won Cinematography over La La Land.
Hacksaw Ridge would entirely disappear from the Oscars if I had a wish. Its nominations would go to 20th Century Women (Picture), Mike Mills (Directing), Andrew Garfield (Actor, but for Silence 😈), Deadpool (Editing, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing).
Good question. Sully is too straight-adult-male (and they already had Hacksaw Ridge and Hell or High Water in there), Loving too lowkey, Deadpool too light and Jackie too divisive. I think it was probably Nocturnal Animals, which had big stars and did well at the Golden Globes (ATJ's weird win) and at the Baftas (nominated for Best Director and Best Actor).
Nathaniel, would it be possible for TFE to cover the curren Best Actress race before the Oscars? I'm confused and I'd like to know what you guys are thinking!
JACKIE is a solid guess for the 10th spot, but I think it could also have been CAPTAIN FANTASTIC. That SAG Best Ensemble nomination was telling, and I seem to remember it picking up some steam towards the end there.
Nathaniel - I think you are overlooking American Sniper in your rundown of hits over the last decade. Arguably The Martian as well which had special effects but I'd say that wasn't really the main draw (like Ted). Hidden Figures was #14 for the year which is not too shabby.
I agree Jackie is most likely #10 for 2016, given it had Actress plus two other noms from distinct branches (Score and Costumes).
The Hacksaw Ridge noms remain deeply, deeply weird, especially for Director.
Most importantly, this is where Amy Adams should have won her Oscar.
My Top 10 for 2016 was:
1. Jackie
2, The Handmaiden
3. Embrace of the Serpent
4. Ixcanul
5. The BFG
6. Loving
7. The Salesman
8. A Monster Calls
9. The Jungle Book
10. Dheepan
As prejudiced as I am, I still don't see any of them coming close, not even Jackie, whose 3 nominations were the absolute minimum. They seemed to be voting for anything but. I actually think The Lobster might have been 10th..
As for my Oscar ballot, it would look like this:
Film: 1. La La Land 2. Hell or High Water 3. Hidden Figures 4. Fences 5. Arrival 6. Manchester by the Sea 7, Hacksaw Ridge 8. Moonlight 9. Lion (I'm just not a fan of Moonlight, but I don't hate it. None of the nominees were outright bad.)
Actor: Casey Affleck
Actress: Natalie Portman
S. Actor: Lucas Hedges
S. Actress: Viola Davis
Director: Damien Chazelle
O. Screenplay: Hell or High Water
A. Screenplay: Hidden Figures
Animated: My Life as a Zucchini (because of its screwy release schedule, I consider this a 2017 film where it was my #1 of the year, and would have been #1 in 2016, also)
Foreign: The Salesman
My single change for this year would be moving Viola Davis from supporting to lead. She would still easily win the Oscar.
One change would be disqualifying OJ: Made in America since it was really a TV docuseries and give the award to Ava for The 13th. The 10th might have been from Focus Features-Nocturnal Animals.
I hated Nocturnal Animals. The main story adds up to little of nothing, and story within the story is just beyond unpleasant. Michael Shannon does his thing, but I can't imagine anything on those pages that just screamed out to anyone. A huge step down for Ford after A Single Man, which was a fine marriage of style and effective storytelling.
I think that Jackie definitely would've been 10th. I don't recall it being nearly as divisive as Spencer, and with Adams WTF miss from Actress, Portman would've been a slam dunk if she hadn't already won (or even won so recently).
That Oscar telecast might have been the drunkest I've ever been. I'm a huge La La Land fan and will never forget opening that final bottle of champagne as it won. (and then mournfully having to finish it as it lost)
My top 10 went:
1. La La Land
2. Sing Street (its best original song snub baffles me to this day)
3. 20th Century Women
4. Arrival
5. The Handmaiden
6. Silence
7. The Lobster
8. Hail Caesar
9. Elle
10. Moonlight
In my top 10, it's...
1. The Handmaiden
2. Moonlight
3. The Neon Demon
4. Hunt for the Wilderpeople
5. Raw
6. I, Daniel Blake
7. Jackie
8. The Salesman
9. American Honey
10. Certain Women
Man, I wouldn't have Hacksaw Ridge nominated for Best Picture at all. I tried to watch that film and I couldn't take it seriously when they had that naked guy doing pull ups and do everything naked during basic training. Mel Gibson can eat shit now. Why doesn't he just move to Mar-a-Lago and fuck off?
In no particular order, and perhaps some forgetful omissions;
Elle
Toni Erdman
The Lobster
Moonlight
Arrival
The Handmaiden
The Witch
20th Century Women
Embrace of the Serpent
Aquarius
I still think about Isabelle Huppert, Sandra Huller and Colin Farrell in their respective films.
My top ten for 2016:
1. THE HANDMAIDEN (AH-GA-SSI)
2. MON ROI
3. HELL OR HIGH WATER
4. I, DANIEL BLAKE
5. JULIETA
6. SAND STORM (SUFAT CHOL)
7. THE SALESMAN (FORUSHANDE)
8. A MONSTER CALLS
9. CAPTAIN FANTASTIC
10. ONE WEEK AND A DAY (SHAVUA VE YOM)
MOONLIGHT was a 2017release here in Australia, and it topped my list for that year.
The number 10 question: I also think it was The Lobster. I L O V E that movie so much. The original screenplay is telling that there were support for that movie. Also The Handmaiden got some.
The best film of the year goes to The Handmaiden with The Lobster a close second and Elle a strong 3rd. My list for 2016:
01. The Handmaiden
02. The Lobster
03. Elle
04. Arrival
05. Hell or High Water
06. Hacksaw Ridge
07. The Student
08. Sand Storm
09. Raw
10. The Red Turtle
Best Picture: The Handmaiden
Best Director: The Lobster
Best Actress: Isabelle Huppert
Best Actor: Pyotr Skvortsov
Best Supporting Actress: Naomie Harris
Best Supporting Actor: Lucas Hedge
Original Screenplay: The Lobster
Adapted Screenplay: The Handmaiden
Best animated feature: The Red Turtle
Foreign Language: The Student
The one outcome I would change about the 2016 Oscars is Best Actress. That was Isabelle Huppert's, hands down!
Love Moonlight but I think the Academy should have stuck to La La Land.
I'm pretty accepting of Oscar snubs in general but the two I can't let go of (ever) are Rachel Getting Married and 20th Century Women.
My top 10:
1.Moonlight
2.Manchester by the sea
3.Elle
4.The handmaiden
5.Your name
6.Arrival
7.LaLa land
8.El ciudadano ilustre
9.Toni Errdman
10.Jackie
AMY ADAMS, Best Actress, “Arrival”
Films I liked and gave more attention to:
20th CENTURY WOMEN: Mike Mills (Director), Annette Bening (Best Actress).
CERTAIN WOMEN: Kelly Reichardt (Director), Lily Gladstone (Best Supporting Actress).
QUEEN OF KATWE: Mira Nair (Director), David Oyelowo (Supporting Actor), Lupita Nyong’o (Supporting Actress), Adapted Screenplay
HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE: Sam Neill (Supporting Actor), Adapted Screenplay.
THE NICE GUYS: Original Screenplay, Ryan Gosling (Best Actor), Russell Crowe (Best Actor)
And a few more wishes for nominations:
- Alden Ehrenreich, Best Supporting Actor, “Hail, Caesar”
- Taraji P. Henson, Best Actress, “Hidden Figures”
- Michael Shannon, Best Actor, “Midnight Special”
- Kirsten Dunst, Best Supporting Actress, “Midnight Special”
- Joel Edgerton, Best Actor, “Loving”
"So don't believe the media when they say that Oscar tastes drifted away from the mainstream. It's the other way around."
^^^. This. And don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
Hard to believe it, but nobody complained that SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE or BATMAN didn't get Best Picture nods, and everyone you knew went to see stuff like TERMS OF ENDEARMENT, GANDHI, and RAIN MAN.
Soooooooo....
I've haven't seen those last three movies (clips, sure, but I didn't see any of them on the big screen) and I cried like a baby when Superman (which I saw three times on the big screen) wasn't nominated for Best Picture and Best Actor. Does that mean I was ahead of my time?