In case you want to keep your ear to the ground about the feature length documentaries that may make up the five nominees at the academy awards, I have compiled a list of movies that are on the academy “short list” and where you can find them right now to stream. Although all of them aren’t on here, I think there’s enough to sink your teeth into. Note: I listed only the cheapest option from JustWatch so your particular streaming service may be available also. I also erred on the side of popularity. In the cases where a movie was free on multiple platforms, both are listed.
The fourth episode of The Media By Us pan-media podcast, Talkie Talk – a very special episode.
In this episode, we have Brent, Chris, TJ and David go through an extensive town-hall style debate to see which movies should win in every category of the 2017 Academy Awards. The winners… may surprise you. The discussion… just may save your life. After the jump, winners of the discussion are posted – so only click if you want to ruin the surprise.
Later in the week, we’ll go back to our normal format (Homework, Watchlist, Main Topic).
The fourth episode of The Media By Us pan-media podcast, Talkie Talk – a very special episode.
In this episode, we have Brent, Chris, TJ and David go through an extensive town-hall style debate to see which movies should win in every category of the 2017 Academy Awards. The winners… may surprise you. The discussion… just may save your life. After the jump, winners of the discussion are posted – so only click if you want to ruin the surprise.
Later in the week, we’ll go back to our normal format (Homework, Watchlist, Main Topic).
The official The Media By Us Oscar prediction showdown between TJ and David. Posted here for posterity, TJ and David talk through every single category for the February 26th ceremony:
(Image: DB Movies Blog)`
BEST SHORT: ANIMATED / LIVE ACTION / DOCUMENTARY
TJ: So, let’s start with the shorts. I’ve only seen one. But I’m picking it to win Best Animated Short. Piperwas adorable.
David: Piper should be the leading candidate. It has also been awhile since Pixar has one in Best Animated Short – a lot of upsets.
TJ: And with Pixar not having a nomination in the feature category, this could be a decent secondary prize for the studio.
David: Poor Pixar. I hope the billions help. I have not seen nor will see any short for this year. So I’ll take your word.
TJ: It was good. I’ll watch them before the ceremony, I hope. I’m taking Joe’s Violin and Ennemis Interieurs for Doc Short and Live Action Short respectively. Those two categories seem a lot closer than Animated Short.
David: I like to go with the saddest sounding ones, not knowing a lot about them. Give me La Femme et la TGV (film), Blind Vasha(animated) and 4.1 Miles (doc) as some wild cards. Shorts are typically ballot bloodbaths – separating ties and declaring winners
TJ: Nice. I picked Joe’s Violinin hopes that it’s just 5 minutes of my old friend Joe holding a violin. I’d vote for that.
And Then There Were Ten – in which our intrepid hero goes back and expands the Academy Award Best Picture nominations to ten nominations, and goes about filling those hypothetical slots. This time – it’s 2008 – the previous entry is The Dark Knight (Box Office Hero).
Chapter 2: Actors Acting for Acting Actors (Doubt)
Streep, Amy, and Hoffman on their debut EP cover art (image: fanart.tv)
The Actors’ showcase is a great way for a film to get its foot in the Academy door. More than that, an actor-friendly film is an established pathway to not just multiple acting nominations, but typically a Best Picture nomination as well. The Academy has only about 6,000 members – nearly a fourth of the members are actors. It is not a stretch to posit that Academy members are capable and even pre-dispositioned to recognize its own department as the key to an exceptional film. Our beloved statistics bear this out as well.
And Then There Were Ten – in which our intrepid hero goes back and expands the Academy Award Best Picture nominations to ten nominations, and goes about filling those hypothetical slots. This time – it’s 2008
Chapter 1: The Box Office Hero the Academy Deserves, Not the One It Needs Right Now (The Dark Knight)
This candidate is my entire reason for coming up with this series. And many believe that this candidate missing out is the reason for the expansion. If you want to drive ratings for the broadcast ceremony, you want to select a movie that people have seen – and seen again – to the tune of over a billion in global box office. That would be nice. It also helps when a well-known movie is good.
Welcome to the first episode of The Media By Us pan-media podcast, Talkie Talk.
In this episode (split into two parts), we have TJ, Brent, Chris and David discuss what they’ve been watching before going into predicting the Academy Award Nominations.
Talkie Talk Episode 0 – Part 1 of 2
(Intro, What We’ve Been Watching/Playing, Oscars: Brief Discussions – Tech categories)
Talkie Talk Episode 0 – Part 2 of 2
(Continued Oscars: Deep Dives – Writing, Acting, Directing, Best Picture, Outro)
The Academy Awards. Where white people are finally recognized.
The Academy Awards holds a special place for many people – for some, it is a celebration of cinema, competition and glamour, with warm, family-time memories spent watching tuxedos and sparkling dresses exchange gold statues. For others, it is a backslapping, near-masturbatory, never-ending, annual slog about movies that you do not care about. And for a select portion of the population – it is an afterthought.
For years now, a cottage industry (which is an understatement – more like a mansion industry) has cropped up around prognosticating who gets what on the big night. For the awards nerds out there, the cinema equivalent of the Super Bowl is Oscar Nomination Day. The saying goes, it is an honor to be nominated – and there is truth to that. There are those among us who know when Nomination Day is coming up, and make plans to tune in the live webcast of the announcements early in the morning.
