By Matthew Bitz
It's that time of year again folks, when the stars come out in full force and shine like no other night of the year. It's Oscar time, and the nominations are in.
This year, however, will be different than years past, because unlike the big winners of the past few years, with high-powered stars and budgets, this year is the year for the films on a smaller scale. Not at all do I want to give the impression that the quality of the films is any less but simply that Hollywood has, if only temporarily, gotten away from the massive epics of years past that have dominated the quest for the little gold men.
Films like Titanic, Braveheart, Saving Private Ryan, and Shakespeare in Love are not what we are going to see on Sunday.
Instead, films like American Beauty, The Cider House Rules, The Insider, The Sixth Sense, and The Green Mile will be the contenders for the coveted Best Picture statuette.
In fact, all the categories this year are filled, not with legends, but with talented actors, editors, directors, and others who now have a chance to make their mark on Hollywood and the viewers and the fans.
And I have to say that I think this is the sort of thing that is good for the Academy, maybe sometimes its good to give recognition not to films that dazzle, but ones that are great without the glitz and hype of having a hotshot of some sort on the set.
That maybe this will give a chance to some of the up and coming stars in Tinseltown to make real names for themselves. For instance, Sam Mendes, the director of American Beauty, has never directed onscreen before and he has been nominated for best director of a film. This is the kind of thing that would get overlooked in a normal year at the Oscars.
In their own way, the Awards should be a little bit better this year than last in that we will get to see more of the gold and glory go to those who have been passed over or simply not seen. If you like the underdogs, then I suggest that you tune in Sunday night to see who walks down the red carpet and just who walks out with a trophy under their arm.
