Before the Academy Awards last Sunday, the two big frontrunners for Best Picture were “Birdman” and “Boyhood.” While it wasn’t a surprise “Birdman” ended up with the big prize, it was a shock the film also took home Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. Once the shock settled in, and fans of “Boyhood” and “The Grand Budapest Hotel” calmed down, a few awards season followers started realizing that the Academy naturally has a soft spot for movies about their own industry. After all, the very first movie to win Best Picture went to “The Broadway Melody” 85 years before “Birdman.”
“Grand Hotel” (1932) and “The Great Ziegfeld” (1936) also focused on fictional and real-life celebrities, and Broadway ensemble “All About Eve” beat out Hollywood satire “Sunset Blvd.” for Best Picture in 1951. “Chicago” (2002) and “The Artist” (2011) were two of the more recent Best Picture winners to be about the celebrity and entertainment world, and even period pieces like “Amadeus” (1984) and “Shakespeare in Love” (1998) centered around fame and the arts. Two years ago, Ben Affleck’s Best Picture winner “Argo” had the plot of a fake Hollywood movie in production to save hostages in Iran. Now, since the award ceremony has been around for almost a century, making a film about Hollywood or show-business isn’t all it takes to win the big title.
“Singin’ in the Rain” (1952), “8½” (1963), “The Player” (1992), “Mulholland Dr.” (2001) and “Adaptation.” (2002) are considered some of the best movies about Hollywood, yet weren’t even nominated for Best Picture. And as mentioned already, the Academy chose the theatre piece “All About Eve” over “Sunset Blvd.,” though that was most likely because of Billy Wilder’s dark, shady portrayal of Hollywood that wasn’t common at the time of release. Just looking back at the beginning of Oscar season and seeing critics and award shows give most of the big accolades to “Boyhood” and “The Grand Budapest Hotel” and then ending with “Birdman” as the big winner at the Oscars goes to show that not everyone in the film industry thinks and votes as unanimously as it might have appeared. While it was almost a given that Richard Linklater was the frontrunner for Best Director with his 12 year project, the Academy ultimately preferred Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s one-shot trick technique.
The win also just goes to show how much good press and campaigning can affect a film’s chances at snagging the golden statue. “Boyhood” and “Birdman” were both fine films and it was fun watching the two contenders race to the big night. But in the end, personally, it’s watching the majority of movies won, nominated or overlooked and not stressing over your favorite winning that’s the most enjoyable way to experience awards season.
Megan Bianco is a movie reviewer and also contributes other entertainment related features and articles.