The Big Picture: Polarity Contest

darkrage6

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Pyrian said:
"So... That happened."
Hah! Best comeback line. Welcome back.

marioandsonic said:
Who's next, Jim Sterling?
Don't get your hopes up. Sterling enjoys his independence.
Yeah Jim does not want to be under the thumb of a corporation, he said that would feel like a step backwards, and I don't blame him one bit, as his views actually went up big time after he left The Escapist.
 

darkrage6

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Pyrian said:
"So... That happened."
Hah! Best comeback line. Welcome back.

marioandsonic said:
Who's next, Jim Sterling?
Don't get your hopes up. Sterling enjoys his independence.
Yeah Jim does not want to be under the thumb of a corporation, he said that would feel like a step backwards, and I don't blame him one bit, as his views actually went up big time after he left The Escapist.
The Gentleman said:
darkrage6 said:
Welcome back Bob, don't those alt-right dumbfucks keep ya down! I wonder if Escape to the Movies is also coming back?
I guess that may depend on his contract with Geek.com. I rather like his movie reviews generally (though I personally prefer the prior style which utilized clips rather than speaking at a camera, but YouTube's MDCA screen killed that, so it's been balanced out with quantity so we get to see some lesser-known gems, including things like TV one-shot documentaries that are particularly topical), so I'll watch them wherever they end up.
I don't think it killed that considering this episode had plenty of movie clips in it.
 

darkrage6

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Pyrian said:
"So... That happened."
Hah! Best comeback line. Welcome back.

marioandsonic said:
Who's next, Jim Sterling?
Don't get your hopes up. Sterling enjoys his independence.
Yeah Jim does not want to be under the thumb of a corporation, he said that would feel like a step backwards, and I don't blame him one bit, as his views actually went up big time after he left The Escapist.
The Gentleman said:
darkrage6 said:
Welcome back Bob, don't those alt-right dumbfucks keep ya down! I wonder if Escape to the Movies is also coming back?
I guess that may depend on his contract with Geek.com. I rather like his movie reviews generally (though I personally prefer the prior style which utilized clips rather than speaking at a camera, but YouTube's MDCA screen killed that, so it's been balanced out with quantity so we get to see some lesser-known gems, including things like TV one-shot documentaries that are particularly topical), so I'll watch them wherever they end up.
I don't think it killed that considering this episode had plenty of movie clips in it.
Naqel said:
I like Bob's content, so long as he's not telling me I should be genocided for not worshiping his progressive idols, I'll be happy to listen to this.
Bob said no such thing, that's a bullshit lie. Trump supporters can kiss my ass, anyone who still supports after the lengthy list of guilty verdicts is fucked in the head.
 

darkrage6

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Remus said:
WB Bob, and yea I agree. The whole idea was likely brought about by Disney to add some gold to the stacks of money the Marvel films are making. It took 3 films for LOTR to get recognition, not so much for ROTK as a singular film but as a full body of work. That came about as a 10-award streak that Peter Jackson simply was unable to carry on his own near the end. And this was a film series based on a novel, not comic books which, regardless of actual content, will always be viewed as children's fare and therefore unworthy of recognition. Even with the oodles of money and the fanfare, we are 20 films in now, these films don't quite have the dramatic hits, the historical gravitas, the Italian-sounding orchestral numbers that the more oscar-baitey films seem to carry.

A small part of me hopes that the academy goes through with the award AND gives it to Black Panther if only to ensure that the resulting backlash would guarantee it never happens again. It will be forever viewed as the most racist thing the academy has ever done.
Speaking of which i'd like to see a Big Picture episode on Oscar Bait films and how they are detrimental to the Oscars as a whole since they only cater to the tastes of a select few people(those people being the voters, who are almost all middle aged and old straight white men), there have been far too many undeserving Best Picture winners(English Patient, Titanic, Shakespeare in Love, Crash, King's Speech, The Artist, The Reader, Chicago, American Beauty and A Beautiful Mind all come to mind) that stole the thunder out from far more deserving films, and that's only going to get worse with these changes.
 

darkrage6

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PsychedelicDiamond said:
Even caring more about movies than the average person, I can't claim I ever enjoyed the Oscars much. Watching rich people congratulate each other is something I have extremely little tolerance for. Making a new category for popular movies isn't gonna do anything to change that. The idea itself, though... I don't know, popularity is something mostly determined by success and if that's what they're gonna go for, they might just give it to the highest grossing movie of the year. The thing about the Oscar is that it's given to movies for their alleged quality as decided by a jury of alleged experts. Giving popular movies their own category raises the question what determines if a movie is popular or not and by which standards to judge its qualities. Don't get me wrong, I want to see a Michael Bay movie win a Best Picture award as much as the next guy (Actually, no, I 'm pretty sure I want to see a Michael Bay movie win a Best Picture Award much more than the next guy) but to make a seperate category so that the Academy can acknowledge those superhero movies that kids love... well, seems like a marketing gimmick to me.

At that point, why not just swallow your pride and make a category for Best Action Movie? It would, effectively, amount to the same thing and come off as much less condescending than the implicit "We don't actually care for these movies but the peasants seem to enjoy them" that the term "Best Popular Movie" has.

Oh, and... good to have you back.
Me either, i'm a guy who likes popular movies that Oscar fans and voters love to crap all over(I.E. Transformers series, the live-action Ninja Turtles films, DCEU films besides Wonder Woman, Amazing Spider-Man films, Battleship, etc) so i've got zero tolerance for long-winded ego stroking. Now the Oscars are only a standout when something bizarre happens(the Moonlight mishap, the person responsible for the special effects of Life of Pi trying to make a speech calling out Hollywood only to be drowned out by the Jaws theme, Jennifer Lawrence falling down, etc). Some Oscar hosts like Chris Rock and Ellen Degeneres have been pretty good, but there's only so much they can do to redeem what amounts to a 2-3 hour self-congratulatory masturbation-fest. Actual film critics like James Berardinelli have been complaining about the Oscars for a long time now. I've never sat through an entire show before(sat through the Emmy's once, that was a waste of time)

At this point I respect the MTV Movie Awards more then the Oscars, at least they are upfront and honest about what they are, the Oscars are trying to be all things to all people and pleasing no one right now. There have been very few best pictures I truly agreed with, I can count the number on one hand(Spotlight, Hurt Locker, Moonlight, 12 Years a Slave and Shape of Water).
 

Roguebubble

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XtremeMuffin said:
Welcome back, Bob! This was a great way to start the day. Can anybody answer a question for me. I'm fairly new to paying attention to the Oscars, but I'm wondering do movies ever go into more than one category? Bob mentioned Logan, but that was in the category of best adaptation, right? So for Black Panther, where would that even go? Best picture, adaptation, or popular? With people worrying about the popular category demeaning some films, how do they feel about the best adaptation category? Isn't that somewhat similar? "Your movie is a good version of something else, but not enough to stand on its own." What if a popular adaptation is a feat in film-making? This is where I'm confused about where Black Panther would even go. I feel like awards aren't supposed to be this complicated. Awards! Are! Weird!
The award Logan was nominated for was Best Adapted Screenplay which is purely for the writing of the screenplay not the entire movie and that award is only incompatible with Best Original Screenplay. A movie can win Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay just as Moonlight did in 2016.

Anyway good that Bob is back, looking forward to October!
 

sunsethorizons

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I didn't think I'd ever sign into this account again, but here we are. Welcome back.

And I think I agree with the general thesis, especially that last point. Discussions about what the award could mean or not mean are interesting and worth discussing, but it's hard to deny that the optics of giving an ostensible "second best" prize to Black Panther would just look icky. I do suspect it'll pick up a couple Oscars here and there (personally I think it should be in there for Sound Design and Costume Design at a bare minimum), but I'm hoping that a nomination for Best Picture is on the cards.

I think you brought up the hearts of the issue though: the Academy is mainly a bunch of old dudes who like "old dude" movies. And I hadn't even considered the fact that they tend to prefer movies which showcase acting over technical filmmaking.

Anyways. Glad to be back. Maybe I'll actually lurk some forums again....
 

CrazyGirl17

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Hey, welcome back! It's nice to have another reason to visit the site other than Yahtzee and the odd forum post...
 

Falseprophet

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Just dusted this account off and it still works! I followed you after you left this site Bob, but I'm glad I'm able to follow you back to where I first saw your stuff.
 

XtremeMuffin

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Roguebubble said:
The award Logan was nominated for was Best Adapted Screenplay which is purely for the writing of the screenplay not the entire movie and that award is only incompatible with Best Original Screenplay. A movie can win Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay just as Moonlight did in 2016.

Anyway good that Bob is back, looking forward to October!
Ah, that makes more sense to me now. Thanks for the answer!
 

Rangerboy87

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Logged back in for the first time in YEARS to say: Welcome Home Bob!

(I've technically still been watching your stuff on Youtube in the meantime, but welcome back none-the-less)
 

MrGalactus

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ESCAPIST IS BACK WID WUNNADA BEST SHOWS ON DA INNANET BAYBEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

I've been popping on here waiting for the "it's finally happened" farewell message for a bit now, thought it was coming when there was no ZP with no explanation 2 weeks ago, then BOOM THE MOVIE MAN'S BACK.

Who's next in the Escapist rebirth?

 

monkey_man

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Oh my, it seems the Escapist is getting back a major reason to visit this site.
I hope they revitalize and flourish once more!

It's good having you back, Bob.
I really enjoyed seeing your show and listening to your thoughts again
 

saxist01

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So, what they need to do is divide the best picture into multiple genre awards, and then all the winners are voted on for best overall picture during the show. BOOM! Fixed the Oscars.

Welcome back, Bob!
 

ewhac

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darkrage6 said:
The Gentleman said:
I rather like his movie reviews generally (though I personally prefer the prior style which utilized clips rather than speaking at a camera, but YouTube's MDCA screen killed that, [ ... ]
I don't think it killed that considering this episode had plenty of movie clips in it.
That's because, on The Escapist, DMCA takedown requests have to be filed by hand. Some studio flunky has to notice that the video exists, then fire off a takedown request along with proof they own the (allegedly) infringed material.

YouTube, on the other hand, has ContentID(TM), a (broken) automated system that attempts to match newly uploaded material to reference material that has been declared off-limits by copyright holders. If ContentID(TM) finds a match to reference material, it automatically locks out (or ad-squats) your new video and penalizes your account. There is an appeals process, but it is also largely automated, there's no incentive for copyright holders to actually consider fair use exemptions, and no penalties for copyright holders who abuse the process.
 

VoidWanderer

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Honestly, for The Oscars to have more appeal they should separate it into technical (Lighting, Sound, Make-Up, other stuff seen more behind the scenes) and Practical (Best Picture, Director, Actor) and televise them separately.

Welcome back, Bob. And given the obvious 'it seemed like a good idea at the time' Ocean's 8, I am looking forward to Widows.
 

Saelune

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I guess all these returning people are proof in favor of Bob's return.