We've spent most of the past month-plus launching one film and continuing to shoot another, so we're trying to catch up on things here at the blog, and indeed catch up on some of the stuff that our colleagues have been writing over the past month and a half.
One thing that we've been contemplating, but have yet to comment on, are the new Oscar rules - announced last month - stipulating that next year there will be 10 Best Picture nominees. We're torn as to whether this is a good idea or not (interesting to see the Primetime Emmys follow suit by explanding their own number of nominees in their series and acting categories), but one thing about the new rule is worth pondering. Will it lead to the first Best Picture nomination ever for a documentary?
If the same rules had been in place last year, it wouldn't have been a crazy idea to think that WALTZ WITH BASHIR or MAN ON WIRE might have ended up on Oscar's Top 10 List. And while, Michael Moore made a bit of a push several years ago for FAHRENHEIT 9/11, it seems that on a list of ten, it would have been favored for a spot (ditto HOOP DREAMS).
Earlier this month, Oscar expert Sasha Stone took a look at this year's Best Picture race and figured there might be two documentary features in the mix:
Some of the films that get in are going to be documentaries. Right now, there are two big ones – Michael Moore’s CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY and THE COVE."
Stone goes on to speculate that THE COVE, which details the brutal killing of dolphins, might just get a two-fer - Best Picture and Best Documentary Feature. Noting a NY Times article that talks about the deep pockets of COVE Executive Producer Jim Clark (founder of Netscape), Stone argues the film can afford an extensive publicity campaign.
What will draw peole to the theater in this case will be the film’s already growing critical reception and awards, the fact that it will likely make ten best lists in the fall, and has a good shot at being considered for a Best Picture nomination as well. All of these will eventually get this movie seen. Word of mouth will spread it even further. Even if the movie makes little money in the theater (they don’t seem to care about the money), it will start the conversation, expose the situation, which is the best thing you can hope for with activist docs like this one."
THE COVE opens Friday in New York and Los Angeles. CAPITALISM is due October 2 - we'd expect a launch at certain international film festivals in the month preceding but so far no confirmation of those details.
If you want to judge films by audience response, then don't count out MORE THAN A GAME, the emotional, family-oriented doc about LeBron James.
Last year, this title was the runner-up for TIFF's People's Choice Award, right behind the winner SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE - out of more than 200 eligible films.
MORE THAN A GAME has the backing of a major distributor in Lion's Gate and opens on Oct 2.
Posted by: Thom Powers | July 28, 2009 at 07:24 AM