He's 13 1/2 inches tall. He wears only a sword. He's shiny. Everybody wants him. This is a new weekly Sunday series --my attempt to keep Oscar discussion corraled in the weekends until we're truly in the season.Previously: Fear of 1999 Redux
In the early days of November the vast majority of movie buffs and Oscar freaks view the final two months of the year through rose colored glasses. That’s pleasantly optimistic (we all want new films to be great) but it doesn’t reveal the whole picture. ‘December is king!’ lenses have blindspots though they’re also not entirely blinding. The shiny gold man does prefer late year releases… just not quite as much as people think. He does have a type “fresh, serious, uplifting” but it's a type not a fetish: he doesn’t need it to perform, he can be turned on by other things. If the December glut of “prestige” films is at all disappointing, Oscar will turn his bald shiny head back to gaze fondly at warmer months. He’s done it many times before.
So which filmthings that are mostly written off now, can rise like phoenixes? These filmthings might be crushed by the December heavyweights. But a select few could soar back to prominence if they see a window of opportunity. Especially if…- The campaign is hardworking or brilliant
- Voters are particularly fond of this type of achievement
- Top Ten Lists and precursors put some wind beneath their wings
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