VFX Pros Want 2 Extra Nominees Who Can Lose to Movies Like Avatar
You might recall that 2009 was a super-congested year for visual-effects mavens in Hollywood, where not even conspicuously flashy $200 million budgets were enough for films like Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and 2012 to get beyond the Oscar-nomination short list. Competition was tougher than ever to see which two films would be those fortunate enough to lose to Avatar. Now, however, the VFX community wants some radical changes made for next year's show.
At least one report is calling the expansion a "swirling controversy" in the Academy's visual-effects branch, whose executive committee nevertheless voted recently to add two nomination slots annually. That would lift the total VFX noms each year to five, bringing it even with virtually every other Oscar category. Proponents at VFX studios and shops around Hollywood argue that the change is required to reflect the added influence of digital effects on contemporary filmmaking. "The numbers are important because I see digital production changing the way we make movies," Digital Domain boss Cliff Plumer told Variety. "The lines are getting grayer and grayer between the crafts."
Fair enough, but opponents might advise more careful consideration and selectivity, because Lord knows the last thing anyone wants is the announcement of another two movies -- and eight names -- tacked on to the overstuffed awardscast. Maybe it'd be OK if we could cut Adam Shankman's interpretive dance segments and Elinor Burkett's bumrushings by 100 percent or so. But I think we all know that the allowance for such inanity is what truly defines Oscar night -- not the recognition of 16 also-rans who are going to get their clocks cleaned by whatever James Cameron and Co. are up to this year.
Still, there's something adorable about Visual Effects Society executive director Eric Roth, who told Variety with such ebullience and sincerity: "To say there hasn't been enough room to shine the Oscar spotlight on a fourth and fifth movie is almost laughable in this day and age. So we say thanks to the Academy for allowing visual effects to take its rightful place at the Academy grownups table!" Aw! Don't get too carried away, though, Eric; as long as guys like Ryan Bingham are photo-bombing the nominees luncheon, it's not as sophisticated a table as you probably think.
· Oscars' fix for visual effects [Variety]
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Comments
Maybe it'd go over better on Oscar night if they select an actor or actress to speak glowingly for five minutes about all the nominated compositors and roto artists they never met.
Maybe next time something like this could be written by someone who doesn't have such obvious disdain for the Oscars - or the field they're writing about.
In an industry full of artists, accolades are one way to pad your resume.
A nomination is literally worth its weight in gold - because it helps people land jobs - even the hundreds of people whose names are not read out loud on Oscar night. Having an Oscar nominated film on your resume is extremely helpful.
To deny that honor to deserving artists in favor of the "inanity" that "defines Oscar night" is incredibly cynical.
As someone who has been nominated for and won much smaller awards in this category, I know first hand how many doors it can open for struggling artists - and in this particular field, there are a lot of struggling artists, as we're strictly below the line with no union contracts, no residuals, no pensions and 18 hour work days are the norm.
The cynicism and disrespect shown in this article is completely unprofessional and is not necessary - and is the very reason people don't think of online "journalism" as such.
I think expanding the category to include 5 films was a wise choice and long overdue. Look at the films that make money these days and you are looking at a long list of blockbusters centered on visual effects. The VFX have become the stars of the show in movies such as Avatar, Transformers, and Inception. This needs to be acknowledged and commended in the industry so expanding the nominations for best visual effects is definitely a step in the right direction. I work for a midsized VFX studio in Montreal, Canada and we have some really talented artists doing amazing work on films and commercials. It is nice to know that this is being valued more in the industry, especially considering how exploited VFX artists are these days.
We are keeping our company small and we refuse to underbid in order to win jobs, so our VFX artists are never exploited or underpaid. We hold VFX artists in high regard and it’s nice to see that the Academy, and the film industry in general, is starting to do so as well. I have more thoughts about this on my blog at http://www.boogiestudio.com so feel free to check it out!