by Heath Lynch, Contributing Writer
The summer blockbusters are behind us. As much as we had fun with Superman, F1, the surprise hit Weapons, and many more, an all-new awards season is on the horizon. What better time is there to look at yet another awards season from our past? As a reminder, with Oscars: What If…, I look at categories the Academy Awards should be honoring, but for one reason or another, they aren’t. So we’re going to imagine what could’ve been regarding past Oscar seasons. Hopefully someday the Academy will do right by these creative talents, but until then we must do the Academy’s job for them. Let’s look back at the year Prince William married Kate Middleton, Amy Winehouse was tragically found dead in her apartment, the Occupy Wall Street movement began as a protest against economic injustice, Kim Jong Il passed away, leaving his son Kim Jong Un as the dictator of North Korea, Minecraft was formally released as a video game beyond its alpha testing, and Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. Navy SEAL Team Six. It is time to examine the films of 2011, celebrated at the Oscars in 2012. Let’s see what could have been!
Best Stunts and Choreography
Given to the best achievement in dance, stunts, related performances, and overall choreography.
And the nominees are… Fast Five, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, The Muppets, War Horse, Warrior
And the winner is… Fast Five!
Let’s be honest, rigging up two Dodge Chargers with cables to drag a giant safe behind them for a massive chase sequence through the streets of San Juan (Rio de Janeiro in the movie) was more than enough to secure this Oscar. But in case, that wasn’t enough, you also have cars being stolen off a moving train, gunfights taking place on the rooftops of a favela, pulse-pounding melee combat with fists and wrenches, trademark street racing, and driving cars off cliffs and jumping from the falling car into a river gorge — that all certainly seals the deal. Fast Five was the pinnacle of the Fast & Furious franchise, especially regarding the stunt work, and I hope we can get back to this point someday. But for now, it’s at least time to give this the gold accolade it deserves.
Best Performance by Voiceover or Motion Capture
Given to the best off screen voice performance, or on screen motion captured performance.
And the nominees are… Antonio Banderas as Puss in Boots in Puss in Boots, Jamie Bell as Tintin in The Adventures of Tintin, Johnny Depp as Rango in Rango, Andy Serkis as Caesar in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Steve Whitmire as Various in The Muppets
And the winner is… Andy Serkis as Caesar in Rise of the Planet of the Apes!
Yes! Let’s reassert the Andy Serkis dominance in this category! That’s right, after securing multiple trophies with The Two Towers, The Return of the King, and King Kong, we’re going to adorn him with yet another one. If Serkis’ performance as Gollum was his most iconic, career-defining role, then his turn as Caesar was the role that proved Gollum wasn’t a fluke, and that he was the greatest motion capture performer of all time. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that the cumulative Caesar performance across many movies is even better than his work as Gollum over multiple movies. That’s because you really get such a diverse range of physical movement and evolution, in conjunction with many different emotional components, that explore the humanity and depth of the Caesar character in profound ways. Especially in this first movie in the Caesar trilogy, watching Serkis transform from a normal chimpanzee to a being with self-aware consciousness and the ability to communicate with others is nothing short of awe-inspiring. A deserved Oscar.
Best Performance by an Ensemble Cast
Given to the best overall ensemble cast performance.
And the nominees are… Bridesmaids, The Help, Moneyball, A Separation, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
And the winner is… The Help!
This was a stacked year for ensemble performances. I mean, trimming this down to five nominees was already a challenge, cutting such excellent films as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Melancholia, Midnight in Paris, Warrior, and many more. But after much internal strife, the field was narrowed to five, and then, to one. But when it came to picking that one winner, it really wasn’t all too close. Octavia Spencer already won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her work here, beating, among others, her co-star Jessica Chastain for the gold. If Meryl Streep hadn’t won her third Oscar that night, the Best Actress award likely would’ve (should’ve) gone to Viola Davis for her incredible work as the emotional core of this film. So The Help already earned three acting nominations and one win as it is, but when you account for Bryce Dallas Howard, Emma Stone, Allison Janney, Cicely Tyson, and Sissy Spacek? Get outta here! All of these women are incredible, delivering side-splitting humor and emotional catharsis in spades. There are very few ensemble casts that crackle like this on in the history of film, so it’s only right that we honor them with some gold when the opportunity arises.
Best Directorial Debut
Given to the best achievement in direction by a debut directing talent.
And the nominees are… James Bobin for The Muppets, J.C. Chandor for Margin Call, Joe Cornish for Attack the Block, Sean Durkin for Martha Marcy May Marlene, Jennifer Yuh Nelson for Kung Fu Panda 2
And the winner is… James Bobin for The Muppets!
Honestly? This was kind of a weak year for directorial debuts. It was actually a struggle to find five films I felt were even worthy of nomination, or which showcased at least some kind of quality and the directorial flourish and prowess in their skill set. But we got there… by the skin of our teeth. And the gold is going to go to James Bobin for his flawless work integrating the Muppets into a believable story that feels like a loving tribute to the original Muppet Movie and classic Muppet Show, while evolving the franchise, characters, and themes for the modern age. Full of lively cameos, great puppetry, fun singing acts, and truckloads of unique and stylized humor, this lovely film provides entertainment for all ages. It takes a lot of work to get this many actors to emote and create a believable universe with Muppets without it feeling trite, and this film pulls it off perfectly, and that’s not possible without a solid directorial vision.
Best Popular Film
Given to the best audience supported motion picture that earned a spot as one of the top 25 box office films of the year.
And the nominees are… Bridesmaids, Fast Five, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Rise of the Planet of the Apes
And the winner is… Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2!
Absolutely no competition. This was a no-brainer. Undeniable.
Look, I normally go on long diatribes when breaking down the Best Popular Film winner when I write these columns. I view it as the “Best Picture” of my exercise, so I like to give the subject its due diligence, explore all the options, play devil’s advocate, and even ponder what you, dear reader, might be thinking should be the winner, versus who I brazenly decide to award gold to. I wax poetic as I break down box office results and awards show accolades, trying to weigh individual film achievements as I sift through the minutiae and try to determine what the Best Popular film should be.
That’s not the case here.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 dominated the box office. It was the number-one movie domestically, bringing in $352.3 million, as well as being number one worldwide by hauling in a whopping $1.34 billion. Hot damn. You know what was in second place on both charts? Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Yeah… we’re not going to crown that the “best” of anything. Especially up against the final Harry Potter offering scoring a staggering 96% certified fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, in conjunction with an 89% audience approval score. This was beloved by everyone. In fact, you have to go down to the sixth placed Fast Five on the domestic chart, and fifth placed Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol on the worldwide gross, to even find the next positively reviewed films on either list. For box office comparison, those made $170 million and $647 million less, respectively, than Harry P. To add insult to injury, Deathly Hallows: Part 2 was nominated for three Oscars, four BAFTAs (taking home one win), and four Critics Choice Awards (with two wins), and it rocked the MTV Movie Awards with two wins against seven noms! Don’t lie, in this era, the MTV Movie Awards were still dope, and you loved them… Outside of Melissa McCarthy cleaning house across numerous awards shows for her Supporting Actress turn in Bridesmaids, none of these other nominees are even in the same league regarding their awards reception.
Yeah, we know what the Best Popular Film was from 2011. It was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, and it was not even close. What a landslide. Enjoy that glistening Oscar gold!
And that’s gonna do it! Thanks for joining me on another trip down memory lane to see what could’ve been! We got to talk about the final showdown with Lord Voldemort, Andy Serkis’ other iconic role, and a statistical revolution in America’s Pastime. Be sure to come back next time when we look at films like The Avengers, Django Unchained, and Argo, as we’ll examine the Oscars of 2013, celebrating the films of 2012!
You can read more from Heath Lynch, and follow him on Letterboxd