by Heath Lynch, Contributing Writer
We are in the midst of the summer blockbuster season! Toy Story 5, Spider-man: Brand New Day, and the Odyssey are making all the money in the world, Supergirl is flopping, Obsession is still breaking seemingly every record known to the industry, and we’re already being disappointed by Moana. Though, to be fair, that was expected. But, as much as it’s fun to make fun of Disney’s (mis)handling of their movies… wait, I used this same joke sentence last time… I’m losing my mind; it’s time to move on! Let’s discuss another year gone by. As a reminder, with our Oscars: What If… series we look at categories the Academy Awards should be honoring, but, for one reason or another, 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 Trump tore up the Iran Nuclear Deal laying the groundwork for Trump’s unjust War on Iran in 2026, journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered at the order of the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a boys’ soccer team and their coach were rescued from the Tham Luang cave system in Thailand, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida was devastated by a mass shooting that left 17 dead, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were married, and rapists and abusers like Harvey Weinstein and Bill Cosby were brought to justice as a result of victims going public with their stories in the wake of the #MeToo Movement. It is time to examine the films of 2018, celebrated at the Oscars in 2019. Let’s see what could have been!
Best Stunts and Choreography
Given to the best achievement in dance, stunts, related performances, and overall choreography for film.
And the nominees are… Black Panther, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, Mission: Impossible – Fallout, Mary Poppins Returns, Suspiria
And the winner is… Mission: Impossible – Fallout!
Let me just list some things for you. Tom Cruise became the first actor to perform a High-Altitude Low-Open (HALO) jump in the history of film, falling 200mph at terminal velocity from an altitude of over 25,000 ft. The final fight had actors hanging off the side of a real cliff that was 2,000 ft above a fjord in Norway. There’s a chase sequence in London where Cruise is running over rooftops and he broke his ankle jumping from one roof to another (leaving that shot where he broke his ankle in the final cut of the film). An extensive motorcycle chase through Paris was performed without a helmet or relying on any safety rig or green screen. A truck was pushed into a river where they separately filmed an underwater scuba diving rescue. Additionally, Tom Cruise free-falls over 40ft down a rope onto a hanging payload that’s dangled under a helicopter that was flying 2,000 ft in the air. And if all that wasn’t enough, Cruise learned to learn to fly a helicopter and perform a chase sequence that includes him doing consecutive 360° downward helix spins. A stunt professional helicopter pilots often avoid doing.
It’s Mission: Impossible – Fallout. It was always going to be Fallout. To pretend otherwise would just be insulting and laughable. It’s not close.
Best Performance by Voiceover or Motion Capture
Given to the best off-screen voice performance, or on-screen motion captured performance, for film.
And the nominees are… Josh Brolin as Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War, Holly Hunter as Helen Parr/Elastigirl in Incredibles 2, Jake Johnson as Peter B. Parker in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Shameik Moore as Miles Morales/Spider-Man in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Phoebe Waller-Bridge as L3-37 in Solo: A Star Wars Story
And the winner is… Josh Brolin as Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War!
Not that it was a very high bar to step over, but Josh Brolin was so damn good as Thanos in Infinity War that he instantly became the best villain in the entire history of the MCU. Though Michael B. Jordan as Killmonger might give the Mad Titan a run for his money, so much about what makes Thanos great is due to Brolin’s stoic intensity and guarded exposure. In scenes where he calmly disposes of the Hulk and Thor it appears there’s nothing that can stop this towering force, and scenes where he laments the self-imposed obligation of genocide and the genuine sorrow at the loss of his adoptive daughter he appears nuanced and vulnerable. All of this depth of character is achieved through Brolin’s patience, posture, vocal inflection, and subtle anger. This isn’t a very showy performance, but it is a performance that sticks with you. Had Brolin not been able to capture the true power, terror, and range of Thanos then it’s likely the entire conclusion to the MCU’s Infinity Saga doesn’t work. Thankfully, Brolin was up to the task, and he deserves some gold on his shelf for it.
Best Performance by an Ensemble Cast
Given to the best overall ensemble cast performance for film.
And the nominees are… The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Black Panther, The Favourite, Vice, Widows
And the winner is… The Favourite!
It’s hard not to immediately give this film the win based on its existing acting accolades alone. I mean, all three of our leading ladies were nominated for an Oscar, with Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz in the Supporting category, and Olivia Colman surprisingly upsetting Glenn Close to win Best Actress. If that’s not enough evidence as to how the Academy was feeling that year, you also had noteworthy supporting turns from Nicholas Hoult, Joe Alwyn, James Smith, and Mark Gatiss. A bevy of talent, with each role performed beautifully, especially within the context of the large film and scene chemistry between actors. It could be argued that there were bigger individual scenes that exemplified the possibilities of a great ensemble cast, in other nominees like Vice or Widows, and I’d understand that perspective. But in terms of having consistently outstanding ensemble performances and chemistry throughout the entire film? The Favorite takes the cake. I could watch Stone, Weisz, and Colman spar with each other all day. Incredible stuff.
Best Directorial Debut
Given to the best achievement in direction by a debut directing talent for film.
And the nominees are… Ari Aster for Hereditary, Bo Burnham for Eighth Grade, Bradley Cooper for A Star is Born, Carlos Lopez Estrada for Blindspotting, Boots Riley for Sorry to Bother You
And the winner is… Ari Aster for Hereditary!
This one’s tough. I feel the Academy would have probably gone for Bradley Cooper because of their infatuation with A Star is Born. However, given that Cooper wasn’t nominated for Best Director, I feel I have a little leeway to make a judgement call that someone else could have won. Personally, I prefer Bo Burnham, as I feel Eighth Grade is a powerful coming-of-age film. With that said, I cannot snub Ari Aster for his exceptional work with Hereditary. Is this partially my clapback at the Academy for snubbing Toni Collette? Maybe. But that doesn’t change the fact that Aster delivers a fully formed piece of work here that is incredibly impressive and far beyond the skillset of a debut filmmaker. From his script structure and edited pacing to his understanding of space and geography as it pertains to production design, the performances he gets from his cast, and the sheer amount of terror that he elicits through the tone and atmosphere that permeates his entire film, this is a stunning achievement. An undeniable debut that is worth gilding.
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… Avengers: Infinity War, Black Panther, Incredibles 2, Mission: Impossible – Fallout, A Star is Born
And the winner is… Black Panther!
On August 8, 2018, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the creation of a new category for the Oscars to be presented annually as part of the Oscars ceremony beginning with the 91st Academy Awards the following year in 2019. The next month the Academy reneged on their decision and scrapped the category due to a poor critic and audience reception based on the perception of the new category because, frankly, the Academy did a horrible job selling the new category. Subsequently, as time went on, it became very clear that this new category was constructed to start awarding the best of the big box office performers with a trophy, and that the first winner, by all accounts from pundits at the time and leaked conversations from the decision makers in the room, that Black Panther was to be the first ever winner of this award.
This one-month long blip in the history of the Oscars is fascinating to me. It is almost single-handedly the inspiration for this continuous monthly series of articles dedicated to what the Academy could have, or even should have, done in an alternate universe. Because of this undeniable fact, it would be categorically absurd for me to award any other film than Black Panther as the Best Popular Film from 2018 seeing as it actually almost won the damn award… if the award had ended up actually existing.
But to be authentic to this article series and how I’ve dissected this category in the past, let’s go through the motions of breaking down box office, critical, and awards performances. You know, just to be thorough.
Black Panther was the number one movie at the domestic box office bringing in over $700 million. It was number two worldwide, only behind Avengers: Infinity War, making $1.3 billion. Until this past weekend’s record-breaking release of Brand New Day, it was the third highest grossing domestic earner in the entire MCU, trailing only Spider-Man: No Way Home and Avengers: Endgame. Both of which were seen as the ultimate climax to decade(s) long storylines that had incredible fan investment. Black Panther wasn’t just popular. It was a phenomenon. Especially culturally with how it affected the black community due to its incredible levels of representation. And for a February release to boot? Insane. There was no other film people were talking about more in 2018 than Black Panther.
Our journey into Wakanda was also met with incredible critical acclaim and awards accolades. It sits with a 96% certified fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes, and a score of 88 on Metacritic indicating universal acclaim and rated as a ‘Must-see.’ It also earned 90 wins against a whopping 238 nominations. It earned one BAFTA, two SAG Awards, and three Critics’ Choice Awards. If that wasn’t enough, it also won three Oscars, Best Original Score, Costume Design, and Production Design, against seven nominations that included Best Picture. The first superhero film, and one of only two superhero films ever, to receive the honor of a Best Picture nomination. All this to say, even if Black Panther wasn’t the actual inspiration for this award that serves as the inspiration for this monthly series, it would be laughable to suggest the Best Popular Film from 2018 is anything other than Black Panther. Take that gold back to Wakanda, Ryan Coogler, Kevin Feige, and team. You earned it.
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 debut of one of our great contemporary directors, debatably one of the best action films ever made, and the very film that has made us even consider a ‘Best Popular Film’ category in the first place. Be sure to come back next time when we look at films like 1917, Klaus, and Avengers: Endgame as we’ll examine the Oscars of 2020, celebrating the films of 2019!
You can read more from Heath Lynch, and follow him on Letterboxd