Oscars

East Coast Editor Edward Douglas wonders whether Academy members should be tested for their knowledge of filmmaking before voting rather than be admitted to the most exclusive film group merely based on prestige alone.

Damien Chazelle and his First Man star Ryan Gosling will square off once again against Barry Jenkins (If Beale Street Could Talk), but will the team behind the Dick Cheney movie get the last laugh, or will it be Martin Scorsese and his Netflix movie The Irishman?

“Sure, awards season is a horrible slog and the Oscars always last longer than they should, but honestly, I can’t help myself. I’m like the Grinch who has a heart two sizes too small at the beginning of the show, but by the time Best Picture has been handed out, it has grown three full sizes,” writes Neil Turitz.

But in the end, when everything was said and done, the right movie probably won Best Picture. The Shape of Water truly represents the best of Hollywood, from its flawless direction and stunning production design to its sumptuous score and rich performances, three of which earned Oscar nominations.

With 13 nominations, Guillermo del Toro’s fantasy-drama walked away with four Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director, Score and Production Design.

War for the Planet of the Apes is the third movie in the 20th Century Fox franchise that received critical raves for its visual FX then was snubbed by the Oscars. What does the Academy have against apes?

We look at some of the categories that might throw a wrench into your Oscar pool if things don’t go as some are expecting.

All eyes are on the heated Best Picture race, but Best Cinematography and Best Original Screenplay are two categories that are worth paying close attention to, as either one may signal this year’s big winner.

“The state of being a man, of being old enough and mature enough is so severed that brilliant performances are often neglected. This lack of diversity throughout the years means the Best Actor category is stacked with older men who have, paid their dues to get even the head nod of being nominated,” writes Sabrina Cognata.

It would be great if the Moonlight team comes out to bask in the triumphant moment they were robbed of last year and give a proper acceptance speech before handing out Best Picture to their successor,” writes Neil Turitz.

Jimmy Kimmel is set to present the Oscars to some of the brightest stars in the industry on March 4, but before that night arrives, as well as the day of, there are going to be glamorous and star-filled parties and events to celebrate the big night. Here at the Tracking Board, we have all information on the pre-parties, after-parties, and more.

Many of this year’s acting nominees have had long and full careers before this year’s nominations. Not all their early choices were particularly sound, but some of this year’s nominees have been paying their dues for decades.

DeKalb Elementary, The Eleven O’Clock, My Nephew Emmett, The Silent Child and Watu Woke (All of Us) are all good, but which one is likely to win the Oscar in this extremely tough category?

Are this year’s unconventional nominees meant to stir things up from the norm or is there actual bias against certain actors and filmmakers because they’re such obvious choices?

Our first series of brief reviews of the Oscar-nominated shorts currently playing in 200 theaters across the country before Oscar night on March 4.

Examining the upcoming Oscar race and the socio-poligical implications of some of the Best Picture nominees and how their relevance to what’s happening in the world might give them an advantage.

The videos each feature wonderfully talented actresses including Gal Gadot, Rosario Dawson, and Salma Hayek.

Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water led the nominations with 13 including for Best Picture, Director, Screenplay and three acting nominations.

Will Greta Gerwig crack the Best Director field for Lady Bird, or does Jordan Peele stand a better chance for Get Out? Come back in just a few more hours and find out!

Examining what some of the Oscar-winning filmmakers went on to do after winning the Oscar in the foreign language category.

Looking at a few reasons why the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences can cut back on the Best Picture nominees to make the main Oscar race seem that much more special.

Unfairly or not, Ridley Scott’s “All the Money in the World” is now doomed as far as awards go in the wake of the Kevin Spacey scandal.

Angelina Jolie and Michael Haneke are two of the more high-profile filmmakers among the 92 whose films were submitted, which will have to be culled down to a shortlist of nine with the final five nominees announced in January.

Last year’s crop of acting nominees featured seven performers of color, but expect a regression on the diversity front this year even though Denzel Washington seems like a shoo-in for Roman Israel, Esq.

The samurai poet of Hollywood Elsewhere joins me to discuss the box office prospects of Stephen King’s It and the merits of Richard Rushfield’s industry newsletter The Ankler.

Mo-cap work demands more of actors emotionally, physically and mentally, because they are using their imagination to create the environment, establish relationships and set the scene. The visual effects exist to serve the physical performance, not “enhance” it, writes John Rocha.

With actors like Dwayne Johnson, Simon Pegg and Riz Ahmed joining the club, plus directors Jordan Peele and Joss Whedon and longtime publicist Bumble Ward, the Academy definitely got a lot cooler today.

Brian Cullinan and Martha Ruiz will be watching next year’s ceremony from their living rooms after this year’s epic gaffe, though it’s unclear why Ruiz is being punished for Cullinan’s mistake.

The Academy Awards’ Best Picture gaffe turned out to be the trending topic of the evening, but the real story isn’t this embarrassing moment in Oscars history (although it did make for great television). The real story is that Moonlight won.

Accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers released a statement regarding the incident at last night’s Academy Awards that led to La La Land being announced as the winner of Best Picture.