Johnson & Associates, LLC

The Academy Awards

Guest Author: Ashley Hennig

Not surprisingly, the talk around the “water cooler” this morning has been all about the Oscars.

If you follow the Johnson & Associates blog, you know that both Joel and I are fans of the movie “Avatar”. I must say the overall plot wasn’t really anything spectacular… I’ve even heard it called “Dancing with Wolves” in space. However, nobody can argue the fact that the special effects were amazing and that the movie has an overall good message that leaves you with a nice feeling when you walk out of the theater.

I’m not an expert when it comes to this year’s Academy Awards (since the only other movie I’ve seen that was nominated under the Best Picture category was “District 9”), but I got to wondering, why did this movie that is the highest grossing movie of all time not win any of the coveted awards?

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences leadership is comprised of Officers and a Board of Directors, all of whom are representatives of the different areas of the industry. The membership is then comprised of approximately 6,000 representatives of the different areas of the industry who are invited to join, however that list is not made public. In the past few years, the list of new invitees has been made announced, but the actual list of members has never been public knowledge. These members are then the voters for the Academy Awards (www.oscars.org). So who exactly is determining the winners of the industry’s most prestigious awards? We may never know, and it may help explain the reason why the highest grossing movie of all time didn’t take home any of the little gold statues.

What did you think of this year’s Academy Awards?

Avatar

I went to this film over the holiday break with a couple family members. I can't see another film taking Best Picture for the year's Oscar nods.

The movie has a used theme but it doesn't short change the audience one bit. You're tied into the story and will marvel at the CGI and the characters visually. The sound and experience are phenominal.

I didn't see the 3D version but will go see the movie again just to experience this. Buy a large popcorn, a big soda and enjoy! I rarely dislike a movie I see in the theater's but the ones I love and will see again are few and far between. This film could bring about vast changes to the industry. Remember when 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' was cutting edge?

If you're interested in the technology behind the blockbuster, here's an interesting behind the scenes article: http://www.examiner.com/x-32162-LA-Business-Tech-Examiner~y2009m12d21-Behind-the-scenes-of-blockbuster-movie-Avatar-the-technology.