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waitsfortherain in moviesonthemind

Oscars? Bah...

Jan 25, 2012 13:08

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By now it has become an accomplished fact that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has a problem with Leonardo DiCaprio. Freakish as it may sound, along the years it became notorious that the Academy does have a problem with certain people. Surely, they had a problem with Richard Burton. And with Peter O'Toole, when he was at the top ( ... )

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Comments (5)

rpowell

rpowell

"J. EDGAR" wasn't a bad movie. But it wasn't the best I have ever seen. But Di Caprio's portrayal of Hoover was brilliant and I'm astounded that he failed to receive an Oscar nomination. Then again, I was astounded that he was snubbed for "REVOLUTIONARY ROAD" and "INCEPTION" as well. Perhaps the Hollywood community has something against him. He used to be a teen idol after the success of "TITANIC". But since Clooney used to be a sex symbol (or still is), I don't know.

By the way, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was originally created by Louis B. Mayer to mediate labor disputes and improve the film industry’s image in the late 1920s. However, I suspect it was mainly created to prevent unions from being formed within the industry.

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waitsfortherain

waitsfortherain

I had no idea that it had been created by Louis B. Mayer. That's interesting. It explains why in the beginning he had so much power over decisions concerning who would and who wouldn't win the Oscar. It's widely known that he was insanely jealous of Irving Thalberg, the head of production at MGM whom most people in Hollywood thought of as a genius. Like with The Marx Brothers, Thalberg was the guiding force behind Greta Garbo's career. He personally produced Camille, which not only became her biggest hit but also her first film in a long time to become a box-office winner inside the US. Her performance in it was considered the top of her work in films and it was so sure that she was going to win the Oscar that some of the other nominees didn't bother to attend the ceremony ( ... )

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rpowell

rpowell

But then, Thalberg died quite unexpectedly while still under 40. Mayer took the chance to reformulate the whole studio, eliminating every trait of Thalberg's work. In the process, he undermined every single film Thalberg had supervised personally which hadn't been released yet.

Not quite. Both "CAMILLE" and "THE GOOD EARTH" were in the stages of production when Thalberg died in September 1936. Mayer didn't meddle with those productions. He did meddle with "MARIE ANTOINETTE" by changing the director from Sidney Franklin to Woody Van Dyke. However, according to Norma Shearer's biographer and actor Robert Morley, Shearer (who was Thalberg's widow) handled the situation by keeping Van Dyke under her thumb.

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wineandglory

DiCaprio has certainly been slighted as a mature actor, meaning every film after Titanic. Before that his talent was evident but not extraordinary. But post Titanic, especially including The Departed, he has been overlooked, dry gulched, bamboozled, etc, but let us never consider his performance as the mentally challenged relative in What's Eating Gilbert Grape a Brando/Olivier/DeNiro bravura performance.

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waitsfortherain

waitsfortherain

You're right, quite a few DiCaprio enthusiasts insist that he would have done better without Titanic. He almost didn't make it. To the last moment, it looked as if Chris O'Donnell was going to play the lead. It's interesting to think if making the film would have prevented O'Donnell's career from derailing so oddly.

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