By Erica Cooper
Forget Christmas, which can depress or annoy many of us… it is also the beginning of AWARD SEASON in movies!
Long time TamaraTattles.com readers know that I’ve blogged both The Voice and The Oscars (among other award shows) here. Frankly, The Voice got to be too much, especially those 3 days a week runs. I still feel guilty for crapping out on T and not blogging it… but it was for the best for me personally. I couldn’t keep up. I watched last season despite no blogging responsibilities, but the current season I’ve not really watched for personal reasons.
A Few Suggestions
However, I’m still obsessed with the award season and I’m grateful that Tamara is giving me an outlet to be excited and express my opinions. Oscar night comments on this site are so damn fun. I will never not love the Oscars. I plan theme meals around that day. For the past 4 years or so, a friend of mine and I have tried to see ALL the Oscar Best Picture nominees at least, and we usually see at least one of the “short” categories (best short documentaries, best short live action, and best short animated). Because they’ve shortened the timeline this year, we’re ALREADY planning our attack.
Honestly, if you do nothing else, find your local independent theater and watch at least ONE of the short categories. They are always mind blowing. If you have time this weekend, check out a nominee from 2017 on Netflix, Heroin(e). I still mention this when talking about the opiod crisis, etc. 2017 was a great year – I think you have to buy it and not rent, unfortunately, but the winner that year Heaven is a Traffic Jam on the 405. I thought Heroin(e) was going to win, but was so pleased when it won. It is about an artist named Mindy who has mental illness (anxiety, depression, and some psychosis) but is a beautiful artist. Also worth a look.
Best Picture?
Unlike past years, I’m having a hard time pinpointing films I think should be nominated for Best Picture, except for Rocketman. The oddsmakers don’t seem to be fans, but seriously, if you haven’t seen it… DO. It is fucking magical and so much better than Bohemian Rhapsody. Full warning, if the movie and Taron Edgerton don’t get the kudos they deserve, I’m gonna be mentioning it in every blog entry.
So, these are the award shows I typically make a point to watch.
Dates For This Years Award Season!
Golden Globes
Nominations: December 9
Show: January 5
SAG Awards
Nominations: December 11
Show: January 19
BAFTAs
Nominations: January 7
Show: February 2
Oscars
Nominations: January 13
Show: February 9
Yes, I’m one of those nerds who watch the BAFTAs, the UK’s version of the Oscars. They usually feel a bit more serious, but sometimes a good indication of how the Oscars will go. In the past, they’ve had Stephen Fry and Joanna Lumley (AbFab!) host. I’m SUPER excited that this year it will be Graham Norton! He has the GREAT talk show. You can find clips on YouTube, but it is best to watch it completely. He’s on BBC America sometimes, if you have access. The BAFTAs should also be on BBC America, but set your DVR. If they air it live, it will be at a weird time. Also, this year it is on the same day as the Super Bowl, so I’ll probably just watch it after work on Monday.
If you haven’t already heard, the Golden Globes may be bleeping a LOT this year, especially with our current political climate, because they are BRINGING RICKY GERVAISE BACK!!! I’m looking forward to it, even though again, I’ll have to record it!
Squee! Got home after sending T the content of my blog, with apologies for not having pictures (it is the silly season, and for a single woman with no social life, I do have a calendar that is filling fast).
I really hope that some of you will leap in to this with both feet. Grab a movie watching friend. OR, seriously be brave and go to the theater solo. IT IS LIBERATING.
My friend who goes with me can’t do all of them b/c she has a husband and a family. A year or so ago, I realized that doesn’t stop ME from going! You get to pick exactly where you want to sit! You don’t have to share your popcorn! If the theater isn’t crowded, you get to spread out!
Looking forward to the conversations about movies, the red carpet, and just the overall award season craziness.
I’m anxiously awaiting my SAG screeners!! I’m so happy you’re doing this again, I really like your picks every year. I’ll let you know what I think of the movies I get once they start coming in.
OMG, you get screeners! Fizz, I may need TT to share our personal info. YEARS ago, one of my bestie’s uncle was married to an Academy member. I can’t remember if I’ve revealed this info before (and while I’m tipsy, I’m being cautious b/c she used my last name in the tag) But anyway, my best movie New Year’s Eve was that new auntie bringing the VHS screeners for us to watch and give our opinions about – they had a new baby, so she had no time. She literally grabbed the box of screeners before they left for my BFFs house. We were so grateful! My BFF asked me to spend NYE and additional days with them before she did that. . BFF from college and I (as well as a roomie) stayed up watching some flicks that were nominated. This was the year of Philadelphia and Rudy and Six Degrees of Separation. I loved that some of the nominees for various categories were ones we told her were amazing even if the movies overall fell short.
So, the fact that you like my picks when you qualify as a screener recipient means A LOT!!!
Thank you so much !! I wish I got the Academy ones or the Directors or Writers guilds. They get more than us lowly SAG members! But it’s really a special time of the year, so exciting when they start coming in. Definitely get my info from TT if you want. I’m looking forward to seeing what comes in this year. Some studios send some fun promo stuff as well. And some I have to watch online with a code. Those kind of suck though because the code can be really finicky.
The SAGS are the REAL ONES in my opinion. Most informed by voters most concerned with quality. I didn’t know TT had a SAG member, but not at all surprised.
Also how cool that you basically got an Academy vote that year!! I’m so glad you got to do that!
Rocketman deserves awards for a lot! That movie is amazing!! In the age of not buying many dvd’s I will be buying this in dvd for upstairs and blu-ray for downstairs…can’t be stingy!
I think I read here last year that UA theaters have an “Oscar pass.” No UA theaters came up in my search last year when I was new to the area. There are three. But they don’t answer the phone, just recordings. I will go in to find out. A perfect holiday present for the movie aficionados.
Good luck and thank you for writing! I’m sure TT can use the break too. It’s hard work keeping all of us entertained. ; )
AMC theaters has an Oscar marathon. Some theaters have a 24 hr marathon and othesr spread it out over two days. We’ve done both. It’s a lot of fun.