Brian Zafron: I Eat Web 2.0 for Breakfast

Last night, Joel and Ethan Coen’s No Country For Old Men took home a shit-load of honors at the 80th Academy Awards, including Best Pic, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actor (Javier Bardem). Although No Country was the odds-on favorite for Best Pic heading into the night, that wasn’t always the case.

Back in November, for example, New Line’s fantasy/adventure The Golden Compass looked primed to ride the coat tails of Lord of The Rings all the way into the winner’s circle. But a few lukewarm reviews and half-empty theaters later, the two-year, star-studded (Nichole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Dakota Fanning…) $180 million dollar production lost momentum and faded into Hollywood oblivion – right next to Pee Wee Herman’s Big Adventure and every film that has featured Shaquille O’Neal.

Then in January, Michael Clayton, starring the melt in your mouth, not in your hand George Clooney, was the irrefutable front-runner. Nikki Finke, the LA Time’s Entertainment editor, commented: “every Oscar voter I talked to at that time kept mentioning they liked [Michael Clayton] best.” But then, within a matter of weeks, No Country ousted Clayton building off Best Pic victories at a variety of contests, including the Screen Actors Guild and Critic’s Choice Awards.

Herein began the No Country word-of-mouth fever: the mainstream media and in turn, the movie-going public, rallied behind the Coen Brothers’ off-beat, episodic Cormac McCarthy adaptation. Next, the Academy members, who vote on all the Oscar nominees (and who hate appearing out of touch with the American public), jumped onto the bandwagon. The buzz was fucking palpable.

At this point, it’s worthy to note that although Academy members vote on all the Oscar nominees, they are not required to watch them. In other words, they often rely on their impression of the given film, which is obviously shaped by associated buzz. And oh, did I mention that the president of the Academy, Sid Ganis, is the producer of such gems as Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigalo, Big Daddy, and Mr. Deeds? The Academy clearly isn’t without its flaws.

I am not trying to convey that No Country wasn’t worthy of Best Pic honors. I’m simply illustrating that the waves of word-of-mouth factored into this end result. And also, if I can leave you with one final word of wisdom, the Academy kinda sucks.

*By the way, the Oscar statuettes are made from 92.5% tin and 7.5% copper, with a gold plating. Gold plating, homies.

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