http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-01-22/what-does-india-think-about-slumdog-millionaire/
http://tinyurl.com/atlt4r On the other hand, the American Academy awards are still a wistful dream, and considered the ultimate arbiters of excellence here. And what makes Slumdog Milionaire especially complicated is the hybrid nature of it. Based on an Indian novel, shot in India with real slum kids, set to A.R. Rahman's music, featuring Bollywood vets Irfan Khan and Anil Kapoor in important roles, it confounds the usual cultural categories and expectations. This peculiar insider-outsider dynamic makes Basu's “it's just a Danny Boyle movie” logic a hard sell here, even as it ensures India's emotional investment in the film. --- On Thu, 1/22/09, Prabhu <prabhu.ferr...@gmail.com> wrote: > From: Prabhu <prabhu.ferr...@gmail.com> > Subject: [arr] Fanboys in Mourning > To: arrahmanfans@yahoogroups.com > Date: Thursday, January 22, 2009, 7:40 PM > *"• The best thing about 10-time nominee > "Slumdog Millionaire" is its music, > and it got three nods between original score and original > song. Go A.R. > Rahman!"* > > The nominees for the *81st Academy > Awards*<http://www.oscars.org/awards/81academyawards/nominees.html>have > been announced, and the fanboys are none too happy. > > "The Academy just slit their own throats," > proclaimed Harry Knowles, editor > of aintitcool.com. A reader named Halik at joblo.com cried > out: "CURSE THE > HEAVENS!!!" One particularly disgusting post at > IMDB.com blasted the Academy > for forcing the gay agenda on America by nominating > "Milk," and wondered: > "maybe if bruce wayne came out then TDK would be in > there too." > > Yes, this is what happens when an Academy full of > pseudo-intellectuals, Old > Hollywood cronies and pompous blowhards declines to > nominate a superhero > movie as best picture. > > And what does it matter? "The Dark Knight" has > already made more than $500 > million in America and is all but guaranteed to be > considered a classic of > its genre(s). Who cares if 5,000 people who don't care > what "the folks" like > or think decide it's not worthy of winning a gold > statute? Most of the Web > fanboys will tell you how meaningless Oscar is, and point > to best-picture > wins by "Shakespeare In Love," "Crash" > and "Chicago" as evidence. So settle > down already, people. The Oscars, in the long run, mean ... > *nothing*. > > But that doesn't mean they're not fun to watch or > to talk about. Some random > Oscar tidbits: > > • I am thrilled to see Richard Jenkins ("The > Visitor") and Robert Downey Jr. > ("Tropic Thunder") get nominations. Neither has > any hope of actually > winning, but it's nice to see the Academy recognize a > long-suffering > character actor and a truly brave comedic performance. > > • The best thing about 10-time nominee "Slumdog > Millionaire" is its music, > and it got three nods between original score and original > song. Go A.R. > Rahman! > > • How in the world did "The Curious Case of Benjamin > Button" get 13 > nominations? It's almost as if the picture was carried > on hype alone. The > reviews were good, but they weren't *great*, and I > think most who have seen > the picture can agree that, of the two leads, Brad Pitt > wasn't the one you'd > nominate. > > • "WALL-E" got shut out of best picture, like I > knew it would, but I do have > a little glimmer of hope that it could win for its > screenplay. (The animated > feature Oscar is in the bag, of course.) > > • Can someone explain to me what was so great about Josh > Brolin's > performance in "Milk"? I loved the movie and I > even loved Sean Penn in it > (which is really saying something for me), but Brolin left > no impression at > all on me, thanks mostly to his underwritten part. > > • I really didn't want "Frost/Nixon" to get > nominated for best picture, > because I didn't want to feel obligated to go see it. I > guess you can't win > them all. > > • This must be the first time I've ever seen two of > the documentary feature > nominees: Werner Herzog's "Encounters at the End > of the World," and the > vastly overrated "Man on Wire." So where the hell > was "Dear Zachary," > Academy voters? > > • "Hellboy II" got a nomination for best > makeup. Get 'em, Red! > > • Kate Winslet's performance in "The > Reader" was named a supporting > performance by the Golden Globes, but as a lead performance > at the Oscars. > She won for both "The Reader" *and* > "Revolutionary Road" at the former. I > wonder if she'll win in a landslide because voters will > be giving her credit > for two movies, essentially. > > • My official predictions: > *Best Picture:* "Slumdog Millionaire" > *Best Director:* Stephen Daldry, "The Reader" > *Best Actor:* Sean Penn, "Milk" > *Best Actress:* Kate Winslet, "The Reader" > *Best Supporting Actor:* Duh. > *Best Supporting Actress:* Penelope Cruz, "Vicky > Cristina Barcelona" > > > http://blogs.dailyherald.com/node/1291
