Oscar Buzz: In Year of Uncertainty, Pundits Have Gained Clout, for Better or Worse
variety.comTim Gray Senior Vice PresidentWe are in the midst of Hollywood’s two big film events. One is the Oscar race, in which film artists salute great work.The other is the surrounding mini-industry that involves campaigners, contenders, agents, journalists and Oscar pundits.There is always confusion because the latter event is also called the Oscar race — but in fact, the two are very different species.Oscar Race #1 features major names (this year including Nicole Kidman, Will Smith, Steven Spielberg), newcomer/vets (Troy Kotsur, Ciaran Hinds) plus top-of-the-line artisans.
Peer recognition by Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences voters is the whole point of Race #1.Many look upon Race #2 with confusion or contempt, because it involves money, marketing and the elusive factor of buzz.
Oscar’s parallel races generally follow a decades-old system. But this year, the balance has been thrown off.It’s been a year of uncertainty.
The top factor of course is COVID, but we’ve also seen the absence of the Golden Globes (more significant than some people think), frequent schedule shifts for other awards, and changes in voting procedures for bellwethers including BAFTA.
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