On February 24th . . .
It will be the 90th Academy Awards Ceremony! Wow, almost a century, makes a girl think. (I’ll give $50 bucks to whoever knows what Oscar Winning Movie that line references!) (Hint: it got Marilyn Monroe a Golden Globe.) 90 years . . . that’s a lot of time and a lot of movies. A lot of good movies. Of course the Best Picture list doesn’t include ALL the best pictures out there, but it’s a nice start.
Which is why I propose we watch them! Yes, all of them. What? You say. I hardly get around to watching all the movies that are nominated each year—and there’s only a handful of them. But 90?
Yeah. Why not?
I don’t know about you, but one of my goals is to be the best storyteller I can possibly be. And one way to get good at storytelling is to acquaint yourself with good storytelling. Remember, we’re on a StoryQuest here. (Read THIS blog to find out what the heck I’m talking about.) We—yours truly and those who have decided to join me—are looking to see just what it is that makes a good story. A great story, an indelible tale, a fantastic flick. Something that is universally impactful, that makes us all feel, regardless of our language, race, culture, or taste.
It Can Be Done
You’ve seen those movies, you’ve heard those tales, where one minute you’re just watching and the next you’re suddenly “lifted off” and forget your watching a movie at all. When you’re transfixed and transported. When transcendence occurs. Why does that happen? Because we all have a desperate need for good stories. As my dear friend Robert McKee says, stories make life make sense. If we didn’t have them we’d probably go stark raving mad. We wouldn’t be able to process what happens to us, we think in stories, we relate through stories. In fact stories feed a primal need in us human types. McKee also points out that throughout history once a civilization’s stories start to go banal the society is well on its way to crumbling.
So heck, we’re saving the world writing good stories! And so we shall watch the Oscar List.
The List
Here it is in all its glory:
Click HERE for more info.
How many of these have you seen? I’ve seen 47. Wow. I had no idea I’d seen that many. And which one was your favorite? Mine was The Artist. What a GREAT film. I also loved Moonlight because the acting was spectacular. Birdman was fantastic as well.
So here’s the deal, StoryQuesters: I’m a gonna watch all of these starting from the bottom of the list and going to the top. I’ll be writing astute and informative reviews—might even throw in a bit of the background story of filming, casting, how they were made—and posting those reviews here on my blog. It will be under the category of “Oscar List”.
Join Me!
I’d love some company as I go along with this, so get your Netflix que lined up—We’ll start with Wings, the very first movie to win an Academy award way back in 1928! (Confession: I’ve already watched it. And the story is actually really good.)
IF you have a favorite from the list above, or want to tell us how many you’ve already seen please post in the comments below. We’d LOVE to hear from you.
Also—can you tell me which Best Picture movies these are from?
