The Greatest Showman#932 - Unspeakable Surprise

Not Best Supporting Actor or Best Supporting Actress, but Best Cinematography. Tonight's Oscars kicked off in an unexpected manner.

Typically, the Oscars begin with awards for supporting roles. These categories are highly competitive and central to the evening's core awards, though they often receive less attention from the audience. Supporting roles, with their mix of fresh faces and seasoned veterans, tend to attract viewers and create suspense, making them ideal for an opening.

But this year, the Best Cinematography Award was the first to be announced, which was intriguing.

Unlike other film festivals, the Oscars follow a distinct division of awards. The first part covers the main awards: Best Film, Best Director, the four major acting awards, and the two screenplay awards. The second part focuses on technical awards for the behind-the-scenes teams, while the third part includes lesser-known categories like Best Documentary, Best Short Film, Best Animated Feature, and Best Foreign Language Film.

The technical awards include Best Makeup, Best Score, Best Song, Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Effects, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Cinematography, and Best Editing. These ten awards represent the highest level of achievement in the North American film industry.

Under the Oscars' voting rules, only members of a specific branch may vote in the nomination stage. For instance, actors vote only in the acting categories, while screenwriters vote for the screenplay awards. However, once the nominations are finalized, all Academy members can vote across all categories.

Because of this, the adage "Nominations depend on strength, but awards depend on luck" rings true.

During the nomination phase, films face critiques and evaluations from industry peers. Strong nominations are usually backed by extensive public relations efforts to boost visibility. Once nominations are announced, the battle for the awards truly begins, involving a mix of connections, media relations, and strategic operations.

In the core categories, competition is fierce. However, technical categories, especially those in the second and third parts, often see less direct competition. The technical awards are highly specialized, and most Academy members tend to skip voting on these categories unless they have a particular interest or knowledge in the field. This explains why the winners are usually those highly regarded by industry professionals.

Among the technical awards, Best Cinematography and Best Editing consistently draw the most attention. These awards are crucial because they showcase the visual and stylistic elements of filmmaking. Best Editing, in particular, is often seen as the "mini Best Film" award due to its significance.

Tonight, the first award presented was Best Cinematography. Among the five nominees, four had already received significant industry recognition.

Robert Richardson for Hugo (seven-time Oscar nominee, two-time winner).Jeff Cronenweth for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Oscar-nominated twice, known for Fight Club).Janusz Kaminski for War Horse (five-time nominee, two-time winner).Emmanuel Lubezki for The Tree of Life (five-time nominee).

The final nominee was Gilliam Schiffman for The Artist, a relatively unknown name, especially outside the French film industry. However, The Artist had garnered attention for its unexpected rise, much like its director and lead actors.

Except for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, all the nominated films were also in contention for Best Picture, setting the stage for a fierce competition in the top category.

From a professional standpoint, Emmanuel Lubezki of The Tree of Life was the frontrunner, having earned widespread praise throughout the awards season. His use of natural light, long takes, handheld cinematography, and ultra-wide-angle lenses had been celebrated as groundbreaking.

However, from a public relations perspective, Robert Richardson and Gilliam Schiffman emerged as strong contenders, particularly after Weinstein Brothers' promotional efforts gave The Artist an unexpected boost.

Was it professional expertise or PR strategy at play? Ultimately, only PricewaterhouseCoopers, responsible for counting the votes, knew the result. The rest of us had to wait in suspense.

As the presenter, Tom Hanks, revealed the winner, the answer came: Robert Richardson, Hugo.

It was a PR victory. Hugo had triumphed, and this marked Richardson's third Oscar win after The Kennedy Assassination and The Aviator. This was also his sixth collaboration with director Martin Scorsese.

Upon accepting the award, Richardson jokingly remarked, "I can't believe you put the cinematography award first. Are you serious?" He then offered brief thanks, dedicating the award to filmmakers past, present, and future before concluding his speech in under 20 seconds. His acceptance was quick and familiar.

Following that, Tom Hanks moved on to present the next award: Best Art Direction, which was won by Hugo as well, marking the film's second win of the night.

The opening of the Oscars had been unexpected but made perfect sense. Over the course of the awards season, Hugo, The Artist, Midnight in Paris, and The Descendants had emerged as the strongest contenders, but Midnight in Paris had missed out on a nomination for Best Editing, and The Descendants focused mainly on the core acting and screenplay categories.

Outside of Hugo and The Artist, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and War Horse were also significant players in the technical categories. With Hugo claiming two technical awards early on, it appeared to be taking the lead in the race for Best Picture.

However, the Best Costume Design award was a surprise. Mark Bridges, nominated for the first time, defeated Hugo's Sandy Powell with his retro costumes for The Artist. Powell had already won twice before, making this a notable upset.

In another surprise, Ludovic Bource, largely unknown in the film industry, won the Best Original Score award for The Artist, beating seasoned nominees like John Williams and Howard Shore. Bource's score, which had played a key role in The Artist's success, seemed to signal the film's growing dominance.

By the time four awards had been handed out, Hugo and The Artist each had two trophies, setting the stage for a tense and competitive night.

Although The Artist's victories in the technical department were unexpected, it was clear that the film was making a strong push for the top categories, thanks to the Weinstein Brothers' powerful PR campaign. The Oscars were shaping up to be a contest between Hugo and The Artist.

Would one of these films emerge as the ultimate winner, or would a dark horse take the crown? The suspense continued to build, and the next categories would reveal more.