Spring Break
Success of 'Millionaire' at the Academy Awards is no surprise
by Ben Strassfeld
Staff Writer
Arts | 3/3/09
Posted online at 8:18 PM EST on 3/2/09
/ Last updated at 4:22 AM EST on 3/2/09
Despite what some experts may say, forecasting the Academy Awards isn't exactly rocket science; one need only look to last year's Best Picture victory for No Country for Old Men to see the blueprint for Oscars glory. Step one: Have a director seriously overdue for Oscar attention (such as the Coen brothers) make a film that combines aspects of great past works with a new, bold direction. Step two: The story should be adapted from a great literary work. (No Country was based on a book by Cormac McCarthy, one of America's most celebrated writers.) Step three: Throw in some themes that relate to America. (In No Country's case, examinations of lawlessness and the West-though, more often than not, it seems to be about race.)
Looking at these criteria, it is obvious that The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was the film that was the best or at least most predictable fit to win Best Picture of the Year at this year's 81st Academy Awards ceremony; the film boasted the long overdue and much heralded David Fincher, director of Se7en and Fight Club, a serious literary pedigree-Button was based on an F. Scott Fitzgerald short story-and a story about as American as they come-Forrest Gump comparisons are at least true in that way.
Of course, as we all know by now it was not to be for Benjamin Button. The big winner on Sunday, Feb. 22 at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles was, without a doubt, Slumdog Millionaire. While not wholly unexpected given that it had been scooping up major awards for months, including Best Picture prizes from solid Oscars predictors like the Golden Globes and the Directors Guild of America, Slumdog's victory still marked a major and unexpected shift for the Academy Awards. In addition to being a movie by non-American director Danny Boyle that takes place in a non-American setting, the slums of Mumbai, it should also be noted that over a third of the film was spoken in Hindi and subtitled for American audiences, making Slumdog Millionaire the first partly foreign-language film to win Best Picture at the Oscars.
Looking at these criteria, it is obvious that The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was the film that was the best or at least most predictable fit to win Best Picture of the Year at this year's 81st Academy Awards ceremony; the film boasted the long overdue and much heralded David Fincher, director of Se7en and Fight Club, a serious literary pedigree-Button was based on an F. Scott Fitzgerald short story-and a story about as American as they come-Forrest Gump comparisons are at least true in that way.
Of course, as we all know by now it was not to be for Benjamin Button. The big winner on Sunday, Feb. 22 at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles was, without a doubt, Slumdog Millionaire. While not wholly unexpected given that it had been scooping up major awards for months, including Best Picture prizes from solid Oscars predictors like the Golden Globes and the Directors Guild of America, Slumdog's victory still marked a major and unexpected shift for the Academy Awards. In addition to being a movie by non-American director Danny Boyle that takes place in a non-American setting, the slums of Mumbai, it should also be noted that over a third of the film was spoken in Hindi and subtitled for American audiences, making Slumdog Millionaire the first partly foreign-language film to win Best Picture at the Oscars.
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