Who is a film made for? Well, on one side of the coin, it's made for you and me, the general public, it's made for our entertainment. But, then on the other side of the rusty coin, it's made for the companies who want to make lots and lots of money out of it. However, those companies need to remember that without the general public putting "bums on seats" as I believe Hitchcock once put it, they wouldn't be racking all of this money.
Nevertheless, in my head, the true voice of what makes a good film is public opinion. If people like it, they'll go see it, they'll encourage others to go see it, and eventually they'll buy the DVD/Blu-ray or whatever. Public opinion speaks higher than even the Critics do, because quite often a film will be a commercial success, even if the so-called critics have really panned it.
So, if the public are the people who really control how successful a film is (and let's face it, they are in full control. Just look at the blockbuster films that have millions, no probably billions of dollars thrown into them, by Executives who think they're on to a huge winner, but the film is the biggest flop, because it's actually a bit pants!!), why is it that a panel of "film professionals" decide who wins these awards? And why are these awards so important? I honestly don't really give two hoots about what a panel of apparent professionals has to say. I much prefer awards that are voted for, by the people who enjoy them for what they are: plain, simple entertainment. Not by people who see them as arty-farty, mise-en-scene, auteur-based.... (yeah, did I bore you with my Film Studies jargon? Yeah, I think I bored myself too!!)
So yeah, I have far greater respect for People's Choice style of awards that are voted for by the people.
On to the BAFTAs: However, when it comes to the BAFTA Awards, I always feel a personal sense of Britishness about the whole thing, which means that I have to show my support for it, perhaps in a protective kind of way. With that firmly in my mind, when it popped up that nominations were out, I had to go take a look and give the Awards a chance....
To be fair, half of the films are so obscure that I've never even heard of them, and it makes it hard for me to judge on who should win them. In the Animated Film Category alone, I think that the category is very misrepresented, with a great deal of films not on the list, but then, what do we expect from an industry that still primitively views all animation as a kids film (even when they're not), and kids films are never taken seriously!
Something I always find weird about nominations, too, is that a portion of the films, haven't even been released in the UK yet, and it seems unfair to include stuff that the public haven't even had a chance to see yet.
I noticed that Harry Potter has been nominated in the Sound category, which is definitely a well-deserved (in my opinion) nomination, because even though the previous films were quite lacking in the score department, the final one was breathtaking, and so beautiful. Do I think it'll win? Up against The Artist, I very much doubt it!
Nope, to me the nominations are a certain type of Film Lecturer's wet dream. Anyone who has studied Film Studies may have come across the type I'm referring to; they are the lecturers who think that starting the day with full on porn is enriching for the soul. They're the people who are convinced that all the great womanising actors (of the day) were secretly gay. They are obsessed with the hidden meaning in absolutely everything (is it possible that the set-designer put it there, because it matched the wall paper??), and French New Wave is their idea of Heaven.
But what happened to just sitting back, and enjoying a film for the simple side of things: a form of entertainment. Nothing more, not less.
Because, as this blog is all about, I don't want my life enriching with the sophistication of what-now or who-that. I just want to be Entertained. Simple.
