Denz
01-31-2003, 05:01 PM
In a bid to pre-empt a possible Oscar snub for Eminem and the film 8 Mile, Universal have taken out an advertising poster campaign which appears to directly address the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
"If a film sheds light on a vibrant but largely misunderstood aspect of our culture... provokes a stunning number of editorials and commentaries," surely it should be in the running for an Oscar, seems to be the suggestion.
But 8 Mile, once tipped for Academy recognition, seems to have cooled since the heady days of its first few weeks and now faces stiff competition from films like About Schmidt, The Pianist and Adaptation.
Speaking to the LA Times, Eminem's manager Paul Rosenberg points also at the star's unwillingness to play the Oscars game and arrive in LA to talk to the critics and work the circuit publicising the film.
"It's not like he gives a damn whether he gets this stuff or not," he said. "He certainly doesn't want to be seen as a movie star.
"He wants to be seen, first and foremost, as dedicated to music. He doesn't want to walk around on the red carpet. That is not his style. That's not what he wants to be."
The tone of Universal's advertisement also hints at concern over the possibility of the film's themes being inaccessible to the Academy.
Also talking to the LA Times, film director Rob Cohen who made XXX and The Fast And The Furious said: "Movies like anything I've made or like Moulin Rouge or 8 Mile are beyond the general taste comprehension of the Academy.
"The Academy is about a safer taste zone of films... Now you get a white rapper on the streets of Detroit, people having sex in grungy factories, that is not where they go for what they call an 'Academy-type' movie."
The ballots for Oscar candidates are due January 29, the nominations will be announced on February 11.
"If a film sheds light on a vibrant but largely misunderstood aspect of our culture... provokes a stunning number of editorials and commentaries," surely it should be in the running for an Oscar, seems to be the suggestion.
But 8 Mile, once tipped for Academy recognition, seems to have cooled since the heady days of its first few weeks and now faces stiff competition from films like About Schmidt, The Pianist and Adaptation.
Speaking to the LA Times, Eminem's manager Paul Rosenberg points also at the star's unwillingness to play the Oscars game and arrive in LA to talk to the critics and work the circuit publicising the film.
"It's not like he gives a damn whether he gets this stuff or not," he said. "He certainly doesn't want to be seen as a movie star.
"He wants to be seen, first and foremost, as dedicated to music. He doesn't want to walk around on the red carpet. That is not his style. That's not what he wants to be."
The tone of Universal's advertisement also hints at concern over the possibility of the film's themes being inaccessible to the Academy.
Also talking to the LA Times, film director Rob Cohen who made XXX and The Fast And The Furious said: "Movies like anything I've made or like Moulin Rouge or 8 Mile are beyond the general taste comprehension of the Academy.
"The Academy is about a safer taste zone of films... Now you get a white rapper on the streets of Detroit, people having sex in grungy factories, that is not where they go for what they call an 'Academy-type' movie."
The ballots for Oscar candidates are due January 29, the nominations will be announced on February 11.