Spielberg's Lincoln

[Liz Rosenthal]

Amongst all the Best Picture Oscar nominees, Lincoln has done the best box office. Better than Argo, better than Zero Dark Thirty, better than Silver Linings Playbook, etc.

There will never be unanimity about any movie, and the Lincoln movie isn't for people who would not enjoy a superb drama in the theater. Nevertheless, I've read that the general public expects to see Lincoln get the most awards.

The problem is fairly simple. The Oscar race has become a presidential race in microcosm. Ben Affleck and George Clooney, co-producers of Argo, have been wining and dining everybody in Hollywood that they can think of, and they've won huge dividends as a result with the so-called "precursors" (i.e., the various guilds and some of the critics organizations). The Oscars could very well go Argo's way for this reason, but then again, the Oscar voters make up a more exclusive club. People at awardsdaily.com, who are extremely pro-Lincoln, are resigned to an Argo victory, but still hoping for an upset favoring Lincoln.

(02-13-2013 09:14 AM)Laurie Verge Wrote:  It occurred to me that perhaps the reason Lincoln has not garnered the awards from the various groups leading up to the Oscars (except for DDL) is the very reason that I have been hearing from the general public. Its focus on just the efforts to pass the Thirteenth Amendment is too much high politics and over the heads of the average viewer?? Perhaps the voters in those other awards venues feel the same way.

It is also up against two other, high-profile, historical movies - Argo and Zero Dark Thirty - both of which have more recent resonance with the average person. I wish that they would release it soon in DVD so that I could enter this discussion fully informed.