Why ‘Argo’ Might Walk Away with it ALL at The Oscars

Blog Post #12

This is what I posted this morning on the Internet.

Now that I've seen it, as a filmmaker, I'm really happy for @benaffleck & #ARGO this morning. Dude did it! Excellent! is.gd/CdOF7h
— Dankwa Brooks (@DankwaBrooks) October 13, 2012

When I woke up this morning and was still thinking about this film I knew I had to write something. My happiness over the film is not entirely about the film. As you saw above I am genuinely happy for the director. It’s like I have seen his progression as a director and as an all around artist that’s something that we not only aspire to, but like to see happen to other artists.

Despite my feeling about the film (excellent), my feeling about the direction (excellent) why do I think it walk away with it ALL next year’s Academy Awards? Because it hits all the right notes.
As I said in my piece about the Oscar potential for Michael Fassbender 

Oscars ARE a personality/status contest as much as it is about the achievement in film. You must be firing on all cylinders in order to get major awards recognition. Most times it’s not enough to be great, unfortunate, but true.

1. The director Ben Affleck is well respected and well liked among the industry. He may also be seen as a “golden boy” because of his history in Hollywood and having already won an Oscar (for the screenplay for Good Will Hunting (1997))

2. The film is just good old fashion good! It blends the right amount of suspense and comedy and does a great job at incorporating history while telling a story about a small event involved in it. It’s a bio pic about someone who by the nature of his profession can’t be famous and makes a really good film about it. It’s the kind of story the Academy loves!

I think not only will the picture get nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Writing – Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography and probably others it might win it all. Really. It’s that type of feel good Hollywood picture.

While I truly loved Beasts of the Southern Wild (another excellent picture) it does not have all the factors going for it like Argo. Unknown director, unknown stars, very small budget. Hollywood appreciates, but don't necessarily awards its major awards to such a picture and the Academy Award is the major award.

I have been watching the Academy Awards with much fervor since I studied film in college so I kind of know what they like and Argo is definitely the kind of film they clamor over.

I wish Ben Affleck and his film luck at next year's awards, but I surmise he might not need it.


ADDITIONAL: Further confirmation!

Ben Affleck's 'Argo' Wows at Academy Screening
by Gregg Kilday, The Hollywood Reporter
3:31 PM PDT 10/14/2012

The awards hopeful attracted an overflow audience and lots of spontaneous applause.

Ben Affleck's Argo drew an overflow crowd and lots of spontaneous applause as it screened Saturday night for members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

The first measure of the Academy's interest in the thriller about the rescue of six members of the U.S. Embassy during the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis was the fact that it drew a rare, overflow crowd.

The audience applauded at a number of the movie's Hollywood references and at the conclusion of its suspenseful escape. And instead of beating a hasty exit, most of the crowd stayed in its seats for a Q&A with Affleck and screenwriter Chris Terrio.

The screening bodes well for the Warner Bros. release's Oscar quest.

"The audience loved Ben," said one of the attendees, "and the fact that the movie's produced by George Clooney makes it an irresistible combo."

UPDATE: FEBRUARY 8, 2013
As of today the Oscar nominations have been out for weeks and the tide has been swaying towards Lincoln with its twelve nominations as the favorite, but the article below gives a good reason why Lincoln may still have a run for its money.

Oscar 101: 7 Tough Lessons From This Awards Season

UPDATE: FEBRUARY 25, 2013

The 85th Annual Academy Awards were last night and Argo was nominated for SEVEN Academy Awards:
Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing and Best Original Score

On the Oscar broadcast last night host Seth McFarlane joked "Argo, a thriller about the CIA's plot to rescue six Americans during the Iranian hostage crisis. The story was so top secret that the film's director is unknown to the academy,"

In case you didn't know Argo WON the Academy Awards for Best Film Editing, Best Adapted Screenplay and the top award of the night Best Picture!

Argo, was the first best picture winner not to be nominated for best director since 1989’s Driving Miss Daisy.

Argo also won other awards during this awards season:

• Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film
• Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama
• Golden Globe Award for Best Director
• Producers Guild of America Award for Best Theatrical Motion Picture

So while Argo didn’t walk away “with it all” it did walk away with most including the highest honor of all Best Picture!

Additional Links
My review of Beasts of the Southern Wild