Annual Academy Awards Oscars Challenge

Hi, everybody!  This is Lara Hammock from the Marble Jar channel in and today’s video, I tell you about my annual Academy Awards challenge project. 

Every year for the past four years, I have watched every movie nominated in the category of  Best Picture for the Academy Awards.  I know that this is terribly indulgent.  What is strange is that I’m actually someone who doesn’t go to movies frequently throughout the year, but for a 6 week stretch in January and February, I go to the movies A LOT.   The Oscars are like my Super Bowl.

Somehow, by elevating this to a project or a challenge, it takes on extra significance in my mind. I am single-minded about accomplishing the goal of seeing all best picture nominees.  I also try to see any other movies that are nominated for a significant number of awards as well as many nominated documentaries and animated features as I can.  Of course, I have to sandwich all of this into whatever free time I have available — I know this isn’t an option for many, but I do relish an good project and I really look forward to it all year.  

I put 2 dates on my calendar well in advance. One for when the nominations come out — that was January 23 this year.  And, of course I block off the night of the Awards on my calendar. One year I was traveling on the night of the Oscars, so I DVRed the whole thing like a Superfan and avoided news until I got to watch it started to finish — no easy task in this information-invasive world. 

I keep a Google spreadsheet with all of the movies I’m trying to see, the nominations they have received, where they are playing, and Rotten Tomatoes scores.  Some of them, particularly the documentaries, I can usually watch at home on Netflix or Amazon.  I’ll share my spreadsheet from this year (2018) with you and include a link in the comments section. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1XF-qD_K4LKb7Ca8gafs55abtGdT1YrOF5bxF476UjOw/edit?usp=sharing  I also use Commonsensemedia.org to determine which I can take my kids to see with me. 

I have a couple of friends who join me in my challenge.  My most avid partner has a father who has appeared in a couple of movies, which gives him membership to the screen actors guild.  So sometimes we can score a DVD from him for movies that have difficult viewing times or are playing in inconvenient theaters.  I’m lucky that I live in a big metro area with a couple of artsy theaters nearby.  My daughter is a movie buff, but at age 13, only a couple of movies per year are usually appropriate for her.  My mom will also see some of these movies with me, but no one has quite the commitment that I do.  I will definitely force myself to see movies that I would never choose to see — I’m looking at you, The Revenant.  But I definitely don’t wait for others to go with me — I’m totally content to see movies on my own during this period!

For this 6 week period, I immerse myself in movie knowledge — articles, interviews, podcasts, reviews.  I love all of it — particularly the stories behind the stories.   Just a quick mental health warning, Oscar-nominated movies tend to be disproportionately emotionally heavy, so sometimes it can feel burdensome to carry around so many sad stories at this time of year when we already see a lot less of the sun.  My brain chemistry allows me to do okay, but it is a consideration particularly if you already experience some weather induced sadness during the winter. 

On the night of the Oscars, I have a small cocktail party — complete with red carpet-style costuming. My husband will even don his tux for the occasion. My family will watch the Awards with me a for a while, but it is usually on a Sunday night and there is school and work the next day. So, by 10pm, I’m usually the last one watching with only Twitter to keep me company.  By that time, it’s really just the die hards like me watching and tweeting. 

The last couple of years have wholeheartedly loved the movie that won Best Picture of the Year.  The year Spotlight won, i promptly burst into tears. I have to imagine, not being a huge sports fan, that the day after the Oscars must feel like the day after your team loses in the playoffs.  It’s a little depressing, but there is always the next year to look forward to.  I’d love some company in my challenge!  Let me know what you think. Comments are always appreciated and thanks for watching!