8 Oscars Transformed by Epic Battles for Ultimate Glory
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Avatar and The Hurt Locker must go head to head at the Oscars after battling at the BAFTAs and Golden Globes.
It’s Oscar season and the big showdown this year will be between James Cameron’s Avatar and Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker. Both movies have been nominated in 9 categories, including the prestigious and hotly contested Best Picture and Best Director awards.
To honour the momentous showdown between the two great movies, Gnews has launched its very own Ultimate Oscar Glory Contest. We want the online community to polish their Photoshopping skills and submit the best themed Oscar to represent a winning movie. Watch the video for a few ideas, and see some examples below.
The popular vote for Oscar glory currently resides with Avatar. The space epic has taken over $2.5 billion worldwide at the box office, and has revolutionised the cinematic experience as the first fully-3D feature-length movie. However, the intensity and gritty realism of The Hurt Locker has won over critics and perhaps ominously, the British Academy.
The Hurt Locker won six BAFTAs, stealing both Best Film and Best Director away from Avatar. The most commercially successful movie ever made could only manage two awards from the British Academy for Costume Design and Special Visual Effects.
Now both movies go head to head again at the Oscars. The Academy are notorious for neglecting blockbusters in favour of smaller more dramatic pieces. This would definitely swing support behind The Hurt Locker, especially as a female nominee has never won the Best Director award.
However, to snub Cameron’s achievements with Avatar could lose the Academy a lot of credibility with the public. Avatar does need significant recognition – something beyond a minor nod for special effects.
The battle this Sunday is going to be epic to see which of the two contenders can triumph. Previous Oscar ceremonies have thrown up similar titanic struggles between competing movies.
Braveheart vs Apollo 13
In 1995 Mel Gibson’s directorial debut Braveheart was pitched against Ron Howard’s space drama Apollo 13. When it came to the 1996 Oscars, Apollo 13 was nominated for nine awards, whereas Braveheart received 10 nominations. Both movies were nominated for Best Picture, Best Screenplay, Best Sound and Best Music.
On the night of the 68th Academy Awards, Braveheart emerged the victor, taking five Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Cinematography. Apollo 13 won two Oscars for Best Sound and Best Editing.
Terminator 2 vs The Silence of the Lambs
In 1992 it was Judgement Day for James Cameron again as Terminator 2 was pitted against The Silence of the Lambs. Like Avatar, Terminator 2 had pushed the boundaries of special effects, and received six nominations as a result. T2 was up against the chillingly dramatic turns of Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins with The Silence of the Lambs receiving seven nominations.
At the close of the 64th Academy Awards, The Silence of the Lambs walked away with five Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Actress. Terminator 2 meanwhile received four Oscars for Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Effects, Best Makeup and Best Sound.
Toy Story vs Up
This year should also prove a solid year for Pixar. 14 years after John Lasseter was originally honoured with the Special Achievement Award: “For the development and inspired application of techniques that have made possible the first feature-length computer-animated film,” for Toy Story, Pixar’s 2009 triumph Up is sure to win one of the five Oscars it is nominated for this year.
So there you have it. Whatever happens on 7 March, the Academy will be forced to break with tradition somewhere. The question is which movie will ultimately triumph at the 82nd Academy Awards?
Let us know your thoughts with a comment below, and why not pimp your own statuette using Photoshop to win our Ultimate Oscar Glory Contest?
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I thought all these were real until I saw Buzz Lightyear.