He used to say that it was "extremely" unlikely for Angelina to score a Best Director nod since fellow directors would not be inclined to nominate a "star who wanted to try" and she would also need a Best Pic nod which he implied was a remote possibility. But now he says he's "not sure" what other nominations it could pick up aside from a best foreign film nod at the GG -- which he also upgraded from "quite possibly" to "very likely."
But he still doesn't think it could go all the way a la Million $ Baby and win BP.
I would probably give more weight to his opinions if he didn't laughably insist that J. Edgar is still a BP contender despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. He has an inability to look past his personal bias and survey the landscape objectively. So his praise for Blood & Honey may be muted by his earlier predisposition to dismiss it and not take a first time director's chances seriously. However, Feinberg appreciates political issues more than someone like Matt Mazur who is far more taken by films that emphasize mood and visuals over intellectual matters. It has been said that the artistic/film types are expressive and emotional but not analytical. And that is certainly true of most bloggers/critics/film geeks. Even Feinberg's own taste leans towards the arsty and nebulous as his picks to win the NYFCC are Melancholia and Tree of Life -- both of which don't stand a chance.
While very brief, it's nice to finally have feedback from a known Oscar blogger.
Scott's remarks:
I think the big three, at the moment, are
THE ARTIST, THE DESCENDANTS, and THE HELP. Then there's WAR HORSE,
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS, MONEYBALL. Then we have to see about EXTREMELY LOUD
AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE and THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO. And then
there's J. EDGAR. What did he think of Blood and Honey?
I finally caught up with the film this past week, and while I am currently embargoed from writing extensively about it, I can say (I think) that it was a very solid directorial debut... probably a bit too long, at well over 2 hours in running time... but very well made and acted.
I think it's a very likely nominee for best foreign film at the Golden Globes. Beyond that, I'm not sure.
In response to a fan who was worried that Feinberg was implying that B&H had no chance past the Globes.
I didn't say that. I need to see/hear how others respond to it first, and most people haven't yet seen it.
I think that Angelina fought for it to be released with subtitles because she wanted it to reflect the real story that it tells as accurately as possible.
As to whether it can be a Million Dollar Baby, go on to be the frontrunner and eventually win BP.
No.
