Even while impressed advance viewers fueled early Oscar talk, she and her team knew that they didn't have an "Academy film" going in and it factored into their decision to skip the festivals. They knew the film would be divisive and controversial and could easily be misinterpreted. Indeed, we can see that several critics didn't understand the story; some complained that a lead character who was intended to be a cipher was underwritten. Others didn't appreciate the need to revisit the war or to show it's brutality and a few resented Angelina using a film in service of her humanitarian interests. These poorly discerning critics are why I am selective about who I read and whose reviews I post here. There are hundreds of movie writers and "critics" out there but few really have the intellect, knowledge, intelligence, sensitivity and talent to give worthwhile and reliable insight into films. There are perhaps no more than a dozen who are regularly worth reading, armed with a scholarly knowledge of film and movie making and able to distill the messages, themes and storylines of the films and combine them into an elegantly articulate, entertaining and useful review.
Angelina and her team can take heart in the fact that almost all top critics did get their message and most had strong words of praise. There can be little question that the film's Golden Globes nod was rightly earned and not merely the HFPA showering love on a favorite star.
It should also be noted that the taste of the HFPA members merely reflect those of their constituents as Angelina, Johnny, Brad top the handful of true global megastars. While Tom Cruise and Robert Downey, Jr. are also huge stars, their popularity ebbs and flows and so while they and Depp have all favored non-Awards blockbuster fare of late, only Depp has consistently found favor with the Globes. It could probably be further argued that Angelina and Brad are the only ones who have proven drawing power even for serious prestige fare as Johnny's The Rum Diry has not fared well at the box office.
In the current challenging box office environment, the enduring popularity of stars with strong and reliable world wide appeal is of immense value. As this piece by Liz Braun notes, "Far away places such as China and Russia have become far more important markets than North America when it comes to box-office numbers."
Could Angelina Jolie Win Best Director Oscar for 'In the Land of Blood and Honey'?
By Mary A.Reed | Yahoo! Contributor Network Angelina Jolie may not win a Best Director Oscar for her new film "In the Land of Blood and Honey" because only four women in the history of the Academy Awards have been nominated in that category. Of those four, only one has won: Kathryn Bigelow for "The Hurt Locker" last year. Here are the four women who made the grade, and why there's still hope for Jolie to grab a nomination.
Be Rebellious: Lina Wertmuller
There's no question Jolie has a rebellious spirit like Lina Wertmuller, the first female nominated for a Best Director Academy Award for her 1976 film "Seven Beauties." She too created a compelling public persona. Wertmuller rebelled against her aristocratic family in the mid-1960s and went to work in the Italian theater.
There she met director Federico Fellini, who hired her for his film "8 1/2." Wertmuller then gained financial backing from producer Franco Zeffirelli for a series of four movies that became instantly popular. The fourth film, "Seven Beauties," was nominated for four Academy Awards in 1976. Wertmuller was so famous Lorraine Newman emulated her quirky character twice on the TV show "Saturday Night Live."
Be Brilliant: Jane Campion
Nominated for Best Director in 1994 for "The Piano," Jane Campion tried several options before turning to filmmaking. When she finally found her niche, there was no stopping her. One of her first works won the Short Film Palme D'Or at Cannes in 1982, and she won another in 1993. Campion was nominated for Best Director for "The Piano" in 1994, and the film itself won three Oscars. Jolie would be following in Campion's footsteps if her directing debut gets a nomination.
Take Them by Surprise: Sophia Coppola
Much like Angelina Jolie, whose father is Academy Award-winning actor Jon Voight, Sophia Coppola worked with father Francis Ford Coppola at the start of her career. Sophia probably didn't think it was a blessing when she was panned by the critics in her father's film "The Godfather, Part III" in the early 1990s.
However, by 2003 she had written and directed the offbeat love story "Lost in Translation," surprising everyone with her deft touch. Sofia became the first American woman nominated for a Best Director award, and won for Best Original Screenplay. Likewise, a Jolie nomination might surprise a few people.
Be Excellent and Marry Well: Kathryn Bigelow
Kathryn Bigelow graduated from the film program at Columbia University and started making movies in the late 1970s. She supplemented her income by acting in videos, where she met her future husband director James Cameron. Bigelow never really needed that connection, though, because she was already earning international acclaim for her directing skills by the time they married in 1989.
During their marriage, she worked on some high-profile movies, including "Blue Steel" with Jamie Lee Curtis. After their divorce, Bigelow directed a film in 2008 about a bomb squad in Iraq called "The Hurt Locker." Movie and gossip lovers everywhere savored the moment when the film produced not only the first female Best Director Oscar for Bigelow, but also won for Best Picture over Cameron's blockbuster "Avatar."
For Angelina Jolie to be nominated or win a Best Director Oscar, she must be as rebellious as Wertmuller, as brilliant as Campion and bring excellence to her work like Bigelow. If she can do that, she may take Hollywood by surprise like Coppola and grab a nomination for Best Director.
