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Short movies make big Oscar splash
Thu Feb 12, 2009 11:21pm EST
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By Steven Zeitchik
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Sexy Oscar races like best picture and best director may sport prohibitive front-runners. But those looking for intense awards jockeying might turn to . . . live-action shorts?
A surprising amount of manpower is being expended on small races or contenders this year, with the shorts contest in particular a touchstone for how developed -- or overdeveloped -- the Oscar industrial complex has become.
Powerhouse publicity shop agents have been brought on, media are being courted and events are put together for the collection of mini-features.
The Swiss Consulate General is throwing an Oscar week reception at Raleigh Studios for urban-isolation drama "On the Line." The filmmakers behind the German Holocaust short "Toyland" (probably the strongest film in the lot) want you to come to a director reception and Q&A this weekend at either the Laemmle or Raleigh Studios. Irish nominee "New Boy" has PR firm MRPM flogging it. The Danish Film Institute has taken out trade ads promoting "The Pig."
And you thought nominees like "Frost/Nixon" and "The Reader" seemed specialized.
Magnolia and the group Shorts international have teamed up in the past few years to distribute nominated shorts on DVD and in theaters, nobly raising the profile of what's generally a quality crop of films. But the truth is, the Oscar industrial complex was all over it anyway.
The growth in the number of consultants -- and the desire of small entities, particularly foreign film commissions -- to leverage their 15 Oscar minutes is partly responsible for the rise. So is the calendar, which has shifted in a way that's conducive to an escalation.
"There's an influx after the nominations in these specialized categories," said one awards consultant, "because once the season got shortened, there became a very short window when they could influence the process."
An increase in consulting and publicity happen ever year. But it seems even more pronounced this year.
The foreign-language also race has seen an escalation.
With the committee picking at least one left-field choice every year -- and with the added step of a nine-picture shortlist offering more opportunities for bragging rights -- Hollywood publicity firms were enlisted to campaign for submissions from countries such as Chile, Lithuania and others not historically known for Oscar prowess.
This year has also seen the growth of what might be called the long-shot industrial complex -- campaigns for serious underdogs in bigger races. Jeff Goldblum and William Hurt (in small movies) come to mind, lower-profile actors who for one reason or another (a small distributor looking to capitalize on their star) get pushed.
"There were several campaigns this year where someone was just spending for the sake of spending," said one studio publicist who has worked on a large number of awards campaigns. "That's not always a bad thing. But you have to be careful. At some point it looks vain."
Then again, there's something substantive even to smaller races.
Shorts winners like Ari Sandel and Andrea Arnold have ridden those victories to other gigs. And while it's unlikely to ring the chimes of audience-minded producers Laurence Mark and Bill Condon, races in typically underplayed categories like shorts can contain dramas. Continued...
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