by Heath Lynch, Contributing Writer
With November right around the corner, we are diving headfirst into awards season. It’s exciting to look at the calendar and all of the filmmaking potential. Let’s hope we get some true, new masterpieces this season to add to our collection of all-time favorite films! But let’s not get too excited about what’s ahead, because we’re here to look back at what’s already come before and look back at award seasons long gone. As a reminder, with our Oscars: What If… series, we look at categories the Academy Awards should be honoring, but for one reason or another, they aren’t. So we’re going to imagine what could’ve been regarding past Oscar seasons. Hopefully someday the Academy will do right by these creative talents, but until then, we must do the Academy’s job for them. Let’s look back at the year YouTube was launched, Pope John Paul II passed away, the US version of The Office debuted, and Fall Out Boy became one of the biggest bands in pop and rock with their breakout album From Under the Cork Tree. It is time to examine the films of 2005, celebrated at the Oscars in 2006. Let’s see what could have been!
Best Stunts and Choreography
Given to the best achievement in dance, stunts, related performances, and overall choreography.
And the nominees are… Batman Begins, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Sin City, Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith
And the winner is… Batman Begins!
Okay, sure, the close-quarters, quick cut nature of some of these action scenes (looking at you, docks sequence where we first get the famous “I’m Batman” line) may make it difficult to fully appreciate the aggressive stunt work and choreography on display here, but the editing and filming techniques do not negate the tremendously impressive efforts of the stunt crew. Because the work being accomplished in Batman Begins is terrific. You’ve got cars (tanks?) driving on rooftops, Batman free-falling down a multi-story stairwell, massive fight sequences with dozens of extras, close-quarters combat illustrating well choreographed fighting dynamics, massive explosions with bodies on wires being thrown across the screen, and so much more. Christopher Nolan had a vision, and he capitalized on it, ushering in a new era of comic book movie filmmaking that is still felt today, with a dark, gritty realism that heightens the stakes of the story, while elevating the visual and entertainment spectacle for the audience. For all these reasons, and honestly so many more, we have to give Batman Begins some much deserved love with this Oscar win.
Best Performance by Voiceover or Motion Capture
Given to the best off screen voice performance, or on screen motion captured performance.
And the nominees are… Sacha Baron Cohen as King Julien XIII in Madagascar, Morgan Freeman as Narrator in March of the Penguins, Alan Rickman as Marvin in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Peter Sallis as Wallace in Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Andy Serkis as Kong in King Kong
And the winner is… Andy Serkis as Kong in King Kong!
Whelp, he’s back.
After just one year of sitting on the sidelines, the legend that is Serkis has returned to take home his third Oscar for Voiceover or Motion Capture work in a four-year span. But honestly, how could it be anyone else? Sure, we all like to move it, move it; we love Baron Cohen’s King Julien. Rickman’s Marvin is adorable. There’s great stuff here. But no one comes close to putting on such a rich, emotional, and ranging performance as Serkis does as our titular ape. The amount of expression he exudes in a completely dialogue-less role is staggering. From pain to anger, sorrow to love, remorse to protectionism, and so much more, every single scene he’s one screen, Serkis is dynamically captivating and owning the audience’s attention. Sure, this movie has issues, but Serkis is far from one of them. In fact, he is inarguably the single greatest thing about this flick, and why it even remotely works at all. As such, it’s definitely time to give the man another trophy.
Best Performance by an Ensemble Cast
Given to the best overall ensemble cast performance.
And the nominees are… The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Batman Begins, Brokeback Mountain, Good Night, and Good Luck., The Squid and the Whale
And the winner is… Brokeback Mountain!
Catch me on a different day and this easily goes to The Squid and the Whale. But alas, on this day, we have to make sure Ang Lee’s masterpiece takes home some gold… especially since the Academy proper snubbed this film of its much-deserved Best Picture gold. But I digress…
Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Williams, Anne Hathaway are all absolutely crushing it here. It’s a tour de force of ensemble acting. Moments like the confrontation at the dinner table come to mind, stick with you, and never relinquish their grip. There’s so much love, hope, and pain on display between these four that it’s almost incomprehensible. It’s all so raw and honest, but more than that, so empathic and relatable. And that’s just our leading quartet of actors. You’ve also got great supporting turns from Randy Quaid, Linda Cardellini, Anna Faris, and David Harbour well before he hit the big time, that round our narrative beats, flesh out character moments, and fully engross the audience in the sheer power of this ensemble performance. Hell, it’s worth noting that Ledger, Gyllenhaal, and Williams all received individual Oscar performance noms for their work. When you add that to the equation, it’s hard to consider any other film besides Brokeback Mountain as a possible champion of this trophy.
Best Directorial Debut
Given to the best achievement in direction by a debut directing talent.
And the nominees are… Judd Apatow for The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Shane Black for Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Rian Johnson for Brick, Joss Whedon for Serenity, Joe Wright for Pride & Prejudice
And the winner is… Joe Wright for Pride & Prejudice!
The temptation was here to award Apatow for his refreshing (at the time) approach to adult comedy by delivering such an instantly iconic hit. Maybe even to Black or Johnson for their quirky sensibilities and creative twists on noir that serve as homages to films long gone. But it has to go to Wright, who comes out of the gate swinging with the most mature and complete directorial effort of the group. Now, to be fair, Wright had more experience than most going into his theatrical feature debut, due to directing numerous long form miniseries for years prior to the production of Pride & Prejudice. But credit where it’s due: He made the most out of that experience to deliver an emotionally moving period romance that satisfied literature enthusiasts and moviegoers alike. Whether it was a delicate sense of pacing, a patience with his framing and scene development, his ability to get the most out of his cast, and so much more, Wright delivered in a big way. In fact, outside of Atonement (or maybe even considering Atonement), you could make a solid argument that Wright’s debut effort here is still the highpoint of his entire directorial career. As such, I am more than happy to award him with some Oscars gold.
Best Popular Film
Given to the best audience supported motion picture that earned a spot as one of the top 25 box office films of the year.
And the nominees are… Batman Begins, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, King Kong, Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith, War of the Worlds
And the winner is… Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire!
On the one hand, this was a challenging pick. Some may be frustrated that box office hits like The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe or Madagascar aren’t even nominated. Others may be scratching their heads asking how Batman Begins or Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith could possibly lose this.
On the other hand, of course it’s Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Duh.
The fact is, while there are a lot of movies that crushed it at being “popular” by raking at the box office, and while there are a lot of movies that crushed it at being the “best” (read: of good quality), it’s Goblet of Fire that did the best at both.
That’s because this flick brought in a staggering $290 million domestically, good for number three on the year only behind Revenge of the Sith and Narnia. But don’t worry, it gets better! Goblet earned a whopping $895.9 million worldwide. Yes, you read that right. Hot damn, that’s a lot of money. So much money, in fact, that it became the number-one global box office earner of the year, leapfrogging both Sith and Narnia. So, when it came to being “popular,” there’s arguably nothing more popular than this in ‘05. Audiences came out en masse, and kept coming back for more.
A big part of that is because of how great the film is too. It was transitional, shifting from the more child/family friendly tone of the first three films and giving us a glimpse of the darkness that was to come with the franchise’s future. You had the excitement of the Triwizard Tournament, the silly but fun teenage puppy love surrounding the Yule Ball, and you had the return of the Dark Lord Voldemort. Anything you could seemingly want from a Harry Potter movie was here, and it was all executed brilliantly, making for an artistically rewarding, and fully entertaining, experience.
One of the things I like to do in this segment is talk about the awards history of a film. In that regard, Goblet struggles a bit. It only received one Oscar nomination, for Art Direction, which it didn’t win. While that’s certainly something to be proud of, films like King Kong and Chronicles of Narnia received more Oscar noms, and King Kong even took home three trophies. Now that’s impressive. But Harry Potter’s strengths don’t often align with traditional awards categories, so this is one of the few instances where we should look at something like Rotten Tomatoes to get a better/bigger picture. When we do we see King Kong sitting with a 84% certified fresh critic score, but a 50% rotten audience score. Additionally, Chronicles of Narnia has a 75% certified fresh critic score, but a 61% fresh audience score. Worth noting, that audience score is just two percentage points higher than what would also be considered rotten. Conversely, Goblet of Fire is standing tall with an 88% certified fresh critic rating and a 74% fresh audience score. That’s right, critics and audiences universally loved Goblet more than its awards competition.
With all that said, I can think of no more fitting a Best Popular Film winner from this year than Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. And if we’re being honest, it’s about time this franchise saw some love as they haven’t won a single one of these Oscars after The Lord of the Rings franchise shut them out for years. So in this case, Harry, we are putting your name in the Goblet of Fire, and it’s a damn good thing. Enjoy your much-deserved gold!
Thanks for joining me on another trip down memory lane to see what could’ve been! We got to talk about the reboot of one of the greatest superhero franchises of all time, a much beloved staple in the Wizarding World, and one of the greatest LGBTQ+ works of art ever put to film. Be sure to come back next month when we take the time to look at films like Casino Royale, Little Miss Sunshine, and The Departed, as we return for the Oscars of 2007, celebrating the films of 2006!
You can read more from Heath Lynch, and follow him on Letterboxd