Winner Apr '02

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Ignorance toward 'Memento'

Posted by: Milhouse (MILHOUSETV)

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>>God I hate the American film industry.<<

That's an awfully general statement. I believe there is no such thing as "the American film industry" as a single entity. American filmmakers have put out phenomenal pictures. Just last year, from American filmmakers we had a bevy of exciting film: Mullholland Drive, Memento, The Anniversary Party, Ghost World, In The Bedroom, Monster's Ball, The Man Who Wasn't There, The Royal Tenenbaums, etc...

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As far as Memento is concerned, yes it deserved recognition. It was a very well crafted film, and a unique script. Keep in mind, it was a small film that eventually saw a very big audience...thanks to "the American film industry". In any given year, there can be only one Oscar® winner in every category, and there are usually a few candidates that are worthy of the honor. This year, I would have been very happy to see Best Screenplay honors go to The Royal Tenenbaums, Memento, or The Man Who Wasn't There (which wasn't nominated). And Memento wasn't completely ignored by the award givers. Christopher Nolan won the AFI Award for Screenwriter of the year. The movie won the Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay, Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Screenplay, the DGA award for Outstanding directorial achievement. It won several Independent Spirit Awards. It was nominated for a Golden Globe®, as well as two Oscars® (just to name a few of the film's honors). I'm not certain that Guy Pearce really deserved to be singled out for recognition for this role. He did a fine job, but I don't think it was the type of role to really stretch him as an actor. As far as not being recognized for Best Picture of the year, well it certainly could have been considered for a Best Picture Oscar® in place of Moulin Rouge.

I don't think that American filmmakers tend to shun risk-taking. Clearly, movie studios are out to make a profit. Every filmmaker is out to make a profit. Without taking in money, you can't make any more films. So, I don't blame studios for putting out crowd pleasers. But that doesn't mean they don't take risks. Every David Lynch movie that gets released is a risk. The Coen Brothers take risks with every film they make. Darren Aronofsky takes huge risks (these are all American filmmakers).

In any given year in America, there are 52 weeks and over 150 movies released in the theaters. Not all of them are going to be mind-bending fare like Requiem For A Dream. And let's face facts, the average person tends to prefer spending their money on a film that's going to make them "feel good"...that's why Meg Ryan has had a career. It really doesn't have all that much to do with "the American film industry". It's a matter of public tastes. People tend to want to escape for 90 minutes in the theater; zone out, if you will. You can't force a person to swallow things they don't want to eat.

- Milhouse (MILHOUSETV)

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