By HW (12.110.192.128) on Tuesday, February 11, 2003 - 11:17 am:

- Bowling for Columbine
- Daughter From Danang
- Prisoner of Paradise
- Spellbound
- Winged Migration

FYI

By : (205.188.209.38) on Tuesday, February 11, 2003 - 11:40 am:

Thanks Harry..

By Ritchie (62.254.0.8) on Tuesday, February 11, 2003 - 11:45 am:

And, conspicuous in its absence....

By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Tuesday, February 11, 2003 - 11:46 am:

You said it, Ritchie...Once again, it looks like Motown will never see any love coming from what was their "second home"....
Kevin Goins - KevGo

By STUBASS (205.188.209.38) on Tuesday, February 11, 2003 - 12:13 pm:

UNFORTUANTE INDEED THAT ALLAN SLUTSKY AND PAUL JUSTMAN, ET AL. DID NOT RECIEVE WHAT I THINK WE ALL BELIEVE WAS A WELL DESERVED NOMINIATION IN THIS CATAGORY!!!...IT'S A TOUGH BUSINESS...AND THERE ARE ALWAYS WINNERS AND LOSERS...BUT MOTOWN WAS PRIMARILY A *RECORDING* COMPANY...AND I HOPE THAT THIS UNFORTUNATE OVERSIGHT MAKES US ALL THAT MUCH MORE DETERMINED TO KEEP THE "FUNK BROTHERS" ON THE FRONT BURNER AS RELATES TO NARAS AND THE GRAMMYS!!!...IF I AM BEGINNING TO SOUND LIKE A BROKEN RECORD, I APOLOGIZE...BUT THIS IS OUR OPPORTUNITY TO NOT ALLOW THE "FUNKS" TO BECOME LOST IN THE ANNALS OF MUSIC HISTORY...BUT GAIN THE LONG OVERDUE RECOGNITION THEY SO RICHLY DESERVE...SO IF YOU HAVEN'T LET NARAS KNOW HOW YOU FEEL...*NOW* IS THE TIME TO TAKE ACTION AT LINDAB@GRAMMY.COM ...THANKS...STU

By SisDetroit (68.42.209.170) on Tuesday, February 11, 2003 - 02:47 pm:

Geez!!

By douglasm (68.113.15.28) on Tuesday, February 11, 2003 - 02:53 pm:

"Bowling For Columbine"? You've got to be kidding me. Someone should do a documentary exposing Michael Moore. And the Academy for not nominating SITSOM. I think I'm going to go somewhere and sulk.

By Jay (24.55.210.61) on Tuesday, February 11, 2003 - 02:59 pm:

Not Surprising

You have to promote a movie

You have to send DVDs to Academy members

You have to Advertize

You have to give a shit

NONE OF THE ABOVE HAPPENED!!!! on SITSOM

When I asked the distributor WHY no DVDs were sent to the Academy members, her reply was:
"Why do you want to know"??

So miracles don't just happen. They need some help.
This movie did NOT get that help!

Jay

By Eli (151.197.41.123) on Tuesday, February 11, 2003 - 03:06 pm:

What a travesty!! I am totaly disgusted with the powers that be. Must hire Paulie (over there) to take care of things, get my drift??

By Livonia Ken (136.1.1.101) on Tuesday, February 11, 2003 - 03:07 pm:

Jay,
The process for nominating and then voting on documentaries is a bit different than for other films. If you are serious about the tone of your remarks, then I am beginning to think that you are full of what you are accusing the producers of not giving.

Regards,
Ken

By Vickie (64.236.243.31) on Tuesday, February 11, 2003 - 03:23 pm:

Paul Elliot did a lot of promotion for the film, he really did, as did the Funk Brothers, Allan and Paul Justman..Typically that category does not have a music documenatary in it, not like this film anyway...Hopefully it will make an even bigger impact in DVD,video sales and runs on cable like HBO, VH1, or other cable networks - those markets reach higher volumes of people, I personally am surprised that a lot of people I know did not see this film..It still has a chance in these other markets in the year to come...
It may not have been nominated, but it is history and there is a market for history...

Vickie

Vickie

By Jay (24.55.210.61) on Tuesday, February 11, 2003 - 04:30 pm:

Ken

There are industry folks who have not even heard of this film.

But when they do, and if they see the movie, they love it.

I have been a proponent for this film all along and have been spreading the word.

And while you think I am full of it, please realize that I really wanted the recognition spread to many folks and yes Academy members.

Were mistakes made?

I dont know.

Would I have liked to see better promotion?
You bet!
This is a special once-in-a-lifetime film and people are bombarded with such crap these days that a breath-of-fresh-air life-affirming picture like the SITSOM movie should get promotion.

If I'm full of it I am truly sorry.
But I don't think so.

Jay

By Vickie (64.236.243.31) on Tuesday, February 11, 2003 - 04:52 pm:

Jay,
You do have a point...many industry folks did not see this film, at least many I know, many are Academy Members that vote, it's tricky and it's political..It's a ground-breaking film and it tells history, it will be around for a long, long time..

Vickie

By STUBASS (206.135.204.2) on Tuesday, February 11, 2003 - 05:02 pm:

NOT JUST TO AGREE WITH JAY BECAUSE I LIKE THE GUY...BUT IT'S TRUE THAT HARDLY ANYONE...EXCEPT THE MOST ARDENT MOTOWN EFFICIANADOS THAT I'VE SPOKEN WITH... HAVE EVEN HEARD OF THE FILM!!!...THATS WHY I TRY TO MAKE IT A POINT EACH AND EVERY SINGLE DAY, TO EDUCATE AT LEAST ONE PERSON ABOUT THE FILM, AND THE "FUNK BROTHERS" IN PARTICULAR!!!...I AM NOT BLAMING ANYONE FOR THIS...SINCE I HAVE NO IDEA OF BUDGETARY CONSTRAINTS AND OTHER FACTORS...BUT IT IS A FACT OF LIFE THAT EITHER NOT A WHOLE LOT OF MONEY WAS SPENT PROMOTING THE FILM...OR UNFORTUNALTY...NO INFLUENTIAL ORGANIZATION PICKED UP ON IT EARLY ON...AND USED THEIR POWER TO SPREAD THE WORD...SORT OF LIKE WHAT HAPPENED TO MICHAEL MOORE...OR WHATEVER HIS NAME IS...WITH "ROGER AND ME", AND THE CURRENT "COLUMBINE" THING!!!...STU

By douglasm (68.113.15.28) on Tuesday, February 11, 2003 - 05:10 pm:

Agreed, Stu. When I have to order the soundtrack from my local mega-music store, there's no "buzz" on it. Granted, I don't read media mags anymore, but you can get a "feeling" about an CD or film by its media exposure, even out here in the sticks, and there appeared to be little or none. Kinda like it crept into Seattle on little cats feet, then quietly crept back out again.
The sad part is that without an Oscar nomination, the film has very little chance of playing the local megaplex.

By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Tuesday, February 11, 2003 - 05:15 pm:

Folks:
Whatever worked to get the word out to NARAS which resulted in two Grammy nominations should have been applied to the film academy.

Having a brother who is an actor based in Los Angeles, I know all too well the politics. But as he would often tell me, if people write letters and send emails to the film academy regarding films being nominated as well as making sure the film is available for academy members to view (via screenings), we may have seen one nomination (which is better than none).

Right now, we can hope for SITSOM to take home at least one Grammy (the voting process I believe ended days ago since the ceremony will be on Sunday, Feb. 23 - twelve days away!).

Kevin Goins - KevGo

By Vickie (64.236.243.31) on Tuesday, February 11, 2003 - 05:21 pm:

NARAS members most likely know The Funk Brothers and their history in music, where as Aceademy Members do not....

Vickie

By Steve Litos (209.100.86.4) on Tuesday, February 11, 2003 - 06:46 pm:

I wouldn't sweat the lack of Oscar nomination for SITSOM. Remember the highly acclaimed film "Hoop Dreams" didn't even get a nomination.

By Livonia Ken (206.148.225.102) on Tuesday, February 11, 2003 - 06:56 pm:

Considering four out of the five nominated docs did not even get a US theatrical distribution deal, I'd say that the SitSoM folks did all right with their promotion.

Regards,
Ken

By stephanie (206.214.2.48) on Tuesday, February 11, 2003 - 08:06 pm:

SITSOM was reviewed by Roger Ebert and that new partner of his named Roper and Im telling you they both said everyone should see it!!! Im glad they gave props to the movie thats why I like Roger Ebert and Siskel when he was alive because they always gave attention to movies that should be seen.

I remember they were one of the first critics to talk about the acclaimed Hoop Dreams..
Stephanie

By TD (207.94.146.182) on Tuesday, February 11, 2003 - 09:07 pm:

Does not make sense. Four of the movies no one saw. Who could have possibly voted for these? SITSOM was one of the highest grossing doc. of all time- 1.5 m to date.
I don't believe it.

TD

By Vickie (64.236.243.31) on Tuesday, February 11, 2003 - 09:30 pm:

It's an important film and you can't judge it by Oscar, it's a great peice of work and a great honor to everyone involved and a great gift to the fans and to The Funk Brothers...
I really think it will be with us and stand as
a great example of what can be done when you follow your dreams...

Vickie

By Nancy (24.101.72.243) on Tuesday, February 11, 2003 - 09:57 pm:

I was very disappointed to find out that sitsom did not get nominated and stu you are right we need to keep letting the people at the grammys how we know about the Funk Brothers and how much we feel they deserve the lifetime achievement award, I write for a small newsletter and have written a story about the funks which is going to be published in a two part series in the spring I will keep you posted, and To Allan and Paul et al you are the winners to us thank you again for bringing us a great movie

By DF (208.27.111.121) on Wednesday, February 12, 2003 - 11:16 am:

Highly disappointing.

Antwone Fisher got no nominations, either, despite heavy critical acclaim. Movie critics were talking about shedding tears when seeing "Antwone", but there are no nominations, for best film, best director (Denzel Washington) or best actor (Derek Luke). Rembember, "Antwone" came out the same Christmas Day as Gangs of New York. And guess what? "Antwone" had distribution problems nationwide as well, despite: 1) critical acclaim; 2) big name director (Denzel); and 3) this being a Fox movie.

Forgive me for playing the race card on this one, but I have to go there. As a Black man and as a musician, I am sick and tired of serious Black films and serious Black music being put on the back burners. It seems that the only entities being pushed among African-American entertainment lovers are Comedies and hip hop. Yes, I do like comedies and some hip hop, but easier access to alternative entertainment should be in order.

Why do I say this? Here's one reason. I ride the subways everyday in NYC, and you should see the number of ads for the comedy "Deliver Us From Eva". At least three per train station! However, "Antwone" got little advertising. In addition, here was an opportunity to shed some light on the greatest musicians in the history of the record industry. But the spotlight once again eludes them. In contrast, you should see the amount of hip hop flyers and billboards all over Brooklyn.

When is this going to stop? Once again, as an Black man and as a musician, I would like to see more choices when it comes to entertainment.

By Livonia Ken (136.1.1.154) on Wednesday, February 12, 2003 - 11:21 am:

Here's a list of documentaries from the last 20 years that were not nominated for an Academy Award:

Koyaanisqatsi
The Thin Blue Line
Roger & Me
Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse
Baraka
Hoop Dreams
Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills
Crumb
Looking for Richard
American Movie
Beyond the Mat

These are among the most highly regarded (and most likely to have been seen) documentary films made in the last two decades. Popular success and conventional entertainment value seem to make it harder rather than easier to get nominated. Occasionally, though, films with these traits can beat the odds and be nominated. The only relatively popular films I can think of from this same time period that were nominated for documentary feature Oscars are "When We Were Kings" from 1996 (which actually won the 1997 Oscar) and "Buena Vista Social Club" from 1999 (which lost the 2000 Oscar to "One Day in September"). D.A. Pennebaker's "The War Room" from 1993 lost the 1994 Oscar to "I Am a Promise: The Children of Stanton Elementary School".

Errol Morris has never had one of his films nominated for an Oscar. Albert Maysles has only been nominated once for a short subject. Pennebaker was only nominated once for "The War Room". These are the great documentary filmmakers of modern times. Don't weep for SitSoM, the deck was stacked against it, and a documentary Oscar nomination is no guarantee of immortality or financial success for a film, anyway.

And please, please, please don't suggest that it had anything to do with the Producers not trying hard enough or not caring. That is simply not true.

I would specifically advise against criticizing them for not sending screeners to Academy members not involved with the documentary nomination process. I'm pretty certain that documentary nominations are chosen by a small pre-selected panel rather than a large group of Academy members such as the acting and directing branches.

Regards,
Ken

By Ritchie (62.254.0.8) on Wednesday, February 12, 2003 - 11:23 am:

DF

Would it be politically incorrect of me (as a white guy) to say that I see your point, and agree with you?

By Fred (64.12.97.7) on Wednesday, February 12, 2003 - 12:29 pm:

The Acadamy Documentary wing, which nominates the finalists, relies on volunteer panels of current and life members of the wing. According to Roger Ebert, the average age of the volunteers is "retired." The wing has a long and notorious tradition of not nominating the documentaries that garner the best critical reviews in the mainstream press (Hoop Dreams, anyone?).

They don't like music documentaries. The story goes that they demanded Martin Scorcese's "The Last Waltz" (the Band farewell concert film) be turned off after ten minutes because it was too loud. Buena Vista Social Club appears to be the exception to the rule here.

They don't like long movies (probably because they have to sit through every film submitted for nomination). Of the five nominees this year, only "Bowling for Columbine" runs more than 95 minutes (although I could find no length for "Prisoner of Paradise", which, according to Google, also appears to be the names of an old John Holmes porno).

They are fond of talking heads and stock footage.

All these tendencies worked against SITSOM from the outset.


Fred

By Ritchie (62.254.0.8) on Wednesday, February 12, 2003 - 12:34 pm:

A mistyping for "retarded"? ;o)

By DF (208.27.111.121) on Wednesday, February 12, 2003 - 12:35 pm:

Ritchie,

No, it would not be politically incorrect. Thanks for reading it and thanks for the agreement.

Forgive me for the tone of my thread. Even when I'm very upset, I try to write my threads in a way where people don't see the obvious anger.

I do realize that the entertainment industry is more than about race. It's mainly about money. That's why Magic Johnson Theaters in Harlem pulled SITSOM after three days (13 people in the theater out of 350 seats are not gonna pull in the revenue for your establishment!).

Distribution for a documentary is one thing. But for a man who has much clout in the industry as Denzel (the modern-day Sidney Portier) to have a distribution problem really disturbs me.

By TD (207.94.146.102) on Thursday, February 13, 2003 - 09:31 pm:

Antwone Fisher and SITSOM were two of my favorites, along with The Pianist,Monority Report,About Schmitd and Fraility

TD

By Bassn for God (68.115.220.62) on Saturday, February 15, 2003 - 08:33 pm:

DF, I am upset that when we talk about races relations it does not involve the fact the Chevy's got an extra 1/2 inch on their spoilers. Race should not matter, but it does. Why? Because we make it matter. I am a white bass player from South Carolina, home of Jamerson. I refuse to judge anyone by the color of their skin. When we mention race problems, and there are plenty to go around, we are not helping anyone. Skin color is not part of my life. My Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, does not have white skin and it does not matter. We can all just get along. Music does not know race problems, why should we?
Keep the bass line strong and your heart in the song
Robert

By Bassn for God (68.115.220.62) on Saturday, February 15, 2003 - 08:49 pm:

DF, Please forgive me that I left an important line in my message. I agree that race is part of equation and most of the time it is used as a negative. If the movie was about the Rolling Stones, the nomination may have been easier. But Motown is not about black music, it is SOUL music.
Keep the bass line strong and your heart in the song.
Robert

By SteveS (68.41.246.95) on Monday, March 24, 2003 - 06:04 am:

This morning, the papers report that Michael Moore used his Oscar acceptance speech as a platform to lash out at the Bush administration. It saddens me to realize that the Oscar he's brandishing is precisely the one (Best Documentary) that should have gone to the Funk Brothers.

By Nancy (24.101.72.243) on Monday, March 24, 2003 - 06:40 am:

Steve S I could not agree with you more I saw his acceptance speech , while i agree with free speech I feel that there is a time and place for everything and that was not the time, everyone else who mentioned the war hoped for peace soon .