Postal workers are going to hate us. On Oct 6, 2008, EW launched the “Recall the Gold” Project — a massive ballot survey that invites Hollywood to re-vote on past Oscar races. Will Shakespeare in Love still beat Saving Private Ryan for Best Picture? How is the industry feeling about that Roberto Benigni Best Actor win for Life is Beautiful ten years after the fact? Here’s Hollywood’s chance to “alter” or affirm film history.
By mid week, 7,000 ballots will arrive on the desks of elite members of the film industry. Each ballot has been mailed in a white envelope emblazoned with the words “Recall Ballot” in bright red ink. All the voting is anonymous, but each ballot is numbered for security, so that no one is tempted to stuff the ballot box. (And we know they’re totally going to be tempted.) Film industry insiders will vote in six major categories: Best Picture, Directing, Actor in a Leading Role, Actress in a Leading Role, Actor in a Supporting Role and Actress in a Supporting Role. The ballot focuses on five different years: 2003, 1998, 1993, 1988 and 1983 (e.g. 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 years ago.) Ballots must be returned in the self-addressed, stamped envelope included with the ballot no later than Nov.1, 2008. EW will publish the results in January 2009.
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I HATE THIS IDEA. Totally demeans those who actually won. Shame on you EW
I disagree. While this won’t set right a number of wrongs (see Kevin Costner over Martin Scorsese for Best Director in 1990), it will at least acknowledge that mistakes were made.
Not to mention these are not very contreversial years. Coulda been done better.
Paul Newman in the Verdict, Jeff Goldblum in The Fly, Steve Martin in All of Me. Those are the three biggest travesties I’d like to see rectified.
Newman lost to Ghandi, for god’s sake. Not Ben Kinglsey, but actually to Ghandi himself. Has anyone ever managed to stay awake for all of Ghandi? It’s intersting, but it’s a 10th grade social studies flim strip in many ways, too.
Ghandi beat Tootsie, The Verdict and ET. Sophie’s Choice wasn’t even nominated. Ben Kingsly beat Newman, Peter O’Toole in My Favorite Year, Jack Lemmon in Missing, and Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie.
Are you freaking kidding me???
I mean, Chariots of Fire beat Raiders, Reds and Atlantic City, even though the whole movie was shot and projected in slow motion.
Russel Crowe not winning for “A Beautiful Mind” but Denzel Washington wins for “Training Day”. Crowe’s performance was in a word ‘Amazing’. Washington’s performance while good was cliched and it’s been done before. Crowe deserved that Oscar no question. Ever since that travesty I don’t take too much stock in the popularity contest called the Academy Awards.
1980: Apocalypse Now > Kramer vs Kramer
1981: Raging Bull > Ordinary People
1982: Raiders of the Lost Arc > Chariots of Fire
1992: Denzel Washington > Al Pacino
1993: Angela Bassett > Holly Hunter
1995: Anyone > Nicholas Cage
1996: Jerry Maguire > The English Patient
1998: Saving Pvt Ryan > Shakespeare in Love
and Cate Blanchett > Gwyneth Paltrow
1999: The Green Mile > Cider House Rules (adpt screenplay)
2001: Russell Crowe > Denzel Washington
2005: Brokeback Mountain > Crash
2006: Eddie Murphie > Alan Arkin
Wish the year Brokeback lost to Crash was included…
I agree with tinaa. If this was just a random survey on ur site it’d be fine but the fact uve sent out ballots to 7,000 industry insiders is sad. I hope none of the people polled vote. And as a frequent visitor to your site I am very disappointed in whomevers idea this was. Shame shame
In ‘97, Judi Dench totally should have won for “Mrs. Brown” instead of Helen Hunt in “As Good as It Gets.” If you remember Helen’s speech, she even seemed to think so.
1993 might not be bad. I wouldn’t be too surprised if Neeson in Schindler’s List overtakes Hanks in Philadelphia. And Tommy Lee Jones in The Fugitive? Over Ralph Fiennes In Schindler’s List? And Leo DiCaprio in Gilbert Grape? Even Angela Bassett in What’s Love Got To Do With It might beat out Holly Hunter in The Piano.
I think you have to take the whole thing with a grain of salt, too. Emotional selecting is bound to come into play. Like, will they look and say, “Oh, Tom Hanks wins the next year for Forrest Gump, so I’ll pick Liam Neeson, who has no Oscar yet, for 1993 Best Actor.” Or, “Well, hmm, Linda Hunt? What’s she done for us lately? I’ll choose Glenn Close, since she doesn’t have an Oscar yet.”
Wow… this is really, really tacky. Bad idea EW.
Pulp Fiction over Gump
Fargo over The English Patient
Russell Crowe in the Insider over Kevin Spacey in American Beauty
Ian McKellen in Gods and Monsters over Roberto Benigny in Life is Beautiful
The Two Towers (or Gangs of New York) over Chicago
Daniel Day Lewis (by a country mile) in Gangs of New York over Adrien Brody in The Pianist
I want Adriana Barazza to rip the Oscar from Jennifer Hudson’s greasy fingers…bitter.bitter.bitter.
Who cares? How about concerning ourselves with the economy? Having said that…”Brokeback Mountain” was ROBBED of Best Picture. “Crash” is silly drama.
did the person that said
anyone over nicholas cage even see leaving las vegas?
because that was clearly the best performance that year, no question
Shakespeare in Love is simply better than Saving Private Ryan. Period.
Pointless. You think people are going to say they were wrong the first time around? Please. Can’t change history people, just move on..
I hated Denzel in Training Day too. He won that Oscar because he was overdue and lost out for better roles. That’s why Pacino beat him in 1993. No blind person is as sure of their surroundings as the character in Scent of a Woman. Recount!
though i do agree that we should just take this with a grain of salt, i still can’t believe that “crash” beat “brokeback mountain” and “shakespeare in love” beat “saving private ryan.” “brokeback” was absolute wrenching to watch while “crash” looked like a made-for-tv movie (or more specifically, a lifetime movie) that just happened to boast some serious a-listers. and “saving private ryan” happens to be one of my all-time favorites and seeing “shakespeare in love” win was a travesty.
Finally, an opportunity to voice my opinion about the horrible Best Picture winner of 1998 and how a classic was robbed of it’s due. How in the world did “Shakespeare in Love” beat out the masterpiece that is “Saving Private Ryan?” “Private Ryan” was the event movie of that year. Not only was it from a brilliant filmmaker, who needs no introduction, but it was evidence that the genre would be forever changed. I watch “Private Ryan” at least once a month and it is by far what I call my favorite film. The picture was completely robbed out it’s well deserved Best Picture statue. Every scene, character, action piece, cinematography, dialogue, emotion, and direction is memorable. I’ve seen THAT OTHER FILM only once, and I couldn’t even tell you one thing that happens during it’s running time. That year it was just evident that Miramax ran a campaign similar to the Bush/Gore election. A recount should have been in order.”Saving Private Ryan” stood the test of time. Unlike what’s it’s name.
How does Eddie Murphy lose to Alan Arkin. Eddie truly gave the best performance of the year in ‘06, not to mention best of his career. Talk about being political, Melissa Ethridge winning for an Al Gore film instead of Dreamgirls original songs!
the only oscar that still makes my blood boil is al pacino winning for “scent of a woman” in 1992. i can’t believe his digestive system survived his chewing ALL THE SCENERY. robert downey jr, clint eastwood, stephen rea or denzel washington all should’ve won before pacino. and the biggest disgrace that year? val kilmer wasn’t even NOMINATED for channeling jim morrison in “the doors.” call the cops — he was robbed.
Judi Dench deserved Best Actress in 1998 for Mrs Brown and again in 2007 for Notes on a Scandal.
Michael Caine over Michael Clarke Duncan???!!!! What a travesty!
You know what gripes me about 1998? The fact that not even EW will remind us of the overlooked epic that was ‘The Thin Red Line’ also up for the Best Picture award. It was another WW2 movie that every man in Hollywood tried to get themselves into, because how great they new it would be. It puts the people first and then then story unlike Private Ryan that focuses more on story than the emotional struggle the soldiers went through. I believe that Shakespeare in Love got the Oscar only becasue no one could easily call The Thin Red Line better than Saving Private Ryan. I think it’s a mistake not mentioning it when speaking about the 1998 awards.
Anyone who thinks Shakespeare in Love didn’t deserve to win should go watch it again. It’s brilliant — and I know a lot of folks from different walks of life who are still quoting it today. And shouldn’t we celebrate that for once, a comedy won???
Saving Private Ryan was disjointed – a brilliant beginning and an incomprehensible second half. When Matt Damon finally shows up at Ryan, he has Hollywood teeth and, frankly, doesn’t seem worth the trouble (not to knock Damon, who I adore). Shakespeare in Love, on the other hand, is heaven. One splendid confection from beginning to end. Think this was wasn’t deserving? You try making a charming film. Charm is almost impossible to capture on film. And as for Paltrow, she was perfection. I never re-watch Private Ryan (the changes in tone made me crazy the first time), but I revisit Shakespeare in Love regularly.
I think this is a harmless parlor game – one I mull in my mind often. How, oh how, are we to find an Oscar for Debra Winger? That’s the game I play most often – who is the most deserving who never took Oscar home?
After the opening of ‘Saving Private Ryan’- the D DAY scene, the rest of the movie fails in comparsion- what could live up to that kind of brillance, Shakespeare’ kept me entralled through out. If we’re talking recall- how about 2005- recall ‘Crash’ NOW!!!!
The biggest travesty in Oscar History is the 1985 win for Out of Africa over The Color Purple. The Color Purple had 12 nominations, more than any other film and it did not win one award. This year, in my opinion, goes down in history to show how stuck up the Academy has been. Whoopi Goldberg not winning best actress was absolutely insane. I can say The Color Purple has certainly become a classic! What happened to Out of Africa?