Oscar's Rooting Factor can help Denzel's 'Great Debaters'
How lucky for Denzel Washington that his movie making a last-minute dash in the Oscar best-picture derby invites viewers to cheer it on. Nomination ballots are due this Saturday. If "The Great Debaters" gets a bid for 
best picture — as it recently did at the Golden Globes — he will have pulled off a miracle accomplished by only two other directors — both superstars. Ever since the Oscars moved up a month on the calendar four years ago, only Steven Spielberg ("Munich") and Clint Eastwood ("Letters from Iwo Jima," "Million Dollar Baby") have managed to get a late-December release into the top Oscar race.
But Denzel is a bit of a superstar himself, of course, being a two-time Oscar winner for acting and "The Great Debaters" isn't just any film. The drama of an African-American debating team taking on Harvard in the 1930 — produced by Oprah Winfrey and Harvey Weinstein — is "one of the year's best," insists Roger Ebert, who is one of its biggest boosters. That's significant, because it was Ebert who personally championed "Chariots of Fire" all the way across the Oscar best-picture line back in 1981 after he discovered it at the Cannes Film Festival where it was orphaned without a U.S. distributor. "Debaters" is much the same in spirit — based upon a real-life tale of underdogs bravely taking on the establishment. The similarities are striking between "The Great Debaters" and movies nominated for best picture in the past ("Dead Poets Society") and even some that have won ("Rocky," "Chariots of Fire").
"Debaters" may be coming out of the gate late, but it has a few things in its favor. Most competing ponies are grim violent films like "No Country for Old Men," "There Will Be Blood" and "Sweeney Todd." Also a plus for "Debaters" is the actual Oscar voting process, which employs a preferential ballot that favors movies placed in the first or second position when voters cite nominees. Most voters can snub "Debaters" completely, but it'll still be nominated on Jan. 22 if it lands near the top on one-sixth of the best-pic ballots plus one.
The Rooting Factor is one of the most important factors in the selection of Oscar nominees and "Debaters" has it big time. After only two weeks in theaters, it's already earned more than $22 million — it has great word of mouth from people from fans spreading enthusiastic word of mouth. Are Oscar voters doing the same?
Denzel and Harvey are pushing hard to get the word out. As Pete Hammond noted in a recent article for The Envelope: "The film has turned into a major passion project for Oscar-warrior and recently married Harvey Weinstein, whose company is releasing the film through MGM. The newlywed is even interrupting his honeymoon period long enough to lead the awards charge.
"Weinstein has been pushing his staff to pull out all the stops for the film with nightly screenings aimed at voters wherever they can find them, not only in such holiday haunts as Maui, Aspen, Sun Valley, Palm Springs and Santa Barbara, but also Greenwich, Conn., Westchester, N.Y., Detroit, Orlando and Chicago."
An earnest effort by Mr. Washington but it won't get Best Pic or director noms....too cliche-ridden, overdone evil white people vs. African Americans...yyyaaawwwnnnn!! Unless Oprah goes campaigning for it like she did for Obama...then the can't think for yourselves members of the academy will vote for it...because OPRAH IS GOD!!
Posted by: Frankie R. | January 07, 2008 at 05:30 PM