Concussion, Oscars/Will Smith, and the NFL.

[Deleted member 457759]

I'm going to do something in the War Room here that doesn't often happen, admit that I was wrong. Well, partially wrong that is. Most of you are aware of the scandal surrounding the racial uproar that started with Jada Pinket Smith boycotting the Oscars in protest of a lack of black nominees. Having done the research I don't buy into this knowing that proportionately there doesn't seem to be that big of a problem, and realistically I think she tapped into the broader BLM movement to support here grievance with her husband not being nominated. This was about Will.

I just watched Concussion for the first time and I thought that it was a good movie, and more importantly I think Will Smith did a fantastic Job. He's a very versatile actor and we've seen this before with his performances in Ali, The Pursuit of Happiness, Seven Pounds, and After Earth. Just kidding not After Earth lol. I'm a huge movie buff and I think that Will's performance in Concussion as Dr. Bennet Omalu was excellent and he showed some great method acting. More importantly, it was better than Matt Damon's performance in The Martian. Matt Damon did a good Job but it was always Matt Damon and we knew it the whole time, his performance was a 6-7 at best. The only other movie I saw with a best actor nominee was The Revenant so I can't comapre Will to them but I can compare it to Matt's which was by any reasonable standards inferior IMO. And I don't hate Matt Damon. The Martian was a big movie, Matt Damon is very popular, and it was an easy one for them to pick. So I've given you my opinion, the question is, what happened?

I don't think it had anything to do with racial politics or racism, or anything like that. Hollywood and the entertainment industry as a whole are full of black people and when black actors smoke a performance above all others like Forrest Whittaker in The Last King of Scotland, or Jamie Fox in Ray, they bring home the gold. So what was it? Isn't it blatantly obvious? I think that it's very possible that for the very same reasons why Dr. Omalu's work met such vicious criticism in the movie, Will's performance wasn't nominated. It was the NFL. Notice that Concussion didn't get a best picture nomination either, there was no chance at all for that movie to be recognized on the kind of scale the Oscars elevate things to. No nomination for best actor, no best picture nomination.

What does the war room think about the NFL using it's massive resources and influence to make sure this movie was ignored?

 

[jemimaman]

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[Sakuraba808]

I'm a big fan of films and concussion was not good. Nothing stands out in the movie to be considered for best picture or best actor nomination. Just because Will Smith put on a shitty accent and the movie had an agenda behind it doesn't make it good. My favorite movie last year that wasn't nominated for anything was Ex Machina. also lol at NFL having something to do with the oscar snub, could it just be that concussion was not a good film at all.

 

[Deleted member 457759]

I'm a big fan of films and concussion was not good. Nothing stands out in the movie to be considered for best picture or best actor nomination. Just because Will Smith put on a shitty accent and the movie had an agenda behind it doesn't make it good. My favorite movie last year that wasn't nominated for anything was Ex Machina. also lol at NFL having something to do with the oscar snub, could it just be that concussion was not a good film at all.

I think there is a lot of opinion in all of this, and I disagree with yours. His accent was pretty good and there were some good moments int he film. I agree that it was missing a big memorable scene though. Do you think that Matt Damon's performance was better than Will's? That's the point here.

 

[lfd0311]

I think nobody really cared. For as much of an issue as this has been made in the media, Your average person doesn't really care, and nobody really cared about that movie. The Oscars tend to generally gravitate, at least in best actor type roles, towards popularity of the film.

 

[Sakuraba808]

I think there is a lot of opinion in all of this, and I disagree with yours. His accent was pretty good and there were some good moments int he film. I agree that it was missing a big memorable scene though. Do you think that Matt Damon's performance was better than Will's? That's the point here.

Yes the martian was a really good film. Matt Damon made an empty planet interesting and fun, granted the movie was directed by Ridley Scott but the character of Mark Watney is what made the whole movie good.

 

[JDragon]

The biggest problem I have with the discussion is that if we have a Black oscar winner next year, it will feel like a 'quota award' regardless of performance.

 

[JDragon]

Yes the martian was a really good film. Matt Damon made an empty planet interesting and fun, granted the movie was directed by Ridley Scott but the character of Mark Watney is what made the whole movie good.

TBF it would have been pretty difficult to make a horrible movie from the book.

 

[Deleted member 457759]

Yes the martian was a really good film. Matt Damon made an empty planet interesting and fun, granted the movie was directed by Ridley Scott but the character of Mark Watney is what made the whole movie good.

I disagree, I think there was no character of Mark Watney at all, it was the character of Matt Damon. There was an endless amount of other actors that could have done that role and done it better.

 

[Deleted member 457759]

The biggest problem I have with the discussion is that if we have a Black oscar winner next year, it will feel like a 'quota award' regardless of performance.

It felt that way to me this year with Leo. Yea he did a could job but I would have taken Bale over him. Everyone's wanted to see Leo get one for ages.

 

[Sakuraba808]

TBF it would have been pretty difficult to make a horrible movie from the book.

lol, man some directors just like inputing their interpretations when adapting films from books. I heard Kubrick rustled a lot of authors with his adaptations.

I disagree, I think there was no character of Mark Watney at all, it was the character of Matt Damon. There was an endless amount of other actors that could have done that role and done it better.

hard not to agree with you. I can definitely see any actor of any race making the character interesting with the way it was written/directed.

 

[lfd0311]

The biggest problem I have with the discussion is that if we have a Black oscar winner next year, it will feel like a 'quota award' regardless of performance.

I don't see why people get bent out of shape about this. Look at some of the nominees for the last few years. They've been based on whatever Hollywood Liberals think is important in their own little bubbles, or that they can pat themselves on the backs for thinking is important. Why was Michael Fassbender a Best Actor nominee? Because he played Steve Jobs in that Steve Jobs movie that nobody went to see and Hollywood Liberals are determined to make the rest of us think Steve Jobs is important. Nobody went to see that movie. They actually pulled it from theaters after two weeks because nobody was going to see it. In fact, the only reason they made it was because nobody went to see the first Steve Jobs movie they made with Ashton Kutcher. Or the one with Noah Wiley. Yet that dude was up for Best Actor because Hollywood thought it was important.

Look at the year before. Got to give the Oscar to whoever that dude was that played Steven Hawking. Steve Carrell gave probably the best and creepiest performance as John Dupont I've seen in a long time. Can't give it to him. Can't give it to Bradley Cooper for Chris Kyle, Hollywood hates that dude. It doesn't really matter.

 

[Deleted member 457759]

Look at some of the nominees for the last few years. They've been based on whatever Hollywood Liberals think is important in their own little bubbles, or that they can pat themselves on the backs for thinking is important. Why was Michael Fassbender a Best Actor nominee? Because he played Steve Jobs in that Steve Jobs movie that nobody went to see and Hollywood Liberals are determined to make the rest of us think Steve Jobs is important. Nobody went to see that movie. They actually pulled it from theaters after two weeks because nobody was going to see it. In fact, the only reason they made it was because nobody went to see the first Steve Jobs movie they made with Ashton Kutcher. Or the one with Noah Wiley. Yet that dude was up for Best Actor because Hollywood thought it was important.
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Lol so true.

 

[Deleted member 457759]

hard not to agree with you. I can definitely see any actor of any race making the character interesting with the way it was written/directed.

Agreed. Not that I thought Damon necessarily did a bad job, I just think it wasn't an Oscar level performance by any stretch. I think Tom Cruise would have been a better pick although he probably wasn't available. If they went with a black actor maybe Micheal Clark Duncun, Bill Cosby, or Ice T.

 

[RerouteToRemain]

I think there is a lot of opinion in all of this, and I disagree with yours. His accent was pretty good and there were some good moments int he film. I agree that it was missing a big memorable scene though. Do you think that Matt Damon's performance was better than Will's? That's the point here.

Absolutly better than Will's. I think Matt did a phenomenal job. Not sure why you think countless others would have done much better. Could some have done it better? Possible for sure but you are suggesting that the bar was set really low. I really just don't see the performance getting that much better. You said that it's not that you don't like him but tbh that's what it sounds like. Not that there is anything wrong with not liking an actor.

Dude Concussion sucked. Will's performance was bland. Nearly every major movie reviewing place agrees. 62% RT, 1/5 the Guardian, 2.5/4 rolling stone, metascore 55, etc.

 

[ripskater]

The NFL is very corrupt. They are in tight with the federal government

 

[Deleted member 457759]

Absolutly better than Will's. I think Matt did a phenomenal job. Not sure why you think countless others would have done much better. Could some have done it better? Possible for sure but you are suggesting that the bar was set really low. I really just don't see the performance getting that much better. You said that it's not that you don't like him but tbh that's what it sounds like. Not that there is anything wrong with not liking an actor.

Dude Concussion sucked. Will's performance was bland. Nearly every major movie reviewing place agrees. 62% RT, 1/5 the Guardian, 2.5/4 rolling stone, metascore 55, etc.

With subject matter as controversial as that and given the romance so many Americans have with football I think it's safe to say the polls are pretty much worthless.

 

[Skip Reming]

Concussions are part of football deal with it. You know what you signed up for. Just like you might get shot if you join the army. This is known.

Also, seeing how the NFL is 67% black I can't help but feel this movie is kind of racist.