To paraphrase Canada's greatest daytime TV thespian Moira Rose, my favorite season is awards season. I don't really know how to describe it, but I hold a very near and dear infatuation with the transformation of the celebration of cinematic achievement into a blood sport between studio executives, using creatives as pawns in their annual war for adoration. As those close to me know all too well, I become insufferable as we get closer and closer to the Oscars every year, constantly rattling off winners of different precursor awards and how that will affect a given movie's Oscar chances. I do love movies and make an effort to watch as many of the nominated movies before Oscars night as I can (check the Letterboxd if you want), because I still believe in the magic of movies.
You're probably wondering "What do the Oscars have to do with golf?", and that's a very fair question since there hasn't been a lot of good overlap between the golf world and movies (why yes, I am a fan of Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius, how could you tell?). The awards race, because it stretches across both films as a whole and individual performance, make each category and race stand as its own individual tournament, and for the most part often isolates pieces of films from one another when it comes to discussing and assessing performance. Each category at the Oscars ends up playing out as its own mini golf tournament, with each batch of precursors adding its own twist and turns to the race like 2 shot swings between contenders coming down the back nine on a Sunday. Oscars campaigns become a test of strength, stamina, mental fortitude, and often a little bit of luck, a mix that any golfer can relate to.
In light of this, I wanted to take this year's 10 Best Picture nominees and ascribe them comparison points in the world of golf. This is not at all meant to be taken seriously, this is just a way I get to marry my interests and the creative control over my pieces is truly on full display with this one. The comparisons are a mix between the movies themselves and their path to the Oscars (which are happening this Sunday, March 2nd), so this will serve as a quasi-prediction for who I think will win Best Picture this year (depending on how you read each comparison, you may get different answers). Sit back, grab some popcorn, and enjoy this ride through the movies without 25 minutes worth of trailers tacked onto the front of it.