How good a job do the Oscars do of actually honoring the best movies of the year?
Gehring: I think a pretty good job. There are 8always glaring omissions each year, but I think in general the only thing I would change is I wouldn’t have a Best Director nominee. I would nominate the best pictures, and whoever the best pictures are, I would go with that. How can a movie be up for best film if the director isn’t nominated? But there are always going to be omissions, whether you’re ranking the top 25 football teams or best pictures. Bingham: Not a very good job. It’s very political. It’s like what we’re seeing with the (presidential) primaries. You’ve got to find consensus. My favorite of the year is “I’m Not There,” but I knew it would be too esoteric for the Academy. This is why the films that are best remembered as great films — the “Citizen Kanes,” the “Vertigos,” the “Searchers” — did not get much Oscar attention at the time because they were not agreed upon then as worthwhile films. What potential nominees do you think were snubbed this year? Bingham: The most o
Gehring: I think a pretty good job. There are 8always glaring omissions each year, but I think in general the only thing I would change is I wouldn’t have a Best Director nominee. I would nominate the best pictures, and whoever the best pictures are, I would go with that. How can a movie be up for best film if the director isn’t nominated? But there are always going to be omissions, whether you’re ranking the top 25 football teams or best pictures. Bingham: Not a very good job. It’s very political. It’s like what we’re seeing with the (presidential) primaries. You’ve got to find consensus. My favorite of the year is “I’m Not There,” but I knew it would be too esoteric for the Academy. This is why the films that are best remembered as great films — the “Citizen Kanes,” the “Vertigos,” the “Searchers” — did not get much Oscar attention at the time because they were not agreed upon then as worthwhile films. What potential nominees do you think were snubbed this year? Bingham: The most o
