So, You Want to See All the Oscar Nominees?

By Jeffrey Crowley, JBFC House Manager

As a fun, personal challenge, every year I assign myself the near impossible: try to see every film that is nominated for any Oscar—not just Best Picture—before the awards ceremony the way they are meant to be seen: in theaters. No DVD, no Netflix, just the big screen. With only 44 feature films and 15 short films (conveniently broken up into four shorts programs), this task may appear to be easy. I mean, that’s one theatrical screening a week, with four weeks’ vacation time, right?

Alas, it’s an achievement I’ve made for only the second time ever this year. Despite attending upwards of 200 theatrical screenings annually, some nominees slip through my fingers, but every year, the game is a fun one to play all the same. It won’t directly increase the odds of winning your office’s Oscar pool, nor will the Academy reach out to you with membership options (though, my fingers are still crossed…), but for the adventurous moviegoer who likes a good challenge, read on!

As a self-seasoned Oscar nominee tracker, here are my tips at knocking them all off “your lists”:

1. Understand that this takes time! Movies are long, absolutely, but this is a year-round affair. While awards season favorites like Darkest Hour and Phantom Thread were released towards the end of the year (“they save the best for last”), remember that Best Picture hopeful Get Out was released in February of the same year. Be ever-vigilant in your movie going habits!
2. Learn the rules to play the game! Familiarize yourself with the different submission rules for each category—look out for category “shortlists” (the nomination “semi-finals”), research which films are submitted by which country for the Foreign Language award, etc. To help focus on which movies are truly in contention, set up a few Google News alerts, or simply follow updates from the Academy on their official website.
3. Remember that no movie is too big/small! Maybe that animated movie seems too cartoonish, or VFX-heavy sci-fi fare isn’t ordinarily your thing—I say, try ‘em on for size! You’ll be surprised to find out what kind of movies you’ll end up loving. Always be open to movies outside your favorite genre, remembering that the Academy honors movies in 24 different categories of celebrated excellence.
4. Get to know your theaters, near and far! No single theater I know has shown every nominee on their own. In order to knock out all of the nominees this year, I attended screenings of these films at 15 different theater locations. In years past, I’ve driven as far north as Montreal and as far south as Washington D.C. to track some down, and I can confirm that a willingness to travel will be the difference between seeing them all or not (plus, who doesn’t love a nice day trip into the city… or out of the state?).
5. Become a member! Many theaters have different membership or rewards programs that only help make this adventure a little more cost effective. This year, my nominee tickets totaled $340.70—and that’s not counting the movies I saw that got snubbed! Whether it’s signing up for free as a Regal Crown Club member, or (shameless plug <3) supporting the non-profit mission of a theater like the Burns, memberships help the wallets of both theaters and audience members alike.
6. Festivals are your friends! Whether big—like the New York Film Festival, where I got to see titles like The Square and Call Me by Your Name—or small, like the Burns’ own Contemporary Arab Cinema series, which included nominees The Insult and Last Men in Aleppo—festivals and series are great opportunities to catch some Oscar-hopeful titles, oftentimes earlier than their theatrical release. This is a big help come winter, when the heavy hitters come out in droves.
7. Finally, perhaps the best advice I can offer: work at a movie theater! You’ll be surrounded by movies all the time, and employee benefits may just include free tickets… I’m just saying!

I can tell you now—this seven-point plan is not entirely fool proof. Some years, you just won’t be able to do it, but don’t be let down! What matters most is exposure to more films! The Oscars aren’t everything, but they’re absolutely a great framing device to introduce you films you may not have seen otherwise. Whether it’s a foreign title you haven’t heard of, or a period film with spectacular costume work, the variety of films honored at the Academy Awards each year cover a pretty great range. Expanding one’s film horizons is something I encourage in everyone I meet, and—who knows—maybe you’ll just stumble upon a new favorite or two in the process.

Happy movie going!