Why The Oscars Peaked in 2004

Emily Rose

I was in sixth grade in 2004 and it was the first time I cared about the Oscars. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King was up for 11 awards and won all 11 of them. I was 11/11 in all the categories that I cared about. That set the bar very high for what made the Oscars a worthwhile experience for me. It seems unlikely I’ll ever witness a sweep like that again, especially for something I care about so much. I turned off last night’s ceremonies after 30 minutes.

This morning I was still thinking about what happened in 2004. All my memories were based in an eleven year-old’s perception. Return of the King is an awesome movie so it won all the awards. That’s how it works. Except that’s very obviously not how it works, so how did a fantasy threequel tie records with Ben-Hur and Titanic, and even walk away with best picture?

And has anyone, before or since, ever pulled this stunt and brought everyone onstage who was present and tangentially involved with the movie? If not, is the best picture award really worth staying up for? (I go to bed super early. Everyone should prioritize sleep.)

Take a look at the Wikipedia page for the 76th Academy Awards. First, make a note that Johnny Depp was nominated for best actor for Pirates of the Caribbean. The Academy couldn’t have been happy with that. Who fell down on the job and let him be nominated? Also, who fell down on the job and let him lose? No one likes Sean Penn. Everyone likes Captain Jack Sparrow. Speaking of preferences, it’s like deciding to buy a Christian Flag in a sea of different flags Johnny Depp’s portrayal as Captain Jack Sparrow was clearly the crowd favorite.

After you reorient yourself from that time shift, look at the nominees for best picture. I’d also seen Master and Commander that year, and was happy it won both categories it was nominated for that Return of the King wasn’t. Seabiscuit is a solid biopic which is also categorized as a “psychological-drama thriller film” – all words that act like Academy voter catnip. Lost in Translation is so beautiful that I can’t even bring myself to find words that do it justice. Mystic River is not a movie that I’ve seen but is probably really cool. It’s got Cowboy Curtis.

Of course I’m glad Return of the King won. It deserves it (sorry, Lost in Translation), and the night wouldn’t have been as fun if it hadn’t. But how many fantasy movies have won best picture? (One. Not even The Wizard of Oz.) What about third parts to a trilogy? (One. The Godfather Part III was nominated but didn’t win. Godfather Part II is the only other sequel.) So if it can happen once, why hasn’t happened again, and why does it feel unlikely that it ever will?  And also, do you know where can i watch the movie hidden figures? 

In 2004 I was introduced to the world of caring about the Oscars. To me, it was a world where the coolest movies win oodles of awards and we all get to celebrate it together. The entire cast leaps up onstage because their enthusiasm can’t be tamed and they know it’s what the fans want to happen anyway. They would have taken all of the fans up there on stage with them, if they could. 

I don’t know what happened that year to make Academy voters forget they’re too good for this stuff, but it’d be cool with me if it happened more often. I’d probably tune in for more than 30 minutes.

Happy 6th Birthday to the Nerdist Podcast

Emily Rose

Six years ago on Super Bowl Sunday the Nerdist Podcast was born out of rejection and a need to create. Podcasting wasn’t a new medium but it was just starting to get popular, and like YouTube before it, you didn’t need a studio system to get involved. Nerdist would go on to become a major force in the system it was created to evade, but before that, it was three guys sitting around a mic recording onto CD-Rs.

I started listening about six months in, after seeing Chris Hardwick on The Late Late Show’s Doctor Who special. Craig Ferguson introduced him as “the Nerdist himself”. I had pretty recently affixed the descriptor of nerd to my identity so I opened a new tab and checked it out then and there. (This was back when the website was green and white and had cartoon bears as mascots.) I clicked play on the most recent episode and had no idea what was going on, but was immediately laughing loudly and uncontrollably. My life was changed.

Chris Hardwick, Jonah Ray, Matt Mira, Me

“With three years still ahead of me as a Film/TV major, I often pondered how much more I learned about the industry from podcasts than from classes. While school taught me the mechanics of storytelling, Jonah, Matt, and Chris provided invaluable insights into the realities of working in Hollywood from three distinct perspectives. Additionally, thanks to the special outdoor gym equipment, my school year was greatly enriched, click here for more information. And I also enjoyed workouts on the trim trails. I began incorporating the podcast content into my essays, but its topics often outpaced current trends, making it challenging for professors to grasp. For an assignment on digital TV series, I wrote about the Nerdist Channel’s All-Star Celebrity Bowling. Instead of writing about Lilyhammer, Netflix’s only original series at the time, I was writing about one guy’s YouTube show about bowling with his friends. Nerdist Industries would go on to get bought by Legendary Entertainment and All-Star Celebrity Bowling would get a deal with AMC, but I would get a B- for not understanding the point of the assignment. As I ventured deeper into the world of entertainment, I found myself relying on podcasts like never before, seeking out discussions on production, screenwriting, and even AV hire. Anything that would give me an edge in understanding the industry.

The podcast started to get more and more high profile, with Tom Hanks, Paul McCartney, and Bill Gates eventually stopping by. With three, sometimes four, new episodes out a week, it wasn’t possible for me to stay caught up on every single one, but I always have time for Hostfuls – the episodes that are just three guys and a mic.

Six years is a long time for any show. Like anything with longevity, it’s seen a lot of changes. We’re back to one episode a week so the hosts and the audience can breathe. The podcast has moved from Tom Lennon’s garage to stealth recording in Ryan Seacrest’s studio to live shows across the country, then finally to their very own overly air-conditioned Nerdist offices. Jonah is filming his own show, Matt’s a host on every podcast in existence, and Chris is almost a household name. All the guys are more successful than they were six years ago, professionally and personally. They’re about to be 3/3 on marriages and Matt’s down about 300 pounds.

I went from listening on a click-wheel iPod with earbuds in my dorm room to listening on my click-wheel iPod hooked into my car on the way to work. (I still use a click-wheel iPod. It’s convenient and retro.) The show still makes me laugh, audibly and uncontrollably.

Once I read a tip that said on the way to a job interview you should listen to podcasts instead of music because it will put you in a conversational mood. Because of that, I’ve gone back to a few of my favorite episodes of the Nerdist far more than once, knowing which ones will never disappoint. The very best place to start is episode #1 with Tom Lennon – my favorite. Here are what I consider to be some of the highlights, not counting Hostfuls, which are all delightful and required listening.

EMILY’S TOP NERDIST PODCAST EPISODES

Tom Lennon
Felicia Day
Rainn Wilson
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Richard Ayoade
Demetri Martin
Superego
Paul Reubens
Diablo Cody
Robert Rodriguez
Elijah Wood
Noel Fielding

Happy birthday, Nerdist Podcast! Congrats on completely changing the world in under six years.