The conspiracy raging against 'Slumdog Millionaire'
Final ballots for the 81st Academy Awards should land in Oscar
voters mailboxes beginning today, so it's only natural that the
final shots should be fired as well.
Most of the damning allegations are being hurled against Fox
Searchlight's "Slumdog Millionaire," rather obvious since the film
is the unquestioned front-runner and an easy target for rivals.
As noted earlier in this column, forces were at work in India trying
to disparage Danny Boyle's surprise hit and awards magnet leading to
a front page L.A. Times story last Saturday pointing out some of the
negative criticism essentially saying the film is a "white man's"
vision of a slum-ridden India.
Today, a story kicking around since early in the season about the
treatment of some of the local Indian child actors reared its ugly
head again with allegations that the film's producers and
distributors paid them dirt cheap wages and have not been concerned
with their welfare.
Director Boyle, producer Christian Colson and Fox quickly prepared
and issued a statement not only refuting those charges but pointing
out exactly what measures have been taken to protect and insure each
child's welfare and future.
It wasn't so much the story (it almost never is) but the suspicious
circumstances around its reemergence on the very day Oscar ballots
were being mailed. Impressively taking a cue from the Obama
campaign, Fox Searchlight strategists immediately got control of the
story putting a statement out that carefully answered each
allegation. Rather than ignoring it and hoping it would go away (a
favorite, but usually failed public relations strategy by wuss
publicists), they took an aggressive stance to crush the story in
its tracks before it could do serious damage or be misinterpreted by
Academy voters.
This kind of thing has been going on in modern Oscar campaigns now
for years, particularly since the Denzel Washington boxing
picture "The Hurricane" got pummeled for accuracy and was swept out
of the race before it began. The most famous example was the case
against Ron Howard's "A Beautiful Mind." The case turned into a
front page New York Times story. Having been burned
with "Hurricane," Universal wasted no time in taking on the mud
slinging against "Beautiful Mind" and eventually wound up winning
four Oscars including best picture.
I spoke to a senior Fox executive who said he found these tactics
appearing against "Slumdog" to be "reprehensible." He added
that "it's a sad state of affairs for the industry that the race for
Oscar has to come down to this level".
The exec does not believe this story was just a coincidence of
timing and theorized that there were probably "other factors" that
had something to do with fanning the flames against "Slumdog" at a
critical time in the Academy process. He offered no concrete proof,
however, of his conspiracy theories because there does not seem to
be an iota of evidence to that end but did name names anyway (ones
we won't repeat here).
The Searchlight contingent isn't letting the pressure get to them
and were even thrown a celebratory party by Fox Co-Chairman Jim
Gianopulos Wednesday evening.
Meanwhile, others are busy offering new theories as to how front-
runner "Slumdog" can't possibly win in the end. At least two
different consultants this week have tried to downplay the effect of
the various guild awards this year ("Slumdog" has already won
Producers Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild awards with
Directors Guild of America lurking in the wings on Saturday) saying
the memberships of the guilds no longer dovetail with the Academy
and therefore can't be relied on to accurately foretell the ultimate
Oscar victor (unless of course YOUR movie is the one that is
WINNING!!!).
"Watch 'Button' overtake 'Slumdog' for the big prize. Because it's
the kind of film career movie people would prefer seeing as best pic
during their watch," one publicist with a definite dog in the hunt
predicted. I've heard similar things from "The Reader" and "Frost
Nixon" camps as well, so take it with a grain of salt and a glass
of "Milk." The publicist DID add a reminder of his vote-telling
prowess as he waxed nostalgic for his prediction earlier this month
that "The Dark Knight" wouldn't make the mix.
He was right on that but can "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
make a real case now as a potential upset winner over "Slumdog"? The
case of "Crash" doing the impossible and overtaking "Brokeback
Mountain" is the great hope other film camps point to the most but
it's frustrating in the least to see one movie repeatedly win. The
Boyle flick has so far prevailed at the National Board Of Review,
Critics Choice, Golden Globes, SAG and PGA awards. Just DGA, Writers
Guild of America and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts
awards still offer head-to-head contests to come. Could a momentum
changer be in store offering a final twist to a topsy turvy season?
Indeed "Slumdog" is now in the enviable position of having the wind
at its back. And just WHO wants to be a "Millionaire"? The other
four contenders of course, all looking for any way to ward off what
increasingly seems to be a done deal.
Let the voting begin now. Ballots are due back on Feb. 17.
-- Pete Hammond
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/season/2009/01/the-conspiracy.html
