Table of Contents
Video Version of this Article
Photo/Video: Oscars/Hollywood Insider YouTube Channel
Every year there are many movies that release around the same time of year, close to awards season, all vying to get a coveted nomination. Some of these films are described as “Oscar bait” films, a term used to describe a few different kinds of films that all have one thing in common–their appeal to Oscar voters. These films fall under four categories: the historical drama, the musician biopic, the melodrama, and the quirky indie comedy.
Related article: The Complete List of 2021 Oscar Nominations – Celebrations, Surprises & Snubs | The Show Must Go On
Related article: Worst Oscar Snubs: The Academy Awards Failed By Ignoring These Great Movies and Performances
1st Oscar Bait Category – The Historical Drama
One kind of film that is a surefire way to get an Oscar nomination is to make a historical drama. These films most commonly take place during World War II, the Victorian era, revolutions, or around the Golden Age of Hollywood. This genre is partially composed of fictional stories set in a certain time period and some based on real-life accounts. This genre does include some biopics, but ones primarily taking place before the 1950s.
In previous years this genre has been very successful in its Oscar bids. Just last year Martin Scorsese’s ‘The Irishman’, a movie tracking a man who worked for the mob during the 1950s, got 10 Oscar nominations along with Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood’, a film about the waning days of the Golden Age of Hollywood. In 2018’s Oscar nominations, five of the nine Best Picture nominees were historical dramas, with ‘Dunkirk’ and ‘Darkest Hour’ even being about the same event in history. The last time a historical drama won Best Picture was in 2014 when Steve McQueen’s ‘12 Years a Slave’ took home the top prize.
Subscribe to Hollywood Insider’s YouTube Channel, by clicking here.
2nd Oscar Bait Category- The Musician Biopic
Biopics are almost always a big Oscar draw but ones about musicians tend to garner the most success during awards season. Since most of these films tend to focus on more modern artists they don’t quite fit in with the typical historical drama and follow their own formula for showing the life of a musician. The formula for most of these films is centering on one particular period in their life to create a framed story about the artist. These films don’t always get nominations for Best Picture but they do tend to get acting nominations for their stars.
The past few years have given us a wealth of musician biopics. Rami Malek won Best Lead Actor at the Oscars for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury in the Queen biopic ‘Bohemian Rhapsody‘ in 2019, the same year ‘Green Book’ took home Best Picture and Mahershala Ali won his second Best Supporting Actor Oscar for playing Dr. Don Shirley, a world-renowned pianist, in that film. Renée Zellweger won the Oscar for Best Lead Actress in 2020 for her role as Judy Garland in ‘Judy’, which focused on her final years doing stage concerts in Great Britain. There are so many other films and performances that have had success from this, that I could easily be here all day listing them off.
Related article: The Power of Positivity: Ikorodu Bois + Chris Hemsworth + Russo Brothers + Sam Hargrave
Limited Time Offer – FREE Subscription to Hollywood Insider
3rd Oscar Bait Category- The Melodrama
The melodrama tends to be more of your family dramas, relationship stories, and films that deal with big themes such as grief, addiction, mental health, and other harrowing topics. These stories tend to sensationalize emotion while dealing with more personal, small-scale stories which is what sets them apart from a drama. This genre is another one that tends to succeed most in the performer categories since they tend to be more character-driven films centered around one or two people instead of ensemble pieces.
Last year’s Oscar race had one of the best examples of this kind of film in the form of Noah Baumbach’s ‘Marriage Story’, a film exploring the relationship between a couple in the process of getting a divorce. Others from years further back include Casey Affleck’s win for Best Lead Actor in 2017 for Kenneth Lonergan’s ‘Manchester by the Sea’, which got a total of six Oscar nominations including Affleck’s win. The melodrama, along with historical dramas, is probably one of the most successful genres among Oscar voters.
Related article: Hollywood Insider’s CEO Pritan Ambroase: “The Importance of Venice Film Festival as the Protector of Cinema”
Related article: The Masters of Cinema Archives: Hollywood Insider Pays Tribute to ‘La Vie En Rose’, Exclusive Interview with Director Olivier Dahan
4th Oscar Bait Category- The Quirky Indie Comedy
A lot of Oscar-nominated films tend to be more mainstream, blockbuster-style films, but there’s usually at least one small independent film that finds its way into the Oscars and it tends to be a comedy. These films are very similar to melodrama in the sense that they’re lower budget films, primarily character-driven, and deal with similar themes but tonally are different since they take those elements and frame them with humor. This is another genre that primarily gets recognized in the acting categories, specifically in Lead Actor and Actress, and in the screenplay categories.
The most recent indie comedy to garner major success at the Oscars was Greta Gerwig’s ‘Lady Bird’, a coming-of-age film about a graduating high school senior in 2002 Sacramento, which got five nominations including Best Picture. That same year saw Margot Robbie’s acclaimed performance as disgraced figure skater Tonya Harding in ‘I, Tonya’ which, despite its subject matter, was most definitely a comedy and the great Allison Janney’s Oscar win in the Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Harding’s mother in the film. ‘The Big Sick’, about the early months of the relationship between real-life couple Kumail Nanjiani and Emily Gordon while she’s in a medically-induced coma, is the most recent indie comedy to appear at the Oscars with a lone nomination for Best Original Screenplay.
Related article: Oscar Buzz | Frances McDormand Is Haunting And Genuinely Ordinary In Chloé Zhao’s ‘Nomadland’
Related article: Oscar Buzz: ‘Minari’ is an Incredible Portrait of the Korean-American Experience
What are the 2021 Oscar Bait Nominees?
The Oscar nominations have now been released, so we have a more clear idea of what movies became Oscar bait this year.
This year’s race is filled with historical dramas, with some of the nominees for Best Picture being David Fincher’s ‘Mank’ with 10 nominations, Aaron Sorkin’s ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ with six nominations, and Shaka King’s ‘Judas and the Black Messiah’ also with six nominations. Regina King’s ‘One Night in Miami’ also received three nominations this year though it missed out on Best Picture.
There are also two musician biopics nominated this year with George C. Wolfe’s ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’ which included nominations for Viola Davis and the final performance of the late Chadwick Boseman. Andra Day’s turn as legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday in ‘The United States Vs. Billie Holiday’ also earned the singer-actress her first acting Oscar nomination.
Related article: Will the Diversity in Victory of Last Year’s Oscars 2019 – 91st Academy Award Winners Ever Be Repeated?
When it comes to melodrama, there are several films in the Best Picture race and the acting categories. Lee Isaac Chung’s ‘Minari’, a film about a Korean-American family trying to achieve the American dream, received six nominations including Best Picture as did Chloe Zhao’s ‘Nomadland’ along with Zhao’s historic Best Director nomination. Vanessa Kirby received a Lead Actress nomination for her heartbreaking performance in ‘Pieces of a Woman’ and Glenn Close found herself nominated in Best Supporting Actress for ‘Hillbilly Elegy’.
There is one indie comedy that got attention from the Oscars this year: Emerald Fennell’s ‘Promising Young Woman’ (which is considered a Black comedy). The film received five nominations including Best Picture and a Best Director nod for Fennell, making this the first time two women have been nominated for Best Director at the same time.
Click here to read Hollywood Insider’s CEO Pritan Ambroase’s love letter to Black Lives Matter, in which he tackles more than just police reform, press freedom and more – click here.
An excerpt from the love letter: Hollywood Insider’s CEO/editor-in-chief Pritan Ambroase affirms, “Hollywood Insider fully supports the much-needed Black Lives Matter movement. We are actively, physically and digitally a part of this global movement. We will continue reporting on this major issue of police brutality and legal murders of Black people to hold the system accountable. We will continue reporting on this major issue with kindness and respect to all Black people, as each and every one of them are seen and heard. Just a reminder, that the Black Lives Matter movement is about more than just police brutality and extends into banking, housing, education, medical, infrastructure, etc. We have the space and time for all your stories. We believe in peaceful/non-violent protests and I would like to request the rest of media to focus on 95% of the protests that are peaceful and working effectively with positive changes happening daily. Media has a responsibility to better the world and Hollywood Insider will continue to do so.”
Ways to support Black Lives Matter Movement to end systemic racism
More Interesting Stories From Hollywood Insider
– Want GUARANTEED SUCCESS? Remove these ten words from your vocabulary| Transform your life INSTANTLY
– Compilation: All James Bond 007 Opening Sequences From 1962 Sean Connery to Daniel Craig
– Do you know the hidden messages in ‘Call Me By Your Name’? Find out behind the scenes facts in the full commentary and In-depth analysis of the cinematic masterpiece
– A Tribute To The Academy Awards: All Best Actor/Actress Speeches From The Beginning Of Oscars 1929-2019 | From Rami Malek, Leonardo DiCaprio To Denzel Washington, Halle Berry & Beyond | From Olivia Colman, Meryl Streep To Bette Davis & Beyond
– In the 32nd Year Of His Career, Keanu Reeves’ Face Continues To Reign After Launching Movies Earning Over $4.3 Billion In Total – “John Wick”, “Toy Story 4”, “Matrix”, And Many More
oscar bait, oscar bait, oscar bait, oscar bait, oscar bait, oscar bait, oscar bait, oscar bait, oscar bait, oscar bait, oscar bait, oscar bait, oscar bait, oscar bait, oscar bait, oscar bait, oscar bait, oscar bait, oscar bait, oscar bait, oscar bait, oscar bait
Author
You might also like…
Caroline Schneider has always had a fascination with television and film. She revels in analyzing and writing about her favorite television shows and movies while looking for the greater meaning within Cinema. Finding the elements that really make people think about deeper messages and trends – which is exactly what Hollywood Insider continues to do.
Caroline Schneider has always had a fascination with television and film. She revels in analyzing and writing about her favorite television shows and movies while looking for the greater meaning within Cinema. Finding the elements that really make people think about deeper messages and trends – which is exactly what Hollywood Insider continues to do.
