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Sunday, January 18, 2015

EDITORIAL
What Really Happened To "Selma"?  I'll Tell You.


The pain of Annie Lee Cooper (and much of America on Jan 15, 2015) as portrayed by Oprah Winfrey in "Selma".  Paramount Pictures
       
by Omar P.L. Moore/PopcornReel.com        FOLLOW                                            TWEET
Sunday, January 18, 2015

It's not Paramount.  No.  No.  No.  No.  No.  Not their fault at all.

Paramount Pictures is not the reason for "Selma" not showing up the way it should have this film awards season. 

Sure, DVD screeners of "Selma" were delayed in some quarters.  Sure, Ava DuVernay was finishing and tweaking her masterpiece deep into November 2014 barely a month before its theatrical release.  And yes, many critics saw a film that didn't yet have its end titles applied. 

None of those things took away from "Selma."

Sure, there was the overblown and political (or possibly rival studio-engineered) "controversy" about LBJ.

Paramount Pictures did everything -- virtually everything they could in my view, and within reason -- to ensure that the relevant people could see "Selma" in time for voting for awards across Guilds, critics groups, BAFTA and the Academy.

The issue with "Selma," or more precisely, the issue about "Selma" -- is some of us.

By "us" I mean *some* film critics, Academy and Guild members.

The bottom line is, some people just were not willing enough to be proactive about seeing or seeking out "Selma."  It simply wasn't a priority.  Or nearly enough of one.

The following is a full accounting.  It may read like a long diary without a point, but the point comes.  It's necessary to lay out the landscape for context.

Paramount Pictures released Ms. DuVernay's "Selma" theatrically on December 25, 2014 in Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York City and Washington, DC on 19 screens.  It did astonishingly well, with almost $900,000 in its Thursday-Sunday Christmas debut.

On November 5, 2014, some seven weeks before the "Selma" theatrical domestic release and five before a film critics' voting members meeting in San Francisco, I received an email from a San Francisco publicist.  The email invited critics from the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California to see a "special advance screening" of "Selma" to be held on November 16, 2014, a Sunday, at a San Francisco theater. 

Basic math tells you that the email gave eleven full days' notice to any one who received it.

Eleven days.

The November 5 email, which required an RSVP deadline of November 12, 2014, also said that "Selma" director Ava DuVernay, "Selma" actor David Oyelowo and "Selma" producer and actress Oprah Winfrey would appear for a Q&A at the San Francisco theater after the special, exclusive screening of "Selma."

Despite ample notice that Oprah Winfrey, Queen of America, would be present in San Francisco, despite news Mr. Oyelowo would be present, and despite the alert Ms. DuVernay would be at the theater -- despite all of that -- I saw only two film critics at that Sunday screening.  That doesn't mean there weren't others.  But I saw only two I knew.  (Some critics told me subsequently they couldn't make the Sunday screening.)

In my view some people didn't make it their business to go out to that screening. 

If you want to see a film badly enough you will find your way to the theater.  Come hell or high water. 

And if Queen Oprah, David Oyelowo and a highly-skilled, talented director named Ava DuVernay don't move you to come out to see a film that had already received advance acclaim, including at AFI, then nothing will.

I will come back to this in order to illustrate a point later on.

Incidentally: the November 16, 2014 Sunday screening was packed with members of the public. 


David Oyelowo, Ava DuVernay, Oprah Winfrey in S.F. Nov. 16, 2014, with  Elvis Mitchell.  Omar Moore/PopcornReel.com

Until that San Francisco screening on November 16, 2014 the only other time "Selma" had ever been screened publicly in the United States was at a "first-look" world premiere of "Selma" at the AFI Film Fest in Hollywood just five days before, on November 11, 2014.  Veterans' Day.  This news was fully available and made public.

A separate email was received on November 8, 2014 that included the venue and time information for the November 16 "Selma" screening. 

A reminder email by the publicist who sent the initial November 5 email was sent out five days later, on November 10.

In San Francisco "Selma" was screened on November 16.  I attended.  Paramount's first critics-Guilds-Academy screening in San Francisco was held on November 29, two days after Thanksgiving.  I attended.  A second screening was held on December 5, in Berkeley. 

A publicist made a screening available in San Francisco for Monday, December 8.  This would be the third screening of "Selma" in the Northern California Bay Area.  Critics there were given two weeks' notice by email, on November 25.  A fourth screening of "Selma" occurred in the Bay Area on December 9 in San Francisco, two days before preliminary ballots were to be cast for the San Francisco Film Critics Circle awards vote.

All told, four Paramount screenings of "Selma" took place in the Bay Area, three of which were in San Francisco.  This does not include the special screening on November 16 in San Francisco, which, as mentioned, got ample notice.  This also does not included the December 8 screening in San Francisco or the forthcoming February 3, 2015 screening shown below.


A screenshot of the S.F. Bay Area "Selma" screenings, which all press were invited to.  Omar Moore/PopcornReel.com

From Friday, November 28, 2014, the day after Thanksgiving, and almost one month before its Christmas release date, through January 4, 2015 -- the last screening before the Academy voting deadline of January 8, 2015 -- Paramount Pictures held some 30 screenings of "Selma" in Los Angeles. 

Thirty.

On nine different occasions two screenings of "Selma" were held on the same day in Los Angeles.  Early on "Selma" was screened twice a day in Los Angeles for four consecutive days. 



A screenshot scan of some of the many L.A. screenings of "Selma" Paramount held.  Omar Moore/PopcornReel.com

The Academy's 6000 members, most of whom live in Los Angeles, also received screeners of "Selma" in December prior to the start of voting on December 29, 2014.  Granted, there are many other films members have to see, whether via screener or in the theater.  But Paramount didn't sleep on the job.  While Screen Actors Guild or PGA members did not get screeners in time those same members could have made their way to theaters in Los Angeles or New York City, where there were 13 screenings of "Selma."




Just a few of the various organizations who could attend the "Selma" screenings.  Omar Moore/PopcornReel.com

The Screen Actors Guild Award nominees were announced on December 10, some two weeks after screenings for "Selma" began and a month after the November 11 AFI Fest debut.  Screeners weren't sent out in time for the December 8 voting deadline.  By then, "Selma" had screened 13 times at screening rooms in Los Angeles.

The Golden Globe Award nominees were announced on December 11, just 24 hours later after the SAG shutout of "Selma."  The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a sizable percentage of whom live in Los Angeles, had a deadline screening date of December 3, 2014 for all films for its members.  By that time "Selma" had screened eight times in Los Angeles.  Screeners had been sent to the HFPA.

The HFPA nominated "Selma" for four Golden Globes including Ms. DuVernay's history-making Globes nomination, Mr. Oyelowo and the song "Glory", which netted a win for Common and John Legend on January 11, 2015.

Two days earlier, the BAFTAs nominated "Selma" for nothing at all. 

I spoke to one BAFTA member.  He stated he and the rest of the membership received screeners of "Selma" in mid-December, about a month before the early January 5 voting deadline.  In addition, four screenings of "Selma" were held in London from December 3 through December 22. 

The BAFTA member said he was "baffled" that David Oyelowo, a Brit -- as are three other cast members -- Carmen Ejogo, Tom Wilkinson and Tim Roth -- was not nominated. 

All of this lengthy prologue may not yet convince many of those who have read up to this point.  Members of many film bodies have so much to do in December.  There's Christmas, the post-Thanksgiving rush, shopping, families, screenings, voting, other films, end-of-year-lists. 

Even if Paramount may not have afforded all critics or film bodies screeners of "Selma" I contend that the many screenings of Ms. DuVernay's fine film, as enumerated here, offered people ample opportunity to see "Selma".

If they truly wanted to.

Perhaps the following will be more persuasive.

Paramount Pictures had similar problems getting screeners of Martin Scorsese's epic three hour film "The Wolf Of Wall Street" to critics and various film bodies in 2013.  Like "Selma", the film was released on Christmas Day.  Like "Selma", Mr. Scorsese was still tweaking the film right up until its release. 

Paramount held three Bay Area screenings of Mr. Scorsese's film -- one less than the total of screenings the studio held for "Selma".  Two of the Paramount Academy "Wolf" screenings were in San Francisco.  A third was in Berkeley.  (There were many screenings in L.A. - less in fact than there were of "Selma" in L.A.)

On December 2, 2013, the first San Francisco screening of "Wolf Of Wall Street," the Academy screening was packed.  I spotted no fewer than five film critics I recognized there. 

Five critics at that first "Wolf Of Wall Street" screening, as opposed to two at the very first "Selma" screening Ms. Winfrey, Ms. DuVernay and Mr. Oyelowo came to for a Q&A.  Plan B producers Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner, who had won Oscars last year for "12 Years A Slave", also participated in the post-San Francisco screening Q&A on November 16, 2014.

At the December 2, 2013 screening of "The Wolf Of Wall Street" there was no Martin Scorsese for a post-film Q&A.  No Leonardo DiCaprio, either.  But there were film critics there.  I saw them.


Critics' priority: Leonardo DiCaprio and Ethan Suplee in Martin Scorsese's "The Wolf Of Wall Street".  Paramount Pictures

The December 2 , 2013 screening was on a Monday at 7pm. 

My point is, people made a more meaningful effort to see Martin Scorsese's film. 

In fact, the film critics here in San Francisco received less notice from local publicists about "The Wolf Of Wall Street" screenings than they did "Selma".  I have the emails to prove it.

There was one other screening of Mr. Scorsese's three-hour film in San Francisco, which came on December 11, 2013, specifically in time for the local film critic circle vote.

Screeners were not sent to many if any film critics around the country.  Paramount had similar issues getting screeners to SAG members, PGA members and others, yet most of these very awards bodies however, still nominated "The Wolf Of Wall Street" for awards.  (Only SAG didn't.)

Indeed, film years are different from year to year but it is helpful to note that 2014 was a weaker film year overall than 2013 was. 

Yet in 2014 the HFPA nominated the 2013 "Wolf" for two Golden Globes (versus four for "Selma" in 2015.)  Mr. DiCaprio won a Globe for best actor in a comedy or musical.

"The Wolf Of Wall Street", screener issues and all, still managed to receive four BAFTA nominations. 

"Selma", with its four British actors, received none.

"The Wolf Of Wall Street" received five Oscar nominations from the Academy. 

"Selma" received two.

Martin Scorsese received a Directors' Guild nomination from the DGA. 

Ava DuVernay did not. 

The Producers' Guild Of America gave "The Wolf Of Wall Street" a nomination.

"Selma" did not receive one.

My point is, that people, film critics, awards bodies are far more willing to make the effort to see a film directed by Martin Scorsese than they will Ava DuVernay.  The truth behind this isn't Paramount Pictures, since Paramount had issues with disseminating screeners for both films.

The truth is, that racist undercurrents among people, among critics -- both conscious and unconscious ones -- accounts for the less enthusiastic critical verve among some at least,  to see "Selma".  Once people saw "Selma", they loved it.  The reviews reflected as such.

And even then however, at the recent Critics' Choice awards, "Selma" finished far back.  While there are competing films in the awards marketplace, and while many critics lauded "Selma" as a collective group film critics did not award the film when they had the chance.  Only groups like Dallas Fort-Worth critics, the Black Film Critics Circle (of which I am a member, as well as the S.F. Film Critics Circle) and the African-American Film Critics Circle, among a very small few, lauded "Selma" in any appreciable or declarative way.

The truth is, Americans will still be more likely to make it a priority or make an effort to see a film directed by a white man than a film directed by a Black woman. 

The Academy's mostly white male population bore that truth out about racist undercurrents within just last week.  And the belated viewing of "Selma" and the response by some film critics and others bore it out, too.

This isn't about Paramount.  It is about paramount racist biases that exist within the hearts of a good number of white film critics.  It is something some of the white critics who belatedly saw "Selma" might all too-readily be willing to blame on screeners. 

Had Mr. Scorsese directed "Selma" and he and Mr. DiCaprio been in attendance in San Francisco on Sunday, November 16, a lot more people --critics -- who weren't in attendance with Oprah and co, would have found a way to make it to the special event screening.  I am almost 100% certain of that.

As I've illustrated here: a lack of screeners, and the general screener argument, are an excuse.  A lack of screeners didn't stop critics from finding a way to see "The Wolf Of Wall Street". 

Screeners are not the culprit.  The mirror awaits.

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