Actors vote for the winner. Would you vote for your replacement?

[CK_John]

That is why Avatar lost. Real actors don't like to see or vote for digital actors who will be their replacements.

Why the big surprise?

[Grand Taurean]

1. Most certainly plausable.

Political votes exists all the time throughout the world in many different situations.

[dysfunctional press]

13. self-delete.

wrong place.

[Orrex]

2. Avatar had five-star visual effects and a two-star story. It didn't deserve the Best Picture nod

It's a great example of what you can achieve when you really commit yourself--and a third of a billion dollars--to something.

For that money, it better damn well have historically fantastic special effects. But the Academy already gave Cameron an Oscar for a spectacular film with a half-assed story; it was unlikely that they'd do it again.

[CK_John]

6. How many commercials are now made with digital people, no royalties that's why.

This was a protest vote by actors.

[Orrex]

7. I don't think so

If it had been a great story and a 300-million-dollar special effects romp, then it might have deserved the award.

Hell, we might as well claim that Tron was snubbed for Best Picture for the same reason, and we could even include Jeff Bridges in our discussion!

[Codeine]

3. Avatar lost

because Avatar was crap. It was the cinematic equivalent of Funyuns.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

4. Cameron has his Oscars already

Christ, it took Spielberg and Scorsese forever of making most of the best movies of the last 30 years before someone caved and tossed them a bone.

Meanwhile, Tarentino will probably have to wait 20 more years.

[rpannier]

5. If Tarentino keeps promoting the crappy work of Roth he may never get one

Can't think of too many directors that get as much attention from other Directors and put out so much trash

Hostel I and II

[RaleighNCDUer]

8. Ah, every Na'vi character was played by a REAL ACTOR.

The actors' movements were digitalized and re-configured to fit their 10' tall avatars - in this case the avatars were digital, not grown - and Cameron developed special facial capture cameras to make sure that expressions were truly captured. When we saw Neytiri, it was Zoe Saldana's face we saw - couldn't you recognize Sam Worthington in both his Jake Sully and avatar incarnations? When we first saw Sigorney Weaver's avatar, wasn't it obvious who it was?

That was not digital actors, it was digital makeup, nothing more.

Avatar was a stunning FX achievement, its story was far less derivative than people would have us believe (has the Gaia theory EVER been seen on screen before in any form, much less a very literal form as this?) and its anti-imperialism message is timeless.

I was flabbergasted when it did not win best picture.

[CK_John]

10. I wonder if royalities and control of characters presentations will be paid. Who owns the character?

[RaleighNCDUer]

11. No doubt, the producers 'own' the characters - and the actors get

royalties if their contracts provide for that. Just like with any other role they play.

[Bryn]

9. I see your point

No wonder. I can't blame the real actors. It's same as NAFTA.

[Onceuponalife]

12. Absurd.

It was close battle between two great films and HL won. End of story.

[dysfunctional press]

14. and star wars lost to annie hall(at the time, one of my all-time favorite movies)

but whose film made more money, had a bigger impact, and is more remembered and revered by the movie-going public...?

same kind of situation here.

they get the statue- but avatar gets remembered.

[MissMarple]

15. What...ever.

No real actors? Ah huh.