While the political dust has settled, let’s take a moment to attend the films

Can we finally talk about movies for a minute? I mean, those of us who are not complete always reward benefits.

The Republicans had their speakership fight. Democrats observed their J6 vigil. The Twitter wars have settled into the usual left-right schism alternation.

And the weary nation that has survived another election cycle – can you remember when it actually ended in November? – seems certain to resume the broad discussion about film awards.

The opening comes just in time: at the risk of seeming trivial in light of our ongoing political crisis, this week brings some important markers to the somewhat neglected adult film season.

Tomorrow night — or rather Wednesday morning when the ratings roll in — we’ll find out if the Golden Globes have been hopelessly crippled by an industry and media campaign to trump their notoriously lecherous and all-too-white sponsor, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. . A young black comedian, Jerrod Carmichael, will host the show for NBC. A not-so-young black comedian, Eddie Murphy, receives the Press Organization’s Cecil B. DeMille Award. Whether that combination, along with the hoped-for attendance of film and television stars, is enough to revive Hollywood’s second most important filmmaking ceremony is no small matter.

Like in Vietnam, did we burn down the village to save it? Hopefully not. Without the silliness of the Globes as an annual foil, the Oscars lose momentum: they somehow become less awesome, less authoritative, less real.

This week, voting for the Oscar nominations begins on Thursday, January 12 and ends five days later. The opening of the nominations was just another important milestone: the full list of films considered contenders for the year.

Last year, the number of applicants fell by about 25 percent from 366 in the previous year to 276 in a shortened participation period. This time, the number of applicants rose slightly to 301, according to figures released by the Academy of Motion Fine Arts and Sciences. Although the increase is small, almost in line with a small increase in movies released in the past year, it is a good sign. Word is that the prize race remains intact in Covid’s third year despite poor ticket sales for many of the season’s top contenders.

Anyway, it’s January, and we’re finally talking movies again — at least down to the price of the eggs ($5.99 a dozen for the cheap ones at Ralph’s Market, limited to two cases per customer) or the promised ” surprisingly high.” “peak” in natural gas bills (in California at least), or the bombing (back for the Globes?) manages to push the images aside.

So keep chatting. What about BAFTA and such avatar Snob? Who do you think will be the next Bond? Why was Amsterdam Such a mess (it flopped three months ago and I only got a minute, actually 12 minutes to watch)?

Maybe it’s all trivial. But it’s kind of fun, and it’s definitely a relief not to think about anything more important than Hollywood.