Alternate Oscars Author:Danny Peary Frustrated over watching the wrong films and stars win the Academy Awards year after year? — Second-guessing the Academy's Oscar selection is a national pastime, and Danny Peary, critic and film historian, author of the influential book CULT MOVIES, believes that in most cases the Academy has made the wrong choices. Although the awards ... more »are supposed to be based on merit only, fans have long suspected that Academy members are sometimes swayed by other factors, including politics, sentiment, guilt, spite, stupidity, and an obsession with "prestige."
In ALTERNATE OSCARS, Danny Peary has second-guessed the Academy in every year, making his arguments for the Best Choices for Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Actress, as well as the choices for Best Runners-Up. Peary's intention is to give the Oscars more validity, and have them be a true barometer of what is best in cinema year by year.« less