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Students pick favorite Oscar nominated directors
It is always hard to predict who will win the Best Director statue at the Academy Awards—in 2013 neither of the two favorites ended up winning. For this year’s award, a St. Paul Academy and Summit School favorite is Alfonso Cuaron, who directed Gravity.
Cuaron has directed other films such as Children of Men, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Y Tu Mama Tambien, Great Expectations, and A Little Princess. Junior Alex Lindeke said that “compared to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, there is a lot more cool technology and special effects [in Gravity].”
Right from the start, Gravity is captivating. Cuaron’s portrayal of outer space is incredibly realistic—even after the movie there is a feeling that grabbing onto things to ensure not floating away, is necessary. It is amazing that he had the ability to realistically capture the element of floating around in space.
In fact, Cuaron spent over five years preparing and beginning the filming of Gravity because he wanted the look and feel of the film to be spot on. All of his hard work payed off—it’s hard to believe that the film isn’t actually filmed in space. “It was really cool visually,” sophomore Will Donaldson said.
Other students commented on the impressive cinematography. Freshman Emerson Egly said that “The way is was filmed was nice. It made it feel real.” For all of scenes that took place in space, only the faces of the actors were actually live photography. Everything else was from computer graphics.
Besides the special effects, there isn’t much to it. The plot repeats itself, and by the end of the movie there isn’t a sense of satisfaction that some movies leave you with. But, it is hard to think of the negatives when the overall feel of the movie is so captivating. After watching this movie, looking up at the stars at night will never feel the same again.
The other nominees in this category are Steve McQueen (12 years a Slave), Alexander Payne (Nebraska), David O. Russell (American Hustle), and Martin Scorsese (The Wolf of Wall Street). In 2013, David O. Russell was nominated in this category as well, for Silver Linings Playbook.
Online Opinions Editor Emily Thissen has been a Rubicon staff member since her freshman year of high school and has enjoyed her role of reporting and editing...
