“IT'S CALLED GOSSIP AND OF COURSE IT'S AN OBSESSION OF MINE” -ANDY WARHOL

What the Oscars have done is create an artificial, entirely destructive cinematic demolition derby. It is now written in stone that a movie released in the first nine months of the year couldn't possibly compete for awards honors (even though in 2005, "Crash" was released in May and won best picture). People are so convinced that summer is a horrific time to put out quality films that when Paramount proposed releasing "No Country for Old Men" in August of last year, an enraged Scott Rudin took the movie to Miramax, which was willing to give it a more Oscar-friendly November release.Terrified that Oscar voters will forget about a movie released in the spring, the studios and specialty divisions save all their best films for the last 12 weeks of the year, forcing them to engage in a suicidal fight to the death with other quality films, instead of having a eight-week run in March or June where they'd be practically the only well-reviewed film in the theaters. Can you imagine any other business that essentially tells their consumers, "If you want quality, come back in October. We don't think it works in April or August"?

L.A Times
Oct 1 2008