1 of 1- JMurr
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Offline - From: Southern California / Utah
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Studio Championship - 10 Awards - For the Sport of Filmmaking
Before anything else is said let me make one thing clear. My Velo concept is not dead. I will continue to advance it from time to time. This concept will exist in parallel to the Velo concept. The two are not related, that is to say both fantasy concepts do not exist in the same alternate reality. By parallel I mean I will be continuing to work both.
I will go ahead and say this is a sport that has not been done before. Not a ball sport or a game in any traditional sense. This is the sport of movie making. In this thread I will blur the line between reality and fiction. This thread will roll the clock back to 1920 for its beginning. That is 7 years before the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences first handed out the Academy Awards.
Under the premise of this concept, we will suppose that several moguls of the movie making business came together to form a contest to determine the best studio of each year. They called it the Studio Championship.
Each April, or four months into each year, the directors of the Studio Championship will come together and asses the previous years films. They will use box office profit returns and overall popularity statistics to determine what were the 10 most popular films from the previous calendar year. The top-rated film will earn their studio 10 points, the next most popular 9 points, the next most 8 points, so on and so forth on down to the 10 film on the list earning its studio a single point.
All ten films will then be eligible for 10 individual awards. Those awards are:
Icon Character of the Year
Achievement in Cinematography
Achievement in Editing
Achievement in Writing
Achievement in Costume
Achievement in Set
Best Actress
Best Actor
Best Director
Best Picture
The board will make five nominations for each award category. Each nomination for a film will earn its studio points. These point totals are: Icon Character of the Year 1 point per nomination, Achievement in Cinematography 2 points per nomination, Achievement in Editing 2 points per nomination, Achievement in Editing 2 points per nomination, Achievement in Writing 2 points per nomination, Achievement in Costume 2 points per nomination, Achievement in Set 2 points per nomination, Best Actress 3 points per nominations, Best Actor 3 points per nomination, Best Director 5 points per nomination, and Best Picture 10 points per nomination.
Following the announcement of the nominations votes for each category will be held. Again, wins in each category will earn a films studio points. Those totals are: Icon Character of the Year 1 point, Achievement in Cinematography 3 points, Achievement in Editing 3 points, Achievement in Writing 3 points, Achievement in Costume 3 points, Achievement in Set 3 points, Best Actress 5 points, Best Actor 5 points, Best Director 5 points, Best Picture 10 points.
On the night that they present the winners their will be a leader board, much like those found in golf, that will be updated throughout the night showing the point totals for each studio as the awards are announced. At the end of the award presentation, the studio that is atop the leader board will be awarded the Studio Cup, a championship trophy. Much like the Stanley Cup in Hockey, the studio will hold onto the cup for the year until the next champion is crowned. Individual names are not engraved on the cup but the name of the studio and the year they won will be.
As the years go by new awards will be added and some might go away. More films will come into play. All that will be reveled as we move through each season.
Now I think this is the fun part. I need you all to be the voting board.
It will work like this. I will determine the list of 10 films for each season. I will post here that list. I will also post at the same time my initial suggestions for nominations. At this point it is open for discussion here on this board. You can tell me what you think needs to be changed. I will consider everything said but ultimately, I have final say on the nominations. I will do my best to reasonably justify why I have made the choices I have. Once I declare the nominations final a voting period will begin. At the beginning of this voting period, I will set a date on which the voting will conclude. To build anticipation and keep this all a surprise votes will be submitted in secret. You can send your votes to StudioChampionship@gmail.com. After the voting has closed, I will put together a summary of the award show along with images of the leader’s board throughout the night when key movement occurs. Ending with the declaration of what studio is the champion. In full transparency the secret votes will at this time be made public.
So, to get things underway let us begin by first releasing the logo for the 1920 season. 
- JMurr
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Re: Studio Championship - 10 Awards - For the Sport of Filmmaking
To come is the first list of films and purposed nominations.
Something to Think About (Famous Players-Lasky/Artcraft & Paramount)
Way Down East (United Artists)
Pollyanna (United Artists)
The Mark of Zorro (United Artists)
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Famous Players-Lasky/Artcraft & Paramount)
Excuse My Dust (Famous Players-Lasky/Artcraft & Paramount)
The Garage (Comique Film Company & Paramount)
The Last of the Mohicans (Associated Producers, Inc.)
The Penalty (Goldwyn Pictures)
Within Our Gates (Micheaux Book & Film Company)
So, the first leader board based on just the list of ten films is:
Seven studios have made entry into this year’s contest. Clearly it looks to be a contest between United Artists and Paramount. Famous Players-Lasky/Artcraft looks like they are in it but as it is Paramount is already ahead of them in the standings, they have no chance at winning this thing. That is because of their close association with Paramount. Everyone of their qualifying films is in collaboration with Paramount. Therefore, every time one of their films earns points, they will split them evenly with Paramount. So, they will never be able to catch Paramount. United Artist scored big on the entry leader board with 24 points, that is nearly double the next closest studio with 12.5. The United Artist take advantage with each of their three main founders (D.W. Griffith, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks) producing a film that made it into the top 4 films of the year. Four smaller studios will do their best to compete.
The initial proposed nominations are:
So, send your thoughts. Lets work out the nominations.
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Thread Starter- JMurr
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Re: Studio Championship - 10 Awards - For the Sport of Filmmaking
This concept just might be going down in flames.
Before it does however let me press forward with it on life support.
With no input at all I am going to go ahead and let the initial proposals for the nominations stand. They are the official nominations. I also went ahead and choose the winners for this season alone.
In recap the official nominations are:
Icon Character of the Year
[list=1]
[*]Pollyanna – Pollyanna (Elenor H. Porter nominee)
[*]Zorro – The Mark of Zorro (Johnston McCulley nominee)
[*]Dr. Henry Jekyll – Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Robert Louis Stevenson nominee)
[*]Mr. Edward Hyde – Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Robert Louis Stevenson nominee)
[*]Luke the Dog – The Garage (Roscoe Arbuckle nominee)
[/list]
Achievement in Cinematography
[list=1]
[*]Billy Bitzer – Way Down East
[*]Charles Rosher – Pollyanna
[*]Roy Overbaugh – Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
[*]Philip R. DuBois & Charles Van Enger – The Last of the Mohicans
[*]Don Short – The Penalty
[/list]
Achievement in Editing
[list=1]
[*]Anne Bauchens – Something to Think About
[*]James Smith & Rose Smith – Way Down East
[*]Karl Malkames – Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
[*]Roscoe Arbuckle – The Garage
[*]J.G. Hawks & Frank E. Hull – The Penalty
[/list]
Achievement in Writing
[list=1]
[*]Cecil B. DeMille, Anne Bauchens, & Jeanie Macpherson – Something to Think About
[*]Anthony Paul Kelly & Joseph R. Grismer – Way Down East
[*]Frances Marion – Pollyanna
[*]Will M. Richey – Excuse My Dust
[*]Jean Havez – The Garage
[/list]
Achievement in Costume
[list=1]
[*]Edward Langley – The Mark of Zorro
[*]William Cameron Menzies & Clark Robinson – Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
[*]Wilfred Buckland – Excuse My Dust
[*]Ben Carre – The Last of the Mohicans
[*]Gilbert White – The Penalty
[/list]
Achievement in Set
[list=1]
[*]Max Parker – Pollyanna
[*]Edward Langley – The Mark of Zorro
[*]Charles O. Seessel – Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
[*]Ben Carre & Floyd Mueller – The Last of the Mohicans
[*]Gilbert White – The Penalty
[/list]
Best Actress
[list=1]
[*]Gloria Swanson – Something to Think About
[*]Lillian Gish – Way Down East
[*]Mary Pickford – Pollyanna
[*]Martha Mansfield – Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
[*]Barbara Bedford – The Last of the Mohicans
[/list]
Best Actor
[list=1]
[*]Theodore Roberts – Something to Think About
[*]Douglas Fairbanks – The Mark of Zorro
[*]John Barrymore – Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
[*]Roscoe Arbuckle – The Garage
[*]Lon Chaney – The Penalty
[/list]
Best Director
[list=1]
[*]D.W. Griffith – Way Down East
[*]Fred Niblo – The Mark of Zorro
[*]John S. Robertson – Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
[*]Sam Wood – Excuse My Dust
[*]Maurice Tourneur – The Last of the Mohicans
[/list]
Best Picture
[list=1]
[*]Something to Think About (Cecil B. DeMille & Jesse L. Lasky producers)
[*]Way Down East (D.W. Griffith producer)
[*]Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Adolph Zukor & Jesse L. Lasky producers)
[*]The Garage (Roscoe Arbuckle producer)
[*]The Last of the Mohicans (Maurice Tourneur producer)
[/list]
With 10 awards and 5 nominees for each there were a total of 50 opportunities to earn a nomination. 1/5 of all the nominations went to a single film, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Two of those nominations came in a single category, the low scoring Icon Character of the Year award. Way Down East and The Last of the Mohicans tied for second place as far as total nominations. Each of those films earned 6 nominations. All three of these films that led in nomination totals were nominated in the Best Picture category.
Half of the eligible films each earned five nominations. Those five films were Something to Think About, Pollyanna, The Mark of Zorro, The Garage, and The Penalty. Among these films were the two other films nominated for Best Picture; Something to Think About and the surprise The Garage.
Excuse My Dust received 3 nominations while Within Our Gates did not receive a single nomination. The Studio Championship could not ignore the impact Within Our Gates had on the communities of color. However, due to prejudices of the time not much other credit was given to the film. Having qualified the film earned is small independent studio, Micheaux Book & Film Company a point on the leader board. Without any nominations they had no way to move up the leader board.
The Garage was a big surprise. The short comedy film earned five nominations, including one for Best Picture. As the star and producer of the film Roscoe Arbuckle received was the would-be recipient in four of its five nominations.
On the night of the award show United Artists were of course coming in with an initial 11.5 point lead. Having three of the top four films under their label they stood little threat of losing that lead. As the night got rolling however Famous Player-Lasky/Artcraft and Paramount’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde began stealing the night. That film picked up the first three awards: Icon Character of the Year, Best Cinematography, and Achievement in Editing.
Despite these wins Paramount was not closing the point gap between them and United Artists. After the Achievement in Editing award was announced United Artist sat on 32 points while Paramount held 21.5. United Artist’s lead had now grown to 13.5 points. Changes were not occurring at the top of the leader board but through these first three awards Goldwyn Pictures fell to sixth place, then climbed back up to fourth place.
The next two categories given out were Achievement in Writing and Achievement in Costume. United Artist did not win either of these but with points earned through nominations in these categories they still maintained their lead. The writing award went to Something to Think About, earning more points for Paramount. The award for costume went to The Last of the Mohicans, a win for Maurice Tourneur Productions. In doing so Maurice Tourneur passed over Goldwyn Pictures back to fourth place. Five awards in and United Artist had still not yet won a thing. Still, their lead continued to grow. They now were 10 points in front of Paramount. United Artist sat at 38 points while Paramount sat at 28.
Back-to-back wins in the next two awards, Achievement in Set and Best Actress, pushed United Artist even further ahead. Those awards were picked up by The Mark of Zorro and Way Down East respectively. At this point United Artist had 56 points while Paramount only had 32.
The next award was Best Actor. Many believed Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde had a good chance at winning this one. John Barrymore’s performances in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde had been highly praised. Despite this the performance of Lon Chaney in The Penalty was enough to capture that prize away. For Goldwyn Pictures it was enough to push them back into fourth place on the leader board. Their stay in that position would not last long. When the nomination points were added in for the next award, Best Director, Maurice Tourneur Productions was able to jump back into fourth place. The Last of the Mohicans, a Maurice Tourneur Productions film, then won the award pushing their production company more securely into that fourth-place position.
By now it was clear that no matter who won Best Picture, United Artist was in such a secure lead they were going to be named the first Studio Champions. They did not need the win, but they got it anyway. Way Down East took home the Best Picture award. In the end the final scores on the leader board were as follows:
United Artists – 89
Paramount – 56.5
Famous Players-Lasky/Artcraft – 45.5
Maurice Tourneur Productions – 35
Goldwyn Pictures – 18
Comique Film Company – 11
Micheaux Book & Film Company – 1
Congratulations the United Artists and all the other individual winners.
- •
Thread Starter- JMurr
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Re: Studio Championship - 10 Awards - For the Sport of Filmmaking
1921
Posted below is the logo for the second Studio Championship season, held in 1922 but honoring films released in the calendar year of 1921. Also shown is the initial leader board.
Welcome to the initial report on the 1921 season. The board of the Studio Championship was not impressed by the domestic movies and ticket takes so they have included 2 foreign films in this year’s qualifying list. That qualifying list is as follows:
#1 – The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (Metro Pictures)
#2 – The Kid (First National Pictures)
#3 – The Three Musketeers (United Artists)
#4 – The Sheik (Famous Players-Lasky/Artcraft & Paramount)
#5 – Orphans of the Storm (United Artists)
#6 – Little Lord Fauntleroy (United Artists)
#7 – The Love Light (United Artists)
#8 – A Tale of Two Worlds (Goldwyn Pictures)
#9 – Destiny (Decla Film)
#10 – The Phantom Carriage (AB Svensk Filmindustri)
The reigning champion United Artist has the best showing at this point. This will start them with 23 points on the opening leader board. The next closest studio to them is Metro Pictures with 10 points. United Artist has four qualifying films. No other studio has multiples. Last year’s second place finisher, Paramount, does not even have a full film they can take credit for. Once again, the did the bulk of their work with their associated company Famous Players-Lasky/Artcraft. That means that every film that these studios qualified this year, The Sheik, scores points, those points will be split between the two companies. Based on its ranking on the qualifying list the Sheik is worth 7 points. Split among the two companies means that each only has 3.5 points on the initial leader board.
The Studio Championship executives are concerned that United Artists continued dominance will hurt interest. It might not quite be a runaway season for United Artist however. Films like The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Kid, The Sheik, Destiny, and The Phantom Carriage all are garnering a lot of praise going into the award season. The two foreign films in particular, Destiny and The Phantom Carriage, are given high chances. In fact, although United Artists have four qualifying films (The Three Musketeers, Orphans of the Storm, Little Lord Fauntleroy, and The Love Light) those films are not expected to do as well. This just might stall Untied Artist ability to increase their point total, thus allowing a smaller, perhaps even foreign studio to rise up.
Among those foreign studios is Decla Film. Just a few years removed form the Great War leads some stunned that this film is even receiving so much praise and consideration. Decla Film is thrilled at their chance to compete, but fear voters might shy away from them due to prejudice against Germany at this time. Encouraging to them is the fact that the list submitted to voters of the Studio Championship for suggested nominations has Destiny, Decla Film’s qualified film, recommended in all ten categories.
Speaking of that suggested list it is as follows:
Best Picture
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (Rex Ingram)
The Kid (Charlie Chaplin)
The Sheik (Fred Quimby)
Destiny (Erich Pommer)
The Phantom Carriage (Charles Magnusson)
Best Director
Rex Ingram (The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse)
George Melford (The Sheik)
D.W. Griffith (Orphans of the Storm)
Fritz Lang (Destiny)
Victor Sjorstrom (The Phantom Carriage)
Best Actor
Josef Swickard (The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse)
Charlie Chaplin (The Kid)
Rudolph Valentino (The Sheik)
Claude Gillingwater (Little Lord Fauntleroy)
Bernhard Goetzke (Destiny)
Best Actress
Edna Purviance (The Kid)
Agnes Ayres (The Sheik)
Lilian Gish (Orphans of the Storm)
Mary Pickford (The Love Light)
Lil Dagover (Destiny)
Achievement in Costume
Paul Burns (The Three Musketeers)
George Westmore (The Sheik)
Herman Patrick Tappe (Orphans of the Storm)
Cedric Gibbons (A Tale of Two Worlds)
Heinrich Umlauff (Destiny)
Achievement in Writing
June Mathis (The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse)
Charlie Chaplin, Frances Hodgson Barnett (The Kid)
Charles Kenyon, J.E. Nash, Gouverneur Morris (A Tale of Two Worlds)
Thea von Harbou, Fritz Lang (Destiny)
Victor Sjostram, Selma Lagerlof (The Phantom Carriage)
Achievement in Editing
Grant Whytock (The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse)
James Smith, Rose Smith (Orphans of the Storm)
Alfred E. Green, Jack Pickford (Little Lord Fauntleroy)
Fritz Lang (Destiny)
Eugen Hellman (The Phantom Carriage)
Achievement of Cinematography
William Marshall (The Sheik)
Paul H. Allen, Billy Bitzer, Hendrik Sartov (Orphans of the Storm)
Charles Roshner, Henry Cronjager (The Love Light)
Bruno Mondi, Erich Nitzschmann, Hermann Saalfrank, Bruno Timm, Fritz Arno Wagner (Destiny)
Julius Jaenzon (The Phantom Carriage)
Achievement in Set
Joseph Calder, Amos Myers (The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse)
Edward M. Langley (The Three Musketeers)
George Melford (The Sheik)
Charles E. Boss, Edward Scholl, Frank Wortman, Joe Dibuono (Orphans of the Storm)
Robert Herlth, Walter Rohrig, Hermann Warm (Destiny)
Icon Character of the Year
Death, The Grim Reaper (The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse) Vincente Blasco Ibanez
The Tramp (The Kid) Charlie Chaplin
Charles de Batz de Castelmore d’Artagnan (The Three Musketeers) Charles de Batz de Castelmore d’Artagnan
Sheik Ahmed Ben Hassan (The Sheik) E.M. Hull
Death, The Grim Reaper (Destiny) Fritz Lang
A couple thoughts on these suggestions. Notice that United Artist has no film nominated for Best Picture. So, if they are going to repeat as champions, they must do it without winning or even receiving a nomination in the biggest point earner of the Studio Championship. Also notice that Death, The Grim Reaper is nominated twice as the Icon Character of the Year. The character appears in both The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and Destiny. A similar likeness to the character plays a significant role in The Phantom Carriage.
Now is the time for you all to give your input. I will leave comments open until Friday. If by Friday night I will make the announcement for the official nominations. 
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Thread Starter