PHOENIX, AZ — Local dad Ben Grant was disappointed to learn that the 47-minute-long video he took of his 5-year-old son's pee wee soccer game was snubbed for any consideration at the Oscars this year.
"They don't know great filmmaking when they see it," Grant lamented. "But you know the Academy. Apparently, Jack's soccer game isn't ‘artsy' enough or something. I even shot it in horizontal!"
Grant said he knew it was a long shot, but he was hoping at least for a "Best Cinematography" nod or something similar. He admitted the rejection hit him harder than he thought it would.
"I put so much effort into framing every play and getting the action just right. Jack even scored a goal! How amazing is that? I'd think with everything going on in the world, the Academy would want to highlight a film with such a positive message. If you get a juice box during halftime, you'll come back strong in the second half! That's an amazing metaphor for life."
Grant admitted that his filming became a little shaky around the 38-minute mark when his wife asked him to hold the baby so she could run to the restroom. "There's definitely a 5-minute stretch that could be better. But it's so raw! So emotional! You see movies doing the shaky-cam thing all the time, anyway."
At publishing time, Grant had again become annoyed that his 76-minute video of the fireworks display on the Fourth of July was also snubbed by the Oscars.
Do you think you can guess which one is the terrorist?
