The latest way to get Oscar nominations

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Update February 29, 2016- Spotlight won Best Picture

February 28, 2016- by Steven E. Greer

What do these critically acclaimed movies have in common?:

• Spotlight
• The Big Short
• Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
• Citizen Four
• Kill the Messenger
• Frost/Nixon
• The Killing Fields
• All the President’s Men
• The Insider
• Citizen Kane

They, and many other movies not listed, are stories about intrepid journalist muckraking scandals perpetrated by powerful establishment, then being retaliated against, then winning. Some of the best stories ever told by Hollywood have been based on true lives of journalists.

I spot an increase in Oscar scripts for stories based on journalists. Perhaps, this is because their role is growing in importance, and the drama is good fodder for scripts.

Those movies listed above are also stories about the unofficial fourth branch of government, which is journalism. I have said many times before that congress, being totally corrupted by lobbyists, is not doing its job to act as a check on power. The White House controls the DOJ. The Supreme Court cannot be proactive, and the lower state courts are corrupted by politics. Therefore, the only force to restrain totally wanton corporate and government corruption is the press.

Look for more stories (very loosely based on actual events) about print journalists uncovering wrongdoing in the government. It seems to be one more way to get Oscar buzz.