+1
Some Oscar bait criteria:
- White guilt. Civil rights dramas but other non-Caucasian races as well (see Slumdog Millionaire and any film relating to the Holocaust).
- A historical setting. This makes the film likely to get artistic Oscar awards such as art design, costume design, etc.
- A biopic. Particularly if the character has any physical quirks
- LGBT. Of course, only non-LGBT actors can win Oscars for this; an LGBT actor will not win an Oscar simply for playing it straight.
- A physical/mental disability.
- An accent
- A 'star performance'. See for example The Iron Lady; the film is poor but Streep's performance was praised. A 'star performance' can make viewers ignore the poorness of the film itself.
These criteria probably cover most Oscar bait movies. There are some less frequent Oscar baits:
- Hollywood's masochistic love for itself (probably started with A Star is Born). Anything about films will be in there for the Oscars but you still have a good chance with the theatre/other art forms.
- 'Quirkiness'. Normally a poor imitation of something already in existence but presented as unique (see The Grand Budapest Hotel) so that we can pretend it's not as derivative as a mainstream film.
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