Regarding another story of yours — the one about great films that haven’t won Oscars, I agree wholeheartedly that “Almost Famous” should have gotten one. I always felt, however, that its vague, innocuous title worked against it. I esp love the director’s cut, but I didn’t see the film til it was on HBO. That title to me was so weak I didn’t expect much from the film. A good title is so important.

One thing I disagree with in that piece — just because “Inside Llewyn Davis” didn’t win an Oscar, and “Singin’ In The Rain” didn’t win an Oscar, doesn’t mean ILD is in the same league. “Plan 9 From Outer Space” didn’t win an Oscar, either. Neither did “Showgirls.”

It’s no secret that people deeply familiar with the folk scene of the 1960s thought the film was dreadful — I don’t think the Coens will ever make a film “inspired by” anyone who has living friends, fans, or relatives again, surprised as they were by the number of friends/fans of Dave Van Ronk who were baffled how such a colorful character who wrote such a lively book inspired such a dull leading man and plotless flick. Before that film was released, everyone I knew in the folk scene was very excited about it and couldn’t wait to see it. And we all wanted to love it.

After seeing it, very few liked it, and very few could say anything positive about it. Despite the glowing reviews by critics, aggressive marketing campaign, and numerous TV ads in the NYC area, the poor word-of-mouth doomed it.

Folk music is all about getting to the heart of the matter, stripping away artifice, telling the truth. That film was about anything but. Oh, it did look pretty and sounded nice (and those two Oscar noms WERE deserved), but it was like an expensive fancy frame around a dull, out-of-focus copy of a polaroid.

But I like your writing a lot and expect big things from you after you graduate.