Okay…were they TRYING to kill viewership?
The first half hour of an endeavor such as this is crucial, and it was as if the producers were doing everything they could to make sure that, when 9 o’clock struck, people would be off trying to find just about anything else.
The opening documentary-style launch wasn’t a bad idea, but poorly executed. I had no idea who the majority of people were, it went on for way too long, and most of them didn’t have anything all that interesting to say. (Eddie Murphy, Peter O’Toole, Clint Eastwood were among the few bright spots.) Ellen I thought did great, but there’s plenty of people who simply don’t like her style (above and beyond the jerks who tuned out because “it’s that lesbo comic.”) And then the first, what, ninety minutes of awards were for, my God, sound editing and such? Yes, yes, I know that’s crucial, and yes, I know it’s important to the people nominated, but they used to be smart enough to have the “Best supporting actor” categories early on to grab the viewers’ interest. What the hëll–?
The fact that Eddie Murphy’s brilliant turn was shunned over Alan Arkin’s sentimental but less compelling portrayal for best was second to me in annoying only to “Pan’s Labyrinth” not winning for best Foreign film, although admittedly I hadn’t seen the one that won so I can’t say which was better. But Murphy should have had it.
Plenty of good moments, yes, but that’s all they were: Moments. The people behind the white scrim were an interesting diversion every now and then, and Al Gore was bloody brilliant, and Jack Nicholson’s head warred with Will Ferrell’s for the most WTF follicle moment of the evening. But with ratings continuing to drop, Johnny Carson long gone, and nomination tastes continuing toward less and less populist fare (I think it telling that the last really big ratings night was when “Titanic” was up, no pun intended), I think it’s time to admit that the Oscars should be two hours max, focus on the main awards, perform the nominated songs, and call it an evening.
At least “Happy Feet” won for Best Animated.
PAD
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And in the “ain’t that a kick in the head” department, viewership was actually UP from the previous year. Not a ton, but up. Go figure.
PAD
viewership was actually UP from the previous year. Not a ton, but up. Go figure.
It’s hard to interpret these things–might that not mean that people heard that Jon Stewart was good last year and didn’t want to miss out on any good watercooler conversation this time? As I recall (and I recall little form last year’s Oscars) most of the nominated movies were modest hits at best. At least THE DEPARTED was a genuine hit, which might have brought in some viewers.
I think they really need to hit a homerun next year. I know I’m not exactly counting the days down to the next one.
Micha stated: “I think the thing with Star Wars was that it was somehow greater than the sum of its parts. The story or acting were not great, but somehow the total experience — story, plot, characters, dialogue, music, effects, direction — clicked really well together to leave a lasting impression”
On this we are in complete agreement. So to take it a step further, if a movie makes a lasting impression and is more than the sum of its parts, wouldn’t those be qualities for “Best Picture”, but not “Best Actor” “Best Screeenplay” “Best Supporting Actress” etc…?
My point is that as much as Star Wars did not have good acting or deep characters, it deserved an Oscar for Best Picture because it was greater than the sum of its parts.
Isn’t that what makes a great film in the first place?
–Captain Naraht
(Ray in NH)
The thing to remember about Star Wars and science fiction is that Star Wars never claimed to be science fiction. I remember seeing a few things, most notably the giant-size Marvel adaptation that I still have somewhere, that called it the Greatest Space Fantasy of All.
“and you also neglected Capote among the recent biopics.”
Well, I was merely listing the ones I have seen, and I have yet to see Capote. 🙂
And while we’re on the subject: A Beautiful Mind is one of the most overrated biopics I’ve seen in recent years. Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t think it’s too much to ask to get somebody who, you know, perhaps begins to resemble the person they’re playing *cough*JenniferConnelly*cough*
I had a problem with Seinfeld’s humor about the theater. It wasn’t funny. Sure, everyone agrees that theaters charge outrageous amounts…
But that we should feel free to leave our trash behind, to be picked up by the employees, who are not the ones charging us the outrageous amounts?
The idea that it is the service staff’s responsibility to pick up our trash? I understand how a member of the Hollywood Elite might feel that way, but it doesn’t play in Peoria. Or in a lot of other places. My parents taught me to throw away my own trash, thank you.
Yes, it’s a joke. But it’s only funny if you agree with him, or you think he is adopting a ‘character’ you’re not supposed to agree wtih.
I did not know that, sir. Very interesting (it’s mt all time favorite video).
Yeah, its my all-time favourite, too. The directors, Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, worked on a whole bunch of Smashing Pumpkins videos, the most notable being “Tonight, Tonight” but also “Rocket” and “1979” and “Perfect”. “Little Miss Sunshine” is very similar to those videos, just for the frame arangements and the big-bright day-glow colours. (Heck, I’m almost certain the convience store in the movie is the same one from 1979 and Perfect) They also did the Weezer video for “The Good Life”, really awesome little vid that gets almost no respect from the band itself, but its really cool-looking and has an appearnce of Chole-From-24 as the pizza delivery girl. Check out IMDB and/or wikipedia entry for them.
Personal favourite find is their first video they did with The Smashing Pumpkins way back in the Siamese Dream days. Its the live video for “Geek USA” on the Smashing Pumpkins greatest hits collection. The band plays onstage with 20 clowns, and the clowns start stage-diving. Dayton and Ferris are apparently some of the clowns onstage, filming stuff. Its on God’s Gift to Bootlegging, youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIJ9-QS6Sp4
My favourite part is actually the opening when James Iha and Co. are talking up the clowns, who are drinking, smoking, and pounding back J.D. “Lets go kill ’em!!!”
Youtube all their videos, actually, and the common thread is that they’re all pretty much genius. Huge part of my liking Little Miss Sunshine, truthfully, had to do with their previous output of music videos.
“My point is that as much as Star Wars did not have good acting or deep characters, it deserved an Oscar for Best Picture because it was greater than the sum of its parts.
Isn’t that what makes a great film in the first place?”
Today it would probably get an academy award. Based on its lasting influence it probably deserved it. But I think the academy — even if it weren’t biased — would probably prefer to give the awards to a movie that had good actors, complex story and characters, and so forth. Annie Hall more suited them, but Star Wars ultimatly has left a much greater impact.
On real people: Peter O’Toole has the distiction of being nominated twice for playing the same historical figure in two otherwise unrelated films (that is, one was not a sequel to the other): Henry II in both The Lion in Winter and Becket.
Viewership was up because nothing else was on- until 10:00 of course.
And I don’t care what you say, Seinfeld’s comments were the only REAL moments in the entire show.
I’m pìššëd when I have to pay $4 for a soda (that one hurts the most), $6 for popcorn and $8 to $10 for a movie- and I have!. With that kinda pricing they can afford to pay an usher to come through with a trashcan and pick up people’s crap.
(Btw, I always throw out my own junk- but it’s the principle of the thing.)
Oh, for the record, I believe the best animated film of last year wasn’t nominated: Final Fantasy IIV: Advent Children. Seriously, just wow.
I’ve never seen the roman number IIV before. What does it mean? 3? 25?
I guess with the amount of money we get charged in taxes, we should all just throw our garbage out our car windows and let someone else pick it up.
If you ever watched Seinfeld on TV you are probably aware that the comedic persona of Seinfeld (as well as his friends) is an egoist who tends to question or ignore common everyday social norms for no other reason than they’re annoying to him. This is an act. It is not his real personality or a recommendation. It’s funny (to some) because it causes you to think about regular everyday things in a different light.
Oh, for the record, I believe the best animated film of last year wasn’t nominated: Final Fantasy IIV: Advent Children. Seriously, just wow.
Did Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children even have a theatrical release in the U.S. (or, more specifically, in Los Angeles?) That’s a requirement for Oscar eligibility, and you’d think that if the producers thought they had even a glimmer of a chance at an Oscar nom, they’d have arranged for a modest theatrical release (as did, say, the producers of Paprika.)
Yes. I enjoyed Seinfeld too, as I can appreciate characters such as Archie Bunker, Borat, and all the Seinfeld characters. (There’s a good reason they all ended up in a jail cell on the final episode. It was a humorous, and appropriate ending.)
But Seinfeld — the tv show ended a few years ago. I find the humor more difficult to laugh at when it comes from Seinfeld the person.
Seinfeld isn’t like Sascha Baron Cohen who ‘lives’ his Borat character as much as possible. If SBC had won an award, I would have expected him to come up on stage in his Borat character — or at least would have laughed if he had.
I assume any jokes coming from any other actor or actress, unless there is good reason to believe otherwise, isn’t coming from a ‘character’ but from the actor or actress.
I avoid Borat as I don’t find making an ášš out of people very funny.
Making an ášš out of moneygrubbing big business- that’s funny.
Making people pay Taxes and overcharging me THEN asking the consumer to pick up someone elses trash- which was part of the point as well, (and I paraphrase, “i’m not going to pick up a year old of raisonette glued to the floor” ) is comparing apples to oranges.
Whatever guys.
“I assume any jokes coming from any other actor or actress, unless there is good reason to believe otherwise, isn’t coming from a ‘character’ but from the actor or actress.”
Only Seinfeld is not an actor. he’s a comedian. his comedy depends on his comic persona, in stand up and on the TV show. If he’s invited to present an award, it’s so he’ll do it with his comic persona. Nobody cares about Seinfeld the person.
In a way the other actors are also acting when they are presenting awards. The lame jokes they are reading from the telepropter are not coming from them. Luckily, Seinfeld is better at delivering jokes because he is a professional stand up comedian and the jokes are his.
I didn’t think his joke was so great too, but not because it’s sentiment was wrong. The joke was fine because it made fun both on movie viewers who egotitically leave garbage feeling they are not required to behave properly because they payed money, and on the movie theaters that over charge and are asking an egotistical audience to clean up. But Seinfeld’s audience in the Oscars don’t go to dirty movie theaters with a tub of popcorn to watch movies, they go to premiers.
Seinfeld isn’t like Sascha Baron Cohen who ‘lives’ his Borat character as much as possible. If SBC had won an award, I would have expected him to come up on stage in his Borat character — or at least would have laughed if he had.
I’ve heard that Cohen wanted to present an award in character as Borat but they wouldn’t let him…might have broken up the general tedioum with some laughs and we don’t want that.
Cohen received a Golden Globe without being Borat, and was still pretty funny. It still was similar to Borat.
IIRC, the only reason he did show up to the Globes not in character was because he decided to shave half-asleep or something and shaved off that mustache. 🙂
I’ve never seen the roman number IIV before. What does it mean? 3? 25?
You know that episode of The Simpsons when Homer receives from the Stonecutters the “real” number for 911 (which turns out to be 912)? Yeah, its something like that. We just can’t tell people like you because … well, you know how it is, right?
Did Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children even have a theatrical release in the U.S. (or, more specifically, in Los Angeles?)
don’t think so, it was an early direct-to-DVD release in 2006. I think it was originally sked for late 2005, but it got bumped back.
I think there may have been an LA theatrical release for Advent Children in April ’06–at least, there’s a press release archived on Anime News Network announcing one. However, it looks like it was a one-time thing, and for Oscar eligibility it has to run for at least a week.
Ellen looked like Captain Kangaroo in her first outfit.
I didn’t see it, but would “Happy Feet” have gotten an academy award (or equivalent recognition) if there was no strict category for animation?
If not, then screw it and its makers.
Mind you I thought the whole Academy thing this year was a serious waste of my time.
It’s almost always a coincidence that a film that I would bother to see is actually nominated.
I never saw Pixar’s contribution all the way through.
And it is never surprising that the “Documentary” award (that word has to be in quotes) is actually the only nominated movie that I have actually heard of that respective year. I’d appreciate a little bit of populism in the nominations.