No, as of this writing, ABC and Cablevision haven’t come to terms. Instead I took Robert Fuller’s advice: I found a nearby hotel that has ABC and was charging a dirt cheap room rate since it was last minute and Sunday is a dead day for them. So the Davids decamped to the hotel and as of 8:30 PM I’ll be doing my running commentary for the Oscars. Even if they wind up sorting this out at the last possible second, screw it. At least I didn’t have to sit there watching the time tick down, feeling helpless in the crossfire of two huge corporations. Plus I took Caroline swimming, so it’s all good.
See you below the cutline of this post at 8:30 EST.
PAD
UPDATED 8:27–We’re three minutes away, and Cablevision is still gone.
8:30: And we’re off. It’s all the nominated actors and actresses. Please don’t let them burst into song.
8:31: NPH? WTF?
8:33: “No One Wants to Do It Alone.” The first Academy opening song that could be seen as discussing the loneliness of mášŧûrbáŧìøņ.
8:34: Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin make their entrance. It’s almost anticlimactic.
8:35: “And this is Alec Baldwin.” Heh.
8:35: Ðámņ right most losses. Streep has only won twice, I think.
8:36: Plummer should really be in there for Parnassus.
8:37: Oh look. Here’s one of the actresses who’s going to lose to Mo’nique.
8:38: Yeah, I’m not sure I get the video game joke either. Like the CAA gag, though. And the reference to “The Jerk.”
8:40: Thank you for spraying those dámņëd things, Steve.
8:41; Ohhhh, and Bigelow and Cameron are seated right behind each other. And Clooney looks braced.
8:41: This is the best opening monologue in years. Martin and Baldwin keep setting each other up, taking turns playing each other’s straight man.
8:43: Actually I thought Martin was going to say, “And if you’d like a transcript of tonight’s show, you must be a Cablevision customer.”
8:44: Someone please subtitle Penelope Cruz. I”m having trouble with the accent.
8:45: Y’know, if you looked at the entire cast of “Cheers,” who would have pegged Woody Harrelson to have the most successful film career?
8:46: Should win: Plummer. Will probably win: The Nazi guy.
8:48: 1 for 1.
8:50: I think Cablevision just restored ABC. Figures.
8:51: “MILEY CYRUS!!!!” (I’ve seen the dámņëd trailer for an upcoming Brendan Fraser film in which he screams “Miley Cyrus” while serving to avoid a boulder a few too many times.)
8:55: Let’s see if we can spot Neil Gaiman in the audience for Coraline.
8:58: Up.
8:58: 2 for 2. But who didn’t see that coming? And it was tough to spot Neil since they didn’t actually go to the audience as they announced each nominee.
9:00: MILEY CYR…sorry.
9:01: Is it just me or do they look like the top of a lesbian wedding cake?
9:01: I was so annoyed finding out that they weren’t going to do a full performance of the nominated songs. I always liked that part.
9:02: Well, lessee…assuming that the Princess songs canceled each other out, probably the song from Crazy Heart.
9:03: 3 for 3.
9:05: So Chris Pine, who was in an SF film that should have been nominated, introduces another SF film that WAS nominated? That kinda sucks.
9:06: Ariel’s hoping that Tina Fey comes out as Sarah Palin.
9:12: Downey’s in his own world. Love the sneakers.
9:13 Should win Bášŧárdš Will WIn Hurt Locker
9:15 4 for 4
9:17 Molly RIngwald is looking good. On second thought she looks like a deer in the headlights.
9:18 Nice John Hughes tribute.
9:22: The brat pack, together again.
9:23: My God, one of Hughes’ sons looks just like him.
9:23: I swear, “Up” should win for Best Film. It won’t, but it should.
9:25: And the “Gee, Y’THINK?!” award goes to the announcer who just said, “Which film will win for best visual effects? Will it be Avatar?”
9:26: Wow. I just counted back: A seven minute tribute to John Hughes. I haven’t seen that much time dedicated to a director who wasn’t getting the Irving Thalberg award.
9:28: Hey, I recognize that actress on the right. She was “Anna Maria” in “Pirates of the Caribbean.” Whatever happened to her? It looked like she was fighting her dress on the way down and the dress won.
9:30: “The thing I like best about short films? They’re short.” Coming next: “The thing I like best about movies? They move.”
9:31: I have no freaking clue about best short animated. But I’m hoping for “Loaf and Death.” Will probably be Logorama.
9:32: Wow. Considering the entirety of Logorama that I’ve seen was that clip on the Oscars, I was basing the guess pretty much on that it was French. Okay. So I’m 5 for 5.
9:33: Best Doc Short. Good lord. Uhm…Music by Prudence.
9:34: Good Christ. I knew NOTHING about it. Total guess. 6 for 6.
9:35: And the winner for first people to be played off: Music by Prudence.
9:35: Live action short. Uhm…Kavi?
9:36: Oh well. 6 for 7.
9:37: I love Ben Stiller.
9:38: And somewhere Ben Stiller’s daughter is hiding her eyes saying, “Why does Dad embarrass me like this?!?”
9:40: Make up: Rooting for Trek for obvious reasons.
9:41: Yea. 7 for 8.
9:43: Am I the only one who wants to see a clip from this film intercut with Heath Ledger’s Joker snarling, “Why so serious?”
9:45: At Jason’s request: 1 5 18 23 47 49
9:48: Should win: Precious. Will win: “Up in the Air.”
9:50: 7.5 for 9 (I give myself half points when I hit the “Should win.” It’s my scoring system, so nyaah.)
9:51: Anyone know if he’s the first black screen writer to win?
9:52: “Here to thank me is Queen Latifah!” Great intro. Great dress, Latifah.
9:53: These one liners are great. I wish they’d broadcast the Governors Awards.
9:54: I think it safe to say this will be the only context in which you’ll hear the names Lauren Bacall and Roger Corman linked.
9:55: Ball jokes. They just never get old.
9:55: Just skip straight to Mo’nique. If she doesn’t win, it’s going to be astounding.
9:59: 8.5 for 10, but really, you didn’t have to be Nostradamus for that one.
10:00: Best acceptance speech tonight. Thank God they didn’t start trying to play her off.
10:02: A salute to horror films? Really? The word “Why?” comes to mind, but okay.
10:03: Did everyone see that ad for Cervical Cancer? Ariel’s observation: “Cervical cancer should not be shiny.”
10:05: Run! Run, little stage hand, run!
10:06: Sigourney Weaver looks like she wandered in from the set of “Spartacus: Blood and Sand.”
10:06: Should win: Parnassus. Will win: Avatar.
10:07: 9.5 for 11.
10:09: For two guys who have never been a comedy team, Martin and Baldwin are a good comedy team.
10:10: Costume design. Should win: Parnassus. Will win: Victoria.
10:10: 10.5 for 12. Didn’t seen Young Victoria, but Academy voters love films set in the Victorian or Elizabethan era, so it seemed a reasonable guess. Actually I’m surprised Holmes wasn’t up.
10:12: Oh, that was a tragically designed dress.
10:15: For those who were asking about Mo’nique’s “Politics” comments, she’s been talking for months–even before she was nominated–about all the politics involved in the entire process of choosing the nominations, and saying that she didn’t think people gave the voters enough credit for being able to cut through it all. The most recent example was the politics lobbed at “Hurt Locker” to try and slow down its momentum. That kind of thing.
10:18: I spoke too soon. Best tribute to horror films ever. Actually, that’s kind of like Kathleen and me trying to get some sleep.
10:18: Oh. Crap. I didn’t speak too soon. They should have just left it with the Baldwin/Martin bit.
10:20: To the theme of Young Frankenstein? Uh kay.
10:21: Wait…Marathon Man is a horror movie? Aliens is a horror movie?
10:22: Well, if anyone was dozing off, that should take care of it.
10:23: I love these technical explanation bits. I still remember when, to underscore the importance of editing, they ran a clip from “The French Connection” with a little counter tabulating the edits. It was like 97
10:24: Sound editing. Probably Avatar.
10:25: Wow. Hurt Locker instead of Avatar. That leaves me at 10.5 for 13 but it might also presage an upset for “Hurt Locker” over “Avatar” as some have been suggesting might happen.
10:25: Hmm. I’ll say Hurt Locker this time, just to see.
10:27: Oookay. 11.5 for 14, and now Cameron must be sweating just a touch. You’d think that Avatar would have all the tech awards locked up.
10:28: Was Elizabeth Banks in ET? What’s up with that?
10:28: It was a night to celebrate all those who nobody gives enough of a dámņ about to want to see on TV.
10:29: It took Tarantino to put Travolta’s career back on track, and it took Travolta’s bizarre project and acting choices to send it back off the rails.
10:35: Cinematography. Okay, this time I’ll say Avatar again.
10:35: 12.5 for 15. So basically Avatar looked better and Hurt Locker sounded better? Is that it?
10:37: Tribute to Swayze?
10:37: The star of “Ghost” for the salute to the deceased, one of whom is Patrick Swayze, her co-star. And she’s wearing an outfit that seems to be have been designed by the Mummy. So it’s consistent.
10:41: Where was Farrah?
10:45: J-Lo appears to be wearing a dress with a partly developed conjoined twin dress attached.
10:46: I loved the music from Holmes. Just please, God, no interpretive tap dance to “Saving Private Ryan.”
10:47: Actually there was a later cut in the Holmes soundtrack where he’s pursuing Irene Adler that would have been superior for a dance sequence. It screams to be performed by a belly dancer.
10:48: Fosse Fosse Fosse Fosse, Madonna, Madonna…
10:49: Boy, that guy has some kinda moves.
10:51: Best original score. Should win: Up. Will win: Avatar.
10:52: Excellent. 13 for 16 and I got rid of the .5.
10:53: Okay, that’s my new favorite acceptance speech. I always remember my father saying when I was 17, “Your hobbies are great, but you can’t make a living out of science fiction and comic books.”
10:54: Best visual effects. Cameron’s guys should be heading for the stage already.
10:55: Gee, only called that one back at 9:25. 14 for 17.
10:57: Maybe Clooney will finally crack a smile.
11:00: Why does that show “Happy Town” look like it should be entitled “Stephen King’s Happy Town.”
11:01: Best documentary feature. Haven’t seen any of them. I haven’t gotten this category right since “Inconvenient Truth.” Taking a guess: The one about Mexicans.
11:04: Well, sure, because what’s more important: Mexicans? The food we eat? Or, y’know, dolphins. 14 for 18.
11:05: Well, it’s not the French Connection bit about editing, but not bad.
11:07: Keeping with the best looking, Avatar, but I’ll go for Hurt locker.
11:07: Son of a gun. 15 for 19 and now Cameron’s domination is in serious jeopardy.
11:08: “Hurt Locker” may have been gaining ground, but having Keanu Reeves introduce it may have just sucked the life out of it.
11:10: So here’s what it’ll come down to. I just can’t see Bigelow win for best director and then Avatar wins best picture. And vice versa for Cameron. But what further complicates matters is that with the new wonky voting system, the film that gets the most #1 votes is not necessarily going to be the one that wins.
11:14: Is it my imagination, or have there been a LOT of guys in ill-fitting tuxes?
11:15: Kath says “White Ribbon” is going to win Best Foreign and I have no opinion, so I’ll go with that.
11:16: 15 for 20. Thanks, Kath.
11:18: It’s an epic! It’s a love story! It’s a floor wax AND a dessert topping!
11:20: Lady, if “The Blind Side” won, THAT would be a surprise.
11:21: If you’ve had a Coke in the last twenty minutes, you’re trying to get enough caffeine in your system to stay awake for the end of the Oscars.
11:23: If the series of “V” was as fun as the commercials, it would be way better.
11:23: Maybe Clooney is cranky because he knows Bridges is going to win for Best Actor and he’s not looking forward to losing.
11:25: I refuse to believe this anecdote. Michelle Pfeiffer is perfect. End of story.
11:26: Clooney smiled and his face didn’t crack. There goes that theory.
11:28: The Oscars will be over in two minutes according to the announced running time.
11:30: Show’s over. Good night, every–oh. It’s still on.
11:31: I wonder if they each wrote their own speeches.
11:32: Bridges.
11:32: No real shock there. 16 for 20.
11:33: I chatted with Bridges for a few minutes during the Iron Man after-party. He’s pretty much just like the Dude. Now the Dude has an Oscar. Thing is, the show’s running long. Do they play him off?
11:35: I guess they figure, “Screw it, we’ve blown the cut-off, might as well let ’em ramble.”
11:36: “See who wins Best Director and Best film!” So we’re…what? Skipping over Best Actress?
11:40: If they have five directors or actors come out to extol the virtues of the nominated directors, I may lose it.
11:41: Ah, I remember “Hope Floats.” I always thought that if only they had tied Hope to the hull of the Titanic, no one would have died.
11:42: Who’s the guy behind Mirren who looks totally stoned?
11:47: Best Actress. Should win: Sidibe. Will win: Bullock.
11:47: What the hëll was Penn talking about?
11:48: No real shock there either. 17 for 21.
11:50: Should I know why Bullock knows that Streep is a good kisser?
11:52: Who’s that long-haired guy in the weird tux?
11:53: Okay. Despite the fact that I didn’t like the film, and despite the temptation to make history by having a woman or an African-American winning…I think it’s gonna be Cameron.
11:54: Glad to be wrong. 17 for 22.
11:58: Somewhere right now every ex-wife of James Cameron is snickering.
11:58: Dammit, Hanks! You’re supposed to read all the nominees! I didn’t have a chance to say “Hurt Locker” based on Bigelow having won best director. Which is what I was gonna say, honest. Which would leave me at 18 for 23.
12:02: And Alec Baldwin gets the last word. Excellent.
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I guess they decided that every main actor of Iron Man should have an Oscar.
Hmm..I thought Downey had won for Tropic Thunder…guess not..slacker.
No. Downey has been nominated twice but hasn’t won. He lost best supporting to Heath Ledger’s Joker, so no shock there. And he was nominated for best actor for the title role in “Chaplin.” But again he didn’t win.
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PAD
Well, it’s hard the make that case when the star of it doesn’t have one.
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(Unless you were counting nominations.)
No..I had thought Downey had won previously.
I think I just saw SALLY SPARROW again…
I think I just saw SALLY SPARROW again…
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Yes, Carey Mulligan was Sally Sparrow. She’s been busy over the last couple of years, and will be again in the coming year.
I would think that The Hurt Locker getting Best Picture is a safe bet right now.
The Dude won an Oscar?? Effin’ A!
I remember Sea Hunt. That was a good show.
High Definition doesn’t help Sandra Bullock.
*sigh* I suppose Sandra Bullock will win for playing a redneck version of herself in a glorified TV movie…
11:42: Who’s the guy behind Mirren who looks totally stoned?
PAD: Benecio Del Torro?
Peter David: 11:42: Who’s the guy behind Mirren who looks totally stoned?
Luigi Novi: A seat-filler so stoked to the point of a fugue state that he’s sitting behind Helen Mirren?
Now they’re actresses again.
And once again someone wins an Oscar for playing a real person. This has happened for at least the last 12 years. And yesterday she got a Razzie.
Wow, you’re right, I hadn’t realized. 1997 was the last year none of the winners were playing a real person.
From what i read online, that “new wonky voting system” is the same one that’s been used for decades for SF Worldcon site selection and the Hugo Awards.
Yes, and I’ve never won a Hugo so, y’know…QED.
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PAD
I wasn’t paying close attention, but the last thing Sandra Bullock said sounded like ‘.. my lover, Meryl Streep’.
I misheard that, didn’t I?
No, you heard right. It was a running gag between them throughout the awards season as they felt the press was trying to paint the Oscar race as a “Meryl VS Sandra” contest or something.
On one of the first awards of this season, I think it was the Broadcast Film Critics, Bullock and Streep tied for best actress. Streep spoke first and then when Bullock was announced she came onstage and kissed Streep. They both laughed about it but a lot of people didn’t see that awards show (I think it was on Bravo) so don’t know how the whole thing started. I haven’t looked but I bet somebody’s put it on YouTube.
No you didn’t it’s a running joke see my post below
Really..Two chances to say “F-You, Jim” gone by. tsk.
hmm..that should have posted below.
Should I know why Bullock knows that Streep is a good kisser?
They kissed when they tied for one of the early awards.
“I Am Woman”? Really? Can you say cliche?
“Somewhere right now every ex-wife of James Cameron is snickering.”
And each one progressively younger than the last…
Really..Two chances to say “F-You, Jim” gone by. tsk.
“Dammit, Hanks! You’re supposed to read all the nominees!”
I know! Funny how it was Hanks who botched it since he’s made a second career out of appearing at every single f**king awards show under the sun.
It wasn’t a botch..he’s the govner…they told him to wrap it up quickly.
Peter David: 11:50: Should I know why Bullock knows that Streep is a good kisser?
Luigi Novi: I wanna know!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/16/sandra-bullock-meryl-stre_n_425758.html
I’ve always loved Sandra Bullock (not her movies, for the most part, but her), and I love her even more after that speech. Like, I want to hang out with her.
Well, while I was thrilled earlier to think that I would get to watch this on old-fashioned broadcast TV while rich people with fancy cable would miss it, as it turned out, I missed a great deal of it. My niece insisted on watching The Simpsons and Family Guy, and she outranks me. So I didn’t get to switch over to the Oscars until 9:00 (10:00 according to your defective East Coast clocks), so I missed everything before Mo’nique’s acceptance speech.
Ah, well.
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There were way too many movies I never heard of tonight. Ever since Ebert And Roeper went off the air I’ve missed out on hearing anything except the big Hollwood productions.
I had missed some important deaths over the past year, too. I didn’t know about Ron Silver or Natasha Richardson (she wasn’t very old, was she?). And where was Farrah?!? That’s not right that they would list Michael Jackson (who only appeared in one movie as far as I can remember) but forget about her.
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So why were there ten Best-Picture nominees this year? And why didn’t they list them right before the award? I know they’d been listing them throughout the show, but there must’ve been many people besides myself who didn’t get to see the whole thing. And I didn’t hear one single bit of preliminary hype this year, so I have no idea what any of the nominees were, other than those I caught in the part I did see.
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That Israeli movie that was nominated for the Foreign-Language award sounds interesting.
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I’ve been reading everything written here and I notice that NHP gets a lot of mention in these comments, but I have no idea what NHP is.
Neil Patrick Harris
Silver died of cancer, and I believe Richardson died in a skiing incident.
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Many people had been complaining that their favorite films never got nominated, so the nominations were opened to 10 films.
The not listing the best picture noms was likely cuz of time.
Ever since Ebert And Roeper went off the air I’ve missed out on hearing anything except the big Hollwood productions.
I recommend you check out the excellent Rotten Tomatoes Show on Current. Or, if you don’t get the channel on your cable or satellite, go here:
http://www.hulu.com/the-rotten-tomatoes-show
Are you living in your niece’s house? I’m trying to understand why she outranks you.
She can scream louder.
I’m too meek to outrank anybody.
I’m really thrilled to see that they’re finally saying ‘And the winner is… ‘ again.
“Who’s that long-haired guy in the weird tux?”
If you’re referring to the guy who was sitting behind Tarantino, I’m pretty sure it was Michael Haneke, the director of “The White Ribbon.”
I thought he was talking about Streisand.
I was.
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PAD
Best Oscar production in quite some time.
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I watched it via dvr, so I never heard or watched any commercials.
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This annual event of racing through the last few categories is just stupid. Why can’t the producers tackle that problem? There are only 6 must see categories (best actor & actress, best supporting actor & actress, best director, best picture), and they should be treated with more respect. There are several categories that don’t need 5 minutes each, so shorten them.
To be fair, it does look like they’ve cut much of the BS from years past. In some years the production was overburdened with montages and such. Not this year.
That should be eight must see categories. The two Screenplay awards should really outrank everything except Best Picture.
Well, the Oscars were mostly predictable this year. Not too many suprises. Still Steve Martain & Alec Baldwin were entertaining. And I’m glad UP won best animated picture!
Still, wish Avatar had won best picture. Yes, Hurt Locker was great. But I liked Avatar better. Yes, I actually said AND I do mean it. Avatar was fantastic, not just because of technology, but also because of the story and the world that it created. I guess Avatar is the sort of movie that you either buy or you don’t buy. You either sit there and get sucked into its world or you sit there for the whole movie thinking ” Great special effects, but the story sucks.”
Personally, I was sucked into Avatars world and had a lot of fun with the movie. Not saying Hurt Locker didn’t deserve the best picture award, cause it did, just saying I’d rather have seen Avatar get it. Oh well. At least UP won. 🙂
I really only have one desire with the Oscars. For John Oliver to maintain his tradition of ridiculing Jon Stewart on the Daily Show. I don’t care how long it’s been since Stewart hosted, I love that bit.
Two things missing this year- The Best Song nominees weren’t performed during the broadcast….
…and not much political commentary this year
Well, let’s see:
1.)I’m disappointed “Avatar” didn’t win, simply because I feel it was so groundbreaking and should have been acknowledged as such
2.) I really feel Streisand’s “The Time Has Come” was lame. can’t we focus on the work and not the politics involved? And by politics, I mean Hollywood politics. The “we’ll vote for so-and-so because it’s their turn” and “we won’t for so-and-so, regardless of quality of their performance, because they’ve won already.”
3.) The greatest example of this was, in my opinion, Bullock’s win. Yes she gave a fine performance. But it seems like they wanted to give it to her for “stretching” and doing something besides a rom-com. And, of course, because she’s had a long career and hadn’t won yet.
But Meryl Streep is arguably the finest actress of our generation – possibly the past four decades. Yet she has gone home empty handed since winning for “Sophie’s Choice” in 1983. That’s 27 freaking years. Since then, she’s gone 0-for-13 and seen the likes of Julia Roberts, Renee Zelwegger and now, Bullock go home with the gold trophy.
And before you think I’m being too harsh, think about it – what other Academy Award-worthy performances have the first two given since winning their trophies? heck, does ANYONE even remember Zelwegger’s role?
Meanwhile, someone who can give performances as vastly different as Karen Silkwood and Julia Child gets to dress up 13 times and go home empty-handed again…and again…and again.
Oh well, one smart thing Streisand said was that after all the awards have been remembered, what will be remembered is the work. Streep has definitely made her case in that regard.
Maybe Avotar would have win if had it have a better and script with some original dialogue and some characters that were not proptotypes, but after you see the film, people do not remember any dialogue or character (apart from “Welcome to Pandora”). The movie was entertaining but forgettable.
I’m happy for Bridges, liked him since I saw “The Fisher King”.
Streisand’s “The time has come” bugged me too, though not so much for the statement itself, but coming on top of james “douchebag” camerons earlier statements that the academy might feel “it’s time” a woman won the award, makes it seem like Bigelow’s accomplishment was due at least as much to her gender as it was to her talent.
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If you want to read a real bìŧçhÿ review, go to Nikki Finke’s page. Cripes, what’s her beef? I thought Martin and Baldwin did a fine job. The jokes were funny, they left out lame political jokes and stuck to the subject at hand, they had an easy rapport that made it seem as though they had joust starred in a movie I would have liked to have seen.
I’d actually cut Streisand a little slack. Not for the outfit; that was unforgivable. But those of us with long Oscar memories recall “Prince of Tides,” a film that was nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor, Actress, screenplay…just about every major award except Best Director. While not unheard of (and obviously will become routine if they continue with the ten Best Picture noms), at the time it was extremely unusual and a lot of people felt that the director had been personally slighted. Billy Crystal, the host, asked in song, “Did this film direct itself?”
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The director’s name? Barbra Streisand. She was nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Director as I recall, but was snubbed for the Academy Awards. And a lot of people cried sexism…quite probably justifiably.
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Now if I can remember that, I’m betting she sure does, and don’t think that doesn’t rankle to this day. So yeah, I’m betting that her presenting the first best director Oscar to a woman gave her a little bit of closure to that, and I’m inclined to give her a pass on the comment.
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PAD
I checked Nikki Finke’s (who I never heard of) page at your suggestion. Oh my God. Who peed in her Fruit Loops?
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PAD
finke is apparently quite influential but she has become increasingly insufferable the last few years, in direct proportion to her influence (not a new phenomena to be sure.)
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She’s a weird combination of angry progressive and angry conservative, feuds with anyone who looks at her crosseyed and, most annoyingly, likes to report obvious news that anyone could see coming and then trumpets “TOLDJA!!!” when it miraculously comes to pass.
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But she’s got good industry inside info so I grit my teeth and read it.
If it’s groundbreaking, give it some technical awards (which they did). But it doesn’t mean it’s deserving of Best Picture.
I’m so dámņ glad Avatar didn’t win. This may seem strange, since I’m a big SF fan that always felt bad about how the genre is so despised by certain critics.
But then I think back, I think of so many SF movies that were so much better than this piece of manicheist, luddite, anti-civilization, ecodumb propaganda, no matter how pretty and entertaining it is.
I just didn’t want this movie to be the only SF movie that ever won the Oscar.
Just some random thoughts in no particular order. Why eliminate the best songs and devote a big chunk of time to an inappropriate dance montage?
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Has Ben Stiller ever met a joke that he didn’t completely beat into the ground? And why take the piss out of the makeup category with a bad makeup bit? I can’t imagine they would send up costume by sending somebody out in a belted hefty bag. Maybe Stiller’s bit would have worked at some other point in the awards. But not makeup.
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I’m not sure anybody should minimize the quality of The Cove unless and until they’ve actually seen it. It’s not only one of the best documentaries of the year but a dámņ good film, period. And while I’m at it, did anybody else get the feeling that the director shut down The Cove people pretty fast when it looked as though they were going to say something, you know, political?
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I know there’s been a huge amount of discussion about whether Hurt Locker should have won best picture over Avatar, the whole Bigelow vs. Cameron battle (and btw, could somebody give Cameron’s current wife a cookie or something? She looks like she keeps losing weight while he gains it), but I suspect the real reasons are a lot more mundane. Bear in mind that a lot of Academy members nowadays see a lot of their films by way of DVD screeners, so they don’t have to go through the hassle of going out to the movies. I know the screeners of Hurt Locker were sent out very early in the process, while Avatar screeners were sent incredibly late; in fact, it might have been the very last film sent out, many weeks if not months before the first screeners were sent out. And of course they would have been in 2D as well, so a lot of voters probably never saw the film the way it was intended. And were their minds already made up by the time the three-and-a-half-hour Avatar showed in their mailboxes? Maybe so, but it wouldn’t surprise me if some of the reasons for Hurt Locker’s win were as mundane as that.
“And while I’m at it, did anybody else get the feeling that the director shut down The Cove people pretty fast when it looked as though they were going to say something, you know, political?”
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Saw that and agree.
Did anybody else find it interesting at the end last night how, after Bigelow was announced as Best Director, they cut away to a wide-audience shot?
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Considering her ex-husband James Cameron was sitting right behind her, you’re basically waiting the entire night to see them react to one another… and they don’t show it. Hmm.
You didn’t see it? I saw it, big as life. When they announced her as the winner, Cameron was smiling enthusiastically and applauding as loudly as anyone. He’s either a fantastic actor or he was genuinely happy for her. Maybe it was a “blink and you miss it” shot, but I wasn’t blinking and I saw it.
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PAD
Maybe it was a “blink and you miss it” shot, but I wasn’t blinking and I saw it.
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Oh, yeah, I saw that. But that’s when they cut away, so you never saw if she turned to shake hands with Cameron or anything. And considering he’s sitting right behind her, and when they came back she was hugging other people seated nearby, I’m sure that the two shared a ‘moment’.
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It really looked like they were intentionally avoiding showing those two and likely said moment.
10 years from now, we will all be saying the same thing about Avatar that we now say about the first Star Wars movie in 1977. “It was groundbreaking for its time, but it really is a pretty mundane movie.”
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I loved the viewing experience of Avatar in 3-D, but the plot had some problems, half the dialog sucked, and the climactic fight scene was at least 5 minutes too long, maybe 10.
Completely agree.
But I still think Star Wars was more groundbreaking than Avatar, even though I’m not really a fan of SW.
We say that about Star Wars?!?!?
Yeah, that’s news to me, too. I still love Star Wars. I love The Phantom Menace, too, for that matter.
I’m saying it now, Alan.
10 years from now, we will all be saying the same thing about Avatar that we now say about the first Star Wars movie in 1977. “It was groundbreaking for its time, but it really is a pretty mundane movie.”
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Actually, I was saying that about “Star Wars” at the time. I was impressed by the visuals, but underwhelmed by the writing.
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That’s why it broke me up when people complained about “Phantom Menace” and said that the plotting was leaden, the characters wafer-thin, the acting nearly non-existent, and the special effects were fantastic. Except they’d also described “Star Wars” from 1977. The only difference was that since we’d seen nothing like it before, the FX in “Star Wars” covered a multitude of sins for many viewers.
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There’s a review on youtube of phantom menace that has gotten a lot of attention and with good reason; it’s funny as hëll as makes some very valid points: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxKtZmQgxrI
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One point he makes is that the characters in Satr Wars are easy to identify with. Describe han Solo without mentioning what he wears or what he does, viewers are asked. He’s a rogue, charming, a scoundrel, heart of gold beneath a cynical exterior, etc. Do the same with Qui Gon Jinn…crickets. And that’s not the fault of Liam Neeson, who does the best with what he’s got. Hëll, who exactly IS the protagonist in Phantom Menace? Qui Gon? Obi Won? Padme? Little Anakin who doesn’t even show up until about 40 minutes in?
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I think Natali Portman is a far better actress than Carrie Fisher but it’s almost impossible to describe her character without talking about her dresses.
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Well, it could also have been that, on top of having a wafer-thin plot and dull characters, “Phantom Menace” just plain blew chunks. While the second and third films of the new trilogy weren’t great films either, they were at least fun to watch.
Star wars had fantasy 101 story and characters, but they got the job done as far as creating characters and story that drew the audience in. They even did it better than you’d expect thanks to some luck. But There were characters, there was characterization, there was a story. Phantom Menace had sequence of special effects scenes and then had characters and story thrown in to glue the scenes together. But they are not real characters or story, just a bunch of monopoly pieces going from one random scene to the next.
If anyone is wondering what the deal was when that seemingly crazy woman interrupted the guy who won for Best Documentary Short, the story behind it is here: http://www.popeater.com/2010/03/08/music-by-prudence-elinor-burkett-oscars/?icid=main|main|dl2|link4|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.popeater.com%2F2010%2F03%2F08%2Fmusic-by-prudence-elinor-burkett-oscars%2F
[9:28: Hey, I recognize that actress on the right. She was “Anna Maria” in “Pirates of the Caribbean.” Whatever happened to her?]
Really? Zoe Saldana’s been pretty prominent lately – Star Trek, Avatar…
* sigh *
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I was being facetious. The point is that most people WOULD know her from Trek and Avatar and I was…
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Forget it. Any joke you have to explain obviously didn’t work.
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PAD
I didn’t get the joke, either. But that’s because I didn’t place a face with the name.
I got the joke. In fact I thought the same thing when I saw her.
Lara, Dear, Peter was joking. Of course he knows who she is. (Don’t ever change. Guiless people are far too rare.)
Sorry about that. I’ve been in job interview mode for so long, my irony gland has atrophied.
Try eating more fiber.
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I don’t know if that will actually restore your irony gland. But generally speaking, Americans should eat more fiber, so I figure it can’t hurt…
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PAD
I would think that to restore the irony gland you should get more iron.
So, I found an article today about why Farrah Fawcett wasn’t shown as part of the In Memoriam montage. And, once again, I can only shake my head at the people who make these decisions:
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LOS ANGELES (AP) – The executive director of the film academy says Farrah Fawcett wasn’t included in the Academy Awards In Memoriam segment because the actress was better known as a TV star.
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Bruce Davis says it was a difficult decision for the committee that assembles the segment to omit Fawcett and that he’s not surprised that some fans and family members are upset.
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Fawcett and actor Gene Barry were both omitted from the necrology sequence. Davis says he and his colleagues thought the two were best known for their “remarkable television work” and would be more appropriately honored by the television academy at the Emmy Awards.
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Davis says “an unusual number of extremely distinguished screenwriters” died this year, and the academy tried to honor many of them in the short memorial.
Farrah Fawcett wasn’t included in the Academy Awards In Memoriam segment because the actress was better known as a TV star.
And yet, the Academy didn’t seem to mind including that Michael Whatshisface (literally) who died a few hours after she did, despite his being known as a narcissistic, drug-addicted child molester and former musician.
The Academy apologizes to Farrah Fawcett’s loved ones: http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2010/03/10/farrah_fawcetts_family_receives_academ
Craig,
“So, I found an article today about why Farrah Fawcett wasn’t shown as part of the In Memoriam montage. And, once again, I can only shake my head at the people who make these decisions:”
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For a change, we absolutely agree. That they “can’t fit in everyone” is horseshit. Like the old saying, everywhere is walking distance if you have the time, they could have chosen to honor everyone, they just chose not to. Instead of just mentioning a screenwriter in passing, they could show a 10 second clip of their most famous folm for example – and seeing a clip of something like “The Cannonball Run” for Farrah would likely make the self-important, self-indulgent, stuffy night more entertaining. It’s still overly long, anyway. So why slight anybody?