Well, I survived Oscar weekend, which was filled with baking for a party I co-hosted with friends. The show itself is pretty much a blur, but I consider it to be an above average undertaking, though I think Neil Patrick Harris got swallowed by awesome stage design. There were some very high notes, and I missed most of the jokes that died. The big headlines however are that the ratings were at a six year low. Why is that?
After quite a few years of hiatus, I re-entered and won the Oscar pool. This is mostly due to the fact that I am still an avid reader of awards websites, not because I have seen all the movies. My friends who tried to compete with me came at the Oscar ballot at an extreme disadvantage, because while American Sniper is an outright blockbuster, the rest of the nominees from Best Picture on down (save Animated Feature and the industry awards) are all middle of the road money makers, even though The Grand Budapest Hotel is Wes Anderson's top grossing movie. Wes Anderson is no Steven Spielberg.
I really do not believe that the glut of awards shows is the problem, either, because I do not believe most people even care outside of the Golden Globes, which is really just watched to see if some drunken celebrity will do something stupid. Unfortunately, I think the Academy is more likely to assume "awards fatigue" is the problem instead of truly looking inward at themselves. Here are some of the issues I see:
- Art vs. Entertainment
I cannot begrudge the Academy for wanting to honor those movies that strive to be art, but unfortunately, it is rare that those movies end up being popular with the general population. Sure, there are quite a few Best Picture winners that have scored over $100 million (it would be interesting to see how much nominations and wins effected that earning), but there are only three since 1990 who have achieved more than $200 million - 2003 LOTR: The Return of the King, 1994 Forrest Gump, and of course, 1997 Titanic. Of course, the great argument is whether these blockbusters were actually the "Best" movies of the year, but it is a pretty subjective question anyway. However, if you're going to look at just ratings of the telecasts, the highest ratings of all time was the year Titanic won, and the highest ratings since 2000 was the year of The Return of the King. So you see, the ratings have nothing to do with who is hosting or who is singing what, it has everything to do with the general populace buying into the horse race with enough passion to want to tune in to see if their favorite won.
Of course, I would never want to see a Best Picture race comprised of the top ten grossing films of the year, because, obviously, popularity does not connote quality, but if year in and year out we are going to bemoan the falling ratings of the telecast, then the Oscars really need to figure out a way to celebrate movies that reach the cultural zeitgeist as well as those that are the pinnacle of the craft.
Source: Box Office Mojo & WikiPedia
- The Show Itself
I have already established the connection between popular nominees and ratings. It certainly was not Neil Patrick Harris' fault that this year's show tanked. However, the show itself is a bloated mess and a joke in and of itself. Everyone already knows that it will run long, but they keep adding in more and more in the hopes of keeping people engaged. I really think the whole things needs to be scrapped and start from scratch, with nothing sacred even the current category structure. Of course, this will never happen because of the structure of the Academy itself, and it would be a slippery slope to say that you'll just include Writing, Supporting Actor/Actress, Actor/Actress, Director, and Picture. Best Original Song at least brings something to the proceedings, though the rules are so arcane it makes for odd choices. However, despite the artistry, no one really cares about Documentaries, Shorts, Foreign Language Film, and the majority of the tech categories (except maybe for special effects).
With that being said, their could be MORE categories, too. Each of the shows that have popped up seem to have at least one innovative category. The Golden Globes split Drama & Comedy (usually not well), the Screen Actor's Guild honors Best Ensemble, etc. There should be something for stunt people, too.
- Eliminate the Host
I decided to break this one out on it's own from the one above. No offense to everyone who has come before, but being the Oscar host has to be the single most thankless job in entertainment. Jesus Christ herself could get up there, and someone would still complain. The reality of the matter is that outside of the opening, there really is no need for one. It's better to just get out of the way and start the show.
I am sure I could armchair quarterback this some more, and I know I do not fully comprehend the pressure the producers are under to make the show the same every year. However, something needs to change, and I have not even gone into the nuts and bolts of this whitest Oscars in many years. I just hope they have a real conversation about it. Things need to change.
Showing posts with label Oscars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oscars. Show all posts
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Friday, February 20, 2015
Oscar Apathy
When I first started messing around with websites back in the 1994 (ughhhh), my first Geocities site was a movie related page called Binky's Movie Hut. My nickname in college, was inexplicably, Binky, and it all just rolled together with my love of movies. I had a pretty full list of movie reviews and the like, which I wish I had backed up somewhere. I mean, I wasn't going to threaten Roger Ebert, but I was pretty happy with my writing at that time.
As the '90s progressed and my skills became better, I morphed my site into Awards Avenue, and it became much more focused on the awards show circuit. I covered music, television, theater, and of course, the Road to the Oscars, which became quite a very busy time between November-March. I was really in on the ground floor of what became a cottage industry of prognosticators orbiting around movie awards. Theater also got me a lot of hits, because there really were not a lot of people covering it, but the big focus was the Oscars. I got a lot of hits for a fan site, and if I had not given it up because it was beginning to interfere with my real job, I really think something good might have come out of it. My crowning achievement was my super inclusive calendar of Oscar precursors (critic and guild awards) being quotes by leading Oscar site OscarWatch, which is now AwardsDaily.com due to the Academy being stingy with their copywrites. Years later, I am friends on Facebook with Awards Daily diva, Sasha Stone, and I think I comment enough on her stuff that she knows who I am. It is the little things, but I digress.
As the '90s progressed and my skills became better, I morphed my site into Awards Avenue, and it became much more focused on the awards show circuit. I covered music, television, theater, and of course, the Road to the Oscars, which became quite a very busy time between November-March. I was really in on the ground floor of what became a cottage industry of prognosticators orbiting around movie awards. Theater also got me a lot of hits, because there really were not a lot of people covering it, but the big focus was the Oscars. I got a lot of hits for a fan site, and if I had not given it up because it was beginning to interfere with my real job, I really think something good might have come out of it. My crowning achievement was my super inclusive calendar of Oscar precursors (critic and guild awards) being quotes by leading Oscar site OscarWatch, which is now AwardsDaily.com due to the Academy being stingy with their copywrites. Years later, I am friends on Facebook with Awards Daily diva, Sasha Stone, and I think I comment enough on her stuff that she knows who I am. It is the little things, but I digress.
During this time, I also held my annual Oscar Party, which started out as something at my apartment and grew bigger into my friend, Melissa's, house. It then outgrew itself into a fundraiser for a local organization called Indiana Still Cares, which was my first tip toe into the Indianapolis gay community. I got on the radar of Gary Brackett, who was also President of Indy Pride at that point, and I think you can see where this is going. I owe a lot to my love of the Oscars, which is why my apathy for the show is a little disconcerting.
The Oscars have not changed with the times, and even though they seem to add more and more diversity every year, the decisions made for winners still seems to be stuck in the fuddy duddy white voters. The fact that there is not one person of color nominated in any of the major categories or a woman director is just abysmal, and that is not to say that every nominee is not deserving. It is just unfortunate that the wealth cannot be spread.
There is a lot more wrong with the system than I care to get into here, but the fact that I have only seen two of the nominated Best Pictures is pretty indicative that the Oscars are not in line with my tastes. I am really hoping that piece of jingoist propaganda, American Sniper, does not win Best Picture on Sunday, because that might just be the final nail for me.
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln"
While I may not be the giant movie nerd that I once was, I still keep up on the Oscar race, and ever since The Beard (Spielberg...for those wondering) said he was going to direct Lincoln, an adaptation of Doris Kerns Goodwin's Team of Rivals, I have been ready for it.
I've always been a fan of Spielberg's dramas, though I sat out of War Horse - I really want to see the play. I loved Schindler's List, and AI is one of those movies I can only watch when I'm terribly depressed. I knew that he could do something special with this material. Until...
I saw the trailer. The direction looks great, Daniel Day Lewis looks the part, but I just cannot get past Lewis' intonation for Lincoln. Granted, I don't believe any of us can really, truly know what Lincoln sounded like, though I suppose there is some description of it somewhere, but Lewis' voice sounds way too high pitched for the part. In my mind, Lincoln always had a commanding voice - a certain gravitas, one that could silence crowds with a mere, "Four score and seven years ago..." However, this is not working for me, and it is making me not want to see the movie.
Maybe I am stuck in a "What Might Have Been" scenario. For many years while Spielberg was off making other movies, Liam Neeson was attached to play Lincoln. Now there is a voice more in tune with what I imagined. It might be that I am totally off base, and this is indeed what Lincoln sounded like. I know Lewis is pretty much a cerebral, method actor, and it wouldn't surprise me if he researched it throuroughly. I am sure he'll be nominated for Best Actor, but I think that will be more out of habit than anything else...
Anyway, here is the latest commercial. What should send chills (see Les Miserables and Cloud Atlas) is just producing consternation.
I've always been a fan of Spielberg's dramas, though I sat out of War Horse - I really want to see the play. I loved Schindler's List, and AI is one of those movies I can only watch when I'm terribly depressed. I knew that he could do something special with this material. Until...
I saw the trailer. The direction looks great, Daniel Day Lewis looks the part, but I just cannot get past Lewis' intonation for Lincoln. Granted, I don't believe any of us can really, truly know what Lincoln sounded like, though I suppose there is some description of it somewhere, but Lewis' voice sounds way too high pitched for the part. In my mind, Lincoln always had a commanding voice - a certain gravitas, one that could silence crowds with a mere, "Four score and seven years ago..." However, this is not working for me, and it is making me not want to see the movie.
Maybe I am stuck in a "What Might Have Been" scenario. For many years while Spielberg was off making other movies, Liam Neeson was attached to play Lincoln. Now there is a voice more in tune with what I imagined. It might be that I am totally off base, and this is indeed what Lincoln sounded like. I know Lewis is pretty much a cerebral, method actor, and it wouldn't surprise me if he researched it throuroughly. I am sure he'll be nominated for Best Actor, but I think that will be more out of habit than anything else...
Anyway, here is the latest commercial. What should send chills (see Les Miserables and Cloud Atlas) is just producing consternation.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Sunday, February 24th - Oscar Live Blog! (Updated Monday, February 25th)
I'm not doing a full post today because I'm pretty much wiped out from yesterday. I set my alarm for 6:20, but I must have turned it off because I didn't wake up until 7:30.
So anyway, it was fun doing the live blog. If you start at 7:30, I think you can see me getting progressively drunker. Of course, if you didn't watch the show, then the references to Gaydolf Titler, will probably seem like the ramblings of the village idiot.
Ah well, it is presented as is, though I did cleaned up some of the misspellings and such. My OCD wouldn't allow those to stand!
Back tomorrow!
-------------------------------------
This is going to be pretty slow at first because I'm still cooking pizza and stuff for people, but it'll pick up...promise...and I'm drinking already!
12:05 - Okay, so I took a little time to farewell my guests. While I predicted that Juno would win, I'm not shocked that "No Country for Old Men" (the John McCain Story) won it all. My big problem with the Oscars is that all of the pictures nominated didn't really make all that much money. Sure, I understand that art and commerce do not always intersect, but the last big Oscar show was the year Titanic won (10 years ago), and maybe they should consider a little more mainstream fair. I dunno....I'm drunk. Don't listen to me :)!
11:31 - Wow.....DDL won...I'm so shocked! There Will Be Blood on My Left FOOT!
11:27 - Yay, Diablo Cody, the patron saint of bloggers wins!
11:15 - Will Michael Moore bring Fidel Castro? Gaydolf Titler!
11:06 - I am so happy that Atonement won something. I made applesauce for it!
11:05 - Up in Heaven: Roy Schieder is PISSED!!!! He didn't die soon enough to get included this year!
11:03 - Suzanne Pleshette passed her voice on to Mily Cyrus!
11:01 - Hillary Swank! Wiiiiiiillllllbur! I see dead people!
10:59 - There Will Be BLOOD! Bumb Bumb Bumb!
10:57 - She was great...and in 5-4-3-2-1 Who the Hell is she?
10:51 - Disney is going to be so pissed....I expect he video to cut out at any minute
10:44 - OMG....Patrick Dempsy is VERSATILE! And why is this being sung by John Mclaughlin...who is from INDIANA! And he's cute!
10:42 - I'm Penelope Cruz....I can't speak English....And the Winner is Borat! It's the Dancing with the Czar's....Oh wait...the Holocaust always win!
10:38 - Picture it, Hollywood 1940...I was wearing a scarf and birds were attacking me on the set of "The Birds"....I want Monorail!
10:37 - *snore* What is this shit?
10:35 - Robert Boyle: I would like to remember. ANYTHING!
10:31 - Cameron is SO trying to act interested in the Robert Boyle Death Watch!
10:28 - Oh Renee.....you so need eyes *thanks Blanche* The Bourne Ultimatum...I so suck on my predictions.
10:23 - Jack is so fucking old.....good lord. And I'm drunk...
10:19 - Colin Ferrell...is a bit dirty. You just know his...oh never mind
10:09 - And the Oscar goes to Helen Mirren's Tits! Gaydolf Titler! It's Forrest Witaker....Wonk Eye Weekend! Wow...they actually watched the French Film! Yay...it's the Rice Pilaf story!
10:08 - Cher!
10:05 - And the winner is...Titanic! OMG.....The Horse Blew the Shit up! 4-10
10:01 - Sound Editing...who the fuck cares about this. 4-9......
10:00 - So, is it true? The winner of Oprah's Big Give is going to be the VP for Barack Obama?
9:56 - This is so fucking pathetic.....God I miss Pushing Daisies...
9:52 - Ugh...Tranny Cyrus.....Christen Chenoweth....oh gurllllll.....
9:50 - Seriously...do we need a dramatic interpretation of the Accounting Firm....I thought we weren't going to be subjected to this shit since the Writer's Stike *drink* is over.....
9:46 - I would schtup James McAvoy....
9:44 - I love that Jessica Alba hosted the Scientific Awards...you know those nerds were jacking off at their tables. Look...a GIRL!
9:41 - Seriously, we've gone from The Rock, to Mily Cyrus, to Jessica Alba...were these all the ones who agreed to cross the picket line?
9:35 - Ruby Dee, Strong Black Woman. I love Tilda Swinton. She's paid her dues as an Actor/Actress! I'm okay to lose my prediction to her. 4 of 8
9:32 - Lady Tutli-Putli OMG...such a great drag name, and omg, do we need French winners! Oh, I picked Peter and the Wolf. So I am now 4 for 7.
9:30 - GODAMN the fucking french....Freedom Fries! Freedom Fries! 3 for 6.....ARGH! We're all stuck talking like Maurice Chevalier! (History of the World, Part I, reference)
9:29 - Owen Wilson.....ugh! I cannot stand him....
9:25 - It's Barack Obama the Musical! Yes We Can, Evita...Yes We can!
9:20 - Writer's Strike....DRINK!!!! Okay, those were funny montages! I LOVE KERRI RUSSELL!
9:16 - It's Jhud Titler! Is Phillip Seymour Hoffman channeling Chris Farley? Woo Hoo...Dixie Carter sighting...the gays are excited! It's Xavier Bardem! You better thank Julia Sugarbaker, bitch!
9:15 - Cuba! I'll take "What Have I Done With My Oscar?" for 2000 Alex....WOO HOO...JHUD!
9:08 - Art Direction....Sweeney TODD! I am starting to fail, and it is pissing me off. 3 for 5 OMG...is that Dr. Joyce Brothers! It's Gaydolph Titler!
9:07 - Have we really fallen to the point where The Rock is giving an Oscar away? The Golden Compass....my first miss of the night. 3 for 4 Look...NERRRRRRRRRRRRRRDS!
9:04 - Okay...the Mastercard commercial with the lazy eye is quite freakish....serisously!
9:01 - I hate both Michael Douglas and Catherine!...They're ickie!
9:00 - Yay! Production number! Wait....where's the production number!? I'm feeling a bit bad for her....couldn't they have done SOMETHING! Where's Rob Lowe?
8:58 - I'm 3-3 Woo Hoo!
8:56 - Please god....Let Norbit win SOMETHING! It was so robbed for Best Picture!
8:52 - Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway were mildy entertaining....Ratatouille! OMG...I spelled it right
8:51 - Okay...holy fuck...montage
8:32 - Poor Jennifer Garner....the writers didn't help her out! BITCH looks good! Elisabeth won! Wow...she's a statuesque "beauty"
8:40 - "Whenever you see a black or woman president, there's an asteroid coming to destroy the world" and Gaydolph Titler!
8:33 - Good GOD...I'm going to be drunk just during the first five minutes of the monologue. DRINK...DRINK...Drink!
8:31 - That was the same intro as last year. Look, it's sponsor'd by L'oreal Paris...because L'oreal Newark wouldn't have the same cache.
8:30 - This is where the magic happens. Wait...are the writers still on strike? *drink*
8:27 - Okay Reeg, It's Javier Bardem...not Xavier...TAKE YOUR MEDS!
8:25 - Drinking game of the night is: Every time they mention the Writer's Strike, take a drink. Regis is talking with Bill Conti the music director. He should have asked: "Bill, who are you wearing? Better yet, what the FUCK are you wearing!?!"
8:08 - *deep transvestite voice* Hi! I'm Mily Cyrus!
8:04 - Edith Piaf died....when? Yesterday? Oh Samantha, you ignorant slut!
8:00 - Regis....seriously....
746 - Kimora Lee Simmons is c-r-a-z-y!
7:32 - So far there has been nothing very inspiring dess wise, with the biggest controversy being Heidi Klum's purse doesn't match her dress. Quelle Horror! There was also Gary Busey licking Jennifer Garner's neck....this is going to be a great night. Oh, and Ryan Seacrest is a douchebag.
So anyway, it was fun doing the live blog. If you start at 7:30, I think you can see me getting progressively drunker. Of course, if you didn't watch the show, then the references to Gaydolf Titler, will probably seem like the ramblings of the village idiot.
Ah well, it is presented as is, though I did cleaned up some of the misspellings and such. My OCD wouldn't allow those to stand!
Back tomorrow!
-------------------------------------
This is going to be pretty slow at first because I'm still cooking pizza and stuff for people, but it'll pick up...promise...and I'm drinking already!
12:05 - Okay, so I took a little time to farewell my guests. While I predicted that Juno would win, I'm not shocked that "No Country for Old Men" (the John McCain Story) won it all. My big problem with the Oscars is that all of the pictures nominated didn't really make all that much money. Sure, I understand that art and commerce do not always intersect, but the last big Oscar show was the year Titanic won (10 years ago), and maybe they should consider a little more mainstream fair. I dunno....I'm drunk. Don't listen to me :)!
11:31 - Wow.....DDL won...I'm so shocked! There Will Be Blood on My Left FOOT!
11:27 - Yay, Diablo Cody, the patron saint of bloggers wins!
11:15 - Will Michael Moore bring Fidel Castro? Gaydolf Titler!
11:06 - I am so happy that Atonement won something. I made applesauce for it!
11:05 - Up in Heaven: Roy Schieder is PISSED!!!! He didn't die soon enough to get included this year!
11:03 - Suzanne Pleshette passed her voice on to Mily Cyrus!
11:01 - Hillary Swank! Wiiiiiiillllllbur! I see dead people!
10:59 - There Will Be BLOOD! Bumb Bumb Bumb!
10:57 - She was great...and in 5-4-3-2-1 Who the Hell is she?
10:51 - Disney is going to be so pissed....I expect he video to cut out at any minute
10:44 - OMG....Patrick Dempsy is VERSATILE! And why is this being sung by John Mclaughlin...who is from INDIANA! And he's cute!
10:42 - I'm Penelope Cruz....I can't speak English....And the Winner is Borat! It's the Dancing with the Czar's....Oh wait...the Holocaust always win!
10:38 - Picture it, Hollywood 1940...I was wearing a scarf and birds were attacking me on the set of "The Birds"....I want Monorail!
10:37 - *snore* What is this shit?
10:35 - Robert Boyle: I would like to remember. ANYTHING!
10:31 - Cameron is SO trying to act interested in the Robert Boyle Death Watch!
10:28 - Oh Renee.....you so need eyes *thanks Blanche* The Bourne Ultimatum...I so suck on my predictions.
10:23 - Jack is so fucking old.....good lord. And I'm drunk...
10:19 - Colin Ferrell...is a bit dirty. You just know his...oh never mind
10:09 - And the Oscar goes to Helen Mirren's Tits! Gaydolf Titler! It's Forrest Witaker....Wonk Eye Weekend! Wow...they actually watched the French Film! Yay...it's the Rice Pilaf story!
10:08 - Cher!
10:05 - And the winner is...Titanic! OMG.....The Horse Blew the Shit up! 4-10
10:01 - Sound Editing...who the fuck cares about this. 4-9......
10:00 - So, is it true? The winner of Oprah's Big Give is going to be the VP for Barack Obama?
9:56 - This is so fucking pathetic.....God I miss Pushing Daisies...
9:52 - Ugh...Tranny Cyrus.....Christen Chenoweth....oh gurllllll.....
9:50 - Seriously...do we need a dramatic interpretation of the Accounting Firm....I thought we weren't going to be subjected to this shit since the Writer's Stike *drink* is over.....
9:46 - I would schtup James McAvoy....
9:44 - I love that Jessica Alba hosted the Scientific Awards...you know those nerds were jacking off at their tables. Look...a GIRL!
9:41 - Seriously, we've gone from The Rock, to Mily Cyrus, to Jessica Alba...were these all the ones who agreed to cross the picket line?
9:35 - Ruby Dee, Strong Black Woman. I love Tilda Swinton. She's paid her dues as an Actor/Actress! I'm okay to lose my prediction to her. 4 of 8
9:32 - Lady Tutli-Putli OMG...such a great drag name, and omg, do we need French winners! Oh, I picked Peter and the Wolf. So I am now 4 for 7.
9:30 - GODAMN the fucking french....Freedom Fries! Freedom Fries! 3 for 6.....ARGH! We're all stuck talking like Maurice Chevalier! (History of the World, Part I, reference)
9:29 - Owen Wilson.....ugh! I cannot stand him....
9:25 - It's Barack Obama the Musical! Yes We Can, Evita...Yes We can!
9:20 - Writer's Strike....DRINK!!!! Okay, those were funny montages! I LOVE KERRI RUSSELL!
9:16 - It's Jhud Titler! Is Phillip Seymour Hoffman channeling Chris Farley? Woo Hoo...Dixie Carter sighting...the gays are excited! It's Xavier Bardem! You better thank Julia Sugarbaker, bitch!
9:15 - Cuba! I'll take "What Have I Done With My Oscar?" for 2000 Alex....WOO HOO...JHUD!
9:08 - Art Direction....Sweeney TODD! I am starting to fail, and it is pissing me off. 3 for 5 OMG...is that Dr. Joyce Brothers! It's Gaydolph Titler!
9:07 - Have we really fallen to the point where The Rock is giving an Oscar away? The Golden Compass....my first miss of the night. 3 for 4 Look...NERRRRRRRRRRRRRRDS!
9:04 - Okay...the Mastercard commercial with the lazy eye is quite freakish....serisously!
9:01 - I hate both Michael Douglas and Catherine!...They're ickie!
9:00 - Yay! Production number! Wait....where's the production number!? I'm feeling a bit bad for her....couldn't they have done SOMETHING! Where's Rob Lowe?
8:58 - I'm 3-3 Woo Hoo!
8:56 - Please god....Let Norbit win SOMETHING! It was so robbed for Best Picture!
8:52 - Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway were mildy entertaining....Ratatouille! OMG...I spelled it right
8:51 - Okay...holy fuck...montage
8:32 - Poor Jennifer Garner....the writers didn't help her out! BITCH looks good! Elisabeth won! Wow...she's a statuesque "beauty"
8:40 - "Whenever you see a black or woman president, there's an asteroid coming to destroy the world" and Gaydolph Titler!
8:33 - Good GOD...I'm going to be drunk just during the first five minutes of the monologue. DRINK...DRINK...Drink!
8:31 - That was the same intro as last year. Look, it's sponsor'd by L'oreal Paris...because L'oreal Newark wouldn't have the same cache.
8:30 - This is where the magic happens. Wait...are the writers still on strike? *drink*
8:27 - Okay Reeg, It's Javier Bardem...not Xavier...TAKE YOUR MEDS!
8:25 - Drinking game of the night is: Every time they mention the Writer's Strike, take a drink. Regis is talking with Bill Conti the music director. He should have asked: "Bill, who are you wearing? Better yet, what the FUCK are you wearing!?!"
8:08 - *deep transvestite voice* Hi! I'm Mily Cyrus!
8:04 - Edith Piaf died....when? Yesterday? Oh Samantha, you ignorant slut!
8:00 - Regis....seriously....
746 - Kimora Lee Simmons is c-r-a-z-y!
7:32 - So far there has been nothing very inspiring dess wise, with the biggest controversy being Heidi Klum's purse doesn't match her dress. Quelle Horror! There was also Gary Busey licking Jennifer Garner's neck....this is going to be a great night. Oh, and Ryan Seacrest is a douchebag.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Friday, February 22nd - Oscar Predictions
**Reminder** I will be live blogging the Oscars on Sunday. Considering I tend to drink a lot during the ceremony, it will probably be entertaining in a decent into madness way, kinda like Britney Spears...and I've already shaved my head.
Onto the predictions! This was a tough call. Like I said, I have not followed the various awards that create the conventional wisdom as to who is going to win this year. So, this is a major shot in the dark. I made my choices, and then as I made the graphic below, I changed some of them again. Ah well, monkeys banging on a typewriter will actually make a word now and then (kinda like this blog).
The Biggies:
I've made predictions in all the categories, even though I wouldn't know a Short Film - Animated nominee if it smacked me in the face (hmmm...maybe my ex could be considered an animated short film...hmmm).
Onto the predictions! This was a tough call. Like I said, I have not followed the various awards that create the conventional wisdom as to who is going to win this year. So, this is a major shot in the dark. I made my choices, and then as I made the graphic below, I changed some of them again. Ah well, monkeys banging on a typewriter will actually make a word now and then (kinda like this blog).
The Biggies:
I've made predictions in all the categories, even though I wouldn't know a Short Film - Animated nominee if it smacked me in the face (hmmm...maybe my ex could be considered an animated short film...hmmm).
- Best Picture: I am going for a major upset here. While I know most people are picking No Country for Old Men to win, I think this might be a year where the truly dark pictures get knocked out by a sunny comedy. So, I am going with Juno. It would be an upset in the proportions of Shakespeare in Love beating out Saving Private Ryan.
- Best Actress: Marion Cotillard could pull an upset, but I think the old farts in the Academy aren't going to sit through a movie in French. And when the old farts have a fellow old fart to vote for, Julie Christie, who last won in 1964, then I don't think they can resist. Plus, it gives them all hope that they might have another chance before they're recognized in the "In Memorium" montage.
- Best Actor: No Brainer - Daniel Day Lewis.
- Best Supporting Actor: Almost another No Brainer - Javier Bardem, but I have this sort of gut feeling that Casey Affleck could pull an upset. I truly don't think it will happen, and I guessed as much on my ballot. I'll just take a little credit if it does.
- Best Supporting Actress: In the course of my guessing, I had three different choices: Amy Ryan, Tilda Swinton, and Ruby Dee. This is probably the most wide open category, and Cate Blanchett has a very real chance of winning, too. The only one that doesn't is the girl from Atonement, but considering she is staring in Peter Jackson's adaptation of The Lovely Bones, she'll probably be nominated next year. I'm going with Ruby Dee, again for the same reasons at Julie Christie. She's a living legend, and the Academy loves a "gold watch" win.
- Best Director: Julian Schnabel directed a movie where there lead was in a coma and could only communicate with eye blinks, and the man managed to write a memoir that was adapted into The Diving Bell and The Butterfly. For sheer audacity, I would say he would walk away with it. However, I think it come down to either The Coens or Paul Thomas Anderson, with The Coens eeking out the win.
- Best Original Screenplay - Everybody loves Diablo Cody, until the eventual backlash and/or sophmore slump. So, Juno...even though they are going to want to give Michael Clayton something, and it could pull the upset here.
- Best Adapted Screenplay - Rough category! Any one of these could win, but I think it will go to Ronald Harwood for The Diving Bell and The Butterfly.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Thursday, February 21 - I'm Not Dead
This has been a rather spotty week for updates, and I really have no excuses -- well, other than I just didn't get around to it. That just makes me lazy!
Onto the Bullet Update:
Onto the Bullet Update:
- Oscars - I've mentioned before that my first online life started out as a movie website called Binky's Movie Hut (don't ask). I created this my freshman year in college, and it was the first time I had ever designed anything in HTML. It's URL is also a porn site now. Gotta love that! Anyway, I moved on to what I called Awards Avenue, which was pretty much a database with some commentary by me about every awards show out there. The easiest to cover are movie ones because there is a definite regimentation to how the whole thing works starting with the critics awards, followed by the professional guilds and unions, and it all ends with Oscars, which really doesn't have any grounding in reality. It is a pretty fascinating process though, and I enjoyed doing that website for many years. I shuttered that site last year when I started this blog. For the first time in too many years, I have not been following the awards shows at all. Plus, with the writers strike, I had canceled my big 10th anniversary Oscar party because I wasn't going to go through all the preparation just to have the show moved or be crappy like the Golden Globes. Since the writer's strike ended, I decided to go ahead and have a small get together with the Mean Girls and various other true believers. It should be fun. I'll report more on that on Monday. A programming note, I will attempt to do Oscar predictions tomorrow, and at this point, I am planning on live blogging the show on Sunday.
- Politics - I know I have been threatening to do more political stuff this week, but the fact of the matter is that the wind is currently out of my sails. I think Hillary could still pull off a miracle, but I think it is going to take an incredible gaffe by Obama to make that happen. I have noticed the winds of change in the coverage of the Obamaniacs, so it could still happen. I just hope the decision doesn't get made, and then something gets uncovered and we're stuck with him. Hello, President McCain! I'm still gurgling about some things. We'll see what I spit up....
- Going Out - After taking a pretty lengthy hiatus without going out frequently, I have hit the bars full bore this week. Since Friday, I have been out 4 times, and if you count the IndyPride event at Talbott Street that I got roped into volunteering for, then it will be a 5th night. Though I do not really think I'm going to stay long at it....there is too much to watch on TV tonight -- Obama Vs. Hillary debate and LOST.
- Viva Las Vegas! - The Mean Girls are taking a trip to Vegas over the July 4th weekend in a joint appearance with my girls that I used to work with. Romeo has a milestone birthday in December, and Stella had one in January. So, we're picking a time in the middle to celebrate. I made the reservations at Harrah's this week, and I got my plane ticket. So, it is definitely happening. The surreal thing is that after we had already made the reservations, we found out that there is a Gay Days type thing going on in Vegas that weekend. It doesn't look to be nearly as crazy as the one in Orlando, but it will be fun to see what Sin City can put on. I have to say I've been pretty disappointed with gay Vegas the past few times I've been there. It should be a lot more happening. I may end up doing a live blog from the piano recital at the Liberace Museum! Seriously....
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