Oscar Thoughts

[silverscreenselect]

1) It's good to have at least one surprise in the main categories for a change, but it's very bizarre that it was actually the consensus opinion going in that the best actress of our time giving one of her best performances would be an underdog in the Best Actress category.

2) The only other mild surprise was another screenwriting Oscar for Woody Allen. It's not his best, but it's another remarkably clever idea he came up with.

3) It's interesting that the Oscar producers swore up and down that they had to cut off eligibility for the memorial tribute a month in advance, but they somehow found room to include Whitney Houston this year. With so many behind the scenes people in the tribute, they should have figured out a way to highlight some of their work by split screen or some other way, rather than just show 20 or 30 heads in succession.

4) While I admired The Artist, it was essentially nothing more than a well made gimmick film. If they wanted to honor the best drama of the year, they should have given the Oscar to The Descendants. If they wanted to honor a truly brilliant technical achievement, they should have given the Oscar to Hugo (and there's no way Scorsese shouldn't have won for Best Director).

5) They used to have time to play five nominated songs and now they don't have time to play more than a five second clip from all of two nominated songs this year. They don't have time to honor performers like James Earl Jones in the main program, relegating him to a dinner from which they show 30 seconds of clips. They don't have time to show a clip from each nominated movie (which they still insist on going from five to, this year, nine). But they do have time to have about four clips of Adam Sandler, whose chances of ever getting an Oscar nomination are probably on a par with Bernie Madoff, talking about going to see Diamonds Are Forever when he was five years old.

6) The best thing that happened to this year's show actually occurred a few months back when Brett Ratner and Eddie Murphy pulled out. I can't imagine that they could have done a better job than Brian Grazer and Billy Crystal, and their efforts to be "edgy" could have led to a huge debacle.

[Weyoun]

I could see an argument for Hugo and Scorsese. However, I thought what Hazanavicius did with his film, even if a gimmick, really worked - you could see the creative mind at work.

I thought The Descendants OTOH was predictable. And despite the fact it was sold as this sort of real life hard hitting drama, it felt more at home as a comedy, and it's tough relating to the problems of Matt King. Oh the decisions - do I become a multimillionaire now, or in three years? Honestly, my least favorite major theatrical release from Payne.

I've kicked Midnight in Paris around enough, but I was also not a very big fan of it.

The show was self-indulgent to the point of being insecure. It felt like Hollywood trying to search for relevance and finding it in the past. The emphasis on the Magic of Movies felt stale and defensive. Of course by picking The Artist, they've picked a film celebrating the art, and one that really has to be seen in the theater.

I agree about the use of time. None of the extra material worked outside of the Cirque du Soleil sequence.

[TheConfessor]

Did all the actors in "The Artist" just earn the daily minimum rate for featured extras, since they didn't have speaking roles?

[Billy Bored Thornton]

Hey Angelina? Did you forget to eat in the last month or so? For God's sake, woman, have a sandwich. You look like Skeletor.

My refrigerator and cupboards are stocked whenever to decide to kick that douchepuppet guy you've been living with to the curb.

[minimetoo26]

Well, I sat through the broadcast, and the only movie I ended up wanting to watch was Moneyball.

I'll just wait until Movie: The Movie comes out....

http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/ ... the-movie/

[starfish1113]

Was I the only one who noticed Jennifer Lopez's

Spoiler

nipple

?

[wintergreen48]

I thought The Descendants OTOH was predictable. And despite the fact it was sold as this sort of real life hard hitting drama, it felt more at home as a comedy, and it's tough relating to the problems of Matt King. Oh the decisions - do I become a multimillionaire now, or in three years? Honestly, my least favorite major theatrical release from Payne.

The scene where he has to tell the youngest child that her mother will die was as accurate and hard-hitting as it is possible to be. I found it very tough, excruciatingly tough, have-to-stop-watching-for-awhile tough relating to that problem, but perhaps it's a matter of perspective...

[minimetoo26]

Was I the only one who noticed Jennifer Lopez's

Spoiler

nipple

?

No, but it may have been wishful thinking on the part of many:

http://popwatch.ew.com/2012/02/26/jenni ... ?hpt=hp_c2

[ulysses5019]

Was I the only one who noticed Jennifer Lopez's

Spoiler

nipple

?

Did I miss a wardrobe malfunction?

[minimetoo26]

Was I the only one who noticed Jennifer Lopez's

Spoiler

nipple

?

Did I miss a wardrobe malfunction?

I'll make it up to you:



Fast forward to about 2:18 or so....

[BackInTex]

5) They used to have time to play five nominated songs and now they don't have time to play more than a five second clip from all of two nominated songs this year. They don't have time to honor performers like James Earl Jones in the main program, relegating him to a dinner from which they show 30 seconds of clips. They don't have time to show a clip from each nominated movie (which they still insist on going from five to, this year, nine). But they do have time to have about four clips of Adam Sandler, whose chances of ever getting an Oscar nomination are probably on a par with Bernie Madoff, talking about going to see Diamonds Are Forever when he was five years old.

They had time for 2 hours of pre-Oscar red carpet crap. Cut that back 1/2 hour, start the show 1/2 earlier, and give us a little more entertainment.

Did I hear the winner correctly? He thanked Disney for not making a musical cartoon this year? If not, he should have. Only two original songs this year? Really? If I'd know that I would have made a quick movie with a self written song. It would have stunk, but hey, how many folks can say they came in third at the Oscars?

[ne1410s]

I thought many of the Oscar ads were better than most Super Bowl ads.

[silverscreenselect]

Did I hear the winner correctly? He thanked Disney for not making a musical cartoon this year? If not, he should have. Only two original songs this year? Really? If I'd know that I would have made a quick movie with a self written song. It would have stunk, but hey, how many folks can say they came in third at the Oscars?

They have changed the rules for song nominations recently, resulting in substantially fewer nominees than before. Unlike years past when songs often played an integral part in the film, lots of "eligible" songs now only play over the closing credits when a lot of people have already left the theater. There were 39 songs eligible, including three from The Muppets (a maximum of two songs per movie can become nominees). Both the Muppet song that won and the Rio runnerup were part of the story line of the movies and most people who saw those movies will remember those songs. Each eligible song is voted on by the members of the music branch on a point scale, and it takes a minimum average score of 8.25 (out of 10) to be nominated. That's why there's only been two or three nominees the past couple of years. If no song gets an 8.25 score, they won't give an award that year (for a number of years, makeup wasn't awarded annually, only when they saw fit to honor a particular film like the original Planet of the Apes). If only one makes the cut, they automatically nominate the next highest scoring song so there's a "competition." The song has to be clearly audible (words and lyrics) in the body of the film or as the first music in the end credits, and the judges actually watch the part of the film in which the song appears.

This system rewards (as it should) songs that have an impact in the movie, rather than signing on a name artist to do a number that's then stuck in the closing credits. Songs like Over the Rainbow and many of the Disney numbers would still have been nominated and won under this system, but it's designed to reward songs that are memorable because of their impact on the movie. And the rules are always subject to change.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_b ... tions.html

[littlebeast13]

Was I the only one who noticed Jennifer Lopez's

Spoiler

nipple

?

Did I miss a wardrobe malfunction?

I'll make it up to you:

Here's a double dose for uly....

lb13

[TheConfessor]

Sean Young was arrested while trying to crash an Oscars party.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-207_162-573 ... car-party/

[Catfish]

I thought many of the Oscar ads were better than most Super Bowl ads.

Ditto.

My Oscar rant:

In my quest to see at least one or two best picture--nominated movies (and actually saw 3 in the theatre, a record), I go out Friday night to see what's available at Blockbuster, and all I find is The Tree of Life. Yeah, as in I'd like to have THAT 2 hours of my tree of life back. WTF?!?!?! How did that get nominated for best picture and not Bridesmaids or even The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo? WTF?!?

[Sistine Fanny]

Did I miss a wardrobe malfunction?

I'll make it up to you:

Here's a double dose for uly....

lb13

I'm not really getting it. Is ES dropping a deuce or was he trying to smuggle a chorizo into the picture show? (Those movie theaters are insane. A five spot for a box of Sno-Caps? I don't blame ES for his BYOC policy.....)

[SportsFan68]

Did I hear the winner correctly? He thanked Disney for not making a musical cartoon this year? If not, he should have. Only two original songs this year? Really? If I'd know that I would have made a quick movie with a self written song. It would have stunk, but hey, how many folks can say they came in third at the Oscars?

They have changed the rules for song nominations recently, resulting in substantially fewer nominees than before. Unlike years past when songs often played an integral part in the film, lots of "eligible" songs now only play over the closing credits when a lot of people have already left the theater. There were 39 songs eligible, including three from The Muppets (a maximum of two songs per movie can become nominees). Both the Muppet song that won and the Rio runnerup were part of the story line of the movies and most people who saw those movies will remember those songs. Each eligible song is voted on by the members of the music branch on a point scale, and it takes a minimum average score of 8.25 (out of 10) to be nominated. That's why there's only been two or three nominees the past couple of years. If no song gets an 8.25 score, they won't give an award that year (for a number of years, makeup wasn't awarded annually, only when they saw fit to honor a particular film like the original Planet of the Apes). If only one makes the cut, they automatically nominate the next highest scoring song so there's a "competition." The song has to be clearly audible (words and lyrics) in the body of the film or as the first music in the end credits, and the judges actually watch the part of the film in which the song appears.

This system rewards (as it should) songs that have an impact in the movie, rather than signing on a name artist to do a number that's then stuck in the closing credits. Songs like Over the Rainbow and many of the Disney numbers would still have been nominated and won under this system, but it's designed to reward songs that are memorable because of their impact on the movie. And the rules are always subject to change.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_b ... tions.html

I really like a song called "A Softer Place to Fall," and I've heard it exactly twice -- at the end of the Horse Whisperer and again when it was sung at the Oscars. But it should not have been nominated because it had no relevance to the movie. I'm glad they've changed the rules.

[Sistine Fanny]

Was I the only one who noticed Jennifer Lopez's

Spoiler

nipple

?

No, but it may have been wishful thinking on the part of many:

http://popwatch.ew.com/2012/02/26/jenni ... ?hpt=hp_c2

If that was a nipple then she's got some strangely constructed breasts. I think she just had a mini-case of quadra-boob going on and that was was a shadow from the spillover. I noticed it when she was talking with Tim Gunn before the show and I'm sure that if that really had been the beginnings of a perilous slip somebody would have noticed it between then and when she went on stage.

I think it's one of those things you don't see in real life but the lights and cameras bring out a certain angle or light that makes it noticeable (like Barbara Streisand's Oscar pyjama outfit that turned out to be see through).

[littlebeast13]

I'll make it up to you:

Here's a double dose for uly....

lb13

I'm not really getting it. Is ES dropping a deuce or was he trying to smuggle a chorizo into the picture show? (Those movie theaters are insane. A five spot for a box of Sno-Caps? I don't blame ES for his BYOC policy.....)

As with all art, it is whatever you see in it....

Just get me a small popcorn and a large Pepsi....

lb13

[SportsFan68]

Did I miss a wardrobe malfunction?

I'll make it up to you:

Here's a double dose for uly....

lb13

That is horrifying. It will not win.

[littlebeast13]

I'll make it up to you:

Here's a double dose for uly....

lb13

That is horrifying. It will not win.

MBRS seems to be quite amused with it. Maybe the problem is just you....

lb13

[Sistine Fanny]

Here's a double dose for uly....

lb13

I'm not really getting it. Is ES dropping a deuce or was he trying to smuggle a chorizo into the picture show? (Those movie theaters are insane. A five spot for a box of Sno-Caps? I don't blame ES for his BYOC policy.....)

As with all art, it is whatever you see in it....

Just get me a small popcorn and a large Pepsi....

lb13

He should try a cucumber wrapped in aluminum foil next time, far more secure. Or ask to borrow Billy Bored Thornton's socks. If he ever takes them off......

[Sistine Fanny]

Here's a double dose for uly....

lb13

That is horrifying. It will not win.

MBRS seems to be quite amused with it. Maybe the problem is just you....

lb13

MBRS is a bit of a slattern. It's not surprising that she would find such a thing amusing.

I'm more disturbed at that nasty case of gangreen that ES has got going on all up in there.....

[franktangredi]

I think they should get rid of the Best Song category altogether. I've thought so for years.