I am in panic mode because I just can't find anything that interests me to write about tonight. Does anybody have any ideas? Maybe a very brief Oscars recap...
I was going to wax poetic about the irony of Patricia Arquette's acceptance/political speech where she yammered on about "income equality for women" as she carried her $150K bag of free swag while wearing her free designer evening gown. But that's been done to death.
Or how the Oscar host Neil Patrick Harris was really great up to point where he stripped down to his tightey whities. Yeah, yeah, it was a sight gag for Birdman, but seriously. That was after the cringe-worthy and ill-placed snipe "It takes a lot of balls to wear that dress." after one of Best Documentary winners for "Crisis Hotline" about a VA hotline for suicidal soldiers reveals that her son committed suicide. Poor Patrick apparently wasn't listening to her acceptance speech on the backstage monitors while he was changing his tux for the umpteenth time. Well, at least he was still wearing clothes when he said it.
Or when Sean Penn jokingly exclaimed “Who gave this sonofabitch a green card?” when he was giving out the "Best Director" Oscar to his good friend “Birdman” director Alejandro González Iñárritu. That caused quite the stir with the Mexican/Immigrant lobby.
Or when they religated Maureen O'Hare's "Lifetime Achievement" Oscar to a brief mention included with the other unworthy awards for primetime. In their defense, she was in a wheelchair and barely able to speak, but didn't she deserve a little more time and dignity for her achievements than that?
Or while AMPAS president Cheryl Boone Isaacs gave her very long speech espousing “We have a responsibility that no one’s voice is silenced by threats. A responsibility to protect freedom of expression,” all I could do was I inserted "except for conservatives" after every sentence.
I know, I am jaded. But I will say one positive thing - Lady Gaga has got some pipes! I am so glad she has finally gotten passed all of those ridiculous costumes that she was hiding behind and has shown everyone once and for all that she...can...REALLY...sing!
Anyway, anyone have any other favorite or peevish moments in the Oscars? As always feel free to change the subject to anything...
I was going to wax poetic about the irony of Patricia Arquette's acceptance/political speech where she yammered on about "income equality for women" as she carried her $150K bag of free swag while wearing her free designer evening gown. But that's been done to death.
Or how the Oscar host Neil Patrick Harris was really great up to point where he stripped down to his tightey whities. Yeah, yeah, it was a sight gag for Birdman, but seriously. That was after the cringe-worthy and ill-placed snipe "It takes a lot of balls to wear that dress." after one of Best Documentary winners for "Crisis Hotline" about a VA hotline for suicidal soldiers reveals that her son committed suicide. Poor Patrick apparently wasn't listening to her acceptance speech on the backstage monitors while he was changing his tux for the umpteenth time. Well, at least he was still wearing clothes when he said it.
Or when Sean Penn jokingly exclaimed “Who gave this sonofabitch a green card?” when he was giving out the "Best Director" Oscar to his good friend “Birdman” director Alejandro González Iñárritu. That caused quite the stir with the Mexican/Immigrant lobby.
Or when they religated Maureen O'Hare's "Lifetime Achievement" Oscar to a brief mention included with the other unworthy awards for primetime. In their defense, she was in a wheelchair and barely able to speak, but didn't she deserve a little more time and dignity for her achievements than that?
Or while AMPAS president Cheryl Boone Isaacs gave her very long speech espousing “We have a responsibility that no one’s voice is silenced by threats. A responsibility to protect freedom of expression,” all I could do was I inserted "except for conservatives" after every sentence.
I know, I am jaded. But I will say one positive thing - Lady Gaga has got some pipes! I am so glad she has finally gotten passed all of those ridiculous costumes that she was hiding behind and has shown everyone once and for all that she...can...REALLY...sing!
Anyway, anyone have any other favorite or peevish moments in the Oscars? As always feel free to change the subject to anything...
19 comments:
Through an unusual set of circumstances, I watched this year's show for the first time in a long time. I was not disappointed, at least when it comes to reminding me why I don't watch. It was too long, too tacky, I don't like these people ... they have to snark their politics at me. Why reward them by viewing them. Doogie Howser is a talent, but much of his material was not very good. At the end of the day, they got to get their licks in on "undocumented worker/dreamers", women's pay, lack of black nominees ... the whole shebang, and a bunch of people giving too long speeches awards that should be given in a separate afternoon non-televised show.
I stopped watching a few years ago, not to mention I only ever cared about the tech awards anyway (visual FX, etc.) and everyone else seems to thumb their nose at them because those people aren't famous.
It tickles me how some conservatives are shocked—SHOCKED!—that American Sniper didn't win Best Picture. It's like, "Did you enjoy the movie? Then that's all that matters."
I swear there's nothing worse than political pundits debating pop culture and it's not like Sean Hannity gives a shit about the Oscars the other 364 days of the year. The political bitching is as inevitable as the political speeches themselves.
My friend watched the show and he said it had some weird tonal issues. He mentioned the suidice/dress faux pas and the green card joke.
And then Patricia Arquette... you just can't win. I understand why folks on the right would attack her but she's getting attacked from hardcore feminists now for having the nerve to equate being female with motherhood. It's like, why would you ever want to be a public figure in this day and age? You're only going to offend someone.
The In Memoriam segment was well done but I prefer actual film clips to stills. (Usually, Turner Classic Films and the BAFTA Awards in the UK do better montages.) And yeah, they left out Joan Rivers but they also left out Taylor Negron and director Joseph Sargent who did The Taking of Pelham One Two Three and Colossus: The Forbin Project.
P.S. I don't mind long acceptance speeches—they deserve it—but it shows just how badly managed the show itself is. If they cut all the other fat and simply had an opening montage/number and the In Memoriam, they could probably get by without rudely cutting off the winners.
Someone on Facebook pointed out that this was the Academy Awards and NOT the Tonys. And someone else pointed out that next year is the 75th anniversary of Citizen Kane and that they'd be fools not to do something. (So I guess we won't be seeing anything then.) :-)
And lastly, someone else pointed out the lack of star power. Say what you want about these people but when you're missing guys like Ford, Pitt, Hanks, DeNiro, Pacino, Nicholson, Clooney, Spielberg, etc., that's a problem.
Scott - I kind of agree that the Academy Awards are not the Tony's so why do they do a big production number and not film montages? If there were still big Hollywood Musicals it would make sense. Though I did LOVE Billy Crystal's opening because it was the best of both worlds.
I think that's why I don't mind watching the Golden Globes...no rambling host, no pointless opening number, no fake award presenter banter, it's just award, award, award and they do twice the number of awards in 1/2 the time.
I lost interest in the Oscars even before nominations began. NPR was pimping for Selma since before the movie was released, and having conniptions at every turn that it's been snubbed by the racist/sexist Academy. In other words, it's their American Sniper.
That said, for the first time in a long time I'm actually interested in most of the nominated films. (I've only seen a couple so far.) I'd do want to see Selma if only because it has the LBJ fanboys so upset over how the film treats him. From my knowledge of "Landslide," it sounds like Selma may have gotten it right.
Hi Bev!
I hardly ever go to the movies but we tried to see Sniper twice and it was booked for all shows for evening. Here in Boston area they only showed it in one screening room of the multiplex. So I was not too upset, I will see it later on Netflix. I saw Budapest on Netflix. I have seen all those kooky movies that Director does. No one I know understands them ( I am an English major and don't get them).
I usually watch the red carpet and then stay up til about 10. I read the results in the morning. I loved listening to Joan Rivers skewer these fools. I really missed it because it put me in a jolly enough mood to stand it.
This year I was stuck waiting for someone and watched the whole thing--awful! Boring. Not even offensive enough to get me going!
RIP Joan!
Saw Selma. Great movie (far better than I expected) which didn't pull any punches. Don't really care about it not winning whatever some of its fans feel it should have won. The excellent Lego movie also got stiffed. Both directors made profitable films which audiences walked away from happy so they can cry themselves to sleep on a big bed of money.
Never watched an Oscar show. I sometimes read about them but rarely recognize the movies under discussion. I'm just not into arty films about life in Hollywood or what have you.
I wonder what would happen if, one year, they actually decided to release the "small" films wide instead, so folks who don't live in NY or LA or within 50 miles of an arthouse theater could see something like Birdman before the Oscars.
Poor CrisD! How are you holding up with all the snow in Boston? It's up tom8 feet now isn't it? We've missed out on the snow in NYC, but the East and Hudson Rivers have giant ice flows...
I'd like to thank the Best Song co-winners: Common for championing freedom of expression around the globe, and for specifically mentioning Charlie Hebdo; and John Legend for inexplicably bringing up election day voter intimidation. Sure, he erroneously cited voter ID, something which has apparently led to increased black voters wherever it's been passed, but I'm just sure that was code denouncing the Black Panther Party brandishing weapons at various polling places in 2012.
Selma vs. American Sniper - that is exactly why I don't lias Patricia Arquetteke the Oscars. Too long, too boring, too political. As far as the technical awards go, take all the time to thank whoever they want ... just don't put it on a prime time show. Let them have their show in the afternoon, and publish a list of the winners. People don't care who they want to thank. As for as Patricia Arquette, I don't want her lecturing me about her issue. If she, and others have to do this, I don't want to waste my time watching.
If anyone decides to watch the Oscar-winner for Best Documentary Short, Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1, just be prepared with a handkerchief at the ready.
It will drain you emotionally.
Definitely deserved the Oscar.
wow, just had a very interesting experience, albeit not one associated with Oscar night. My United Congressman for the @nd Congressional District, Tennessee is the Honorable John J. Duncan, Jr.just called me personally to tell me how much he enjoyed a letter to the editor I had published in today's Knoxville News Sentinel. He was not asking for money or to volunteer, he just loved the letter, and told me if he could ever be of any help to my wife and I, just give him a call, and he offered his personal invitation to come and meet him in Washington. Pretty neat!
second congressional district in Tennessee.
Nice Tennessee Jed!
TennJ - Please post your letter to the editor! It must have been a doozy to get your Congressman to make a personal call! That's amazing!
original editorial: http://www.knoxnews.com/opinion/columnists/mark-harmon-time-to-look-behind-corporate-curtains_42850700
my letter: As an admitted Democrat, columnist Mark Harmon's focus on only those he perceives as political enemies is hardly surprising. Thus, the good old Koch brothers are trotted out once again as the left's poster boys of evil corporate influence with nary a mention of labor unions or foreign governments pouring money into Hillary Clinton's team before she declares her own candidacy. Yet, it would fly in the face of logic to believe size doesn't matter when it comes to money and influence. All one needs to do is look at the bloated federal government and its insatiable thirst for more power and control over our lives (see health care and Internet choice to name just two). Without pointing a finger specifically at Harmon, I would add that an overabundance of people of a certain political stripe in our media and educational institutions creates a different but equally strong influence.
There is one area where I do agree with Harmon, however. I believe this country operates best when our government fosters a climate friendly to free-market competition and that a legitimate function of our government is antitrust activity. We need to stop the government takeover of our economy but also keep industries competitive by preventing individual companies from becoming so dominant they stifle competition. Look at the consolidation that transpired in the health care industry, which is mainly why costs are so high. Big government, like big corporations, encourages waste, turf protection, bureaucratic layering, fraud and debacles like those involving the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Make our country the most desirable place in the world to start and grow small businesses, reduce the size of government and make it live within a budget, and I believe many of our problems would become more manageable.
Harmon is a former professor at U.T. Duncan was very nice. He asked me about myself, where I was from. He just said he learned people do read letters to the editor, and enjoyed that I was willing to take on Harmon.
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