81st Oscars: The Show

[Big Magilla]

For those of you who still think nuns are stuffy, here's Sister Rose's take:

I really enjoyed the Oscars this year and despite all the complaints about previous years, I think watching the Oscars each year is like attending a master class on film. Story-telling, editing, music, everything. Including film history.
The Oscars also provides much fodder for a media literacy exercise (who wins, who doesn’t, who is included, who isn’t, the perspectives and ideologies shared, and so forth.) This is hard to do during the event itself, but an interesting reflection for the day after.
By the way, who pays for the Oscars?
What I liked about this year’s Oscars included the opening song/dance routine; Jackman was terrific. Did not know Anne Hathaway could sing. Wow.
Bringing past winners in to present the awards was wonderful. I enjoyed Whoppi Goldberg’s take the most: it’s not easy being a nun. And thosse who did not win? So gracious.
I was glad “Milk” was recognized by three awards and that Sean Penn won best actor. He deserved it! I did think giving the winners longer than the 45 seconds everyone else had for acceptance comments to promote their agenda wasn’t such great form. (If I recall well, Susan Sarandon, when she won Best Actress for “Dead Man Walking “wasn’t allowed time to promote her platform and beliefs; both films are about human dignity.)
Media literacy point: the Oscars are about more than film. They reflect the world and the culture, what filmmakers value and believe, what Academy members choose to acknowledge and what they don’t. It’s about more than movies.
This actually reinforces my first point: the Oscars is a master class on film: film theory, ideology, story-telling, form and content, and on and on. And the most meaningful way we can respond to the Oscars is to talk about them.
Even the fashions!

[OscarGuy]

Well, this would explain a lot and entirely validate everything Damien said about Stiller being an ass. I'd also add unfunny prima donna to that moniker.



Stiller's 'Last Minute' Phoenix Joke

26 February 2009 4:05 AM, PST

Ben Stiller's impersonation of Joaquin Phoenix at the Oscars was a last minute addition to the show - because the Tropic Thunder star refused to stick to official script.

Stiller appeared alongside Natalie Portman to introduce the nominees for the Best Cinematography award at Sunday's Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles.

And Stiller shocked the star-studded crowd by wearing a scruffy fake beard and wandering aimlessly around the stage, mocking Phoenix' recent string of bizarre public appearances since the Gladiator star 'quit acting' to focus on his rap career.

But the gag only made the cut because Stiller had "a meltdown" at rehearsals on Saturday, "because he was unhappy with the script and decided he could do better," according to New York Post gossip column PageSix.

A source tells the publication, "Ben refused to tell them what he planned until he arrived at the Kodak Theatre, and then he did that Joaquin Phoenix bit."

[mlrg]

Shit, shit, shit. I thought I recorded the Academy Awards broadcast on DVR (to then be transferred to disc for permanent keeps). I hadn't.

Anyone wanna help a brother out?

I'm putting out a request for a copy of the show. Regardless whether the broadcast was good or not, or the winners were good or not, in my household it was a very special broadcast. If anyone has it on disc, I'd love to make an arrangement.

I've already heard from mlrg, but I'd prefer to do this with someone who lives in the U.S. I assume it's considerably less expensive this way. Also, sorry mlrg, but given the weird recent history of the board, I'd prefer to do this with someone I've known and whom I'm comfortable with. This is why I'm not responding through PM, because doing so exposes my email address. Nothing personal. I genuinely appreciate the offer. But I just don't know you well enough to give away certain info about me, and as I said, this place has an unsavory history regarding these things.

Also, to answer another question, I don't have other Oscar broadcasts on disc to make an exchange. I do have a few on videotape which haven't been converted, but I'd have to do a big search for them.

Thanks in advance.

I understand you "trusting" concerns. Altough I've been on this boards since 1999, and folowing Wesley's predictions since "The English Patient" year, I'm not a regular poster. You can see that I'm a member since 2004.

I'm also a regular reader at Awardsdaily and Goldderby (although i don't particulary like their boards) and I have been exchanging old Oscar shows with one of Goldderby's members (Boomer) without any problem whatsoever for the past two months.

But it's ok by me if you have your issues. I was just tryong to help a brother out.

[Cinemanolis]

I also have a copy, however i don't know how you feel about greek subtitles...

[Sonic Youth]

Damien, that would be great. I'll PM you tomorrow.

[Damien]

Sonic, I just got back tonight from L.A. I set the DVD recorder before I left, but I haven't had a chance to check to see if it recorded correctly, but if it did I'd be happy to dupe a copy and send it to you -- no problem.



Edited By Damien on 1235627703

[Sonic Youth]

Shit, shit, shit. I thought I recorded the Academy Awards broadcast on DVR (to then be transferred to disc for permanent keeps). I hadn't.

Anyone wanna help a brother out?

I'm putting out a request for a copy of the show. Regardless whether the broadcast was good or not, or the winners were good or not, in my household it was a very special broadcast. If anyone has it on disc, I'd love to make an arrangement.

I've already heard from mlrg, but I'd prefer to do this with someone who lives in the U.S. I assume it's considerably less expensive this way. Also, sorry mlrg, but given the weird recent history of the board, I'd prefer to do this with someone I've known and whom I'm comfortable with. This is why I'm not responding through PM, because doing so exposes my email address. Nothing personal. I genuinely appreciate the offer. But I just don't know you well enough to give away certain info about me, and as I said, this place has an unsavory history regarding these things.

Also, to answer another question, I don't have other Oscar broadcasts on disc to make an exchange. I do have a few on videotape which haven't been converted, but I'd have to do a big search for them.

Thanks in advance.



Edited By Sonic Youth on 1235616445

[Damien]

One more thing. Once Helen Mirren named DDL best actor a year ago, it was obvious that this year best actress award presenter would have to be some replacement. I have a sneaky feeling that not wanting to appear as not having the "real deal", presenters wise, they were desperate to have a knockout alternative concept.

{BUZZER} Nope, I'm sorry. Wrong. But thanks for playing.



Edited By Damien on 1235654687

[ITALIANO]

You are right, Oscar Guy. My habit of saying the truth should be corrected, so I will be like most people here (and in real life, maybe). I'll work on it, I promise.

[OscarGuy]

Actually, Italiano, it was you who went on the attack first in this situation. You were lamenting on how you had no idea how we could love such a thing and when we gave you examples, you attacked us. So, no "I'm innocent" defense for you.

And I think it's time to put the subject to rest. Everyone who has or wants to say something has already done so. By belaboring the point, we're just dragging this whole thing into ludicrousness. So, let's just move on and discuss other things.

[ITALIANO]

The funny thing is that you weren't all that negative to the show as a whole.

Of course not. And the person I saw it with LOVED it. But then I get attacked just because I didn't like a certain aspect of it as if I committed a major sacrilege, and so of course I realize that it's the same old story. And I know that it's not your fault, Damien. It's something inside them. And nothing can be done for it - this kind of blindness can't be cured.

[Big Magilla]

Lawrence Mark wasn't born for a couple of decades after 1932. I really don't know what artistic input he had. His track record as a film producer is pretty dismal. For every Jerry Maguire or As Good As It Gets there's a Simon Burch, Hanging Up or Glitter, but whoever came up with the idea or when is beside the point. It worked for the vast majority of us.

I thought the commercial placements were pretty painless. Usually they go on for so long you can get up, go to the bathroom, get a snack and maybe even make a quick phone call without missing anything but they seemed to be to be pretty well paced so that the interruptions were short. I really can't find anything to carp about in the production other than the In Memoriam segment and the lumping together of the minor awards for presentation by the lesser stars. Those are the only two things that need improving upon.

[Uri]

One more thing. Once Helen Mirren named DDL best actor a year ago, it was obvious that this year best actress award presenter would have to be some replacement. I have a sneaky feeling that not wanting to appear as not having the "real deal", presenters wise, they were desperate to have a knockout alternative concept.

And now someone will say that back in 1932, after watching the Oscars for the first time on a slides show, Laurence Mark knew that when he produce the show, he would put Maude Adams, Laurette Taylor, Ethel Barrymore, Lyn Fontaine and Constance Collier together onstage. And then he spent the next eight decades refining that idea.



Edited By Uri on 1235549758

[Uri]

None of us here watch the show primarily for the fashions or comedy monologues or to see clips of films we've already seen or even to see who won since we all know our favorites never win in every category. No, we watch to see our love of movies, and Oscars in particular, validated by the people we've spent a good portion of our lives watching on screen. To see people like Eva Marie Saint, Sophia Loren, Shirley MacLaine and so on taking the time to come out and honor the current stars and by reflection those of us who've bothered to watch them, is what we look for over and above everything else. To see these greats give out minor awards is something we've become used to, but to see twenty of them presenting awards in the acting categories is more rewarding for us than anything we ever imagined. I don't care if it was Bill Condon who thought it up, or Sid Ganis who suggested it or even Jerry Lewis (who you know I can't stand), but whoever it was had a stroke of genius and if it was the only good thing about the evening it would have been enough, but for me almost everything worked. Was it perfect? No, but it was better than any Oscar show I've seen since the 1968 awards and that certainly includes the 1993 awards which I don't remember at all.

I loved the Oscar winners' photo album they had 11 years ago. It was an extremely simple, basic stuff and it work beautifully for me – seeing Louise Rainer bonding with Vanessa Redgrave or, off course, Shirley Temple was great, and it was great because it captured the sense of times gone by and how significant these people, against any better judgment, are for us, movie fans. The way it was done this year was just the opposite. It was forced, it was self congratulatory in more than one way and above all it had such a desperate need to appear grand when all it managed was an over sentimentalized pomposity.

What I find strange, even disappointing, is that people who'll never like (or at least will never admit they like) self important pseudo arty sentimental manipulations such as Finding Neverland or The Reader, are willing to throw the better judgment and taste they show elsewhre out of the window here.

Yes, but it was just a tease. Imagine how much nicer it would have been if they had had Vanessa Redgrave, Teresa Wright, Claire Trevor, Shelley Winters and Eileen Heckart come out and say a few words about the that year's supporting actress nominees and Luise Rainer, Joan Fontaine, Anne Bancroft, Maggie Smith and Patricia Neal saying a few words about the year's best actress nominees instead of having them sit like bumps on a log.

I would have loved to hear what Redgrave had to say about that reactionary, capitalist fest, Titanic. But that's exactly Marco's point (and mine): if Redgrave spoke her mind, it might have been edgy and relevant, hence she'd never be asked to speak at the academy awards again. And remember, less is more, not a bore, once the spectator had a cultural, emotional and intellectual baggage to hang on what is presented to him or her. Eve Mary Saint is so naturally dignified, she could survive that ordeal (and she was the first one, which helped), but other than MacLaine, the rest were embarrassing. Having these five stars standing there, as a kind of stoic honorary guard, would have been more respectful, to them as well as to our intelligence.

And still, the over emphasize on the acting award made the Oscars into a Golden Globes wanabee. You might shrug at it as hypocrisy, but the Oscars are declared as a celebration of all aspects of movie making. A screenwriter gets the same trophy as a makeup artist. The sound engineer is sent home with the same statue as Spielberg. The way it was done on Sunday came off as condescending. Not to mention the way they arrange it: many short, harried sections filled with commercials in order to have that long, uninterrupted segment at the end. They should have another dinner and then bring Paris Hilton on stage at Oscar night to say that cameramen and editors are really great fun to hang with, especially those two she met by the urinal, although she's not sure who they were since she didn't have the chance to see their faces.



Edited By Uri on 1235547104

[Sonic Youth]

Shit, shit, shit. I thought I recorded the Academy Awards broadcast on DVR (to then be transferred to disc for permanent keeps). I hadn't.

Anyone wanna help a brother out?