85th Oscar Ceremony

[Bog]

Piggybacking on Okri's comment about Tee's eventual thread...I've been excited for this since I woke up on Monday morning still with Oscar on my mind. I won't get into it very much because I have no shot at being as thorough or thoughtful as Tee is each year. However, I'm fairly certain of the seven top categories where an individual is awarded, most likely of the main question of the thread "who will be back?"...Oscar winner-wise...we should be 7/7 (DDL, JLaw, Hathaway, Waltz, Lee, QT, and Terrio) or I should say if at the end of it all, if this year isn't 7/7 at simply returning as at least an Oscar nominee, that'd be more surprising than the alternative. Not all the 7 are as obvious as Jennifer Lawrence I suppose, and we'll see what Tee thinks, but I'd bet on each one of them sometime returning. Intriguing too because in the same categories from just last year, 4 could be eliminated at 11:30pm that Oscar night: Spencer, Plummer, Dujardin, Hazanavicius.

Lawrence, Hathaway, Day-Lewis are as givens as they get, even after wins this year, due to pure acting ability and better choices than several of the Oscar winners of the past decade that failed to succeed thus far on Tee's lost (Berry, Weatherspoon, Foxx, Theron, Bullock, Portman, Connelly, Zellweger, Cruz, Leo, on and on etc.)

The most debate will be with Waltz and Lee, with age and 2 wins eliminating them from another statue almost definitely, but not necessarily nominations, and QT seems to write and be seen as nomination worthy unless he fails miserably, while Terrio is now in with Clooney/Affleck/Heslov and this was his first big script.

[anonymous1980]

From Vulture...

Why Seth MacFarlane’s Misogyny Matters
By Margaret Lyons2/25/13 at 1:00 PM

Host Seth MacFarlane speaks onstage during the Oscars held at the Dolby Theatre on February 24, 2013 in Hollywood, California.

Seth MacFarlane made a whole bunch of sexist, reductive jokes at the Oscars last night. It's frustrating enough to know that 77 percent of Academy voters are male. Or to watch 30 men and 9 women collect awards last night. But MacFarlane's boob song, the needless sexualization of a little girl, and the relentless commentary about how women look reinforced, over and over, that women somehow don't belong. They matter only insofar as they are beautiful or naked, or preferably both. This wasn't an awards ceremony so much as a black-tie celebration of the straight white male gaze.

MacFarlane's opening musical number, "We Saw Your Boobs," might as well have been a siren blaring, "This isn't for you." Come on, everyone likes boobs, right? No. The answer is no. They're not something I hate, and heck, I have a pair to call my own, and yet my takeaway from The Accused was not "Finally, I've seen Jodie Foster's breasts." My lasting memory of Boys Don't Cry is not "Hey, free breasts!" At least there was that super timely and relevant reference to Kate Winslet's many nude scenes.

Jeez, the song was a joke! Can't you take a joke? Yes, I can take a joke. I can take a bunch! A thousand, 10,000, maybe even more! But after 30 or so years, this stuff doesn't feel like joking. It's dehumanizing and humiliating, and as if every single one of those jokes is an ostensibly gentler way of saying, "I don't think you belong here." All those little instances add up, grain of sand by grain of sand until I'm stranded in a desert of every "tits or GTFO" joke I've ever tried to ignore.

Then came the joke about actresses getting the flu to lose weight. "It paid off," MacFarlane said. "Looking good." Well, thank God, because what matters to all women is that we look good for Seth MacFarlane. How many women did he introduce over the course of the night by mentioning how they looked: "Please welcome the lovely ___ ," "the beautiful ______"? How many men?

Uh, those are compliments! Now he can't even give women compliments? Compliment away, friends. Let's compliment the shit out of each other. But let's be really cognizant of what we compliment each other on, and what that says about what we expect from each other, and what we consider valuable and worth mentioning. It doesn't matter what Salma Hayek says, because she's so pretty!

You just don't like Seth MacFarlane's sense of humor. What did you expect? Actually, I do like Seth MacFarlane's sense of humor. (Sometimes. No one likes everything all the time!) I've been a loyal Family Guy viewer for almost fifteen years. I've been to — and adored — Family Guy: Live. If MacFarlane had sung "Shipoopi" all night, I'd be writing a really different story right now. Instead, there were jokes about how Rex Reed would probably call Adele fat — because that's what's important about her — and how someday Quvenzhané Wallis will be old enough to date George Clooney — because that's what's important about her — and how sometimes, gasp, a woman might have body hair — because that's what's important about them. Women are nags, and Jews run Hollywood! Thank you, Seth MacFarlane, for this cutting-edge humor. Like Mark Wahlberg said, the party's at Jack Nicholson's house. You remember, that place where Roman Polanski drugged and raped a 13-year-old girl. Ha-ha, ha-ha, ha.

I dream of someday watching women win all the non-performance categories, of women making as many films as men do, of women and men being nominated for a comparable number of awards. There are a lot of reasons why that day is far, far in the future. But I'll tell you what's not helping: the biggest night in film being dedicated to alienating, excluding, and debasing women. Actual gender equality is a ways away, but I'd settle for one four-hour ceremony where women aren't being actively degraded.

I guess it must have been her time of the month....

[HarryGoldfarb]

From Vulture...

Why Seth MacFarlane’s Misogyny Matters
By Margaret Lyons2/25/13 at 1:00 PM

Host Seth MacFarlane speaks onstage during the Oscars held at the Dolby Theatre on February 24, 2013 in Hollywood, California.

Seth MacFarlane made a whole bunch of sexist, reductive jokes at the Oscars last night. It's frustrating enough to know that 77 percent of Academy voters are male. Or to watch 30 men and 9 women collect awards last night. But MacFarlane's boob song, the needless sexualization of a little girl, and the relentless commentary about how women look reinforced, over and over, that women somehow don't belong. They matter only insofar as they are beautiful or naked, or preferably both. This wasn't an awards ceremony so much as a black-tie celebration of the straight white male gaze.

MacFarlane's opening musical number, "We Saw Your Boobs," might as well have been a siren blaring, "This isn't for you." Come on, everyone likes boobs, right? No. The answer is no. They're not something I hate, and heck, I have a pair to call my own, and yet my takeaway from The Accused was not "Finally, I've seen Jodie Foster's breasts." My lasting memory of Boys Don't Cry is not "Hey, free breasts!" At least there was that super timely and relevant reference to Kate Winslet's many nude scenes.

Jeez, the song was a joke! Can't you take a joke? Yes, I can take a joke. I can take a bunch! A thousand, 10,000, maybe even more! But after 30 or so years, this stuff doesn't feel like joking. It's dehumanizing and humiliating, and as if every single one of those jokes is an ostensibly gentler way of saying, "I don't think you belong here." All those little instances add up, grain of sand by grain of sand until I'm stranded in a desert of every "tits or GTFO" joke I've ever tried to ignore.

Then came the joke about actresses getting the flu to lose weight. "It paid off," MacFarlane said. "Looking good." Well, thank God, because what matters to all women is that we look good for Seth MacFarlane. How many women did he introduce over the course of the night by mentioning how they looked: "Please welcome the lovely ___ ," "the beautiful ______"? How many men?

Uh, those are compliments! Now he can't even give women compliments? Compliment away, friends. Let's compliment the shit out of each other. But let's be really cognizant of what we compliment each other on, and what that says about what we expect from each other, and what we consider valuable and worth mentioning. It doesn't matter what Salma Hayek says, because she's so pretty!

You just don't like Seth MacFarlane's sense of humor. What did you expect? Actually, I do like Seth MacFarlane's sense of humor. (Sometimes. No one likes everything all the time!) I've been a loyal Family Guy viewer for almost fifteen years. I've been to — and adored — Family Guy: Live. If MacFarlane had sung "Shipoopi" all night, I'd be writing a really different story right now. Instead, there were jokes about how Rex Reed would probably call Adele fat — because that's what's important about her — and how someday Quvenzhané Wallis will be old enough to date George Clooney — because that's what's important about her — and how sometimes, gasp, a woman might have body hair — because that's what's important about them. Women are nags, and Jews run Hollywood! Thank you, Seth MacFarlane, for this cutting-edge humor. Like Mark Wahlberg said, the party's at Jack Nicholson's house. You remember, that place where Roman Polanski drugged and raped a 13-year-old girl. Ha-ha, ha-ha, ha.

I dream of someday watching women win all the non-performance categories, of women making as many films as men do, of women and men being nominated for a comparable number of awards. There are a lot of reasons why that day is far, far in the future. But I'll tell you what's not helping: the biggest night in film being dedicated to alienating, excluding, and debasing women. Actual gender equality is a ways away, but I'd settle for one four-hour ceremony where women aren't being actively degraded.

[Okri]

So, did you hear?: this was the worst Oscar show/host in history – for the 15th consecutive year!! * (*Criticism does not apply if Hugh Jackman hosts, because he’s a sweet guy everyone likes)

Maybe not worst, but it just did so much wrong.

a) It's always tacky to have presenters really closely associated with a nominee in the category, I find. So why have The Avengers group present Visual Effects? Was their literally no other category for them to present? And to top it all off, Jackson didn't even read the names of the winners.

b) The musical production numbers. Just generally. I mean, Crowe was startlingly bad.

c) Best song in general. Youtube clips for two songs, two live clips for two more songs, but only one full presentation. Seriously?

d) The Bond presentation died on contact.

e) Very oddly paced. Not merely the placement of the awards but the way they were grouped.

I will say that MacFarlane probably picked up as the show went on (I loved the "150 years is too soon? I've got some Napolean jokes" line). But a show lives and dies by the winners. I loved the 2002/2003 show, but really no idea who hosted that one (Martin, right). But Brody/Kidman/Cooper/Polanski/Harwood/Eminem..... in one flippin night? Wow.

Like you, Tee, I loved Lee's victory. But moreso because of the standing ovation he received - a lovely moment. And Day-Lewis' speech was terrific (I love that he seemed genuinely moved but was still able to crack a joke). Plummer's intro was nice, but I really admired his elocution before the award. And sue me, I didn't even hate Hathaway's speech.

I really liked Brave and am happier with it winning than I was Finding Nemo or Ratatouille, fwiw.

I know that Tee will do his nominee's "Who'll be here again" but given the sheer number of repeat nominees, I'm almost tempted to round up what was said earlier and see if it jives (his O.Russell prediction was scary accurate).

[FilmFan720]

Was it a requirement in the sound category that everyone needed an Edgar Winter haircut? (Does anyone under 40 even know what I'm talking about?)

No, and I'm too lazy to Google. Do you mean something along the lines of long blonde hair on a man?

Alan Sepinwall had the great quote that "the sound awards offered the unexpected running gag of all the winners looking like "Die Hard" henchmen."

As for the August: Osage County nominations, the three flipp mentioned are probably the most likely (based on the actors and the roles themselves), but I think Chris Cooper gets the better role than Benedict Cumberbatch. And don't count out Sam Shephard...he only gets 10 minutes (although this year showed that doesn't mean anything), but it is a great scene and he could ride some coattails in as a legend.

[flipp525]

Everyone made a big deal over SLP taking four Oscar nominations for acting. I have a sneaking suspicion that August: Osage County will do the same.

Well, I think it was the fact that it got nominated in all four acting categories that was the big story. (Doubt getting four acting nominations wasn't a huge story.) And August: Osage County won't do that.

I see three very possible nominations for August: Osage County next year: Meryl Streep (Lead Actress) Margo Martindale (Supporting Actress) Benedict Cumberbatch (Supporting Actor). I'll go ahead and predict a Martindale win at this very stage just for bragging rights. Julia Roberts' role can only be seen as a co-lead (as did the Tonys), so if she places at all, it would have to be alongside Streep in the lead category which is something that hasn't occurred since '91. Unless, as FilmFan said below, they've done a major re-write of some kind, there is no male lead and, therefore, no way of matching SLP's feat of placing in all four acting categories.

[flipp525]

Was it a requirement in the sound category that everyone needed an Edgar Winter haircut? (Does anyone under 40 even know what I'm talking about?)

No, and I'm too lazy to Google. Do you mean something along the lines of long blonde hair on a man?

[Eric]

Kushner’s loss was one of my two most crushing disappointments on the night -- the other was Brave winning over at least two superior efforts (pending my seeing Wreck-it Ralph). It’s always sad when something seems to win by reflex rather than from enthusiasm.

Is there any way Tarantino and Boal can trade Oscars? – make Inglorious Basterds and Zero Dark Thirty screenplay winners, rather than Hurt Locker and Django? This is the first year in a while that I’ve so deeply disapproved of both screenplay winners.

Major, major co-sign here. I can live with basically all of the other winners of the evening (even Anne Hathaway given the general thinness of that field this year), but the two screenplay categories were infuriating, particularly the disregard for Kushner's invigorating work in favor of "Hollywood, what a country!" schtick. (Yes, Argo also has reasonably compelling parallel juggling, but anyone who doesn't think it's the gags at the industry's "expense" that didn't push this over the top probably also thinks police cars can drive as fast as planes at takeoff.)

And it seems to me history will regard the Boal/QT match-ups exactly the same way as you describe -- awarding one too soon before he had a chance to really dazzle, and then giving the other a "way to stick around" consolation prize one sloppy script too late.

[FilmFan720]

Everyone made a big deal over SLP taking four Oscar nominations for acting. I have a sneaking suspicion that August: Osage County will do the same.

Well, I think it was the fact that it got nominated in all four acting categories that was the big story. (Doubt getting four acting nominations wasn't a huge story.) And August: Osage County won't do that.

Unless there is some major rewriting, it can't take all four categories because none of the male roles are big enough for a Lead Actor nomination...and I still think that we are overestimating the film version of this. The play is wonderful, but it doesn't feel like a play that will open up very well, and the casting and directing choices are a little questionable.

[dws1982]

Everyone made a big deal over SLP taking four Oscar nominations for acting. I have a sneaking suspicion that August: Osage County will do the same.

Well, I think it was the fact that it got nominated in all four acting categories that was the big story. (Doubt getting four acting nominations wasn't a huge story.) And August: Osage County won't do that.

[OscarGuy]

Everyone made a big deal over SLP taking four Oscar nominations for acting. I have a sneaking suspicion that August: Osage County will do the same. And next year, Harvey will be back after his disappointing 3-victory tour this year.

[Big Magilla]

I thought she had forgotten Harvey...but couldn't remember if she did or not. She'd thanked him all season, so I guess missing him once wasn't such a bad thing...

She apologized to him privately, but expect him to throw his weight behind Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts next year in August: Osage County. Lawrence has Susanne Bier's Serena again opposite Bradley Cooper as well as the next Hunger Games installment in the can for this year. She has a small role in David O. Russell's next project, the previously titled American Bullshit in which she will be in support of Cooper, Christian Bale and Amy Adams, but she will star in Russell's project after that with a script by fellow Oscar winner Chris Terrio which Harvey is producing which means she will likely be back at the Oscars for the next years, albeit just as a presenter next year.

[anonymous1980]

I thought the Flight as sock puppets sketch was funny. It's at least more interesting than the 2nd act of that movie. Lots of didn't like the "We Saw Your Boobs" number but I really liked it and it's in my head right now.

But, yeah, I do agree that an Oscar host is a thankless job. Seth MacFarlane did try to appeal to both the people in the room and his fans who are tuning in. A lot worked. Some didn't. Overall, I give him a B-.

[OscarGuy]

I thought she had forgotten Harvey...but couldn't remember if she did or not. She'd thanked him all season, so I guess missing him once wasn't such a bad thing...

[Big Magilla]

Did anyone watch any of Jennifer Lawrence’s backstage interviews? Completely charming. This lady’s going to be around a long time.

Nothing charming about "I'm holding a freakin' Oscar" but I did like "I forgot to thank Harvey Weinstein. There goes my career."