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connielane at 12:34pm on 28/02/2011 under oscars
connielane at 12:34pm on 28/02/2011 under oscarsIt feels sad to say, but I think I may have outgrown the Oscars. I don't think I've ever been so "meh" about a ceremony since I've started watching. The magic and the movie-love was just missing. I'm sure, however, that part of it can be blamed on this particular telecast. Former perennial Oscar host Billy Crystal got the second of the two standing ovations of the night, and when he came out I know I was not alone in wishing he would take over emcee duties. Was James Franco stoned or what?!
* I was quite happy with The King's Speech taking Best Picture, but um, way to tip the hat with the clips of the nominated films underscored throughout by the final moments of the winning film. Also, HELLO SPOILERS. Maybe not everyone has seen the film yet and doesn't need to know everything that happens in the last few minutes. Just a thought. I did love, however, that when it won, the producer got up there and thanked his boyfriend. Not something you see a lot on this show.
* This was a pretty big "spread the love" year, with the biggest winners number-wise being The King's Speech and Inception, with 4 wins each. Some consolation for people who were behind Inception, or at least it should be.
* I don't know if you paid much attention to the stage design this year, but the set was kind of amazing with the half-moon screen and the arches emanating from it, all of which served as an elaborate movie screen to project accompanying movie clips upon.
* I like what they did for Best Actor and Actress, with the previous year's winner doing the tributes for each actor/actress. Jeff Bridges, especially, seemed as if he was talking to his daughters (though I guess Annette Bening is more like a sister :P). Bridges and Bullock did a great job with this, but I can't really see Firth and Portman pulling it off quite as well if they decided to do it again next year.
* Loved the running gags on Twitter (and probably elsewhere) about the real identity of Banksy. My favorite idea was Kirk Douglas. Speaking of which, WASN'T KIRK DOUGLAS AWESOME? (And a little creepy?)
* Melissa Leo was my least favorite of the Supporting Actress nominees, and I was a little annoyed at first at what I perceived to be fake surprise when she won. But damn if she didn't win me over a *little* bit by being so hilariously hammy on stage. I don't think that's a put-on, actually. I think she's been an outsider so long that she really just isn't aware of how her behavior is perceived. And there's something kind of refreshing about that. Oh, and LOL FOUR-SECOND DELAY IS UNEXPECTEDLY USEFUL.
* One of the nominees for most bizarre presenting moment of the night HAS to go to No Country for Old Men co-stars Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin, who for no reason anyone could figure out were wearing matching white jackets with white ties and were very giggly. It's like they were nine-year-olds and one of them had just farted on stage. Or maybe they were hitting James Franco's backstage stash.
* Best acceptance speech goes to David Seidler, winning for his King's Speech screenplay. I thought it was kind of sweet that when Sorkin won, he shook Seidler's hand before going to the stage. Did they become award circuit buddies?
* Most hilarious (and confusing) accpetance moment goes to Aaron Sorkin, who demanded respect from his daughter's guinea pig. WHAT.
* Strangest dress I saw last night was worn by Cate Blanchett, who looked like a child had sewn a Bedazzled cardboard frame to the front of her dress.
* As many fail-tastic decisions as the producers made for this telecast, one of the GOOD ones was including a video clip of people - real people, not Hollywood people - talking about their favorite movie songs. They REALLY should have done that for other categories. Best scripted moment of the night.
* Oh no, I'm wrong. Best moment of the night, BY FAR, combining WIN with WHAAAT?! - Ron Weasley and the "Tiny Ball of Light" song. Harry's face makes it, but I also loved Hermione's "HEY!"
* I loved that Randy Newman used his acceptance speech to stick a finger in the eye of the people insisting that winners not thank lists of people because it doesn't make good television. Also that there were only four song nominees.
* Another bad job on the In Memoriam. Please just drop the live performances and use a movie score or something, because your producers can NEVER resist putting the camera back on whoever's performing and thereby RUINING the montage. This thing is SO EASY to get right; why is it continuously sodomized?! (Points must be given, however, for muting the audience during that bit, so we didn't have to hear who the most popular dead person is.)
* Another nominee for most bizarre presenting moment was Best Director, which was presented by last year's winner Kathryn Bigelow, who was mysteriously forced to share the camera spot with her introducer, Hilary Swank. Hilary even handed Hooper the Oscar! What was that about?
* Natalie Portman, who has been called "chilly" during this award season, was the first person to make me cry in the whole shebang last night. First, her fiance helped her up the steps, and then, gesturing to her pregnant belly, she thanked him for giving her the "greatest role of her life." Also, she had the best dress, I thought.
* Oh no, I'm wrong again. I got choked up earlier when Christian Bale got positively weepy over his wife and daughter. Also, LOL at him saying he wouldn't drop the f-bomb like Melissa Leo, because he'd done that enough. Still doing penance for yelling at the lighting guy, I see. :)
* I made a decision to skip Harry Knowles's liveblog this year, because I knew he'd be pissed about The King's Speech and especially Colin Firth winning (and those were two of the more predictable wins of the night). I am SO glad Firth won, though, and I loved his speech and the threat of a celebratory dance. Great choice for a clip for him, too. I was thinking the "Camptown Races" thing, but the "not a king" breakdown was even better.
* Another great scripted moment (at least I *think* it was scripted) was Steven Spielberg's bit about Best Picture winners and losers, which I guess can be boiled down to "this award is meaningless" LOL. I mean, there are plenty of not-so-great movies that have been nominated for and not won Best Picture, but there's some seriously great company at the "losers' table." Great films are great films, regardless of awards.
* No idea what they were thinking with the children's choir at the end there. That was just bad. And then Anne Hathaway high tenning the kids and shouting "WOO!" like she was the happiest person in the room that the show was over. I wish the people who put this show on would stop caring so much about making Good Television and just have a classy, traditional presentation. Nobody watches the Oscars to see what spectacular new element they're going to bring to the show. When they try to jazz it up, it almost always goes the way of Rob Lowe and Snow White.
Last year I promised myself I wouldn't follow the Oscar punditry, but I did, and I think I'll amend that resolution for the coming year. I like following it through the festivals and until the end of the year. It's the best way to keep abreast on what's coming out, what's important, and what's, well, good. But I'm shutting off around December, when the "race" starts. It just sucks so much of the fun out of it. And all the backlash is really upsetting to me. I don't need all that; in the big picture, this is just not that important.
* I was quite happy with The King's Speech taking Best Picture, but um, way to tip the hat with the clips of the nominated films underscored throughout by the final moments of the winning film. Also, HELLO SPOILERS. Maybe not everyone has seen the film yet and doesn't need to know everything that happens in the last few minutes. Just a thought. I did love, however, that when it won, the producer got up there and thanked his boyfriend. Not something you see a lot on this show.
* This was a pretty big "spread the love" year, with the biggest winners number-wise being The King's Speech and Inception, with 4 wins each. Some consolation for people who were behind Inception, or at least it should be.
* I don't know if you paid much attention to the stage design this year, but the set was kind of amazing with the half-moon screen and the arches emanating from it, all of which served as an elaborate movie screen to project accompanying movie clips upon.
* I like what they did for Best Actor and Actress, with the previous year's winner doing the tributes for each actor/actress. Jeff Bridges, especially, seemed as if he was talking to his daughters (though I guess Annette Bening is more like a sister :P). Bridges and Bullock did a great job with this, but I can't really see Firth and Portman pulling it off quite as well if they decided to do it again next year.
* Loved the running gags on Twitter (and probably elsewhere) about the real identity of Banksy. My favorite idea was Kirk Douglas. Speaking of which, WASN'T KIRK DOUGLAS AWESOME? (And a little creepy?)
* Melissa Leo was my least favorite of the Supporting Actress nominees, and I was a little annoyed at first at what I perceived to be fake surprise when she won. But damn if she didn't win me over a *little* bit by being so hilariously hammy on stage. I don't think that's a put-on, actually. I think she's been an outsider so long that she really just isn't aware of how her behavior is perceived. And there's something kind of refreshing about that. Oh, and LOL FOUR-SECOND DELAY IS UNEXPECTEDLY USEFUL.
* One of the nominees for most bizarre presenting moment of the night HAS to go to No Country for Old Men co-stars Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin, who for no reason anyone could figure out were wearing matching white jackets with white ties and were very giggly. It's like they were nine-year-olds and one of them had just farted on stage. Or maybe they were hitting James Franco's backstage stash.
* Best acceptance speech goes to David Seidler, winning for his King's Speech screenplay. I thought it was kind of sweet that when Sorkin won, he shook Seidler's hand before going to the stage. Did they become award circuit buddies?
* Most hilarious (and confusing) accpetance moment goes to Aaron Sorkin, who demanded respect from his daughter's guinea pig. WHAT.
* Strangest dress I saw last night was worn by Cate Blanchett, who looked like a child had sewn a Bedazzled cardboard frame to the front of her dress.
* As many fail-tastic decisions as the producers made for this telecast, one of the GOOD ones was including a video clip of people - real people, not Hollywood people - talking about their favorite movie songs. They REALLY should have done that for other categories. Best scripted moment of the night.
* Oh no, I'm wrong. Best moment of the night, BY FAR, combining WIN with WHAAAT?! - Ron Weasley and the "Tiny Ball of Light" song. Harry's face makes it, but I also loved Hermione's "HEY!"
* I loved that Randy Newman used his acceptance speech to stick a finger in the eye of the people insisting that winners not thank lists of people because it doesn't make good television. Also that there were only four song nominees.
* Another bad job on the In Memoriam. Please just drop the live performances and use a movie score or something, because your producers can NEVER resist putting the camera back on whoever's performing and thereby RUINING the montage. This thing is SO EASY to get right; why is it continuously sodomized?! (Points must be given, however, for muting the audience during that bit, so we didn't have to hear who the most popular dead person is.)
* Another nominee for most bizarre presenting moment was Best Director, which was presented by last year's winner Kathryn Bigelow, who was mysteriously forced to share the camera spot with her introducer, Hilary Swank. Hilary even handed Hooper the Oscar! What was that about?
* Natalie Portman, who has been called "chilly" during this award season, was the first person to make me cry in the whole shebang last night. First, her fiance helped her up the steps, and then, gesturing to her pregnant belly, she thanked him for giving her the "greatest role of her life." Also, she had the best dress, I thought.
* Oh no, I'm wrong again. I got choked up earlier when Christian Bale got positively weepy over his wife and daughter. Also, LOL at him saying he wouldn't drop the f-bomb like Melissa Leo, because he'd done that enough. Still doing penance for yelling at the lighting guy, I see. :)
* I made a decision to skip Harry Knowles's liveblog this year, because I knew he'd be pissed about The King's Speech and especially Colin Firth winning (and those were two of the more predictable wins of the night). I am SO glad Firth won, though, and I loved his speech and the threat of a celebratory dance. Great choice for a clip for him, too. I was thinking the "Camptown Races" thing, but the "not a king" breakdown was even better.
* Another great scripted moment (at least I *think* it was scripted) was Steven Spielberg's bit about Best Picture winners and losers, which I guess can be boiled down to "this award is meaningless" LOL. I mean, there are plenty of not-so-great movies that have been nominated for and not won Best Picture, but there's some seriously great company at the "losers' table." Great films are great films, regardless of awards.
* No idea what they were thinking with the children's choir at the end there. That was just bad. And then Anne Hathaway high tenning the kids and shouting "WOO!" like she was the happiest person in the room that the show was over. I wish the people who put this show on would stop caring so much about making Good Television and just have a classy, traditional presentation. Nobody watches the Oscars to see what spectacular new element they're going to bring to the show. When they try to jazz it up, it almost always goes the way of Rob Lowe and Snow White.
Last year I promised myself I wouldn't follow the Oscar punditry, but I did, and I think I'll amend that resolution for the coming year. I like following it through the festivals and until the end of the year. It's the best way to keep abreast on what's coming out, what's important, and what's, well, good. But I'm shutting off around December, when the "race" starts. It just sucks so much of the fun out of it. And all the backlash is really upsetting to me. I don't need all that; in the big picture, this is just not that important.