80th Annual Academy Awards
That's the truth, i agree completely...Sabin wrote:Don't get me wrong. 'I think 'No Country for Old Men' is probably the best movie to win this decade. But honoring the Coen Brothers isn't the same as giving an Oscar to Martin Scorsese, Peter Jackson, Roman Polanski, Ang Lee, Clint Eastwood, Clint Eastwood again....these are guys who made this movie with absolutely no intention of winning an Oscar and would just as well sit around their living room and just be weird.
Why not clips of the movies? You don't want to draw us in? I don't understand why it's either performance clips or movie clips. Last year did a great job drawing us into each film, each screenplay, and I think in 2001 there was a great segment of watching film editing take place. This show was so concerned about honoring itself it didn't even realize that they're supposed to be about the film. Ultimately, we were watching the most self-absorbed show of all time in its outright unwillingness to do what it is supposed to do: sell us the best movies of the year.
RANDOM THOUGHTS...
I know I biffed my office pool and I'm not alone on this Board. Big surprises. The problem is these are surprises that nobody in America cares about. Nobody the next day is saying MY GOODNESS! ALTHOUGH I THOUGHT MARION COTILLARD WAS A REVELATION AS EDITH PIAF IN LA VIE EN ROSE, I THOUGHT FOR SURE THE QUIET DEVASTATION OF JULIE CHRISTIE WAS A LOCK! Two movies made over $200 million: 'The Bourne Ultimatum' and 'Ratatouille'. Then 'Juno' with $125 million or so. And that is it. A bunch of movies that quiet simply don't feel Oscar-worthy.
Don't get me wrong. 'I think 'No Country for Old Men' is probably the best movie to win this decade. But honoring the Coen Brothers isn't the same as giving an Oscar to Martin Scorsese, Peter Jackson, Roman Polanski, Ang Lee, Clint Eastwood, Clint Eastwood again....these are guys who made this movie with absolutely no intention of winning an Oscar and would just as well sit around their living room and just be weird.
The bigger issue was that the show was terribly produced. Why not clips of the movies? You don't want to draw us in? I don't understand why it's either performance clips or movie clips. Last year did a great job drawing us into each film, each screenplay, and I think in 2001 there was a great segment of watching film editing take place. This show was so concerned about honoring itself it didn't even realize that they're supposed to be about the film. Ultimately, we were watching the most self-absorbed show of all time in its outright unwillingness to do what it is supposed to do: sell us the best movies of the year.
I know I biffed my office pool and I'm not alone on this Board. Big surprises. The problem is these are surprises that nobody in America cares about. Nobody the next day is saying MY GOODNESS! ALTHOUGH I THOUGHT MARION COTILLARD WAS A REVELATION AS EDITH PIAF IN LA VIE EN ROSE, I THOUGHT FOR SURE THE QUIET DEVASTATION OF JULIE CHRISTIE WAS A LOCK! Two movies made over $200 million: 'The Bourne Ultimatum' and 'Ratatouille'. Then 'Juno' with $125 million or so. And that is it. A bunch of movies that quiet simply don't feel Oscar-worthy.
Don't get me wrong. 'I think 'No Country for Old Men' is probably the best movie to win this decade. But honoring the Coen Brothers isn't the same as giving an Oscar to Martin Scorsese, Peter Jackson, Roman Polanski, Ang Lee, Clint Eastwood, Clint Eastwood again....these are guys who made this movie with absolutely no intention of winning an Oscar and would just as well sit around their living room and just be weird.
The bigger issue was that the show was terribly produced. Why not clips of the movies? You don't want to draw us in? I don't understand why it's either performance clips or movie clips. Last year did a great job drawing us into each film, each screenplay, and I think in 2001 there was a great segment of watching film editing take place. This show was so concerned about honoring itself it didn't even realize that they're supposed to be about the film. Ultimately, we were watching the most self-absorbed show of all time in its outright unwillingness to do what it is supposed to do: sell us the best movies of the year.
"How's the despair?"
Sonic Youth wrote: Maybe I won't like the performance either, but her I like. I loved her air of graceful euphoria that's clearly unfeigned. No crude Renee Zellweger stammering or Julia Roberts belligerency. Italiano will say "There's a word for it. It's called EUROPEAN!" And he'd probably be right.
Good to see that my legacy still lives... And it's true, I would say exactly that. Cotillard, Bardem... they have a very European approach to all this, very latin even, and I find it refreshing - I can understand their reactions, it's the way I would probably react too, while even in the recent past, honestly, some speeches have looked to me so mechanical, so fake, so artificial.
One last thing about Cotillard. She wouldn't have been my choice. Actually she would have probably been my third choice this year (after Christie and Linney). Yet... yet I can't accept to see her treated on this board - not that I care much anymore, but probably I still do - as if it were one of the worst choices ever by the Academy. It's not - the movie isn't good, but the performance is a good example of "French grandeur" applied to acting, and by a talented performer (and I have seen her in other movies, so trust me, I know). The typical, tiresome reaction by some ("Greta Garbo never won, Charlie Chaplin never won"...) - and, interestingly, by some who didn't say this when a Halle Berry or a Nicole Kidman won (where they better than Garbo?) is so obviously childish and useless that probably doesn't even deserve a comment. It's a way of playing with history that I don't find honest.
Let's try be objective for once, and to put things in the right context - while she didn't deserve to win, she's still better than some (most?) of the recent winners in this category.
Edited By ITALIANO on 1203949902
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Speaking of which, I don't remember seeing Benigni either...did I just miss it? I kind of felt justified that he was ignored.FilmFan720 wrote:Hustler wrote:Shame on them! In the winning actors segment they avoided Geoffrey Rush´s win just because he wasn´t a familiar face.
Well, even the Academy gets embarrassed by some of their choices!
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Well, even the Academy gets embarrassed by some of their choices!Hustler wrote:Shame on them! In the winning actors segment they avoided Geoffrey Rush´s win just because he wasn´t a familiar face.
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Actually I thought it was one of the highlights, but it set up false hopes that there woudl be more reminiscences like it from stars who had won in years past. Babs' win was 40 years ago, half a lifetime in Oscar years, yet only Sidney Poitier, of winners prior to that, was given the opportunity. No Patricia Neal, Sophia Loren, Joan Fontaine, Jennifer Jones, Olivia de Havilland, Luise Rainer or even Ernest Borgnine or the ubiquitous Mickey Rooney of the vanishing group of old time winners. Of more recent winners, no Judi Dench, Maggie Smith or Ang Lee. Surely they could have gotten more and shown them instead of that lame opening bit or those dopey montages on binoculars and screams.Sonic Youth wrote:I'm sure I'm not the only one who could have done without watching Babs self-proclaim her fabulousness.
The first 80 years of Oscar presentation by George Clooney was a good one. The second one was not, from Jack Nicholson's smirk to the films themselves, many of which, particularly in recent years, as Damien pointed out, are an embarassment. It was another waste of time they could have used for past remembrances or to expand the memoriam segment.
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Yup. Could listen to her all night.The Original BJ wrote:My favorite presenter was Helen Mirren, by far. What a goddess. I loved the expression on her face as she walked up to mike: "Yeah. I'm Helen Mirren."
I hated the Price Waterhouse Cooper bit.
I think that was just one of several things they probably put together at the last minute, in desperation.
That hideous opening animation CLEARLY was another one, in lieu of a proper opening sketch they likely couldn't finish in time. In fact, I could swear I've seen it before.
"What the hell?"
Win Butler
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This was the sort of broadcast the word "standard" was invented for. It was very much the standard Academy Award broadcast. Not one for the ages, not one that will go down in infamy. It embodied the wonderful, the hilarious, the corny, the overly self-reverential, the embarrassing, all in one package. I'm in a very forgiving mood this year, and I excuse some of the inexcusable decisions made for this production considering the disruptive circumstances Gil Cates and everyone had to go to in order to get this thing on the air and make it run smoothly. I'd think there would not have been a tedious montage of all previous 79 Best Picture winners if they couldn't help it. Much of the stuff that came in between the presentations felt like gaps to fill up the time, and they probably were. Thing is, there was no feeling of an overriding theme this year. The "80th Anniversary" theme felt arbitrary, slapped on, oddly lacking in ceremony. And although it's nice to see clips from previous Oscar shows, eventually it became wearying.
Frankly, I was fighting sleep by the end (a first in I don't know how long), so I didn't give the whole show my full attention. Maybe it was better than I thought. For as far as I could stay with it, Jon Stewart was much stronger on this go-round. Last time, he was very nervous. This year, he was confident enough to acknowledge when something sucked (like the binocular/bad dream montages). And I don't know if it was his idea to bring the co-writer/performer of "Falling Slowly" back out to give her speech - when her mic was cut, my wife and I both called out "God, that's rude!" - but kudos to him for doing it. Not only was it the right thing to do, but it also gave the appearence that he was a host in command of the proceedings. And it made his stock go up. Maybe Cates didn't like it, but just wait. The auditorium loved it, so will the critics, and I'm sure so did all the message board participants on The Envelope, Oscar Watch and countless others. He's safe for another hosting gig.
And this time, he dared to be political. Good for him. And now that he told a Clinton joke, I'm, like, so sure the Michael Medveds are gonna get on his butt for bringing political humor to the Oscars. Mmm-hmm, yeah sure.
Can we now retire this "Damn, the Oscars are soooooo predictible" line, at least BEFORE the Oscars are given out? Yeah, a lot of categories are going to be predictible. Some years are going to be more predictible than others. That's the price you pay for holding the pre-Oscar season under such scrutiny. Yes, Best Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actor and the Screenplay awards went according to the tea leaves. But there WERE surprises, big and small. Both Actress races were REAL races. How many expected "Bourne Identity" to sweep their noms? Or "Transformers" to come away Oscar-less? Or "Taxi to the Dark Side" to win Documentary? Sure, this year predictibility won out over shockers - this was no 2003, but at least it wasn't another 1995 either.
Very much appreciated the generous clips for the acting nominees, although Ellen Page's was a poor one. And for Clooney's and Day-Lewis's, I wish they'd have shown something we hadn't already seen a thousand times before.
I'm sure I'm not the only one who could have done without watching Babs self-proclaim her fabulousness.
I know a lot of people here are disappointed with Cotillard's win. I've no opinion since I haven't seen the film, or "Away From Her". Maybe I won't like the performance either, but her I like. I loved her air of graceful euphoria that's clearly unfeigned. No crude Renee Zellweger stammering or Julia Roberts belligerency. Italiano will say "There's a word for it. It's called EUROPEAN!" And he'd probably be right. I liked her best during the Best Makeup segment, when she had barely contained joy on her face for her winning colleagues. And why not? She began and ended her workday with them, and I'm sure they formed a special bond.
Did I mention I love Tilda Swinton? As long as you have an awesome personality, you don't need to bring notes onstage with you.
And congratulations to the Coen Brothers. Never thought I'd see the day...
Oh, did I also mention I was fighting sleep? Good night! Happy New Year, my Oscar compatriots!
Edited By Sonic Youth on 1203922537
Frankly, I was fighting sleep by the end (a first in I don't know how long), so I didn't give the whole show my full attention. Maybe it was better than I thought. For as far as I could stay with it, Jon Stewart was much stronger on this go-round. Last time, he was very nervous. This year, he was confident enough to acknowledge when something sucked (like the binocular/bad dream montages). And I don't know if it was his idea to bring the co-writer/performer of "Falling Slowly" back out to give her speech - when her mic was cut, my wife and I both called out "God, that's rude!" - but kudos to him for doing it. Not only was it the right thing to do, but it also gave the appearence that he was a host in command of the proceedings. And it made his stock go up. Maybe Cates didn't like it, but just wait. The auditorium loved it, so will the critics, and I'm sure so did all the message board participants on The Envelope, Oscar Watch and countless others. He's safe for another hosting gig.
And this time, he dared to be political. Good for him. And now that he told a Clinton joke, I'm, like, so sure the Michael Medveds are gonna get on his butt for bringing political humor to the Oscars. Mmm-hmm, yeah sure.
Can we now retire this "Damn, the Oscars are soooooo predictible" line, at least BEFORE the Oscars are given out? Yeah, a lot of categories are going to be predictible. Some years are going to be more predictible than others. That's the price you pay for holding the pre-Oscar season under such scrutiny. Yes, Best Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actor and the Screenplay awards went according to the tea leaves. But there WERE surprises, big and small. Both Actress races were REAL races. How many expected "Bourne Identity" to sweep their noms? Or "Transformers" to come away Oscar-less? Or "Taxi to the Dark Side" to win Documentary? Sure, this year predictibility won out over shockers - this was no 2003, but at least it wasn't another 1995 either.
Very much appreciated the generous clips for the acting nominees, although Ellen Page's was a poor one. And for Clooney's and Day-Lewis's, I wish they'd have shown something we hadn't already seen a thousand times before.
I'm sure I'm not the only one who could have done without watching Babs self-proclaim her fabulousness.
I know a lot of people here are disappointed with Cotillard's win. I've no opinion since I haven't seen the film, or "Away From Her". Maybe I won't like the performance either, but her I like. I loved her air of graceful euphoria that's clearly unfeigned. No crude Renee Zellweger stammering or Julia Roberts belligerency. Italiano will say "There's a word for it. It's called EUROPEAN!" And he'd probably be right. I liked her best during the Best Makeup segment, when she had barely contained joy on her face for her winning colleagues. And why not? She began and ended her workday with them, and I'm sure they formed a special bond.
Did I mention I love Tilda Swinton? As long as you have an awesome personality, you don't need to bring notes onstage with you.
And congratulations to the Coen Brothers. Never thought I'd see the day...
Oh, did I also mention I was fighting sleep? Good night! Happy New Year, my Oscar compatriots!
Edited By Sonic Youth on 1203922537
"What the hell?"
Win Butler
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Perhaps I'm the only person who felt this way, but I thought the show itself was pretty lousy. Jon Stewart, who I normally like a lot, did nothing for me, and the montages were horrid. Binoculars/periscopes? A montage of bees? Even the Best Picture montage felt more like a laundry list than something cinematically exciting. And where were the clips for the Best Picture nominees?
Also, you realize how important for the ceremony it is for the music branch not to mess up the Song nominees: sitting through a couple of the selections was excruciating. (And I'm with everyone in wondering why Happy Working Song was performed solo.)
Mostly, the list of winners was impressive, though I'm surprised at how much of a bummer even a good ceremony can be when your deal-breaker doesn't come through. In my case, I was truly sad to see my favorite performance of the year, Julie Christie, lose to one I wasn't all that wild about. I also wonder how long this pretty-girl-gone-ugly thing can last. It's practically a joke at this point, and yet they keep winning trophies. It didn't help that EVERYONE at my party was rooting for Cotillard, but Christie seemed genuinely excited that Cotillard won, so I didn't feel as bad. (Related point: whose STUPID idea was it to present this category so early in the evening? It practically killed the suspense for the rest of the night.)
Biggest shocker was The Golden Compass winning Visual Effects. My entire group gasped when the winner was announced. A bunch of them also groaned, as they had predicted Transformers would go 3 for 3 at our party pool -- which I won by the way -- and knew it wouldn't possibly pick up either sound trophy. Most of us here were right that the Kevin O'Connell thing wouldn't pan out, and the critically certified blockbuster Bourne would pick up those trophies instead.
Few people predicted Taxi to the Dark Side, but it's a very worthy winner. As it's now in theaters, the Oscar will hopefully bring more people to this important film.
Loved the Once performance, plus the wonderful acceptance speeches -- parts 1 and 2.
Damien was absolutely right. The voters can't get enough of corsets in the Costume category, even with fine work in far more liked films.
I'm actually a little surprised my Tilda Swinton prediction panned out. I was rooting for Ryan or Blanchett, but Swinton's quite a fine actress and I liked her performance. She sure is weird, though.
I think Javier Bardem and Daniel Day-Lewis are both total class acts, and I loved their performances, so I was happy for their inevitable victories.
My favorite presenter was Helen Mirren, by far. What a goddess. I loved the expression on her face as she walked up to mike: "Yeah. I'm Helen Mirren."
I hated the Price Waterhouse Cooper bit. Thank god we've settled the fact that the Oscars are FAIR! I was getting worried the Piaf patrol had infiltrated the Academy or something.
To bring this post full-circle, how is it that a year with better than usual nominees, and a pretty solid slate of winners (even I acknowledge Cotillard's acclaim -- history certainly won't view her as a disaster of a winner), that everything can feel so...blah? I guess after the contentious Best Picture races in '04 and '06 (which resulted in outcomes most of us liked), and the shocking upset in '05 (which most of us loathed), this year can only feel anticlimactic by comparison.
Also, you realize how important for the ceremony it is for the music branch not to mess up the Song nominees: sitting through a couple of the selections was excruciating. (And I'm with everyone in wondering why Happy Working Song was performed solo.)
Mostly, the list of winners was impressive, though I'm surprised at how much of a bummer even a good ceremony can be when your deal-breaker doesn't come through. In my case, I was truly sad to see my favorite performance of the year, Julie Christie, lose to one I wasn't all that wild about. I also wonder how long this pretty-girl-gone-ugly thing can last. It's practically a joke at this point, and yet they keep winning trophies. It didn't help that EVERYONE at my party was rooting for Cotillard, but Christie seemed genuinely excited that Cotillard won, so I didn't feel as bad. (Related point: whose STUPID idea was it to present this category so early in the evening? It practically killed the suspense for the rest of the night.)
Biggest shocker was The Golden Compass winning Visual Effects. My entire group gasped when the winner was announced. A bunch of them also groaned, as they had predicted Transformers would go 3 for 3 at our party pool -- which I won by the way -- and knew it wouldn't possibly pick up either sound trophy. Most of us here were right that the Kevin O'Connell thing wouldn't pan out, and the critically certified blockbuster Bourne would pick up those trophies instead.
Few people predicted Taxi to the Dark Side, but it's a very worthy winner. As it's now in theaters, the Oscar will hopefully bring more people to this important film.
Loved the Once performance, plus the wonderful acceptance speeches -- parts 1 and 2.
Damien was absolutely right. The voters can't get enough of corsets in the Costume category, even with fine work in far more liked films.
I'm actually a little surprised my Tilda Swinton prediction panned out. I was rooting for Ryan or Blanchett, but Swinton's quite a fine actress and I liked her performance. She sure is weird, though.
I think Javier Bardem and Daniel Day-Lewis are both total class acts, and I loved their performances, so I was happy for their inevitable victories.
My favorite presenter was Helen Mirren, by far. What a goddess. I loved the expression on her face as she walked up to mike: "Yeah. I'm Helen Mirren."
I hated the Price Waterhouse Cooper bit. Thank god we've settled the fact that the Oscars are FAIR! I was getting worried the Piaf patrol had infiltrated the Academy or something.
To bring this post full-circle, how is it that a year with better than usual nominees, and a pretty solid slate of winners (even I acknowledge Cotillard's acclaim -- history certainly won't view her as a disaster of a winner), that everything can feel so...blah? I guess after the contentious Best Picture races in '04 and '06 (which resulted in outcomes most of us liked), and the shocking upset in '05 (which most of us loathed), this year can only feel anticlimactic by comparison.
Jon Stewart was very good, albeit falling short of Steve Martin -- the gold standard for Oscar hosts.
God the montage of Best Picture winners was embarrassing.
Edited By Damien on 1203969362
God the montage of Best Picture winners was embarrassing.
Edited By Damien on 1203969362
"Y'know, that's one of the things I like about Mitt Romney. He's been consistent since he changed his mind." -- Christine O'Donnell