In Memoriam

[Greg]

The reason I was hoping the last person In Memoriam would be Norman Jewison is that it could end with the scene in Moonstruck in the kitchen where Olympia Dukakis says, "Te amo;" and, Vincent Gardenia responds with, "Anch'io ti amo."

[Big Magilla]

I thought I said it here, but it may have been in another thread or someplace else, but I think they deliberately chose Gambon and Turner to confound people like us.

Gambon was a fine character actor, but did he rate being the first person shown after Navalny? No.

Tina Turner, who should have been included somewhere in the mix not so much for her minimal film appearance but for being the subject of a well-regarded film biography, did not rate the last image shown before that blink and you'll miss it list of those apparently not important enough to rate having their picture shown.

I had thought Navalny might be the last person mentioned because of the recency of his death, but then I thought Treat Williams might get the spot because he was in the headlines last week when the guy who caused his death was convicted with Williams' son saying he forgave him - the guy, by the way, getting no jail time.

[Mister Tee]

People have often complained that the concentration on the performer has obscured some of the names of those being remembered, but this year was the worst -- everyone at my place was shouting they couldn't see them. And they kept moving the screens around, making it even harder to focus on them.

And, okay, here's my story about Tina Turner vis a vis this list:

We use Last in In Memoriam as a tie-breaker, so I compile a list of those I consider most likely. I sent a copy to one friend with whom I do this by email, and she emailed back, What about Tina Turner?, whom I'd excluded. I said, For what? -- Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome? She's undoubtedly a recording legend, but why would you include her on a list of film people? Aretha didn't even make the montage the year she died, and she'd had The Blues Brothers movies.

But, someone at AMPAS decided Tina not only deserved to be on the list, she should have the place of honor. She's certainly as Famous as anyone on the list, but just as certainly not for film.

For the record, I checked her IMDB page, and she's got 61 credits -- but 55 of them are for music videos. I had forgotten she was The Acid Queen in Tommy -- a film I saw a lifetime ago -- but, apart from that and Mad Max, she was apparently in the dread Sgt. Pepper movie and The Last Action Hero, neither of which I had the slightest interest in seeing.

I truly don't get this decision. But my friend is laughing at me for my obtuseness.

[Big Magilla]

You mean the long list they flashed by that no one with normal or less than normal eyesight could see?

[taki15]

Not sure if he is the biggest name they missed, but where was Treat Williams?

He was among the many names at the very end along with Burt Young .

[Big Magilla]

Not sure if he is the biggest name they missed, but where was Treat Williams?

[Big Magilla]

Full list:

Michael Gambon
Norman Jewison
Harry Belafonte
Diana Giorgutti
Alan Arkin
Nitin Chandrakant Desai
Bo Goldman
Norman Reynolds
Julian Sands
Mark Gustafson
Andre Braugher
Chita Rivera
Tom Wilkinson
Glynis Johns
Jane Birkin
Paul Reubens
Piper Laurie
Richard Roundtree
Ryan O'Neal
Cynthia Weil
Bill Lee
Ryuichi Sakamoto
Robbie Robertson
Margaret Riley
Hengameh Panahi
Michael Latt
Nancy Buirski
Sue Marx
Peter Berkos
Osvaldo Desideri
Joanna Merlin
Erik Lomis
Glenn Farr
Leon Ichaso
Robert M. Young
Greg Morrison
Jake Bloom
Matthew Perry
John Bailey
Richard Lewis
Edward Marks
John Refoua
Lawrence Turman
Lee Sun-Kyun
Dewitt L. Sage Jr.
Arthur Schmidt
Bill Butler
Carl Weathers
William Friedkin
Glenda Jackson
Tina Turner

[Big Magilla]

Confirmed:

The in memoriam segment for the 2024 Oscars began with a message from recently deceased Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

The clip came from the documentary "Navalny," which won best documentary feature film at the 2023 awards ceremony.

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing," Navalny said as the tribute commenced.

The 2024 in memoriam featured dancers as the orchestra played before Andrea Bocelli was joined by his son Matteo Bocelli to sing a version of his song “Time to Say Goodbye.” As they sang the haunting ballad, photos and clips of recently deceased stars were displayed.

Tina Turner was the last whose face was shown before they listed too many other decedents to be properly be seen.

[Big Magilla]

If they showed Navalny it was really in the blink of an eye because I sure missed him.

[Sonic Youth]

Went by too fast.

Michael Gambon, first?

Shouldn't that be Navalny?

[Sonic Youth]

What was the point of that big screen TV we bought? We still couldn't see half the names.

[Big Magilla]

Went by too fast.

Michael Gambon, first?

Tina Turner, last.