Monday, February 26, 2007

8 Thoughts on the 79th Academy Award Show

1. Al Gore...your movie was boring, and you won because you're famous, your film (which you did not produce or direct) deals with a topic Hollywood is interested (thank you Leo for reinforcing that) and apparently the Academy either really like's Mac computers or they really like PowerPoint presentations. I was very sad as well when dreamgirls lost out to this boring film in the song catagory. A shame. In case anyone is confused, Gore did not win an academy award last night, he just talked a lot.

2. One of the best Academy Award shows in a long time. Good job Ellen. Producers good job for not showing too many montages. (By far the most unnecessary segment was the Michael Mann segment with the American Film clips). The rolling people puppets were kind of wierd, but I liked them, especially when they made the penguins. Also the sound effects orchestra was very impressive.

3. The Martin Scorsese moment was pretty memorable, classy speech and the standing ovation, of course was very moving. All the better because it was followed up with an eventual win by the Departed.

4. I correctly predicted 13 of the awards (Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Adapted Screenplay included) but totally missed it on some of the other catagories. It's fun when it's not all etched in stone. (My wife had 11 right).

5. The Academy Awards are like my birthday I got so many great phone calls and voice messages from friends and family in honor of the day. Thanks to all who called, including those who simply wanted to tell me their favorite part of the presentation was when Will Farrell, Jack Black and John C. Reilly sang their sad ballad.

6. Although some have claimed the academy awards are irrelevant, I feel like their selections were generally in line with the thoughts of main-line culture. The reason my wife was able to select 11 of the winners was largely due to the fact that she has seen most of the films and was selecting who she felt was most likely to win based on their performance (not by tracking their buzz and precursor awards).

7. Disney Pixar's Cars lost out to Happy Feet. You know Pixar is blaming pop culture trends, marketing, and release schedule. Expect the campaign for Brad Bird's Ratatoille to be bigger than ever. (Remember Brad Bird's film The Incredibles scored 4 noms and 2 wins).
8. Only Helen Mirren could give such a classy speech while holding one of her earrings in her hand.


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14 comments:

Anonymous said...

I loved Mirren's speech. The highlight of the show for me.

general125 said...

Thank you for pointing out Al Gore did not win an Oscar. The song that won for that movie had to be the single most pretentious song I’ve ever fast forwarded through in my life (this is a good point to thank the baby Jesus for time-shifting television technology).

Now, your wife getting 11 right and your statement that Hollywood is "generally in line with the thoughts of main-line culture" is a false dichotomy. Your wife was one of the few that saw most of the movies. I'm glad you feel the voters cast their ballots based on performance (with the exception of An Inconvenient Truth), but the Oscars the last two years are nowhere in-line with mainstream America. If that were the case, Dreamgirls, The Devil Wears Prada, and The Departed would of had more noteworthy nominations -- actor, director, picture, and screenplay. That said, I don't disagree with any of the big 6 winners. I do feel Borat should have won best original screenplay, but whatever.

I wonder if Al Gore traveled on a private jet to LA? Just a green thought.

BTW - Helen Mirren was "getting it done" last night.

Addicted to Films said...

Liked the shadow puppets too. Cool and creative.

Kimberly Ann said...

nice summary. i only wish i would have out-predicted you :-)

Terence Towles Canote said...

For me the evening had two surprises. The first was Pan's Labyrinth losing to The Lives of Others. That wasn't so bad, given the quality of the latter of the film. On the other hand, I was shocked that Happy Feet beat both Monster House and Cars. I guess penguins must still be the in thing....

Anonymous said...

My daughter thought Inconvenient Truth was the bomb diggity. She's all over the case for global warming now.

And I have to say that as much as I don't appreciate Al Gore and don't really bother with the Oscars (or with movies) much anymore, I'm glad that his film has made my daughter aware of the criminal neglect of the world that we stewards of creation have perpetrated and continue to perpetrate.

I think the verdict is still out on global warming, but the case against us for abusing our responsibility to steward the Lord's Earth is quite clear, achingly so, and getting clearer all the time.

Sher said...

What the heck is Pan's Labyrith? They kept winning, and of course, none of us had ever heard of it! (But that is probably not a surprise to you!)

Dale said...

Good points on Gore and the gang. I haven't seen the Gore film but did hear a critic say something to the effect of 'I'm sorry the polar bears are dying but this was a 2 hour PowerPoint presentation and it was boring'. It made me laugh pretty hard. I don't have a problem with greening, just boring.

Nice post.

crackers and cheese said...

Good job on the Oscar picks! I'm surprised Pan's didn't win best foreign language film, but still won three other awards. Wasn't there some blurb at the end about only the academy winners who attended a special screening could vote on foreign language film, documentaries, and shorts?

Jacob said...

Seriously when is Will Ferrell going to win an Oscar? The man can act. He's got a new movie coming out March 20th. And he can sing and improv, the BEST!! You are a great Oscar predictor.....NOOOTTTTTTTT (courtesy of Borat who also should have won something) And call us back next time!

Attila the Mom said...

Love the recap and analysis!! We're often left scratching our heads after the Oscars (Gwyneth Paltrow over Cate Blanchett?). I'm so glad Helen Mirren won!

Glenn Dunks said...

About the Truth thing. You're my hero! I love it. I sort of hate that movie and it bugs me that all these people are claiming it's a masterpiece or whatever. Like, please. It wasn't cinematic at all. Just a dull lecture. And yes, it bugs me too when people say "Al Gore won the Academy Award..." HE DIDN'T WIN! Davis Guggenheim won for doing zero research, zero investigation and for merely plonking a camera down in front of a stage as Gore gave a speech. Ugh.

Anonymous said...

Come on Gore's movie was really a classic depiction of global warming and its upcoming effect on our lives....Yeah the presentation might appear a little sluggish..but the concept is very much cleared....

Anonymous said...

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