Oscars 2013, redux
So the Oscar telecast was a disaster. I'm not going to say much about it since it's been over a week now and lots of people have already criticized Seth MacFarlane's performance better than I could. I have never been a fan of his in the first place, and I think whoever hired him is an idiot, but he was actually not even the only reason why the show sucked so much. (Honestly, one of the other big reasons why that opening bit was offensive to me was that it went on for almost TWENTY FUCKING MINUTES.) The whole thing was a huge mess of structure and completely masturbatory on the part of the producers (this was not the fucking Tony Awards, and no one gives a shit that you produced Chicago). And the absolute worst moment of the entire night had to be when the VFX guys were so rudely played off by the theme from JAWS while making a meaningful and impassioned plea about the troubles facing VFX houses in Hollywood right now, and right when the guy said, "And I want you all to remember--," THEY CUT OFF THE FUCKING MICROPHONE.
The awards themselves, though, were pretty freaking great. Granted, I still haven't seen a single one of the Best Picture nominees (that'll change tonight - I'm finally getting to see Silver Linings Playbook!!!) but, with the possible exception of Lincoln, I really do want to see them all. And I love all the actors who won too. AND ANG!!!!!!!! I'M SO HAPPY HE WON. SUCH A DELIGHTFUL UPSET. And I really love that the winners were all spread around, like there was no one film that really dominated.
And all of that is why I watch - FOR THE AWARDS. Honestly, all of my biggest Oscar memories are of the winners, not the hosts or the musical numbers:
I remember Shakespeare in Love's big upset win (still the best Oscar moment of my life).
I remember Gwyneth Paltrow weeping in her pink dress.
I remember Roberto Benigni jumping all over the seats.
I remember Adrien Brody planting a huge kiss on Halle Berry.
I remember Marion Cotillard's "Thank you life, thank you love!"
I remember Jon Stewart bringing Marketa Irglova back out to finish her speech (which is as close as I get to a memory of an Oscar host).
Those moments are why I watch.
The awards themselves, though, were pretty freaking great. Granted, I still haven't seen a single one of the Best Picture nominees (that'll change tonight - I'm finally getting to see Silver Linings Playbook!!!) but, with the possible exception of Lincoln, I really do want to see them all. And I love all the actors who won too. AND ANG!!!!!!!! I'M SO HAPPY HE WON. SUCH A DELIGHTFUL UPSET. And I really love that the winners were all spread around, like there was no one film that really dominated.
And all of that is why I watch - FOR THE AWARDS. Honestly, all of my biggest Oscar memories are of the winners, not the hosts or the musical numbers:
I remember Shakespeare in Love's big upset win (still the best Oscar moment of my life).
I remember Gwyneth Paltrow weeping in her pink dress.
I remember Roberto Benigni jumping all over the seats.
I remember Adrien Brody planting a huge kiss on Halle Berry.
I remember Marion Cotillard's "Thank you life, thank you love!"
I remember Jon Stewart bringing Marketa Irglova back out to finish her speech (which is as close as I get to a memory of an Oscar host).
Those moments are why I watch.