(no subject)
I was going to write about Saturday night's harem party at s/mash, but I've decided to wait with that and write about the Oscars instead.
Yeah, I know everyone does it, but I feel like being indulgent - I actually watched the whole thing live this year.
"So what," you may say, in which case I want to remind you of a little thing called time zones. The Oscars this year lasted between 2.30 and 6.15 AM. So if you live west of the Atlantic or east of the mediterranean, you don't have a say in the matter. *grin*
To make matters worse, I woke up half an hour early when the video tape I'd put in for Cabaret turned itself off. So I saw the red carpet too, and boy were those interviewers ever annoying. "And here's X." "Right. Whatever. Hey, *you're* interesting!"
The gala itself... uh, "unsurprising" comes to mind. Although I had actually expected Bill Murray to get Actor. But it's true that Penn's performance is much more "Oscar". (Of course, Johnny winning would have been more fun, but the Academy is and will always be the Academy.)
It's really somewhere between amusing and pathetic how certain things are "Oscar" right away. Like best short. "Oh, look, it says 'William Faulkner's...' - that one's gonna win!"
Of course, some things were obvious for other reasons, like Finding Nemo winnning best animated pic. Because it's the best, period.
So, to RotK. It gets a bit silly when a film wins that much, but if it's going to win a lot, thank GOD it didn't run one or two short of that crapfest Titanic. I'm so grateful I think I might have to take away that "flashlight" icon, even though I still think they should have had at least one acting nom.
In fact, if I could have had it my way, I'd have given one to Sean Astin and left Lennox without instead. That was not the best song. It wasn't even the best song of the nominated (the Belleville song was). And the best song of the night was without a doubt the Farrell/Black duet "You're Boring".
...What is it with tedious power ballads winning the Oscars anyway? Is it because hardly anyone makes a decent musical these days and there's no room for other kinds of songs in ordinary films?
Most of what RotK got was a given, though, except possibly the heavy prizes. I did get a bit nervous when they came to script, there was some actual competition there.
Which reminds me. Out of the three films that have now won the most Oscars, two were adaptations. Out of the three films that have won the top five (film, director, script, actor, actress), all were adaptations. Some of the most kick-ass movies of the year were adaptations from one thing or another.
Sometimes the film is as good or better than the book. It's just that in those cases, we tend to forget that the book exists.
Which isn't something that'll ever happen to LotR - always the trouble with adapting a classic.
Speaking of adaptations, nothing for Sweden this year. But I'm not disappointed, because I haven't seen the film and I'm not a big fan of Guillou's kind of writing anyway. :-)
What was up with Julia Roberts' introduction of the Katherine Hepburn thing? It was really awkward. And that Barbara Walters episode was really a bit too bitchy - I love Kate's bitchiness, but it was almost like they tried to make her look bad. Though the Shirley Temple joke should have gotten more laughs, IMO. I guess nobody wanted acting to be called easy on that particular night, or something...
Was surprised that Leni Riefenstahl got mentioned (hardly any applauds), although of course it would have been weird if she hadn't, as well. She was influential, that's for sure.
Can somebody tell me what the music was to the Blake Edwards collage? I recognized it so well but couldn't place it.
And can somebody else (or the same somebody) tell me why all the dresses were so boring? Only Scarlett Johansson looked really stunning. Though Peter Jackson wore shoes, that's something. *grin*
Yeah, I know everyone does it, but I feel like being indulgent - I actually watched the whole thing live this year.
"So what," you may say, in which case I want to remind you of a little thing called time zones. The Oscars this year lasted between 2.30 and 6.15 AM. So if you live west of the Atlantic or east of the mediterranean, you don't have a say in the matter. *grin*
To make matters worse, I woke up half an hour early when the video tape I'd put in for Cabaret turned itself off. So I saw the red carpet too, and boy were those interviewers ever annoying. "And here's X." "Right. Whatever. Hey, *you're* interesting!"
The gala itself... uh, "unsurprising" comes to mind. Although I had actually expected Bill Murray to get Actor. But it's true that Penn's performance is much more "Oscar". (Of course, Johnny winning would have been more fun, but the Academy is and will always be the Academy.)
It's really somewhere between amusing and pathetic how certain things are "Oscar" right away. Like best short. "Oh, look, it says 'William Faulkner's...' - that one's gonna win!"
Of course, some things were obvious for other reasons, like Finding Nemo winnning best animated pic. Because it's the best, period.
So, to RotK. It gets a bit silly when a film wins that much, but if it's going to win a lot, thank GOD it didn't run one or two short of that crapfest Titanic. I'm so grateful I think I might have to take away that "flashlight" icon, even though I still think they should have had at least one acting nom.
In fact, if I could have had it my way, I'd have given one to Sean Astin and left Lennox without instead. That was not the best song. It wasn't even the best song of the nominated (the Belleville song was). And the best song of the night was without a doubt the Farrell/Black duet "You're Boring".
...What is it with tedious power ballads winning the Oscars anyway? Is it because hardly anyone makes a decent musical these days and there's no room for other kinds of songs in ordinary films?
Most of what RotK got was a given, though, except possibly the heavy prizes. I did get a bit nervous when they came to script, there was some actual competition there.
Which reminds me. Out of the three films that have now won the most Oscars, two were adaptations. Out of the three films that have won the top five (film, director, script, actor, actress), all were adaptations. Some of the most kick-ass movies of the year were adaptations from one thing or another.
Sometimes the film is as good or better than the book. It's just that in those cases, we tend to forget that the book exists.
Which isn't something that'll ever happen to LotR - always the trouble with adapting a classic.
Speaking of adaptations, nothing for Sweden this year. But I'm not disappointed, because I haven't seen the film and I'm not a big fan of Guillou's kind of writing anyway. :-)
What was up with Julia Roberts' introduction of the Katherine Hepburn thing? It was really awkward. And that Barbara Walters episode was really a bit too bitchy - I love Kate's bitchiness, but it was almost like they tried to make her look bad. Though the Shirley Temple joke should have gotten more laughs, IMO. I guess nobody wanted acting to be called easy on that particular night, or something...
Was surprised that Leni Riefenstahl got mentioned (hardly any applauds), although of course it would have been weird if she hadn't, as well. She was influential, that's for sure.
Can somebody tell me what the music was to the Blake Edwards collage? I recognized it so well but couldn't place it.
And can somebody else (or the same somebody) tell me why all the dresses were so boring? Only Scarlett Johansson looked really stunning. Though Peter Jackson wore shoes, that's something. *grin*