I resent ABC telling everyone to tune in at 7 when the ceremony doesn't start until 8:30. (I'm stating Eastern time zone here, of course. We're the ones that get stuck watching the damn thing after midnight when it runs too long.) I mean, who the hell cares about the red carpet stuff? Get the real thing going earlier. Thank heavens Scorsese all ready has an award. Otherwise he'd be a shoo-in to cop one this year. I hope The Artist kicks butt. I'm also miffed over the self-righteous phony push to make it almost manditory to give the actresses from The Help the Oscars. Can we please get over the PC crap!
Because there are actual shows dedicated to the red carpet stuff. Also, for the women watching -- its their Super Bowl.
I understand what you're saying, but... There are actual shows dedicated to all sorts of pre-game bull about the Super Bowl, but guys know it's the game itself that matters. I should hope the gals have their priorities in order with the Academy Awards and understand it's the event that is important, not the "pre game" red carpet hype.
If you're wondering about all the commercials for women's products, remember that the Academy Awards is the ONLY big-big guaranteed audience TV show of the year that isn't a sporting event mostly watched by men.
I know more than a few women who are watching the red carpet stuff because they are watching for the clothes the women are wearing. For me, I couldn't care less.
Terrible indeed until two wonderful moments: the speech from the Iranian winner, and Octavia Spencer winning.
I've got to be one of the few people that felt thy The Artist was one of the most overrated movies in a long time. I didn't care for it at all.
I think your post would still be correct if you wrote "I've got to be one of the few people who saw The Artist."
Well, something had to win last night but I don't see much around here from anyone saying what should have gotten the Oscar instead. If the gossip is to be believed, it seems Marty's 3-D kiddie flick Hugo might have ended up walking off with the damn award. The only thing really praised about that film was Scorsese's re-do of Méliès. Gee, how original! But that guy hasn't been original for quite a while. It's like one of these pictures made with the Oscar in mind. At least The Artist can boast that it is original and didn't suck up to the conventional commercial formulas. No dialogue, in black-and-white, no stars. Months ago, who would have thought this could have been pulled off? You would have been laughed off the planet. The Artist doesn't have to be the greatest movie ever made. I'm happy the Academy went for something so off-the-wall and different. If the Exceptional American Public has a problem with it — tough! Other thoughts... --So glad Streep won, especially playing a figure reviled — for no good reason — by many. And it put a stop to the feelgood, self-congratulatory nonsense of The Help copping both actress awards. --So now the docu winner Undefeated — more fellgood claptrap — is being made into a feature pic backed by the likes of Sean Combs. (I'd use his stage name but I don't know what it is this week.) I know some of you will be more than happy to shove this uplifting baloney down our throats when it comes out. --Glad for Chistopher Plummer. I'm almost ready to forgive him for his obnoxious "Sound of Mucus" remark from nearly 50 years ago. Chris, it's not like Richard Rodgers or Robert Wise put a gun to your head to accept the role of Capt. von Trapp in one of the most popular movies of all-time. Interestingly, EW had an article about Maximilian Schell recently where he said he was offered that role and regrets turning it down. Same here. You would have been great, Max!
Everyone was predicting The Artist to win Best Picture, not Hugo. The predictions for Hugo were a few technical categories and that's what it won. By calling Hugo a Melies re-do you obviously haven't seen it. Considering it is actually about Melies. And the three best films of last year didn't even get nominated. Warrior, Drive and Martha Marcy May Marlene.
Hugo fits in pretty well with post-Goodfellas Scorcese's oeuvre. He's more super-competent than brilliant these days. That doesn't mean I didn't genuinely enjoy The Aviator, Shutter Island, and yes, Hugo. With respect for the people involved, but I suspect The Artist will be perceived in the same vain as Slumdog Millionaire when people look back upon it a few years from now. In that, they will wonder what all the fuss was about. Mind you, it's still a 100x more worthy winner than "Crash" was. That really was the nadir of the Best Picture category.
What I meant was if The Artist weren't around, Hugo would have won last night. The Artist prevented that. And everyone began predicting The Artist because it had eventually built up momentum with other award victories. When that picture first opened, nobody would have seriously thought it could have become a shoo-in for an Oscar victory. And I didn't mean Hugo was a Méliès re-do. I was referring to the Voyage to the Moon sequence, which is the part that impressed the critics most about the picture and is probably something Scorsese has wanted to re-create for a long time. The main film that got screwed out of nominations was Melancholia. I still can't believe it got stiffed.
True that! I haven't and I really don't plan on it but I may have to play politics and go with my wife when it comes around. Half price matinees on Tuesdays. I'm happy with it getting best picture, they stepped out of the (hollywood) box. I found other things to do when the redcarpet thingy was on, that's my wife's show. Most of the feed back she gave was that Nick Nolty is a rude arsehole. (Duh!) Undefeated, seemed to me that was a make up as an American feelgood. It's only played in one country in the world and therefore not understood much by the rest except as a novelty game. Billy Crystal needs to retire, he did his best but it really needs someone else??! I set an extra plate for Naughtius Maximus who was coming over, I had to drink his beer as well.
One of the major problems with the Academy Awards these days is the loss of glamour and history through the passing of the great stars of the past. There are less and less great stars remaining. It was another boring night and the films did not jump up and make you really take notice or interest. A pretty pedestrian bunch of flicks.
ABC's Red Carpet program was one of the worst ever. I won't pretend that I watched the entire thing, I was watching 60 minutes and the Amazing Race, but I did rewind and there was hardly anyone or the people they interviewed I had no interest in what they wore.
The only one I would be interested in would be Charlie Theron, but more in what she didn't wear. Angelina Jolie looked a 'little' clownish. with the bulimic arms and legs and wax, stick on, lips.
You could make a pretty convincing argument that the red carpet is the real show and the awards are just stuff to to fill time. Look at it this way: the Oscar broadcast is the Super Bowl for women and the gays. And women and the gays are there to hear the answers to "Who are you wearing?". If the awards are your primary concern, you get more-or-less real-time updates on the Internet, and the TV broadcast is simply there to present the spectacle, and a spectacle that's increasingly less compelling than what the stars are wearing. In the order of priorities, fashion comes out way ahead of cinema.
I always thought the Tony Awards were the Super Bowl for gays, but maybe that's just a New York thing. I'm sure the Oscars are a strong contender for the title. By the way... Slight Rise in Oscar Ratings, but Not Among the Coveted Younger Viewers - N.Y. Times