Oscars

Yes, the Oscars are a bit tedious. But, for a film buff, the Oscars are like the Superbowl -- I'm watching even when the game is boring. I had no problem with letting Al Gore have his moment, and I was thrilled that Martin Scorcese finally got his due. It's Hollywood - they are always self-congratulatory about political activism. When is the Academy going to stop ignoring world-class film directors like Robert Altman, Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles until they are so old that an honorary Oscar is the only option? They got to Altman just in time, but it would have been nice if they'd given him a Best Director Oscar for one of his films (ie. Nashville). Thank Heaven's they didn't wait until Scorcese was on death's door to give him Best Director. Now if they could just give a Best Actor's Oscar to Peter O'Toole, I'd be a happy woman.

I forgot that the Oscars were on and missed it. I rarely see the films up for nomination, so they don't mean much to me. I thought that your column was very good, Rod. I thought that the suggestions at oscar.com were very good. You do seem to have a bit of a knee-jerk reaction when it comes to Hollywood.

Actually, Rod, I think you were right on target about last night's lefty lovefest - oh, excuse me, the Oscars. Please! Bringing Al Gore and Leo DiCaprio onstage for the sole purpose of announcing the awards went "green?" That was pointless because A) they offered no examples about how they are "green" (maybe they're just offering lip service, B) it made an already too-long awards show even longer, C) it didn't change anyone's opinions about the Oscars ("well, gosh, Mabel, now that the Oscars are green, I'll think I'll watch them"), and D) it likely smacked of hypocrisy given the opulent Oscar post-parties that were thrown after the event. It's bad enough when award winners preach about some pet cause (see: Gore, Etheridge), but at least they kinda earn the right by winning the Oscar. But when the awards show itself starts getting preachy about the political (left-wing) topic-du-jour, it smacks of self-gratifying limousine liberalism. All that said - Gore's presidential-announcement-that-wasn't was clever and funny.

Jennifer Hudson's win was my highlight. She has genuine charm, as opposed to the "professional charm" of so many other attendees.

I don't like the self-congratulation either, but celebrities have just as much right to their political opinions as anyone else. It's just that their celebrity makes the inconsistencies, absurdities, and hypocrises of their positions more obvious. And many are just jumping on various bandwagons. Personally, I think a lot of celebrities take positions that are poorly thought out, but they have as much right to make asses of themselves as other U.S. citizens. Jane Fonda comes to mind -- I've always wondered why people get so exercised about the opinions of a woman who has never seemed that bright. I just think we make too much of these things, and I watch the Oscars because I love movies, and they are fun, not for insight on the world.

Since I don't watch television, other than to view dvds, I suppose I'm not a victim of the saturation you guys are wen it comes to celebrities and what they have to say about "issue X." I mean, in my world, some celeb opines about issue X, and I may hear it once, third or fourth hand. If I give a good gosh darn about it, I may even go look up a direct quote online so I can hear it from the horse's mouth. But that's where it ends. It must be difficult in ways I may never comprehend to not be able to say anything without having it duped a million times via broadcast, cable, radio, weblog, ad infinitum, world without end. Amen. No wonder people want their entertainers to shut up and sing. The media won't let qnyone forget what they have to say on issue X, (no matter what it is) to keep people glued to the screen so they can be the target of advertising. I can imagine that there are celebrities who have opinions and recognize the bully pulpit opportunity their position affords them. Their ultimate position is nothing more than the lead-in to a commercial. In their situation, I think I'd probably do the same thing. I mean, if the media is going to play anything I say a million times, I think it would be better to have them play something I said that could help someone think about something they perhaps hadn't considered. No one got down Diana Spencer's throat for advocating on behalf of victims of land mines. I also think that it gets lost in the "coverage" that the Academy Awards is an industry function. Those actors, directors, producers, and technical wizards up there on stage are addressing their colleagues when they thank all those people we've never heard of. That they have to do it in front of a billion people has a lot to do with why they pontificate. It's America that's eavesdropping on those proceedings. "Shut up and entertain!" smacks of presumptuousness.

Mea culpa. I'm glad she won. She was very gracious.

Speaking of celebrities using their fame as currency...I just re-watched the interview Bono did with Bill Hybels (pastor of THE mega-church...Willow Creek near Chicago) regarding the AIDS pandemic in Africa. You have to admire the guy for recognizing the absurdity of "celebrity" but being willing to use it unabashedly to help others. Love it.

You're showing your age. 40. The Oscars weren't boring; they were somply long and tedious. Like a blind date with someone who is great looking, self involved but hard to engage in meaningful converstation. Until the night gets late. At which point, for a moment, it's love.

I don't watch TV, haven't seen the Oscars in years. Most movies suck. I do not care about any celebrity, nor do I care what any given celebrity thinks about any issue under the sun. Celebrities have way too much authority, totally undeserved, and usually misused. Why anyone feels the need to watch a night of self congratulations, given to overpaid, pampered attention whores, is beyond me. They make obscene amounts of money for saying lines in front of a camera, then we are supposed to "honor" them? This puzzles me.

I can't even remember the last time I watched the Oscars, or actually parked my butt in a seat at a movie theater. I don't watch the celebrity shows, and can barely tolerate the latest Anna Nicole / Scandal Du Jour news. That said, I believe that celebrities have just as much right as we do to bitch and moan about the issues, and see nothing wrong with them having "The Company Party" once a year. I just don't feel the need to attend. Vote With Your Remote!!! ;)

It was NOT just RIDICULOUS it was also STUPID!! I've got a better suggestion! What a wonderful world it would be if all religious people would just shut up and pray. Religion is a life-style choice. When creating amendments to the U. S. Constitution regarding life-style choices maybe we should consider getting rid of Article 1 it sets a precedent for any others.

The one time we payed attention to the Oscars was when "Return of the King" was up for all the awards. And the interesting thing was that the RotK people were not "Hollywood" types and were a bit of a puzzle to the usual crowd I think. I recall that that particular Academy Awards had a big jump in the ratings and it was due to the LotR fans. Afterwards Peter Jackson and the actors and all of the winners for RotK went to the big party put on by the fans and didn't hang the ones for the fashion patrols and bunch that looks down on Fantasy stories. It was a fairly clean show with a wonderfully funny bit in the tribute to Blake Edwards where he drove a wheelchair across the stage and into a fake wall a la Inspector Clouseau in the "Pink Panther" movies. (He could laugh at himself, very refreshing.)