And the losers are...
It was another mediocre year at the Oscars. Jon Stewart, I'm afraid, is too smart for the show. The audience expects broad humor, and he gave wit. Well, half the time, anyway. There were some very funny bits with "attack ads" between the nominees, and his (perhaps ad libbed?) remark that "If we pull [the gigantic Oscar statue] down, will democracy be restores to Hollywood?" got me to laugh. But I doubt he'll be asked back next year.
There were a few moments of joy, such as when "It's Hard Out Here For a Pimp" won best original song. The members of Three 6 Mafia were obviously stunned that they won, and seemed almost at a loss for words. Philip Seymour Hoffman won Best Actor for Capote, and looked for all the world like he was about to faint. But to my mind the best moment was at the beginning of the show when George Clooney won Best Supporting Actor, and in his acceptance speech said: "We are a little bit out-of-touch in Hollywood," Clooney said. "I think that's probably a good thing. We are the ones who talked about AIDS when it was only being whispered ... We talked about civil rights ... I'm proud to be part of this Academy, proud to be part of this community, proud to be 'out of touch.'"
On another note, you can tell it was a bad year in the box office, because they really harped on the "see it in a theater" thing. Tell you what, Hollywood. You get a voluntary national guarantee in all theater chains assuring me that you'll install cellphone jammers, that people who talk during the movie will be ejected without refund, and start refusing tickets to people escorting children under eight to non-G rated movies, and I'll stop waiting for the DVD release to see a film. Make going to the theater an enjoyable experience again, and I'll go back to the theater. Do we have a deal?
6 Comments:
Amen to that! It's just too much of a pain to go to the movies now. And expensive too.
Oh, and ask them if they can please turn down the sound system. Or maybe I should say "PLEASE TURN DOWN THE SOUND!"
I avoid theatres because they are too loud and have other people in them. I never need to be anywhere that popcorn costs $8 or a bottle of water $2.50. And then there are the movies...
I made it through about an hour or so before I had to turn it off because it got too boring for me.
I agree 100% with your observations of Clooney's acceptance speech. And like him, I'm proud to be "out of touch" and not marching lockstep with whatever George W. Bush says.
As far as the raucous theaters go, if you've been following the discussion over at SotP, you just need to shrug it off and be patient with the patrons who are creating the distraction. And make sure you stay polite, too.
Hear, hear! Last thing I saw in a major theatre was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. A woman left her three under-four children alone for a half-hour. I finally went to alert someone when the youngest kept on crying for her. People are idiots. People in my living room are not. : )
Oh, I so agree. That "there's nothing like seeing it on the big screen" wank that they had Jake Gyllenhall spouting made me yell at the TV. In fact, I yelled pretty much the same thing you just said. In our living room, there's a nice-sized TV, the food is not overpriced, and the only whiny children are of the furry and four-footed variety.
Not sure you read anything posted this long after you blogged it originally, but I did want to say that it really comes down to management (as with most things). A great theatre manager will make you forget how much everything costs and help ensure that your movie-going experience transports you to another place/time like it's supposed to. I think there are movies that absolutely must be seen on the big screen, but for the others, they make surround sound and widescreen HD TVs. :)
Post a Comment
<< Home