Oscar Talk
The ClubHouse: Archives: Oscar Talk
Weinermr | Tuesday, March 26, 2002 - 05:30 pm     Mamaanja, you hit on a point that I noticed about this year's Oscars. Usually the winner acknowledges the others in his/her category, and most winners didn't do that this year. |
Yuhuru | Tuesday, March 26, 2002 - 06:27 pm     I can't and won't rate Halle's speech or anybody else's because it's about them and not about me or what I think is appropriate. But I will say that in Halle's opinion Lena Horne and Dianne Carroll had a lot to do with her getting an Oscar and who are we to say that they didn't. For her those women were important and influential even inspiring. For some minorities there is a desire to accomplish what the people before you were not able to (for example getting an Oscar). It's not that these people weren't able to because of there abilities, but because of prejudice against them. Some minorities carry the weight of their group, race, etc. on their shoulders. Sometimes it's self-imposed and other times other members of the group, race, etc. put it there. They begin to count on you. Halle was clearly undone and very emotional, like the speech was a release. Society seems to want to forget that racism, classism, and other -isms exist. In the film industry, several african american directors, actors have said how hard it's been for them and not because of their abilities. So if Halle Berry wants to whale, blow snot, etc. more power to her. She's a wonderful actress. |
Squaredsc | Tuesday, March 26, 2002 - 06:39 pm     yuhuru, great post and i agree with you. and yes she totally meant that without lena horne and diahanne(sp) carroll who opened the doors for african-american actress' then she wouldn't be where she is today. so yes it was a very emotional experience for her and african-american everywhere. and for denzel to also win was the icing on the cake. i was listening to the radio this morning and an interesting point was mentioned, of the 6000 members of the academy, only about 67 are african-americans. something to think about. i also loved whoopie and the cirque de sole(sp) whoopie was the only person keeping me awake.  |
Mamaanja | Tuesday, March 26, 2002 - 06:45 pm     Kind of interesting how much racism still seems to be an issue in Hollywood--which so liberal and tolerant in most other areas. |
Crazydog | Tuesday, March 26, 2002 - 06:48 pm     square, I agree, I thought Whoopi was funny. In spite of this I was so bored with the show that I dozed off a couple times. |
Abbynormal | Tuesday, March 26, 2002 - 08:14 pm     I was just wondering why Halle didn't mention anything about Billy Bob. I thought that was strange. |
Soeur | Wednesday, March 27, 2002 - 03:42 am     Crazy, you only dozed off a couple of times? Did you take a nap in the afternoon? Maybe that's what I should have done because I missed: - Sydney Poitier tribute - Robert Redford tribute - a couple of whoopi's outfit changes - best supporting actor award and I'm sure I missed a ton of other stuff. I saw: - the tribute to documentaries (all of it, ~sigh~) - all of the pre-show (heh) - 1/2 of the cirque du soleil (awesome) - Uma's spillage - Woody's stand-up routine which was great comic relief I was touched by Halle and fully supportive of her emotional response until she screeched when the orchestra tried to coax her to finish. I was ready to go make a cheese sandwich at that point. The saddest thing was being a witness to J Lo's dramatic fashion decline. Words are inadequate to describe Sally Kirkland & Gwyneth, except to say that they have both earned their places in the top ten list for this year's Oscar fashion disasters. I tune in to watch stuff like that.  |
Micknrc | Wednesday, March 27, 2002 - 05:53 am     From Slate Act Humble Awards for self-flattery at the Oscars. By William Saletan Posted Tuesday, March 26, 2002, at 2:40 PM PT The Academy Awards are supposed to honor people for outstanding acting, writing, and directing in the movies. But the real acting contest begins when the awards are announced. Each victor proceeds to the podium, beams or trembles, and delivers a speech. The task of the speech is to flatter yourself while pretending not to. How? Let this year's winners demonstrate. (Tom Cruise, Julia Roberts, and others who managed to give self-serving speeches without even being nominated are excluded from this competition.) The envelopes, please. Best Self-Directing: This award goes to the performer who does the best job of promoting himself by handing out apparent compliments to others. The strategy is to praise and thank people only insofar as they adorn the narrative of your life. Brian Grazer, a winner for Best Picture, deserves a nomination for his use of the phrase "to me." "The story and the subject were personal and important to me," he told the academy. "I want to thank Universal Pictures, two very important and special people to me …" That's what makes certain things and people special in Hollywood: They're about you. Halle Berry, the winner for Best Actress in a Leading Role, gets a nod for this bouquet to her manager: "You loved me when I've been up. But more importantly, you've loved me when I've been down." Up or down, one thing is constant: The important thing about you is me. Berry didn't mention her mother or husband till she had finished thanking her manager. Jennifer Connelly, the winner for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, gets a nod for her emphasis on self-improvement: "By some beautiful twist of fate, I've landed in this vocation that demands that I feel and helps me to learn. No film has moved or taught me more than A Beautiful Mind." The beauty of this approach is that you deflect credit for having become a successful and wonderful person, knowing that the credit is just a backdrop for your success and wonderfulness. "Thanks to all the artists who have inspired me, and the list is too long," Connelly told the academy, skipping the list. The names weren't essential. The essential words were "inspired" and "me." And the winner is … Ron Howard, the Best Directing honoree, for this tribute: "Before my mom passed away, about 18 months ago, she predicted that this was going to happen for me on this film. Well, she also made that prediction on every movie that I've directed since 1983. Now you know a little bit about my mom." Actually, all we learned about Howard's mom from these three sentences (which was all he said about her) is that she thought highly of him. But enough about me—let's talk about what my mom said about me. Most Flattering Picture: This award goes to the entertainer who most effectively glorifies his profession while pretending to emphasize some larger mission or virtue. Connelly gets a nomination in this category for her praise of acting as a "vocation that demands that I feel and helps me to learn." Howard gets a nod for extolling his actors' "creative courage," a neologism designed to make people feel brave about working in show business. Pietro Scalia, the winner for Best Film Editing, earns a nomination for boasting: "Editors are like alchemists; we play with magic." Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, the winner for Best Documentary Feature, nearly takes the Most Flattering Picture award for his magnificent line, "If we are doing documentaries, that [is] because we do believe that as storyteller we can help dreams come true." The genius of this line is that it spotlights the storyteller in the guise of spotlighting the story. But the Oscar goes to Ray McKinnon, the man behind The Accountant (Best Short Film, Live Action), for accepting "this wonderful honor in a category that still allows for a person who is just burning to make a movie to load the camera in the back of his daddy's old truck and gather up some talented dreamers and do it." McKinnon's next movie should be The Self-Romanticizing Filmmaker. Best Accolade Makeup: This honor goes to the actor who projects the most tenderness, spirituality, or erudition by using flowery prose to describe others. Denzel Washington, the winner for Best Actor in a Leading Role, gets a mention in this category for calling everyone in his life "beautiful," including his agent. Connelly earns a nod for exalting Alicia Nash, the heroine of A Beautiful Mind, as "a true champion of love," though points are deducted for tackiness since Connelly played Nash and used her Oscar speech to proclaim her own belief in love. Berry nearly takes the prize for her tributes to her manager ("the only father I've ever known") and her director ("you gently guided me to very scary places") but loses points for slight ickiness. The Oscar goes to Grazer, whose literary excess ("the profound Russell Crowe," "the sublime Jennifer Connelly") led him to declare Howard a uniquely "evolving filmmaker" and to thank his writer for creating a "difficult" script. Best Ego-Costume Design: This award goes to the performer who most effectively flatters himself in the guise of self-deprecation. Grazer gets an acknowledgment in this category for bragging about his new career by belittling his old one: "I started out in the business as a writer. Not a very good writer … I found that my calling was to tell stories as a producer." Washington earns a nod for implying his greatness in the form of a negative: "I said I wanted to be the best actor in the world. All the students in the classroom looked at me like I was a nut." But the Oscar goes to Howard for this brilliant bank shot: "I am not a good enough actor anymore to be able to stand up here and make you believe that I haven't imagined this moment in my mind over the years." Best Deity in a Supporting Role: This is a new category at the Oscars. It used to be confined to Christian athletes, but the rise of nondenominational, self-centered spirituality has made it a hot competition in Hollywood as well. The object is to praise God for making you better than other people. Third place in this contest goes to Grazer for calling his defeat of four other movies in the Best Picture category "a miracle." Second place goes to Washington for opening his acceptance speech with the words, "God is good, God is great." But the Oscar goes to Berry for thanking the academy "for choosing me to be the vessel for which His blessing may flow." Best Actor in a Movement-Leading Role: This honor goes to the entertainer who most effectively uses his Oscar to claim the status of icon, voice, and redeemer of a group or cause. Blacks are this year's group, and Washington's classy salute to Sidney Poitier was no match for Berry's la race c'est moi performance. "This moment is so much bigger than me," she effused. "This moment is for Dorothy Dandridge, Lena Horne, Diahann Carroll. It's for the women who stand behind me, Jada Pinkett, Angela Bassett, Vivica Fox, and it's for every nameless, faceless woman of color that now has a chance because this door tonight has been opened." Berry's speech achieved the crucial purpose of all bigger-than-me speeches: to enlarge one's significance by sharing it. But credit Berry for generosity. Alluding to the fact that the academy had taken 74 years to recognize a black woman, she refused to end her speech on time: "Wait a minute, I got to take 74 years here. I got to take this time. I got to thank my lawyer, Neil Meyer, for making this deal …" After 74 years, the least the academy could do for black women was to allow a plug for Neil Meyer. Give that lady an Oscar. |
Lurkin | Wednesday, March 27, 2002 - 09:28 am     I thought they didn't show enough of Whoopi The Donald Southerland/Glenn Close stuff could have been cut out completely and saved time. I can't help but like Russel Crowe . He seems to be honest and not trying to be fake, he seemed to be this is about everyone else on the movie and not me. I thought he was great. Especially when Halle Berry won would love to know what he was saying to her, he seemed to be comforting her. I saw where he had bought Jennifer Connelly diamond earrings for the awards to wear. I too thought Halle Berry should have put more thanking into the film it was what won her award. Uma Uma Uma =========Clothes that fit before baby a little small after baby. The thing that bugged me the most. This beautiful multi million dollar venue Tom Cruise and crooked curtains behind him. My petty little opinions. |
Moondance | Wednesday, March 27, 2002 - 11:01 am     >The Donald Southerland/Glenn Close stuff could have been cut out completely and saved time.< Wouldn't have made a difference... they always have announcers do what they did, they just showed them this time. It's mostly VO (voice over) anyway. I enjoyed the entire show |
Oregonfire | Wednesday, March 27, 2002 - 11:09 am     It's all just fluff entertainment anyway. While I enjoy film as a medium and get into celebrity gossip and who's wearing what, it's not like they're doctors or firefighters or soldiers or even postal workers. They already have an extremely exaggerated sense of their importance in the world. It's just funny to watch those in the entertainment industry glorify themselves to the extent that they do. |
Julieboo | Wednesday, March 27, 2002 - 11:22 am     Gosh, Oregon, that was excellent!!!!! I was just thinking that there sure is a lot of hoopla put towards actors. |
Labmouse | Wednesday, March 27, 2002 - 11:35 am     The reason the Oscar broadcast was so long was that it had a theme: "The Making Of A Movie". Each presenter had to give a mini-lecture on the craft up for nomination. It gets a little tedious when someone describes the obvious. I don't need to have someone tell me that the Sound Editor edits sound. Thank goodness there weren't awards for Best Boy and Gaffer. |
Whowhere | Wednesday, March 27, 2002 - 01:40 pm     I found this article about the Oscars. WARNING: It's a bit harsh: http://www.salon.com/ent/movies/feature/2002/03/25/oscars_2002/index.html?x |
Julieboo | Wednesday, March 27, 2002 - 01:52 pm     It was a bit harsh, but I did agree with it. |
Max | Wednesday, March 27, 2002 - 02:20 pm     LOL. That writer really got a load off her mind with that article! The one thing she forgot to bash was the ever-present mentioning of the obscenely over-done "gift basket" (some basket, you couldn't fit all that expensive stuff into a Ford Expedition!) given to all the glitterati. Like they can't afford to buy their own toys! I like the Oscars, but I did come away this year feeling like it seemed more contrived than usual. I love Denzel, but even he said afterwards that he didn't think this was his best role. Guilt seems to drive who wins every now and then. Take John Wayne winning for "True Grit" or Clint Eastwood for "Pale Rider." Both are accomplished actors in their particular genre of movie, but were those really their best-ever performances? Not in my mind, but then I don't have a membership in the AMPAS enabling me to cast a vote. I couldn't help but wonder if Russell Crowe didn't really lose the Oscar more than Denzel won it. After all, "A Beautiful Mind" took best supporting actress, best movie, and best director. Could it be that bad-boy Russell blew it by spouting off at other awards shows, thereby making some voters think twice about placing a checkmark next to his name? I don't know, but if I was Denzel or Russell, I'd wonder. |
Fruitbat | Wednesday, March 27, 2002 - 02:30 pm     Oh my god, that was hysterical. |
Oregonfire | Wednesday, March 27, 2002 - 03:25 pm     Yes! Spot on article, and I only watched for half an hour. I also noticed Whoopi's almost apologetic Amos N' Andy humor right after Halle Berry won the Oscar. A night of extremes, to say the least. |
Whowhere | Thursday, March 28, 2002 - 11:29 am     Here's another article I found for us to ponder. I just watched a biography on Hattie McDaniel a couple weeks ago and can totally see where this author is coming from. She was a phenomenal actress and IMO opened the proverbial "door". No Thanks, Mammy Something I had hoped to see was missing at the Oscars. The ceremony appeared to be one celebrating the achievements (and the more sophisticated, less stereotyped roles) of black actors. Whoopi Goldberg, herself the third black person to win an Oscar (and the second black woman to do so), played host adequately. Sidney Poitier, given a special Oscar by the Academy for his outstanding career, was honored with footage from his various films and words of praise from black actors speaking about his impact on their lives. He played groundbreaking characters that helped use popular culture to open the eyes of the world. He played black men who had lessons to teach and respect to demand. Denzel Washington, the first black actor to earn a Best Actor nod was quick to thank Poitier for his contributions to the world of acting, insisting that he would always be chasing Poitier's accomplishments. Halle Berry, after winning her Oscar (a first Best Actress Oscar for a black woman) was quick to point out that the moment was "bigger" than her. The Associated Press notes: Berry sobbed and gasped when she took the stage and launched into a joyful three-minute speech. She cited black actresses who had helped open doors for minorities in Hollywood, including Lena Horne, Diahann Carroll and Dorothy Dandridge, whom Berry played in an Emmy-winning performance in "Introducing Dorothy Dandridge." My question is this: Why did no one thank Hattie McDaniel? Did I miss it? Was I not paying close enough attention to the speeches to notice the actors thanking the very first black actor or actress to win an Oscar at all. And McDaniel won in 1939! Perhaps it was the character Hattie McDaniel played in her Oscar-winning role. The character of "Mammy" in Gone With the Wind helped crystallize the stereotype of the black maid in film. Hattie McDaniel was both celebrated and hated for allowing herself to be typecast as such. Ms. McDaniel famously observed "I'd rather make $700 a week playing a maid than earn $7 a day being a maid." But many are now realizing that Hattie McDaniel, though not a warrior when it came to getting roles that broke from black stereotypes, was important in helping set the stage for just such a revolution. Esther Iverman, a film critic for BET, notes: ...McDaniel raised the level of the [Mammy] character from a dumb, subservient big mama to that of a smart, opinionated woman who took very seriously the running of these White folk's household. She could warn Scarlet that a lady shouldn't eat like pig in public and she could try to adjust Scarlet's dress so she wouldn't go out in public looking like some antebellum hoochie mama. McDaniel had the word "nigger" removed from the script and refused to make references to "de Lawd" in her dialogue. At the end of her career, playing the role of a maid on the radio show Beulah, she insisted on complete control over the script. Before she took the Beulah role, it had been played by a White man. So why did no one thank her for her contribution to film, for negotiating the removal of a terrible word from a film classic, for being honored over white actresses for an Oscar in an age when McDaniel herself wasn't even welcome at the Atlanta premiere of Gone With the Wind? |
Squaredsc | Friday, March 29, 2002 - 05:18 pm     who, i have no idea why her name wasn't mentioned in the acceptance speaches. i really think it was just an oversight, but i am sure that she was definately thought of, she certainly was on the black radio stations that i listened to after the oscars. she was the first and in my mind will always be remembered as such.  |
Dahli | Monday, April 01, 2002 - 12:30 pm     All well and good but I would ask The salon article author with the vitriolic harangue how many of those perks she would turn down, should they come her way.... |
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