Stewart set as host of 78th Oscars
Source: Hollywood Reporter
As the clock ticks ever closer to the 78th Annual Academy Awards on March 5, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has finally found a host in Jon Stewart.
Sources confirmed Stewart's selection, which was reported Wednesday evening by the Los Angeles Times' Oscar watch site, theenvelope.latimes.com. An Academy spokesman declined comment.
The assignment would represent the first Oscar-hosting spot for Stewart, who headlines Comedy Central's "The Daily Show." Stewart does have black-tie experience, though, having hosted the Grammy Awards in 2001 and 2002.
Oscarcast producer Gil Cates' choice of a host had become the subject of mounting suspense in Hollywood. Chris Rock, last year's host, was not asked to reprise the role. Reportedly, Billy Crystal, who has hosted eight times, turned down the honor. Speculation also had centered on such other previous hosts as Whoopi Goldberg and Steve Martin.
good. anything but whoopi.
that just proves how edgeless and normal stewart and the daily show really is. Conan is right again!
Great choice... I didnt think they would choose him but I like it. I wanted Conan to do it, but I think it will be good with him too.
Stewart has become a one-trick pony ever since the Crossfire incident. I'll watch the Colbert Report all day long, but hearing the same whiny jokes about Bush, it gets old. Colbert should host!
john stewart's fucking hilarious and this will be the first time in a coupla years that i'll probably watch the entire show. i usually just tune in for the actor, director, pic awards
Quote from: eward on January 07, 2006, 02:22:25 PM
john stewart's fucking hilarious and this will be the first time in a coupla years that i'll probably watch the entire show. i usually just tune in for the actor, director, pic awards
Oh I'm sure it'll be funny, my only complaint is his jokes are really stale and repetitive, because the headlines he's reporting on are jokes in themselves. He still makes me laugh with his interviews, but that's about it.
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.oscars.org%2Fpublications%2Fposter78%2Fblack_tuxedo.jpg&hash=f46abe64ad5845215c41b6662acb3ef7a6251739)
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
78th Annual Academy Awards Nominations
BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
CAPOTE
CRASH
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.
MUNICH
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Philip Seymour Hoffman - CAPOTE
Terrence Howard - HUSTLE & FLOW
Heath Ledger - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
Joaquin Phoenix - WALK THE LINE
David Strathairn - GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
George Clooney - SYRIANA
Matt Dillon - CRASH
Paul Giamatti - CINDERELLA MAN
Jake Gyllenhaal - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
William Hurt - A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Judi Dench - MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTS
Felicity Huffman - TRANSAMERICA
Keira Knightley - PRIDE & PREJUDICE
Charlize Theron - NORTH COUNTRY
Reese Witherspoon - WALK THE LINE
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Amy Adams - JUNEBUG
Catherine Keener - CAPOTE
Frances McDormand - NORTH COUNTRY
Rachel Weisz - THE CONSTANT GARDENER
Michelle Williams - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING
Ang Lee - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
Bennett Miller - CAPOTE
Paul Haggis - CRASH
George Clooney - GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.
Steven Spielberg - MUNICH
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Larry McMutry & Diana Ossana - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
Dan Futterman - CAPOTE
Jeffery Caine - THE CONSTANT GARDENER
Josh Olson - A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE
Tony Kushner and Eric Roth - MUNICH
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco - CRASH
George Clooney and Grant Heslov - GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.
Woody Allen - MATCH POINT
Noah Baumbach - THE SQUID AND THE WHALE
Steven Gaghan - SYRIANA
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM OF THE YEAR
HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE
TIM BURTON'S CORPSE BRIDE
WALLACE & GROMIT IN THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT
ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.
HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE
KING KONG
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA
PRIDE & PREJUDICE
ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY
BATMAN BEGINS
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA
THE NEW WORLD
ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN
CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA
MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTSPRIDE & PREJUDICE
WALK THE LINE
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
DARWIN'S NIGHTMARE
ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM
MARCH OF THE PENGUINS
MURDERBALL
STREET FIGHT
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
THE DEATH OF KEVIN CARTER: CASUALTY OF THE BANG BANG CLUB
GOD SLEEPS IN RWANDA
THE MUSHROOM CLUB
A NOTE OF TRIUMPH: THE GOLDEN AGE OF NORMAN CORWIN
ACHIEVEMENT IN FILM EDITING
CINDERELLA MAN
THE CONSTANT GARDENER
CRASH
MUNICH
WALK THE LINE
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR
DON'T TELL (Italy)
JOYEUX NOèL (France)
PARADISE NOW (Palestine)
SOPHIE SCHOLL - THE FINAL DAYS (Germany)
TSOTSI (South Africa)
ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE
CINDERELLA MAN
STAR WARS: EPISODE III REVENGE OF THE SITH
ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES
(ORIGINAL SCORE)
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
THE CONSTANT GARDENER
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA
MUNICH
PRIDE & PREJUDICE
ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES
(ORIGINAL SONG)
"In the Deep" - CRASH
"It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" - HUSTLE & FLOW
"Travelin' Thru" - TRANSAMERICA
BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
BADGERED
THE MOON AND THE SON: AN IMAGINED CONVERSATION
THE MYSTERIOUS GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORATIONS OF JASPER MORELLO
9
ONE MAN BAND
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
AUSREISSER (THE RUNAWAY)
CASHBACK
THE LAST FARM
OUR TIME IS UP
SIX SHOOTER
ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING
KING KONG
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA
WAR OF THE WORLDS
ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND MIXING
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE
KING KONG
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA
WALK THE LINE
WAR OF THE WORLDS
ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE
KING KONG
WAR OF THE WORLDS
is it me or that list is effing boring (aside from w&g getting nominated, and hopefuly winning for best animation)
Quote from: cronopio on January 31, 2006, 08:20:02 AM
is it me or that list is effing boring (aside from w&g getting nominated, and hopefuly winning for best animation)
It's a better list than last year, Crash notwithstanding.
wtf
every god damn nomination for crash
the absence of constant gardner for best pic, best director, and best cinematog
kong getting the shaft
where is scarlett
great
rachael weisz
phillip seymour
terrence howard
I agree, Terrence Howard is so so awesome. And Amy Adams getting nominated is a beautiful surprise. "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" is a bit surprising, but cool to see. I'm not too depressed by Crash's nominations, because come on who didn't see that coming. My eyes just blur everytime I see it, I know it won't win a damn thing (except maybe screenplay).
Most depressing: someone please explain to me again why the fuck Grizzly Man isn't on here?
someone please explain who george clooney is supporting in syriana? or how the fuck jake gyllenhall is supporting heath ledger in brokeback? because i will fight you.
Nothing too surprising here except for the love for Capote. I was only expecting nods for Hoffman, Keener and maybe screenplay.
Of the performances from Violence, it was Maria Bello's that I thought was the most interesting and award worthy.
Also, how did Syriana become an original screenplay?
Quote from: Gamblour on January 31, 2006, 08:36:02 AM
Most depressing: someone please explain to me again why the fuck Grizzly Man isn't on here?
yeah, for some idiotic reason, the academy's documentary branch screening committee didnt think it was in the top FIFTEEN to be eligible for nomination this year. fuckin' stupid.
Quote from: modage on January 31, 2006, 09:00:40 AM
someone please explain who george clooney is supporting in syriana? or how the fuck jake gyllenhall is supporting heath ledger in brokeback? because i will fight you.
people love clooney, and are you asking why jake is supporting and not leading? or are you asking why jake was nominated at all? cause the academy doesn't make those decisions, you know.. the filmmakers typically do that to avoid splitting the votes. so its really irrelevent to complain about that.
thumbs down:
- no grizzly man
-while nobody saw cinderella man when it came out, it was still one of the best movies of the year by far and crowe should've been nominated even if he is the words biggest asshole
- the new world just for cinematography. no thank you.
thumbs up:
- academy remembered constant gardener
- lots of crash love, sorry guys, it was a great movie. but no, i would NOT vote it as the best picture of the year. moving on..
- amy adams for junebug. awesome
- WILLIAM HURT for history of violence. even though theres no way in hell hes getting it, thats great.
- terrence howard, yes. more awesome. which brings me to my next point
- the live performance of "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" is going to be one of the funniest moments in oscar history.
- munich recognition, i was worried it'd get snubbed
- all the capote love. i was worried it wouldnt get a best picture nod but then it gets that AND keener for best supporting.
- clooney picks up the oscar hat trick for directing and writing g&g and acting in syriana. suck on that, maude. :twisted:
- Crash is the most overrated movie in years. Paul Haggis too.
- Kong deserved a little more. I dont know if its the best picture of the year, but it was damn good. And Jackson deserved a nod too for making a beautiful film.
- Love Terrence Howard and Hustle & Flow getting so much attention.
- Funny how all the animated films are NOT from the 'new CGI Pixar-type era' (like Madagascar, Robots, etc.).
- Phill Hoffman is finally getting all the attention he deserved over the years.
- I'd trade Jake for Heath any day of the week.
- I hope, really hope, Spielberg and Munich gets it.
I appreciate the attention for Capote, and of course Good Night and Good Luck. Leading with 8 noms, I think its pretty clear that brokeback will win BP *YAWN*. Anywho I have some predictions:
BP: Brokeback Mountain. The only other movie that could win would be Crash, even though i'm rooting for GNAGL.
Director: Ang Lee. He won the DGA for it, and doesn't that have like a 98% chance of accuracy when it comes to the Oscars? I actually don't know, I heard it somewhere. I'm still rooting for George Clooney, but honestly his chances aren't great. If Martin Scorsese was nominated for best director this year, clooney would be a shoe-in, but no such luck.
Actress: I'm gonna say Reese Witherspoon, just because I think it would be stupid if she won and Juaqin didn't, and an Oscar for one of the desperate housewives would cause too many catfights.
Actor: PHS. Though Pheonix just might win, so the Walk The Line DVD could have "Winner of 2 academy awards: Best Actor, Best Actress," or some such shit.
Sup. Actress: Rachel Weiz, I don't know why. She won the Globe. Havent seen the movie. But w/e
Sup. Actor: Matt Dillon. Matt Dillon. You knouw why? 'Cause Clooney was the fuckin' lead and the academy knows it!!
Original Screenplay: (BTW life_boy makes a good point. SYRIANA?????) Anyway, it will be Crash. No doubt in my mind. Haggis lost last year and the academy likes to make up for that kind of stuff.
Adapted Screenplay: Brokeback mountain. *YAWN*
Cinematography: The New World.
Editing: No idea, really. I'll just guess Munich, cause I was impressed with it.
Art direction: I dunno, King Kong. Who cares?
Costume Desgin: Geisha
Score: BBM
Song: Transamerica.
Makeup: Star Wars, cause I think they will want to honour the series with one last award. Or not. Probably Narnia.
Sound: King Kong.
Sound Editing: This is my first prediction ever. I made it when I went to see the movie on its first day, my birthday no less, and I was watching the part in the street with the first attack. I said to myself: This will win best sound editing, and they will show this clip when the clips are presented. So yeah. EDIT: Forgot to mention the fuckin' movie...yeah....War of the Worlds...
Visual Effects: King Kong.
Animated Feature: Corpse Bride. 1. because the creators of W&G already have Oscars, and 2. Lets just face it, this is the only way Burton will win an Oscar.. :(
Documentary: Even though March of the Penguins was the big audience favourite, um, the academy couldn't really give a shit (see Walk The Line's BP snub), so Murderball will win cause its all hardkore critically acclaimed.
the end
Matt Dillon deserves the nomination but how is Crash doing this!? Anyways its not going to get a single award I'm not going to complain about it anymore just that if Syriana could have had Crash's noms instead then I would have been very happy.
Giamatti! The animation catergory!
They should not bother with the Best Song catergory and give the DP's, editors and other "less importants" some mic time.
2005 was a great year.
Quote from: Derek237 on January 31, 2006, 10:09:25 AM
Sound Editing: This is my first prediction ever. I made it when I went to see the movie on its first day, my birthday no less, and I was watching the part in the street with the first attack. I said to myself: This will win best sound editing, and they will show this clip when the clips are presented. So yeah.
I'm guessing you mean War of the Worlds?
Quote from: kal on January 31, 2006, 10:00:45 AM
- Funny how all the animated films are NOT from the 'new CGI Pixar-type era' (like Madagascar, Robots, etc.).
Gives me hope that they're finally beyond the "Jimmy Neutron"-type nomination stage.
I'm a little surprised by the nominations this year. I wasn't expecting Crash to be nominated for the major awards, or for Walk the Line and King Kong to be overlooked. I did like Crash better than yall did, but I'm really hoping Brokeback Mountain will win. At first I thought it would win for sure, but now I'm a little worried about Crash winning. It did good box office and got great critical acclaim (the two things the Academy loves). But it won't win....will it?
I don't understand. I just don't get this Crash love. I don't hate it or anything but, really, what the fuck? Haggis takes this "important" subjects like euthanasia in Million Dollar Baby, and racism, and reduces them to plot devices to serve some corny easy self help answer on them. He has nothing to do in the best director category. Cronenberg, Howard and Jackson were far more deserving.
I'm happy for Munich, after all the silly criticisms it has received.
There is a snippet in the current Entertainment Weekly explaining that the Academy felt that the Syriana script was different enough from the original work to categorize it in the Original Screenplay category. It will probably hurt the chances for it.
Quote from: Alexandro on January 31, 2006, 11:19:08 AMHaggis takes this "important" subjects like euthanasia in Million Dollar Baby, and racism, and reduces them to plot devices to serve some corny easy self help answer on them.
Crash had a plot?
Quote from: GoneSavage on January 31, 2006, 12:05:47 PM
There is a snippet in the current Entertainment Weekly explaining that the Academy felt that the Syriana script was different enough from the original work to categorize it in the Original Screenplay category. It will probably hurt the chances for it.
Thanks gonesavage...I had missed that snippet. It is dumb though, on the Academy's part.
Adaptation recieved an adapted screenplay nomination and many people seemed to think it should have been considered an Original Screenplay. But, I guess the Academy has never been that big on remaining consistent.
Crash...wow.
I'm embarassed. This is up there with the Ghost nomination for Best Picture or Rocky winning.
Ang Lee got shafted when Crouching Tiger came out, so I hope he wins some this time. I think he got best foreign films for Crouching Tiger and Best Director, though Ang Lee won the DGA award, went to Soderburgh and best picture went to fucking Gladiator. Hey, if Crash won I wouldn't be that sad 'cause Gladiator was way worse a movie. That was the year when I grew up and realized the Academy is a joke with a bunch of humorless old people.
It's time to break the silence.
Good:
Clooney's multiple noms
Phil Hoffman's nom (you know he's gonna get it too)
Lots of love for Brokeback and GN&GL
Amy Adams, Francis McDormand and Michelle Williams
No computer-animated movies nominated - Ha Ha Ha!!!
Bad:
Only one nom for New World :(
If Phil wins Heath won't
If it was any other year (i.e. no Huffman) then Reese would win outright
Batman Begins! WTF?!?!
Personally I feel that this is a really tight year, and I'm having trouble making predictions in the big catergories. Best supporting actor for example... that catergory is tighter than a duck's ass. Overall happy with the list. Although at the moment I think it's gonna come down to a spilt between Brokeback, Capote and GN&GL.
...or of course Brokeback could just sweep the whole fucking thing. :ponder:
Quote from: SHAFTR on January 31, 2006, 12:53:32 PM
Crash...wow.
I'm embarassed. This is up there with the Ghost nomination for Best Picture or Rocky winning.
The funniest thing about it is that the internet buzz is that Munich is this year's "WTF?" crap nomination.
Quote from: pete on January 31, 2006, 01:03:14 PM
Ang Lee got shafted when Crouching Tiger came out, so I hope he wins some this time. I think he got best foreign films for Crouching Tiger and Best Director, though Ang Lee won the DGA award, went to Soderburgh and best picture went to fucking Gladiator. Hey, if Crash won I wouldn't be that sad 'cause Gladiator was way worse a movie. That was the year when I grew up and realized the Academy is a joke with a bunch of humorless old people.
Ang Lee won the Foreign Oscar for Crouching Tiger, so Director had to go to Soderbergh (he was nominated twice in the category for God's sake) and the overrated Gladiator (the biggest moneymaker) won best picture. Everybody goes home with something. I had the same revelation that year that they distribute the awards somewhat evenly. Which is why I'm not concerned that Crash will win Best Picture. It's going to Brokeback... the Academy loves Ang Lee. They also seem to love Clooney so his Syriana nod is a way to get him out of the way of giving Lee best director and... *gags*... Haggis best screenplay while still giving something to him. And it's just sad that this is so predictable. I remember when I used to think this award, or even the nomination, meant something.
Jeff Daniels got robbed. Crash does not surprise me. Everyone loves the movie. Munich is right where it should be in the best picture category. awesome movie.
Quote from: MacGuffin on January 31, 2006, 07:59:07 AM
ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY
BATMAN BEGINS
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA
THE NEW WORLD
This is the category I'm most interested in, two Mexicants got a nod, Lubezki for TNW and Prieto for BM, a morning radio show was already invalidating everybody and giving the accolades to Brokeback, so my question to the
ppl who have seen both (pete, pozer, samsong?, cowboykurtis?, mod), is that so? I find hard to believe that BM would be way better than TNW in terms of cinematography.
Quote from: life_boy on January 31, 2006, 09:21:11 AMAlso, how did Syriana become an original screenplay?
A 'Syriana' surpriseAMPAS considers script an originalSource: Variety
Oscar has provided his own intrigue to the plot-twisty "Syriana": The screenplay has been classified as an original, rather than an adaptation -- and for nearly three weeks, nobody seems to have noticed.
Even though the Writers Guild, BAFTA and the USC Scripter Awards had nominated the film as an adapted screenplay, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences disagreed.
When ballots were mailed to Oscar voters Dec. 29, approximately 400 writers branch members received two advisories, listing the year's eligible films as either original or adaptations.
No one at WB was notified of the switch. And Stephen , the writer-director, never received his ballot in the mail. This week, he sent his assistant to pick up a replacement ballot.
Only a few days remain before Oscar nomination ballots are due at PricewaterhouseCoopers offices this Saturday at 5 p.m. For the past several weeks, Warner Bros. has taken out ads touting the film for consideration as an adaptation, and no one pointed out to them until Wednesday that they were pushing it in the "wrong" category.
Pricewaterhouse will not switch the categories: If someone has voted for the film in the adapted category, the accountants will not switch it over to original.
Gaghan on Wednesday said, "I wrote a lot of original stuff that wasn't in the book and I'm proud of that. And I'm proud that the Academy considers it original. But we optioned a book and I tried to honor Bob Baer. I used his life and I used his book, so I assumed -- everyone assumed -- it was an adaptation."
"You don't do work for awards; it's the gift of being able to make a movie. But it's a weird feeling. Nobody called me, nobody alerted me. I'm kind of heartbroken."
On screen, the credits for the pic say "based on the book 'See No Evil' by Robert Baer."
But an Academy committee felt that the script was different enough to qualify as an original. The writers branch exec committee meets before the end of the year to make such determinations.
In any given year, there are eight to 12 screenplays that change categories, but one Academy vet said the usual switch is from original to adaptation. Amy Heckerling's "Clueless," for example, was considered an original, but she admitted that she was inspired by Jane Austen's "Emma" and the Acad switched it to the adapted race.
Sometimes scripters and studio execs are surprised at the morphing, but the biggest surprise is how long the "Syriana" switch seems to have lain silent.
An Acad spokesman said execs at the org are very confident that voters consult the advisory lists before they vote. "That's why they're created and we know they are used."
I am upset because 'Crash' got so many nominations. I would rather have, like, 'The Constant Gardener' than 'Crash.'
CRASH? are you shitting me? and no nominations for 2046 or wong kar-wai? WTF?
Quote from: Fernando on January 31, 2006, 02:02:48 PM
Quote from: MacGuffin on January 31, 2006, 07:59:07 AM
ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY
BATMAN BEGINS
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA
THE NEW WORLD
This is the category I'm most interested in, two Mexicants got a nod, Lubezki for TNW and Prieto for BM, a morning radio show was already invalidating everybody and giving the accolades to Brokeback, so my question to the ppl who have seen both (pete, pozer, samsong?, cowboykurtis?, mod), is that so? I find hard to believe that BM would be way better than TNW in terms of cinematography.
They both of course deserve the highest of all accolades for cinematography, but personally my vote goes to The New World. And it's hard to believe that the same guy did The Cat and The Hat.
Its so funny how we are all so upset with Crash... the movie its really not bad... but after critics and everyone talking like its the best movie ever... its impossible not to be dissapointed and think that everyone is retarded.
Anyways... Mel Brooks is probably cursing on why he made the stupid Producers movie anyways. I havent seen it yet, and I want to very much. But Box Office was a disaster, and it didnt get a single Nom. Not even for music!
Quote from: kal on January 31, 2006, 04:14:19 PM
Its so funny how we are all so upset with Crash... the movie its really not bad...
You're right except for the word "not".
Hey, at least Crash wasn't nominated for Cinematography, the only nomination it would have deserved. No, that would have made too much sense.
Quote from: Cinephile on January 31, 2006, 09:41:47 AM
Quote from: modage on January 31, 2006, 09:00:40 AM
someone please explain who george clooney is supporting in syriana? or how the fuck jake gyllenhall is supporting heath ledger in brokeback? because i will fight you.
people love clooney, and are you asking why jake is supporting and not leading? or are you asking why jake was nominated at all? cause the academy doesn't make those decisions, you know.. the filmmakers typically do that to avoid splitting the votes. so its really irrelevent to complain about that.
- clooney picks up the oscar hat trick for directing and writing g&g and acting in syriana. suck on that, maude. :twisted:
i like clooney and gyllenhall and i'm glad they're nominated. but the politics involved in putting Clooney in supporting so he'd have a better chance is TOTAL FUCKINB BS> my question was: if he is supporting, WHO IS HE SUPPORTING? because even ensemble films like syriana have 'leading' actors unless this is the first in history where they're all supporting each evenly. gyllenhall is as much a leading character as ledger in brokeback. so that too, is complete bs. if it were hetero it would be best male and best female, the female wouldnt automatically be knocked down to supporting. eat shit, academy. and syriana original screenplay? c'mon. wasn't adaptation up for adapted? and THAT wasn't different enough? the film gives credit to the book, the award shouldnt just neglect that.
Quote from: Cinephile on January 31, 2006, 09:41:47 AM
fuckin' stupid.
damn right.
Silliest thing of the day. ... No Visual Effects nominations for Revenge of the Sith. ... :shock:
So, anyway... when do we start the campaigning for 'There Will Be Blood'?
Quote from: Sleepless on January 31, 2006, 08:27:33 PM
So, anyway... when do we start the campaigning for 'There Will Be Blood'?
We should probably wait until
at least principle photography. That way we can make sure it's not a letdown.
Quote from: Find Your Magali on January 31, 2006, 08:10:23 PM
Silliest thing of the day. ... No Visual Effects nominations for Revenge of the Sith. ... :shock:
That's actually one of the few validating signs I see here... lots of effects does not necessarily equal good effects. I would have loved to see a Visual Effects nod for "Serenity", though.
i think you guys are forgetting we've had years where complete garbage like fuckin GLADIATOR won best picture and best actor. you know how many oscars Crash is walking away with? ZERO. they'll get writing - MAYBE. but lets just accept a lot of people loved it [including me] and its just getting recognition with nominations and thats it. if any of you are pissed cause you think it actually has a chance of winning, forget it.
Quote from: Gamblour le flambeur on January 31, 2006, 08:36:02 AM
I'm not too depressed by Crash's nominations, because come on who didn't see that coming. My eyes just blur everytime I see it, I know it won't win a damn thing (except maybe screenplay).
I agree Cine. Crash getting nominated isn't suprising (does anyone else check the top ten board at Movie City News, critics all love it). The fact that everyone here is shocked by its nominations is surprising. Have you guys never been disappointed by the Oscars before?
this is probably the best line up of nominees since the late 90s, which is really not saying much given the winners in the last 7 years or so.
but if crash does clean up, consider it the worst year ever.
I'm not shocked... I think everything, including Crash, was predictable. That doesnt mean I like it... and it still pissed me off when I saw it this morning.
You know that sometimes, at least for me, if you're surfing around IMDb and you find an old movie that you didnt know that says "4 Oscar Nominations" or something... you get curious thinking maybe its good. Especially if its nominated for Best Picture and Best Director. So well... this is unfortunatelly a case when its bullshit.
Murderball. 8)
If it doesn't win, this is what I shall happen to each and every voting member :hammer:
screw you, penguin.
Quote from: Bethie on January 31, 2006, 11:51:12 PM
Murderball. 8)
If it doesn't win, this is what I shall happen to each and every voting member :hammer:
What happens to us
when if it doesn't win the xixax awards?
Quote from: MacGuffin on February 01, 2006, 12:03:54 PM
Quote from: Bethie on January 31, 2006, 11:51:12 PM
Murderball. 8)
If it doesn't win, this is what I shall happen to each and every voting member :hammer:
What happens to us when if it doesn't win the xixax awards?
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Don't blame me, I voted for Inside Deep Throat.
Lee, Spielberg, Gyllenhaal, other Oscar nominees react
Ang Lee had just returned to his home in New York after taking his children to school and hoped to steal a few moments of sleep. That plan was foiled when word broke that his "Brokeback Mountain" leads the Oscar pack with eight nominations, including his citation for best director. Although "Brokeback's" string of guild nominations had positioned it for Oscar glory, Lee admitted, "We were hopeful, but there was a little anxiety, so this is very good." As the movie -- which skeptics initially warned might play only to a narrow demographic -- has slowly spread across the U.S., Lee said: "It gives me lots of hope and has taught me a big lesson -- that I should never categorize people. Certainly, I've come to realize that there are more gay people out there than I realized. And I also think the movie speaks to people who are very thirsty and hungry to see something with true emotion and some complexity." Lee was particularly gratified when "Brokeback" recently opened in his homeland, Taiwan, where it was rated as suitable for moviegoers ages 12 and older. It opened as the No. 1 film, he noted, and "all kinds of people have gone to see it."
"I was in bed with my husband, Bill Macy, when the phone rang," said Felicity Huffman, who in "Transamerica" plays a man struggling with his desire for a sex-change operation as well as his role as a father. "He chuckled and said, 'Ha ha, don't answer it.' I said, 'I have to answer it!' " Her first call was from her publicist, followed by Weinstein Co. co-founder Harvey Weinstein. "I screamed, and I was hopping around the bathroom talking to Harvey. It's like unalloyed steel. It's an Academy Award nomination -- there's no substitute. It's just the top. I've only had two dreams in my life -- to marry Bill Macy and to win an Academy Award, something I gave up on after I didn't work for two years straight. I feel pretty swell." The nomination also is what thrilled her family the most. "It's the first award that I actually don't have to explain to them," she said. "My mother said, 'Oh, glory be to God!' My sister made me remember when I was just happy to have a job, and my brother reminded me when I was just this sickly kid, and now I'm living in some parallel universe."
This may have been Steven Spielberg's 11th Oscar nomination and sixth directing nom, but the five nominations for "Munich" -- his thriller that wrestles with the thorny questions of how to respond to terrorism -- still made him giddy. "I didn't expect it, honestly," an elated Spielberg said. "I got a phone call at 10 to 6 (a.m.), and my wife picked it up and handed it to me, and I think I displayed the kind of happiness a 9-year-old shows. I was so happy my teeth started to itch." Because "Munich" came under attack from certain circles even before it was released, it fought an uphill battle to garner awards recognition and to reach out to audiences. "I think the biggest obstacle in our path was the armchair warriors who blogged badly about the film before even seeing it," Spielberg said. "The idea of the picture is a hot-button topic. But we lit a fire on purpose to get people talking."
Philip Seymour Hoffman may have been the front-runner for months in the best actor Oscar race for his amazing transformation in "Capote," but it hasn't sunk in just yet. "It's hard to take a step back, but I do have to say, people have called and said 'Do you understand (what this means)?' But it's hard to have objectivity about it," he said from his West Village home in New York. "I already feel very lucky." Hoffman repeatedly stressed that the nomination of his childhood friend, director Bennett Miller, "was almost better than anything." One reason may be that a letter from another childhood friend, nominated screenwriter Dan Futterman, motivated him to take the "Capote" role in the first place. "He said, essentially, 'What else are we in this for other than the opportunity to make a movie together?' It was a little leap of faith, but I was convinced."
"Are you kidding me? I was so surprised!" Jake Gyllenhaal said about getting his first Oscar nom, for best supporting actor in "Brokeback Mountain." Speaking from the set of "Zodiac," Gyllenhaal said he was asleep when his agent called with the news. "I try not to have expectations. I had given up expectations in the past little while, and it's done me a lot of good. I think it's good to leave your expectations at the door. I feel that way about my birthday, I feel that about Christmas, and I feel that way about this."
"I'm still over the moon, and I ain't coming down," said Terrence Howard, who capped off a magical year with a best actor nom for "Hustle & Flow." "I didn't think it would happen. You just gotta think of the talent in this category -- powerful pieces and powerful people. And three of them are real-life stories." But after the news of his first Oscar nomination had sunk in, Howard realized that he would be competing against two comrades. "Philip Seymour Hoffman is my friend, and Joaquin Phoenix is my friend," he said. "It's going to be a battle of friends up there. And we're going to be happy no matter who wins. I'm hoping it's me." Howard now finds himself in a comfortable position. "I don't mind being the underdog. I've always been the underdog," he said. "I'm so looking forward to how they respond to our howling."
"Capote" director Bennett Miller spent a long time in the wilderness before he reached the promised land. "I've felt on the outside my whole career," he said. Landing a best director Oscar nomination makes him feel "very grounded, grateful and relieved of all desire," he said. "We had big hopes, and they were satisfied. To get recognized and respected like this is a new dynamic for me. It resets the bar and makes me want to live up to it." Miller grew up with screenwriter Dan Futterman and knew "Capote" star Philip Seymour Hoffman for years. "I feel as happy for Phil and Danny as I am for myself and the film," he said. "We all respect each other a lot, so there was pressure to live up to each other's expectations of ourselves. We had a kind of familiarity with each other where we could be really honest." Miller thinks that audiences experience "Capote" "as intensely personal. It talks to people in a private, internal place. The story and characters are a vehicle to communicate and reach people."
For Rachel Weisz, "The Constant Gardener's" four Oscar nominations mean that "more people will see the movie," she said. "These themes are relevant today." She hopes that people who respond to the film will check out www.constantgardenertrust.com and donate money to their cause. They've already gone back to the poor areas in Kenya where they shot the film and built two schools and a bridge. "The message of the film is that if you can help one person, that's better than not doing anything," she said. Next up: Even though she is visibly pregnant, Weisz will star in the next untitled movie for Wong Kar Wai, his first English-language film.
Although Joaquin Phoenix has been down the Oscar-nominated road before, Tuesday's best actor mention for "Walk the Line" made him feel like a kid again. "Waking up this early made me reminisce about being a kid, waking up early to beat traffic so my siblings and I could make it to auditions," said Phoenix, who also nabbed a supporting nom for 2000's "Gladiator." "In all those long car rides, I never thought about awards for acting -- I didn't know they existed. I was an actor because the work was rewarding. I never imagined that it would all lead to this moment." In fact, being tapped for his Johnny Cash incarnation left Phoenix feeling a little speechless. "I don't possess the vocabulary to accurately express the sense of gratitude I feel for this great honor," he said. "It's made the entire journey more fulfilling than I ever expected."
When its filmmakers were shooting "Capote," first-time screenwriter Dan Futterman wondered "who's going to see this little movie? I know smart people, and they know smart people, so hopefully there was an audience for this. It turns out smart people are looking for smart movies. It's too bad they all seem to come out the last 90 days of the year." Futterman admitted that the determining factor in getting the movie made was Philip Seymour Hoffman's commitment. "He went to every fundraising meeting vouching for a first-time feature director and first-time screenwriter. It was Phil who said, 'I believe in them; you need to trust me.' " Finally, Futterman thinks "maybe people are starting to distinguish what is for mass consumption for fun and what is serious filmmaking. All the Oscar-nominated movies have a great deal of art and intelligence in them. To be included in this group is strange to me. The two biggest moments of my life were walking onstage (as an actor) in Tony Kushner's 'Angels of America' on opening night on Broadway (and) being nominated for a screenplay Oscar along with him."
"I found out about a half-hour ago," said Hubert Sauper, the French helmer who directed best documentary nominee "Darwin's Nightmare." "When it was announced, I was in the air flying from Paris to Marseilles. By the time I landed, I had 25 messages on my cell phone within an hour." It's ironic that he was flying because his film seeks to uncover certain mysterious cargo on flights to and from Tanzania. "It will be harder to make films about similar subjects, because Google is everywhere now, and they'll know I'm not just a travel filmmaker." Still, the director doesn't think he'll be thrown in jail on his upcoming return trip to the country, as he was while making the film. "With the Oscar nomination," he says, "now I have protection."
"I'm laying down on the floor, quietly staring at the ceiling," said Gavin Hood, director of the Oscar-nominated South African film "Tsotsi." Hood is in Los Angeles, far away from the rest of the film's team, who are celebrating together in his home country. "It's lunchtime, and my entire cast and crew are having a big old party. They're probably in a state of drunken chaos by now." He added: "We have no name actors, so this is a huge boost in getting the film out into the world. It's also a huge boost for Presley (Chweneyagae, who makes his film debut as the title character). Without him, the film would not be what it is." Hood sees the nom as a vindication for his investors and for the new regime at Miramax Films, which picked up the film in the summer before it won any accolades. "(Miramax president) Daniel Battsek flew out to the Edinburgh festival just to see it," he said. "It's the first film they picked up, which makes me feel really grateful to them."
Director Christian Carion's best foreign-language film nomination for "Joyeux Noel" marks the 35th foreign nomination for Sony Pictures Classics co-presidents Tom Bernard and Michael Barker, going back through their days with Orion Classics and United Artists. "We bought it in Cannes because it was one of the best anti-war movies we'd ever seen," said Bernard, who opted to hold the film for a March release in hopes of an Oscar nomination to boost awareness. Carion insisted on releasing the true story of a 1914 Christmas truce in Europe in three languages -- English, French and German -- with subtitles. "The people were not so lazy as we thought," he said. "Nobody in France knew this happened. It was taboo." Stanley Kubrick's 1958 "Paths of Glory" told the same story, Carion said, featuring a German woman singing to the French soldiers. But for 15 years the film was banned from being shown in France. "The French didn't want people to see their soldiers shaking hands and getting drunk with the enemy Germans. Now everyone knows it happened because of this movie, and this is my pride."
"The Squid and the Whale" writer-director Noah Baumbach awoke at 8:50 a.m. to dreaded silence. "I looked at the clock and realized I wasn't being woken up by the phone, which indicated to me that maybe it wasn't great news. In every one of these I've read, the person always seems to be woken by the phone," Baumbach said. But when he checked his cell phone, there were eight messages informing him that he had received his first Oscar nom for "Squid's" original screenplay. "Laura Linney was the first one. She was incoherent because she was yelling so loud. But it was great," he said. Although Baumbach was disappointed that neither Linney nor co-star Jeff Daniels was nominated, he found comfort in the fact that the small-budget indie will be represented come March 5. "What's been amazing is this film has hit every hurdle that we had to hit," he said. "A year ago, we were just coming out of Sundance. A year before that, we were making this movie in 23 days. It has all been gravy after we finished it. I feel like every little victory has been a victory for the whole movie." Now that Baumbach has an Academy Award nom of his own, he said he feels worthy of his one-time collaborator Wes Anderson. "Well, Wes is Academy nominated, too, so now I've matched him," joked Baumbach, who co-wrote with Anderson "The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou." "Wes and I will definitely work together again."
In an awards race typically filled with lavish period pieces, "Good Night, and Good Luck's" monochromatic midcentury newsroom seemed like a long shot for an outstanding art direction nomination. "But as awards season crept closer, we started to see that people actually were paying attention," said Christa Munro, art director on the movie for production designer Jim Bissel. "We didn't have any money, so we had to be very clever." The art department set up camera tests with cinematographer Robert Elswit, also nominated, in order to envision Edward R. Murrow's black-and-white world.
It seems long ago and far away, but Amy Adams' best actress win at last year's Sundance started the ball rolling for her first Oscar nomination as a pregnant Southern belle in "Junebug." "This year has flown by," she said. "Sundance was important for 'Junebug'; it brought attention to the film and got the film seen." Adams thanked Sony Pictures Classics co-presidents Tom Bernard and Michael Barker for "picking the film up and getting the screeners out first." Adams had hoped to get a good night's sleep but "popped up at 5 a.m. and watched TV," she said. "I was in shock. It'll probably be next year this time before I feel what I should be feeling." Next up for Adams: the Walt Disney Co.'s live-action animation feature "Enchanted," in which she plays a princess who becomes real, opposite Susan Sarandon's queen.
Composing legend John Williams seemed a little staggered by the fact that he is now second only to Walt Disney in total Oscar nominations. Disney received 59 in his lifetime, while Williams' two nominations this year bring his tally to 45. "That's amazing," Williams said, "and he had a whole studio behind him. ... It's a hard reality to really comprehend." With his scores for Steven Spielberg's "Munich" and Rob Marshall's "Memoirs of a Geisha" going head-to-head, Williams chooses to espouse no favorite. "You have all of your children -- aspects about each one you admire and things you wish you could improve," he said. "I'm proud of both of them."
Michelle Williams found that being nominated alongside Heath Ledger for the same film was icing on the cake to an already harmonious relationship. "It's so uncommon, and I don't know if it could even happen again. We already share a house and a baby, and to share this, too? It's so cohesive. It's so sweet." Speaking of the baby, little Matilda kept waking Williams up -- at midnight, at 3 a.m., at 5 a.m. -- so when the nomination announcements came around, Williams was confused as to why anyone was calling so early. "I honestly didn't remember it was this morning," she said. "I didn't go to sleep thinking about it, so I thought it was a friend calling. I thought I was going to have to reprimand them or something." Williams said that to celebrate, the couple "might get a baby-sitter and go on a date."
MTV Films and Oscar have never been mutually synonymous. In fact, the Paramount Pictures label has snapped up only two Academy Award nominations: for "Election" (adapted screenplay) and "Tupac: Resurrection" (documentary). But this year, the Academy doled out a best-ever three nominations to the youth-skewing MTV. "I'm doing back flips," MTV Networks president Van Toffler said. "I mean, the pimps and hos movie, it's just unbelievable." In a shocker for Toffler, "Hustle & Flow" nabbed two noms: best actor for Terrence Howard and original song for "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp," which now is one of his all-time favorite songs. "We were much more hopeful over (documentary nominee) 'Murderball,' " he said. "We love 'Hustle & Flow.' We were elated with the Golden Globe nomination Terrence got but didn't feel that the Academy would give him the Oscar nod. We are a little surprised and even more surprised that we got nominated in the original song category." After all, the Academy isn't best known for its edginess. " 'Hustle & Flow' is not the typical fare nominated by the Oscars," Toffler said. "I think it's great to see such creative risk-taking rewarded."
"I've distributed the film myself, (so) I was completely stunned," director Marshall Curry said of his docu "Street Fight," which chronicles the rough-and-tumble 2002 Newark, N.J., mayoral election. "I have a baby, and everyone thinks they have the cutest baby in the world. It's the same with a film, but getting this external validation is amazing. I think the film speaks to two issues: democracy and race," said Curry, who was only given access to the challenger in the contentious election. "Even though both candidates are African-American, one accuses the other of not really being black." He spoke with the accused candidate, Cory Booker, who he said was "pretty thrilled" by the nomination. "The next election is coming up pretty soon, so this means the film will have an even greater impact."
George Clooney was one of the few honest enough to say that he was up early to watch the nomination announcements. "I'd love to say that I was sound asleep and didn't notice them, but I woke up for them. Nobody does (admit it), but the truth is, I seriously doubt anyone actually slept through it," he said. While happy for the nomination for best supporting actor for "Syriana," he is particularly happy for the many noms his "Good Night, and Good Luck" received. "I'm happy because you can put on the DVD box that ('Good Night') is nominated for six Academy Awards, and that's a pretty big thing for a seven-and-a-half-million-dollar, black-and-white film. It will help get it out there. And it also means that we'll get another crack to do more films like that." Clooney, who was on a set shooting a commercial for a coffee maker -- "I'm doing a commercial for overseas to pay for my little black-and-white film," he laughed -- hoped to hook up with "Good Night" producer Grant Heslov for celebratory drinks.
Songwriter Kathleen "Bird" York, nominated with Michael Becker for "In the Deep" from "Crash," at this point might be as well known for her TV and film acting work as she is for her music. She has continuing roles on "The West Wing" and "In Justice" and co-stars with Anne Heche in the feature "Fatal Desire," airing this month on Lifetime. Said York, a first-time nominee, "I have an audition today for a pilot, but I just don't think I'm going to make it." She added: "I actually was a songwriter before I started studying acting on a professional level. I found it easier to move forward and make a living acting because it was hard to get bands together." York's major-label debut, "Wicked Little High," which features "In the Deep," will be released Feb. 21 by Narada EMI. "I was either the smartest person in the world or the dumbest person in the world," she said, "because I gave the label just seven weeks to put the record out."
Alex Gibney was "over the moon" when he learned his documentary, "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room," earned a nom and immediately called his crew. "We had the smartest guys in the cutting room," he said. He was especially pleased at the timing for the film, which details the alleged crimes of the energy company's executives. "The (Enron) trial started (Monday), so I must say the irony was delicious. ... I can't help but feel it's a vote of confidence for stories routinely ignored by TV news" along with "a sense of moral outrage at the heart of the film." So far, the director, shooting a film about writer Hunter S. Thompson, called two people victimized by the scandal the film examines. "They were ecstatic," he said.
Even with a Golden Globe nomination and a SAG win, Paul Giamatti was still shocked about his best supporting actor nomination for "Cinderella Man." "It doesn't add up for me," he said. "I never put these things together. I figure it's just one lucky step as it goes along each step of the way. I don't usually tie them together." Giamatti recently arrived in snowy Toronto for the filming of "Shoot 'Em Up." He doesn't know anybody there -- "If I was home, I'd be having a high old time, but I'm in Canada, man" -- so how is he going to celebrate? "I have to go to a pistol range and fire some handguns off. That'll be a good energy release. I can get my yah yahs out doing that." And though Giamatti doesn't claim to be a fashionista, he already knows what he's not going to wear to the big show. "I don't wear the bow tie. I look kinda dorky with the bow tie," he said. "You can wear just a tie with the tux, right?"
Not only are the three producers of best picture nominee "Capote" in good company, they find themselves among comrades. "I'm so happy to be in that company," said William Vince, who has built friendships with the filmmakers from the other nominated films throughout this awards season. "I loved 'Munich.' Steven Spielberg has been very gracious to our team," he said. " 'Crash' I loved, and Paul Haggis is a very passionate filmmaker. George Clooney has been a class act. Ang Lee has been a class act." But after learning of "Capote's" five nominations, Vince celebrated by calling "all the little people" who helped catapult the film into rarefied territory. "There are so many little pieces of passion that strung this together," he said, singling out United Artists' input. For Michael Ohoven, the morning showing was an impossible dream come true. "I didn't dare to imagine -- I mean five nominations!" he said. "It's so important for this type of picture to get the recognition from the Academy. Even though we are a Sony Pictures Classics film, it's hard to compete with the films that have $50 million P&A budgets." As for the film's impact, Caroline Baron hopes that studios will begin to embrace quality movies that don't pander to the masses. " 'Capote's' success will help movies like this in the future," she said. "I do think the studios are looking at these films that are successful. People want to see smart, intelligent movies. There's a hunger for it, evidenced by the nominees."
Grant Heslov and his wife "jumped around the room" as they learned that "Good Night, and Good Luck" earned six nominations, including best picture and best original screenplay. Heslov, a veteran actor and executive producer of Section Eight's cable series "K Street" and "Unscripted," has sole producing credit on the movie he co-wrote with George Clooney. "I can't believe it," he said. "We made a seven-and-a-half-million-dollar movie in black and white that George is co-starring in, but the lead is David Strathairn, one of the great actors but not a movie star. We made a film about journalism and broadcast media and its role, ground away on it, and to have it turn out this way is amazing."
"This one really was a sidewinder," said Dolly Parton, who received her second best song nomination for "Travelin' Thru," from "Transamerica." The singer-actress added: "I didn't know (they wanted a song) until the movie was done. They were ready to go." Parton was contacted to contribute the song while she was in the middle of a national tour. "I had one day off on the tour, and we happened to be close by Nashville," she said. "We went right in the studio, and I got my band in and did it all in one day and mixed it the next morning. ... It was quick, and it was good." Said the much-honored musician of her Oscar kudos: "It's a different world than the one I normally live in. I've done a few movies, but I don't think of myself as an actress. This was just a great honor because it happened so quick. I just hurried up and wrote."
One of the first calls "Brokeback Mountain" cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto received after the Oscar nominations was from a popular radio station in Mexico City, his hometown. "It's an exciting day -- we have two Mexican cinematographers nominated," Prieto said of his colleague Emmanuel Lubezki, nominated for "The New World." But of the many projects Prieto has photographed in recent years, he said he is pleasantly surprised to see what clicks with audiences. A case in point is "Brokeback," which Prieto took right after shooting Oliver Stone's "Alexander." "I'd say the camera and lighting packages were 10 times smaller on 'Brokeback,' " the first-time nominee said. "That didn't make shooting 'Brokeback' less challenging. We worked on a short schedule, the weather was not cooperating, and (we had) so many locations and time periods. I just never imagined that it would get the attention it's getting. I didn't think it was the kind of cinematography that would get noticed -- we tried to be as organic and unnoticeable as possible -- so it's very exciting." Prieto's photography next will be seen in Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's "Babel."
Matt Dillon felt a pang of bittersweetness about his nomination for best supporting actor for "Crash." "I'm very excited about it, but at the same time, part of me wishes that some more of my fellow castmembers could have gotten nominated, too, cuz there certainly were worthy performances. I wouldn't say overlooked because it's not a competitive sport, but Terrence (Howard) was certainly worthy. Don (Cheadle), Thandie (Newton). Ryan (Phillippe) was terrific. Michael Pena, Sandra Bullock. I really feel that. So I'm proud to represent the cast. But we all did it together. It's the best ensemble I've worked with," said Dillon, who has worked in such movies as "Malcolm X," "Singles" and "The Outsiders."
Composer Dario Marianelli, nominated for his "Pride & Prejudice" score, was in his London studio laboring on the score for director Asif Kapadia's forthcoming feature "The Return" when he got the call. Marianelli said, "Joe Wright, the director, rang me and said, 'Have you heard?' I said, 'No.' I had to sit down. I couldn't breathe for a few seconds. ... I was literally speechless. It was not something that was on my mind." Marianelli said that for Wright's adaptation of the Jane Austen novel, he attempted to approach the music organically. "One of the challenges was that I wanted to keep the score free from click tracks," he said. "I had to find a number of ways to work that I hadn't before. It was the first time I've done something that way. I learned a couple of new tricks."
Heath Ledger was in a Los Angeles hotel bed with fiancee and "Brokeback Mountain" co-star Michelle Williams and their baby daughter, Matilda, when they heard the news of their Oscar nominations. "Supporting my partner and enjoying this awards season for her makes it so much more bearable," said Ledger as Williams made calls from another room in their suite. "It means you're not wrapped up in your own nomination. It's exciting, and I'm extremely proud of her. It's sweet. I'm also excited for Jake (Gyllenhaal) and Ang (Lee) and the movie, which is really beautiful, and Annie Proulx, the creator of this story. The biggest reward of this movie was my two girls: I was given a family, which is bizarre." While he'd like to "stumble into a few more projects as good as this one," Ledger is in no rush to get back to work. First and foremost, "I'm going to bed to cuddle my girls," he said. "We're thinking of traveling this year. I have the cutest distractions here at home. It's so hard to think about leaving them to go out and work."
"The Constant Gardener" scribe Jeffrey Caine learned of his first Oscar nomination -- in the adapted screenplay category -- while watching a British TV station from his home in Ireland. Being wide awake -- it was 1:40 p.m. local time -- he was able to fully grasp the magnitude of the mention. "An Oscar is one of those three awards that are recognitions of excellence that the whole world knows. The other two are the Nobel Prize and an Olympic gold medal," he said. "To be nominated for one is indeed a great honor and very pleasing." Reeling with excitement, he credited "Constant Gardener" author John le Carre with "wonderful source material." Added Caine: "I had the most generous, original, spirited author one could hope for who always encouraged me to diverge where I needed to from his book and to make the film as cinematic as I could. He has gone on record as saying he is very pleased with the film and my work, which pleases me more than I can tell you."
Director Nick Park was at Heathrow Airport before his departure to New York, where he will promote the release of "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit." "Our palms were very sweaty, we were listening to live radio," Park said. "The British press has been saying we were a shoo-in. We didn't know either way, although we knew (because of all the conjecture by the press) it would be a bit embarrassing if we weren't." Since computer-animated characters have started making regular cameos during the Oscar broadcast, the question was raised whether Aardman Animations' clay-animated characters are available for similar appearances. "I don't know that there's any plan to do that, but (the characters) could be interpreted in CG," Park said. The director knew what Wallace would be wearing should the occasion arise: a big bowtie covered in sequins. "I think he'd say he was well chuffed," Park said. "Then he'd need to retire and have a good cup of tea." A sequel to "Wallace & Gromit" is a possibility, at least more so than Park's 1991 Oscar-nominated short "Creature Comforts," which probably will not end up as a feature film. "Because of the nature of the documentary style, I don't know if it would carry over 90 minutes," Park said. "We're taking a small break and planning what to do next. I think, for me personally, my next film will be clay animated. Clay is the thing for me."
When the nominations were announced, "Brokeback Mountain" composer Gustavo Santaolalla was in London, readying himself for a Tuesday evening Barbican Hall performance of "Ayre," a collaborative work with Argentinean composer Oswaldo Golijov; Santaolalla appears Friday and Saturday in New York at Lincoln Center with Bajofondo and the Kronos Quartet. Santaolalla, whose Golden Globe-winning song "A Love That Will Never Grow Old" was ineligible for an Oscar nomination because of its brief screen time, received his first Oscar nomination for just his fifth film score after a long career as a performer, songwriter, producer and label operator. "I started in the music business when I was 16," he said. "I've been at it since I was a kid. I'm totally aware of the speed in which things moved in this new phase. I'm excited and in a state of awe."
"When you grow up without many friends, your friends are movies, so I'm absolutely elated," said Henry-Alex Rubin, co-director (with Dana Adam Shapiro) of "Murderball," the documentary detailing the rough sport of rugby played by tough paraplegics in wheelchairs. "I was certainly a dork growing up, so this is a total dream. I wanted to make movies all my life." One real-life friend of Rubin's is James Mangold, director of "Walk the Line" (which has five nominations) and his mentor a decade ago at Columbia University. "We fantasized about us as teacher and student being in the same room at the Oscars a year ago, but we haven't talked about it since then so as not to jinx it," Rubin said. "He was the first person I talked to this morning. It's surreal." Rubin hopes the nomination helps murderball itself. "It shines a light on a sport that otherwise gets kept in the dark," he said. "It would be great if a company like Nike would sponsor these guys. I hope it helps bring the sport into the mainstream since we're the only country in the world that doesn't fund it." But the nomination probably means the most to the paraplegic athletes in the film. "I got an e-mail from Bob Lujano, who said this was an incredible moment," Rubin said. "I also got a text from Chris Igoe. He was insulting me -- that's how we express love to each other." And just what did he say? "It's unprintable."
"Working with director Fernando Meirelles on 'The Constant Gardener' was wonderful," nominated editor Claire Simpson said. "I'm very proud of the way our film's love story is conveyed through the editing, and I'm pleased that the members of the Academy appreciated my work."
Josh Olson, nominated for best adapted screenplay for "A History of Violence," was up early and watched the announcements live. "Of course I'm going to get up, of course I'm going to watch it. Those who say they aren't are lying!" It was a crazy morning for Olson, who was fielding nonstop calls. He stepped out at one point to go eat some pancakes with his girlfriend, and when he came back, his answering machine was full. "And I've had at least five calls from people I have no idea who they are. It's been kinda crazy." Olson was surprised that "Violence's" Maria Bello and Viggo Mortensen didn't get any love from the Academy and was shocked that director David Cronenberg wasn't nominated. "I thought this was going to be his year. I thought Hollywood loved the story of the guy who went off and made some determinately independent films over the last few years and came back to the studio system and made a film that did not give up any of his integrity. I thought, 'This was what they love, this is what they always reward, isn't it?'" Olson is happy to be recognized for adapting a graphic novel, hoping this might open people's eyes that comic books offer worlds beyond superheroes. "In the craziness to adapt comic books, Hollywood is stumbling over the fact that comic books are not some kind of unified field. They aren't just superheroes. It's ripe material for all sorts of films. Stuff like this wakes people up to the fact that comics is simply a medium and that you can tell any story in comics. If somehow I've helped people come to respect to the medium a little bit more, then it's great." Olson planned to spend the rest of the day catching up on movies, with "The Skeleton Key" atop his list.
How often these days do you hear the British say, "The Americans know exactly what they're doing"? That was the sentiment among the "Pride & Prejudice" crew when they heard they had earned four Oscar nominations, not the least of which was the one for Keira Knightley, who had been overlooked by the English for the BAFTA nominations. The self-coined "P&P crew" had gathered for a meeting on "Atonement," director Joe Wright and producer Working Title's next project, when they heard that three of them had been recognized. "It's 3 in the afternoon, and we were just having a very dull budget-cutting meeting," said Sarah Greenwood, "Pride's" Oscar-nominated production designer. "This is just brilliant, we're so excited for Keira."
"It's like a waking dream," said French director Luc Jacquet (via a translator) of the best documentary nomination for his film "March of the Penguins," the latest triumph for one of the highest-grossing documentaries of all time. When Jacquet heard about the nom, "Obviously, I didn't call the penguins," he said. Instead, he called the film's producers and crew, who had just finished celebrating the announcement of France's Cesar Awards nominations, which also recognized "Penguins." "We should have stayed together to celebrate some more," he said. Working on his upcoming fictional docu "The Fox and the Child," Jacquet expressed some surprise. "I didn't know if the film's success might hinder it's chances for a nomination," he said.
"It's like winning the lottery," said "Crash" editor Hughes Winborne. "I was driving my son to school, he went early today for a field trip, I pulled over and we both cried. It was a good cry." The editor said his film credits so far have been mostly overlooked indies. His work on "Crash," however, already has changed his career; he now is cutting "Pursuit of Happyness," starring Will Smith. "I'm very happy with my career, I have no regrets," Winborne said. "But 'Crash' could have been lost like so many indie films that get lost along the way. Somehow it managed to fight its way through, in a way that a lot of studio films don't have to. If you're an indie, the decks are stacked against you, so this is a miracle." Winborne also was nominated by BAFTA and the American Cinema Editors. "Unfortunately, they're the same night, so I'm going to the Eddies, which is 20 miles away," Winborne said. "Editors are fairly isolated people, so it's not often you get to be around people in a shared experience." Winborne said he hadn't any "Crash" moments lately, "but I haven't had 'Brokeback' moments either."
Pixar Animation Studios' short film "One Man Band" actually is the work of two men: Andrew Jimenez and Mark Andrews. The duo shared a terrifying moment at the end of production on Brad Bird's "The Incredibles." "We were called to go separately into a meeting with Ed (Catmull)," Jimenez said. "We thought we would be fired," Andrews added. Instead, Catmull asked each if he wanted to direct. "I said, yeah! Are you kidding?" Jimenez said. The guys, who had formed a fast friendship on Bird's "The Iron Giant," spent two months developing their story and then nine months in production. They finally screened the short for their toughest audience, the Pixar crew and families, in 2004 at the annual Christmas party. "We played it 11 or 12 times," Jimenez said. Their colleagues must have been riveted because, unlike most Pixar in-house screenings, none of the local jokesters fired up their laser pointers for an impromptu light show during the screening. "Oh, no, Mark and I would have escorted them out," Jimenez laughed.
Quote from: MacGuffin on February 01, 2006, 12:03:54 PM
Quote from: Bethie on January 31, 2006, 11:51:12 PM
Murderball. 8)
If it doesn't win, this is what I shall happen to each and every voting member :hammer:
What happens to us when if it doesn't win the xixax awards?
i will fight you.
I hope Brokeback wins best picture, but I hafta to give it to Hoffman over Ledger for my best actor wishes. Williams over Keener in supporting actress, though.
Just a show of hands, who liked 'Crash' here?
Personally, I didn't find it anything special at all. Infact, I almost dislike it as a whole.
you disliked crash!? that's craaaazzzy yo.
but seriously. did grizzly man break some kinda academy rule to invalidate its eligibility?
Quote from: musse on February 07, 2006, 10:48:47 PM
Just a show of hands, who liked 'Crash' here?
Personally, I didn't find it anything special at all. Infact, I almost dislike it as a whole.
Xixax hates Crash (http://xixax.com/index.php?topic=7523.0)
Quote from: pete on February 07, 2006, 11:00:36 PM
but seriously. did grizzly man break some kinda academy rule to invalidate its eligibility?
Bear skinned'Grizzly Man' is the best documentary of the year. So why can't it compete for an Oscar? Source: Los Angeles Times
Call it the OPEC of Oscars.
Thanks to a tiny cartel-like group within the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the best-reviewed feature documentary of the year has already been eliminated as an Oscar contender in that category.
The movie is "Grizzly Man," Werner Herzog's look at Timothy Treadwell, a rather disturbed naturalist from Malibu. Treadwell spent more than a decade of summers living among grizzly bears in Alaska, until he and girlfriend Amie Huguenard were killed by one in October 2003.
Herzog told Treadwell's story with interviews and, more important, 100 hours of haunting archival footage shot by Treadwell himself. Those tapes show Treadwell at times talking to some of the earth's deadliest creatures up close, as if was bantering with a class of third graders.
A website called www.criticstop10.net, which ranks films according to how well they fared on 613 critic best-film lists, says "Grizzly Man" appeared on 154 lists for 2005 and was ranked No. 1 by nine critics.
According to the site, "Grizzly Man" stands ninth among all films, one place behind Steven Spielberg's "Munich," and ahead of such best picture contenders as "The Constant Gardener" and "Walk the Line."
Among 79 "Cream of the Crop Critics," "Grizzly Man" ranks eighth, just ahead of "Crash."
And when it comes to documentaries, "Grizzly Man" is by far the best-reviewed film. It appears on twice as many top 10 lists as runner-up "March of the Penguins," the most successful documentary at this box office last year.
Time's Richard Schickel went so far as to rank "Grizzly Man" No. 1 among all films in 2005, ahead of "Munich," "Crash" and "Cinderella Man." Schickel called it "the year's oddest, and therefore most arresting, film."
Film critic groups in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Toronto have already honored it as best documentary. The National Society of Film Critics named it best nonfiction film. On Wednesday, the Directors Guild of America named Herzog as one of its five nominees for outstanding directorial achievement in documentary film even though he's not even a member of the guild.
So why is "Grizzly Man" already out of the running for an Oscar?
Because it didn't make the cut of 15 feature documentaries picked from among 82 by a small group of academy members to be worthy of consideration for the five nominee slots that will be announced Jan. 31.
The 134 eligible members of the academy's documentary branch will pick via committee from among those 15 films — as long as they watch them — to determine which ones qualify for the five prized nominations. The academy's 5,798 eligible members then are allowed vote on which nominated documentary gets the Oscar after promising to watch them in a theater.
But none of those members gets to vote for "Grizzly Man," because the decision has already been made for them.
Asked why he thinks "Grizzly Man" didn't make the cut, Arthur Dong, one of the governors from the documentary branch, said: "We have certain procedures in our nomination process. It didn't rise to the top 15."
Members of the filtering group don't discuss openly why they voted the way they did, Dong said, so he doesn't have a clue why it didn't make it.
The "certain procedures" Dong refers to have led to another black eye for the academy, which in the past overlooked such films as "Hoop Dreams," "Roger & Me" and "The Thin Blue Line."
For a documentary, an Oscar nomination and win can be a coup not only artistically, but financially when it comes to DVD sales. In recent years, such documentaries as "Fahrenheit 9/11" and "March of the Penguins" have proved there's gold to be made in the genre.
"Grizzly Man" grossed $3.1 million at the box office, respectable for an art house documentary, and is said to be doing well on DVD.
Distributor Lionsgate, which understandably doesn't want to tick off academy members as it tries to score nominations for "Crash," was inexplicably mute when it was first revealed that "Grizzly Man" wasn't on the list. (One can't help but wonder how ballistic the Weinstein Co.'s Harvey Weinstein would have gone if one of his films had been slighted in the same way.)
To their credit, however, Lionsgate executives are finally speaking out.
"I was extremely disappointed it did not make the short list for feature documentaries," said Tom Ortenberg, president of Lionsgate Theatrical Films. "As other awards season committees have demonstrated, 'Grizzly Man' was easily one of the best documentaries of 2005."
For his part, Herzog, whose earlier work includes "Fitzcarraldo," "Aguirre: The Wrath of God" and "Nosferatu," is taking the high road.
The German filmmaker acknowledged that he's an outsider among documentarians, and that he's alienated some over the years in debating what the genre should be about.
Nonetheless, he said: "We shouldn't be losing sleep over this. I'm very pleased that this film caught on so well with audiences. I cannot ask for more."
Ironically, "Grizzly Man" is still on the list of more than 300 films eligible to be nominated for a best picture Academy Award. Absurdly, it has a better chance of getting nominated for Oscar's highest award, where it has no chance to win, than for feature documentary, where it would be one of the favorites.
The reason for having a group prune through all of the documentaries to identify the elite ones is entirely logistical: nobody has time to watch all of them, so someone has to do it for them.
Fair enough, but why not let the documentary committee release a list of the films it has determined are among the best, then let members vote for any film they want.
When I mentioned that to Dong, I expected a defensive reaction. Instead, his response floored me.
"That's an interesting thought," he said. "I don't think we've considered that idea, but we'll consider it."
It's always debatable and subjective whether "Grizzly Man" or any other film deserves an Oscar, let alone a nomination.
What's indefensible, however, is that the academy and its documentary branch have procedures in place that disenfranchise its members in deciding whether it does.
It's especially shameful in a category of filmmaking that should be the most democratic of all, one where people are always fighting against unfair odds to be heard and get the attention they deserve.
Quote from: Ravi on February 07, 2006, 11:02:19 PM
Quote from: musse on February 07, 2006, 10:48:47 PM
Just a show of hands, who liked 'Crash' here?
Personally, I didn't find it anything special at all. Infact, I almost dislike it as a whole.
Xixax hates Crash (http://xixax.com/index.php?topic=7523.0)
Whoa, awesome! I'm glad i'm not alone on this!
Quote from: musse on February 07, 2006, 10:48:47 PM
Just a show of hands, who liked 'Crash' here?
Quote from: pete on February 07, 2006, 11:00:36 PM
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi15.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fa385%2Fmatt35mm%2Findex.jpg&hash=4081e0835c5df56cf286912e931e73813ffc6e34)
That doesn't mean that Pete or I or anyone else liked it... I just thought it was funny that it was the first avatar after the question.
I just hope they do away with that despicable tier system of handing out the awards. Making the "middle" class nominees stand on stage like a miss america pageant, and making the least "important" winners accept their awards from their seats, far away from the celebrities. I may seriously have to stop watching the Oscars if they continue this because I think their priorities are screwed. Another recommendation is to let the fucking winners SPEAK!!! They let the superbowl go on as long as they like. Drop a couple dance numbers and stop cutting off the speeches. But most importantly, let every winner get up on stage for fucks sake.
I completely agree, jigzaw. That was just plain tacky. It's like the joke at the Emmys where Eva Longoria says she doesn't feel she's treated differently because she wasn't nominated with the other Housewives, and they pull the camera back and she's way in the back of the auditorium. Okay, maybe not EXACTLY like that.
I'm pretty happy with a lot of the nominations, namely the Best Actor category (though I do agree Hoffman has it locked, and for good reason). I too was dumbfounded by Crash. I guess I didn't realized so many critics were in agreement about it. I thought it was so blatant and heavy handed, I couldn't understand why people loved it or "re-examined themselves" as a result of it. Please!
Nice to see Good Night and Good Luck getting recognition. Masterfully made, if you ask me.
I was a fan of The Constant Gardener, and I think it deserved more nominations, but I actually don't think Weisz deserves the award as many people say. It was a great performance, but not spectacular.
I think it's just interesting to see so many fresh faces nominated. I mean, a year or two ago, I would have never guessed that George Clooney, Matt Dillon, Reese Witherspoon, Amy Adams or Heath Ledger, among many others, would be Oscar Nominees. But it was a good year, in my opinion.
Hooray for Altman's Honorary Oscar.
Quote from: BrainSushi on February 24, 2006, 11:15:41 AM
Hooray for Altman's Honorary Oscar.
He's going to lose it to Milos Forman in a stunning upset.
Cleaned-up rap song about pimp among Oscar nominees
In a departure from past Oscar shows featuring syrupy Disney tunes and soundtrack ballads, this year's telecast will give audiences country music, alternative rock and a super-sanitized version of a racy rap song.
The song, called "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp," is from the movie "Hustle & Flow," the story of a pimp who aspires to a singing career. In the Oscars' first performance by a rap group, the group Three 6 Mafia will perform the song, one of three nominated in the best original song category, at the March 5 Academy Awards ceremony.
The pimp movie won't be the only aspect of the Oscars show that could make social conservatives cringe. The gay-themed cowboy movie "Brokeback Mountain" leads the nominee pack and the show is being hosted by Jon Stewart, who fills his news satire "Daily Show" on the Comedy Central cable channel with George W. Bush jokes.
"The Academy (of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences) is really to be commended," said Aaron Rosenberg, lawyer for Three 6 Mafia. "It's admirable that voters are recognizing the hip-hop generation and its influence on American culture."
While rapper Eminem won the best song Oscar in 2003 for "Lose Yourself" from the film "8 Mile," he skipped the ceremony and the song was not performed.
With decency concerns in high gear in the aftermath of the notorious baring of Janet Jackson's breast during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show, Three 6 Mafia worked to make their lyrics meet ABC's broadcast standards.
"We took out all the cuss words and made it squeaky clean," rapper Paul "DJ Paul" Beauregard, who co-wrote the song with Jordan "Juicy J" Houston and Cedric "Frayser Boy" Coleman, said in a telephone interview.
The writers substituted new lyrics where necessary in the song, which portrays the life of a hustler in the inner city of their hometown, Memphis, Tennessee.
'FCC friendly'
For instance, Beauregard said they substituted "It's messed up where I live but that's just how it is," for the lyrics: "It's f---ed up where I live but that's just how it is."
"The song will be FCC friendly," Rosenberg said.
Just in case, ABC is also expected to use a five-second delay to aid network censors.
While Beauregard is thrilled with the chance to perform during the Oscars, he sees a double standard in the media.
"Some stuff should definitely not be heard by younger kids but what they're able to watch on television, like people stealing cars, is sometimes a lot worse than what we're singing about," he said.
Also competing for the original song Oscar will be Dolly Parton's country song, "Travelin' Thru," from "Transamerica," a road-trip film about a man undergoing a sex change.
Parton did not perform live when she was nominated in 1981 for her title song "Nine to Five." Instead, producers played a snippet of the tune.
The third contender is alternative rock trance song "In the Deep" from the film, "Crash," an explosive drama about racial tensions. It will be performed by Kathleen "Bird" York, who co-wrote it with Michael Becker.
Having the songwriters perform their own songs marks a change from last year, when the Academy tapped singers other than the songwriters, like Beyonce and Antonio Banderas, to perform the nominated songs.
"The great victory is that I'm going to be able to reach a lot of people with music that's very close to the bone," said York, who also is an actress with a recurring role on television's "West Wing." "I did not write an obvious crowd pleaser or a radio hit."
At first I figured Jon Stewart was a cool choice, because he's Jon Stewart. But now that I see him in these print ads for the Oscars... he seems so out of place. I think it was the picture of him holding an Oscar that did it. It looked as if he, too, wondered why he was holding an Oscar.
I had forgotten when the Oscars was on, and then after midnight today, thought that it may have been last night. I have no sense of the days anymore. Each day is literally a surprise (i.e. "It's Monday!?!?")
Finally, Roger Ebert has a particularly poor sense of Oscar buzz. He accompanies his odd predictions with ridiculous reasoning. He's not crazy for predicting Crash as the BP winner, but some of his other predictions are pretty out there.
Anyway, this was a completely meaningless post.
"I would love to see Robert Altman take the stage at the Oscars next Sunday and give this speech: 'I thank Hollywood and The Academy for absolutely nothing, and I dedicate this award to Ingmar Bergman, Alfred Hitchcock, Martin Scorsese, Stanley Kubrick, Akira Kurosawa, Orson Welles and Frederico Fellini -- all of whom, like myself, succeeded primarily outside the Hollywood circle, and have never been recognized by the Academy for any achievement whatsoever.' Then he would leave the Oscar on the podium as he walks off the stage." -- a reader identified as "III Rathbun." (In fact, Welles shared the Best Original Screenplay Oscar with Herman J. Mankiewicz for Citizen Kane, and Kubrick won a Best Visual Effects Oscar in '69 for 2001: A Space Odyssey. And Fellini and Kurosawa did won a few of those on the foreign language category.)
www.hollywood-elsewhere.com
Quote from: Alexandro on February 27, 2006, 11:35:31 AM
"Then he would leave the Oscar on the podium as he walks wheels off the stage."
Quote from: matt35mm on February 27, 2006, 12:16:53 PM
"Then he would leave the Oscar on the podium as he PTA walks wheels him off the stage."
Quote from: MacGuffin on February 27, 2006, 02:42:43 PM
"Then he would leave the Oscar on the podium as he PTA walks wheels props him up 'Weekend at Bernie's-style and then carefully drags him off the stage."
Oscars viewers to hear word "bitches" in song
There will be no F-word but the word "bitches" will be heard during the first-ever rap performance at the Academy Awards on Sunday.
At the request of the Academy and ABC, which is broadcasting the Oscars show, the authors of best song nominee "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" from the film "Hustle & Flow" have substituted less offensive words for the song's profanity-laced lyrics.
"As long as the Academy approves it, it's cool," said rapper Jordan "Juicy J" Houston, a member of Three 6 Mafia, which wrote the song for the film and will be performing it.
But he said he was told by actress Taraji P. Henson, who performed the song in the film, and will sing onstage with Three 6 Mafia, that the show's producers were letting her keep the word "bitches," in the chorus. "Taraji said the Academy told her she can say 'bitches,"' said Houston.
A spokesman for Gil Cates, the producer of the Oscars telecast, confirmed that the word "bitches" was not one of the words changed by the nominated artists.
In another flap over lyrics a few years ago, actor-comedian Robin Williams performed a cleaned-up version of "Blame Canada" the off-color, Oscar-nominated song from the animated "South Park" movie during the Oscars telecast, replacing the f-word with a lesser f-word that means an expulsion of intestinal gas.
After being asked to perform the pimp song at the 78th Academy Awards, Houston, along with fellow songwriters, Paul "DJ Paul" Beauregard and Cedric "Frayser Boy" Coleman, combed through the tune, line by line, substituting various words to make the lyrics meet ABC's broadcast standards.
The song portrays the life of a hustler in the inner city of Three 6 Mafia's home town, Memphis, Tennessee,
"We know there will be children watching and we want it to be family-friendly," Houston told Reuters.
While rapper Eminem won the best song Oscar in 2003 for "Lose Yourself" from the film "8 Mile," he skipped the ceremony and the song was not performed.
Some industry analysts have suggested the Academy is hoping to reach a younger demographic by putting rap on the show.
Aaron Rosenberg, lawyer for Three 6 Mafia, said it was a milestone for the Academy to recognize hip-hop's influence on American culture and the group is extremely sensitive to decency concerns after the baring of Janet Jackson's breast during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show.
"They worked hard to clean it up as much as possible without compromising their artistic integrity," he said.
Just in case, ABC is also expected to use a five-second delay to aid network censors.
THE OSCARCAST is virtually TiVo-proof. If you don't watch it live, what's the point? It's also largely devoid of product placement, thanks to a series of restrictions the Academy imposes on ABC.
There are no advertising logos permitted around the entrance to the Kodak Theater or onstage. It's what advertisers call a "clean venue."
And there are no ads featuring either nominated or presenting talent. In other words, there will be no Nicole Kidman spots for Chanel No. 5. (There will, however, be an unusual two-minute American Express ad directed by and starring M. Night Shyamalan.)
Movie ads are off-limits, too. In contrast to the Super Bowl, which has become a virtual trailer reel of coming attractions, ABC isn't permitted to air any movie plugs during the telecast.
The rationale for this, according to the Acad's exec administrator, Ric Robertson, is to prevent the appearance of a conflict of interest that might arise if, say, Universal swept the Oscars and also advertised several of its films on the telecast.
"That the integrity of the vote is removed from any commercial interests of the Academy is a very important concept," he said.
Think of it as the Hollywood equivalent of the federal election law that prevents you from posting campaign signs within 200 feet of a polling place -- a reasonable enough policy when you compare the Oscarcast with the Super Bowl, in which even the coincoin toss is brought to you by Cingular or Pepsi.
QuoteBEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
BADGERED
THE MOON AND THE SON: AN IMAGINED CONVERSATION
THE MYSTERIOUS GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORATIONS OF JASPER MORELLO
9
ONE MAN BAND
My mom went to high school with the man that did The Moon and The Son. She was in a play with him once, she played some sort of ganster and they were supposed to pretend kiss. She said he was really shy and what not, but the day of the play, he bent her right over and kissed her for real! My mom said the nuns were pissed.
Tonight's the night... Oscar party at my place... (so excited I can hardly wait!)
Brokeback Mountain is going to win Best Picture... :yabbse-grin:
I've had a couple of weeks to think everything over, and I have some last minute predictions and preferences I'd like to share.
Some years, a film may be nominated and I'd be like, "eh, it was good, don't really see why it was put above certain others," etc., but this year I have no complaints. I would love to even have a 5-way tie for the first time in Oscar history. But maybe that's asking too much. I've seen all of the nominated best pictures, I've seen many other nominees (I sucked in the Best Actress category though), so I think I can make some educated guesses here. So, here are my "official" predictions, as well my own preferences:
Best Picture
This is a difficult category, since, as I mentioned, every film was absolutely exceptional. The two front contenders are, seemingly, Brokeback Mountain and Crash. BBM has generated an enormous amount of buzz over the past few months, mostly gay cowboy jokes, and has gone on to win the Golden Globe and BAFTA awards for best picture. Crash's buzz, however, has been more subtle, and consistent since its summer release. It's the film everyone's talking about, as apposed to Brokeback, which is the film everyone's yelling about. All logistics tell me that Brokeback will win. It only seems...well, logical, right?
However, there's also my gut feeling, which tells me something differently. I call into play "The Silence of the Lambs Factor." It is extremely rare for a movie to be on video and win a best picture Oscar. It was very popular on video and came as quite the unexpected winner, when the odds seemed to be on Bugsy (it won the Golden Globe). But now we have the age of DVD. Could a big DVD hit win? They tested this out with SeaBisquit in 2003, which, despite mediocre box-office performance, became a DVD hit and garnered several Academy Award noms, including Best Picture. Now could very well be the time that a DVD success actually wins.
Many people say that Brokeback Mountain is a lock and that you'd have to be an idiot not to see that, but I say no, hold on a second, it could be closer than you think. In my mind, it's a neck and neck race. I loved the other 3 pictures, but Good Night and Good Luck and Capote's victories are already in the nominations, and the Academy wanted to recognize Munich since, out of the 5, it will probably be the only film to be remembered in 20 years to be a truly signifcant film (IMO).
Basically, this is a battle between logistics and gut feelings for me, but I think I'd put my money on the wild card, and go with my gut feeling. I know it sounds ridiculous, and I'd prefer- basically- every other movie to win, and I know Crash isn't exactly loved on this board, but like Laurence Tierney in Reservoir Dogs, how can you argue with a gut feeling?
PREDITCION: Crash (though obviously it would be an insanely close call)
PREFERENCE: Good Night, and Good Luck; I'd also be happy with Capote though.
Best Actor in a Leading Role
Okay, this one is safe to call a lock. The Academy likes to pull surpises off every now and then, like when Adrien Brody won over the favourites Jack Nicholson and Daniel Day-Lewis in 2002. This is not one of those years. If Phillip Seymour Hoffman does not win for his portrayal of Truman Capote it will be just an awful, obvious mistake. Like if Marlon Brando didn't win for The Godfather, or even Charlize Theron for Monster. This is PSH's best work in a vastly underappreciated career (full of mostly supporting roles), and this will be his year.
PREDICTION: Phillip Seymour Hoffman
PREFERENCE: Phillip Seymour Hoffman
Best Actress in a Leading Role
This is the hard one for me. I've only seen one of the 5 performances: Reese Witherspoon in Walk The Line. And, while it was good, it didn't blow me away. I have to guess from buzz on this one. Basically, it's a race between Reese for WTL and Felicity Huffman for Transamerica. Reese's movie is a theatrical and DVD smash hit. Transamerica will be lucky to play in art houses. While the academy has a history of honoring performances by actresses who downplay their beauty (Charlize Theron in Monster, Hilary Swank in Boys Don't Cry, etc.), but I think this year they'll give it to Reese. Not only cause they want to honor a "glamourous, beautiful actress" performance, and not only because Reese is the new America's sweet heart Julia Roberts type, but because Walk The line should be honored with something, and although Jaquin's performance is superior to Reese's, he has a very very slim chance of winning.
PREDICTION: Reese Witherspoon
PREFERENCE: none
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
This is the year's category that seems to be the most uncertain among people. I'd say it's a race between Clooney, Dillon, and Gyllenhaal. Many people say Paul Giamatti will win, but I think those people are delluded. If they only predict that on the logic that he has been snubbed over and over and simply deserves it on principle, they are not paying much attention. In my mind, the winner has always been clear, in deserving the award and the probability of taking it home: that person is George Clooney. I have a feeling that Good Night, and Good Luck will be totally snubbed this year, so in a way, this is Clooney's compensation. I've made my peace with the fact that he should have been nominated for a lead role, and I honestly feel his is the best performance of the 5 nominees. Jake won the BAFTA, but it's not his time, and while I feel that Matt Dillon could win over Clooney, it wouldn't be fair to the rest of the cast of Crash to single of one of many great performances. Syriana has many great performances, but Clooney deserves to be singled out, because I can honestly say he was the best in the movie. Crash, everyone was great. So Clooney for me, but don't dismiss Dillon. He might snag it.
PREDICTION: George Clooney (though Dillon would be the upset)
PREFERENCE: George Clooney
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Apparently Amy Adams is getting raves for her work in Junebug, but I can't really comment since I have not seen it. I've heard the Constant Gardener was a great movie that was snubbed, but I haven't seen that either. I do think, though, that Rachel Weisz will win in this category because, like Witherspoon, she'll represent a movie that was unfairly left out. Plus, I love Weisz anyway, so there's that. However, I have to say that I'm ultimately keener on Keener. Behind every great man is a great woman, and behind Hoffman's brilliant performance in Capote, there is Catherine Keener's performance. She plays off Hoffman very well, playing a person with far less eccentricities. It is a graceful, natural performance as a good person that is genuinely concerned for her friend. I don't think it's likely that she'll win, seeing has Adams would be the dark horse in the race, but it she is my personal prefence.
PREDICTION: Rachel Weisz
PREFERENCE: Catherine Keener
Best Director
Even more than PHS, Ang Lee is a lock for best direcor. No questions asked. He won the Directors Guild Award, which is basically an Oscar garantee. Added to the fact that he was nominated and lost in the past for directing Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, there's virtually no chance for a loss.
PREDICTION: Ang Lee
PREFERENCE: George Clooney
Other categories, my predictions:
Original Screenplay: Crash (though I'm rooting for GNAGL)
Adapted Screenplay: Brokeback Mountain (if there is a surprise upset, by any unlikely chance, it would be A History of Violence)
Cinematography: The New World (seeing that many feel this was snubbed in every other category possible....NOTE: if BBM wins this, I will immediately dismiss my Crash theory and declare BBM to be a lock)
Editing: Crash
Art Direction: King Kong
Costume Design: Memoirs of a Giesha
Original Score: Brokeback Mountain ( I never tire of that gentle guitar riff, lol)
Orginal Song: Transamerica (Dolly's due)
Makeup: Narnia (but it might go to Star Wars for one final sympathy award)
Sound: King Kong
Sound Editing: War of the Worlds
Visual Effects: Narnia, just kidding- King Kong of course.
Animated Feature: Corpse Bride (let Tim Burton win something for once!)
and the rest I can't really comment on...
So basically I think Crash will end up winning with 3 or 4 Oscars to take home, or it will be Brokeback Mountain with 4 or 5. It's not a landslide kind of year, seeing as there were so many great films that they cancelled each other out.
Quote from: Thrindle on March 05, 2006, 11:41:53 AM
Brokeback Mountain is going to win Best Picture... :yabbse-grin:
But if for some God for saken reason Crash wins, we either:
A. Plot to kill ourselves together
B. Give up on the Oscars entirely
C. Plot to kill Roger Ebert
or
D. Plot to
kill ban that dude Crash just for having the name Crash
Crash winning best picture could ruin my Oscar party, if I'm still awake by then.
Shall be toasting if and when Clooney gets an award but most excited about Jon Stewart. I wonder if there's a chance of an over-blown opening musical number.
Enjoy the show everyone.
I'm so fucking sick of everyone I meet saying, "My god, Crash was AMAZING, it was the best movie ever, everyone should see Crash, it was so deep, everyone is racist, can you believe that?"
Crash is not an option at this point. I tried to argue why it was a shitty movie, I almost got blacklisted from my class.
Brokeback has to win. Please let it be so. :(
I just realized the only movie i've seen that is nominated for BP is Munich. So..i guess i want that to win?
Quote from: Thrindle on March 05, 2006, 03:44:50 PM
I'm so fucking sick of everyone I meet saying, "My god, Crash Brokeback Mountain was AMAZING, it was the best movie ever, everyone should see Crash Brokeback Mountain, it was so deep, everyone is racist gay, can you believe that?"
Quote from: 78th Annual Academy Awards
BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
CAPOTE
CRASH
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.
MUNICH
out of the films nominated i hope Munich wins though i know it doesnt have a shot. it was really the most interesting that i've seen of the bunch (though i havent seen Capote yet). if not that, then Good Night And Good Luck, though small i think was the next best. and then, since they're going to give it to them anyways i wont be terribly upset that Brokeback wins because its a good very old fashioned love story and Hollywood likes giving awards to films like that. switch the genders and you've got a pretty boring love story, but a well told one. i suppose it's inevitable and atleast it was better than Crash.
Quote from: 78th Annual Academy AwardsPERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Philip Seymour Hoffman - CAPOTE
Terrence Howard - HUSTLE & FLOW
Heath Ledger - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
Joaquin Phoenix - WALK THE LINE
David Strathairn - GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.
i've actually seen everybody except PSH here and since he seems to be Ledgers only real competition and because i really like him i REALLY HOPE HE WINS. i'm not sure who everybody else saw onscreen when they watched BM but Heath Ledger was really not that great. he was pretty great FOR HEATH LEDGER because you didn't laugh your way out of the theatre but thats only because you're comparing this 'Oscar winning turn' with his previous work in popcorn fare like A Knights Tale and The Patriot. the other actors here are always great so it's kind of hard to 'notice' how great they are because you take it for granted. but when somebody like Halle Berry or Charlize Theron or in this case Heath Ledger does something a little better than usual in a different kind of film it's time to break out the awards. i really did not like him in this film, and i like everybody in every film. he bugged me though. so let it be ANYBODY but him PLEASE god do not give Heath Ledger an oscar.
Quote from: 78th Annual Academy AwardsPERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
George Clooney - SYRIANA
Matt Dillon - CRASH
Paul Giamatti - CINDERELLA MAN
Jake Gyllenhaal - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
William Hurt - A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE
i've seen everybody here and it's too bad that only Hurt and Giamatti actually give supporting performances and everybody else is leading. the supporting actor oscar was not invented for big stars to win. if your name is on the poster, if you're a box office draw, you're not supporting anybody. BUT it is a weird year when all the usual supporting players like Hoffman, Howard, Phoenix and Straitharn are all in the leading category they still need to find a way to give Clooney and Dillon some love. whatever, its bullshit. i dont care who wins here as long as it's not matt dillon. 'Oscar Winner Matt Dillon' just does not sound right and everybody else was better. though it would have been nice for Giamatti to get recognized for Sideways he is more in his element here playing 2nd fiddle in his usual SUPPORTING role so maybe it'd be good for him to win.
Quote from: 78th Annual Academy AwardsPERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Judi Dench - MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTS
Felicity Huffman - TRANSAMERICA
Keira Knightley - PRIDE & PREJUDICE
Charlize Theron - NORTH COUNTRY
Reese Witherspoon - WALK THE LINE
of the two performances i've seen (Pride & Prejudice and Walk the Line) i dont really care who wins here either. they were both good. Keira is too young to win, so that'd probably mess her up so let Reese have it and hopefully like i mentioned in the WTL thread she can try on some more challenging (but not totally obvious oscar baiting) roles in the future. though it is the same sort of 'we never expected YOU to act' vote that ledger might get, it'd still be encouraging. but not Charlize again, we dont need another Swanksuation on our hands.
Quote from: 78th Annual Academy AwardsPERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Amy Adams - JUNEBUG
Catherine Keener - CAPOTE
Frances McDormand - NORTH COUNTRY
Rachel Weisz - THE CONSTANT GARDENER
Michelle Williams - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
i hope Rachel Weisz wins because she deserves it (though that was also probably a leading role). she's always great and i think she's at a Cate Blanchett sort of place that an Oscar wont torpedo her career or force it into unneccesary directions. she'll just continue to be great. that said i really liked Amy Adams but if she continues to be great i'm sure she'll have an oscar one day.
Quote from: 78th Annual Academy AwardsACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING
Ang Lee - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
Bennett Miller - CAPOTE
Paul Haggis - CRASH
George Clooney - GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.
Steven Spielberg - MUNICH
Munich was the best directed film but it doesnt have a chance in hell so you can let Ang Lee have this one. he did a good job so of all Brokeback's nominations i think this is the one it deserves most. i like Clooney and i like him a lot as a director but i'm tired of seeing actors win best director oscars. it just shows that more actors vote for the oscars than directors do and it's dumb.
Quote from: 78th Annual Academy AwardsADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Larry McMutry & Diana Ossana - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
Dan Futterman - CAPOTE
Jeffery Caine - THE CONSTANT GARDENER
Josh Olson - A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE
Tony Kushner and Eric Roth - MUNICH
again Munich and then A History of Violence. not that Brokeback wont win.
Quote from: 78th Annual Academy AwardsORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco - CRASH
George Clooney and Grant Heslov - GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.
Woody Allen - MATCH POINT
Noah Baumbach - THE SQUID AND THE WHALE
Steven Gaghan - SYRIANA
i really would've liked Squid and the Whale to win this because it's the best of the bunch and in a more normal year i think it might've had a chance (since this is where the rewarding usually gets done to the best films that dont get recognized elsewhere) but with bridesmaid Crash and GNAGL in the running i dont think it has a shot. sad that it couldnt even get love at the Independent Spirit Awards.
Quote from: 78th Annual Academy AwardsBEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM OF THE YEAR
HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE
TIM BURTON'S CORPSE BRIDE
WALLACE & GROMIT IN THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT
i didnt see Howls yet, (this week) but of the other two they were both exceptionally well animated though Corpse Bride songs and story were pretty blah. so while it'd be cool for Burton to have an Oscar, give it to Wallace & Gromit cause Miyazaki already has one for Spirited Away and because their studio burned down.
Quote from: modage on March 05, 2006, 04:28:23 PM
Quote from: Thrindle on March 05, 2006, 03:44:50 PM
I'm so fucking sick of everyone I meet saying, "My god, Crash Brokeback Mountain was AMAZING, it was the best movie ever, everyone should see Crash Brokeback Mountain, it was so deep, everyone is racist gay, can you believe that?"
I completely get you now. This post defines you more so than any of the ones in The New World thread. How many people you know or meet really say all that? You know the praise for Crash is much greater by those same people. I think, if anything, it's the critical hype and praise you're sick of. Don't say that the annoyance compares to or is greater than that of Crash for sake of a clever post. Just don't.
yes i'm more sick of hearing about how great brokeback mountain is than i am from hearing about how great crash is. for the most part i dont hear many people talking about crash and everywhere i turn somebody is praising brokeback to death. its not that great and i'm tired of hearing about it. :finger:
Quote from: modage on March 05, 2006, 05:15:03 PM
yes i'm more sick of hearing about how great brokeback mountain is than i am from hearing about how great crash is. for the most part i dont hear many people talking about crash and everywhere i turn somebody is praising brokeback to death. its not that great and i'm tired of hearing about it. :finger:
Well, I feel the exact opposite. I'm sick of hearing so many people in my town praise Crash for it's "incredibly insightful messages", and then turn around and shit on Brokeback because it's a "homo film". A little hypocritical don't you think?
It's like Crash would be the scapegoat for why Brokeback won't win. Oh yeah, we didn't embrace homosexuality, but look, WE AREN"T RACIST!
And that's a piss off because
Brokeback Mountain IS a better film than Crash.
understandable. i think its bad if either/any film wins because its pushing an agenda. 'we arent racist.' or 'we arent homophobes'. it'd be cool if the best films won because they were best regardless of their messages or social issues. but Brokeback was a better film than Crash so if it's between the two i'd rather Brokeback won.
:bravo: racheal!!
now the studio can finally release/market the fountain..and include "academy award winner......."
Best part of the opening skit- David Letterman.
hahahhahahahahaha.........i love those "extras" in the crash song..
its so deep
Altman can walk!
Haha. He looks better than I thought he would. His voice is a little shaky, but maybe that's just nerves. Great to see him get his due, and his speech was great too.
Talk about a swing in momemtum though: that pimp song is awful. What an embarrassment.
..and the Oscars are invalidated for life. INSERT RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION HERE. At least Jack presented the award with style, but can I get a barf bag to go with this flight?
:doh:
The Academy is a fucking joke.
OH MY GOD!!!
I give up on the Oscars.
:bravo:
YEEEEEEEEEEEEHAAAAAAW!!!!
i am so glad this won.....i guess the voters must have read my posts about how unique this film was...
neon 2
xixax 0
i'm stuck at work with no live results. did crash just win?
Yep.
did cathy schulman just thank her husband AND her wife, or was that just me?
Lots of people predicted this. I just didn't want to listen, but I guess it's wasn't technically unforeseeable...
Still. WHY? Brokeback was GOOD. Shame.
Best Motion Picture of the Year
Winner: Crash (2004) - Paul Haggis, Cathy Schulman
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Winner: Philip Seymour Hoffman for Capote (2005)
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Winner: Reese Witherspoon for Walk the Line (2005)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Winner: George Clooney for Syriana (2005)
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Winner: Rachel Weisz for The Constant Gardener (2005)
Best Achievement in Directing
Winner: Ang Lee for Brokeback Mountain (2005)
Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
Winner: Crash (2004) - Paul Haggis, Robert Moresco
Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
Winner: Brokeback Mountain (2005) - Larry McMurtry, Diana Ossana
Best Achievement in Cinematography
Winner: Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) - Dion Beebe
Best Achievement in Editing
Winner: Crash (2004) - Hughes Winborne
Best Achievement in Art Direction
Winner: Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) - John Myhre, Gretchen Rau
Best Achievement in Costume Design
Winner: Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) - Colleen Atwood
Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score
Winner: Brokeback Mountain (2005) - Gustavo Santaolalla
Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song
Winner: Hustle & Flow (2005) - Jordan Houston, Cedric Coleman, Paul Beauregard("It's Hard Out Here For a Pimp")
Best Achievement in Makeup
Winner: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) - Howard Berger, Tami Lane
Best Achievement in Sound
Winner: King Kong (2005) - Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, Michael Hedges, Hammond Peek
Best Achievement in Sound Editing
Winner: King Kong (2005) - Mike Hopkins, Ethan Van der Ryn
Best Achievement in Visual Effects
Winner: King Kong (2005) - Joe Letteri, Brian Van't Hul, Christian Rivers, Richard Taylor
Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
Winner: Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005) - Steve Box, Nick Park
Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
Winner: Tsotsi (2005) - Gavin Hood(South Africa)
Best Documentary, Features
Winner: Marche de l'empereur, La (2005) - Luc Jacquet, Yves Darondeau
Best Documentary, Short Subjects
Winner: A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin (2005) - Corinne Marrinan, Eric Simonson
Best Short Film, Animated
Winner: The Moon and the Son (2005) - John Canemaker, Peggy Stern
Best Short Film, Live Action
Winner: Six Shooter (2005) - Martin McDonagh
Quote from: Xidentity Crixax on March 05, 2006, 10:28:35 PM
i'm stuck at work with no live results. did crash just win?
If you're online, couldn't you just go to IMDb.com to get the results? I see inference is not your strong suit.
:yabbse-sad:
I would rather have seen them give it to Munich. Crash: Not a bad film, but easily the worst (i.e., most flaws and loss of steam/inspiration) of the bunch.
i for one am rather excited to see what cinephile has to say...
Quote from: bonanzataz on March 05, 2006, 10:29:10 PM
did cathy schulman just thank her husband AND her wife, or was that just me?
Nope, I heard that too.
Quote from: onomabracadabra on March 05, 2006, 10:30:09 PM
Quote from: Xidentity Crixax on March 05, 2006, 10:28:35 PM
i'm stuck at work with no live results. did crash just win?
If you're online, couldn't you just go to IMDb.com to get the results? I see inference is not your strong suit.
fuck imdb. i've got macguffin.
Quote from: onomabracadabra on March 05, 2006, 10:30:09 PM
Quote from: Xidentity Crixax on March 05, 2006, 10:28:35 PM
i'm stuck at work with no live results. did crash just win?
If you're online, couldn't you just go to IMDb.com to get the results? I see inference is not your strong suit.
i think he is providing social commentary on the need of xixax
looks like Brokeback Mountain, Crash, King Kong and Memoirs of a Geisha were all the big winners tonite with 3 Oscars each!!!
A truly mediocre distribution for a truly mediocre year~!
See, this is how I know this isn't the real world I'm living in anymore. I clearly have a Christof up in some control room watching over me, going, "Let Crash win. It'll really fuck with his head."
Best line of the night: "For those of you keeping score at home... Martin Scorcese: zero Oscars. 36Mafia: one."
To all those who are not surprised (how could we be?) but still feeling slighted: The Xixax Awards are coming up. You know what to do.
Quote from: md on March 05, 2006, 10:32:54 PM
Quote from: onomabracadabra on March 05, 2006, 10:30:09 PM
Quote from: Xidentity Crixax on March 05, 2006, 10:28:35 PM
i'm stuck at work with no live results. did crash just win?
If you're online, couldn't you just go to IMDb.com to get the results? I see inference is not your strong suit.
i think he is providing social commentary on the need of xixax
yeah, let's go with that.
nah, i'm just a retard. thanks for the benefit of the doubt, though.
I totally feel like crying. i know how dramatic that sounds, but I haven't been this upset since Bush won for the second time. Soul crushing.
Quote from: Thrindle on March 05, 2006, 10:36:40 PM
I totally feel like crying. i know how dramatic that sounds, but I haven't been this upset since Bush won for the second time. Soul crushing clenching.
Quote from: Thrindle on March 05, 2006, 10:36:40 PM
I totally feel like crying. i know how dramatic that sounds, but I haven't been this upset since Bush won for the second time. Soul crushing.
I feel the pain!
Quote from: Thrindle on March 05, 2006, 10:36:40 PM
i know how dramatic that sounds, but I haven't been this upset since Bush won for the second time.
YES....My god... that's
exactly what this feeling is. It's that sense of running around, yelling, "IT'S A COOKBOOK!
TO SERVE MAN IS A COOKBOOK!" but knowing that there's nothing you can really do about it.
final thoughts:
-stewart was fucking hilarious...best host ever
-uma thurman is ugly
-that pimp song is fucking awful...they should have given it to dolly
-i really want to see memiors of a giesha..now more than ever...the film looks beautiful
-i got to give it too reese i use to hate her so much...but after seeing walk the line i actaully like her performance and i dont mind her anymore...the fact that she could change my opinion about her over the course of that film proves her to be deserving of the oscar...
-darren shaved=film complete
-good win for PSH
-kidman was sooooo fucking hot
-i think the insider is underrated
-jamie fox is a douchebag
Quote from: Thrindle on March 05, 2006, 10:36:40 PM
I totally feel like crying. i know how dramatic that sounds, but I haven't been this upset since Bush won for the second time. Soul crushing.
And it's not like you can threaten to leave the country either. A trans-continental relocation might be in order. At least in Europe I hear they're okay with the gay thing.
Oh, and I agree with NEON on one key thing: Uma Thurman looked like Medusa tonight.
'Crash' getting best picture... it like, lessens past ones, like 'Gladiator,' or 'Driving Miss Daisy,' or 'Titanic,' oh wait... who fucking cares.
you gotta be fuckin kidding me! Brokeback was the best of those movies by a long shot. I just knew they'd find an alternate to Brokeback, cuz God forbid they actually give it to the "gay cowboy movie" (as they say). ridiculous.
as for the rest of the show, it wasn't that good. Jon Stewart's personality just didn't fit for hosting the Academy Awards. the show seemed to drag on, the jokes weren't particularly funny and nothing too earth-shattering seemed to happen. but congrats to Robert Altman and PSH! :bravo:
did anybody else think the "Crash" song performance segment looked like Night of the Living Dead?
This is the final nail in the coffin for the Oscars as far as I'm concerned. I'm never watching again. Call me a crybaby, this is bullshit. This isn't just a shitty movie winning best picture like Forrest Gump or Rocky, PEOPLE ACTUALLY THINK IT'S IMPORTANT!!!
But this, working in conjunction with the obscenely high box office intake of Madea's Family Reunion, has proven to me beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is no room for me in the filmmaking industry. I will be focusing all my energies on writing books instead, and will continue to do so until Dan Brown wins a Pulitzer or I drive myself to suicide.
Never before has a Best Picture nominee/winner bothered me so much. I feel betrayed.
Quote from: polkablues on March 05, 2006, 10:34:39 PMBest line of the night: "For those of you keeping score at home... Martin Scorcese: zero Oscars. 36Mafia: one."
I was going to say the same thing!
Quote from: pyramid machine on March 05, 2006, 10:41:29 PM
-uma thurman is ugly
-that pimp song is fucking awful...they should have given it to dolly
Totally agree.
Quote from: onomabracadabra on March 05, 2006, 10:41:42 PM
Uma Thurman looked like Medusa tonight.
Dually noted.
Quote from: Weak2ndAct on March 05, 2006, 10:41:55 PMwho fucking cares.
Guess so...
Quote from: onomabracadabra on March 05, 2006, 10:41:42 PM
Oh, and I agree with NEON on one key thing: Uma Thurman looked like Medusa tonight.
That makes three. I'm not sure what it was, but i think the light hit her nose in a way that made me wikipedia medusa. I think PSH winning helped comfort me for the let down that was the best picture. Even Jack kinda gave a "it is what it is" look. And I don't think Stewart will be back next year, the audience kinda winced more than they laughed...even though it was the funniest shit ever.
Quote from: RedVines on March 05, 2006, 10:42:29 PM
you gotta be fuckin kidding me! Brokeback was the best of those movies by a long shot. I just knew they'd find an alternate to Brokeback, cuz God forbid they actually give it to the "gay cowboy movie" (as they say). ridiculous.
:nono: excuse me sugar..but you cant cop out w/ the "gay cowboy movie"....hollywood is full of liberal idiots...and the fact that the film won for director, screenplay, and nominated for best pic...deadens your arguement....brokeback didnt win b/c of its gayness but rather b/c its overrated.......and heath and jake are douchebags ......damn, douchebag is such a great word..
FUCK.
Yay for:-Ang Lee!!!!
-Jon Stewart
-Robert Altman
-Brokeback Mountain winning for best score, it was absolutely beautiful
-Philip Seymour Hoffman
-Philip Seymour Hoffman's lovely speech, bravo Mr. Hoffman :bravo:
-Cloon-Dog
-Wallace and Gromit
-KONG
-hilarious Tomlin/Streep
FUCK-penguins
-Three Six Mafia except for the comic value. GO DOLLY! :shock:
-CRASH crushed me.
-Reese's long boring speech.
-FUCK GEISHA FOR ROBBING THE NEW WORLD'S CINEMATOGRAPHY AWARD.
-Spielberg snubbed
Quote from: pyramid machine on March 05, 2006, 10:51:26 PM
Quote from: RedVines on March 05, 2006, 10:42:29 PM
you gotta be fuckin kidding me! Brokeback was the best of those movies by a long shot. I just knew they'd find an alternate to Brokeback, cuz God forbid they actually give it to the "gay cowboy movie" (as they say). ridiculous.
:nono: excuse me sugar..but you cant cop out w/ the "gay cowboy movie"....hollywood is full of liberal idiots...and the fact that the film won for director, screenplay, and nominated for best pic...deadens your arguement....brokeback didnt win b/c of its gayness but rather b/c its overrated.......and heath and jake are douchebags ......damn, douchebag is such a great word..
have you seen the movie, fucko? go watch Crash again to fulfill your education on the nuances of the "race relation genre." i can't figure out why i prefer the beautiful, charged story of Brokeback Mountain with its wonderful, spirited humanity to a lesson on how Blacks Can Be Racist Too, maybe i'm crazy.
Quote from: pyramid machine on March 05, 2006, 10:51:26 PM
Quote from: RedVines on March 05, 2006, 10:42:29 PM
you gotta be fuckin kidding me! Brokeback was the best of those movies by a long shot. I just knew they'd find an alternate to Brokeback, cuz God forbid they actually give it to the "gay cowboy movie" (as they say). ridiculous.
:nono: excuse me sugar..but you cant cop out w/ the "gay cowboy movie"....hollywood is full of liberal idiots...and the fact that the film won for director, screenplay, and nominated for best pic...deadens your arguement....brokeback didnt win b/c of its gayness but rather b/c its overrated.......and heath and jake are douchebags ......damn, douchebag is such a great word..
Yes, only a liberal idiot would vote for
Crash. The smart liberal people (obviously outnumbered) in Hollywood surely voted for one of the others. They're all better movies than
Crash, a good third of which plays like an okay episode of a "quality" TV drama, not the best feature film of the year.
Stewart was the only good part of a boring year of Oscars and Oscar winners.
I wasn't a big fan of Munich, but it was the last nomination for best picture read, and then Crash won, and it came to me then how much more I would have rather seen Munich win.
But you know. Whatever. The Oscars come and go, the pictures stay, I'm thirsty.
I want in on whatever drugs the academy are on. Crash winning is FUCKED UP.
Quote from: polkablues on March 05, 2006, 10:34:39 PM
Best line of the night: "For those of you keeping score at home... Martin Scorcese: zero Oscars. 36Mafia: one."
Good line. My favorite line was after the big dramatic montage (what was with all the montages?) about the social issues that Hollywood has tackled: "And none of those were ever problems again." or something like that.
I just liked his face after 36Mafia won.
I kept typing 35.
Quote from: shnorff on March 05, 2006, 11:01:23 PM
I want in on whatever drugs the academy are on.
Is inability or lack of desire to properly assess subtext a drug?
Quote from: Hedwig on March 05, 2006, 10:53:26 PM
have you seen the movie, fucko? go watch Crash again to fulfill your education on the nuances of the "race relation genre." i can't figure out why i prefer the beautiful, charged story of Brokeback Mountain with its wonderful, spirited humanity to a lesson on how Blacks Can Be Racist Too, maybe i'm crazy.
Another good question along those lines is: Where was Spike Lee's award for
Do the Right Thing, a much more astute and important film on race than
Crash?
. . . but the people who are saying that we're making too much of all this are right. It's only the Oscars. The actual quality of a film is not lessened or heightened by losing or winning an award.
Quote from: hacksparrow on March 05, 2006, 11:03:33 PM
Quote from: shnorff on March 05, 2006, 11:01:23 PM
I want in on whatever drugs the academy are on.
Is inability or lack of desire to properly assess subtext a drug?
Can i say....yes?
Quote from: pyramid machine on March 05, 2006, 10:51:26 PM
:nono: excuse me sugar..but you cant cop out w/ the "gay cowboy movie"....hollywood is full of liberal idiots...and the fact that the film won for director, screenplay, and nominated for best pic...deadens your arguement....brokeback didnt win b/c of its gayness but rather b/c its overrated.......and heath and jake are douchebags ......damn, douchebag is such a great word..
this might actually come as a surprise to you, but the Academy is paranoid about how they look. Brokeback Mountain was the most controversial movie of the year and had tons of protests. most of the Academy people are old-fashioned geezers and I'm guessing a few did not like the idea of Brokeback too much. yea, it got a few Oscars but not the ultimate award of the evening. if you want over-rated, go look at Crash.
Am I the only one going to suffer from nightmares with the image of Dolly?
I mean really she's 60!
Quote from: The Artist Formerly Known As on March 05, 2006, 01:38:12 PM
But if for some God for saken reason Crash wins, we:
D. Plot to kill ban that dude Crash just for having the name Crash pyramid machine!
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ftheenvelope.latimes.com%2Fmedia%2Fphoto%2F2006-03%2F22282772.jpg&hash=698bc5623e52678d9f8cf9cf653011dafec658b3)
i knew it, notorious b.i.g. didn't die, he just lost some weight.
Quote from: killafilm on March 05, 2006, 11:12:45 PM
Am I the only one going to suffer from nightmares with the image of Dolly?
I mean really she's 60!
no Dolly won't even have a CAMEO in my star-studded nightmares.
another thing I wanted to add to the list of things I liked: the montage about cinema relating to social justice was moving. it made me smile to see so many brilliant and important films being acknowledged.. my favourite was the short clip they played from the Woody Allen-starring "The Front," really wonderful and underrated.
and once again, bravo to Mr. Hoffman. definitely the most heartfelt speech of the night.
Quote from: Hedwig on March 05, 2006, 11:26:18 PM
Quote from: killafilm on March 05, 2006, 11:12:45 PM
Am I the only one going to suffer from nightmares with the image of Dolly?
I mean really she's 60!
no Dolly won't even have a CAMEO in my star-studded nightmares.
another thing I wanted to add to the list of things I liked: the montage about cinema relating to social justice was moving. it made me smile to see so many brilliant and important films being acknowledged.. my favourite was the short clip they played from the Woody Allen-starring "The Front," really wonderful and underrated.
and once again, bravo to Mr. Hoffman. definitely the most heartfelt speech of the night.
Yes! So happy to see Woody Allen onscreen though I haven't seen The Front. I really liked that segment, though I really had to laugh and scoff at The Day After Tomorrow being in the same friggin montage as Network and To Kill a Mockingbird, what the hell???
Loved Phil Seymore Hoffman winniing, but too bad he didnt' bark like a dog like he had promised as a teenager. So glad he won, though. So pissed about Crash. I'll never doubt Roger Ebert again, the always-right bastard.
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Quote from: RegularKarate on March 06, 2006, 12:08:25 AM
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:lol:
Quote from: MacGuffin on March 04, 2006, 12:31:15 PM
And there are no ads featuring either nominated or presenting talent. In other words, there will be no Nicole Kidman spots for Chanel No. 5. (There will, however, be an unusual two-minute American Express ad directed by and starring M. Night Shyamalan.)
By the way, even though I like M. Night more than most of you guys, that American Express commercial was not good.
i completely forgot about the oscars :doh:. first time ever. i seriously don't care for the list at all, but i wanted to see jon stewart .
edit: i win this thread.
how could you not expect crash to win when it was foreshadowed all throughout the show on that huge marquee at the top
the academy's out of focus falling circles behind the words look suspiciously similar to the out of focus falling circles present in all crash promotional material
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I watched the first 15 minutes and PSH's win. I skipped the rest. Kind of expected Crash to win. But really, didn't we all stop caring about the Oscars when Gladiator won?
Quote from: Jeremy Blackman on March 06, 2006, 01:41:57 AM
But really, didn't we all stop caring about the Oscars when Gladiator won?
I'm still reeling from
Wings beating
The Racket and
Seventh Heaven back in '29. Total bullshit.
Quote from: Jeremy Blackman on March 06, 2006, 01:41:57 AM
But really, didn't we all stop caring about the Oscars when Gladiator won?
This isn't on the same level. Gladiator winning is standard. This is like if Chocolat won that year.
sweet monkey butt fucker.
bestclooney's speech (easily the best of the night)
PSH's speech (a close second)
weisz winning
altman's speech
worststewart (surprisingly mediocre. rock was better by a long shot).
everything else (including shymalan's AMEX commercial, which was laughably bad).
you guys actually
expected crash to win cuz i sure as hell didn't! when nicholson announced it i seriously thought he was joking. munich or brokeback should've won, and the constant gardener should've been nominated over crash.
Quote from: Jeremy Blackman on March 06, 2006, 01:41:57 AMBut really, didn't we all stop caring about the Oscars when Gladiator won?
we pretend to not care but we all do.
i really feel stupid in saying this b/c godardian is right-- an award at the end of the day means little to nothing and has no effect on the actual quality of a film. as film enthusiasts, we tend to overreact over these things, especially with the oscars, which in all reality is more about fashion than film. crash winning means nothing. we all know that. so i think the best thing for all of us is to relax, take a deep breath, get on with our lives and pretend this whole thing didn't happen.
WHAT THE FUCK WERE THEY THINKING?!
it really doesnt matter what wins because the academy tends to gloss over history and when they put together those clip reels they include the movies that are still good and that people actually like and not the ones that won the awards. look at the AFI list of the Greatest Films of All Time and then see how many of them actually won Best Picture.
ps. Gladiator is good.
Quote from: ©brad on March 06, 2006, 08:28:51 AM
Quote from: Jeremy Blackman on March 06, 2006, 01:41:57 AMBut really, didn't we all stop caring about the Oscars when Gladiator won?
we pretend to not care but we all do.
That is sadly true, but at the same time I think it's more like 'this year they will get it right attitude', I mean there have been some years that they have got it right, right? Although those are so few.
Quote from: ©brad on March 06, 2006, 08:28:51 AM
i really feel stupid in saying this b/c godardian is right-- an award at the end of the day means little to nothing and has no effect on the actual quality of a film. as film enthusiasts, we tend to overreact over these things, especially with the oscars, which in all reality is more about fashion than film. crash winning means nothing. we all know that. so i think the best thing for all of us is to relax, take a deep breath, get on with our lives and pretend this whole thing didn't happen.
I second this. :yabbse-thumbup:
There are countless of flims that don't win shit but survive the test of time, we all know them, or can you tell me without doing a search who beat Citizen Kane? I know I can't.
I can't believe nobody has mentioned this...
BestBoth speeches of original screenplay and best picture were cut! :laughing:
WorstAnd the oscar goes to...
Crash Trash
Quote from: Hedwig on March 05, 2006, 11:26:18 PM
another thing I wanted to add to the list of things I liked: the montage about cinema relating to social justice was moving. it made me smile to see so many brilliant and important films being acknowledged.. my favourite was the short clip they played from the Woody Allen-starring "The Front," really wonderful and underrated.
i thought it was sneaky.
the first montage: okay okay biopics. gotcha, there are certainly a lot of those recently.
the second montage: film noir? okay, i like film noir, i'm not really sure what this has to do with anything...
the third montage: social justice. aaah, now it makes sense. they're disguising the fact that they wanted to pat themselves on the back and say 'see? we're always right.' i thought it was preparing us for brokeback to win, like 'you'll thank us later'.
the fourth montage: epics that we MUST see on the big screen! the irony being that out of the 5 Best Picture nominees only Munich would really qualify as somewhat of a big screen experience. most of the major nominations are made up of small indie-ish films that dont demand big screen viewing. the other irony being showing mostly crowdpleasing movies that did not win any major oscars. and when gyllenhaal says you have to keep the big screen experience they cut to mickey rooney shaking his head 'yes'. so listen mickey, if movies still cost a nickel i would see everything in the theatre. i would go everyday. but as it stands, i'm only going to see what i can.
Quote from: modage on March 06, 2006, 09:40:45 AM
it really doesnt matter what wins because the academy tends to gloss over history and when they put together those clip reels they include the movies that are still good and that people actually like and not the ones that won the awards. look at the AFI list of the Greatest Films of All Time and then see how many of them actually won Best Picture.
I count 33 of 100 won. My concern is that this is one of the ones they'll be proud of in the future. Like 30 years from now, "You think you know who you are, but you have no idea [
This is the Diary of Racism :yabbse-grin:]," will be as highly regarded a line as "I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore." And that the clip of Thandie Newton being pulled out of the car before it explodes will be on the same level as Charles Foster Kane in front of that giant picture of himself.
What I can't wait for is Spike Lee to come out and say something. You know it's coming; he's got a movie out soon.
oh well, it's not like the Academy hasn't screwed up before. the important thing to remember is that Brokeback will probably be the movie remembered over time. And Crash probably will not. it might turn into one of those "damn, that movie was big when it first came out" kinda movies, but it will be remembered.
Quote from: hacksparrow on March 06, 2006, 10:30:16 AM
Quote from: modage on March 06, 2006, 09:40:45 AM
it really doesnt matter what wins because the academy tends to gloss over history and when they put together those clip reels they include the movies that are still good and that people actually like and not the ones that won the awards. look at the AFI list of the Greatest Films of All Time and then see how many of them actually won Best Picture.
I count 33 of 100 won.
actually that sounds about right. probably across all categories they're wrong 2/3 of the time. everybody shouldn't worry though because in 15 years or so a gay romance will win best picture and it will be directed by Paul Haggis. it just takes them a little while to catch up.
Quote from: hacksparrow on March 06, 2006, 10:30:16 AMMy concern is that this is one of the ones they'll be proud of in the future.
2004 - Million Dollar Baby
2002 - Chicago
2001 - A Beautiful Mind
2000 - Gladiator
Let's hope it will fall neatly into place among these other mistakes...
Quote from: Jeremy Blackman on March 06, 2006, 11:15:45 AM
Quote from: hacksparrow on March 06, 2006, 10:30:16 AMMy concern is that this is one of the ones they'll be proud of in the future.
2004 - Million Dollar Baby
Let's hope it will fall neatly into place among these other mistakes...
that's one of the few times I've actually agreed with the Academy. :(
me too
Quote from: modage on March 06, 2006, 11:06:24 AM
in 15 years or so a gay romance will win best picture and it will be directed by Paul Haggis.
No. It will be Walker, Texas Ranger: The Movie that takes the prize.
Quote from: modage on March 06, 2006, 10:02:59 AM
the third montage: social justice. aaah, now it makes sense. they're disguising the fact that they wanted to pat themselves on the back and say 'see? we're always right.' i thought it was preparing us for brokeback to win, like 'you'll thank us later'.
Since when has Hollywood been on the ball with social issues? If anything, they're always about 10 years behind. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner came out in 1967, and Philadelphia came out in 1993. Just another sign of the delusional self-congratulatory nature of the Oscars.
i thought 2005 was a better year for movies - when compared to just about all other years since 1999.
anyways, i loathed crash. i wanted brokeback mountain to win, but would have been satisfied with any of the other nominees. except for crash...unbelievable.
Additionally, based on everything I've read and by comparing reviews of the respective films, Tsotsi was also a wuss-out for the Academy. Paradise Now was overall better reviewed, but also a more incendiary topic.
I can't say for sure since I haven't seen either movie, but this may have been an early sign of wussy voting this year.
Quote from: matt35mm on March 06, 2006, 02:16:10 PM
Tsotsi was also a wuss-out for the Academy.
Yeah, though I was surprised that it didn't go to Sophie Scholl... not because I heard anything about it but because you can almost always bank on the Foreign Language and Documentary awards going to the most WWII/Holocaust related nominee. They shot my theory to hell on that one this year. Yeah, they're just playing it safe left and right this year.
Wow, you know, the reaction to Crash's win was a lot like the reaction to Orson Welle's radio broadcast of War of the Worlds. Panic, riots, mass suicide, etc. How terrible.
I'm amoung the (apparent) minority of people here who actually liked Crash. I mean, quite honestly, I thought it was the lesser of the 5 films, but I loved each of them. To me, it's like being in a room with 5 of the most gorgeous women you could think of and being told you can have a night of passionate, no-strings-attatched, guilt-free sex with only one of them. You'll sure as hell have a preference, but eeeehhhh.
So yes, that's my take on the Oscars. It's hard out here for a pimp....
did you take that roomful of gorgeous women metaphor from the best sound design speech last night?
Was There a 'Brokeback' Backlash?
We chatted about it, joked about it, argued about it, spoofed it. "Brokeback Mountain" was everywhere in our popular culture yet it lost the big Oscar it was supposed to win.
Was there a "Brokeback Backlash," or was "Crash" just the worthy contender that came on strong in the final Best Picture stretch? There were as many theories being offered up Monday as there are "Brokeback" parodies on the Internet.
One theory was that, despite the hoopla, the endless late-night monologues and the clever imitations, people (Academy voters, that is) didn't really love the soulful saga of two gay cowboys and perhaps even felt uncomfortable with its themes.
"Sometimes people pretend to like movies more than they actually do," said Richard Walter, who heads the screenwriting program at UCLA's film school. "But this film wasn't really THAT good. What it tried to do was great, sensational. But what it actually accomplished wasn't so great. You can't really buy the love story."
Film critic Kenneth Turan, writing in the Los Angeles Times, said the problem wasn't with the film's quality. Rather, he said, "you could not take the pulse of the industry without realizing that this film made people distinctly uncomfortable."
"In the privacy of the voting booth ... people are free to act out the unspoken fears and unconscious prejudices that they would never breathe to another soul, or likely, acknowledge to themselves. And at least this year, that acting out doomed `Brokeback Mountain.'"
Gay activists did not necessarily agree.
"I don't think it has anything to do with the subject matter," said Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, the largest national gay rights group. He noted that "Brokeback" and "Crash" both dealt with "tough issues like indifference and intolerance."
"I was certainly disappointed," Solmonese said. "But I would trade that Oscar for all the positive conversations that this movie spurred between parents and their gay children, or between employees and their gay co-workers. That impact transcends any accolades."
Some people focused on the demographics of the typical Academy voter: older, and city-dwelling. Author and "Brokeback" co-screenwriter Larry McMurtry thought that was key to his film's loss.
"Members of the Academy are mostly urban people," McMurtry, who won the adapted screenplay prize with Diana Ossana, said backstage at Sunday night's ceremony. "We are an urban nation. We are not a rural nation. It's not easy even to get a rural story made."
McMurtry could have added that not only are Academy voters urban, they also are from Los Angeles the city that is the heart of "Crash," a racial drama depicting the intertwining experiences of an array of characters over 36 hours. The film, featuring a huge and accomplished cast ("Raise your hand if you're NOT in `Crash,'" host Jon Stewart quipped to the crowd), also won for original screenplay and film editing.
"Brokeback" director Ang Lee, who won the directing prize, said he hadn't a clue why the film didn't take the best-picture award. "They didn't vote for it," he said. "I don't know. You asked me one question, and I don't know the answer."
But his brother had an opinion. Lee Kang, speaking in Tapei, Taiwan, suggested American bias was involved. "When the locals are voting, they will have this, whether you call it nationalism or something else," he said.
"Crash" writer/director Paul Haggis, for his part, said he hadn't "for a second" believed the whispers, which grew louder as Oscar night approached, that "Crash" had the momentum to overtake "Brokeback."
"I didn't believe any of that nonsense," he said. "In fact, we were so shocked. I mean, we're still trying to figure out if we got this."
"Crash" came out to mixed reviews in May, considered much too early for a film to stay in voters' minds. But Lionsgate Films reminded voters and critics of the movie's potency by flooding them with copies of the DVD late in 2005.
In winning over the heavily favored "Brokeback," the film evoked major upsets of the past, most recently the 1999 triumph of "Shakespeare in Love" over "Saving Private Ryan." Another famous underdog champ was "Chariots of Fire," which in 1982 beat both Warren Beatty's historical epic, "Reds," and the family story "On Golden Pond."
One disturbing difference for the Academy: a lot more viewers tuned in to see those upsets. An estimated 38.8 million people watched Sunday's telecast on ABC down 8 percent from last year and the second-worst showing in nearly two decades, according to Nielsen Media Research. Except for the 2003 count of 33 million viewers when "Chicago" took the best-picture award viewership hadn't dipped below 40 million since 1987.
So what is to be learned from Sunday night's upset result? Not much, says Walter, the film professor. You just really never know what Academy voters are going to do.
"It's just a crapshoot," Walter said. "You go to Vegas and you put your money on number 17.
"There is NO lesson to be learned from all this. It doesn't mean a thing."
Quote from: hacksparrow on March 06, 2006, 02:23:06 PM
Quote from: matt35mm on March 06, 2006, 02:16:10 PM
Tsotsi was also a wuss-out for the Academy.
you can almost always bank on the Foreign Language and Documentary awards going to the most WWII/Holocaust related nominee. They shot my theory to hell on that one this year. Yeah, they're just playing it safe left and right this year.
Downfall lost last year.
Quote from: MacGuffin on March 06, 2006, 05:16:51 PM
"Sometimes people pretend to like movies more than they actually do," said Richard Walter, who heads the screenwriting program at UCLA's film school. "But this film wasn't really THAT good. What it tried to do was great, sensational. But what it actually accomplished wasn't so great. You can't really buy the love story."
That's right, folks... you heard it here first. Richard Walter, esteemed writer of nothing that has ever been produced, says, "Brokeback Mountain's not THAT good."
Moral of the story: don't study screenwriting at UCLA.
I have a screenwriter friend (who's movie is gonna be made by Lions Gate) and he's says the same thing about BBM. he said the whole movie boiled down to a bunch of pretty shots of the wilderness. I'm wondering if they even watched the movie.
I think they should seriously have a shakedown of the producers of the Oscar broadcast. They just don't get it. They can't understand why the viewership drops as they go and make awful judgements about what people want to see. Last year it was handing Oscars to the, uh, "less important" winners in their seats. Thankfully they dropped that, but look what they've added: sappy "emotional" music during the acceptance speeches! rudely enforcing this cockamamie only-one-winner-in-the-group-gets-to-speak rule, shit, they cut off the second producer of the Best Picture winner!! There were only two up there, and Haggis didn't take all night or anything, but as soon as his partner opens her lips, boom, done, strike the band and cut to commercials. Fucking pathetic.
Oh, yeah, I'm also pissed that Crash won. That film actually made me angry at how truly awful the writing is.
I've been let down by the Oscars before, but 2005's was just pathetic.
I know I've said some shit about Crash, but for those of you who liked Crash, do you really think it was the best movie of last year? Honestly, I'd give A History of Violence an award for Best Picture than I would for Crash, and it wasn't even nominated.
highlights:
hacksparrow, fucking brilliant man. i love your work.
polky, beautiful as always.
lowlights
pyramid machine; anyone who agreed with him on any point.
winner of life
weak2ndact, awarded to himself by himself.
Real fast: Did no one perform Lose Yourself at the 2003 Oscars? I swear someone did, right?
Quote from: Losing the Horse: on March 07, 2006, 12:36:25 PM
Real fast: Did no one perform Lose Yourself at the 2003 Oscars? I swear someone did, right?
There were no musical numbers performed at the awards that year.
Untrue. Every song was performed except for lose yourself, making the fact that it won a big waste of time for everyone who bothered to perform.
Quote from: Derek237 on March 07, 2006, 12:58:50 PM
Untrue. Every song was performed except for lose yourself, making the fact that it won a big waste of time for everyone who bothered to perform.
You're right. I remember now that that was the same year U2 performed. For some reason I thought the producers that year tried to streamline the show by not having the songs sung. :?
Quote from: polkablues on March 06, 2006, 05:30:32 PM
Quote from: MacGuffin on March 06, 2006, 05:16:51 PM
"Sometimes people pretend to like movies more than they actually do," said Richard Walter, who heads the screenwriting program at UCLA's film school. "But this film wasn't really THAT good. What it tried to do was great, sensational. But what it actually accomplished wasn't so great. You can't really buy the love story."
That's right, folks... you heard it here first. Richard Walter, esteemed writer of nothing that has ever been produced, says, "Brokeback Mountain's not THAT good."
Moral of the story: don't study screenwriting at UCLA.
Dude... I shamefully took a screenwriting seminar from this hack a little over a year ago (I was at a low point and needed something). He's horrible. Beyond horrible. I first began to realize this during the day when he said how bad of a film Punch-Drunk Love was. He further slammed PTA to which members of the class strongly disagreed. He praised crap and taught RULES TO STICK BY or your stuff won't get read... but the worst part, the absolute worst thing ever is that he agrees to read your script and pass them on if he feels they're worthy. Well this ass head contacted me a month later (I couldn't believe how quick), he wrote me a strong letter of how much he loved the characters, story, just needs a little shaping etc. and to give him a call. So naturally I do, and he tells me that he would love to be a script consultant and move it along to his contacts. Sounds pretty outstanding right? Then comes his fee which is of course ri-cock-ulous... 5 grand for his contribution with no guarantees. And NO he will not just pass it along to his contacts because he has a reputation to uphold and has to make sure the material is tip-top. This deusch builds you up, makes you believe you finally may have some sort of an
in and then tarnishes your happiness when he tells you what he charges. People like him are just wrong and should not be affiliated whatsoever with the craft.
I for one will be avoiding this asshole.
a copy of final draft...$250
a ucla extension course in screenwriting...$495
a script consultant with hollywood contacts...$5000
when mediocre hack talent wins an oscar and enrages all the other mediocre hack talent...priceless
go make something better or shut the phuck up already...you are starting to sound like those middle american dopes on american eye doll who sing like someone stunk a rusty car jack up their ass...all the while believing...insanely, absoulutely, without an ounce of of insincerity believing...their shit could move people...
gentleman start your engines...keep truckin on the gawd damn track...
none of us have the stomach to watch anyone else crash
frum won word wizard in the blizzard to sum sore loser in the boozer..."let me sink this drink beef or you drink my pink cheap whore"
mmm hmmm
For once he makes sense... yeah Xixaxers with talent... go and giver.
Any chance of a hybrid Oscar top ten list?
One that get's 50 miles per gallon and doesnt look like a fuckin ladybug...
i don't get it.
I do.
Yes...been there, done that, will do again.
Excited use of a new word for the first time with association.
Drugs.
Quote from: pyramid machine on March 05, 2006, 10:51:26 PM
Quote from: RedVines on March 05, 2006, 10:42:29 PM
you gotta be fuckin kidding me! Brokeback was the best of those movies by a long shot. I just knew they'd find an alternate to Brokeback, cuz God forbid they actually give it to the "gay cowboy movie" (as they say). ridiculous.
:nono: excuse me sugar..but you cant cop out w/ the "gay cowboy movie"....hollywood is full of liberal idiots...and the fact that the film won for director, screenplay, and nominated for best pic...deadens your arguement....brokeback didnt win b/c of its gayness but rather b/c its overrated.......and heath and jake are douchebags ......damn, douchebag is such a great word..
have you seen the movie, fucko? go watch Crash again to fulfill your education on the nuances of the "race relation genre." i can't figure out why i prefer the beautiful, charged story of Brokeback Mountain with its wonderful, spirited humanity to a lesson on how Blacks Can Be Racist Too, maybe i'm crazy.
Quote
i haven't seen it...but i will eventually..i just think the film is overrated and i am sick about hearing about it..i am glad it lost...and the fact that crash, of all films, won is icing......and you guys think that this is one of my favorite films...its not....i was pulling for munich...but like i've said for the billionth time... a current hollywood film that shows minorites acting like bigots and being unreddemable characters rather than only white people...now thats controversial....once some of you guys grow up...[most here are under 18] and realize that the word doesnt move at 24fps you'll see my point
Quote from: pyramid machine on March 09, 2006, 09:56:07 PM
Quote from: pyramid machine on March 05, 2006, 10:51:26 PM
Quote from: RedVines on March 05, 2006, 10:42:29 PM
you gotta be fuckin kidding me! Brokeback was the best of those movies by a long shot. I just knew they'd find an alternate to Brokeback, cuz God forbid they actually give it to the "gay cowboy movie" (as they say). ridiculous.
:nono: excuse me sugar..but you cant cop out w/ the "gay cowboy movie"....hollywood is full of liberal idiots...and the fact that the film won for director, screenplay, and nominated for best pic...deadens your arguement....brokeback didnt win b/c of its gayness but rather b/c its overrated.......and heath and jake are douchebags ......damn, douchebag is such a great word..
have you seen the movie, fucko? go watch Crash again to fulfill your education on the nuances of the "race relation genre." i can't figure out why i prefer the beautiful, charged story of Brokeback Mountain with its wonderful, spirited humanity to a lesson on how Blacks Can Be Racist Too, maybe i'm crazy.
Quote
i haven't seen it...but i will eventually..i just think the film is overrated and i am sick about hearing about it..i am glad it lost...and the fact that crash, of all films, won is icing......and you guys think that this is one of my favorite films...its not....i was pulling for munich...but like i've said for the billionth time... a current hollywood film that shows minorites acting like bigots and being unreddemable characters rather than only white people...now thats controversial....
why would you criticize something if you haven't even seen it and know nothing about it? not that it's ever stopped you before.. like this argument that Crash's depiction of blacks as "unredeemable" instead of only white people is something radical, that's absolute trash: have you not seen ANY of the zillions of movies released in the last, say, ten years that depict minorities as drug dealers, rapists, murderers, thieves, pimps, and buffoons? HONESTLY, man. give up this ignorant argument, it's one of the worst i've seen.
Quote from: pyramid machine on March 09, 2006, 09:56:07 PM
once some of you guys grow up...[most here are under 18] and realize that the word doesnt move at 24fps you'll see my point
well to begin, that's not even true, most here are not under 18..but it doesn't even matter. You think the reason a lot of us criticize this movie is because we're not on the same level of maturity as you? I never knew you to be so arrogant.
Quote from: Hedwig on March 09, 2006, 10:10:56 PM
Quote from: pyramid machine on March 09, 2006, 09:56:07 PM
once some of you guys grow up...[most here are under 18] and realize that the word doesnt move at 24fps you'll see my point
well to begin, that's not even true, most here are not under 18..but it doesn't even matter. You think the reason a lot of us criticize this movie is because we're not on the same level of maturity as you? I never knew you to be so arrogant.
Seriously, neon... Hedwig
is under 18, but he could be giving you
seminars on maturity.
Crash has been seriously mischaracterized as a film. It's so often referred to as a "liberal guilt" movie -- which to some degree I think is the way that Haggis actually meant to have it perceived -- but it plays far more on conservative guilt, in the sense that it assuages the fears of the right wing that their innate racism might
not be justified. You can see this playing out in neon's reactions to it; there's this intense hallucination amongst conservatives that media is somehow anti-white, which really means nothing more than that the old paradigms of saintly white-hatted cowboys versus cartoonishly evil black-hatted cowboys have been replaced by something more complex, something which better resembles the world we live in. Conservatism is, at its core, anti-complexity, and Crash caters to that sensibility, not by reverting to the old black-and-white rules, but by creating a new black-and-white where every character is equal parts of both, and yet no character has even a tinge of gray.
Plus, the dialogue is
awful.
I disagree. :ponder:
the problem with Crash is that the majority of fans coming forward in its defense are just too damn stupid to understand the points being made against them.
that's it and there's nothing we can do about it. it might even be too late for cbrad's suggestion of shutting up about it, the damage is done. fuck it, really..
Quite honestly, when I see arguments against Crash, such as polkablues', all it really is is vague criticisms that could be applied to almost any movie dealing with racism in any way. I appreciate the fact that it's actually something other than "OMG Trash sucked, etc." but I just can't agree with it. Crash was a small-scale movie that happened to get a large amount of unexpected attention, and all comments for and against it only reflect the viewer. I don't think it was trying to make the huge statement about the entire world and Racism. Haggis is just a goofy little Canadian who moved to L.A. and Crash is his melodramatic observation of the city and the people living there.
Quote from: Derek237 on March 10, 2006, 08:43:18 AM
... all it really is is vague...
It depends on your definition :yabbse-smiley:
Oprah has a lot of pull.
Stephen King says it pretty well in this week's EW...
"[Crash] is the sort of flick the Hollywood establishment loves best and always will embrace, if given the chance, one where the complexities are all on the surface; its issues should come stamped GOOD FOR 2 SLICES OF PIZZA AFTER THE MOVIE (OR) 1 COCKTAIL PARTY. Crash says we have problems. Crash says we have troubles. It says this modern life of ours is certainly a pain in the ass, especially this modern urban life. People keep "crashing" into each other (heavy symbolism at work, better wear a hard hat). But in the end-this is the part the Academy voters like best- we can all get along if we rilly, rilly TRY!!! You almost expect to hear "Why Can't We Be Friends?" over the closing credits.
And you know, until I read that last paragraph over, I didn't realize how bitter I've become about this process. Because I liked Crash. I did. I happen to believe we can get along if we really try, that coincidences do happen from time to time in the great Manhattan Transfer of city life, and people sometimes do change. It's a valid point of view, a decent theme, and Paul Haggis made the most of it. But was it the best film of the year? Good God, no. Brokeback was better. So were Capote and The Squid And The Whale, for that matter.
But let's let it go, okay? The lights are off in the Kodak Theatre for another year. The set has been struck. The Academy sent the same soothing message it almost always sends: Everything's all right, everything's okay, the right movie won- the good movie, not the gay movie. Go to sleep, and sleep tight. Next year we'll do it all again."
yes and move on we'll have to (meaning I'll have to). this won't be the last time I get furious with the Academy. this Haggis guy is now a favorite of theirs I guess. and I didn't think his script for Million Dollar Baby was that great. Eastwood elevated the material.
oh, and happy b-day Mr. Haggis. don't choke on your cake.
Quote from: eward on March 05, 2006, 10:31:51 PM
i for one am rather excited to see what cinephile has to say...
:therethere:
hate to say i told you so..
36 Mafia was my favourite part of the show.
oh yeah, and my mom has been kissed by an Academy Award winner. She's cool now. Maybe I'll start talking to her again.
I just remembered something about the awards... was anyone else really uncomfortable watching Lauren Bacall up there? I don't know if she couldn't read the prompter, or she lost her place, or she just got all old on us, but I was waiting for a Boy Scout to earn his merit badge by running up and helping her off the stage.
yes, she made robert altman look like a young buck. she was not in good shape. :yabbse-sad:
All I know is I will never look at Shane the same way again. And I didn't realize how many gay cowboys Gregory Peck has played. :shock:
Quote from: Hedwig on March 09, 2006, 10:10:56 PM
Quote from: pyramid machine on March 09, 2006, 09:56:07 PM
Quote from: pyramid machine on March 05, 2006, 10:51:26 PM
Quote from: RedVines on March 05, 2006, 10:42:29 PM
you gotta be fuckin kidding me! Brokeback was the best of those movies by a long shot. I just knew they'd find an alternate to Brokeback, cuz God forbid they actually give it to the "gay cowboy movie" (as they say). ridiculous.
:nono: excuse me sugar..but you cant cop out w/ the "gay cowboy movie"....hollywood is full of liberal idiots...and the fact that the film won for director, screenplay, and nominated for best pic...deadens your arguement....brokeback didnt win b/c of its gayness but rather b/c its overrated.......and heath and jake are douchebags ......damn, douchebag is such a great word..
have you seen the movie, fucko? go watch Crash again to fulfill your education on the nuances of the "race relation genre." i can't figure out why i prefer the beautiful, charged story of Brokeback Mountain with its wonderful, spirited humanity to a lesson on how Blacks Can Be Racist Too, maybe i'm crazy.
Quote
i haven't seen it...but i will eventually..i just think the film is overrated and i am sick about hearing about it..i am glad it lost...and the fact that crash, of all films, won is icing......and you guys think that this is one of my favorite films...its not....i was pulling for munich...but like i've said for the billionth time... a current hollywood film that shows minorites acting like bigots and being unreddemable characters rather than only white people...now thats controversial....
why would you criticize something if you haven't even seen it and know nothing about it? not that it's ever stopped you before.. like this argument that Crash's depiction of blacks as "unredeemable" instead of only white people is something radical, that's absolute trash: have you not seen ANY of the zillions of movies released in the last, say, ten years that depict minorities as drug dealers, rapists, murderers, thieves, pimps, and buffoons? HONESTLY, man. give up this ignorant argument, it's one of the worst i've seen.
Quote from: pyramid machine on March 09, 2006, 09:56:07 PM
once some of you guys grow up...[most here are under 18] and realize that the word doesnt move at 24fps you'll see my point
well to begin, that's not even true, most here are not under 18..but it doesn't even matter. You think the reason a lot of us criticize this movie is because we're not on the same level of maturity as you? I never knew you to be so arrogant.
...well, i aint got nothing better to do so.....
1.) you
can criticize something before you see it...um, we do it all the time here at xixax..ever read the grapevine thread? you know after dem trailers are posted we always say some cute remark about how shitty or how awesome this film is going to be....sorry hed, i win this one :hammer:
2.) its like pulling teeth here!!! crash is a film that deals with race relations...thats a major theme of this film...those other zillion films that you mentioned arent in the same category...thats like saying requiem for a dream and dazed an dconfused are linked together b/c they have kids doign drugs...compare crash[a race relations themed film] vs. other race relation themed films and you should see my point...if not, i still love ya anyway...
3.) and my remark about the "wrold doesnt move at 24fps." was somethign that i thought was just cool to say...jus ta way to end my post.....and i do have some beleife in th e18 yea rold and younger category...when i was that age..i had a very liberal outlook on life lik emost of you guys do...but as you/i get older that greenpeace/save the wolrd/liberal outlook is bullshit and i've go tbetter things do worry about..like who gives a fuck about gay marriage? how does that affect me personally? i dont care....who gives a fuck about abortion? i dont give a shit.....why shoudl we not drill in alaska? etc. etc. etc...........as you get older you realize you shoudl focos on betterign yourself, taking care of loved ones, enjoying your life, ...fuck all th eother bullshit that media hypes up....like that stpud speech clooney said about makinf film sthat embrace liberal issues...like what has those "hot-button" issu efilms done????....not a damn thing...people are people i.e. they are evil, rascist, bogots, liatrs, theifs, etc.., etc.....thses films are goign to do shit..........
Quote from: polkablues on March 10, 2006, 02:11:40 AM
Quote from: Hedwig on March 09, 2006, 10:10:56 PM
Quote from: pyramid machine on March 09, 2006, 09:56:07 PM
once some of you guys grow up...[most here are under 18] and realize that the word doesnt move at 24fps you'll see my point
well to begin, that's not even true, most here are not under 18..but it doesn't even matter. You think the reason a lot of us criticize this movie is because we're not on the same level of maturity as you? I never knew you to be so arrogant.
Seriously, neon... Hedwig is under 18, but he could be giving you seminars on maturity.
Crash has been seriously mischaracterized as a film. It's so often referred to as a "liberal guilt" movie -- which to some degree I think is the way that Haggis actually meant to have it perceived -- but it plays far more on conservative guilt, in the sense that it assuages the fears of the right wing that their innate racism might not be justified. You can see this playing out in neon's reactions to it; there's this intense hallucination amongst conservatives that media is somehow anti-white, which really means nothing more than that the old paradigms of saintly white-hatted cowboys versus cartoonishly evil black-hatted cowboys have been replaced by something more complex, something which better resembles the world we live in. Conservatism is, at its core, anti-complexity, and Crash caters to that sensibility, not by reverting to the old black-and-white rules, but by creating a new black-and-white where every character is equal parts of both, and yet no character has even a tinge of gray.
4.) INNATE RACISM IN CONSERVATIVES???!!!! you bigot! :yabbse-grin:
Quote from: modage on March 10, 2006, 03:12:58 PM
Stephen King says it pretty well in this week's EW...
"[Crash] is the sort of flick the Hollywood establishment loves best and always will embrace, if given the chance, one where the complexities are all on the surface; its issues should come stamped GOOD FOR 2 SLICES OF PIZZA AFTER THE MOVIE (OR) 1 COCKTAIL PARTY. Crash says we have problems. Crash says we have troubles. It says this modern life of ours is certainly a pain in the ass, especially this modern urban life. People keep "crashing" into each other (heavy symbolism at work, better wear a hard hat). But in the end-this is the part the Academy voters like best- we can all get along if we rilly, rilly TRY!!! You almost expect to hear "Why Can't We Be Friends?" over the closing credits.
hahaha, i can see why the king contributes to a douchebag cheesed out mainstream mag like entertianment weekly....wow, onyl an idiot would get the "we can get along if we rilly, rillt try" corny vibe out of thi sfilm....he's absolutely wrong..and aslo an ugly looking dumbass..crash is more nihilistic at the end..
Quote from: Pubrick on March 10, 2006, 08:30:40 AM
the problem with Crash is that the majority of fans critics coming forward in its defense attack are just too damn stupid to understand the points being made against them.
it applies both way..........
in the end...i dont want any of you guys hatign me...i aint got nothign but respect for ya'll...shit, if i see any of you outside in the world, i'll buy you a drink..and hang out.
Quoteand i do have some beleife in th e18 yea rold and younger category...when i was that age..i had a very liberal outlook on life lik emost of you guys do...but as you/i get older that greenpeace/save the wolrd/liberal outlook is bullshit and i've go tbetter things do worry about..like who gives a fuck about gay marriage? how does that affect me personally? i dont care....who gives a fuck about abortion? i dont give a shit.....why shoudl we not drill in alaska? etc. etc. etc...........as you get older you realize you shoudl focos on betterign yourself, taking care of loved ones, enjoying your life, ...fuck all th eother bullshit that media hypes up....like that stpud speech clooney said about makinf film sthat embrace liberal issues...like what has those "hot-button" issu efilms done????....not a damn thing...people are people i.e. they are evil, rascist, bogots, liatrs, theifs, etc.., etc.....thses films are goign to do shit.........
First off, do you even read the Happy Birthday thread? It seems like everyone and their mother is 20 or 21.
Secondly, do you mean to come off so condescending, or are you just reminiscing and typing it out? "I remember when I was dumb." I think what you're saying is that eventually everyone will stop caring about anything but themselves, and I can't it isn't true, but I will say it's ridiculous.
Gay marriage doesn't affect YOU, but it affects gays that want to marry, yet the decision making power is in the hands of someone else. You aren't the target of anything, Neon. That's why you're allowed to live so oblivious and do some introspection. When people turn a blind eye, shit hits the fan. I'm not even speaking on a wide scope, I'm speaking on a realist one. If we say all blacks in all ghettos did crack and died, how many people would care? Just fewer people at the bottom of the food chain, right? You didn't even know them, so who cares? This type of thinking doesn't come off as monstrous to you?
There's so much at stake in life, however, there is so much at stake in our personal lives, too. Taking care of loved ones is important, but to treat anything that doesn't apply to you directly as useless is how fucked up things became today and how much worse they'll be tomorrow. But hey, our kids will pick up the loose ends, right? They'll pick up the trillion dollar debt. They're getting smarter, what with their internet and MTV, I'm sure they'll fix it up nice.
In closing, I still think you're a cool guy.
Quote from: pyramid machine on March 12, 2006, 11:01:30 PM
1.) you can criticize something before you see it...um, we do it all the time here at xixax..ever read the grapevine thread? you know after dem trailers are posted we always say some cute remark about how shitty or how awesome this film is going to be....sorry hed, i win this one
in this particular argument, i think it is intellectually dishonest for you to call Brokeback Mountain overrated if you haven't seen it.
Quote from: pyramid machine on March 12, 2006, 11:01:30 PM
2.) its like pulling teeth here!!! crash is a film that deals with race relations...thats a major theme of this film...those other zillion films that you mentioned arent in the same category...thats like saying requiem for a dream and dazed an dconfused are linked together b/c they have kids doign drugs...compare crash[a race relations themed film] vs. other race relation themed films and you should see my point...if not, i still love ya anyway...
stop talking to yourself. you were the one who lumped Crash in with a bunch of other films that address race-relations.
Quote from: pyramid machine on March 12, 2006, 11:01:30 PM
3.) and my remark about the "wrold doesnt move at 24fps." was somethign that i thought was just cool to say...jus ta way to end my post.....and i do have some beleife in th e18 yea rold and younger category...when i was that age..i had a very liberal outlook on life lik emost of you guys do...but as you/i get older that greenpeace/save the wolrd/liberal outlook is bullshit and i've go tbetter things do worry about..like who gives a fuck about gay marriage? how does that affect me personally? i dont care....who gives a fuck about abortion? i dont give a shit.....why shoudl we not drill in alaska? etc. etc. etc...........as you get older you realize you shoudl focos on betterign yourself, taking care of loved ones, enjoying your life, ...fuck all th eother bullshit that media hypes up....like that stpud speech clooney said about makinf film sthat embrace liberal issues...like what has those "hot-button" issu efilms done????....not a damn thing...people are people i.e. they are evil, rascist, bogots, liatrs, theifs, etc.., etc.....thses films are goign to do shit..........
your ignorant selfish dismissal of all the important issues that don't directly affect you has nothing to do with anything. and stop trying to give me advice.. "when you get older," oh thanks grandpa. your wisdom has truly moved me. i particularly admire the mature way you assign people to unrealistic little categories like "greenpeace/save the world/liberal." 'cause you know, it's true, people are nothing more than one-dimensional stereotypes. just ask haggis.
Quote from: pyramid machine on March 12, 2006, 11:01:30 PM
he's absolutely wrong..and aslo an ugly looking dumbass..
way to keep things relevant. :yabbse-thumbup:
man I remember when neon's misspellings were quirky and loveable.
I also remember Eastwood talking about Haggis' script for Million Dollar Baby and how "rough" it was and that he tried to kinda keep it that, idealistically.
I finally watched the oscars, and I think Jon Stewart was fucking hilarious, I feel bad for thinking he would suck. His jokes were so dead on awesome and scathing. And the happiness of Three-Six Mafia and the director of Tsotsi and PSH were so awesome. Reese is just a lovely gal. Ang Lee's "I wish I knew how to quit you" line was awkwardly bad and funny.
'Brokeback' Author Peeved About Oscar Loss
Annie Proulx, whose 1997 short story inspired the film "Brokeback Mountain," has penned a scattershot blast in a British newspaper unleashing her anger over the film's best-picture Oscar loss.
Proulx criticizes Oscar voters and the Academy Awards ceremony in the 1,094-word rant, which appeared in Saturday's issue of The Guardian, a liberal paper boasting 1.2 million readers daily.
The best-picture Oscar went to "Crash," which focuses on race relations in Los Angeles.
Academy members who vote for the year's best film are "out of touch not only with the shifting larger culture and the yeasty ferment that is America these days, but also out of touch with their own segregated city," Proulx writes.
The 70-year-old Pulitzer-prize winning author points out that "Brokeback," which was nominated for eight Academy Awards, was named best picture at the Independent Spirit Awards one day before the March 5 Oscars.
"If you are looking for smart judging based on merit, skip the Academy Awards next year and pay attention to the Independent Spirit choices," Proulx advises.
She even lashes out at Lionsgate, the distribution company behind "Crash."
"Rumour has it that Lionsgate inundated the academy voters with DVD copies of Trash excuse me Crash a few weeks before the ballot deadline," Proulx writes.
She decries the "atmosphere of insufferable self-importance" inside the Kodak Theatre, the Oscars site, and describes the audience as a "somewhat dim LA crowd." The show, she writes, was "reminiscent of a small-town talent-show night."
"Clapping wildly for bad stuff enhances this," Proulx writes.
She notes that "Brokeback's" three Oscar wins, for original score, adapted screenplay and direction for Ang Lee put it "on equal footing with King Kong."
When Jack Nicholson announced "Crash" as the best-picture winner, "there was a gasp of shock," Proulx writes.
"It was a safe pick of `controversial film' for the heffalumps," she writes, using the elephant-like "Winnie the Pooh" character to describe academy voters.
"For those who call this little piece a Sour Grapes Rant," Proulx concludes, "play it as it lays."
Calls by the Associated Press to Proulx's Wyoming home and her literary agent, Elizabeth Darhansoff, were not immediately returned Tuesday.
maybe shes just pissed cause with the shitty news EXCUSE ME SHIPPING NEWS OH IM BEING PROULX NOW, shes a two time loser. :violin:
yeah, this is the most pathetic anti-oscars rant i've heard since this (http://xixax.com/index.php?topic=6816.msg176560#msg176560)... except she actually has a point. she just can't get it across without sounding like a fucking over-incensed idiot. and her king kong bashing was insipid and pointless. brokeback was about a million times better than crash, but fuck :(
Quote from: The Gold Trumpet You're trying to essentially say the Oscars don't matter, but your post is such a speel and tirade that you're coming off as caring more about it than anyone here.
that reminds me, what were the ratings like for this one? (paging whoever knows)
Quote from: Pubrick on March 15, 2006, 06:54:56 AM
that reminds me, what were the ratings like for this one? (paging whoever knows)
Oscars ratings second-worst in nearly 20 yearsTuesday, March 7, 2006; Posted: 10:58 a.m. EST (15:58 GMT)
NEW YORK (AP) -- An estimated 38.8 million people watched the Academy Awards on ABC, down 8 percent from last year and the second-worst showing in nearly two decades, according to Nielsen Media Research.
Except for the 2003 count of 33 million viewers -- when "Chicago" took the best-picture award -- the Oscars hadn't dipped below 40 million viewers since 1987, Nielsen said.
With the lack of blockbuster films in the running, it wasn't much of a surprise that ratings were down for Sunday's telecast, when "Crash" won the best-picture Oscar.
The audience was smallest during the first half-hour, when host Jon Stewart did his monologue, Nielsen said, but ABC gained from last year among men aged 18 to 34.
Other awards shows have been struggling lately, too: The Grammys last month had its smallest audience on record and the Golden Globes its second lowest viewership in 10 years, Nielsen said.
I hope this is the beginning of people starting to not give a shit about awards ceremonies.
Quote from: MacGuffin on March 11, 2006, 12:57:32 PM
All I know is I will never look at Shane the same way again. And I didn't realize how many gay cowboys Gregory Peck has played. :shock:
haha. yeah. shane is really gay. i saw it for the first time a few months ago and couldn't believe how gay it was for a movie associated with straight manly men. straight guys are fags.
Quote from: MacGuffin on March 15, 2006, 02:27:13 AM
'Brokeback' Author Peeved About Oscar Loss
http://books.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1727309,00.html
Blood on the red carpetAnnie Proulx on how her Brokeback Oscar hopes were dashed by Crash
Saturday March 11, 2006
The Guardian On the sidewalk stood hordes of the righteous, some leaning forward like wind-bent grasses, the better to deliver their imprecations against gays and fags to the open windows of the limos - the windows open by order of the security people - creeping toward the Kodak Theater for the 78th Academy Awards. Others held up sturdy, professionally crafted signs expressing the same hatred.
The red carpet in front of the theatre was larger than the Red Sea. Inside, we climbed grand staircases designed for showing off dresses. The circular levels filled with men in black, the women mostly in pale, frothy gowns. Sequins, diamonds, glass beads, trade beads sparkled like the interior of a salt mine. More exquisite dresses appeared every moment, some made from six yards of taffeta, and many with sweeping trains that demanded vigilance from strolling attendees lest they step on a mermaid's tail. There was one man in a kilt - there is always one at award ceremonies - perhaps a professional roving Scot hired to give colour to the otherwise monotone showing of clustered males. Larry McMurtry defied the dress code by wearing his usual jeans and cowboy boots.
The people connected with Brokeback Mountain, including me, hoped that, having been nominated for eight Academy awards, it would get Best Picture as it had at the funny, lively Independent Spirit awards the day before. (If you are looking for smart judging based on merit, skip the Academy Awards next year and pay attention to the Independent Spirit choices.) We should have known conservative heffalump academy voters would have rather different ideas of what was stirring contemporary culture. Roughly 6,000 film industry voters, most in the Los Angeles area, many living cloistered lives behind wrought-iron gates or in deluxe rest-homes, out of touch not only with the shifting larger culture and the yeasty ferment that is America these days, but also out of touch with their own segregated city, decide which films are good. And rumour has it that Lions Gate inundated the academy voters with DVD copies of Trash - excuse me - Crash a few weeks before the ballot deadline. Next year we can look to the awards for controversial themes on the punishment of adulterers with a branding iron in the shape of the letter A, runaway slaves, and the debate over free silver.
After a good deal of standing around admiring dresses and sucking up champagne, people obeyed the stentorian countdown commands to get in their seats as "the show" was about to begin. There were orders to clap and the audience obediently clapped. From the first there was an atmosphere of insufferable self-importance emanating from "the show" which, as the audience was reminded several times, was televised and being watched by billions of people all over the world. Those lucky watchers could get up any time they wished and do something worthwhile, like go to the bathroom. As in everything related to public extravaganzas, a certain soda pop figured prominently. There were montages, artfully meshed clips of films of yesteryear, live acts by Famous Talent, smart-ass jokes by Jon Stewart who was witty and quick, too witty, too quick, too eastern perhaps for the somewhat dim LA crowd. Both beautiful and household-name movie stars announced various prizes. None of the acting awards came Brokeback's way, you betcha. The prize, as expected, went to Philip Seymour Hoff-man for his brilliant portrayal of Capote, but in the months preceding the awards thing, there has been little discussion of acting styles and various approaches to character development by this year's nominees. Hollywood loves mimicry, the conversion of a film actor into the spittin' image of a once-living celeb. But which takes more skill, acting a person who strolled the boulevard a few decades ago and who left behind tapes, film, photographs, voice recordings and friends with strong memories, or the construction of characters from imagination and a few cold words on the page? I don't know. The subject never comes up. Cheers to David Strathairn, Joaquin Phoenix and Hoffman, but what about actors who start in the dark?
Everyone thanked their dear old mums, scout troop leaders, kids and consorts. More commercials, more quick wit, more clapping, beads of sweat, Stewart maybe wondering what evil star had lighted his way to this labour. Despite the technical expertise and flawlessly sleek set evocative of 1930s musicals, despite Dolly Parton whooping it up and Itzhak Perlman blending all the theme music into a single performance (he represented "culchah"), there was a kind of provincial flavour to the proceedings reminiscent of a small-town talent-show night. Clapping wildly for bad stuff enhances this. There came an atrocious act from Hustle and Flow, Three 6 Mafia's violent rendition of "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp", a favourite with the audience who knew what it knew and liked. This was a big winner, a bushel of the magic gold-coated gelded godlings going to the rap group.
The hours sped by on wings of boiler plate. Brokeback's first award was to Argentinean Gustavo Santaolalla for the film's plangent and evocative score. Later came the expected award for screenplay adaptation to Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry, and only a short time later the director's award to Ang Lee. And that was it, three awards, putting it on equal footing with King Kong. When Jack Nicholson said best picture went to Crash, there was a gasp of shock, and then applause from many - the choice was a hit with the home team since the film is set in Los Angeles. It was a safe pick of "controversial film" for the heffalumps.
After three-and-a-half hours of butt-numbing sitting we stumbled away, down the magnificent staircases, and across the red carpet. In the distance men were shouting out limousine numbers, "406 . . . 27 . . . 921 . . . 62" and it seemed someone should yell "Bingo!" It was now dark, or as dark as it gets in the City of Angels. As we waited for our number to be called we could see the enormous lighted marquee across the street announcing that the "2006 Academy Award for Best Picture had gone to Crash". The red carpet now had taken on a different hue, a purple tinge.
The source of the colour was not far away. Down the street, spreading its baleful light everywhere, hung a gigantic, vertical, electric-blue neon sign spelling out S C I E N T O L O G Y.
"Seven oh six," bawled the limo announcer's voice. Bingo.
For those who call this little piece a Sour Grapes Rant, play it as it lays.
Quote from: Ravi on March 15, 2006, 01:04:53 PM
I hope this is the beginning of people starting to not give a shit about awards ceremonies.
No, it's the continuation of people not giving a shit about gay cowboys.
alrighty.
wow, she is BITTER AS HELL. now i'm really glad brokeback didn't win. she seems like quite a bitch, obviously crash was middle of th road but that doesnt make brokeback a masterpiece by default.
New Rule: Stop saying "Brokeback Mountain" lost Best Picture because of a homosexual backlash. The only homosexual backlash in Hollywood involves an actual homosexual literally hitting you on the back with a lash. Besides, if "Brokeback Mountain" taught us anything, it's that there's nothing wrong with coming in number-two.
-Bill Maher
Quote from: Ravi on March 15, 2006, 02:38:25 PM
Quote from: MacGuffin on March 15, 2006, 02:27:13 AM
'Brokeback' Author Peeved About Oscar Loss
aw, poor dyke :violin:
Quote from: killafilm on March 15, 2006, 11:58:51 PM
New Rule: Stop saying "Brokeback Mountain" lost Best Picture because of a homosexual backlash. The only homosexual backlash in Hollywood involves an actual homosexual literally hitting you on the back with a lash. Besides, if "Brokeback Mountain" taught us anything, it's that there's nothing wrong with coming in number-two.
-Bill Maher
hahahaha!!!
Quote from: Walrus on March 12, 2006, 11:41:53 PM
Quoteand i do have some beleife in th e18 yea rold and younger category...when i was that age..i had a very liberal outlook on life lik emost of you guys do...but as you/i get older that greenpeace/save the wolrd/liberal outlook is bullshit and i've go tbetter things do worry about..like who gives a fuck about gay marriage? how does that affect me personally? i dont care....who gives a fuck about abortion? i dont give a shit.....why shoudl we not drill in alaska? etc. etc. etc...........as you get older you realize you shoudl focos on betterign yourself, taking care of loved ones, enjoying your life, ...fuck all th eother bullshit that media hypes up....like that stpud speech clooney said about makinf film sthat embrace liberal issues...like what has those "hot-button" issu efilms done????....not a damn thing...people are people i.e. they are evil, rascist, bogots, liatrs, theifs, etc.., etc.....thses films are goign to do shit.........
First off, do you even read the Happy Birthday thread? It seems like everyone and their mother is 20 or 21.
Secondly, do you mean to come off so condescending, or are you just reminiscing and typing it out? "I remember when I was dumb." I think what you're saying is that eventually everyone will stop caring about anything but themselves, and I can't it isn't true, but I will say it's ridiculous.
Gay marriage doesn't affect YOU, but it affects gays that want to marry, yet the decision making power is in the hands of someone else. You aren't the target of anything, Neon. That's why you're allowed to live so oblivious and do some introspection. When people turn a blind eye, shit hits the fan. I'm not even speaking on a wide scope, I'm speaking on a realist one. If we say all blacks in all ghettos did crack and died, how many people would care? Just fewer people at the bottom of the food chain, right? You didn't even know them, so who cares? This type of thinking doesn't come off as monstrous to you?
There's so much at stake in life, however, there is so much at stake in our personal lives, too. Taking care of loved ones is important, but to treat anything that doesn't apply to you directly as useless is how fucked up things became today and how much worse they'll be tomorrow. But hey, our kids will pick up the loose ends, right? They'll pick up the trillion dollar debt. They're getting smarter, what with their internet and MTV, I'm sure they'll fix it up nice.
In closing, I still think you're a cool guy.
hmm, i think its just a different strokes for different folks kind of thing we got here..i am right, you are right..i am wrong ..you are wrong....but i can offer you my opinion...and everyones got one:
i really dont care about major issues that both liberals and republicans pimp....i fall in bewtween....gay marriage is something that i dont care about...in my personal opinion i aint down w/ it....but i have no right to diss on someone who is...and i wont...thats what makes me so cool and liekable...i just dont agree w/ homosexuality...just like i would not agree w/someone who thinks david lynch sucks...its that simple...and for somenone to call me out and call me a homophobic fuck-headed conservative bitch is an idiot...we all have opinions...i disagree w/ conservative ideas to..like abortion...i think woman should be allowed to do what they want w/them fetuses....no government should control their right....but once again i can offer my opinion..i think its cool to abort as long as its not a means of birth control.....and do it early...like dont wait 8 months later and stick at coat hanger up their....i am for strick gun control, i am for the death penalty, ......sorry, just rambling...i just get the feeling that some of you guys think i masturbate to the o'reilly factor..i dont...Quote from: Hedwig on March 13, 2006, 03:52:50 PM
Quote from: pyramid machine on March 12, 2006, 11:01:30 PM
1.) you can criticize something before you see it...um, we do it all the time here at xixax..ever read the grapevine thread? you know after dem trailers are posted we always say some cute remark about how shitty or how awesome this film is going to be....sorry hed, i win this one
in this particular argument, i think it is intellectually dishonest for you to call Brokeback Mountain overrated if you haven't seen it.
Quote from: pyramid machine on March 12, 2006, 11:01:30 PM
2.) its like pulling teeth here!!! crash is a film that deals with race relations...thats a major theme of this film...those other zillion films that you mentioned arent in the same category...thats like saying requiem for a dream and dazed an dconfused are linked together b/c they have kids doign drugs...compare crash[a race relations themed film] vs. other race relation themed films and you should see my point...if not, i still love ya anyway...
stop talking to yourself. you were the one who lumped Crash in with a bunch of other films that address race-relations.
Quote from: pyramid machine on March 12, 2006, 11:01:30 PM
3.) and my remark about the "wrold doesnt move at 24fps." was somethign that i thought was just cool to say...jus ta way to end my post.....and i do have some beleife in th e18 yea rold and younger category...when i was that age..i had a very liberal outlook on life lik emost of you guys do...but as you/i get older that greenpeace/save the wolrd/liberal outlook is bullshit and i've go tbetter things do worry about..like who gives a fuck about gay marriage? how does that affect me personally? i dont care....who gives a fuck about abortion? i dont give a shit.....why shoudl we not drill in alaska? etc. etc. etc...........as you get older you realize you shoudl focos on betterign yourself, taking care of loved ones, enjoying your life, ...fuck all th eother bullshit that media hypes up....like that stpud speech clooney said about makinf film sthat embrace liberal issues...like what has those "hot-button" issu efilms done????....not a damn thing...people are people i.e. they are evil, rascist, bogots, liatrs, theifs, etc.., etc.....thses films are goign to do shit..........
your ignorant selfish dismissal of all the important issues that don't directly affect you has nothing to do with anything. and stop trying to give me advice.. "when you get older," oh thanks grandpa. your wisdom has truly moved me. i particularly admire the mature way you assign people to unrealistic little categories like "greenpeace/save the world/liberal." 'cause you know, it's true, people are nothing more than one-dimensional stereotypes. just ask haggis.
Quote from: pyramid machine on March 12, 2006, 11:01:30 PM
he's absolutely wrong..and aslo an ugly looking dumbass..
way to keep things relevant. :yabbse-thumbup:
i wanna post in some other threads..i'll come back to you later :yabbse-grin:
Ben Stein: Troops Were Snubbed at Oscars
Ben Stein says the people who were snubbed on Oscar night weren't the stars who were passed over for Academy Awards, but American troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The conservative humorist, writer and political pundit said movie stars and film industry professionals failed to highlight the sacrifices of soldiers during the awards ceremony on March 5.
"Not one prayer or moment of silence for those who have given their lives," Stein said, speaking Thursday at a Republican Party fundraising dinner.
He said the real stars aren't his Beverly Hills neighbors but the soldiers "wearing body armor in 130-degree heat, pulling 24-hour shifts" in the Sunni triangle, the dangerous area of armed insurgents in Iraq.
Stein, who starred in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" and hosted a game show titled "Win Ben Stein's Money," noted that Hollywood executives have complained about falling box office revenue.
"Stop spitting in the face of Americans and maybe we will go to the movies," he said.
Quote from: MacGuffin on March 19, 2006, 05:36:32 PM
Ben Stein: Troops Were Snubbed at Oscars
Ben Stein says the people who were snubbed on Oscar night weren't the stars who were passed over for Academy Awards, but American troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The conservative humorist, writer and political pundit said movie stars and film industry professionals failed to highlight the sacrifices of soldiers during the awards ceremony on March 5.
"Not one prayer or moment of silence for those who have given their lives," Stein said, speaking Thursday at a Republican Party fundraising dinner.
"Stop spitting in the face of Americans and maybe we will go to the movies," he said.
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.accuphotolab.com%2FIn_the_Studio%2Fviolinist%2520copy.jpg&hash=f5399519d7a7daa18bfe48306bd43254f3257f84)