The Annual Academy Awards - General Discussion

[Lonesome Rhodes]

2 minutes ago, Growsonwalls said:

If it's any consolation, I don't think Green Book is even the top 5 for most egregious Oscar snub. Those will always be:

1) Citizen Kane losing to How Green Was My Valley

2) Double Idemnity losing to Going My Way

3) Taxi Driver losing to Rocky

4) Around the World in 80 Days winning. Period.

5) Brokeback Mountain losing to Crash

I don't see a particularly egregious snub.  None of the others was an all-time great movie, imo.  

But, the winner is among the biggest nothingburgers in Oscar winning histoire.

[yowsah1]

2 minutes ago, ebk57 said:

Not that I can explain it here (since I'm to lazy to actually Google it), but I think the Best Picture voting this year used something called Weighted Voting.  People were saying (many people...) that this could cause a not-best picture to win.  And they were right. 

Weighted voting tends to reward everybody's second favorite movie.

[Growsonwalls]

1 minute ago, Lonesome Rhodes said:

I don't see a particularly egregious snub.  None of the others was an all-time great movie, imo.  

But, the winner is among the biggest nothingburgers in Oscar winning histoire.

True. Although ... Crash? 

[stonehaven]

First off...my two favorite movies of the year weren't even nominated...the two best ones anyway..Won't You Be My Neighbor and Three Identical Strangers...those documentaries are the best films I have seen in awhile..Bohemian Rhapsody was good...almost immersive in the quality of music. I didn't think it deserved an Oscar but Rami did...

Still, Green Book? I only saw the commercials for it and it looked so stereotypically from something about 20 years ago, that I wouldn't want to see it..and I like a couple of white knight movies..(Remember the Titans/Blind Side). GB just looked like it had every trope to try to be "important".

Winning Best Picture doesn't make me change my mind but I think seeing Black Kkklansmen is on my list right now. I am happy Spike won for Screenplay..I still love Inside Man...but he's gotta win sometime...

[AshleyN]

3 minutes ago, ebk57 said:

Not that I can explain it here (since I'm too lazy to actually Google it), but I think the Best Picture voting this year used something called Weighted Voting.  People were saying (many people...) that this could cause a not-best picture to win.  And they were right. 

Best Picture, unlike the other categories, uses a ranked balloting system and has for several years now. It tends to reward consensus choice and work against divisive movies. Normally I'd be surprised that a film as polarizing as Green Book is could win under that system, but this was a weird year where it seems every movie had either had something major working against them (Roma being foreign and Netflix, The Favourite being too weird and too queer, Black Panther being a superhero movie), or just couldn't seem to muster up much passion despite being generally well-liked (A Star is Born and BlacKkKlansman).

[Vermicious Knid]

Add Mahershala Ali's wife to the worst dress list.

[blackwing]

Decent show and for the most part, way less political than in the past.  Surprise wins by Olivia Colman and Green Book made things interesting.  I’m disappointed for Glenn Close, hoping she gets her statue one of these days.  

I really dislike Peter Farrelly, he seems like such an arrogant man.   He opens his mouth and seems like he has such a punchable face.

Nice that the orchestra and production came through on their promise to get people off the stage if they went over.  I think the lights dimmed and the microphone turned off.  It happened several times.  Including with Best Production Design.  I get that the woman was the first African-American female to ever win the award, but she totally hogged all the time and her poor co-nominee didn’t get to say anything.

I saw an article praising the fact that three of four acting awards went to people of colour.  Regina King, Mahershala Ali... and Rami Malek. Huh?  He is Egyptian-American.  If we were going strictly by the “which box do you check”, I’m pretty sure he would check white.  Technically Egypt is in Africa but I really doubt Egyptian-Americans identify as “African-Americans”.  So now I’m curious, do people think Egyptian-Americans and people of Middle Eastern descent are minorities?   I have no idea if, say, an Iraqi-American would check “white” or “Asian”.

[laffytaffy997]

20 minutes ago, thuganomics85 said:

Anyway, off to take a break and then watch the True Detective finale, because apparently this is Mahershala Ali's world, and he's dominating everything!

I guess this means True Detective is going to be winning some awards this year 

[Simon Boccanegra]

6 minutes ago, AnswersWanted said:

Exactly, a trend they see no reason to break until it stops working and sadly so few wish to push the issue or stand against it.I get why Ali was involved  and it worked out well for him, as it did for Morgan, but it's a step back every time for films like Spike's and other truth tellers.

It's hard for me to consider Spike a truth-teller considering the whoppers committed in the screenplay for BlacKkKlansman, which he co-wrote and won an Oscar for. It was an entertaining film, but it was rife with distortions and embellishments: the lead's made-up activist love interest, the second lead's fabricated Jewishness, the setting of the story seven or eight years prior to the proper time frame (when David Duke would have been a college student, not any kind of KKK bigwig), the ludicrous third-act bomb plot. On the level of truthfulness, it made Green Book look like Shoah.

Green Book was far from my favorite of the Best Picture nominees, though. The Favourite and Roma were the class of the field, not even getting into the great films not nominated, such as First Reformed, Eighth Grade, and Can You Ever Forgive Me?  

[ProudMary]

A disappointing ending to a good night overall.  I really thought that the preferential ballot would allow a Best Picture win for Black Panther. I was fully prepared for Roma to win and I was fine with that. Roma is a creative masterpiece and while not necessarily an easy watch, it stays with you well after the end credits. But Black Panther was a great piece of entertainment that was so important to so many viewers; I had hoped more Academy members would see that. 😔  I did see Green Book and enjoyed it, but didn't think it was deserving of a Best Picture Oscar.

And I'm disappointed for Glenn Close. I actually liked The Wife and thought she was wonderful in it.

[scarynikki12]

2 minutes ago, blackwing said:

I saw an article praising the fact that three of four acting awards went to people of colour.  Regina King, Mahershala Ali... and Rami Malek. Huh?  He is Egyptian-American.  If we were going strictly by the “which box do you check”, I’m pretty sure he would check white.  Technically Egypt is in Africa but I really doubt Egyptian-Americans identify as “African-Americans”.  So now I’m curious, do people think Egyptian-Americans and people of Middle Eastern descent are minorities?   I have no idea if, say, an Iraqi-American would check “white” or “Asian”.

I don't know how Rami identifies but I know there are a lot of people who wouldn't consider him white so I get why there are articles including him with Regina and Mahershala. 

[FilmTVGeek80]

12 minutes ago, ShellsandCheese said:

I thought Green Book was pretty basic but critics loved it. It's been winning awards all season and it's got a friggin 93% audience score on Flixster / RottenTomatoes. It was also better-reviewed than say Bohemian Rhapsody. Crash is in a category all to itself. 

This is nothing IMO like Crash winning. I think Crash is derided for being a somewhat subpar film but also for beating something that has become beloved by a lot of people. I may be a bit biased because I love Brokeback Mountain and was devastated when it lost. There were a lot of worthy contenders that year but BM was the frontrunner. I don't think it was until  Crash won the SAG ensemble award that people really started to think it could beat BM, but it was still a shock when it happened. Until some of these later (IMO overblown) controversies, Green Book has been one of the frontrunners since it debuted to pretty rapturous reviews at TIFF. It won the Golden Globe for drama and The Producers Guild award. I think people started to believe it would suffer the same fate as 3 Billboards which gotten taken down, partly by, again overblown controversies. But it should have never been counted out, especially since unlike with Brokeback there was no clear frontrunner GB stole this from. 

17 minutes ago, thuganomics85 said:

I will say to filmmakers though that between this and Moonlight, if you want to win Best Picture, cast Mahershala Ali!  Cast him in everything!!!

I was thinking the exact same thing!

[Growsonwalls]

2 minutes ago, blackwing said:

I saw an article praising the fact that three of four acting awards went to people of colour.  Regina King, Mahershala Ali... and Rami Malek. Huh?  He is Egyptian-American.  If we were going strictly by the “which box do you check”, I’m pretty sure he would check white.  Technically Egypt is in Africa but I really doubt Egyptian-Americans identify as “African-Americans”.  So now I’m curious, do people think Egyptian-Americans and people of Middle Eastern descent are minorities?   I have no idea if, say, an Iraqi-American would check “white” or “Asian”.

The Middle East is a very ethnically diverse place. Maybe the best example of how race is an artificial construct not based on anything genetic but more on cultural ideas. But having said that the prejudices Middle Easterners in the United States face definitely make them "minorities."

[Misslindsey]

Is it bad that I still refer to Viggo as Aragorn?

[wallflower75]

5 minutes ago, stonehaven said:

First off...my two favorite movies of the year weren't even nominated...the two best ones anyway..Won't You Be My Neighbor and Three Identical Strangers...those documentaries are the best films I have seen in awhile.

AMEN a million times to this.  I listened to the Oscar nominations on my way to work and nearly ran my car off the road when I realized that neither of these films had been nominated.  I was like, "WTF?!?!"  I know most people focus on Won't You Be My Neighbor, but honestly...Three Identical Strangers was by turns chilling and heartbreaking.  I actually saw several documentaries in the past year, and it was far and away the best of the bunch.

[MVFrostsMyPie]

22 hours ago, blackwing said:

I saw an article praising the fact that three of four acting awards went to people of colour.  Regina King, Mahershala Ali... and Rami Malek. Huh?  He is Egyptian-American.  If we were going strictly by the “which box do you check”, I’m pretty sure he would check white.  Technically Egypt is in Africa but I really doubt Egyptian-Americans identify as “African-Americans”.  So now I’m curious, do people think Egyptian-Americans and people of Middle Eastern descent are minorities?   I have no idea if, say, an Iraqi-American would check “white” or “Asian”.

Well, I'll chime in, as an Iranian-American. I don't know if people think of Egyptian-Americans and people of MIddle Eastern descent as minorities, but I can personally tell you they certainly treat them/us/me as a minority. 

Also, I hate that the US census technically considers Persian people and North Africans as "white" (and this was due to change on the 2020 census with our previous presidential administration, but the current one poo-poo'd on it. Surprise.). Because I certainly don't get to benefit from white privilege like you know, actual white people. I'm not white, I am not treated like a white person, and most of the time I feel like a second-class citizen (most certainly since 9/11, and for sure the last 2 years have been triggering), so honestly, fuck that "white" checkbox. I just go with "Other", because I don't identify as Asian either. I'm Middle Eastern. 

Edited February 26, 2019 by MVFrostsMyPie

[wallflower75]

5 minutes ago, laffytaffy997 said:

I guess this means True Detective is going to be winning some awards this year 

Do you suppose they'll have Julia announce the Best Actor Emmy this time, too?  (Sorry, had to go there.  Still laughing at how Bryan Cranston spoiled her expectation that she'd be handing over the award to one of the True Detective nominees.)

Edited February 25, 2019 by wallflower75
darn typo.

[chitowngirl]

33 minutes ago, AnswersWanted said:

Viggo has an oscar now so...that's something I guess.

I don’t think so. He didn’t win.

Edited February 25, 2019 by chitowngirl

[Stenbeck]

Olivia Colman and Mahershala Ali will probably clean up at the Emmy's as well, for The Crown and True Detective, respectively. 

[galaxygirl76]

4 minutes ago, scarynikki12 said:

I don't know how Rami identifies but I know there are a lot of people who wouldn't consider him white so I get why there are articles including him with Regina and Mahershala. 

There is a quote on his wiki page saying that he considers himself Egyptian. 

[truthaboutluv]

1 minute ago, Stenbeck said:

Olivia Colman and Mahershala Ali will probably clean up at the Emmy's as well, for The Crown and True Detective, respectively. 

I can see Rami as well for the last season of Mr. Robot, even though the show fell out favor with the critics for Esmail's missteps in Season 2. But I'd be shocked if they'd ignore Oscar winner Rami Malek's performance for the show's final season.

[wallflower75]

So one more thing to think about when considering how crazy the Oscars were this year...

Bohemian Rhapsody won the most awards of the night, with four.  Not sure why I was surprised that Green Book won in the end.

And on that note, it's been fun hanging with you guys again--see you next year, same bat time, same bat forum as long as we aren't getting locked out!!

Edited February 25, 2019 by wallflower75

[yowsah1]

I am reposting this here at the end of the thread because it looks like I caused anger through a poor choice of words and I want to make sure that the people I offended see my apology...

I had posted this response to someone expressing disappointment that Richard E. Grant did not win Best Supporting Actor:

Me too.  😞  Looks like the increased diversity in the Academy is making itself felt.  🙂

EDITED TO ADD:  Since it seems as though I miscommunicated what I wanted to say and people took offense, let me clarify:  I was rooting for Richard E. Grant to win (hence the sad face emoji), but I am not at all upset that Mr. Ali got the trophy (well, except for the fact that it turned out to be a precursor to GREEN BOOK winning Best Film).  What I meant by the "diversity" comment is that in an earlier era Grant would have been a lock for the win, but the increased push for diversity has now brought talented people of color to the fore where before they were ignored.  (Hence the smiley face emoji).  I in no way meant to insinuate that the diversity push was a bad thing or that Mr. Ali did not deserve his win, and I sincerely apologize for my words giving the impression that I did.

[yowsah1]

1 minute ago, wallflower75 said:

So one more thing to think about when considering how crazy the Oscars were this year...

Bohemian Rhapsody won the most awards of the night, with four.

And BLACK PANTHER, which I was rooting for to win Best Picture, came away with three when I thought it would get none, and SPIDERMAN: INTO THE SPIDER VERSE won for Best Animated Film.  So superhero films may have finally broken through.

If only the evening hadn't ended on such a sour note.

[slowpoked]

29 minutes ago, blackwing said:

 I’m disappointed for Glenn Close, hoping she gets her statue one of these days.  

I do hope so. But I think this might have been her best chance, and I'm not sure the opportunity will easily come again. Because let's face it, while she is Glenn Close, she is no Meryl Streep. And I don't mean this to disparage her ability vs. Meryl, but only due to Meryl seemingly being the only one  to defy ageism amongst women in terms of getting nominated for her work, even with the mediocre ones.

The one thing that felt different this time was that Glenn was the frontrunner. I don't remember how it was back during Fatal Attraction, but it seemed that during all the other times she was nominated, she was more of an afterthought and didn't have a real shot at winning. This was the first time where it felt like, finally.... And then it got snatched away at the last second. There was something with how her face fell when Frances didn't announce her name. 

She made a joke once where people often mistake her for Meryl, but never during awards shows, which she would have preferred. 

Edited February 25, 2019 by slowpoked

[Simon Boccanegra]

@yowsah1, I was rooting for Richard E. Grant too (his performance as Jack was beautiful), but I'm not sure he would have been considered a lock in any era. Can You Ever Forgive Me? was a small, modestly budged film that many people didn't see; Green Book was directed by someone who has helmed blockbuster hits. I actually think the "pre-diversity" beneficiary in that category might have been Elliott. Beloved white guy of a certain age who has paid his dues, massive hit film, etc.  

Edited February 25, 2019 by Simon Boccanegra

[yowsah1]

13 minutes ago, Simon Boccanegra said:

@yowsah1, I was rooting for Richard E. Grant too (his performance as Jack was beautiful), but I'm not sure he would have been considered a lock in any era. Can You Ever Forgive Me? was a small, modestly budged film that many people didn't see; Green Book was directed by someone who has helmed blockbuster hits. I actually think the "pre-diversity" beneficiary in that category might have been Elliott. Beloved white guy of a certain age who has paid his dues, massive hit film, etc.  

I can see that too.

On another note, I saw on another message board someone describing GREEN BOOK as "the Donald Trump of Oscar winning movies".  I LOL'd.

Edited February 25, 2019 by yowsah1

[Irlandesa]

1 hour ago, slowpoked said:

The one thing that felt different this time was that Glenn was the frontrunner...This was the first time where it felt like, finally.... And then it got snatched away at the last second.

She was a frontrunner or the (unbolded) front runner but this race was always close.  It was hard to predict because The Favourite was considered more comedic while The Wife was more dramatic.  Glenn and Olivia often found themselves in separate categories.  Then Glenn won SAG but Olivia won BAFTA.  I do think if felt like Glenn had the upperhand because of her long career and the SAG win but this wasn't a total upset.

Edited February 25, 2019 by Irlandesa

[VCRTracking]

Felt bad for Glenn Close, but Olivia Colman was too adorable.

Irina Shayk is an incredibly sexy woman but after seeing that "Shallow" performance I wouldn't blame her if she was feeling a little threatened!

[Dr.OO7]

Am I the only one who thought Brokeback Mountain was incredibly overrated and didn't deserve to win even if Crash didn't either?

[slowpoked]

[Simon Boccanegra]

I'm sure you're not the only one, Camille, but I don't agree. I thought it (Brokeback Mountain) was the best picture of its year and one of the best of our young century. But if it couldn't be that one, then Good Night and Good Luck or The New World or Junebug or Match Point or....I think Paul Haggis is a courageous person for some things not related to filmmaking, but even he has said that he doesn't think his Crash was a deserving Best Picture winner.

Edited February 25, 2019 by Simon Boccanegra

[DC Gal in VA]

Loved, loved, loved this Oscars! Are you listening Hollywood? Hosts are totally NOT needed. Loved the pacing of the show. Yes, it was just as long as usual but it didn't feel that way to me. Anyway, much more to say but, again, loved this presentation

[Steph J]

1 hour ago, FilmTVGeek80 said:

This is nothing IMO like Crash winning. I think Crash is derided for being a somewhat subpar film but also for beating something that has become beloved by a lot of people. I may be a bit biased because I love Brokeback Mountain and was devastated when it lost. There were a lot of worthy contenders that year but BM was the frontrunner. I don't think it was until  Crash won the SAG ensemble award that people really started to think it could beat BM, but it was still a shock when it happened. 

I think part of the thing with Brokeback v. Crash was also that some AMPAS members went on the record as stating that they wouldn't even watch Brokeback because it was a love story about two men, so some of the anger about Crash's win was about the homophobia that was on display during award season and not just about the quality of the two films in comparison to each other.  It's one thing to watch a movie and say you didn't like it, it's another to say that you won't even watch the movie because (paraphrasing) "Ew, gay."

[DC Gal in VA]

13 hours ago, Vermicious Knid said:

Add Mahershala Ali's wife to the worst dress list.

OMG, that shit looked hideous even when she was sitting down. Every time the show cut to a shot of Mahersala I wondered "What the Hell is that woman next to him wearing!?" Lovely lady, awful dress.

Edited February 25, 2019 by DC Gal in VA
Additional comments and typo.

[VCRTracking]

[FilmTVGeek80]

14 minutes ago, Steph J said:

I think part of the thing with Brokeback v. Crash was also that some AMPAS members went on the record as stating that they wouldn't even watch Brokeback because it was a love story about two men, so some of the anger about Crash's win was about the homophobia that was on display during award season and not just about the quality of the two films in comparison to each other.  It's one thing to watch a movie and say you didn't like it, it's another to say that you won't even watch the movie because (paraphrasing) "Ew, gay."

Yes! I didn't mention it in my post but I was thinking about that as well. I think Tony Curtis (might have been someone else) actually one of those people who went on the record about that and I remember being so enraged when I read things like that and definitely blaming assholes like that for why it didn't win.

[VCRTracking]

4 minutes ago, FilmTVGeek80 said:

Yes! I didn't mention it in my post but I was thinking about that as well. I think Tony Curtis (might have been someone else) actually one of those people who went on the record about that and I remember being so enraged when I read things like that and definitely blaming assholes like that for why it didn't win.

I hope it wasn't Tony Curtis because he starred in Some Like it Hot.

[methodwriter85]

2 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

She was a frontrunner or the (unbolded) front runner but this race was always close.  It was hard to predict because The Favourite was considered more comedic while The Wife was more dramatic.  Glenn and Olivia often found themselves in separate categories.  Then Glenn won SAG but Olivia won BAFTA.  I do think Glenn felt like she had the upperhand because of her long career and the SAG win but this wasn't a total upset.

I thought this was one of the most open Best Actress races I can think of since the 2011 one between Meryl Streep, Michelle Williams, and Viola. It really could have been any one's that year.

I do think in any event that this race reminded people that Glenn Close is still alive and kicking, and hopefully she'll use the goodwill she engendered during this particular run to parlay some good roles.

Edited February 25, 2019 by methodwriter85
Edited because Viola Davis was nominated for the 2011 Best Actress award, not Octavia Spencer, who won best supporting actress.

[Shannon L.]

35 minutes ago, Camille said:

Am I the only one who thought Brokeback Mountain was incredibly overrated and didn't deserve to win even if Crash didn't either?

I couldn't make it through Brokeback Mountain.  I also didn't think Crash was that bad. 

I don't think Green Book deserved to win, though. I liked it, but I'd  have put BlackkKlansman, A Star Is Born and The Favorite ahead of it (I haven't seen Roma or Vice). 

Aside from that, I was happy with most of the other winners tonight.

[scarynikki12]

3 minutes ago, VCRTracking said:

I hope it wasn't Tony Curtis because he starred in Some Like it Hot

It was indeed Tony Curtis. He wasn’t the only one to vocalize his homophobia to the detriment of Brokeback’s chances. On the flip side Jack Nicholson went on the record and said he didn’t hesitate to vote for it. There were more who were like Tony than Jack, sadly. 

3 minutes ago, Shannon L. said:

I don't think Green Book deserved to win, though

Looks like it broke through your powers, unless this year you managed to see all the nominees?

[methodwriter85]

1 minute ago, Shannon L. said:

I couldn't make it through Brokeback Mountain.  I also didn't think Crash was that bad. 

The only thing I liked about Brokeback Mountain was Anne Hathaway's speech, which was a sublime piece of acting. Other than that I could take it or leave it. People "oohed" and "awwed" about how great it was to see the gay characters do more than just a Gay Hug o' Love as the custom, but I didn't really see the "searing" chemistry between these guys even as they were pretending to hump each other  in a tent.

[Shannon L.]

@scarynikki12 you're right! The streak was broken tonight. I didn't even think about that. I tried. I can guarantee that I'll never watch Roma.

[JustaPerson]

Green Book (2018)

[Simon Boccanegra]

30 minutes ago, scarynikki12 said:

It was indeed Tony Curtis. He wasn’t the only one to vocalize his homophobia to the detriment of Brokeback’s chances.

The other major one I remember, besides Curtis, was Ernest Borgnine, who said he had heard it was a great picture, but he hadn't seen it, wasn't going to see it, and didn't want to know about it. Then he added that John Wayne would be rolling over in his grave. What John Wayne and speculation on his opinions had to do with Brokeback Mountain, I have no idea. It's not as though they were remaking a famous John Wayne picture and adding a lot of gay sex. Although I would probably go see such a thing.  

[Simon Boccanegra]

47 minutes ago, methodwriter85 said:

I thought this was one of the most open Best Actress races I can think of since the 2011 one between Meryl Streep, Michelle Williams, and Octavia Spencer. It really could have been any one's that year.

I think you're thinking of Viola Davis rather than Octavia. Octavia was nominated (and won) for Supporting, for the same film (The Help). The other Lead Actress nominees were Rooney Mara and...Glenn Close.  

[Dr.OO7]

11 minutes ago, Simon Boccanegra said:

t's not as though they were remaking a famous John Wayne picture and adding a lot of gay sex. Although I would probably go see such a thing.  

Heh. That reminds me of that montage Jon Stewart did the year it was nominated of all the supposedly homoerotic moments in Westerns.

15 minutes ago, JustaPerson said:

Green Book (2018)

It's freaky how eerily preminiscent that trailer is.

[BW Manilowe]

4 hours ago, WonderWuman73 said:

So far enjoying the show with no host. It’s zipping along a lot faster since they got rid of some of on air award presentations and a host. But still don’t understand why they didn’t stick to last years’ winners presenting to this years? Or Streisand not introducing A Star is Born? And again with Julia Roberts? Try for Helen Mirren next time. 

They didn’t get rid of any of the on air awards presentations after all. After they announced they were gonna do that, The Academy got letters/petitions signed by multiple members who work in branches where the awards were to be eliminated from on air presentations this year (even though the Academy branches whose awards were gonna be presented off camera supposedly volunteered to have their awards given offscreen during a commercial, according to the original announcement of that plan), as well as from multiple acting branch members of the Academy (presumably including some former Oscar winners &/or nominees), protesting moving the presentations of these 4 awards to the commercials. Once that happened, the producers backtracked & said all the awards would be presented during the telecast as usual.

[ruby24]

Disappointed about Green Book, but that's the Academy for you. And the stupid preferential ballot which favors the least disliked movie. Still, Roma is a masterpiece, imo.

Thought the show was pretty good without a host actually. Then again, I'm someone who always prefers just moving things along to the next award, so cutting all those unnecessary montages and audience skits they usually waste time on was a good thing, at least for my taste.

I can't believe Olivia Colman beat Glenn Close! That was a real surprise for me. I loved her speech though. Poor Glenn is now the biggest Oscar loser ever (in acting). I don't know if she'll get another shot at it either, it's not like she's Meryl Streep, who makes movies every year it seems like. 

I loved Gaga and Cooper's performance of Shallow. SO hot!!

[BW Manilowe]

4 hours ago, sally-can-wait said:

Why is Octavia there? 

According to this article, Octavia was brought in during the filming/production process as an executive producer.