The Annual Academy Awards - General Discussion

[voiceover]

Another three-hour circle jerk.  Why do I do this to myself?

[Trini]

I expect the show to run over, but 40 minutes? I thought they were doing better the last few years.

[mousegirl]

Still a little after nine pm here in So Cal, off from work tomorrow so I can stay up and be happy for Eddie, Julianne, "Glory" and all the others who won, for Lady Gaga and Julie Andrews for knocking the snark right out of me with their incredible time on stage, and also for the RAIN, thank the Lord - nothing to do with the Oscars, of course, but yay anyway.  

Edited February 23, 2015 by mousegirl

[yourstruly]

 

Why do I do this to myself?

 

I asked myself that before the ceremony and thankfully avoided it. But I am now looking at what won and reminding myself what a joke it is-no wonder the movies that come out of Hollywood are such crap when they think that Birdman is the best movie of the year. Such a bunch of self-involved, out of touch geriatrics.

 

And I am so embarrassed that I even care-we will all forget who won anything a week from now at the very latest.

 

I hope (and fully expect) that the ratings will have fallen through the floor. Compared to television (hell, compared to YouTube), the movie industry is less and less relevant.

 

In summary: Linklater/Boyhood: ROBBED.

Edited February 23, 2015 by yourstruly

[Umbelina]

So, no one's watching the after show?

 

Ha.

[cpcathy]

I was forgetting who won even while the show was on! 

 

The good:  Gaga singing, and that hug from Julie Andrews. Sniff. The Imitation Game's screenwriter's speech (I will look up his name, I promise), the surprise of Eddie winning (I thought Keaton was a lock).

 

The bad: too many songs (why couldn't we have gotten the medley?), JHud, no film clips whatsoever, Terrence Howard. No Oscar for Wes Anderson, yet ones for a lot of his crew.

 

The ugly: Everything NPH. I said earlier in the thread I was disappointed with the choice of him as host, and I was not wrong. Everything was off, his jokes stunk, his song was wretched (I thanked the heavens for Jack Black). The show was really disjointed and misguided. Bring back Ellen. Hell, bring back Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin. Please. Please.

[shoregirl]

I am disappointed Boyhood didn't win. I liked Birdman but not as much as Boyhood. I thought it was an achievement in directing but Boyhood was just so beautiful in that these characters were completely ordinary ( I mean that in a good way).

[cpcathy]

I enjoyed Birdman, I thought it was very creative and I loved the backstage theater aspect and the way it was filmed. Oh, and the Independent Spirit Awards already did the Birdman-Whiplash crossover yesterday and it was so much better.

[CherryMalotte]

Why do I do this to myself?

 

Now I have to say this to all of us who love our movies and love the show and lament every year that this film sucked, or they couldn't act their way out of a paper bag - there have been worse.  Mary Pickford in Coquette...oh man, that's awful.  And she was basically handed the Oscar because of who she was, not that it was some great performance.  Cavalcade for 1934, that's not any great shakes.  Dare I say... the exclusion of Hoop Dreams?  That was a travesty of the highest order.

 

I think what keeps us coming back is that film is for the eternal optimist.  And wee bit of glutton for punishment.

[nowandlater]

I expect the show to run over, but 40 minutes? I thought they were doing better the last few years.

 

1. Why do they even schedule it for 3 hours. It should be scheduled for 3 1/2 hours. If the Grammys is scheduled for 3 1/2 hours, then why not the king of awards shows. SNL 40 was also 3 1/2 hours.

 

The Academy Awards is simply too big for a 3-hour timeslot.

 

2. If you're going to go 3 1/2 hours, why start at 8:30? I don't get the start time. Why not 8 pm? Does anybody have an explanation?

[SmithW6079]

NPH was a contributor on the show, but not the sole writer, so it seems unfair to blame him for the clunky jokes.

[Umbelina]

Because it's on the West Coast and they are already starting before the sun goes down.  Most of them are on the Red Carpet by 4PM.

 

I want:

 

Less "joke" routines.

Less singing.

 

More movie clips, of all the films, including documentaries.  This is a show about the movies, not stand up, not music.  I want to hear acceptance speeches that aren't spit out at breakneck speed.  IF the issue is lists of names, then tell everyone they are not allowed lists of names.  Make it about films, not all the extraneous bullshit. 

[nowandlater]

So, what happened to NPH?

 

One TV critic attributed it to The Peter Principle.

 

I remember him or the show not being so great when he last hosted the Emmys, but that was because there were like 5 death tributes.

 

When he got the job, Harris said he wanted to up his game and do something different from the Tonys, yet he did an opening number that could've been straight out of the Tonys. And it was the umpteenth celebration of the movies!!!

 

I've been following Harris and the two producers for months, and it seemed like they were putting in the work for something speical.

 

And they had Greg Berlanti, known for creating a bunch of dramas from Everwood to Arrow, as head writer, which didn't make sense. (Wouldn't you want a comedy writer?)

 

Anyways, this is the 3rd year of Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, and they're 1 for 3. I think they lucked out with how great Ellen was last year, even better than her first time hosting.

 

They also spent up until mid-December concentrating on Peter Pan Live!, so maybe that played a part.

 

But, boy, was this show lackluster.

 

 

Poor NPH, having to go do Kimmel after this.

 

I'm pretty sure his Kimmel bit is pre-taped. I've watched all 9 previously Kimmel specials, and the Oscar host bit is always pretaped. (John Travolta is the only guest.)

[jjj]

Many guests listed at the start of the Kimmel show.  It seems live?  He is talking about "the Polish guy on stage talking about his kids."  And awards.  Okay, it's live.  Matt Damon will appear! 

[Kromm]

Because it's on the West Coast and they are already starting before the sun goes down.  Most of them are on the Red Carpet by 4PM.

 

I want:

 

Less "joke" routines.

Less singing.

 

More movie clips, of all the films, including documentaries.  This is a show about the movies, not stand up, not music.  I want to hear acceptance speeches that aren't spit out at breakneck speed.  IF the issue is lists of names, then tell everyone they are not allowed lists of names.  Make it about films, not all the extraneous bullshit. 

I do get that.  And it makes sense.

That said, it's hard to agree with it on an emotional level when the show totally sucked OTHER than Lady Gaga basically giving the performance of her career during this otherwise annoying show.

[Umbelina]

One musical number then.

 

The songs get more times than ANY of the nominees.  It's bullshit.

[Brandi Maxxxx]

I wasn't planning on watching the awards but I did and thought NPH was a good enough host. Not amazingly good but definitely not the trainwreck that people are making it out to be.

[Umbelina]

Eddie Murphy on Kimmel!  Or the remote cam, this is cute.

[opus]

Bring back Ellen. Hell, bring back Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin. Please. Please.

Bring back Franco and Hathaway.

[Kromm]

Has the topic that comes up every year (besides how lame the awards are) been discussed yet?  You know the one--the hot potato called "who was left out of the In Memoriam". 

 

The big names are Joan Rivers and Elaine Stritch.

 

I suppose the excuse will be that Rivers was mainly known for stand-up and TV, and Stritch for Broadway.  But surely presenting a Red Carpet special for the Oscars for years should have bought Joan's way into the tribute, and Stritch was considered a key acting mentor of a ton of big stars.  It's worth noting that Maya Angelou, who has even less of a connection to movies than those two, WAS in the segment.  

[nowandlater]

Eddie Murphy on Kimmel!  Or the remote cam, this is cute.

Thanks for tipping me off. I was going to watch this later. Glad I caught it.

 

So we have 3 Eddie Murphy appearances on national TV in 3 days, and he waits for a brief cameo on Kimmel to be funny.

 

Has the topic that comes up every year (besides how lame the awards are) been discussed yet?  You know the one--the hot potato called "who was left out of the In Memoriam". 

 

The big names are Joan Rivers and Elaine Stritch.

 

I suppose the excuse will be that Rivers was mainly known for stand-up and TV, and Stritch for Broadway.  But surely presenting a Red Carpet special for the Oscars for years should have bought Joan's way into the tribute, and Stritch was considered a key acting mentor of a ton of big stars.  It's worth noting that Maya Angelou, who has even less of a connection to movies than those two, WAS in the segment.  

 

I get annoyed by the complainers, especially the many this year who were upset that Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Harold Ramis were left off (Patton Oswalt was among the latter). Even though they were honored last year.

 

I was iffy on Joan.

 

But then I was reminded of how she made the Oscars a must-watch even to many people. So she deserved recognition.

[superdeluxe]

Even though I knew Redmayne would win because of the heavy campaigning that he did, I still held out a little hope that Keaton would pull it out.  Too bad that didn't happen.  Birdman winning Picture, Director, and Original Screenplay, but not Actor just doesn't make any sense to me.  At least Keaton got to go on stage and say a few words.

 

I knew as soon as they announced Neil Patrick Harris as the host that it was not going to work.  And it didn't.

[film noire]

"But then I was reminded of how she made the Oscars a must-watch even to many people. So she deserved recognition"

 

Rivers is also one of the very very VERY few women to write a movie/direct it ("Rabbit Test", Billy Crystal's  screen debut -- Joan also has a small part in the film as a nurse) so for that alone, I think she deserved to be included.

Edited February 23, 2015 by film noire

[pennben]

 

Even though I knew Redmayne would win because of the heavy campaigning that he did, I still held out a little hope that Keaton would pull it out

 

Did Keaton not campaign? Was there not a fair fight?

[Kromm]

Thanks for tipping me off. I was going to watch this later. Glad I caught it.

 

So we have 3 Eddie Murphy appearances on national TV in 3 days, and he waits for a brief cameo on Kimmel to be funny.

 

 

I get annoyed by the complainers, especially the many this year who were upset that Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Harold Ramis were left off (Patton Oswalt was among the latter). Even though they were honored last year.

 

I was iffy on Joan.

 

But then I was reminded of how she made the Oscars a must-watch even to many people. So she deserved recognition.

Didn't Hoffman and Ramis actually die right before the Oscars last year?  So it made sense they were in the 2013, aired in March 2014, tribute, even if they were 2014 deaths.

 

Whereas Rivers died in September 2014.  There's certainly no doubt she had to be a deliberate exclusion.  And again, nothing against Maya Angelou, but if SHE'S in a "movie star" tribute over Joan?  That's a crock.  

 

And while none were great movies or big roles, Joan WAS in several.  

 

Elaine Stritch is an even odder one to leave out.  She's close to Show Biz royalty, just not mainly "movie royalty" (5 Tony nominations, 8 Emmy nominations).  If nothing else, moviewise, she was in "A Farewell to Arms", and Woody Allen's "September", and apparently about 20 other films (admittedly ones like "Cocoon 2", that nobody saw).

Edited February 23, 2015 by Kromm

[UsernameFatigue]

I love Michael Keaton, but thought Redmayne acted circles around Keaton in their respective movies. But then I also loved The Theory of Everything, and hated Birdman. In fact of the 5 Best Picture nominees I saw (TOE, Birdman, Boyhood, Whiplash and The Imitation Game) Birdman was my least favourite by far. So I am thrilled for the winners of best actor, and supporting actor and actress categories. Also happy for Moore, though I haven't seen the movie as yet.

 

Wow, Oprah has no sense of humour at all. But then she never has had one. I was oddly amused by Stedman's stunned, gapping mouth look whenever they showed O. I always thought he was a handsome man, but tonight he just looked weird.

 

I loved NPH's opening song, but that was about it. I did think his ad lib remark about the woman wearing that horrendous jacket made of huge black pompoms was hilarious though - "you have to have balls to wear a dress like that" or something along that vein. Priceless.

 

Why in hell does JLo rate a seat in the front row? Other than the bottom of her dress needed the room, I fail to see how she rates a front row seat. I was impressed by her dress when she first came out on stage thinking she had gone all classy on us, but nope, there was the mostly missing top as per usual.

 

The guy who wrote the Imitation Game gave the best speech of the night. Very moving. I didn't really get Patricia Arquette's - apparenty only women who have given birth deserve equal pay?

Edited February 24, 2015 by UsernameFatigue

[pennben]

 

I did think his ad lib remark about the woman wearing that horredous jacket made of huge black pompoms was hilarious though - "you have to have balls to wear a dress like that" or something along that vein. Priceless.

 

I didn't like that remark because she was a winner of a "smaller" award, if you will, not someone famous, just a journeyman.  It was her moment. Also, wasn't she the one who talked about her son committing suicide, hence her movie?  Anyway I understand the humor, but in the moment, I was uncomfortable..

Edited February 23, 2015 by pennben

[ruby24]

I also knew as soon as they announced NPH that he was going to be terrible. Whatever "amazing Tony awards" he apparently hosted, I've never seen him be good hosting any other show, so I was not expecting him to hit it out of the park here. It was horrendous. Thank god for the musical numbers and some of the good speeches this year.

 

You know, they could have had some funny presenters at least. They've done that before, with people like Will Ferrell and Ben Stiller. They need to just stick to hiring a comedian, which NPH is not. I think the producers were under the impression that he's a stand-up for some reason.

[GreekGeek]

My two cents the morning after:

 

I liked NPH in the opening number. Those "slip of the tongue" jokes were clever at first but wore thin awfully fast. For those thinking comedians make better hosts: Last year people were complaining about Ellen's jokes bombing and about that goofy "order pizzas" stunt. The host I'd love to see is Kevin Spacey. He's closely connected with the movies and can be funny too. His impersonations are really good.

 

Not a lot of surprises until the end of the show, with Redmayne over Keaton for Best Actor, Inarritu over Linklater for Best Director, and Birdman over Boyhood. I wasn't crazy about Boyhood once the boy became a teenager, but the film was a unique achievement that  should have been recognized more than it was. 

 

I'm really getting old. I did not recognize a lot of those young presenters.

 

Too many dull musical numbers. I would have loved the "Sound of Music" tribute more if it had come a little earlier. It made me sad that Julie Andrews can't sing anymore. Lady Gaga was excellent though. I'm OK with the political statements, but like the other unexpected messages better, like Simmons's "call your parents".

 

I also was surprised by the Joan Rivers omission. Not only did she do the Red Carpet show, she directed (Rabbit Test, starring Billy Crystal as a pregnant man) and appeared in films. By coincidence, I saw her this past week in a small role in 1968's The Swimmer. Harold Ramis and Philip Seymour Hoffman were honored last year, since they died before the Oscar show.

Edited February 23, 2015 by GreekGeek

[Inquisitionist]

Meryl's introduction was beautiful and emotional.  And I love these watercolor images. 

 

 

Having Meryl Streep do the In Memoriam presentation is just wrong.  I know she's nominated this year, but someone of her stature should be presenting best picture or director.

 

 

Meryl worked with Mike Nichols in three of his movies and one mini-series, I thought it was appropriate and heartfelt.

 

 

Yes, I thought there was real emotion in Meryl's voice, and when I saw Mike Nichols, I thought - that's it.  It felt very personal

 

I think Meryl gets to choose how (and if) she wants to participate in the Oscar festivities.  I've read that, in general, she doesn't like to present in the "competitive" categories (but will when she's expected to, such as presenting Best Actor the year after she won Best Actress for The Iron Lady).  I can see why she would have wanted to present the In Memoriam segment this year, particularly as it included both Mike Nichols and Misty Upham, with whom she had recently worked in August: Osage County.  I can't help but think Meryl was also referring to her first great love, John Cazale, when she spoke of appreciating these talents for whatever amount of time they are with us. 

 

Also, as soon as the theme music from Sophie's Choice started playing, my eyes misted up.  That's some of the saddest music ever put on screen, and it always conjures up for me the image of Sophie and Nathan together on the bed at the end -- two tortured souls who could no longer bear what the world had imposed on them. 

[Inquisitionist]

 I didn't really get Patricia Arquette's - apparenty only women who have given birth deserve equal pay?

 

Her phrasing was off, perhaps because of nervousness.  What she said was "To every woman who gave birth to every taxpayer and citizen of this nation: we have fought for everybody else’s equal rights. It’s our time to have wage equality once and for all and to fight for equal rights for women in America.”

[Chaos Theory]

I really enjoyed Still Alice and Julianne Moore is one of my favorite actresses so I am happy about that at least.

Boyhood is overrated but I think you only understand it if you have kids and I dont.

Edited February 23, 2015 by Chaos Theory

[Nidratime]

I was glad Birdman won over Boyhood ... *if* those two films were really duking it out at the end. Boyhood had that one, made over a span of 12 years, hook. But, beyond that, it was a pretty pedestrian plot. You'd find most of what that film covered on the Lifetime channel. Birdman had that hook of appearing to be done in one continuous shot. However, it also had a lot of other crazy things going on making one question what was real and what was fantasy and *at what point* did reality end and fantasy take over. Plus, the ending, over which there's a lot of debate. (I'm still not sure what happened.)

 

I'm also sorry Keaton didn't win over Redmayne, but it was pretty clear that the latter had the advantage, since he played someone with a serious disability. That trumps everything when it comes to the Oscars. The best actress part also involved a disability.

[truthaboutluv]

I am kind of surprised by all the comments in the thread that Eddie's win was a shock and a huge upset and some thought Michael Keaton was still a lock. Michael Keaton was the heavy favorite at the start of the season but it was always a close race between him and Eddie and about a month ago it shifted heavily towards Eddie, especially when he won the SAG. Most last ,minute Oscar predictions had Eddie as the pick to win.

 

Honestly, Michael Keaton winning would have been the surprise, much like when Meryl Streep won after it seemed like Viola Davis had pulled away as the favorite. Also, unpopular opinion perhaps but I think Eddie was more deserving. Sure it was one those obvious Oscar bait type roles but I saw Birdman and I truly think Edward Norton outshone and marginalized Michael Keaton's performance in the first half of the movie. 

 

I am actually a little bummed for Linklater and the Boyhood team. While the story of the movie was hardly super original, the film itself was and I do think for an award that is about celebrating achievement in film-making, the film should have been rewarded for doing something that hadn't been done before. While it may not have been the best movie, Linklater at least should have gotten Best Director I think.

 

For figuring out how to direct and tell the story of the same characters for 12 years, using the same actors, particularly the young actor who he had to direct and guide from a young boy, tween, teenager and young adult. I think that was pretty impressive. And the thing is, while I liked Birdman well enough, I really didn't think it was that amazing and don't agree that it was the best movie of the year. 

Edited February 23, 2015 by truthaboutluv

[biakbiak]

Her phrasing was off, perhaps because of nervousness.  What she said was "To every woman who gave birth to every taxpayer and citizen of this nation: we have fought for everybody else’s equal rights. It’s our time to have wage equality once and for all and to fight for equal rights for women in America.”

And one of the main reason people site for pay inequality between genders is because woman be birthing babies. Time off for either birth or child rearing is the reason many hand wave pay inequality.

[bosawks]

I woke up this morning half expecting the show to still be going on.......

[absnow54]

Sure it was one those obvious Oscar bait type roles but I saw Birdman and I truly think Edward Norton outshone and marginalized Michael Keaton's performance in the first half of the movie.

I agree with this. I found Keaton's character to be very reactive. Things were happening around him and he would react to it. I was far more impressed with Edward Norton and Emma Stone in the film, and found their characters more interesting. 

 

I am actually a little bummed for Linklater and the Boyhood team. While the story of the movie was hardly super original, the film itself was and I do think for an award that is about celebrating achievement in film-making, the film should have been rewarded for doing something that hadn't been done before. While it may not have been the best movie, Linklater at least should have gotten Best Director I think.

I was disappointed for the Boyhood team too (although, yay for Patricia Arquette.) It wasn't the best film of the year (Whiplash tops my list) but Linklater did something different and interesting and it worked, and I thought he deserved Best Director. 

[nowandlater]

I was glad Birdman won over Boyhood ... *if* those two films were really duking it out at the end. Boyhood had that one, made over a span of 12 years, hook. But, beyond that, it was a pretty pedestrian plot. You'd find most of what that film covered on the Lifetime channel. Birdman had that hook of appearing to be done in one continuous shot. However, it also had a lot of other crazy things going on making one question what was real and what was fantasy and *at what point* did reality end and fantasy take over. Plus, the ending, over which there's a lot of debate. (I'm still not sure what happened.)

 

I'm also sorry Keaton didn't win over Redmayne, but it was pretty clear that the latter had the advantage, since he played someone with a serious disability. That trumps everything when it comes to the Oscars. The best actress part also involved a disability.

 

 

I wonder what would the reception to Boyhood have been with an interesting actor playing the boy. Ellar Coltrane is just so incredibly dull. In a way, that might've served the story as Linklater wasn't going for drama. But the movie could've gotten a shot in the arm with a really good child actor.

[absnow54]

Ellar Coltrane is just so incredibly dull. In a way, that might've served the story as Linklater wasn't going for drama. But the movie could've gotten a shot in the arm with a really good child actor.

Looking at Ansel Elgort and Josh Hutcherson last night, who are both around Ellar's age (and in Hutcherson's case, has been a working actor since around the time Boyhood started filming) I was wondering how the film would have turned out with one of them in the role. Ellar seems to be a really sweet kid, but I don't think acting is his thing. He just doesn't have that presence it takes to carry a film (which, thankfully, Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke did.)

[biakbiak]

"Glory" is a rap song?

The song "Glory" written by Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr. and John Stephens aka Common and John Legend for the movie "Selma" has always had a rap element it was written specifically for the movie and why other songs closely resemble the title this was an original piece.

Edited February 23, 2015 by biakbiak

[galax-arena]

Her phrasing was off, perhaps because of nervousness.  What she said was "To every woman who gave birth to every taxpayer and citizen of this nation: we have fought for everybody else’s equal rights. It’s our time to have wage equality once and for all and to fight for equal rights for women in America.”

She doubled down in the green room:

 

"It's time for women. Equal means equal. The truth is the older women get, the less money they make. The highest percentage of children living in poverty are in female-headed households. It's inexcusable that we go around the world and we talk about equal rights for women in other countries and we don't. One of those superior court justices said two years ago in a law speech at a university that we don't have equal rights for women in America and we don't because when they wrote Constitution, they didn't intend it for women. So the truth is even though we sort of feel like we have equal rights in America right under the surface there are huge issues at play that really do affect women. It's time for all the women in America, and all the men that love women and all the gay people and all the people of color that we've all fought for to fight for us now."

 

Seriously? STFD, Patricia.

Meryl Streep chearing for equal pay for women is a bit hypocritical.

I don't know about hypocritical, but I did roll my eyes regardless because I haven't forgotten how she recently defended Russell Crowe's sexist/ageist comments about women in Hollywood.

Edited February 23, 2015 by galax-arena

[proserpina65]

Note to whoever hires the Oscar host: DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT ever hire NPH again.  He wasn't the worst host of recent years (that would be the infamous Anne Hathaway/James Franco debacle), but he was almost as bad.  That was a deadly dull show.  Even the dresses sucked, although not in an interesting way, except for the winner with the pom-poms hanging off her dress.

[superdeluxe]

Did Keaton not campaign? Was there not a fair fight?

 

I'm sure he did, but not as hard as Redmayne.  He got married; he showed up to every single screening of his movie.  Any little thing they could trot him out for -- he was there, shaking a lot of hands and kissing a lot of babies.  He basically pulled an Anne Hathaway.  Actually, he outdid Anne Hathaway.

 

And he's probably going to be back next year because he's got another baity role with The Danish Girl.  If there's a chance he could pull a back to back, the campaigning is going to get worse.

 

I just feel bad for Michael Keaton because that was his only chance.  He should've been included in the Birdman sweep.

[mtlchick]

 

Next to having "Maria" from "West Side Story" sung to me all day and night, the runner-up was "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria" and it really didn't get old AT ALL.

 

I got stuck with having people serenading me "Maria Maria" from Santana.  There's only one person who sang "Maria" from West Side Story and he is a boy bander.  Go figure.

[Chaos Theory]

NPH is funny but I don't think he is Emmy host funny or maybe he is past is expectation date or whatever. I still like him.

[catrox14]

I'm sure he did, but not as hard as Redmayne.  He got married; he showed up to every single screening of his movie.  Any little thing they could trot him out for -- he was there, shaking a lot of hands and kissing a lot of babies.  He basically pulled an Anne Hathaway.  Actually, he outdid Anne Hathaway.

 

And he's probably going to be back next year because he's got another baity role with The Danish Girl.  If there's a chance he could pull a back to back, the campaigning is going to get worse.

 

I just feel bad for Michael Keaton because that was his only chance.  He should've been included in the Birdman sweep.

 

I don't understand why it has to be that only Redmayne campaigning means that's why he won. Isn't it at all possible that voters thought he did turn in the best performance? And just because he played a person with a ALS, he had to play it believably and with sensitivity but not treacly and patronizing.  I thought he was wonderful and it was deserved.

[mojoween]

Steve Gleason, former NFL player who has ALS, said that Eddie nailed playing someone with ALS. While I haven't seen the movie, I appreciate Steve's opinion on this and have no reason to not believe him.

[Bees]

Just some thoughts about the Oscars in general

 

Keaton vs Redmayne - The Fallout: Yeah, I'm super disappointed that Keaton didn't win Best Actor. It's not that I didn't think Redmayne did a fantastic job because I did. However, I thought Keaton was far better. And yes, I've seen both movies. That being said, it wasn't a shock. It was pretty much a given the moment Redmayne won the SAG Award. Plus, Redmayne's performance hits more Oscar sweet spots than Keaton's does. Redmayne is playing a real person, someone with a disability that they have to overcome, and they went full method. It's Daniel Day-Lewis Trifecta. However, that's not to say that Keaton didn't have some Oscar sweet spots himself. He was a veteran who made a comeback and his role was a washed up actor who is struggling with mental illness. It's just that Redmayne had the juiciest sweet spots and on top of that gave a fantastic performance. Oh well, what's done is done. Though I kind of wish it was a tie like what happened in 1968. Regardless, it's sure better than Bradley Cooper winning. Then I'd be super salty. The only reason I'm salty now is because someone insinuated I was ableist because I preferred Keaton over Redmayne. 

 

Stop The Singing, I Want to Get Off: The opening number was fine. The performances of the nominated songs is fine too. However, did we really need a tribute to The Sound of Music? (I thought Lady Gaga did a fine job though) or Jennifer Hudson performing AFTER the montage?! I mean I get annoyed already when a singer is performing during a montage but that's more due to them focusing on the singer more than the montage. Her performing after the montage ate up too much time.

 

Worst. Death Montage. Ever.: Seriously, am I the only one extremely underwhelmed by the montage? It looked nice artistically and Meryl Streep did a great intro to it. However, it just felt all disjointed and also their decision to put Mike Nichols as The Hammer (the ending person in the montage) over Robin Williams was a curious decision. Both are great, mind you. Of course there's the inevitable "They left out X!" to which I say, don't be me. I kept bitching about them leaving out Shirley Temple for a good 10 minutes and my lack of reading comprehension made me look like a real idiot. She was included in last year's montage since she died in February. I swore she died in April. Also, they didn't leave out PSH, Ramis, or Sid Caesar. They were included in last year's. Elaine Stritch was a serious omission. not at Peggy Lee levels (seriously, the year she died, she was left out of the montage. All well and good except that she was actually nominated for an Oscar!). Joan Rivers seems like a glaring omission, however, she's more TV oriented and despite some roles in some films and her always famous fashion red carpet, I can see why the left her out. Same deal with Jan Hooks whom had some memorable movie roles but she was more TV oriented. Now if the Emmys left those two ladies out, then there'd be some serious problems. Anyways, I'm done rambling. The montage was lame this year. Also, where was Jon Lovitz?! (note: this is a joke tracing back form SNL40. Lovitz isn't actually dead. They just made a joke of it in the Dead People Montage on SNL by showing him last)

 

Let's Get Political! Let Me Hear Your Party Talk! Your Party Talk!: Honestly, I'm okay with the political talk for the most part. Patricia Arquette was a little more disjointed and had some weird phrasing but she had a damn good point. And I loved Inarratu's speech too. People forget that the US is an immigrant country and that's sad. However, I think Common did the best job with the political speech stuff. He was eloquent, smart, and he called out about all the political issues going on around the world. I like that he wasn't so US-centric. 

 

Awesome and Lovely Speeches Galore: Graham Moore and JK Simmons had the best speeches of the night. Oh and Keaton's few words he got to say at the end with Birdman. That was really sweet of Inarratu to let Keaton speak a little bit. However, I loved Moore's speech about how it's okay to be weird. A lot of teenagers need to hear that whether they're male, female, gay, straight, bi, black, white...whomever you are. And JK Simmons' lovely speech about calling your parents was awesome too. Thankfully my parents were near me so i didn't have to call but if I wasn't near them, I'd have called. Did anybody here call?

 

Thoughts on Other Winners: How wacky is it that someone from the Arquette acting family has an Oscar? That's pretty awesome in a weird way. Not that Patricia didn't deserve it. It's just a nice bonus. Also, I love living in a world where JK Simmons is an Oscar winner. That made me so happy seeing him win. Yeah it was a foregone conclusion and all, but it was just really awesome to see him win. He's a guy who's worked hard as an actor all his life and never got any recognition until now. I'm just so damn happy for him. And Arquette too. And it was nice to see Julianne Moore win as well. She finally got one. And she was pretty good in Still Alice.I'm surprised about Big Hero 6 winning. I would've went with The Tale of Princess Kaguya. Also, we all know The Lego Movie would've easily won if it got nominated.

 

NPH and the Hosting Failure: Man, I was really looking forward to him hosting. What a disappointment. And it's probably not entirely his fault though.The writing was just awful and so awkward, relying on jokes that were too easy and shit that just didn't make sense. I mean not everybody can be a Bob Hope or a Billy Crystal (though he got to be a little much at times), but they can certainly do better than this. Or at least, NPH is better than this. 

 

Overall Thoughts: The right movie won Best Picture, I agreed with 3/4 Acting Wins, there were some good acceptance speeches and the nominated song performances were pretty good (the best was "Everything Is Awesome" though "Glory" is up there). Also, I loved Whiplash winning Best Editing. All in all, I can't completely argue with the results even if I think Best Actor should've gone to Keaton. Everything else about the ceremony sucked.

[dubbel zout]

If you're going to go 3 1/2 hours, why start at 8:30? I don't get the start time. Why not 8 pm? Does anybody have an explanation?

 

There's the West Coast factor, and there's also ABC wanting its "exclusive" red carpet access. The more ads sold, the better.

 

I didn't think NPH was so bad as host. It's an extremely tough job that only gets tougher as the show staggers under its own self-importance.

Edited February 23, 2015 by dubbel zout

[topanga]

FFS, Ms. Arquette, this is not the place for political grandstanding. 

 

I really don't give a shit what a bunch of pretentious, self-important, elitist fucks think about the world.  I'm here to see the fashion and enjoy the show, not for someone to preach Stentorian from the Mount.

I see your point, OriginalCyn. But I respect celebrities who use their platforms to bring attention to things they're actually doing to help the world (who are not just political grandstanding).

Edited February 23, 2015 by topanga