life without red carpet

[gurdonark]

Last night the television broadcast the Academy Awards.
Adrian Brody won Best Actor, and gave a very good speech, with a polite call for peace at the end. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers lost the Best Picture Oscar, to the stylishly rote filming of a Bob Fosse musical. In twenty years, the Peter Jackson film of the Tolkien books will be remembered as the classic of this film year (and, I suspect, each of the three film years of its release), and Chicago merely as an elegant footnote. Last night they gave Peter O'Toole a special achievement Oscar, which merely served to remind me that Lawrence of Arabia, one of the best films of all time, did not win an Oscar in its day, either.

The mood last night supposedly reflected the more somber tones of our war-infested time. In fact the understatement was fairly slight, and in many ways a quite welcome retreat from the excess of recent Oscar seasons. The leavening of the scripted material with inevitable political commentary neither enhanced nor diminished the show. We live in a time in which big corporations and the celebrities they create (including, curiously, a few anti-corporate celebrities) tend to say most of the words on television, on either side of any issue. Steve Martin as host reminded me of how far he has come in his quest to become a piece of Americana. I like him now, whereas twenty five years ago, I found him staid and obvious. I think it's because he humanized himself someplace along the line.

I wonder if I am the only person who feels that Roman Polanski did not deserve a standing ovation as if he were a hero in exile. He is not a hero in exile--far from a hero in exile. The same people who will revile misconduct in the anonymous blue collar fellow will forgive any sin in a celebrity. Of course, Eminem, for whom I feel anything but admiration, has gotten some primatur of respectability--it really doesn't matter what one stands for, the theory goes, as long as one stands for it with talent and aplomb. I follow a different theory, in which an Eminem would be disregarded, not glorified. His film showed that misogyny, homophobia and hate can be repackaged as commercial Hollywood sentimental product--but this surprised nobody.

Although I'd like to pretend that I am above celebrities and their ways, I find myself watching as the camera pans the audience, focusing on the actor and actresses, focusing on who I'm seeing and how they look. The movies cast their spell, and I'm not at all immune to the potions and charms in which they ensnare me, so long as the popcorn is good.

Comments

two words...

[nacowafer.livejournal.com]

Queen Latifah!

She makes me happy.

Oh, two more...

Salma Hayek!

She's a dream.

And Juliann Moore's dress! Beautiful!

And a pregnant Catherine Zeta-Jones...radiant.

Beauty counts for a lot, I guess. I take great comfort there, at least.

Re: two words...

[gurdonark.livejournal.com]

Salma Hayek is such a dream, and who would have guessed Queen Latifah would be such a talent? Julianne Moore really exudes class, somehow, and yet seems down to earth. I'm not a Callista Flockhart fan, particularly, but she was a vision last night.
Bono looked rather odd, sitting there, so many miles removed from Boy. Julie Taymor looked so self-possessed; Harrison Ford works hard at the teleprompter.

I see that today is Allyson Hannigan's birthday, on which she turns 29, the same age as you are. I suppose you must be part of the Buffy generation. I like the way that golden age movies have embedded themselves into the 18 year olds as much as they did with my generation--I thought time would change that.

[uscwriter.livejournal.com]

I think that's what people need to remember about movie stars, as it were, and movies... they are there for entertainment, and necessarily to be revered for their political statements. I may find the statement of an actor to be one I coincide with, but not because he or she is a public figure. That was hypothetical, actually. I don't even listen to movie or music people's opinions, mainly because I'd rather come up with my own.

But the movies, they do captivate. I am sad because LOTR:TT didn't win either. It didn't have a chance... And I wanted Queen Latifah to win, because I think she deserves it.

[gurdonark.livejournal.com]

Queen Latifah will win an Oscar someday, but not quite this year :).

[scott-m.livejournal.com]

With Roman Polanski, as with so many others, one needs to
separate the art from the artist. I didn't see The Pianist,
so I can't judge it on its merits. I'm just saying that a
movie can be exquisitely directed by a reprobate.

As for Eminem winning for 8 Mile-- I'm flummoxed. In many
cases, I can understand an entertainer's appeal and not find
that entertainer appealing, myself; but in Eminem's case I
see nothing special there-- just a foul-mouthed kid given to
violent fantasies and surrounded by critics saying "What a
genius."

Now for which movie really deserved awards ...

I was underwhelmed by Chicago, too. I was intrigued by
the themes of criminal-as-celebrity, and I liked the way
the musical numbers were staged as fantasies or musings of
one character or another, but the songs themselves left me
cold.

But I wasn't crazy about Lord of the Rings, either-- I spent
much of the movie confused as the action hopped among three
sets of characters and scenes. And what's so significant
about the second of the two towers (not the one occupied by
Christopher Lee, the other one) that it part of the title of
the movie (oh yeah, and the book too)?

For what it's worth, I was rooting for The Hours.

[gurdonark.livejournal.com]

I had no problem with Polanski winning the Oscar. It was the warmth of the standing ovation that seemed to me excessive.

I get bored of critics who glorify what they consider "rough trade" such as Eminem. There's such an implied reverse snobbery and "holier than thou" that is the way negative forces enter our mainstream. But I know that culture has weathered far worse assaults than him, and will emerge stronger, and besides, he did have to rap all sappy to win the award.

[reneesarah.livejournal.com]

I didn't see or hear the work that was the basis of Eminem winning an Oscar, but given what he stands for, and the kinds of things he says... I certainly can't see rewarding him with an Oscar. I would have liked to have seen Queen Latifa win, but agree with you- she will win another year. I saw "Chicago" and found that it gave me a headache. Maybe this is silly, but I had some difficulty enjoying the glorification of a woman who (in the story) murdered a man who had a wife and a couple of children. Why should she not experience some consequence for her behavior? Especially when the man's wife and children will have to live with the consequence of her rash act the rest of their lives? Maybe I am being too concrete and a bit uptight, but still....!!! I especially loved Steve Martin in L.A. Story- one of my three favorite movies ever.

[gurdonark.livejournal.com]

I get tired of all the dark side to so many movies today. It's not that I want personified smurfs, exactly, but I am all about how good triumphs over evil in a world of grey and uncertainty.

I like two of Steve Martin's more commercial efforts--Planes, Trains and Automobiles and Father of the Bride. and I don't mind admittin' it!

Re:

[reneesarah.livejournal.com]

Other favoite movies: What About Bob?, Joe vs. the Volcano, Shawshank Redemption, The Madness of King George, Much Ado About Nothing, Good Will Hunting... And the movie that has probably irritated me more than any other: Thelma and Louise.

[scott-m.livejournal.com]

"I get tired of all the dark side to so many movies today. It's not that I want personified smurfs, exactly, but I am all about how good triumphs over evil in a world of grey and uncertainty."

Have you seen Mostly Martha? It's a German import that made the art houses last year-- it'll warm you down to your toes, I tell ya. Plus they use some gorgeous Keith Jarrett songs for the incidental music.

Last week I saw Bend It Like Beckham, a British import about an Indian girl trying to balance what she wants in life (exploring her talent and passion for soccer) with her desire to stay obedient to her traditionalist parents. It's another movie that achieves depth without acquiring darkness, and it's coming to an art house near you.