George has a habit of mentioning the Batman thing, whether out of self-deprecation or the musing knowledge that he played a character that simply personifies cool, even if his movie didn’t, and I believe that Tilda picked up on it. According to Lainey, Tilda had been pranked on the set by George more than her fair share and took the *ultimate* opportunity to get him back for that. I must say that I don’t think this award was undeserved, and I LOVE that she said her agent — whom she owes the award to apparently — looks exactly like that Little Golden Man. That guy’s office is flooded with calls today, no doubt.
Tagged with Oscars 2008 …
Oscar Feelings, Oscar Memories
Well…. the broadcast left quite a lot to be desired. Beginning with a significant number of technical fouls (bad video, nobody got Jon’s jokes) the show got off to a seriously rocky start. After that it was pretty boring. Between Amy Adams singing her heart out on a BARE STAGE and the music during the speeches creeping up like the shark from Jaws, it felt forced. Like Hollywood was just going through the motions, non? It’s supposed to be filled with hope and laughter, but instead it was filled with montages that were intended to provide you with the ‘tear jerking’ moments, rather than supplying them on live television.
A few of my favorite moments last night coming up, plus response to my predictions and the ‘upsets’ from last night.
It’s Oscar Night Tonight!
There he is ladies and gentlemen! The Little Golden Man that every film artist dreams about. In this case, you are looking at Paramount’s Best Picture Oscar for The Godfather Part II, a photo taken by me when I was in LA earlier last year. I can tell you that when I stood in front of him, I trembled a little. Because that’s what the Academy Awards are about: emotion. They are the award that is the least representative of actual talent but the one that brings on the most emotion. Few people cry or gush when they receive a Golden Globe., but for Oscar — for this little, tiny statue — people lose their sh*t. Ever since I was young, Oscar Night has always been a day filled with anticipation for me. I suppose that it is because at the end of the night they give out Oscars, but it’s a day filled with hopes and dreams and until they walk into the Kodak Theatre at 8:30 tonight it really is anyone’s game. I was at the Kodak on my trip to LA and I can tell you Flimies, it is breathtaking. I’ve posted some pics below that you might be interested in.
Once you reach the inside of the giant archway, from which they hang a curtain to make it seem *more* grand, you are face with this cosway. On a regular day there are these folks walking about, that kiosk in the middle and stores along the sides., because while the Kodak is best known for being the home of the Academy Awards and the American Idol final shows, it’s also a part of the Hollywood & Highland Centre, one of the best shopping spots in LA (in my humble opinion, for the average person on an average budget…. ahem).
Then you get to the staircase itself. It sparkles like this all year round, not just during this one spectacular night, and it’s magnificent. It was very humbling to notice, however, that flanking the staircase on each side are a series of pillars. On each pillar, front and back, is written the name of each Best Picture winning movie since the first Academy Awards were given out. That unfortunate person on the staircase is me. Please ignore.
Above is the detail of one of those pillars and I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty excited that in about 6 hours there will be a new name added to these pillars. Who will it be?
I’m looking forward to a night of glamour, emotions, laughter and fun and I hope you’ll join me as I blog on the commercials. Sing it with me now Filmies! It’s Oscar night tonight!
Oscar Predictions!!! The Big Six!
Ladies and gentlemen! It’s that time again! Since I’ve been in media blackout for some time doing Canada’s Top Ten (minor coverage to come) and seeing as many of the Academy Award nominated movies I could possibly digest (and yet, there’s still more… how can there still be more??!?) I’ve not been posting as much as I normally like to. Hopefully this has paid off in the form of what every reviewer dreams of.. accurate predictions and lots of opinions! I’m only doing the Big Six because I don’t know what the Academy thinks of such things as Art Direction, Editing, Sound Editing, Other Things the Average Moviegoer Doesn’t Care About. I’m doing this in a ‘Should Win/Will Win’ format and the links, should there be any will be to my review of that movie. Feel free to click and see what I thought. If there’s no link, it means I either haven’t seen it or didn’t get around to reviewing it. Forgive me will you? I still have a day job. So, without further ado…..
Best Actor
Should Win: Daniel Day-Lewis for There Will Be Blood. Initially this was thought to be Brad Pitt’s year, but then this movie came out and actors everywhere said ‘Damnit! Day-Lewis did another movie.’ Then was heard the sound of hope dying. The man’s formidable. When watching him do his job you never have a moment — not one single frame! — in which there is any of Daniel Day-Lewis pretending to be his character. He IS his character and that is a very rare and powerful gift. He’s incredible at his work and he deserves this award more than anyone else this year.
Will Win: Daniel Day-Lewis for There Will Be Blood.
Best Supporting Actor
Should Win: Casey Affleck for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. This movie was epic and it was meant to be Brad Pitt’s Oscar Winning star vehicle, but instead it fell flat, while Casey carried the movie entirely by himself. He showed me acting the caliber of which I have not seen for some time and complied with directorial requests that were unconventional (like single, long steady camera shots) and he rose to the occasion, ensuring that I was riveted to my seat by the intense character development. It’s a pity it’s not his year, because between this and Gone Baby Gone, he showed us that he is an actor who can consistently deliver more than is expected. I think that should be honoured.
Will Win: Javier Bardem for No Country for Old Men.
Best Actress
Should Win: Cate Blanchett for Elizabeth: The Golden Age. Not just for her magical performance in this movie, but also for the fact that she doesn’t have one for her tremendous body of work (screw the Best Supporting… Cate shouldn’t have to SUPPORT!) she deserves this award, but alas, this isn’t here year. Surprisingly, next year isn’t looking too good either. When will Cate have another Oscar? One more appropriate to her work?
Will Win: Julie Chrisite for Away From Her. (Aside: Go Sarah Polley! Way to represent!)
Best Supporting Actress
Should Win: Cate Blanchett for I’m Not There. Normally, Best Supporting Actor is the Academy’s ‘What the F&ck’ category, in which they nominate anyone they feel may have done alright, and then it’s literally anyone’s guess who might win, because there’s no clear winner. This year, probably because Bardem is so obviously deserving, they erred to Supporting Actress to fill with a nonsensical cluster of women all of whom have equal chance at the Little Golden Man. I’m coming down on Cate here because she put her incredible talent to work in an ensemble piece, which is unfortunate, because she couldn’t be nominated for Best Actress, which is what I think they wanted to do. In that case, she would be the clear winner. But because they could not do that, she will again go home with the Little Golden Man for Supporting. What a shame.
Will Win: Cate Blanchett for I’m Not There.
Achievement In Directing
Should Win: Jason Reitman for Juno. Jason Reitman is, in my humble opinion, one of the most promising new directors of our generation and it’s so incredible that he’s been nominated for an Oscar on his second go. He made a number of specific choices with this movie that significantly affected my enjoyment of it, and so, I think that this movie — more than the others — deserves to be recognized for its achievement in direction, because — if for no other reason — this was the most realistic film of all 5 nominated and the one that hit home with me the best. I know I’m not alone here.
Will Win: Paul Thomas Anderson for There Will Be Blood.
Best Picture
Should Win: Juno. For all the reasons noted above and for all the reasons in the review, I think that this movie should totally take it. That, and there’s three Canadians involved in its making. Represent. Ahem, yo. My only concern here is that, like Little Miss Sunshine, the Academy feels it has to give a nod to the ‘witty, quirky independent’ movie each year and that this is not a true nomination, but instead the industry’s attempt to engage the viewer in a varied film going
diet, ultimately selling DVDs over actually acknowledging achievement.
Will Win: No Country for Old Men. Not undeservedly so.
And finally, a list of 10 Movies to See Before You Die’s review of the Best Picture nominated movies:
Atonement
Juno
Michael Clayton
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood
Enjoy! See you after the Big Night! Posts if I can tomorrow, but response on Monday. Happy Oscars everyone!
Review: Juno
The movie doesn’t take it’s time getting to the point so neither will I. This is a movie about a girl, Juno McGuff (Ellen Page) who gets pregnant her first time having sex with her best friend, possibly boyfriend (Michael Cera), and decides to have the baby and give it to a family who can’t have one of their own. It sounds pretty simple and straight forward, and I suppose that it is, really. What it’s not is uncomplex or boring. Packed to the hilt with witty dialogue and moments that sometimes hit a little too close to home, this movie really is just as much of a miracle as the baby the movie’s about.
For a funny movie, it deals with a number of deep and emotional issues. It explores the inner workings of human relationships at many levels. There’s Juno and Bleeker who are a young couple, just in the budding stages of love (read: teenage hormones) but may have more. There’s Mark and Vanessa Loring (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner), who are married but there’s fuzz around the edges that seems to be closing in and fast — a situation so many of us are familiar with in this day and age of quickie divorces. Finally there’s Bren and Mac MacGuff (Allison Janney and J.K. Simmons) who have settled into the comfortable ins and outs of long term love. Putting three such different types of love in the script made it easier for the audience to relate, as we’ve all experienced at least one of those. I find it very interesting that the main character’s last name is ‘MacGuff’, reminding me of the ‘macguffin’ which is a plot device that’s used to further the plot, but has little to do with the actual story itself. Often the focus of the first act, it can sometimes be almost completely forgotten by the end of the movie. In this case, the masterful writing has done just that. The movie begins; Juno’s pregnant, but by the end it’s not the baby that matters, but the journey we’ve gone on with these characters. We’ve watched them love. We’ve watched them hurt. We’ve seen a mid-life crisis begin, grow and blossom. But it’s a journey we’re willing to go on, because they’re all so likable and they’re all so real.
To be fair to both you and me, you shouldn’t need a lot of convincing to go see this movie. It’s not a drama with deep complex issues that’s been disguised in the trailer as a comedy. This is a genuinely funny movie, with a very engaging star, which also makes you think about a few things when you leave. How do I feel about teen pregnancy? How would I react if it were my child who got pregnant? Should people stay together just because a baby is involved? Sounds heavy, right? You couldn’t be more wrong. Trust me on this one, if you’re going to have to examine your own morals and values, then you should probably do it while laughing your ass off. I know I did. Not unlike a number of movies that came before it, such as Little Miss Sunshine and Superbad, I was unprepared for some of the things I saw in this movie. In many cases I barked my laugh out in surprise so loud that people told me to ‘shhh’. You should go, it’ll make you ‘bark’ too….
