Oscar rant for 2020

Ok. Now it's time for another rant. This time about the Oscars. I watched the whole show yesterday and mixed emotions as usual. There were things I thought were good, but there were lots of terrible moments.

First, the opening number. I like the performer who sang in it but this whole number reminded me of 60s-80s era kitsch, the kind that were nixed when Billy Crystal hosted (he's always poke fun of those numbers). Apparently some Academy programmer felt the need to bring it back I guess, but it didn't work for me.

What they should have done is opened with that montage of the musical moments from movies and Eminem's performance. That would have made sense. Also someone should have emphasized musical moments from the last 30-40 years, since that montage included nothing from classic Hollywood, not even a Judy Garland movie.

In future years, they should do something different with In Memoriam. Maybe make it longer, 5-6 minutes. Who is really looking at their watch during that segment besides commercial advertisers?

This year, the montage-makers started a new trend by including two people on the same screen to speed things up. But come on, is that needed? I saw Katherine Burns on the screen with Terry Jones. I think it's nice that someone remembered her; she had one significant supporting role in the mostly-forgotten 1969 film Last Summer and was nominated for Supporting Actress. However,  she was in virtually nothing since then and hardly anyone knows who she is or that film credit. On the other hand Terry Jones had more prolific credits. What they need to do is honor one person and show a clip of their film and/or a title/logo of the movie with it so people know what movie they were associated with. The Oscars used to do this years ago and it was a good practice.

I think it's time to admit that most people watching the Oscars In Memoriam have no idea who half the people are. That's why you need to include more movie clips with the person's picture, and not just 1 second of them. Show the title and logo too. People - especially groups of people watching at a viewing party - like to go "ooh" and "ahh" and have their memories jarred with movies when they watch these clips.

And as far as who was left out..... Someone needs a talking to. Not honoring Michael J. Pollard or Valentina Cortese seems really brainless. Sure, they didn't have many prolific credits but they were  Oscar nominees at least. How Katherine Burns was left in while those two - as well as Luke Perry who was in the Tarantino movie - were left out is a mystery to me.

Maybe in future years, just eliminate that segment - is it really needed?

I don't know. I don't think it's necessary, but it is nice to be reminded of movie history a little. When else during the ceremony do you see clips from older movies? Or even veteran stars? It was great that Jane Fonda, Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks made appearances, but what about some other movie legends?

Were Maya Rudolph and Kristen Wiig there to plug a movie? If so, someone should have said so. Same with Will Ferrell and Julia Louis Dreyfus (they are appearing in one opening soon). Without an announcer or presenter/host we're left in the dark as to why some of those people - TV stars mainly - are there.

I liked seeing Shia LaBeouf and his costar from The Peanut Butter Falcon, the young actor with Down Syndrome. But please, plug the movie at least. It's a good movie. Someone should have been there to champion it and say, "And here are the two stars of one of last year's pleasant surprises, etc"

I could go on but I think that's it for now. Rant over....haha

Not too excited about the Oscars this year...

I know the Oscars are tonight, but for the first time in many years, I'm just not too excited about the show. Some of my favorite movies of the year weren't nominated or didn't get the recognition they deserve, such as Sicario, which I thought would be up for Best Picture and Best Actress for Emily Blunt and Best Supporting Actor for Benicio del Toro.

I also loved Inside Out, which may be my favorite film of last year; I thought for sure it would be nominated for Best Picture easily.

Also in my Top 5 of last year is The Stanford Prison Experiment; I haven't reviewed it yet on my blog, but the film was incredibly intense. More to come about that film in a few days.

I liked Mad Max Fury Road quite a bit, and I'll have a review of that movie on my blog soon, too.

But as far as action films, my favorite of 2015 was none other than Furious 7.  The movie ties together every previous movie so well. It's fast paced and humorous with exotic locations and a great soundtrack.  And very moving at the end. The main song "See You Again" should have been nominated for Best Song, and the film should have received some technical nominations such as Sound Editing or Visual Effects.

Also snubbed for Visual Effects is Jurassic World - that final battle sequence alone blew me away, with that whale-like dinosaur jumping out of the water going in for the kill. Why in is The Revenant nominated for Visual Effects? For a bear attacking Leonardo di Caprio?

There were also some small-scale, quieter films that came out earlier in 2015 that didn't make too many people's Top 10 lists. One was Mr Holmes, starring Ian McKellan as an older Sherlock homes attempting to solve his final case. I also was a fan of The Age of Adaline, and thought Harrison Ford was great in it-- even better than in Star Wars.  And finally, I really liked Mistress America, starring Greta Gerwig in a screwball comedy set in New York.

When a shirt and tie won an Oscar for Best Costume

In my opinion, a lowlight of Oscar history was when Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1966) won the Oscar for Best Costume Design.

I feel it's one of the great under-achievements in the history of the Oscars, as I've observed numerous times on this blog (here) and (here).

For those of you you have never seen the film, let me explain.

Virginia Woolf is a depressing black and white picture about a deranged middle-age couple who verbally torture each other and a younger couple over the course of one night.  It's a cast of only 4 principal actors, like the stage play it is based on. No other human beings (other than a couple of restaurant employees) can claim to appear in the picture.

So let's talk about these 4 actors and their so-called costumes.

1) Richard Burton. He wears the same shirt, tie, and cardigan sweater throughout the picture.

2) George Segal. The only "costume" he dons is a gray suit and a black tie with white shirt.

3) Sandy Dennis, playing "Honey", the wife of Segal. She wears the same dress through the picture.

4) And finally, Ms Elizabeth Taylor. I counted 3 wardrobe changes. In the beginning she has a black v-neck dress on. To look sexy and appealing for Segal, she slips into a low cut blouse and tights. After the diner scene, she changes again into a light sweater and jeans.

All of these clothes could have been found in a thrift shop. I have nothing against thrift shops (I get clothes there all the time), but I mean I don't get how it won a competitive award.

In the video clip below, Robert Mitchum and Candace"Candy" Bergen reveal the winner in one of the most infamous moments in the history of the Oscars (video courtesy of The Oscars YouTube channel).






As KC of Classic Movies observed on a previous post on the subject, perhaps the clothes succeeded in making the characters look pathetic. Indeed they did.

Oscar Speculation...

It has been announced today (source: LA Times) that showbiz legend and Oscar-winner Barbra Steisand will perform at the Oscars this year. Details about her performance have not been revealed yet, but I would like to think that she'll be be doing a tribute to the late, great music maestro Marvin Hamlisch (1944-2012) by performing the timeless "The Way We Were". During his brilliant career, Mr. Hamlisch was the recipient of 12 Oscar nominations.

There have been some rumors floating around (source: TOR.com) that ALL SIX actors that have portrayed James Bond on screen will appear together for the very first time on the Oscar stage, including Sean Connery and Roger Moore. If the Academy can pull this off, I think this would be one the greatest Oscar moments ever! But, I'm not holding my breath for it to happen.

I've seen the list of nominations. Is it just me or is this one of the hardest-to-predict years in a long time?

Will Argo win Best Picture or will Lincoln? Or will Silver Linings Playbook sweep? I don't know.

In the race for Best Supporting Actor this year, all of the nominated actors have previously won Oscars: Alan Arkin, Robert DeNiro, Philip Seymour Hoffa, Tommy Lee Jones, and Christoph Waltz.

This is the first time in the history of the Academy Awards that this has ever happened in any acting category - all 5 nominees have Oscars already.

Voters will have to decide which of these actors they'll award a 2nd Oscar to. Or, in Mr. DeNiro's case, a 3rd Oscar - he already has Oscars for Raging Bull and The Godfather Part II.  I would like to see DeNiro win. I haven't seen the film he's nominated for, but no doubt he is great. A third Oscar could also represent all of his work since his last Oscar win (in 1980 for Raging Bull)

On Oscar night, I'll be rooting for two movies in particular: Prometheus to win Best Special Effects. And my favorite movie of the year - Skyfall - to win everything it's nominated for!

Do you have any favorites you'll be rooting for at this year's Oscars?

Dolores Hart at the Oscars

Yes, it's true - Dolores Hart attended last Sunday night's Oscar ceremony, walking down the red carpet and everything! A video below

 I was rooting for her documentary - God is Bigger than Elvis - to win! 

But it lost to Saving Face.

Whitney Houston sings at the Oscars

A great Oscar memory from March 1999- Whitney and Mariah Carey singing the inspirational When You Believe from Prince of Egypt, which won the Oscar for Best Song.

This was back when one could look forward to big stars performing their hits in their entirety on the show. Seems like eons ago.

Damien Bona dies at 56; co-wrote 'Inside Oscar' on Academy Awards

I'm saddened to hear of the passing of Damien Bona, who coauthored my favorite movie reference book, Inside Oscar. 

From the LA Times:

Damien Bona dies at 56; co-wrote 'Inside Oscar' on Academy Awards

Oscar Flashback: 60th Annual Awards Ceremony (1988) with Olivia de Havilland, Joan Fontaine and more

It was a memorable Oscar show 22 years ago at the milestone 60th annual ceremony. The Academy invited lots of Hollywood royalty to the LA Shrine Auditorium that hot April day in 1988: Paul Newman, Gregory Peck, and Audrey Hepburn, just to name a few. There was supposed to be a huge "year by year" salute toward the end, kind of like how they did it for the 70th and 75th Oscars show, but the whole segment flopped, which I'll explain further in a minute.

Among the legends who were invited: Olivia deHavilland and Joan Fontaine. Yep. That's right: Joan and Olivia! Did the famously feuding sisters get along? Did they speak? Hmmm... What really happened that night?



Well, for one, they both arrived separately.

According to the book, "Inside Oscar" by Mason Wiley and Damien Bona:

Rebecca's Joan Fontaine managed to arrive on time without the help of the Academy's escort-who never materialized-but her sister wasn't so lucky. Olivia had to hop out of her car and hike 10 blocks in order to be there to hand out an award. Robert Osborne recounted that "She and others were all dressed to the nines, hurrying off to a ga-ga glmaour event while rushing past taco stands, donut shops, and gawking onlookers, the latter munching on hot dogs and cradling babies, surprised at the unexpected passerby. Sigh!

Recently, I acquired a copy of the entire taped broadcast, and was able to watch it again (I remember watching it live back in 1988, but I didn't know who all the celebrities were back then). Screenshots of the best moments from the show are below below.





Totally '80s moment: Patrick Swayze appeared with his Dirty Dancing co-star Jennifer Grey to present an award.











PS. I heard that the long anticipated Wall Street sequel is coming out soon.









Below: This was one of the most bizarre stunts of the evening. Some guy dressed as Robocop pretended to shoot another robot on stage who started to attack Pee Wee Herman. We then see Pee Wee jumping up 50 feet in the air (on wires) and "hanging" from the rafters, while Robo saves the day. Another totally 80s moment.



Below: Liza and Dudley present the Best Song nominees. Before each preformed song, they sang some old fashioned tunes devoted to the art and craft of-songwriting. These ditties (with Dudley on piano) just didn't seem to fit with the more modern, up-tempo rock songs that were preformed, but it was nice to see them back together again!



Below: Ahh, a time when hit songs that people actually liked and could hum along to were nominated for Best Song:




While I was doing research on the 60th ceremony, I found some photographs taken by photographer Alan Light, who, back in '88 was lucky enough to score a ticket from a friend to the event; he took awesome pictures on the red carpet and even got some photos with some of the stars (photos used with permission). Check them out:







According to the book "Inside Oscar" by Mason Wiley and Damien Bona:

The Academy, for the milestone "60th Anniversary" ceremony, was planning a grand segment meant to air toward the end of the program.

It was supposed to be a salute to all 60 of the past Oscar winning years. Supposedly, the Academy invited at least one cast member from an Oscar winning film from each year (1927-1987), and they would appear on stage and on camera for a brief moment as each year and film would be introduced one by one.

But the "Year by Year" segment flopped. Shortly before air time, legendary silent/20s/30s actress Anita Page (age 77) was so overcome with heat exhaustion that she collapsed as she approached the red carpet. She was rushed to a local hospital and treated.



Thankfully, Ms Page was OK after awhile, but her absence left a void in the "Year by Year" presentation. Apparently she was the only person there to represent the year 1928 (The Broadway Melody) So the producers of the show scrapped the segment at the last minute.

As a consolation, the director made sure the cameras picked up a few glimpses of some of the recognizable stars throughout the night, so viewers were able to at least see Mercedes McCambridge (All The King's Men, 1949), Celeste Holm (All About Eve, 1950), Charlton Heston (Ben Hur, 1959), and Burt Lancaster (From Here to Eternity, 1953), even for just a few seconds.

Other legends were there in the audience, such as Roddy McDowall (How Green Was My Valley, 1941) and Robert Stack (Written on the Wind, 1956), but sadly, they didn't get any screen time, not even a reaction shot. I'm sure there were more stars present, but I just don't know who.

Below are some cool reaction shots that the director picked up on camera. Sadly, the ones who did make it on camera didn't get a credit, but I've provided the names myself!




Above: The leading man from the first Picture winner Wings (1927).









Above: Ms. Fontaine is not amused with Chevy Chase's unfunny monologue.

According to the aforementioned book Inside Oscar, Joan became a little impatient towards the end of the ceremony, and was wondering when it was time for her appearance onstage. Reportedly she was sitting very close to Roddy McDowell, and at one point turned to him as asked, "When do we go on?" "Later Later" he assured Rebecca's second Mrs. deWinter.

Apparently a number of the stars were never told that the segment was cancelled, nor that Anita Page was hospitalized.

Joan wasn't asked to present (either that or she refused), but her sister was invited to present the Oscar for Art Direction and she accepted. Olivia's appearance was within the first hour of the ceremony, right after Olympia Dukakis won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress Moonstruck.






Olivia walked onstage to "Tara's Theme". There was a standing ovation. The television cameras didn't get a shot of Joan; so viewers couldn't tell if she was standing or sitting during the ovation.






Olivia presented the award for Best Art Direction; the winners were the team from The Last Emperor.



Below: Towards the end of the evening, Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck took to the stage to present the writing awards. There was another standing ovation for them.



Below: Paul Newman presented Cher with her Oscar for Moonstruck.



It's too bad the "Oscar-Year-by-Year" segment flopped. It might have been cool. The Academy tried again for the the 70th and 75th ceremonies, but they invited all Oscar recipients of acting awards, and it didn't matter what year they represented. They were introduced alphabetically.

Postscript:

No, there was no reunion between Olivia de Havilland and her sister Joan Fontaine that night. It's possible that the last time the two sisters were in the same building together. According to the book "Inside Oscar", Joan was upset about the segment being cancelled, and that she didn't receive any screen time other than one split-second reaction shot. She reportedly vowed to never return to another Oscars ceremony which explains her absence from the 70th and 75th anniversary tributes.

However, at the end of the evening, all of the night's Oscar winners, presenters, performers, and legends were invited to come up to the stage to basically just stand there and wave while the credits rolled. With all the credits scrolling up, you could hardly make out who was on stage. Enjoy one more photo from Alan Light from inside the auditorium at the end of the show:

The Oscar (1966)

This is a terrible movie. Bad with a capital b. But it's notable for featuring two legendary stars who rarely appeared on the big screen - TV pioneer and comedian Milton Berle and legendary jazz singer Tony Bennett. The lead actor is Steven Boyd (of "Ben-Hur"), who plays a Hollywood actor named Frank who'd like to be nominated for an Oscar his recent screen role.

Berle plays Boyd's agent; his performance is just OK; according to some Oscar history books I've read, Berle was campaigning for an Oscar himself for Best Supporting Actor that year - but he wasn't nominated.

Bennett plays one of Boyd's friends. He's not that good in the role. I think this was one of his first  --- and last --- movie roles.

After about 2 hours of dull melodrama and subplots, we finally get to the last scene, the Oscar ceremony. Bob Hope has a cameo as the emcee, and there's some tension when the presenter reads the names for Best Actor.

I'm going to spoil the ending right here so don't read if you really don't want to know.

But this is the best part of the whole movie, my favorite part:

"And the winner is...Frank......(Boyd thinks he's going to win and starts to get up).... Sinatra!"

A link to a recent review of this bad film from Bobby Rivers TV here.

Blog post: The Magnificent 60s on The Oscar