And The Oscar Goes To......

[Mutagen]

I would really like it if they added a category for stunt people, but I suspect a lot of egomaniac actors wouldn't go for that.

[Oxynia]

Feb 24, 2012 10:27:24 GMT -4 Mugsy said:

Other suggestions?

Fire Bruce Vilanch.

[Atreides]

The SAG Awards have a Best Stunt Ensemble award but it is not part of the main ceremony.

I hate to admit it too but I agree to jettison the tech awards from the main ceremony. Seeing a small army of nerdy dudes on stage winning for Best Sound Effects Editing or whatever just doesn't make great TV. And tech people rarely get excited over winning (they just get up like their number was called at the deli) so it makes it tough for the audience to feel anything either.

What I do not want is a repeat from a few years ago when the tech winners had to accept from their seats. That was just embarassing for everyone involved.

[Deleted]

If they get rid of the tech awards then they might as well not bother. We have a dozen other awards shows that act like the only people who make movies are the actors, and sometimes the writer and director. I don't particularly care if it's "boring" for a lot of people who are only tuning in to see what people are wearing - for people who really care about film, we know who those "nerdy dudes" are, and what they brought to those films, and we think their awards matter.

I don't mean to slam anyone here, but the Oscars aren't - and shouldn't be - the Golden Globes or the SAGs. Editing and cinematography and costume design and art direction and all the others matter. And if it's a choice between a streamlined Oscar ceremony that cuts all of those awards and is televised, and one that doesn't get strong enough ratings to stay on the air but treats all the nominees equally, I'll take the latter.

[eclair]

I will second the suggestion that Bruce Vilanch be let go. And Billy Crystal can go with him.

[Deleted]

Honestly, I think the problems with the Oscars are so entrenched that it is almost impossible to fix. I see it as two big problems. The first is the actual show itself. There was an interesting article in Vulture with a veteran writer of the Oscars . If he is representative of the typical Oscar show writer then no wonder the jokes are so terrible. I am not saying old people can't be funny but when you have the same writers on the show since 1976 maybe it is time to bring in some new blood. And in the article he talks about how there are actually two groups of writers who work on the show. The host brings in his own staff and then there are the show writers. And generally they do not interact at all. Now I can understand why a host would be comfortable with his own writers but you think they would work with the other writers to make the show more cohesive. And yeah, why is Bruce Vilanch so beloved by the Academy!?

The second problem is the actual awards. As mentioned there are so many other award shows before the Oscars now that there is virtually no surprise in the winners anymore. And I don't know, I am sure people have complained about this since they started the Oscars, but it seems like the nominated films have gotten more and more middle of the road. Not there is anything wrong with popular movies but it just doesn't seem like there is anything to get excited about this year. I thought that increasing the number of best movies was supposed to make it more interesting, instead we just get crap like Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close getting nods. Indiewire had a list of the 5 best and worst best picture Oscar line ups . Admittedly I haven't seen a lot of the older films but I agree that 2007 was the last great year. No Country for Old Men, Atonement, Juno, Michael Clayton and There Will Be Blood. I would have swapped out Michael Clayton for Zodiac but otherwise I can't complain.

With Hugo and The Artist both up for best picture, how many variations of "Hollywood makes films about itself" montages do you think they will have? My odds are on at least 3.

[huntergrayson]

Seriously, as much as I dread another round of Crystal's Broscht Belt shtick that's staler than last year's bagels, Vilanch has GOT to go. Any man who cowrote the Star Wars Holiday Special AND The Brady Variety Hour (sorry, Dwan, they're soul-crushingly awful) is supremely unqualified to write "jokes."

A drunker ceremony would be better. Even when the Globes are predictable, the sloshed celebs going off-TelePrompTer makes it fun. And, for Xenu's sake, move the ceremony up. With all the awards given out now and the interwebs/People/Gawker making people much more savvy about the odds-on favorites and campaigning, it's anti-climatic when the Oscars finally roll around.

[Deleted]

Feb 24, 2012 17:23:35 GMT -4 @kungfuwaynewho said:

If they get rid of the tech awards then they might as well not bother. We have a dozen other awards shows that act like the only people who make movies are the actors, and sometimes the writer and director. I don't particularly care if it's "boring" for a lot of people who are only tuning in to see what people are wearing - for people who really care about film, we know who those "nerdy dudes" are, and what they brought to those films, and we think their awards matter.

I don't mean to slam anyone here, but the Oscars aren't - and shouldn't be - the Golden Globes or the SAGs. Editing and cinematography and costume design and art direction and all the others matter. And if it's a choice between a streamlined Oscar ceremony that cuts all of those awards and is televised, and one that doesn't get strong enough ratings to stay on the air but treats all the nominees equally, I'll take the latter.

I could not agree more. I'm actually interested in all the categories, and I actually know who some of the people that win the tech awards are. I'm one of those nerds who sits through the credits after movies and actually reads them. The most engrossing book I read in my film class in college was about Walter Murch, an award winning film editor. The Oscars are the only time some of those people will ever get any public recognition; and they have just as much right, if not more, than the actors and writers and directors to have their moment in the spotlight.

I say get 'em drunk. That'll liven it up for sure.

[huntergrayson]

Slate has a "how to fix the Oscars" groupthink thing going on and it is *seriously* depressing the number of people who submitted "let no one but the actors give speeches because no one gives a damn what an editor/sound mixer/documentarian has to say."

Absolutely brilliant: Rich of Four Four did an animated GIF wall of the winning/losing reaction shots of actors & actresses over the years.

[forever1267]

That is so freaking awesome, huntergrayson! (although it's taking it's time downloading!)

Shall we start our predictions with, I guess, the Big 6 (and whatever else we want to add in)? Or shall we put in who we want to win?

(almost 24 hours later)

hmm, okay I'll go first:

Sup. Actor: Christopher Plummer
Sup. Actress: Octavia Spencer
Actor: Jean Dujardin
Actress: Viola Davis
Original Screenplay: Midnight in Paris
Adapted Screenplay: Moneyball
Director: Martin Scorcese
Picture; The Artist