I'm so surprised that there's no topic on this yet. I'm glad The Incredibles won. It seems obvious, but these people can surprise me sometimes. I think it should have at least been nominated for best picture, but it was a cartoon, so it can't be that good, right?
Is this the first time that all the nominees have been computer animated?
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
Yay Incredibles! I bet JD will not win again and that makes me sad, but at least he won't have to go up in front of everyone because he said that is so embarassing.
Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
And The Passion just lost one of its token nominations. I wonder if it gets anything. The score was good, but it's up against John Williams.
Posted by T_Smith (Member # 3734) on :
Yeah, Depp doesn't have a chance at winning this year. He did a great job, but to be realistic, he won't win.
Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
JD?
[edit: Ooh, JD. ]
Yeah, I'm still mad about last year's supporting actor category. He was so much better than Sean Penn. But then, so were Ben Kingsley and Bill Murray. Every year leaves me boiling about something, and that was it.
Wonder what it'll be this year.
[ February 27, 2005, 09:09 PM: Message edited by: Speed ]
Posted by T_Smith (Member # 3734) on :
Jesus Depp, of course.
Posted by narrativium (Member # 3230) on :
Hahahaha! Edna Mode is hilarious! That was a stroke of genius.
Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
Oh, Johnny. I'm so glad they're doing this. Posted by Tater (Member # 7035) on :
I was going to watch it.. then when I turned to it, it was Pierce Brosnan with some animated thing. I changed the channel.
Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
What's up with Beyonce doing every song? And was that Phantom song the most boring thing you've ever heard?
Posted by Beren One Hand (Member # 3403) on :
Hey, Tom's movie won. Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
And there goes Passion's second award. Maybe Mel should have taken OSC's advice and pulled it from the running.
Looks like Aviator is this year's Lord of the Rings.
Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
By the way, what's Tom's movie?
Posted by Beren One Hand (Member # 3403) on :
Ryan, for best animated short. Tom was nice enough to bring the film to my attention on his salon.com thread.
And thanks to Chris for providing the non-salon link for the movie:
[ February 27, 2005, 10:20 PM: Message edited by: Beren One Hand ]
Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
Let me guess. Sound mixing goes to... The Aviator!
[edit: Wow, it finally lost one. ]
[ February 27, 2005, 10:24 PM: Message edited by: Speed ]
Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
YES!!! Another award for The Incredibles!
Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
And Santana!
I didn't have any strong feelings in this category, but now I do. This is a good song. Of course, it's almost cheating; Carlos can make any song sound fantastic. But still, I know which one I'm rooting for now.
[ February 27, 2005, 10:31 PM: Message edited by: Speed ]
Posted by Heffaji (Member # 3669) on :
Seeing Santana up there makes this the first time I've enjoyed watching a musical performance at the Oscars.
Posted by Primal Curve (Member # 3587) on :
I disagree completely. I think that it sounded like crap. Someone was mixing the instruments poorly and Santana was playing just random crap that totally clashed with the song. Also, Banderas was frequently off in a way that had me wondering if he was even listening to the song.
Ah well, it certainly can't be worse than Beyonce singing every effing song in a manner totally inappropriate to the style of the song.
Posted by Heffaji (Member # 3669) on :
I thought the sound fit the voice, but so it goes.
Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
I'm with you, Heffaji. I love Santana. It wasn't Black Magic Woman, but it was a good performance. Way better than anything else I've seen so far tonight.
[ February 27, 2005, 10:49 PM: Message edited by: Speed ]
Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
Wow, that surprised me. Of course, The Passion soundtrack somehow managed to come across as a bit shrill and overbearing on the movie and then somewhat dull and uninspiring on CD. Not a bad score but not great. I love James Newton Howard, but I don't remember the music that well. And I liked the Harry Potter soundtrack, but John Williams has enough Oscars, and it really wasn't the best thing he's ever done. And the music for Finding Neverland was really very good... so good that it did its job perfectly without drawing any attention to itself, which is why I'm so surprised that the academy noticed it. Surprised, but not disappointed. If Johnny can't win best actor, at least that movie can get something now.
I guess this means that The Passion isn't going to win anything. C'est la vie.
[ February 28, 2005, 01:15 AM: Message edited by: Speed ]
Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
Now that was a cool acceptance speech.
[edit for clarification: The one for best song.]
[ February 27, 2005, 11:05 PM: Message edited by: Speed ]
Posted by Heffaji (Member # 3669) on :
"She's also the first female actress to be nominated for playing a boxer"
I'd say the announcer was trying to be funny, but that isn't exactly an Oscar announcer's forte.
Posted by Beren One Hand (Member # 3403) on :
Hey, she thanked her lawyers. Don't see that very often. Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
Right on! Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was an amazing script... I fully expected it to lose.
Posted by Narnia (Member # 1071) on :
Eternal Sunshine won the screenplay nod!! I think that's a good thing.
And I was so totally annoyed by Hillary Swank. She's so tacky.
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
It's about time Charlie Kaufman won an Oscar.
Posted by jexx (Member # 3450) on :
Fantastic! (Best Actor win)
(Incidentally) I knew, intellectually, that Charlie Kaufman was a real person, but had a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that he doesn't look like Nic Cage. Ha!
Posted by Beren One Hand (Member # 3403) on :
I am loving Jamie Foxx's acceptance speech. Posted by Narnia (Member # 1071) on :
Yeah, they wouldn't dare 'play the music' on him cause he's so genuine and funny. Posted by MichelleEly (Member # 6737) on :
\\"She's also the first female actress to be nominated for playing a boxer"
I'd say the announcer was trying to be funny, but that isn't exactly an Oscar announcer's forte. //
People involved with the oscars love meaningless trivia like that.
Posted by Heffaji (Member # 3669) on :
Yeah, its just that this piece of trivia was so utterly pointless. How many movies of Oscar-caliber are about female boxers? How many of that amount of zero have been nominated?
(Waits for someone to point out a great movie that fits everything I used in a weak attempt at humor)
[ February 27, 2005, 11:42 PM: Message edited by: Heffaji ]
Posted by Narnia (Member # 1071) on :
Hrm. Best picture is kind of annoying. Those that have seen it, do you think it deserved that Oscar?
Posted by Beren One Hand (Member # 3403) on :
Well, Michelle Rodriguez was pretty awesome in Girlfight.
Posted by Heffaji (Member # 3669) on :
Grumble, Grumble.
Of all the movie themes to close the show, Terminator 2? Not that I'm complaining, but it still surprises me.
Posted by Narnia (Member # 1071) on :
They played some of the weirdest themes during the whole show...The Fugitive? Star Trek:TNG?
And I had no idea that Jerry Goldsmith had died!!!
Posted by Beren One Hand (Member # 3403) on :
Grumble .... No Desperate Housewives tonight?
I thought it was interesting when they used the Star Trek theme during the first commercial cutaway. The camera panned over to the TV monitors on the roof, which looked like the Enterprise's saucer section. Posted by Heffaji (Member # 3669) on :
Whenever the annual "Who Died" moment appears, I always think back to school where they forbid us to applaud until everyone had finished so we wouldn't hurt anyone's feelings.
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
Several things struck me about this Awards Show, winners and losers aside.
The new format made it clear who was important, and who the Academy didn't give a rat's behind about, most notable the short films and the widely insulted "lesser" awards. Those that spend hours of dedicated time making the fiddly-bits of the movie. Thank goodness that one guy stood up in his speech and said they were actually artistic awards.
On the same vein, the crew of the awards made several errors, dropping things behind the stage (a few "bangs" were heard as things were dropped), and the 'sets' for the songs were less than inspiring.
The performers of the songs were very oddly chosen, almost as if the person choosing them had no idea about the original song itself. The song from Les Choristes which is one of the most beautiful choral pieces I've ever heard, and the solo as sung in the movie is heavenly. Beyonce was totally and utterly wrong for it. Nothing could ruin the song completely, but it looked like the Producers of the Oscars really tried hard to. It's as if there is a mental block that divides good from classical. So many classically-trained adult voices would have suited that song better than Beyonce's.
Thank goodness the only song sung and performed by people who, although not stunning, fitted the songs they sung, won.
The music chosen for between the presentations seemed to be chosen from the sorts of movies that do not win awards. The people I watched the show with were perplexed by what was playing, seemingly totally randomly chosen.
The overwhelming theme of this show seemed to ppopularize, popularize, popularize. I thought that wasn't possible, after all the Oscars have been pretty focused on glamour for their entire history. But it seemed to be there in full force- bright simple colours, shunted less-popular awards, badly executed technical and artistic choices for the show and finally bad funny.
Chris Rock was funny. Kind of. His schpiel at the start was confusing; something mumbled about Michael Moore and Bush? I didn't understand what the joke was. The interviewing of people asking them their favourite movie was utterly and completely childish and lame.
All in all, they could have done much better. And they didn't.
(And there were no Hobbits, only an elf, the last remnant of three wonderful years. It makes me sad...)
Posted by Carrie (Member # 394) on :
quote:They played some of the weirdest themes during the whole show...The Fugitive? Star Trek:TNG?
I watched the Oscars at a Film Committee party and when the TNG theme came on, we all kind of looked at each other and thought "What the hell...?" The only Next Generation-era film nominated was First Contact for makeup. And it didn't win.
Overall, though, I was pretty pleased with the Oscars this year. I thought it was going to be a sweep for The Aviator, but I guess Scorcese is just a master of creating the almost-there epic. Oh well.
Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
Wow, a whole Oscar night without a single decision that pissed me off. Of course, with the possible exception of The Incredibles (which did as well as I could reasonably have hoped for), there wasn't really anything that I felt very strongly about this year. Oh, there were some good movies, but no Pulp Fiction or Crouching Tiger for me to really get behind. No songs (like last year's A Kiss At the End of the Rainbow) or performances (Like Bill Murray's) that I especially liked, or performances (like Sean Penn's) that I especially hated. Just wasn't that interesting a year for me. Some of the movies nominated were fine. And there were some great movies not in the scope of the Oscars this year. (I'm sure I'll be watching Shaun of the Dead and Team America long after I've forgotten The Aviator.) But in all I don't think I'll be remembering this year in movies as vividly as some years past.
So no big disappointments, other than the fact that there was nothing I was willing to be disappointed over.
[ February 28, 2005, 01:14 AM: Message edited by: Speed ]
Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
Did anyone else think Chris Rock's introduction of Penelope Cruz and Salma Hayek was totally insulting and uncalled for? (He announced them, saying, "you won't be able to take your eyes of these next four presenters.") Butthead.
I really liked Salma's introduction of the Spanish tune. Totally moving.
And then there was Prince, who mispronounced every single name he read.
I was very not-impressed with just about everything, but happy with the score and song awards.
I remember when I was little and Billy Crystal was the host. Remember when he came out like Hannibal Lecter and sang songs about all the nominees? That was worth watching. Chris Rock was just... a disappointment.
And a butthead.
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
Annie, I have to admit that I didn't get that joke, but now I do I think that it was very insulting.
Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
Especially when it was such an empowering moment for the hispanics there. Talk about being racially insensitive.
Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
By the way, just for the record the Star Trek: TNG theme heard in the broadcast was the theme for Star Trek: The Motion Picture. And Jerry Goldsmith got a nomination for it in 1980. So maybe it wasn't so random.
[ February 28, 2005, 12:34 AM: Message edited by: Speed ]
Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
I feel a little juvenile for noticing, but the humanitarian award part used the theme from The Land Before Time.
Posted by saxon75 (Member # 4589) on :
Do you find it at all incongruous to chastise someone for being racially insensitive in the same post that you use the word "hispanic"? Every latino I've ever talked to about it hates that word.
Posted by Irami Osei-Frimpong (Member # 2229) on :
I didn't want to say anything, but yeah, it's latina. I'm think the only way Rock could have made it racial was if he called them maracas, but I think refering to woman's breasts should be taken as a man refering to a woman's breasts. Not that that makes it better, unless they were just flopping all over the stage. The question is, would he have made that same joke with Nicole Kidman and Teri Hatcher.
[ February 28, 2005, 12:47 AM: Message edited by: Irami Osei-Frimpong ]
Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
I used hispanic because a large number of the people featured (Banderas, the entire crew of The Sea Inside) were from Spain which is, incidentally, not in Latin America.
Posted by T_Smith (Member # 3734) on :
Mmmmm... hooters hot wings.
Posted by Beren One Hand (Member # 3403) on :
I miss Billy Crystal too.
Chris Rock can be funny, but most of his funnies come from anger. Unless he is allowed to go on some kind of tirade, Chris Rock is just another comedian.
Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
I don't think the point was that it was racist so much as that it was disrespectful. The only thing that may have made it racist was the fact that it was made during a landmark occasion in the Latin-American culture. What would Chris Rock have said if the guy that introduced Halle Berry as she won the Oscar told her to walk her fine can up to the stage to accept its' prize?
[ February 28, 2005, 01:01 AM: Message edited by: Speed ]
Posted by Irami Osei-Frimpong (Member # 2229) on :
This is true.
Edit:
Rock wouldn't have done jack, though. Remember, he doesn't even watch the Oscars. Someone else would have been upset, I imagine. I didn't see it, but I'm sure the comment was as vulgar as has been presented.
[ February 28, 2005, 12:59 AM: Message edited by: Irami Osei-Frimpong ]
Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :
Personally I'd like to see Jon Stewart present next year's Oscars. He's got the kind of wry, respectful cynicism that really works here.
Posted by Storm Saxon (Member # 3101) on :
I missed the memo on hispanic, too. What is the problem with that term?
Posted by Tarrsk (Member # 332) on :
Jon Stewart would be great, but he's too principled for the Oscars. His whole schtick centers around mercilessly mocking artifice in modern media, and there's no bigger source of fawning crap than the Oscars.
I could see it if he pulled a "Crossfire" on the Oscars (that is, calling them out on their own broadcast), but I definitely can't imagine him saying "And our next presenters are..." with a straight face.
Posted by HesterGray (Member # 7384) on :
I'm glad to see others sharing in my love for The Incredibles. That and Finding Neverland are the only two that I felt strongly about this year.
I was also happy that Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind got Best Screenplay.
So why did Beyonce get to sing three songs? Why couldn't they have just had the original singers singing their own songs? Josh Groban was awesome, when I was able to tune out Beyonce.
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
"Grumble .... No Desperate Housewives tonight?"
Beren, I had the same thought, and turned off the tv. Since I watch about three movies a year, and they are all PG or under, it just doesn't interest me anymore.
Posted by Beren One Hand (Member # 3403) on :
Believe me Liz, you did not miss a thing. Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
"Very broadly speaking, "Hispanic" refers to people in the U.S. who came originally from Spanish-speaking countries (including Spain); "Latino" refers to people originally from Latin America." http://www.pbs.org/newshour/forum/october02/ncmedia_2.html
This was the simplest quote I could find. The rest of the article(letter) is interesting, though.
Posted by Traveler (Member # 3615) on :
Overall, I was dissapointed with this year's oscars. Not so much with the results..but with the execution. For example, I really disliked the giving awards out in the audience. These people deserve to come on stage. Also, I missed seeing all the clips of the nominations. When they announce the animation shorts...I want to see the lil' clips. Sometimes these clips make me want to go to the animation festivals to see the rest. Ditto on all the other categories.
I also didn't like the whole line people up on stage while announcing. I'd rather see the video or hear audio (depending on category) with a quick flash of the nominee in the audience.
I also agree with an earlier poster about it being very strange that Beyonce sang nearly every song. What is up with that?? Why not have the artist that performed the song in the movie perform?? Could you imagine if last year Beyonce sang "into the west" from Lord of the Rings?
My two cents...
Posted by sarcasticmuppet (Member # 5035) on :
To me, it really seemed like they didn't want to waste any time having techies walk to the stage, so they either had the awards in the audience or made them walk on stage. I didn't like it, and I didn't like the flashback to the 70s background.
Posted by Lady Jane (Member # 7249) on :
Handing the awards out the in audience was terrible. The woman who won for the short film clearly did not feel welcome to give a speech. Bravo the guy who followed her for taking his sweet time.
Beyonce did well in ONE song, the song where Josh Groban tanked (sorry, Pat). Learn to be Lonely should have been so much better, and the song from The Chorus sounded terrible. It should have been sung by someone with a voice as clear and sweet as a bell. I like Beyonce's voice (she CAN actually sing), but it was all wrong for the music. So sad. Whose bright idea was it to have her sing every female part possible?
Posted by narrativium (Member # 3230) on :
I would just like to say that Baby Geniuses 2 was robbed. Robbed!
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
quote: Personally I'd like to see Jon Stewart present next year's Oscars. He's got the kind of wry, respectful cynicism that really works here.
I though I have no idea who this is, my friend recommmended this to the room and everyone agreed that he'd be perfect for the job but would never do it/would never get picked to do it.
Posted by solo (Member # 3148) on :
I thought that the show was really boring. Chris Rock seemed to be censored or something. I usually find him pretty funny, but last night all of his jokes fell flat.
Posted by narrativium (Member # 3230) on :
Teshi, if you have cable, you can see Jon Stewart every weeknight on the Daily Show, 11:00 PM EST on Comedy Central.
Posted by Irami Osei-Frimpong (Member # 2229) on :
I'd worry that Stewart would be too dry. Didn't Ellen Degeneris do it a few years back? What I do remember of Billy Crystal was his energy. I do agree that Rock was an improper choice. My hold on these is fuzzy, but I remember liking Ellen. I imagine that the Academy should pick someone who likes and respects the kind of movies that get nominated. I think they should stick with funny actors. Someone entrenched and familiar and associated with movies. Someone like Steve Martin. My read on Rock was, while he may have liked Ray, I can't imagine him giving a hoot about any of the other movies.
Posted by Lost Ashes (Member # 6745) on :
Steve Martin was fabulous, but Chris Rock was, well, lame.
I wish I had a better term for it, but lame is just what his performance was. Lifeless, unfunny, strained and stretched.
Posted by Lady Jane (Member # 7249) on :
He seemed nervous.
Posted by Irami Osei-Frimpong (Member # 2229) on :
I would be too. By my reckoning, The Aviator was up for a million awards, there is a fifty percent chance that he didn't see it, and an eighty-five percent chance that he didn't know or care who Howard Hughes was.
I'd love to see him do and uncensored set on his Academy Awards experience. That would be funny.
[ February 28, 2005, 05:38 PM: Message edited by: Irami Osei-Frimpong ]
Posted by Storm Saxon (Member # 3101) on :
Liz, thanks for the link. What I got from it is that it's really a non-issue. Posted by Lupus (Member # 6516) on :
I've never understood how people can sit and watch the entire show. It just seems rather pointless to watch person after person go up an thank everyone for supporting them.
I am sometimes mildly interested in who won, so I just check cnn the next day.
Heck, I am a big sports fan...and I don't even watch sports awards shows.
I guess I am just not patient to sit around and watch anything for that long.
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
I kind of wish they'd just announce the winners at the award ceremony instead of listing nominees and dragging out the whole lame dull process.
Posted by Alcon (Member # 6645) on :
Did anyone else think that Robin Williams completely upstaged Chris Rock when he went up there to present an award?
And I also recognised the Land Before Time Theme. That was really cool
Beyonce drove me nuts. Completely nuts. She didn't fit any of the songs she did. Antonio Bandaras and Carlos Santana were ok... but the guy sang it better when he got up to accept his award. Counting Crows I thought gave the best onstage performance there, but even they sounded stilted and bad up there. They were certainly entertaining though.
Posted by Fyfe (Member # 937) on :
The thing about Oscar hosts is that it's better if they can be funny without being too mean, and Chris Rock did not succeed at this. I have thought of two people who would be [would have been] supremely good Oscar hosts.
They are Ellen Degeneres and Oscar Wilde. The first of these is obviously a good choice for an Oscar host. And I'm not saying Oscar Wilde would be good just because I'm writing a biography of him. He really would have been good. If he had lived thirty years more, he could have done it, and it would have been the kind of thing he was remarkably good at.
So if anyone wants to resurrect someone to be an Oscar host, I vote for Oscar Wilde.
Jen
Edit: Also, they have the same name.
[ February 28, 2005, 09:26 PM: Message edited by: Fyfe ]
Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
Wow, Jen. Your post sounded a lot like Jack Handey. Posted by AntiCool (Member # 7386) on :
She's good enough.
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
"Liz, thanks for the link. What I got from it is that it's really a non-issue."
SS, it is not a non-issue for Brazilians, though, who speak Portuguese.
Posted by Irami Osei-Frimpong (Member # 2229) on :
I can't imagine Oscar Wilde being bothered with something like this.
I say they offer Jamie Foxx a six year contract. He is humble enough to host after winning the highest prize.
Posted by blacwolve (Member # 2972) on :
quote: I kind of wish they'd just announce the winners at the award ceremony instead of listing nominees and dragging out the whole lame dull process.
I watch it for the movie clips and the pretty clothes. Which, incidentally is also the reason I watch the Star Wars movies. I couldn't care less who wins.
Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
I watch it just in case by surprise U2 gets an award.
Posted by Fyfe (Member # 937) on :
Irami--Oscar Wilde would love to do the Oscars. It would be a perfect showcase of his talents, and he'd know it. I feel. Pity he died.
Jen
Posted by Primal Curve (Member # 3587) on :
Fyfe,
Oscar Wilde was born in 1854. Double you tee eff, mate?
Posted by Fyfe (Member # 937) on :
PC--I know, on 16 October, and he died on 30 November 1900. I just meant that if he had lived, he'd have been a good Oscar host. He'd only have had to have lived another 30 years or so. Wretched Bosie lived until 1945.
Jen
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
I know I'm in the minority on this one, but I would be more likely to watch an Oscar show that completely neglected the "major" categories and only focused on the technical awards, but made a point of giving us bios and backgrounds on the technical winners.
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
I think I'd be just as likely. They are all important, but I'd love to see the 'small' awards being treated equally and not called the most boring etc.
Yeah, they should do a short rundown of the costumes, art direction, cinematography that the person who is nominated did.
i.e. "in such and such a movie, so and so focussed on the blah de blah and led a team of artisans to..."
Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
quote:I say they offer Jamie Foxx a six year contract. He is humble enough to host after winning the highest prize.
I don't think I can get enough Jamie Foxx. I loved his stint on The Actors' Studio, and now I'm itchin' for a tape of it.
And man, Ray was brilliant. Probably my favorite starring performance ever. Jimminy, has this guy ever been short-changed in roles before.
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