The Song Is Over
8:37 pm: And the Best Picture Oscar goes to The King’s Speech. And that’s all she wrote. Excuse me while I go outside and stare at traffic with a nauseated look on my face. A Best Picture decision has been made without a single major critics group having concurred. And yet The King’s Speech did win four Oscars; ditto Inception. The Social Network won three, and Alice in Wonderland and The Fighter took two each.
I regret that my presence in this overlit Starbucks kept me from seeing the Best Picture montage, which everyone apparently loved.
Twitter pronouncement from Roger Ebert: “The worst Oscarcast I’ve seen, and I go back awhile. Some great winners, a nice distribution of awards, but the show? Dead. In. The. Water.”
8:26 pm: Colin Firth, as expected, has won the Best Actor Oscar for his performance in The King’s Speech. I am sitting here in a puddle of despair…a state of complete resignation, despondency and depression. I feel like Ishmael in Moby Dick, “like knocking someone’s hat off.”
8:16 pm: I wouldn’t have minded at all if Annette Bening had won for Best Actress. Natalie Portman has won everything, and it would have been a nice surprise. But she deserved it so good for her and the gang. It’s nice that she thanked Luc Besson for putting her in The Professional at age 11, and her tribute to Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky: “Fearless leader…visionary”
8:03 pm: Oh. My. God. A gasp in press room as Tom Hooper wins the Oscar for Best Director…? Sputter, spittle, splat, choke. HE is speechless, gasping…appalled.
7:53 pm: Four more awards to go. Is Best Director next? No…the “In Memoriam” roll call. If i was watching it (and not sitting here at a nearly-empty Starbucks) I might have a chance to be “deeply offended” by this or that deceased person being left out. Update: I was right — they left off Corey Haim because he died too young, and due to suspicious circumstances, and too many years after his ’80s career peak.
7:48 pm: It’s kinda cool not watching the Oscars and just staying with Twitter to keep up with what’s happening. Randy Newman‘s Toy Story 3 song wins for Best Song…terrific. Been on the show many times, he says, “and I slow it down every time.”
7:35 pm: Okay, I’m back — HE’s ISP made an adjustment for increased traffic — but no promises. There’s no TV at my Melrose Starbucks, but The Social Network, I’m reading, has taken Best Film Editing. That’s three Oscars for TSN and one so far (i.e., Seidler) for The King’s Speech. Best tweet of the last five minutes: “If by some miracle TSN wins Best Picture, we get to say “it didn’t come back for its 30%….it came back FOR EVERYTHING.” — Awards Daily‘s Sasha Stone.
7:15 pm: I’m sitting at a Starbucks on Melrose, complaining to a tech support guy who works for my ISP. I can’t refresh pages to save my life, so I quit. I give up. I’m off-duty until further notice. The internet is a rich and bountiful place. There are hundreds of places to check up on the Oscars, but Hollywood Elsewhere just isn’t one of them. Not any more. It’s not that big a deal. Tomorrow is another day.
The winners so far, courtesy of the guys at Movieline, who don’t have server issues:
Best Feature Documentary: Inside Job, director: Charles Ferguson.
Best Art Direction: Robert Stromberg and Karen O’Hara, Alice in Wonderland.
Best Cinematography: Wally Pfister, Inception.
Best Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo, The Fighter.
Best Animated Short: The Lost Thing.
Best Animated Feature: Toy Story 3.
Best Adapted Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network.
Best Original Screenplay: David Seidler, The King’s Speech.
Best Foreign Language Film: In a Better World.
Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale, The Fighter.
Best Original Score: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, The Social Network.
Best Sound Mixing: Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo, Ed Novick, Inception.
Best Sound Editing: Richard King, Inception.
Best Makeup: Rick Baker and Dave Elsey, The Wolfman.
Best Costume Design: Colleen Atwood, Alice in Wonderland.
Best Documentary Short Subject: Strangers No More.
6:33 pm: Christian Bale, winner of the Best Supporting Actor Oscar….I’m barely able to think, much less write, due to the appallingly slow wifi and the inability to save and reload in less than three or four minutes per refresh. I almost don’t care any more. I’m just fuming.
6:16 pm: Aaron Sorkin, naturally, has won the best Adapted Screenplay award, and — I loved this — fearlessly continued to speak and finish despite the orchestra playing cue music. And David Seidler….sorry, fucking internet has been awful…has won for Best Adapted Screenplay for The King’s Speech.
6:07 pm: Everybody knew Toy Story 3 had it in the bag, so I don’t know what there is to say. Be gracious! Congrats to Lee Unkrich, Michael Arndt, John Lasseter, etc. Why didn’t The Effin’ Gruffalo win for Best Animated Short?
5:51 pm: I’m sorry to say this, but I wonder if having the great Kirk Douglas, somewhat understandable in his condition, introduce the Best Supporting Actress nominees. But I love the way Douglas is delaying the announcement. Expert acting! And the Oscar goes to Melissa Leo! “Oh, wow….really, really, really and truly wow…but I’m just shaking in my boots here.” She let go with “fucking” and got bleeped? (Seven second delay.)
5:39 pm: Tom Hanks giving the Oscars for Art Direction and Cinematography? They’re trying to cut down on air time? The Art Direction goes to Alice in Wonderland? Upset, upset…big upset. Did Scott Feinberg call this? Anyone? Should have been Inception! And True Grit‘s Roger Deakins loses the Best Cinematography Oscar? “Wally Pfister is my favorite porno actor.” — Andrew Goldstein, Witstream. OscarsThis is going to be a very strange night.
5:39 pm: James Franco and Anne Hathaway‘s patter is good-natured, slack, on the lame-chirpy side. Talking to mom and grandma was ill-advised.
5:33 pm: I remember the first time Billy Crystal did this.” (Inserting an Oscar host inside scenes of nominated films.) “It was really funny. It was also 1997.” — Steve Pond.
Tribute a past Oscar winning film, but don’t bring out someone actually involved with it?
Huge upset!
Inception doesn’t go home empty handed. And Deakins is still the best cinematographer not to win.
Kirk Douglas instead of Christoph Waltz…They’re trying to pay tribute to old Hollywood tonight, but why not show some of his clips for people who don’t know who he is.
Wow! this is going to be a LONG show, because Kirk Douglas just took up five minutes and Melissa Leo took another five minutes…..is it me or did anyone appreciate Kirk’s speech? I felt embarassed for him. I know these older actors want their spotlight, but I would have preferred Ernest Borgnine who is still in perfect health.
The opening montage has been done over and over before by Billy Crystal some years ago. So Anne & Franco didn’t do anything different.
“but why not show some of his clips for people who don’t know who he is.”
If people don’t know who Kirk Douglas is, they have no business saying they like films.
Art Direction wasn’t an upset, Jeff, the majority of people picked ‘Alice’.
And here’s a tip on cinematography – the pundits and experts are always wrong on that one. If 95% of the people are telling you “It’s definitely this movie,” it won’t be.
All I know is TKS is zero for 2 thus far…hoping for more upsets.
Chicago48, the digressions are the show. Kirk Douglas taking his time on stage during what will probably be his last time on it, why complain?
wow i really hate anne hathaway. seriously. i can’t believe nolan picked her. there’s no way the film isn’t going to suffer because of this
Leo’s “fuck” wasn’t bleeped on the East Coast. And for the record, I picked Alice for art direction.
^It was bleeped in my neck of the east coast woods (NYC).
Methinks Gruffalo didn’t win because it was a) too kid-oriented and b) about 20 minutes too long.
Now I can’t wait for Wells’ rant about Biutiful getting shafted in favor of something “inspirational”.
Spoil the ending of True Grit.
I’m sensing a Social Network victory tonight. The King’s Speech is now 1 for 8 and has lost all of the technical awards. With 12 nominations, it should have picked up at least 1 or 2 of those. Social Network should win editing, which would give it 3 going into the final big categories. King’s Speech would have only Screenplay and Actor. I don’t see the Best Picture winner going 4 for 12. Which means Social Network would end with 5 out of 8. Picture, Director, Screenplay, Editing, and Score. I think the King is going down tonight.
Yeah, King’s Speech has won every single award that would be any indicator that it was going to win the big prize. If it were going to win, it would’ve taken at *least* costume.
Are you about to jizz yet or what Jeff? Looks like the tide may be turning for Social Network!
This is a disasterpiece of a ceremony. Oscars’ experiment with young and hip falls on its arse. Next year, Zombie Bob Hope and Billy Crystal tag-team as hosts, bank on it.
Well, 4 great directors and 1 good director nominated, the good one wins.
Hooper wins. what a fucking joke.
HAHAHAHA, Tom Hooper.
Is somebody with Jeff right now? Wi-fi issues and Tom Hooper winning? Cause for concern.
Oh no. Jeff may need help, now.
Wow. Just saw this come across my laptop. For Wells, tonight must be worse than 9/11 x 1000.
*filed from 50,000 (or so) over the Pacific ocean.*
Oh my god.
Blogosphere and Twitter is in a fucking outrage over that Best Director debacle (as Pete says, it’s not even so much who lost as who WON).
Fincher’s likely response: “Oh well, fuck it. I never really gave a shit about this stuff, anyway.”
Good for Porty, though!
Oh my god.
Blogosphere and Twitter is in a fucking outrage over that Best Director debacle (as Pete says, it’s not even so much who lost as who WON).
Fincher’s likely response: “Oh well, fuck it. I never really gave a shit about this stuff, anyway.”
Good for Porty, though!
BLACK SWAN = overwrought shit.
*filed from 50,000 (or so) over the Pacific ocean.*
Echo Ebert’s sentiment: Crystal should have just taken over for the rest of the show.
Anyone else notice that the audience seemed to have been instructed NOT to applaud individual dead folks during “In Memoriam”?
Kind of agree about the suck-up to a younger demo falling flat. (How many 20-somethings who don’t usuallly watch are tuned in because of the hosts, anyway?) Hathaway is giving it her all but Franco looks like he wants to be somewhere else.
King’s Speech used to frame the whole Best Picture montage.
Jeff Wells on suicide watch as we speak.
King’s Speech! It’s almost funny at this stage. Oh well, that’s 5 points in my office pool. Fucking Tom Hooper cost me 4 points, though. So did those wankers in charge of Alice in Wonderland.
Can’t believe Satoshi Kon got ignored on both the Memoriam and the Acceptance Speech. Fuck Darren, and I hope Wolverine turns out to be his Catwoman.
Funny how Spielberg put more emphasis on the list of great films that didn’t win Best Picture, as he is one of the most famous examples of that category… and he must’ve sensed what was about to go down.
I’d like to thank DZ for keeping it real. A couple of really poor choices by the Academy and he’s focusing his hate on the film that won exactly one award, and which it clearly deserved.
Seriously, how hard can it be to produce a decent Oscar telecast? This was an unmitigated disaster and I feel back from Hathaway and Franco because they’ll take the blame for it.
I dunno, milton, that seems like a tiny bit of projection there. Wasn’t it just kind of a different play on the whole “honor to be nominated” thing?
I have to admit that it was kind of a curious delivery by the Beard, however.
Shite ceremony, shite awards, fuck off.
Will this finally convince Jeff not to devote 6 months a year to this shambles?
Incidentally I was looking at the wiki page for Best Director, and is Tom Hooper the biggest no-name director to win that award since Delbert Mann for Marty?
Oh, and can someone that actually knows Jeff personally check in on him (call, txt) or something? I’m not even half-kidding here.
Who will give me my props for calling this several weeks ago (way before DGA)? Fincher doesn’t win an Oscar. It was decreed, just like “Johnny Fontaine never gets that movie.” You cannot treat people the way he treats people in that town and expect the gold.
I went 19 for 24 tonight. Stupid Alice in Wonderland and the stupid shorts and foreign film. But it just reinforces two Oscar predicting rules — never trust the informed wisdom of pundits on cinematography (seriously, they’re always wrong), and the only time picture and director split is when people aren’t predicting it.
@Wells: Hey, don’t worry about the fact that the Oscar voters didn’t agree with the critics’ awards. Critics just don’t matter.
Good god. So glad this crap is over now…popping another pill…wake me when we’re circling Washington…zzzzzz…
I hate people who refer to Hollywood as a “town”. Like it’s some olde-time Main St. where everyone knows each other, and Mean Old Mr. Fincher scares the kids away. Hollywood people are the worst.
I turned the show off after one hour, about the time Kirk Douglas and Melissa Leo hogged the acceptance speeches. The montage was nothing special, they’ve done it before and better with Billy Crystal, many times before. But I was bored to death after only one hour. I waited for the radio announcer to give the news, which everybody knew who would win.
I concur with Roger. It was the worst produced Oscar of all time and the two hosts were awkward, no chemistry.
Rob marshall makes Tom Hooper look like Orson Welles, but then again, so does Ron Howard, etc.
It was weird how predictably Franco that Franco was. Like, what were they expecting of him? You could sort of understand why they went with Hathaway, who was all plucky and peppy and old-school Hollywood charm, but Franco is a weird stoner dude. He was always gonna give a weird stoner’s performance as host. Very strange decision.
A disaster of a show and a very disappointing set of awards. Confirmed only that the Academy can always be relied upon to fall back into easy-lay Oscar bait normality, and that they NEED to move it forward at least a month because there are few surprises left anymore.
Hightlights of the night: Kirk Douglas, Melissa Leo, Christian Bale (although a huge blown opportunity to get a Spielberg reaction shot), Brownlow, Wallach, and Coppola onstage, and the Best picture montage was pretty cool.
PPP, it depends on how you look at it. Another younger and less experienced Brit director, Sam Mendes, won for his American Beauty debut in 2000. Hooper has a pretty hefty resume of TV work under his belt for a man under 40.
Watching Franco, I thought, “Yeah, it’s fine to do a whole bunch of things, but what happens when you’re not good at most of them?”
Mr Palmer, not sure if you were replying to me, but Rob Marshall didn’t win(Polanski won that year), that was one of the split years. For that matter Welles never won either.
Every year from 1956 until 2010 had at least a fairly well known and respected director win the Oscar. The biggest blip in that time was John Avildsen, but he at least had Save the Tiger.
Incidentally Delbert Mann was also a tv director before he won his oscar.
Yeah reverent, I considered Mendes but he was already fairly famous for his stage directing, like Julie Taymor was. I mean, I don’t really care for live theater but I knew who Mendes was when he signed onto American Beauty.
rev – I think you could also argue that Schlesinger, Richardson & Benton were only really known for the movie they actually won for also. They’re not “no names”, but only because they won Best Director. (And nobody ever really knew who Minghella was outside of Hollywood… and inside of Hollywood he had a movie stuck on the shelf when he died, he couldn’t even get it released, within a decade of winning.)
Truly bizarre Oscarcast. There was a strange vibe all night. Hathaway and Franco had some nice moments, but were too laid back and/or perky, like a Prom king and queen putting on a show for their college stoner friends. Not very engaging, either; where was Franco looking most of the night?
As for the winners … not many surprises (I picked 19 out of 24). I must say that the snub for Fincher for direction will be a touchstone of bad Oscar choices forever, and TKS winning over TSN is mildly annoying.
“Seriously, how hard can it be to produce a decent Oscar telecast? This was an unmitigated disaster and I feel back from Hathaway and Franco because they’ll take the blame for it.”
OMG, was this the worst! and you’re right, how much does it take to pull off a decent awards show. The opening montage has been done over and over and over….much better prefer last year’s with Alec and Steve where they called out the audience. The show so needed a comedian.
Why was Kirk Douglas presenting the best supporting? Where was Christopher Waltz? We know about Monique, but couldn’t they have found another past winner in the best supporting to present?
I predict this will be the most criticized show evah….bring back the comedians!
Schlesinger had directed Billy Liar and Far From the Madding Crowd before Midnight Cowboy. Benton had cowritten Bonnie and Clyde. Richardson had directed Look Back in Anger and the Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner.
Tom Hooper directed an HBO miniseries that I saw, enjoyed, and still had no idea who he was.,
so your qualification for “no-name” is whether you’ve heard of them? Seems weird; Hooper’s direction of major television stuff doesn’t count, but Mendes directing plays (surely, less comprable to film, right?) counts?
I supposed you’d also say that ‘Fireman’s Ball’ counts for more than ‘The Damned United’?
The Best Song must be stopped.
I couldn’t even stomach this show. Hosts awful, and I’m sick of the fellating the nominees careers before announcing the nominees.
Watched the Knicks instead and yeah – we rule.
I caught a bit of Douglas and then some of Leo’s speech and she was yelling and she really disgusted me.
lol at King’s Speech
Whatt did Spielberg present? A link to it?
This Oscarcast (what a bullshit phrase) was so captivating that I was flipping back and forth between it and a CRIMINAL MINDS re-run — I turn back to see Jason Clarke’s better-looking brother winning Best Director and laughed the fuck out loud.
Thank you Tom Hooper for the sole piece of comedy gleaned from this ordeal of a ceremony.
Bobby Lupo, yes, the critically acclaimed, oscar nominated, controversial The Fireman’s Ball? Yes, I’d say that was more pronounced an achievement than the Damned United, a pretty good but mild movie about a subject obscure to non-brits.
I’ll put it this way – a lot of these guys were not well known directors to most people when they won. But they were to people like us.
The Damned United was a good movie but nobody would believe you if you told them at the time that the director of it would win best director at the Academy Awards within three years. John Adams was wildly praised but Hooper’s name didn’t exactly ring out over everyone else.
If Steve McQueen(who directed Hunger) were to win Best Picture down the line, it wouldn’t come out of nowhere like Hooper did, because McQueen has already been noted as someone to watch. Hooper is a journeyman director who directed the right film at the right time.
Rashad, he presented Best Picture. I’m still pissed that they didn’t cut to him when Bale won. Also annoyed that we didn’t see Tom Hanks’ face when Hooper won (assuming he was still in the theater).
PPP, John Adams was a $100 million production that starred Paul Giamatti, Laura Linney, Tom Wilkinson, and Danny Huston. Had it been at theatrical length and released on the big screen, it would have unquestionably been a Best Picture contender of 2008.That’s a considerable feather in his cap. I agree that the Academy was going for a conservative choice with TKS and Hooper, but it’s not a small accomplishment on his part either. There there aren’t a lot of other under 40 directors who have such a resume that shows they can be counted on for straight narrative pictures.
Each year I used to find In Memoriam moving. Now I just get annoyed that they’re showing all these editors and agents and such, and I think about all the actors they’re leaving out.
Or even your point about the achievement not being in film… if Julie Taymor had won Best Director for Titus, no one would bat an eye. Or had Orson Welles won it for Citizen Kane. Because they were already fairly well known as the top of their pre-filmmaking fields, as was Sam Mendes. The Blue Room had been receiving raves all over the place prior to American Beauty coming out.
reverent, I’d have to dispute that argument about John Adams. The only way that subject worked was with the room to breathe that the miniseries format afforded it. A theatrical film about John Adams would’ve been a crap shoot. You’d have to pick one portion of his life to dramatize otherwise the condensation would crush the context that the miniseries labored so hard to establish.
They should have had Banksy touch up the sets
They should have picked John Barry’s “We Have All the Time in the World” as the memorial song.
There should be tributes to drive-in films.
At least Deakins was nominated for his best work. Look at how Gordon Willis was shafted for Godfather and Manhattan.
Charlie Sheen should have hosted.
“I’m still pissed that they didn’t cut to him when Bale won. ”
What connection does Spielberg have to this?
Jeff: Remember — they did it just to piss you off. Not to reward artistic achievement. Not to acknowledge outstanding craftsmanship. Not even to make Harvey Weinstein happy. But just to piss you off. You know why? Because they didn’t think your comments about Hurricane Ike were funny, either. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHA!
“I’ll put it this way – a lot of these guys were not well known directors to most people when they won. But they were to people like us.”
I think a lot of this is informed by hindsight. The idea that being nominated for Best Foreign Film means that the director was more prominent than a guy who had already won an Emmy for directing *before* directing his most prominent project prior to this one, you’re really grasping at straws to make an overstated point. The fact that people weren’t paying a lot of attention to Hooper says more about the specific things that film geeks on-line focus on than about his insignificance.
Rashad – Spielberg discovered Bale. I guess that’s the joke there?
I like that Weinstein took Spielberg’s seat when Spielberg got up to present.
Pete: “A couple of really poor choices by the Academy and he’s focusing his hate on the film that won exactly one award, and which it clearly deserved.”
Yes, Nat was so good at getting someone else to dance in her place while exhibiting the emotional range of her Phantom Menace co-star Jake Lloyd that she could be the next Fred Astaire.
>BLACK SWAN = overwrought shit.
Overwrought, yes. Shit, no.
>Yes, Nat was so good at getting someone else to dance in her place while exhibiting the emotional range of her Phantom Menace co-star Jake Lloyd that she could be the next Fred Astaire.
I have no idea what this means (as per usual with DZ’s comments). However, Portman’s performance, while not the best of the year (that’s Lesley Manville, followed by Jennifer Lawrence) deserves credit for total emotional commitment. No, she didn’t exhibit range, nor did the role require it. She matched, on-camera, the obsessive, operatic intensity that Aronofsky and his D.P. brought behind it.
PPP, obviously he is known and respected among his peers or he wouldn’t have won the DGA and it would have been like John Madden for Shakespeare in Love. Maybe they admire a TV director who made it big. Maybe they admire a young director who can be trusted to tell a traditional story well and handle actors without eccentricity or ego in the equation. Do you think Fincher has major politics working against him?
The show won’t be received well. What sucks is they’ll figure the solution will be to have the show hosted next year by Whoopie and Bruce Villanche. (“That’ll be a knock-out!”)
I’m still grateful though the best in cinematography went to Inception, because I would be really upset if it didn’t. As for the King’s Speech; hmm. I think they’re ok but not really the best to me either.
Eric
reverent, honestly what I think worked against Fincher is his outsider-ness and lack of access. Tom Hooper seems like a nice guy, I’m sure the Weinsteins had him working all the rest homes and parties, and his work was good enough so as to not be embarrassing to vote for. Plus they liked the movie(and it’s a good movie, so why not).
Meanwhile Fincher has a chilly demeanor and skipped most of the Awards schmoozing to shoot another movie in Sweden.
20 years down the line, can you imagine a scenario where Tom Hooper winning over Fincher, Aronofsky, and The Coen Bros and David O, Russell is NOT seen as a farce? Those guys are auteurs, they create their own projects, they have a personal style from film to film that they carry with them, they already have rock solid filmographies.
Tom Hooper has been pushed into an arena where his skillset is competing for budget dollars with a lot of similarly talented and frankly beige directors like John Madden, Marc Forster, etc. If he’s lucky he’ll get to do the talking bits of a Bond film, if not he’ll be making films like Captain Corelli’s Mandolin for the rest of his life.
I’ve never seen anybody so dedicated to the principle that the Oscars should be about more than just rewarding the specific movie at hand. I mean, we all know they often don’t do that, but what’s wrong with doing it once in a while? The idea that Hooper won the Oscar despite being up against all those other heavyweights says to me that he earned it double-time in the mind of the voters.
In a sort-of-nutshell:
Happy for Wally Pfister winning; knew him when I was a volunteer PA at AFI and Wally was a cinematography fellow in 1988-89.
Also glad for INSIDE JOB winning Documentary Feature.
Thought that James-and-Anne have had their brand devalued; reminded me of those scripted routines in the rehearsal hall on DANCING WITH THE STARS.
Expecting yelps from music score traditionalists over the Trent-and-Atticus win for THE SOCIAL NETWORK.
Perhaps Rico Rodriguez (amusing on the pre-show) and Sandra Bullock could co-host next year.
Wasn’t crazy about the KING”S SPEECH audio used over the Best Pictures clip reel.
Guessng Steven Spielberg is convinced that he’s the heir to the Zinnemann/Wyler/Stevens tradition of greatness.
Glad that Firth won–although you could argue half his award was for A SINGLE MAN.
Ditto with Melissa Leo–except substitute FROZEN RIVER in the second half of previous sentence.
Do you consider the King’s Speech to be the best directed film released last year? I don’t consider The Social Network to have been the best movie(I’m a Black Swan fan) – but I cannot honestly see how Hooper’s work in TKS best Fincher’s in TSN. If you don’t like what the movie was about, which seems to be what most people had a problem with in TSN( all those dickish nerds) fine – but that’s not factored into director.
Is there any technical attribute of the King’s Speech that was superior to the Social Network? Firth was good enough to win last year, so I don’t think you can lay his performance at Hooper’s feet. What did Hooper do that made his win about merits?
PastePotPete wrote about Tom Hooper:
If he’s lucky he’ll get to do the talking bits of a Bond film, if not he’ll be making films like Captain Corelli’s Mandolin for the rest of his life.
If a Tom Hooper Bond film happens, one hopes that Hooper won’t turn it into a choppy, condescending mess like Marc Forster managed with QUANTUM OF SOLACE.
PPP – I’m not talking about my or your personal opinion, but so far, you’ve discounted the possibility that the Oscars gave it to him for anything else he’s ever done, because he’s got no ouevre when compared with the other directors, and now you’re suggesting that they also didn’t give it to him because they thought he did the best job.
It’s pretty simple; Tom Hooper directed three Oscar nominated performances, once of which won, one of which could’ve won, and one of which was a nice return to form for a classy lady. The reason he won for “directing”, as the Academy defines it, is the same reason that Christopher Nolan didn’t get nominated.
Hooper wasn’t my pick for #1, and King’s Speech wasn’t my pick for #1. Neither was Social Network. The latter has the edge on the former but, for me, they’re in the same ballpark. That’s why I’m amused by how mad some people on-line are getting about this.
The Hooper win was mindblowing. And not in a good way.
And can’t wait for today’s Oscar Poker.
I thought it was the best telecast since the last time Billy Crystal did it. Certainly better than last year and the year before. I’ve had enough of the Oscars trying to be some “event” with the hippest funniest host; just give out the fucking awards and go the fuck home.
And as for the In Memoriam all I have to say is HICKENLOOPER!!!!!!!
‘Carlos’ was by far the best movie of 2010. Mini-series or what, it blew everything away this year imho.
A lot of people seem to be advancing the argument that “20 years from now people will look back at Hooper and ‘King’s Speech’ winning and say ‘what the fuck?’… utterly mind-blowing”
I tend to think that the number of people who, (in the year 2031), will be really riled up by the Oscar winners of 2010 will be rather small.
Besides, they’ll be too busy flying jetpacks, having sex with life-like robot women and using the metric system to really give a shit.
Does anyone know how to go in and change the title of this string to “THE STORY OF THE WEEPING CAMEL?”
good call by actionlover.
quick, tell me who won the best director for 1956! 1966? 1976? 1986? 1996? 2006? Okay, that’s easy. Scorsese. Right?
These sorts of things fade over time.
True Hooper made a serviceable, enjoyable film. Nothing revolutionary or mind blowing. He made a soccer movie a couple years ago that was enjoyable too.
Nobody is going to accuse him of being an auteur – just another British director who isn’t fit to shine David Lean’s shoes.
I never had a beef with Sam Mendes winning for American Beauty – at least that was one of the better films of the year. Not that I cared much this year. I was at work, making money, occasionally checking twitter and not missing the whole spectacle…
The Hooper win was mindblowing. And not in a good way.
And can’t wait for today’s Oscar Poker.
The funniest moment of the night was Colin Firth congratulating Tom Hooper on his ‘courage’. Yeah, he had the courage to make a by the numbers film about a historical figure who overcomes an obstacle and, wait…..wait for it….triumphs over adversity to swelling orchestral music in a happy ending.
NIN fanboy that I am, was happy that Reznor/Ross won and that the telecast began with their version of Hall of the Mountain King, which told me they had it in the bag. It was no small thing to give an outside the envelope score the gold, something Han Zimmer remarked about after the show. However, WTF was up with the final BP montage? Making all the other movies subservient to TKS was complete bullshit, and if I was a producer for the other 9, I’d be seriously pissed. Was the fix in?
Please bring back Martin and Baldwin, this was almost unbearable.
repeating what I’ve said elsewhere, but my takeaway…
The real winners: Shakespeare in Love + Crash who relinquish “most undeserving Best Picture” for a generation
Chris Nolan had a good night, with all of his colleagues making a point to thank him and praise him as a visionary or genius. Probably in solidarity after that ridiculous snub by the Academy.
Jeff trust me….trust me! you didn’t miss anything. You can find clips of all the presenters online. The show was fast fading after (or was it before?) Kirk Douglas toddered on stage. Why wasn’t Michael in his place? Where was Monique or Christopher Waltz? Where were the writers?
I had no favorite film in the top 5, so who they chose didn’t bother me. I do think, though, that this brings home the fact that it’s true, until the academy has a “media” branch, what the critics like won’t really make any difference. The critics should be satisfied with their critics awards and leave the Oscars to the academy members. Right now, the critics are furious because their choices didn’t prevail for best picture and best director. In 6 months 98% of the public won’t even remember, or care, who won.
I thought it might take maybe two years for film history to laugh at the Academy and shake its head in disgust over TKS beating TSN. But with Tom Hooper beating Fincher for Best Director, it might not even take two weeks. And to those who actually prefer Speech to Network, I say watch both films two more times each. Then see if you can say TKS is the better film, the one that holds up on repeated viewings. CAN…NOT…BE..DONE.
It’s been a long time since I watched the Academy Awards and thought that the categories were being judged by impartial experts. I used to think that the nominees that refused to show up because they claimed not to care were, at best, “no fun”, and it was possible that they were completely delusional. But, c’mon, this group has ALWAYS had very specific criteria for judging films, and their judgements have always been out of touch with both the movie-going public and film critics. And that’s OK.
So I watch it for the 3-5 memorable moments (funny, embarassing, whatever) that people talk about the next day, speaches or skits that always play better watched live, among friends. But, wow, that was a bad showing last night. I hope I resort to watching the highlight clips next year, and don’t give in to the tradition of watching results with which I don’t agree interspersed with hours of clunky banter and comedy. I mean, if I care so much about not wasting my time watching movies that I know I’m not going to enjoy, why do I keep watching a 4-hour show filled with (maybe) 10 minutes of entertainment?
Saw Speilberg’s segment and it was funny the loudest applause came on the comment of the films that didn’t win. I really thought it was in poor taste to have The King’s Speech narrate the nominees. I prefer last year’s way of giving each film their own thing throughout the night
“The worst Oscarcast I’ve seen, and I go back awhile. Some great winners, a nice distribution of awards, but the show? Dead. In. The. Water.”
But hey, at least it was shorter, isn’t that what everyone cares about most?
I think Franco’s brand suffered more than Anne’s last night. She seemed game, but he seemed the whole night like he’s regretted he ever agreed to do it. He should tagged Billy Crystal, said “You’re it” then sat down and refused to move.
I did like the winners coming out to “the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true.” Nice capper.
Hickenlooper.
“I did like the winners coming out to ‘the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true’ ”
It’s called “Over the Rainbow”…
Oh come on, people. Get a hold of yourselves. So it’s now gone from “‘The Social Network’ should win Best Picture over ‘The King’s Speech’” to “‘The King’s Speech’ is not only the worst movie to win Best Picture, it’s one of the WORSE MOVIES EVER MADE!!!” (okay, I exagerate, but still….)
I thought “The Social Network” and “Black Swan” were better films, sure. But you’re fucking high if you don’t think “The King’s Speech” was a very, very good film. In fact, I’m wondering at this point if some of you bagging on it have even seen it.
And you ain’t gonna tell me that TKS isn’t better than “Crash”, “Gladiator”, “Chicago”, “The English Patient” or “Titanic”.
Best Oscars ever, amiright?
Just wanted to make sure that looked as fucking strange on the page as it did saying it aloud (Verdict: Yup).
Comment #100! Do I get a free complimentary “Hooper Jamz” plush mini basketball set (magnetized ball and net, so it goes in virtually every time!), or perhaps even a “hooper scooper” for my new puppy?
Anyone who thinks The King’s Speech is better than Titanic or Gladiator deserves to be jailed.
I know this thread is mainly about doom and gloom (and trust me, I was all about that last night), and I’m usually the last person to look for the silver lining in the clouds, but is it possible this loss somehow ends up being a “good thing” for Fincher? Will he turn his back on his increasing bid into mainstream relevance after directing only one Dragon Tattoo picture, and go back to making “cinema that scars?” Will he return to Zodiac mode of and just make cerebral, critically-acclaimed that nobody even bothers seeing except for the small percentage of militant film buffs (Rendezvous with Rama, please!)?
I am a huge fan, so this is in no means intended a slam on the guy, but I think the elephant in the room in this discussion is the fact that TSN is unabashedly a writer’s piece. I thought Sorkin’s invoking Paddy Chayefsky’s name at last night’s ceremony was probably at least a tiny bit pompous on his part — when you win an Oscar these things are acceptable — but he wasn’t incorrect in that analogy, either.
If Fincher would have won here, it undoubtedly would have been more for of a somewhat arbitrarily “good” mercenary job in the director’s chair (think Scorsese for Departed) than for a true passion project that marked the absolute pinnacle of a filmmaker’s career (Coen Bros). In this sense, you could almost make the case for Aronofsky winning. I know it’s way too early to say this, but Black Swan really seems like it could end up being the most Academy-friendly project of his career, and it’s a thematic continuation of The Wrestler.
All of this is kind of a moot point for me, personally, because I think the most obvious choice for Best Director this year — even if you didn’t like the script — was Nolan. That movie was an absolute marvel to watch, and I would have recommended it even if it was a bunch of nonsense that never comes together in the end (which its detractors will argue is true). It’s obviously going to depend on what else is released in 2012, but assuming the final Batman flick delivers the goods and caps what would be the best trilogy in its genre (by a longshot), doesn’t it seem pretty unlikely that Nolan doesn’t win that on his very first nomination? By that point, he will have the perfect stormed advantage of being snubbed, overdue, and being nominated for 3 films instead of 1.
If that’s not already a winning formula they must really hate him.
Anyone who thinks The King’s Speech is better than Titanic or Gladiator deserves to be jailed.
Word, Rashad. Titanic and Gladiator have their problems, but for scope and drama and spectacle these films bring it. The two-hour movie format is inherent to them. TKS, on the other hand, is a stage play — essentially two characters learning to trust and rely on each other. Even Logue’s office is a stage set, wide open, few pieces of furniture, perfect for the concentric circles of stage actor business. TKS has some sharp dialog, is well paced and aptly played. Nice enough, but still an “opened up” play, while T and G are fucking movies!
fugue: “However, Portman’s performance, while not the best of the year (that’s Lesley Manville, followed by Jennifer Lawrence) deserves credit for total emotional commitment. No, she didn’t exhibit range, nor did the role require it.”
Yeah, it did. When she looks constipated most of the time, it kills the tension.
“She matched, on-camera, the obsessive, operatic intensity that Aronofsky and his D.P. brought behind it.”
She just sounded like a whiny teenager who can’t have the car for the evening to me…
I’ll say TKS is better than Gladiator, which was just a glorified Summer actioner about as good as that year’s The Patriot, except that Gibson gave a more powerful performance in the lead. You’re not going to tell me that was Crowe’s best work, compared to L.A. Confidential, The Insider (which he should have won), A Beautiful Mind, Master and Commander, or even Cinderella Man. And as for Sir Scott, Kingdom of Heaven (the director’s cut that is) is head and shoulders better in every way, visuals, performances, and script.
Kingdom of Heaven Director’s Cut is better? Absolutely. Doesn’t diminish Gladiator in the least, nor does it diminish Crowe’s work. His performance their does trump A Beautiful Mind’s by a large margin.
Gladiator will be remembered forever. It’s an indelible mark on the genre with the right mix of action and emotion. People still know it
“TKS, on the other hand, is a stage play”
I’m just throwing this out here haphazardly without really investigating my own feelings on the matter, but just to play my favorite role of devil’s advocate here — couldn’t the above really be said of TSN, too?
“She just sounded like a whiny teenager who can’t have the car for the evening to me…”
You mean she sounded just like you have for the past 12+ years?
I use Starbucks Internet every couple years bc I’m hard up for whatever reason. The constant? Those places are lousy with assholes.
@Mike SF – It’s from a movie called The Wizard of Oz.
@Dan – Tom Hooper is going to go down like John G. Avildsen and Kevin Costner.
@Kane – If many people agree that Dark Knight Rises is as good or better than DK, then I can see the Academy mirroring what they did for Peter Jackson.
This is for our good friend D.Z. and his inane comments on Inception:
http://www.cracked.com/article_19021_5-amazing-things-invented-by-donald-duck-seriously.html
I think Satoshi Kon’s estate owes Scrooge McDuck a thank you and some royalties for Paprika.
Kaned – I think that Nolan without a Ledger performance to boost him will have a tough time winning an Oscar for directing a Batman movie.
Finally saw Get Low this weekend. Not only should Duvall have been nominated, he should have won.
Based on Jeff’s Oscar Balloon 2011, lots of duds are likely to be among the 10 nominees.
Did anyone notice that four of the nominated best “pictures” won nothing? True Grit was robbed.
If the Oscar folks want to improve ratings and relevance (he said with a sneer), why not change Best Picture to Best Movie? Who in the 21st century calls films pictures?
Spielberg must have had to bite his tongue to not list ET and Saving Private Ryan in his list of films that got screwed.
Maybe it’s just be but doesn’t anyone get the vibe from him coming out and doing that of the Academy saying, “We’re about to give it to an inferior picture….again.”
As soon as one of the most routinely-screwed-by-the-Academy filmmakers in history started talking it became clear where they were going and it just seemed like a pathetic, pre-emptive apology.
I totally agree that the low point was using The King’s Speech over the Best Pic montage. Whether they knew it was going to win or merely thought it was just sooooo great, it had the effect of minimizing the other nominees. Idiotic.
At the end of the day, none of this matters. To circle back to what Spielberg said, is there anyone who chooses not to put Raging Bull in their BluRay player because it lost to Ordinary People? Do you feel like watching Blade Runner sometimes but instead watch Fanny & Alexander because the Academy said that film has superior cinematography?
Cream rises to the crop and while The King’s Speech is a fine, entertaining film, it won’t stand the test of time and it’s hardly the first Best Pic winner to be in that category. You can still love what you want.
David, I think you’re being a little paranoid.
The vast majority of these presenters were booked to present the awards well before the Academy ballots were due (and counted).
And, at least to the best of my knowledge, none of these people know the “winner” before they open the envelopes themselves.
Riiight. And it’s also a coincidence that Barbra Streisand gave the award to Bigelow last year.
Must have been just dumb luck that Spielberg, Lucas and Coppola all gave Scorsese his award.
No, the Oscar people take an educated guess about the outcome and go with it. Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t after you.
GK: Seen that link before, and I already said Nolan hadn’t seen Paprika, so I’m good. Also, I don’t remember the comic having b-movie homages, other than a Western theme.
Oh, and the Paprika novel predates that comic strip.
I’m a wholesome diet regime fan, I am positive the Best Diet Plan is the best, I prefer it really significantly. If you’d like to turn into more slender fine? So hurriedly action! The Fruta Planta Diet Pills retailer possess a lot of healthful diet program products for you to pick. Such as Letpin Slim Coffe
worth of gear, I consider it one of those in-for-a-penny-in-for-a-pound situations.
worth of gear, I consider it one of those in-for-a-penny-in-for-a-pound situations.
Nice post! I was able to gain a lot of useful information from this one dota英雄.
I like your sharing.It’s very intersting and different…
Nike LeBron Zoom Soldier IV TB Black/White/Red
Nike LeBron Zoom Basketball Shoes Black
Nike Lebron Zoom VI Low Basketball Shoes Black /Gold
Nike Zoom LeBron Basketball Shoes White /Black /Red
Nike Zoom Lebron III Basketball Shoes Black /Red
Nike Zoom Lebron V Basketball Shoes Black /Red
Nike Zoom Lebron V Low Basketball Shoes Black /White / Red
Nike Zoom LeBron V Black /White /Gold