Jojo or Jo March? The Only Close Race In 2020 Oscars

The Academy Awards are six days away, and it looks like the results are already settled.
The acting races are all but over. Laura Dern and Brad Pitt will get the supporting nods, although the races should have been closer. Pitt should have had a stronger challenge from Tom Hanks with his Mister Rogers movie, and Dern should have had good rivals like Florence Pugh for Little Women and Scarlett Johannson for Jojo Rabbit.

Joaquin Phoenix will have the last laugh in Best Actor for Joker, while Renee Zellweger will win for Judy in the quickest result since Helen Mirren. The Academy never gave Judy Garland's acting skills the respect they deserved (see Judgement at Nuremberg), and Renee's amazing recreation of the fading star is award-worthy and has been since October.

Parasite is a lock for International Film and Original Screenplay. It should also be Best Picture except Academy voters don't like to reward movies you have to read. Too bad, since it's the complete package: a good story about a poor family who cons their way to a nice gig working for rich folk, nice direction and good acting, too. The father dealing with a boss who doesn't give him more respect is an interesting guy and the con woman/daughter would give Dern a run for her money. The war movie 1917 seems to be the favorite because of its epic war scenes, but showing it in one long take still seems to make it a gimmick. The stock for The Irishman fell steadily once people saw it's just a mob movie with DeNiro and Pacino looking younger via CGI.

If there is one real battle, it's the race for Adapted Screenplay. It's a very competitive list:

So far, Jojo Rabbit has won in the BAFTAs and Writers' Guild Awards, while Little Women won the USC Scripter Award which has been a good predictor on which movies wins in the Oscars.
Either of these movies could win Adapted Screenplay. Let's look at the pros and cons.

Jojo Rabbit, at first glance, would be a surprising choice. A boy in Nazi Germany has Hitler for an imaginary friend, then finds out her mom is hiding Elsa, a Jewish girl, in their house. No one would think that would make a good movie, but Taika Waititi does it. He's wise to emphasize Jojo's relationship with his mom, while wrestling with how his previous "expertise" about Jews is just plain wrong. It doesn't hurt that he's got a crush for the girl, too. It's also interesting the movie is an complete overhaul on Caging Skies, the book the movie's based on. The original is much darker, especially the relationship between Jojo and Elsa.What might scare voters is having Hitler in the movie, although the script gradually shifts him from comforting pal to jealous friend. That takes the focus away from him and to Jojo with his mom and Elsa.

Meanwhile, Greta Gerwig's version of Little Women takes a different angle to previous movie versions. It's the story of how Jo March publishes her new book, Little Women.Yes, Jo is Louisa May Alcott in this movie. The story is told in a different way, with some flashbacks. That's only because she's trying to see the book for publication to Dashwood. That's why she "negotiates" the ending with him. Also, it finally gives some sympathy towards Amy March thanks to her "economic proposition" speech about marriage.

At this point, Jojo Rabbit seems to be the favorite, but Little Women should not be dismissed. A lot of people were upset Gerwig's direction was snubbed by the Academy (and Golden Globes and Directors Guild). It wouldn't be surprising if she got Adapted Screenplay as a consolation prize. There will be some last-minute lobbying based on that, and will give the show some interest from movie fans. My choice of Gerwig, but Waititi would also be good.

Maybe next year, the Oscars can do something that will guarantee more viewers: the courage to have a host, and not be ashamed of who they choose....as long as it's Aubrey Plaza.

Predicting the 2019 Oscars

It's been a while since I wrote a blog about awards that will be seen by (if I'm lucky) 50 people.
As the Oscars are poised to start in a few days, some races have all but settled, but some are not.

If anything is still unsettled, it's what movie will get the top prize. Green Book has been getting top awards from the Producers Guild and the Golden Globes, Roma just got Best Picture at the BAFTAs, while the Screen Actors Guild declared Black Panther as its pick.
The Oscars have never given Best Picture to a foreign language film, with Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon coming the closest 17 years ago. Otherwise, Roma would be the top pick. It's a great film about a maid and the family she works for in Mexico City in the 1970s. Alberto Cuaron has done a wonderful job showing their story and throwing in some symbolism (trading one car that doesn't fit the garage for something smaller showing how the family's status has changed, for example; there's also the mystical leader who's not so superhuman as Cleo the maid proves). He's likely to get Best Director, and maybe Screenplay and Cinematography, too.
Aside from the movie not being in English, its other problem is that Netflix made it. Could the Academy actually reward a streaming service?

Green Book may be the alternative choice, maybe the safe one. It's an old-fashioned tale about two different people, a cultured pianist who's also Black and a guy from the Bronx, who develop a friendship as the pianist tours the Deep South. Mahershala Ali as Don Shirley will likely get his second award in three years, but the movie seems to be made too late. It would get more respect if it was made in the '90s, but not quite now. It's good, but not quite Best Picture material.
Besides, how can you compare it to BlackKKlansman, about a Black cop who infiltrates the KKK by using a White cop to pose as him? This says a lot more about race relations and doesn't sugar-coat it a lot. That might jolt the older Oscar voters, but it's still a great movie. It's my choice for Adapted Screenplay.

So, I think Green Book will win Best Picture because it's the "safe move". Roma, though, is the real Best Picture, streaming and language aside. It's still lame the major theater chains don't include this movie in its "Oscar festivals".

For a while, I thought The Favourite would be Best Picture material, but maybe some people aren't attracted to a story that's basically "Masterpiece Theater after dark". Two women jostle for the title of Queen Anne's BFF, and they stop at nothing to do that. The fact that it's a bisexual triangle may not be the historic epic people would feel comfortable with. It may pick up an Oscar or two for hairstyling and costume design, but could get Original Screenplay over Green Book.

Some people, like the BAFTAs, think Rachel Weisz has a chance for Supporting Actress, but vote-splitting with co-star Emma Stone might hold her back. Regina King has done well in this category for If Beale Street Could Talk, and could win on Oscar night. Some are hoping Amy Adams will finally win for Vice, but it looks like it's King who will win.

Before we get to the acting noms, let's recognize that Black Panther could also be the big winner if it picks up more than one Oscar. It's up for Best Picture, which is a victory in itself, but it should get a couple of tech awards like Production Design and Costume Design. It's also in the sound nominations, but Roma could edge it out there. It would be great it BP got Best Picture, but only if the Oscar voters are too afraid to choose Roma and can't decide what to choose instead.

Also, the Academy should apologize to Bradley Cooper for snubbing him harder than Orson Welles and The Color Purple. The Gold Derby pundits have said the stock for A Star Is Born is dropping despite winning at the Grammys and BAFTAs. It'll get Best Song, but it's kind of strange Cooper is shown singing and playing guitar (which he learned before filming) and isn't getting more respect.
Maybe it's because it's a remake, but this article shows the movie was trickier to approve and make than it seemed. He should have gotten more attention, and hopefully he'll get more from this.

At least the Oscars will show all the categories live, after lots of Hollywood big shots thought it was stupid to givefour awards during commerical breaks and give the acceptance speeches later. If the Grammys are OK at 3 1/2 hours, even if it's mostly music (natch), so can the Oscars. They should treat it like the Super Bowl: 7 PM Eastern has the Red Carpet Show, then the main event at 8 PM. Simple. Then the late-night wrap-up at E! or the local ABC channel.

Now, back to the categories...
After seeing Bohemian Rhapsody, Rami Malek has a solid future after Mr. Robot. I'm not completely sold on his portrayal of Freddie Mercury. He really got into the skin of the guy when they showed how they recorded the famous song, and the tough scene when he admitted to Mary he's bisexual. If they let him take as much time as he could really singing as Freddie, instead of mixing voice tracks to simulate him, it would have been better. Ask Gary Busey when he played Buddy Holly or Sissy Spacek as Loretta Lynn.

Compare that to Christian Bale being Dick Cheney in Vice. He had the veep cold, even explaining he saved the nation by any means necessary. That was chilling.
Still, Malek may win because enough Oscar voters don't want to approve of any movie that explains Cheney. Bale could pull it out, but it seems more likely Son of Mr. Robot will edge him out.

Meanwhile, Glenn Close's chances at winning Best Actress went way up once more people saw The Wife on VOD or disc. The story of (literally) the woman behind a soon-to-be Nobel laureate was typical, but Close's performance literally drove this movie. Just see her reaction when her husband, Joe Castleman, tries to thank her when he gets the award, and when she calls herself a "kingmaker". That is enough to get her the prize. If she wins, it may be considered a "lifetime achievement" Oscar but that role alone is enough to get her the prize.

Olivia Colman has won a BAFTA and an Golden Globe as Queen Anne in The Favourite, but the fact it's not quite a typical costume drama has hurt her chances. Also, Weisz and Stone has gotten more attention for their rivalry in the movie. Lady Gaga was considered a possible winner here, but she's already won for making a great remake with Cooper.

So, can the Oscars get more viewers with no host and way-too-much backstage drama? If it is a good show that finishes at 11:30 Eastern, it could.
Still, it would be nice if it ended with two words:  Wakanda Forever!

Oscars 2018: The Fish Guy, Billboards, Lady Bird and Getting Out

Even before the nominations for the Academy Awards came out Tuesday morning, the acting races were already settled thanks to the SAGs and Golden Globes. Aside from that, there should be some interesting competitions when they're given out after the Olympics.

Here's the nomination announcement with Tiffany Haddish and Andy Serkis, who should get nominated someday (especially Andy, who's going to force the academy to invent Best Virtual Character someday):



Some thoughts:

Some might call the result "sexist" because Wonder Woman got nothing, but then see the real wonder woman was Greta Gerwig, getting bids for direction and writing for Lady Bird. It got five nominations, and it's a great day for Thrift Town and Sacramento.
Besides, it guarantees Gal Gadot will be there as a presenter. Some websites thought Wonder Woman would get Adapted Screenplay, and I thought maybe Costume Design would be another possibility. Hopefully, Diana of Themiscyra will get her due during the ceremony.

Meanwhile, the #MeToo campaign made James Franco the real Disaster Artist, robbing him of a Best Picture and Best Actor bid. That may be the reason why Denzel Washington made the final cut even though Roman Israel Esq. wasn't well received.

Phantom Thread, a romance set in the world of design, got in the Best Picture race because of beautiful clothes and Daniel Day Lewis. Darkest Hour is also up for Best Picture due to Gary Oldman (who will win for Best Actor just for being Churchill, and the makeup job, too).

The big battle will be between The Shape of Water, a Cold War romance that would also be a fairy tale for adults, and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, MO, which starts as a woman's bid for justice but becomes something much different. Shape will get Best Director because Guillermo Del Toro is in but Martin McDonagh is not. Both are in Original Screenplay, and either may win. McDonagh may have an edge because of the unpredictability of the story. If there's a chance for an upset, Jordan Peele may do it for Get Out. However, Del Toro being in Best Director race may be enough to get Best Picture.

As I said, the acting races are done. Frances McDormand has Best Actress, Oldman Best Actor, Sam Rockwell for Supporting Actor and Alison Janney for Supporting Actress. Willem Dafoe was considered a favorite for The Florida Project, and he'd have a better chance if the movie was at smaller markets (still not in Reno, for example). It'll be more available on streaming services by early February, though

When I saw The Post this week, I knew Meryl Streep would get in for Best Actress, Seeing her as Washington Post publisher Kay Graham is amazing. She starts out unsure, relying on other men for advice. She only got the paper because her husband killed himself. Slowly, as the paper plans to expose the Pentagon Papers, she realizes she is the boss, and if this is important, she has to do the right thing. If not for McDormand, a fourth award would not have been out of the question.
The movie didn't get much after that, which upset some people. There are two reasons: it's a pretty competitive season, and Spotlight was made in 2015. Even the academy would think two really good journalism movies in five years is too much. This is called a "lame but true" excuse.

It's too bad I, Tonya didn't make the final cut for Best Picture. Otherwise, Margot Robbie would have been the first woman nominated for Best Actress and Best Picture as a producer for the same movie. You know, what happened to Nicole Kidman for Big Little Lies and Tina Fey for 30 Rock at the Emmys recently. Pick up the pace, movies.

Despite Wonder Woman being shut out. it's a good year for comic book movies. Logan, the swan song for Professor Xavier and Wolverine, got in for Adapted Screenplay (which should have happened to Steve Rogers, Wonder Woman, Deadpool, the Avengers and Batman). This is a big moment for comic book movies, and it should happen again. Guardians of the Galaxy Volume II got in for Visual Effects, which was expected. It'll have quite the battle against Last Jedi and War For The Planet of the Apes.

Between now and March 4th, there will be a few awards that may give hints on how will carry out the Oscar. Aside from the BAFTAs on February 18th, one to watch is the Writers' Guild awards held on the eleventh. It should give a hint on whether Peele could make history, or an X-Man could.

For now, let's all get caught up on our Oscar homework.

Enough of Trump! I'd Rather Talk Oscars

We're getting closer to the 2017 Academy Awards, where a non-Broadway musical could win the big prize for the first time in nearly 60 years and some fans fear the show won't be interrupted by another pointless fight between Matt Damon and Jimmy Kimmel.

I've seen all but one of the Best Picture nominees but I am hoping to see Hacksaw Ridge eventually when it's finally on Redbox along with Manchester By The Sea next week. It's pretty clear La La Land will take the big prize because of its direction and story, and Emma Stone. Her win at the BAFTAs pretty much gave her enough of an edge over Natalie Portman to win.
Viola Davis has Supporting Actress locked down thanks to Fences. I still say she should have won for The Help, but this is her year.
Mahershala Ali, who I first knew from Luke Cage, should get enough to win Supporting Actor, mainly due to his win at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. That category has been interesting because Aaron Taylor-Johnson got the Golden Globes but isn't in the Oscars, while Dev Patel won at the BAFTAs for Lion. Patel could upset, but Ali may win out.

Actually of all the films I've seen, Lion had the best story and acting that could give La La Land a run for its money. So could Hidden Figures, the story of some unknown space travel pioneers who finally got their due. Manchester By The Sea has great performances from Casey Affleck and Lucas Hedges in a story about a family trying to recover from several tragedies. Moonlight gives an interesting story about an African-American boy dealing with his own sexuality and drug abuse within his family.
Still, feel-good movies always get the edge from the voters. That's why La La Land will take Best Picture, Actress, Director and maybe Original Screenplay along with a few tech awards. Manchester could upset in Original Screenplay.
Adapted Screenplay is a very tricky race, but my guess is Hidden Figures will win as a reward for the story and the cast. I still wish Deadpool was in there, even if it would have lost. Finally giving any comic book movie at the Oscar table is important, especially if it's some of the major awards. The ghost of The Dark Knight is still there.

As I said, Emma Stone will get Best Actress for La La Land over Natalie Portman, mainly due to her win at the BAFTAs. Casey Affleck has been unstoppable, despite Ryan Gosling's charm and ability to learn the piano. He'll at least sing the Best Song winner, "City of Stars."
I also saw Elle with Isabelle Huppert as a rape victim who is determined to find who did it...and even when she does, the story takes a lot of different turns. To be fair, the movie has a different outlook because it was made in France. Also, Huppert's character has a very interesting past, and makes some unusual decisions. It's enough to get a Golden Globe, but that's it.

Best Animation did look like a lock for Zootopia, aka How We Wound Up Electing Trump. With Kubo and the Two Strings winning at the BAFTAs, that movie's story may give it some momentum, but not enough to win.

Let's hope for an entertaining Academy Awards, even if the guys from The Man Show are involved. If there's ever a time for Kimmel to prove he's in the league of Johnny Carson in more ways than one, it's Oscar night.

Next Year's Animation Oscar Race: Dory vs. Judy and Nick

Next year's Academy Awards may be more than seven months away, but there's one category where the race is well underway:  best animated movie.

This picture shows the two front-runners, Finding Dory and Zootopia. One takes a look at a fish's search for her family, while the other takes an unusual look at judging a book..or an animal...by its cover.

This reminds me of 2013 when Brave took on Wreck-It Ralph for the big prize. Brave won because it had two things:  a new type of Disney princess and Pixar's reputation. Wreck-It Ralph could have won because it's about a big lug who doesn't want to be the bad guy in a video game even if he's the most important part.

Several other films may wind up in the running including The Secret Lives of Pets, Moana and Kubo and the Two Strings. Still, it seems these Disney movies will wind up as the front-runners, and not just because they're smash hits.

Finding Dory is the long-awaited sequel to Finding Nemo. This time, the blue tang fish who has a memory problem suddenly remembers she has a mom and dad, and has to find them. Marlin, who's still a bit shell-shocked from the last movie, tries to stop her, but there's no stopping her or Nemo. They head to the Marine Life Center thousands of miles away to find them, if they are there. It has a very impressive supporting cast including an octopus who's a master of disguise, a nearsighted whale and another whale who's having problems with his sonar. For most of the picture, it seems like the original, with Marlin and Nemo trying to find Dory because they're worried about her being alone. It still  has some extra touches that makes it very special. One of them is showing baby Dory learning some very important lessons from her parents that helped her deal with her short-term memory problem. There are a couple of others, but we'll get to that later.

Zootopia would have the edge over Finding Dory mainly because of its unique lesson on prejudice. When we meet Judy Hopps, she's a young girl who dreams of being a police officer for Zootopia. Thing is, in a world where predators and prey live together in harmony, certain animals can only do certain jobs. Sloths are with the DMV, gazelles are pop stars, and bunnies are farmers, Judy won't hear of that, though, She becomes a meter maid, but is also determined to find out what's behind the disappearance of several animals. She crosses paths with a sly fox named Nick Wilde, who eventually helps her out. The interesting thing about him is that society has decided he can't be trusted, and he decides to agree because he can't prove otherwise. Judy gives him a reason to show he can be trusted even with the slyness. What's also interesting is that while she tries to make the city a better place by solving the disappearances, she inadvertently makes things worse. While fear does play a role in the main crime, especially who's really responsible, Judy finds a way to get justice and change things for the better. Some slyness from Nick especially helps out. There's also a sly comment about Disney's most popular animated feature in the past ten years.

Still, I can't help but think Finding Dory will wind up winning Best Animated Feature because of its Pixar edge. There are two other reasons, though. There's a scene in the third act where Dory is reunited with her fellow blue tang fish. She's told about her parents' efforts to find her, then something bad happens that we see through her eyes. That's a scene that would make anyone shed a tear. It's followed by another scene that is guaranteed to make people cry. Oh, and there's a post-credit scene that tops similar scenes from Frozen and Brave. That could be enough to get an Oscar next February.

So, when the Oscars roll around, it turns out Pixar's reputation will once again edge out a story about someone who wants to defy stereotypes.  Then again, maybe pets or a guy with two strings may surprise us.

2016 Oscars: Mountain Men, Mad Max and Martians

The first campaign everyone cares about has begun.
Oscar nominations are out, and one of the first subjects discussed is a lack in diversity. The acting nominations have kicked off the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag, while Alejandro Inarratu could be the first man to win two Best Director awards since 1950.
The Revenant wound up getting the most nominations, threatening Spotlight's position as a front-runner, while a guy named Max made a very big splash.

So, let's look at the categories:

BEST FILM: The Revenant has the most with 12 nominations, although it doesn't include a screenplay spot. It's bound to get a few tech awards, and Best Actor for Leonardo DiCaprio. The fact that he's way out of his comfort zone battling betrayal, nature and a big bear could be enough for him to get the award. Spotlight could upset thanks to being in the Original Screenplay race, and supporting acting noms for Mark Ruffalo and Rachel Nichols. The Martian could also be in the race, except Ridley Scott's not in the Best Director race.
IT WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE IF:  Star Wars: The Force Awakens was the ninth Best Pictire nominee. It brought back this franchise in a big way, and it's about time a blockbuster was at least in the Best Film race. It will still be up for five awards, Jurassic World could have also been on this list if it treated its female characters with more respect through all of the movie. That's why it's shut out.
Carol is also not in the Best Picture race. Some will suggest it's because they don't want Fox News to be angry, and I'm worried that could be the reason

BEST ACTOR:  With 12 nominations behind him for The Revenant, it's gotta be Leo's year. The only threats would be Matt Damon, who also goes through a lot in The Martian, and Michael Fassbender for Steve Jobs 
IT WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE IF:  Steve Carrell was in the race for The Big Short. He was the Angry Stockbroker who couldn't belive how much of a mess Wall Street was ten years ago.

BEST ACTRESS:  Another race that's over before it began. Brie Larson's performance as the kidnapped mother in Room (which just reached Reno) has been praised by everyone, and she is the favorite. If there's any threat, maybe Cate Blanchett for Carol.
IT WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE IF:  Charlize Theron could have been added for Mad Max Fury Road. She was truly the main heroine in this movie

SUPPORTING ACTOR:  This is fairly tricky because a good contender, Idris Elba, is not in the Oscar race. He's in the SAG and BAFTA Awards races, though. The sentimental favorite is Sylvester Stallone for Creed (aka Rocky 5.5), but I'll choose Mark Ruffalo for his role as one of the relentless Boston Globe reporters in Spotlight.
IT WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE IF:  Harrison Ford got Stallone's spot. The return of Han Solo was just as big a deal as the return of Rocky, and he helped make Star Wars: The Force Awakens work.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS:  The two front-runners got their spots for portraying someone familiar. Jennifer Jason Leigh was an Old West version of Janis Joplin (at least according to someone at Adam Carolla's podcast) facing the hangman's noose in The Hateful 8. She was defiant to her fate, especially in the final act. However, Rooney Mara as an Audrey Hepburn-type who has the devotion of a housewife in Carol may be enough for her to win.
IT WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE IF:  Helen Mirren was in the race for Trumbo. She's great at being queens, but her portrayal as gossip columnist (and self-appointed vaccine against Communism) Hedda Hopper was chilling.

BEST DIRECTOR:  With Ridley Scott out of the race, it will be a three-man race between Inarritu, Adam McKay for The Big Short and Tom McCarthy for Spotlight, .Inarritu has brutal nature and incredible scenery, MacKay has the ability to explain economics better than anyone, and McCarthy has a story that shows reporting at its best. Because I doubt we will have a back-to-back winner, I'll choose McKay. George Miller had the toughest job of all, but since it's sci-fi, it won't be his night.
IT WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE IF:  Ridley Scott, what else?. Still also no Todd Haynes for Carol. Is it because it's too controversial, years after Brokeback Mountain?

ALSO....I wish Amy Schumer sneaked into the Original Screenplay race for Trainwreck, but she couldn't hold off Alex Garland's script for Ex Machina. Spotlight will probably win there. Adapated Screenplay will be the toughest race of all, but I'll choose Drew Goddard because of his Joss Whedon ties.
And where's The Good Dinosaur and Minions in Best Animation? It seems the Oscar voters want to prove they won't limit their choices to Hollywood. That's why Japan (When Marnie Was There) and Brazil (Boy and the World) are in the running. It only makes Inside Out's victory more inevitable.

Best Song is a one-song race. Sam Smith will likely win for the theme from Spectre, What's more surprising is that two of the nominees are documentaries, Racing Extincton and The Hunting Ground.

Straight Outta Compton should have gotten more love, especially for O'Shea Jackson Jr, who played his dad Ice Cube.  Although it gor in the Original Screenplay race,  it was still criticized for what it left out, Same story for Concussion, which may have ruined Will Smith's Best Actor bid.

Of course, my predictions are likely to chance (and I'll say so), but this is a good place to start.

Goodbye to February's Fabulous Sundays

As we're about to say good bye to February, it occured to me that this month had four exciting Sundays in a row. Now, when March first rolls around, there will still be things that will interest certain people, like the return of Once Upon A Time or new episodes of The Walking Dead.

Make no mistake, though, the past four Sundays had events that most people wanted to see. They were all curious about what would happen, and they also featured red carpet events. Yes, that included the Super Bowl. In fact, the Super Bowl and the Oscars almost had the same amount of pre-show coverage.



Super Bowl XLIX--Even though most people thought a slightly off Left Shark was the most memorable character from the game, people will forever recall Tm Brady leading the New England Patriots back from a ten-point defecit to beat the Seattle Seahawks 28-24. They'll also forever wonder why Seattle coach Pete Carroll didn't give the ball to Marshawn Lynch from the 1 yard line.



Grammys 2015--While this show had its moments, the structure was rather odd. Why would you have a long talk about copyright law after Record of the Year was announced,thus making people decide to tune out before Beyonce took the stage. At least we had Sam Smith dominate the show, along with a surprising performance by Kristen Wiig dancing to Sia's Chandelier. There was also great performances by Madonna, Common, John Legend and Annie Lennox, while Kanye West almost tried to grab Beck's Album of the Year and give it to Beyonce (who already won in the pre-show)



Saturday Night Live Turns 40--This was a supersized version of the show, filled with jokes that worked and those that didn't. There was plenty of nostalgia, like the remake of the Super Bass-O-Matic, the ultimate Weekend Update, and the excellent return of Wayne's World. Some didn't quite work, like The Californians (despite Bradley Cooper and Betty White locking lips, and Total Bastard Airways telling the cast, "buh-bye", and actually making it the perfect ending), and Eddie Murphy just showing up.  True, he didn't want to do a skecth where he'd mock Bill Cosby, but he could have done something else.  People were glad to see Paul McCarney and Paul Simon there, and some seemed to be surprised Miley Cyrus did a cool job with "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover". That would be topped a week later. Kanye and Sia came back for this, and they did fine.

The best part of the night, according to Jimmy Fallon, may have been the after-party...



At least we have this on YouTube:



Maybe Taylor can recreate that if and when she's back on the show.



Academy Awards--People were hoping that Neil Patrick Harris would conquer the daunting task of hosting the show, but, just like SNL, some of his jokes worked and some didn't. I still suspect Bad Horse wrote the script. It would have been better if Neil didn't include that magic trick.
People tuned in to see if Boyhood or Birdman would win best picture because that was the only suspense left in awards season, There were great acceptance speeches from Patricia Arquette, J.K. Simmons, Eddie Redmayne, and Graham Moore. There was also the director of Ida outlasting the "play-out music".
Two music performances wound up being the highlight:  John Legend and Common's performance of "Glory", and Lady Gaga's stunning performance of songs from The Sound of Music, followed by getting Julie Andrews' endorsement. Gaga may be built for Broadway, but first she's got an American Horror Story to tell this fall.
Then there's Sean Penn's ill-advised joke before he declared Birdman as best picture. Even though the director laughed it off, many movie fans wouldn't. It was the same story when Giuliana Rancic criticized Zendaya's hairstyle in an unfortunate way. That led to two apologies, but Zendaya let it go.

It was a fabulous February, but don't think it will be a "meh March". While Sundays may not be as exciting as they have been, there's still a lot to anticipate:  the return of Agents of SHIELD, spring training, NCAA March Madness, Cinderella starring Cate Blanchett (can you name who is playing Cinderella? You could do that in the TV versions), Chappie, Insurgent,..
and some of these events can be enjoyed on a Sunday.  

An Almost Perfect End of Award Season

Well, it was almost perfect
In 2007, I was upset Pan's Labyrinth lost Foreign Language Film, until I saw The Lives of Others. I am sure once I finally see The Theory of Everything, I'll see why Eddie Redmayne beat Michael Keaton...and the after-effects of Jupiter Ascending.

Otherwise, look, up in the sky.....

I'm currently seeing the E! rerun of the post-Oscars show, with Photoshop mocking Lady Gaga's Red Carpet dress. I said she was the most glamorous cleaning lady ever
Then, this happened:



NO ONE saw this coming. We know better. She is officially more than just that meat dress. Ask Julie Andrews.
Hey, Cabaret, you need a new Sally Bowles?

I'm surprised by how well Grand Budapest Hotel. It's another cute and quirky Wes Anderson movie, but I still say Moonrise Kingdom was better. I also still say getting green skin and Drax's tattoos is much more difficult than keeping Ralph Fiennes dashing.

So, how did Dr. Horrible do?
While it can't be proven Bad Horse wrote the jokes, Neil Patrick Harris may have bitten off a bit more than he could chew, as other rookie hosts. Still, they should ask him to do it again, now that he knows what it's like. This job is much more frantic and stressful than the Tonys or Emmys. If he took out his Penn Jillete imitation, it would have been better. The opening was better than Billy Crystal doing his "insert me in the movies" opening. That's due to tech being better, and adding Jack Black and Anna Kendrick is always a good idea.

This was also pretty wild:



First, eat your heart out, Walter White
Second, that was racier than the Birdman spoof that started the Spirit Awards, although their opening song with Kristen Bell and Fred Armisen is just as good as how the Oscars started.

Also, remember when we saw Little Groot dancing at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy, and most of us thought "future Christmas present"?

Same thing here:

The Academy should work on letting Legos make LegOscar kits. They'd make enough to build a hundred museums. Otherwise, the internet will have someone come up with instructions. CNET has something on this.

The show was too long, again, but this time, it was all right. Neil will get it right if they give him a second chance in two years or so.
Next year, how about making the hosting job a relay team? It's happened before back in the '70s, where you had four people host at different times. Anne Hathaway finally gets her second chance, then add Anna, Bradley Cooper and Tom Hanks. That'll work.
Oh, and next year, they should rename the Red Carpet the Joan Rivers Memorial Red Carpet. She may not have made enough movies to be in the In Memoriam section, but she deserves that.

So, no more awards until the fall with the Emmys. Now what do we do?
Spring training, and March Madness? That's important.
Oh, and SHIELD's back on duty.

The Greatest In the Worst Movies: The Disembaudios

At MST3K's Facebook page, it had a trivia question that's appropriate since the Oscars are coming up Sunday:  what's the only movie shown on MST3K that won an Oscar? The answer is Space Travelers, which was a re-edited version of Marooned. It won for special effects, but it wasn't safe from the riffing.

A blog called Peanut Butter and Awesome written by someone called Jeremy listed three movies the writer will watch instead of the Oscars:  Psycho II, Night of the Lepus and McBain. Those three movies, readily available on VOD at Rifftrax all have actors who were up for Academy Awards. Psycho II had Anthony Perkins, Meg Tilly and Robert Loggia, Night of the Lepus has Stuart Whitman and Janet Leigh. McBain starred Christopher Walken, who won for The Deer Hunter. 

That leads to looking at the Rifftrax and MST3K libraries to see which movies had real actors in really bad movies.I'm not counting the mp3 riffs because they take on real movies. This is mainly from the VOD library.

Hawk the Slayer features a hero who must end the tyranny imposed by his brother Voltan, played by Jack Palance, who won for City Slickers, Despite a fine career in TV and film, he's done some cheesy roles like an evil warlord. He is also seen in Angel's Revenge as a drug pusher and Outlaw of Gor as a high priest helping some sexy evil woman to take over a kingdom. That's also the movie were the word "Cabot" is said eleventy hundred times. 

This was back in the days where people thought today's video games are tomorrow's movie blockbusters. While Resident Evil was a good example of that idea. this wasn't. Bob Hoskins, who plays Mario, has long said he shouldn't have taken this job. His role in Mona Lisa earned him an Oscar nomination in 1986. The big bad in this movie, King Koopa, is played by Dennis Hopper, who was nominated for writing and acting in his career. So, this is a selection that has the best pedigree.

This movie, about a cyborg from behind the Iron Curtain who wants to defect, features Christopher Plummer as a business magnate who wants to set up a new world order, as magnates do. It also features a short appearance by Martin Landau, three years before Ed Wood. 

This is a classic example of "what the heck is he doing here?" John Huston won two Oscars for directing, and can claim to be someone who directed his father and daughter to Oscars, too. So how come he was part of this movie about a squabbling family whose boat is lost in an area where ships disappear without a trace? It might have been to fund the movie, Wise Blood. He's done other unlikely roles in his career, too.

Other Rifftrax selections that included Oscar winners or nominees include Nightmare at Noon (George Kennedy), The Boy in the Plastic Bubble (John Travolta) and Little Shop of Horrors (Jack Nicholson in a very early role). 

On the MST3K side, there are some Oscar winners and nominees. Remember Robot Monster? The score was written by Elmer Bernstein, who went on to work on classics like The Magnificent Seven, Airplane and Ghostbusters. He won an Oscar for Thoroughly Modern Millie, a goofy musical back in 1967.  Gunslinger may have had Beverly Garland, but it also had John Ireland, who was nominated for All The King's Men. City Limits, all about a teen apocalypse, had James Earl Jones, who was nominated for The Great White Hope. Kitten With a Whip featured Ann Margaret as a crazy teenager exploiting a really dumb senatorial candidate played by John Forsythe. She would be nominated for Tommy and Carnal Knowledge. Revenge of the Creature, which started the show's tenure on Syfy, included Clint Eastwood, who also won twice for directing. Merlin's Shop of Mystical Wonders had Ernest Borgnine, who won for Marty.  Hamlet, the German TV version, had Maximillian Schell in the title role. He won for Judgement in Nuremberg. 

This only proves in the case of out favorite actors, writers and directors, they had to start somewhere, or continue their careers as best they could. The best can exist in less-than-ideal conditions. 

2015 Academy Awards Looks Like A Two-Category Race

This is one of the poster designs that were unveiled in the Academy Awards Tumblr site, with the statue covered by categories and show biz jargon.
Anyway, the first stage of the award season is done, and it looks like the Academy Awards on February 22nd will be a two-category race...Best Picture and Best Actor.

There's nothing more boring than an Oscars show where all the big nominations, the ones even casual fans care about, are already decided. That's the case for the supporting categories and Best Actress. We'll get to that later, but first...the undecided categories:

Thanks to wins from the Screen Actors Guild and Producers Guild, Birdman is being considered as a firm choice for Best Picture when the Oscars are given out on February 22nd. It's a pretty way-out look at an actor trying to shed the super hero that made him famous, and actually become a real actor. It's a great comeback for Michael Keaton, and a great story told and directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu. Boyhood still has momentum from the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards, and may gain a bit when the Directors Guild and Writers Guild give out their awards in February. Those awards, and the BAFTAs on February 8th, will decide who will have the edge in the final days before the big event.

That'll also be the case for Best Actor, which is now down to Keaton and Eddie Redmayne for The Theory of Everything. Both got Golden Globes, while Redmayne won at the SAG awards. It's likely Redmayne may get the edge at the BAFTAs, but might lose votes to Ralph Fiennes and Benedict Cumberbatch, giving Keaton the win.  If the BAFTAs choose Cumberbatch (and it would make sense if you've seen The Imitation Game already) or Fiennes, it's anyone's race.

Now for the races already settled:

When Whiplash was released, and people got a chance to see J.K. Simmons as the cruel music teacher, Fletcher, talk of him getting an Academy Award started. It's also surprising, since it's more likely you'll see him sell Farmers Insurance than creating a shocking movie performance. Then again, he was also Spider-Man's least favorite newspaper publisher and Juno's dad. The movie just arrived in one theater in Reno, as if it was hiding from more popular movies like American Sniper and The Wedding Ringer and Oscar contenders like Selma, Wild and The Imitation Game. Whiplash should have a more extensive release than just one screen, but at least Simmons will get notice when he hosts Saturday Night Live this weekend.

Boyhood is readily available, thanks to streaming sites and Redbox. Before that, it's been getting positive reviews in theaters, as the story of a boy growing up that was literally 12 years in the making. Patricia Arquette as the mom, Olivia, has been praised as a woman who has evolved as her children have grown, then is worried that now that they're gone, her life is done. The son, Mason, disagrees, and maybe a mini-sequel should be made to show he's right. Anyway, Arquette has been picking up awards, including a Screen Actors Guild Award last night, and the only complaint people have is that she can't memorize an acceptance speech. Maybe by the time she arrives at the Dolby Theater, she will...not that it matters.

The third decided race is Best Actress, most likely to be won by Julianne Moore for Still Alice. This movie is practically unknown outside major cities, which is a crime. Her portrayal as a woman in her 50's dealing with the early stages of Alzheimer's is wonderful. It would be better if more people didn't have to wait until the night before the Oscars to see it.
It is in 38 screens, much less than Wild, with Reese Witherspoon, which is in more than 500 screens. The film's website says it will go into "wide release" (including Reno) on February 13th, which is a bad date because it's the same day as 50 Shades of Grey and Kingsman: The Secret Service. It would have been better if it was the week before, where its competition would be Seventh Son and Jupiter Ascending. Moore will get the public's attention and admiration for Still Alice, but it should be a lot sooner.

While casual fans care about acting and Best Picture, film buffs care about other big categories, like Best Director. Richard Linklater still looks like the top choice, but that won't be certain until the  Director's Guild Awards February 7th, then the BAFTAs on the 8th. If Birdman takes either of those awards that weekend, the race gets more interesting.
As for writing, Adapted Screenplay still looks like a battle royal. The BAFTAs and WGAs should bring in more focus. For now, The Imitation Game, American Sniper and Gone Girl seem to be leading in Adapted Screenplay, while Boyhood and Birdman are favored in Original Screenplay. However, the WGAs  only have Boyhood in Original Screenplay against movies like Whiplash and Foxcatcher, while Adapted Screenplay has Guardians of the Galaxy in the final mix. That's mainly due to eligibility rules, but it would be amazing if GoG got it. It's more likely Imitation Game will could get it.

The BAFTAs should also be great if The Lego Movie, which isn't in the Oscars because the voters thought Legos were too high-tech for them (as was the movie), won for Best Animated Film. However, there could be the chance of an upset with The Boxtrolls. Birdman is also up for Best Score, and a win there would be a sign to the Oscars to fix its rules on what could be eligible for that category.

Oscar season will really get tense as we head into February. At least we can relax by looking at more frivolous events, like Super Bowl XLIX.

Oscar Nominations: Birds, Boys, Grand Hotels, But A Girl And a King Are Gone

As I'm typing this, it's been nearly two and a half hours after the Academy Award nominations have been announced.

The main talking point is likely to be Boyhood snagging six nominations, and being the odds-on favorite to get Best Picture. It's a coming of age story that's literally 12 years in the making, but the story and direction have been two of many reasons why it is now the favorite.
Birdman is also kind of a gimmick because it seems to be one long take, but it also has nine nominatons, and might steal Original Screenplay and maybe Best Actor.
The Grand Budapest Hotel, now playing on HBO's side channels (HBO2 and HBO Comedy mainly), also did well with nine nods. While it's a candy colored look at the adventures of a concierge between the wars, I still say Moonrise Kingdom was better.

Now let's look at the snubs....

Selma getting shut out of Direction, Actor and Adapted Screenplay will be discussed for weeks, The whispering campaign against it apparently worked, which proves once and for all that there's no difference between political campaigns and Oscar campaigns. Those who were upset that the movie allegedly lied about President Johnson's commitment to civil rights must feel justified a bit. It did make Best Picture, but Ana DuVerney and David Oyelowo more than deserved to make the final cut. Besides, the movie made it clear Johnson was worried about losing a lot of Southern Democratic voters if he was too agressive to make sure Blacks could vote without unfair barriers. However, Selma and a meeting with Governor Wallace changed his mind.
It might get Best Song, as it did at the Globes, but I suspect Glen Campbell could win that award because of sentimental reason. It's from I'll Be Me, his documentary of his final tour as he's battling Alzheimer's.

As expected, Rosamund Pike got in for Best Actress for Gone Girl. Her portrayal of a wronged wife was unforgettable, but Gillian Flynn should have gotten a nod for Adapted Screenplay, and it was one very good film.

Some are complaining Jennifer Aniston should have been in for Cake, thanks to her aggressive campaigning. However, the movie was not well received, or seen widely.

It's also too bad Lorde didn't get in the Best Song race for "Yellow Flicker Beat" from Mockingjay. I bet "The Hanging Tree" would have made it, but it's not eligible because the lyrics are part of the book. As I said, it'll be between Selma and I'll Be Me.

The Lego Movie got Best Song for "Everything is Awesome", but it wasn't awesome enough to get Best Animated Feature? Is it because there's too many superheroes in it, or is it because there's a section that isn't animated? It's still a great mix of CGI and stop action animation. It's also on HBO, so see for yourself.

It's also a crime that Life Itself, the story of Roger Ebert, didn't make Best Documentary, and Force Majeure got snubbed from Best Foreign Language Film. This will wind up being good news for CitizenFour and Leviathan, respectively.

Now to some surprises:

Whiplash getting in Best Picture race along with Adapted Screenplay and Supporting Actor. That shows it's getting recognition as a story about how far someone will go for perfection.

Nightcrawler with Jake Gyllenhaal makes Original Screenplay, even though it has been in very limited release. Some were hoping for him getting an acting nod, along with Rene Russo.

Inherent Vice gets Adapted Screenplay, even though it's really puzzling. It clearly took Gone Girl's spot. That category should be a very close race

Oscar is finally saying "Make Mine Marvel":  three of its films are up for Visual Effects. It could be between Interstellar and Guardians of the Galaxy, with Dawn of the Planet of the Apes as a dark horse, Guardians will be an easy choice for Makeup/Hairstyling, despite a challenge from Grand Budapest Hotel.

Also, Big Hero 6 is up for Best Animated Feature. That category may be more obscure than recent years because there's no Disney/Pixar nominee (since Big Hero 6 is considered Marvel). Two of the nominees, Princess Kayuga and Song of the Sea, have had limited releases. If it wins, How To Train Your Dragon 2 could be the comeback story of the year. While it was more popular overseas, the movie didn't get a lot of attention in the states. It's readily available through DVD and streaming, and it's likely to get a second look.

I'll likely be back after the Critics Choice Awards are given out. Boyhood should get Best Picture here, since the critics have already rewarded it in city awards for weeks. If Selma does well, this will make the Academy look bad,

Update:  Boyhood and Birdman did dominate the Critics Choice Awards, but it looks like Boyhood is headed towards Best Picture come Oscar time. Michael Keaton's victory means we could have a real race for Best Actor. It all depends on what will happen with the Screen Actors Guild awards later this month. Selma got Best Song again, which means it could be the favorite for that category. It should be in the race for more, of course. Three movies that weren't nominated did wind up making an impression:  The Lego Movie for Animation, Life Itself for Best Documentary (which was expected), and  Force Majeure for Foreign Film,

Two Best Picture Possibilities: Boyhood and Selma

The Golden Globes show, and movie award season, is just hours away. I've been able to catch up with the list of nominated movies available in Reno. It's not quite as much as much as the selection I used to enjoy in Sacramento. Otherwise, I would have seen Whiplash and Foxcatcher by now. It seems those movies won't be in Reno until they reach Redbox. American Sniper, though, will likely be in theaters sooner or later.

Anyway, this weekend, I got to see two likely Best Picture nominees when the Academy makes its choices on Thursday. Thanks to Redbox, I saw Boyhood, a movie that was literally 12 years in the making, Writer and director Richard Linklater decided to make a movie about a boy's life from six to 18 in real time. That means the main character Mason, played by Ellar Coltrane, was filmed all that time. That also goes for his sister Samantha, played by Lorilei Linklater (yep, his daughter), and the parents played by Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette. The movie shows Mason's milestones, and how his family evolves with him. It's been getting attention because Linklater did this coming-of-age story in real time. The main actors actually had to set aside time to make the movie, no matter what they were doing.

While the movie centers on Mason's boyhood days, it also shows how the parents evolve, too. Arquette starts as a single mom set to move to Houston and go back to school, She marries her professor, but that does not work. There's a scene at the dinner table that is very difficult to see.
Hawke, as Mason Sr., starts as a dad who seems a bit irresponsible, but he also changes his life. Samantha's relationship with her mom is also interesting. There's some really good acting by the main characters. Usually a coming of age movie covering 12 years involves having more than one actor for the son or daughter. Not here.

The movie has been the near-unanimous choice for Best Picture by lots of movie critics competitions from L-A to New York. Still, if there's any flaw in the movie, it doesn't have much of a plot. It's just the story of a boy, and the many milestones in his life. It's also very long, at 2:45, which may have put off some Oscar voters. Still, the acting and directing in this movie are still first-rate. It'll probably do very well in the Spirit Awards, but I don't think it's an absolute lock for Best Picture in any of the upcoming awards. There's already been some backlash, but the real test will start tonight.

Then I went to see Selma, which has been under historic scrutiny lately. While I did read up on it, I just looked at the movie as the story of how injustice was fought by Martin Luther King and his supporters. People are especially upset that it makes President Johnson look like someone who didn't care Blacks were being killed in the South just because they want to vote. I think he cared, but he was obsessed with other things, poverty and Vietnam especially. Maybe he thought if he solved those problems, he could do everything after that without much opposition. He does figure out King was right, and it's done in an interesting way.

I was also impressed by Ana DuVernay's direction. Early in the movie, we see four girls in a church talking about things, then an explosion suddenly happens. We see it's that church that was blown up in Birmingham, AL in the fall of 1963. It makes a big impression of what someone people will do to prevent Blacks from exercising a right the Constitution gave them nearly a hundred years before.
There's also a scene where Coretta Scott King (Carmen Ejogo) is hearing a tape supposedly delivered by the FBI (which historians say never happened, but a similar note was sent) that also supposedly gives proof King cheated on his wife. Seeing both of them dealing with that tape, whether it's true or not, speaks volumes of how much they are devoted to each other. The scenes of the march at the Pettis Bridge, including the violent response from the Alabama state troopers, was also very impressive.

David Oyelowo is just incredible as King, especially when he makes his speeches calling for the President to do something. Ejogo is also good as Mrs. King. Tom Wilkinson is also very good as LBJ, but Tim Roth was even better as Governor George Wallace. It is amazing what he does to preserve his state's way of life, while claiming his hands are tied when it comes to county offivials and sheriffs doing what they can to keep Blacks from registering. Oyelowo could conceivably win for Best Actor, and DuVernay could give Alejandro Gonzalez Inrarritu a run for his money in the Best Director race, too.

However, it is too bad the producers took too long to get screeners to SAG and BAFTA voters, which is why the movie won't be part of those award shows. That also means the last word on who is the best in movies this year will come on Oscar night. The Globes and the Critics Choice Awards will be this year's version of the "New Hampshire Primary" of the award season, while the SAGs won't be "Super Tuesday". No matter what, the real race starts Thursday.

For the record, Birdman should be Best Picture. It may also have a gimmick, just like Boyhood, but its story of an actor trying to escape the one role he's been identified with, and how that story is told,
makes it the Best Movie this year.

The Last Time Ellen DeGeneres Hosted the Oscars

Tomorrow, Ellen DeGeneres will host the Academy Awards for the second time. So, it's a good time to see how she did the last time she hosted in 2007.
As you can see, she started the evening in this red velvet suit, and did one of her monologues similar to those that start her daytime talk show. There was even dancing at the end by a gospel choir welcoming everyone.

The 2007 Oscars was one of the longest ceremonies at about three and a half hours. Some TV critics, as they usually do, declared the whole thing boring. Others thought she was a nice change from recent hosts Chris Rock and Jon Stewart, who were chosen to give the show an "edge".
When I first owned a DVD recorder (a previous model) I would tape everything, or convert my VHS cassettes into DVDs. This included three Oscar ceremonies I happened to have. So, I looked at the 2007 awards last night.

It was long and a bit tedious, but not because of Ellen. She was chosen because she was the safe choice. There were some jokes about whether Al Gore would run again in 2008, but the humor was mostly like this:



These are from the YouTube Oscar channel. You can go here to see more from 2007, along with other Oscar moments.

There could have been cuts here and there. We can start with Chris Connelly's backstage comments that added nothing to the show, and either shorten or cut out those montages. I can see having a package on the 50th anniversary of the Foreign Language film category, but not on how the movies saw America or the writing process. The opening montage that honored the nominees, including the late great Peter O'Toole remarking that he'd been nominated eight times, was a good idea. It did include less famous people who were nominated many times but didn't win.

This was also back in the days when the show included special Oscars, like one to composer Ennio Morricone. However, Celine Dion singing "I Knew I Loved You" could have been cut.

One good idea, though, was having Will Farrell, Jack Black and John C. Reilly singing about how comedy gets no repsect at the Academy Awards.



That turned out to be ironic. Little Miss Sunshine enjoyed the best Oscar success by any comedy in years by getting Original Screenplay and Alan Arkin winning supporting actor.

Another great moment was Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg coming out to present Best Director, hoping that Martin Scorsese would finally win for The Departed. The plan worked, because he did.



Some other observations:

Abigail Breslin and Jaden Smith looked cute giving out short subject awards, but the fact that she did a better job at it may tell you something.

Adam Sandler was actually in an Oscar-nominated movie. It was Click, and it was up for Best Makeup. It should have been Punchdrunk Love.

There was a bit of sadness seeing Philip Seymour Hoffman (that's how you spell his name, CBS News) present Best Actress to Helen Mirren, and O'Toole losing again. He did get an honorary Oscar a few years before, but he said he would have rather gotten one the old fashioned way. His fans agree, still wondering why he didn't get one for Lawrence of Arabia.

There was a acrobatic troupe called Pilobolus that recreated some of the nominated movies' iconic moments, and the Oscar itself. It even included the logo for Snakes on a Plane, which in some way led to Sharknado.

Both Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima were up for awards. They looked at the Battle of Iwo Jima from the Allies and Japanese perspective (Letters making the Best Picture list). I wondered if anyone thought of re-editing both movies to make a longer one, or at least the parts connected to the Battle of Iwo Jima. That would have been interesting.

There was also the annual speech by Academy President Sid Ganis, which was only a minute because he had a bet with Ellen. Anyway, it ended with the announcement of plans to build a movie museum on a lot in the middle of Hollywood. Those plans evolved into the future Academy museum, which wound up at Wilshire because of several reasons including the stock market crash of 2008. That spot, however, is being used for outdoor showings of movies....

This year, viewers (and yes, TV award show "experts") are hoping for an exciting fast-paced Academy Awards. No bloat or filler. Just a lean, efficient and entertaining show. None of these rambling conversations with directors, or vacuuming at Penelope Cruz's feet near the end of the show. No special awards because they've been spun off into another ceremony that the Academy will someday allow us to see, even online. We'll get brief highlights, and that's it. Still, in the case of Angela Lansbury finally getting an honorary Oscar, what's an extra ten minutes between friends if we add that to the main show? Besides, her success in TV will get people to see her.
Ellen will do the same type of monologue as before, because that's her style. She may have less hair, but it would still another monologue in the style of her talk show. It would be a hoot if she started the show by "landing" on the now Dolby Theater stage, as Sandra Bullock did in Gravity. That'll add some edge.

Besides, the real edge that show will provide is whether 12 Years A Slave, American Hustle or Gravity wins Best Picture. Just no rambling Chris Connelly, please.

The End of Awards Week: What Have We Learned?

After four award shows in one week, or two according to award snobs, the races for the major Academy Awards seem to be shaking out, but not as some expected.

Before the Oscar nominations were announced a few days ago, many people expected Tom Hanks for Best Actor, Oprah Winfrey for Supporting Actress, Robert Redford for Best Actor, and Inside Lleywn Davis and The Butler (we know which one) in the Best Picture list.

Matthew McConaughey for Best Actor? Maybe, but not a front-runner for that award. Too much smell from all those sad rom-coms in his career.

Her for any award? A man in love with his computer? Eeewww. Why is that a movie? What's next, remaking Flowers In The....never mind.

Well, this is what we've learned: some have settled, but Best Picture may lead to a real debate.

McConaughey is washing all the rom-coms out of his hair. His performance in  Dallas Buyers Club got less attention than Chiwetel Ejiofor's performance in 12 Years A Slave. After sweeping three award shows, it looks like he is the front-runner.There will be a lot of lobbying for Ejiofor, who may be held back by the reluctance of some people to see his movie. True, 12 Years A Slave is a brutal look at slavery, but it's real, and should be seen. Ejiofor is great as a free Black man who is sold into slavery, and endures a lot of pain and suffering to get back his freedom. This competition could get close in the final days of voting, but I'm starting to think McConaughey will win. I'll root for Ejiofor, though.

Supporting Actor is done. It was done the second Jared Leto's nomination was announced.

On the female side, Cate Blanchett may be a lock for Blue Jasmine. The only factor that could derail that result is Amy Adams getting five nominations in less than ten years, and some may say she is due for a win. Blanchett won previously for The Aviator. Still, it looks like it will be a win for Blanchett.

Supporting Actress had been forecast as a two-woman race between Jennifer Lawrence and Lupita Nyong'o, but Nyong'o may win here. There's hasn't been an actor winning two years in a row since Tom Hanks in 1994, and it's unlikely that's going to change this year.

Best Director is as done as Supporting Actor. Alfonso Cuaron is the easy winner for Gravity.

For writing, Spike Jonze may win for Her, because the story is just a new take on love. Adapted Screenplay should go to 12 Years A Slave.

Now, Best Picture...

if you're a movie critic or one of those Foreign Press members, it's 12 Years A Slave. If you're an actor, it's American Hustle. If you're a Producer, it's 12 Years A Slave AND Gravity.

So there's three front-runners as the lobbying starts. There's still the BAFTAs in three weeks, and that might nudge undecided voters towards 12 Years. It's also the only awards show where Behind the Candelabra, which wound up on HBO because movie studios were reluctant to distribute it, could wind up beating any of the Oscar nominees. If that happens, laughter from HBO and Steven Soderbergh would be so loud. It's up for three awards, including Adapted Screenplay, but it would be funny if it won something.

My guess is 12 Years will win once reluctant voters sit down and see how daring and serious this move really is. Again, the final vote will be close, but it will win. Gravity will own the tech awards section.

But getting back to those who didn't make the final five but should have...there is a solution:

Increasing the list of Best Picture nominations to a maximum of ten was a good idea. Now apply it to acting, directing and writing.

This was one unusual movie year with more good nominations than usual. If you increased the limit of nominations aside from Best Picture to seven, Oprah would be up for Supporting Actress, Redford, Hanks and Michael B. Jordan for Best Actor, Emma Thompson would be up for Best Actress. Thus, you'd have a more interesting ballot that recognizes the full list of good nominees.

Some were upset Davis was shut out, along with The Butler, not to mention Mud, Spectatcular Now, Rush, Way, Way Back, and Fruitvale Station. Throw in The Hunt and Blue is the Warmest Color, too. They could have gotten nominations, too. Some are blaming it on short-attention-span or maybe not much long-term memory.

If we went to seven, here's Best Actor:

Tom Hanks, Michael B. Jordan, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Matthew McConaughey, Christian Bale, Robert Redford, Bruce Dern

Best Actress:

Amy Adams, Cate Blanchett, Emma Thompson, Judi Dench, Meryl Streep, Sandra Bullock, Adele Exarchopoulos

Supporting Actor:

Jared Leto, Jonah Hill, Will Forte, Daniel Bruhl, Barkhad Abdi, Michael Fassbender, Bradley Cooper (McConaughey would fit in for Mud, but it could have been a leading role)

Supporting Actress:

Jennifer Lawrence, Octavia Spencer, Lupita Nyong'o, June Squibb, Sally Hawkins, Julia Roberts, Oprah Winfrey

As for direction,  Ryan Coogler and Spike Jonze should be added to make seven there. Adapted Screenplay should include The Butler and August: Osage County, while Fruitvale Station and Inside Llewyn Davis could have made the Original Screenplay list.

Blue is the Warmest Color didn't qualify for Foreign Film due to missing an entry deadline, but it could have been considered in other categories. Adele Exarchopolous and Lea Seydoux would be in there, along with Adapted Screenplay. It's racy, at the level of Last Tango In Paris. That may put off some voters, but winners at Cannes usually get in the Oscar race.

I'd propose adding a couple of documentaries to the final list, namely Blackfish and Stories We Tell. 

Now, maybe 2014 will wind up as a down year in movies in terms of quality. It's too soon to tell, but if there's a situation where five nominations for the major acting, writing and directing awards is too few, add one or two more if it's needed. It would have averted the year of "where's Affleck and Bigelow?"

Oscar Weekend, The Final Chapter

Now that I am back in Sacramento, and trying to clean out my bursting DVR, this post will wrap up my last big weekend, unless I get an unexpected offer to move to Hollywood..and I do mean unexpected. I've already been asked to do a report on a Star Trek special from Fathom Events in April. I'm sure to think of other story ideas by then.

First off, this was an unexpected part of my overnight trip to KABC in Glendale to attend the post-Oscars edition of Good Morning America...



Rodney Allen Rippy, the cute kid from the Jack In The Box ads from the 70s, is now a businessman and mayoral hopeful in Compton. He asked for my business card, and I gave it to him.

When I tried to get a ticket to Jimmy Kimmel Live After the Oscars, I lost out. I even promised I'd kiss Kimmel's star on the Walk of Fame to get a ticket. If nothing else, I know where it is....



It's under the show's sign just outside the studio...



By the way, it's in better shape than Matt Damon's star.



Hollywood High School honored the show, but you'd think they'd get "O"'s that would match the rest of the letters on the sign.

On my way to Hollywood and Highland to get almost at the Red Carpet, I found this on the Walk of Fame...



Hopefully someone will fix this. After all, his name is on a very important Academy Award. Respect must be paid.

Hammer Improv, a comedy group that includes Felicia Day and Sandeep Parikh, performed the night before the Oscars. This is a picture that I took. Sadly Sandeep is blocked here...



It was broadcast on Ustream, but it wasn't saved. In case it is, it will be added.



...and more posters from Jimmy Kimmel's Movie: The Movie 2V.

I am hoping that after this trip, there will be more trips to big events that I can cover. That only depends on the future.

Oscar Weekend, Part 2

My last big trip is almost done. Even though I wasn't close to the Oscar Red Carpet this year, at least I have this...



and his wife too...



Getting Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner was worth waiting many hours to get a glimpse of big movie stars. It also makes my decision to blow seven hours at Comic-Con to get a poster autographed by Quentin Tarantino look smart by comparison. I am still stunned Oscar got over its fear of blood and gave Original Screenplay to Django Unchained. I was so sure Amour would upset Zero Dark 30. Gosh!
Anyway, it wasn't too bad standing out at Hollywood and Highland behind a fence for several hours. I got more good photos this year, but I really prefer being in the bleachers. I do remember two women arguing over who belonged at a certain spot and who was there first. Also, I'm surprised I got anything because I was barely able to figure out who was where. Again, I should try this again....and I mean it this time...when I manage to get a spot in the Oscars bleachers. At least you also get a small gift bag afterwards
Anyway, here's my link to the Flickr Oscars 2013 album.

Here are some other highlights:



The building formerly known as the Dolby Theater



Oscar getting some last-minute touch-ups before the actors show up



Tarantino waving to fans.



OK, try to find Daniel Day Lewis' head. (It's under the stylized Oscar sign.)



KTLA's famous transmitter at Sunset Boulevard, with blinking lights!

As far as the Oscars are concerned, I'd like to see them again, saved in my DVR. Seth MacFarlane's humor doesn't fit the Oscars. I know that much. It also had great singing, even though it probably added too much time to the show. I guess no musical numbers next year, unless they sing really fast. At least they got a million more viewers than last year, yet people will be undecided on who they should beg to host next year: Hugh Jackman or Alec Baldwin.
I also want to see the Independent Spirit Awards. Thankfully, I know only two things: Jennifer Lawrence showed a lot of skin, and Matthew McConaughey won something and sang.

The weekend also had a new first: visiting KABC so I can see a special version of Good Morning America live. It was odd being up at 4 AM to see it. I also had to walk for a long time to get there. Thank goodness for all those times on the treadmill. They did treat the audience well with free Starbucks coffee and pastries. The main hosts also looked great, especially Robin Roberts. The GMA set was a basic set, but it was still good. If nothing else, I learned Lara Spencer and Sam Champion are great dancers.

After a quick nap, I went to see Craig Ferguson. The new set is a few doors down from the old closet-sized set. While I was surprised Keith Olbermann didn't discuss politics, what was discussed was still very funny. It did reveal one big surprise: Keith was actually interviewed to possibly replace Pat Sajak?? Not sure about that, but hosting the Late Late Show instead of Tom Snyder? That would work. It means Keith wouldn't be on ESPN or Fox Sports. Think about that.

As usual, I scoured the local thrift stores for eBay bait, getting inspiration from Macklemore. I got some unexpected finds, and I'll get to that later.

Oscar Weekend, Part One

This was even better than when I got to hold an Oscar five years ago at Hollywood and Highland. The fact I have an Oscar in a tux next to me makes it better.

But this version is even better...



Cute, isn't it.

This will be my last big trip for a while, unless my prospects change for the better and a lot. For now, I will have the time of my life being part of the Academy Awards and Hollywood in general.
I started my trip by getting a new webcam that has software that is somewhat up to date. I also managed to pick up some props from the old version of One Life To Live because there was a prop sale near the airport. It's not every day that you stumble into a garage sale filled with stuff that may have been on TV. I also picked up something quite unusual, but I'll have more on that in a couple of days. I could have bought more, but they only accept cash. Besides, what will I do with Photoshopped pictures of some of the characters, and their fake college degrees? I'm more into wearable swag.

Anyway, some of the other pictures I took...



This is what Jimmy really wants....



An Oscar being protected from the sun, and upcoming cold. He'll be ready for his close-up.



Where I wish I was this weekend. Next best thing: being at a live airing of Good Morning America at 4 AM Monday. I hope they provide Oscar coffee at least.



Now that's what I call an Oscar slogan

And that's just the beginning...