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« Attack of the Oscars | Main | Live from New York... »

February 25, 2008

Comments

You are so not alone. Those of us who were live twittering the Oscars last night are in total agreement. Even the "girls" on The View agreed. TOTALLY boring.

I got interviewed for the TV section of the NYTimes on this exact topic. I think it comes out tomorrow. Heh.

Even the dresses were awful. What was with all those feathered tops?

I, too, laughed out loud at the Hillary joke, as well as the comment about Hollywood needing a hug. And I'm so excited that I actually knew something that you didn't know about a movie (the first and last time that will happen, I think)-that the writer of Juno was a stripper. Can't remember where I heard that...

My favorite night of the year:

1. Jon Stewart was quite good; the show was overwhelmingly tasteful; and I generally had no problem with who got what...All in all you were absolutely right, Danny -- it was boring!!

(Having said that, I still managed to cry during every award presentation.)

2. To me, the presenters were better than usual, or maybe the show was simply shorter than usual, but there were still waaay too many bad montages. One great one would be better.

3. The speech by the Honorary inductee, Robert Boyle, was tremendous. Just when you thought he wasn't going to find his words, he did and they were brilliant.

4. Best song nominees: I can't even talk about this subject. Eddie was robbed.

Mary.

Danny you forgot your other "degrees of separation" from Glen Hansard. Remember me? I worked for your Dad and Wilco and my husband Rob is in the Frames? Rob worked at Electrical Audio and has known Sue for many years? shameless plug on my part? maybe ... but I love reading your blog and seeing how you connect your world. hope all is well, enjoy Wilco on SNL - so cool!

We are totally going to fight about the Cohen Bros vs. PT Anderson this weekend. I am so happy they won! No Country For Old Men is a near perfect film. TWBB is an indulgent DDL lovefest.

However you are right. Ceremony was a total snooze fest.

The Oscahs: Boring boring boring.

I think you're spot on about the importance of balancing the reverent and the cynical, but I think Stewart falls pretty far from Bob Hope's mark in doing this. Of course, my assessment could be skewed by nostalgia, and from reading your blog, Danny, I think you're a person who knows how easily one's assessment can be skewed by nostalgia.

The Vanity Fair joke about, uh, actually inviting writers to the party was terrific, especially the follow-up about not mingling. I wanted to hear a lot more about how the lack of writers brings a powerful industry to its knees; how, without writers, the universe becomes a meaningless void, etc. Really was hoping a major theme would, you know, be developed here.

Dame Helen may have stumbled over a word, but her TelePrompter reading still sounded Shakespearean to me. Regardless of WHAT she says, the WAY she says it makes it believable. In fact, the dreadful TelePrompter intros are a way of finding out who's great. Mirren recovered gracefully from her flub to deliver the rest of her Prompter lines as though she thought they'd make us better people. A truly great actor can interest you in her character by seeming to respect bad material and by making it sound convincing (remember how at the end of "Evening," Meryl Streep utters that superficial wrap-up line, "We are mysterious creatures," and we're moved and touched and we crest out of that scene on a wave of profundity, only to realize later (outside the theater, when Meryl isn't around), that it's really a lame line? (Moral: the TelePrompter stuff is bad, but it can reveal good. But even though good artists can pull off bad TP lines, the TP lines should really be better [see rant, I mean, paragraph #3 above]. Also, you may not dis Dame Helen even slightly).

Agree with you completely that Jon Stewart bringing Markéta Irglová back onstage was the classiest moment of the evening. But not because the Academy orchestra shouldn't cut people off -- where oh where were they during Robert Boyle's epic recitation when we really needed them? Markéta Irglová and Glen Hansard were genuinely surprised and awed and grateful. Bless their hearts, they weren't sure they even deserved to be AT the Oscars, much less win them. They were humble. That's what I'd like to see more of at awards ceremonies.

Now, about Diablo Cody's secret MBA studies. . . .

Thanks for confirming my initial thoughts. After Jon Stewart's opening monologue, I turned off the show and found other things to do. This was the first time in at least five years that I did not attend the local Oscar party and I was so relieved that no one pressured me into attending that I was actually a-snooze in my bed by 9:45 eastern time. Sounds like the good night's sleep was the best choice.

Good recap. Please watch for me next year, too. ;)

I tend to agree with everyone else...it was a total bore. Perhaps Jon Stewart had a handful of jokes total. Not enough for a show...even Chevy Chase might have been better? LOL To me, it seemed that the writers didn't have enough time for this one or they picked the wrong writers this year. Sorry, it just wasn't my year.
Maybe next year will be better.

You know why I love your Oscar recaps? Because I'm now free from having to sit through that goddamn show. Your summaries have proven far superior to the "real thing." Thanks for giving me several hours of my life back.

Awesome Oscar commentary.I agreed with everything you said.

Okay so Helen Mirren's dress. Was it not gorgeous or am I just getting old? I thought it was the most gorgeous thing I've seen in ages. Was so irked by Stacy (host of TLC's What Not to Wear) dissing her the next day by saying that she only wore those sleeves to cover up her arms!

Maria, I couldn't agree more about Helen Mirren's dress--the PERFECT Oscar gown. My sister even clipped a picture of it so she can recreate it if she ever gets to go to another awards show (first she steals Helen Mirren's hair and makeup person, now her dress...). And what's wrong with sleeves all of a sudden?

I only bother watching the oscars when Jon Stewart does the hosting.

You know, I've never thought about it until this post but that music to get people off stage IS extremely obnoxious. It's like a musical turn-stile to get people moving along and what's worse, it's the cheesiest way to do it. Good for Jon Stewart!

Re the lack of awards for American actors, this did happen once before: in 1964 the recipients were Rex Harrison, Julie Andrews, Peter Ustinov and Lila Kedrova (three Brits and a Russian!)

And yeah, this year's show was really lacking in excitement and spontaneity. Maybe next year.

As they say in tv-land, the Oscars have "jumped the shark" for me. I had no doubt you were going to write a post about how boring the Oscars were. And let's be honest, you can pretty much write the same post every year for at least a decade. Clearly, the problem with the telecast (which was the lowest rated ever this year) is that it is schizo -- it wants to be both hip and reverent. I like Jon Stewart a lot, but I found him boring for the show, wishing Billy Crystal or even Johnny Carson could come back. Jon Stewart is too cerebral and doesn't have enough "show business" in his blood.

I know you're going to disagree with me because you respect the cinema so much, but they should also cut out several of the categories and award them at their technical awards ceremony, such as the sound editing. Most people just don't care and putting this dull stuff on TV doesn't inspire people to love the movies. Maybe they should just show who won what yesterday, and the include a little clip of the winning movie to show the audience WHY they won. Use the Oscar telecast as a teaching tool.

And old-timers have fond memories of the dance numbers. Bring back the shtick! My fondest memories as a child were of watching the Oscars, waiting for something eccentric to happen, like a streaker. The show is now as controlled as the Republican convention. Jon Stewart bringing a woman back to the podium?! That's the unexpected highlight of the show?

If I were a child now in Queens watching this show, I would have no fantasy of someday moving to Los Angeles and getting involved in Hollywood. American Gladiators would seem more fun and glamorous.

Sorry it took ,e so long to get here Danny...I wanted to write my own Oscar "revies" before I read anyone else's and I ebded up doing two posts about it....Anyway....I agree with you on some things, completely. The one thing I do not agree with you on was Bob Boyle! I thought his speech was amazing! Inspirational---and about what Hollywood used to be about! I didn't feel hom ever reaching for words, at all! (When I read that I thought...were we watching two different broadcasts???) I was very moved that this man of 98---this man, still so incredibly articulate....And the Career? Well....it is from a different time, that's for sure!
When you get a chance, do read my take on this years show....!

Sounds like you are having a GREAT time in NY, except for NOT being prepared for snow!!! LOL!

Naomi, I feel guilty about my snarky comments about Bob Boyle's speech. Yeah, he stammered a bit but he's not a performer and he's amost 99 years old! If I'd realized that I would have been less obnoxious about this amazing guy—see what these damn Oscars do to me?

Hooray, Robert Boyle, an incredibly talent who so deserved his lifetime achievement award!

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