The House Next Door Academy Awards Thread

The House Next Door Academy Awards Thread

By Keith Uhlich on February 25, 2008 in Awards, Film Jump to Comments (0)

Discuss the 80th Annual Academy Awards in this thread's comments section.

I liked Juno fine, so I was OK with her winning.

I thought Jon Stewart did a great job, by the way. If they should bring anyone back next year, mind, I'd like for it to be Billy Crystal. I know it's not cool to like him if you're under 40, but, what can I say, I love that man!
Posted by Ali Arikan on 2008-02-26 07:57:00 For me, awards shows exist only to be disrupted and exposed for the decadent shams they are. I tune in to watch recaps only if somebody got nekkid or made a shrill speech about US foreign policy.

80 years is enough of this bullshit mediocrity pageant.

-Black Harvey Pekar
Posted by Steven Boone on 2008-02-26 06:44:00 Dignan: "I too secretly found myself pulling for a Day-Lewis surprise upset if only because of how much of a foregone conclusion that award had become."

Seconded. Not that I didn't respect Day-Lewis; I just thought it would be fun to watch everyone in the auditorium make their "WTF???" faces.
Posted by Matt Zoller Seitz on 2008-02-26 05:50:00 Poor Steve Martin--he's a pleasant fellow, but he's never made me laugh--ever! If there's nothing we can do to induce Billy Crystal to come back (I've seen them all and he's the best of all time,) then why not Chris Rock? I haven't paid attention--was there a problem with Chris? If so, fercryinoutloud, let's get over catering to the prissiest of our population. By the way, I love Jon Stewart--let him at it, he'll be fine.
Posted by barkercreek on 2008-02-25 23:57:00 Odie said:

"I may be the only person on this blog who liked Juno and was happy for its screenplay win."

As always, your Attorney General has your back. Not only was Cody's win deserved but I found her speech to be one of the most honest and moving of the night. In the end, the quips abandoned her and she was just a young writer living the dream and she became overcome by the moment.

I too secretly found myself pulling for a Day-Lewis surprise upset if only because of how much of a foregone conclusion that award had become. Was appalled by Cotillard's win, although I can console myself with the realization that her winning means she'll now be cast in all the American roles Juliet Binoche is now too old to play.

And in happier news:

Three Six Mafia: 1
Transformers: 0
Posted by Andrew Dignan on 2008-02-25 23:30:00 Regis always knows where he is--right square at the center of the universe.
Posted by barkercreek on 2008-02-25 23:18:00 Oh yeah, and I don't think anyone on this particular thread, anyway, has mentioned Ethan Coen's, uh, acceptance speeches, both of which maybe averaged about six words in length. Something like "Thank you" and "I don't have much else to add to my previous speech, so thank you." Short and sweet...and oddly Coen-esque.
Posted by kenjfuj on 2008-02-25 22:55:00 Looks like some people (like the aforementioned Tom Shales and also Alessandra Stanley at the NY Times) found this year's installment of the Hollywood self-love extravaganza we call the Oscars to be mostly underwhelming. Whatever. I liked it just fine---maybe short on fireworks, but I watch it for the awards, not for the glamor (in other words, I could really care less who wears what and how he/she looks in it). And I generally enjoyed Jon Stewart too, at least past his so-so opening monologue.

Still, for once, this year, it was about the nominated films, and they made some pretty astute choices last night. For me, Tilda Swinton's victory was a welcome surprise; so was (notwithstanding some very personal reservations) Taxi to the Dark Side.

Nice surprises, but they doomed my chances at winning the Oscar pool at the WSJ copy desk!
Posted by kenjfuj on 2008-02-25 22:49:00 The best part of yesterday's ceremony was Regis calling Javier Bardem "Xavier Bardem".

Was Regis aware where he was the whole night?
Posted by Wats on 2008-02-25 21:57:00 Yeah, I always think, if you can spent 20 to 30 minutes of each Oscar telecast on clip reels, the least you can do is let the winners of less-glitzy categories speak for another thirty friggin' seconds.
Posted by Matt Zoller Seitz on 2008-02-25 20:30:00 I am surprised they left Norman Mailer out of the In Memoriam montage. True, he was more a writer and public figure than a filmmaker, but he did make a few features, and had his books made into movies.

Renfro should definitely have been in there, though.
Posted by Matt Zoller Seitz on 2008-02-25 20:28:00 Odie: I'm with you on bringing back Steve Martin, because there's rarely a time that 'bringing back Steve Martin' isn't a good idea. Unless it's to film a Father of the Bride sequel, I mean.

But put me in the pro-Stewart camp. I thought the opening monologue was pedestrian, but I'll give him some wiggle room due to the writers' strike. Beyond that though, what I really want from a host is someone who doesn't annoy me by trying to overpower the show. And that was Stewart.

What I loved about him this year was how human he remained, giving extra recognition where due and being an extension of the viewer at home. Bringing back Irglova to let her deliver her speech was the highlight of the program (beyond No Country For Old Men's BP win). Forget about what she said, though it was sweet. The gesture was everything. Great moment.
Posted by Jason Bellamy on 2008-02-25 20:28:00 No one else has said anything about this, so I'll stop lurking and chime in: No knock on Tilda Swinton or her performance, but nobody other than Amy Ryan should have won that category.
Posted by Bob Cumbow on 2008-02-25 18:43:00 I guess last night shows that Academy voters are reading blogs. Overall, I was happy with the choices, except for the lead perfs. Jon Stewart, please stick to fake news. Bring back Steve Martin or Chris Rock. If Steve Carrell can say shit on TV and get away with it, they should be able to bring back Rock.

I may be the only person on this blog who liked Juno and was happy for its screenplay win. I KNOW I'm the only person on this blog who thinks Daniel "Kelis" Day-Lewis should have won the Rod Steiger Award for Scenery Chewing, which comes with some Polident and a gift certificate from Brunswick. I have an ally in my partner in crime, Josh R., over at Ed Copeland's regarding Marion Cotillard. La Vie En Rose should have won Best Visual Effects because that's what her performance was: Bad CGI.

As for the stripper name thing, let's not give Will and Grace any credit for that (or anything else). That formula has been around since I was a kid, and I am no spring chicken.
Posted by odienator on 2008-02-25 17:26:00 Others left out of the In Memoriam segment: Joey Bishop, Alice Ghostley, Merv Griffin (who should have made the cut for his part in the infamous Rob Lowe-Snow White number alone), George Grizzard, Charles Lane, Norman Mailer, Luciano Pavarotti (maybe they didn't want to remember Yes, Giorgio even with a best song nomination), Tom Poston and Charles Nelson Reilly. Because of their ridiculously early "closing" of the In Memoriam eligibility, they also missed Roy Scheider and Kon Ichikawa (see if they remember them next year). Cutting off things three weeks before the ceremony seems particularly bogus since at the SAG awards, they managed to get both Heath Ledger and Suzanne Pleshette in -- and they died just days before the show.
Posted by Edward Copeland on 2008-02-25 16:31:00 Really enjoyed the cutaway shot to Cormac McCarthy looking serious as death during the Coens' acceptance speech.
Posted by Brad LaBonte on 2008-02-25 16:25:00 Renfro, eh? There's always someone left out, but in general I felt the obits cast a wider net than usual this year.

Elswit no suprise; he won the ASC award, which is as much a bellwether as the DGA prize. But Deakins and sound mixer Kevin O'Connell are pretty much the Susan Luccis of the Oscars.

One nice win that I hadn't predicted: THE GOLDEN COMPASS, which really does have splendid (as opposed to just noisy, romp-and-stomp) visual effects. I guess the Academy just can't cotton to Michael Bay.
Posted by Robert Cashill on 2008-02-25 16:04:00 Outside of Original Screenplay (how many scripts will it take before everyone gets sick of Diablo Cody's catchphrases?), it was a surprisingly good set of winners all around.

I did wish Deakins had won for either of the two movies, considering he's one of the best out there today. But it wasn't as if Elswit was undeserving. Deakins should have already won for "Kundun", "Fargo" and "The Man Who Wasn't There" among others.

The best surprise was Cotillard who I thought was, by far, the best choice in that category.
Posted by Steven Santos on 2008-02-25 15:05:00 Green Cine's roundup of Oscar stuff.
Posted by Matt Zoller Seitz on 2008-02-25 14:58:00 They also left out Brad Renfro too---no Oscar recognition for him either, I assume...
Posted by kenjfuj on 2008-02-25 14:13:00 Edward Yang's film got many awards and nominations, but no Oscar recognition as far as I can tell.
Posted by Matt Zoller Seitz on 2008-02-25 13:38:00 Wasn't Edward Yang's "Yi Yi" nominated?
Posted by Sam, FIRONLINE on 2008-02-25 12:08:00 Edward Yang, who never made a film that came close to an Oscar, also was left out.
Posted by Brian on 2008-02-25 11:03:00 By the way, Ulrich MÃ¼he was also not included in the In Memoriam section. I mean the film to which his performance was central only won best foreign film last year...
Posted by Ali Arikan on 2008-02-25 10:30:00 "Cate Blanchett's reaction to her Elizabeth footage. Even she knows she shouldn't have been nominated."

I think she deserved the nomination, but that choice of clip is unfortunate; it's one of the only trite choices in a performance that's generally very good, head and shoulders above the movie it's in. (Not that that's saying much in this case.)

I think she also knew she had zero shot at taking it. I am a little surprised she didn't get Best Supporting, but not displeased (Tilda killed that role).
Posted by Sars on 2008-02-25 09:00:00 I don't know what he's on about. I thought it was the best one in years. Short, sweet, some great montages, a couple of genuine surprises, and the best host since Billy Crystal.

Shales also helpfully explains:

Stewart made only a few political jokes, at one point observing that usually when an African American and a woman are both seeking the presidency, it means "an asteroid is about to hit the Statue of Liberty" -- i.e., it's part of a disaster film set in the future.

This, right after he berates Stewart for "explaining" the Javier Bardem moment to us.

Nikki Finke:

"few in America or the world have seen the nominated pictures and performances"

Really? Because the best picture nominees have made around 300m USD domestic between the five of them.

Few in America or the world have read anything by Doris Lessing, Orhan Pamuk or Harold Pinter. That doesn't reflect badly on either them, or the Nobel Prize.
Posted by Ali Arikan on 2008-02-25 08:51:00 Tom Shales of The Washington Post is not impressed by the Oscar telecast.
Posted by Matt Zoller Seitz on 2008-02-25 08:10:00 I forgot about Benicio Del Toro - of course...
Posted by Ali Arikan on 2008-02-25 08:07:00 Matt,

2000's Benicio Del Toro (Traffic), according to The Envelope.
Posted by Tram on 2008-02-25 07:48:00 When's the last time somebody won an acting award for a performance in a language other than English

That would be Roberto "Arseface" Benigni.
Posted by Ali Arikan on 2008-02-25 07:48:00 Ed: Interesting. When's the last time somebody won an acting award for a performance in a language other than English (Cotillard, I'm thinking of).
Posted by Matt Zoller Seitz on 2008-02-25 07:27:00 My favorite part of any Oscars is my parents' phone calls during the commercial breaks:
"My God, who dressed that Juno woman? She's going to have a tough time at the parties after."
"Whoa, do you think one of those broads is going to slip and break her neck by that podium?"
"Oh that Jon Stewart of yours is really classy - bringing the little girl back out for more talking"
"All I saw was the ads, and I already know that kid is nowhere near as good as Sidney Poitier in Raisin in the Sun. Sheesh"
Posted by Eires32 on 2008-02-25 06:42:00 Meaningless Oscar trivia: Tonight was the first time since the 1964 awards that all four acting awards went to non-Americans.
Posted by Edward Copeland on 2008-02-25 06:29:00 France McDormand and Joel Coen take the "Most Solid Marriage in Hollywood" award. Remember how she gushed over Joel when she won for Fargo? They seem to be going strong today as well.
Posted by Dr Smith on 2008-02-25 06:18:00 Hey East Coasters -- have any of you seen Josh R? He was last seen mumbling about filleting Gollum Piaf and trying to catch a flight to L.A.
Posted by Edward Copeland on 2008-02-25 06:18:00 Three favorite reactions of the night:

1) Cate Blanchett looking genuinely surprised and delighted for Marion Cotillard's win.

2) Frances McDormand just pretty much not being able to contain her joy at the Coens winning director(s) and picture.

3) Laura Linney as basically the default reaction shot to everyone, just because she always looks so empathetic and kind. She's like Oscar's mom or something. :)
Posted by Steve Haskin on 2008-02-25 06:10:00 Larry: "Finally, who wants to see "Henry Kissinger: Man On The Go."

How much you wanna bet Scorsese was over there thinking, "I saw it. It wasn't half bad."
Posted by Matt Zoller Seitz on 2008-02-25 06:06:00 Waste of an hour and a half, except for the touching gesture of bringing back the second songwriter to give her speech. Lovely.

Hell, I only watched this masturbatory nonsense to see how Stewart would play the original screenplay award, and he didn't even get to do lines before it. Rubbish.

(Please tell me he called the moneymen out when the adapted screenplay award came up, or at least took a beat to honor the WGA fellas at some point?!)
Posted by Wax Banks on 2008-02-25 06:03:00 My favorite moment: When reading the list of nominees for Best Adapted Screenplay, each nominee's name was accompanied by footage of them typing their scripts (presumably) on a computer....except for the Coens, who were laying on their couches doing, apparently, nothing.

Very funny.
Posted by Tom on 2008-02-25 06:03:00 Just exactly who was that person in the mugshot of "Roderick Jaynes" when the Best Editing nom came up? Those Coens...I generally see all of tonight's glory as a makeup award for "The Big Lebowski."

Bringing Irina back: Classiest moment of the evening, along with Robert Boyle namechecking Don Siegel!

Finally, who wants to see "Henry Kissinger: Man On The Go."
Posted by Larry Aydlette on 2008-02-25 05:53:00 Couldn't have been more pleased to be wrong (My predix was Juno)

Wikipedia's No Country entry has already been listed as a Best Picture winner. To think there are people at home who type this stuff up in advance, waiting to hit the 'return' key...
Posted by Simon Hsu on 2008-02-25 05:52:00 The Coens have been around longer. PTA got welcomed into the establishment this year. He'll win eventually, probably sooner rather than later.
Posted by Matt Zoller Seitz on 2008-02-25 05:49:00 jim emerson is doing his happy dance right now.
Posted by Nicholas on 2008-02-25 05:48:00 Simon: "Which Deakin's pic did you think was a lock?"

"No Country for Old Men."
Posted by Matt Zoller Seitz on 2008-02-25 05:28:00 Which Deakin's pic did you think was a lock?

Elswitt was always my gut pick. Though I was rooting for No Country, I figured the look was too spare to win, while Jesse James may have been too much eye candy for the kids.

I took Blanchett's reaction to her clip as an attempt at humor, a "wow, what a scary woman" as opposed to embarrassment. Just me?
Posted by Simon Hsu on 2008-02-25 05:27:00 And Taxi to the Dark Side takes it. I didn't expect that.
Posted by Matt Zoller Seitz on 2008-02-25 05:22:00 I like that they're showing clips from the best doc feature nominees that actually give you a clue what the movies are about.
Posted by Matt Zoller Seitz on 2008-02-25 05:17:00 Ditto Blanchett on her footage. She looked genuinely embarrassed, and I feel for her. That expression just screamed, "God, I just needed a paycheck, why did they pick this?"
Posted by rob humanick on 2008-02-25 05:11:00 I'm stunned that Elswit took cinematography for "There Will Be Blood." Well-deserved, but I figured Deakins had a lock on it.
Posted by Matt Zoller Seitz on 2008-02-25 05:08:00 The technical victories make sense; all the winners exemplify "the most" in their respective categories. Elizabeth's costume detail is the most outwardly noticeable; Bourne's sound was the noisiest, and it certainly must've been a nightmare to edit.

I give Jon points for bringing her back, but her speech almost made me lower the volume. Yikes.
Posted by Simon Hsu on 2008-02-25 05:02:00 "That guy is so arrogant." Very funny.

And they bring her back for her moment. Very classy, Jon. I tip my hat, sir.
Posted by Ali Arikan on 2008-02-25 04:57:00 Best moment of the ceremony so far: Cate Blanchett's reaction to her Elizabeth footage. Even she knows she shouldn't have been nominated. Also David Bowi-- sorry, Tilda Swinton's acceptance speech.
Posted by Matt Noller on 2008-02-25 04:48:00 Cotillard. Damn. Damn, damn, damn, damn.

I agree with Keith at this point. Juno is going to win. If only because damn near every other prediction of mine so far has been wrong.

Sorry Matt, can't agree on Bourne's victories. I'm taking it's two sound awards as confirmation of my opinion that the movie is pure noise. And the noise/excitement ratio is about 20:1.

Elizabeth!?!?! WTF?!
Posted by rob humanick on 2008-02-25 04:42:00 I'd like to take a moment to remind everyone of this post, 250 days ago:
Posted by rob humanick on 2008-02-25 04:41:00 Robert Boyle's special Oscar for a lifetime of production design: "That's the good part of getting old. I don't recommend the other." Good line.
Posted by Matt Zoller Seitz on 2008-02-25 04:36:00 Three Oscars so far for "Bourne Ultimatum." Well deserved, I'd say.
Posted by Matt Zoller Seitz on 2008-02-25 04:32:00 This is a great ceremony this year. And so many surprises, from special effects to best actres...
Posted by Ali Arikan on 2008-02-25 04:20:00 Cotillard took best actress. Wow. The folks over at Edward Copeland on Film are going to shit bricks.
Posted by Matt Zoller Seitz on 2008-02-25 04:14:00 Peet practically called the short film a year ago. Good eye, mate.
Posted by Simon Hsu on 2008-02-25 03:40:00 The stripper/drag queen name thing (first pet and street you grew up on) was a Will & Grace line.
Posted by M.A.Peel on 2008-02-25 02:40:00

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