The nerve of the president to start a war just as Hollywood was about to host its most self-absorbed event of the year.
Oh well. Despite the heavy military distractions that were taking place, the 75th annual Academy Awards show went on as scheduled. Things did have to be adjusted, though. Peter Jennings had the job of interrupting the festivities with regular "Operation Iraqi Freedom" updates. The anchor was careful to include a bit of the old French blas� for "balance." Oscar organizers were concerned about celebs engaging in excessive Bush-bashing, because plenty of it had occurred the day before at the Independent Spirit Awards. Dubious "documentary" filmmaker Michael Moore sported a badge that read, "Shoot movies, not Iraqis." Moore may have been going through a dress rehearsal for what could easily have been called the Acceptance Speech From Hell Even though the academy had let it be known political speeches were verboten, Michael Moore's massively inflated ego seemed to have gotten the better of him. Maybe the guy had a little too much French wine on his way over. Or maybe the tuxedo just threw him off his game. Whatever the case, the "fictitious"-obsessed filmmaker apparently thought his mindless rant would be accepted by the Hollywood glitterati. He was wrong. Upon cinching the award for best documentary, Moore walked confidently up to the podium and said: "I've invited my fellow documentary nominees on the stage with us. They're here in solidarity with me because we like nonfiction. We like nonfiction, and we live in fictitious [sic] times." Moore continued: "We live in a time where we have fictitious [sic] election results that elect a fictitious [sic] president. We live in a time where we have a man sending us to war for fictitious [sic] reasons...We are against this war, Mr. Bush. Shame on you, Mr. Bush. Shame on you, and any time you've got the pope and the Dixie Chicks against you, your time is up." Although the word "shame" is obviously part of Moore's lexicon, one has to wonder whether it's ever been part of his own emotional repertoire. If it hasn't been, that condition may change after he watches the replay. On a peripheral note, there's an unconfirmed story that Hollywood has a new fad called the "Michael Moore Diet" and that Catherine Zeta-Jones has been on the plan. Back to the Oscar coverage, an odd noise began during the awards ceremony, which eventually led to the Most Beautiful Sound of the Night Almost immediately after the words "fictitious president" dribbled off Michael Moore's lips, the Oscar winner was hit with something that he most likely never expected to hear from a Tinseltown crowd. The "NO!" "BOO!" and "HISS" shouts that came at him were so loud that the cacophony nearly drowned out any applause. What the cries of disapproval didn't take care of, the music summarily did. Graciously, the orchestra spared the public any Moore pap and cut off the juvenile outburst. Judging by the look on his face, Moore was surprised by the response. As he was shuffled off backstage, he undoubtedly was trying to figure out how things had gone so awry. Steve Martin then proceeded to downsize Moore Steve Martin was able to spotlight Moore's hyper-hypocrisy with a devastating one-liner. The lightning-quick host said, "Oh, it was so sweet backstage ... you should see it. The Teamsters are helping Michael Moore into the trunk of his limo." As the audience let loose with a burst of laughter and applauded with approval, it was the hope of many that some Teamsters would act on the first-rate idea. In a separate sound-related story, gutter-mouthed, hate-spewing rapper Eminem came in handy at the Oscar ceremony. In a surprise win for best song, Eminem and co-writers took the Oscar. Legendary singer and lefty activist Barbra Streisand was apparently willing to ignore all the vile, anti-woman lyrics that Eminem has spouted. She took on the task of handing Eminem's rep the award. But thanks to Eminem's win, the world was spared what no doubt would have been a long, sanctimonious speech by Bono. Unfortunately many of the stars continue to be hopelessly stuck in the Sixties Many of the celebrities were so baffled by the missing red carpet and absent bleachers they had to pull out their 1960s pacifiers. Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Kate Hudson, Salma Hayek, Colin Firth and others flashed peace signs to the cameras of the world. Andy Serkis, one of the cast members of "The Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers," carried a conspicuous sign of stupidity that read, "No War for Oil." Kathy Bates wore a white dove pin that looked like a U.N. badge. It was hard to find an actor who wasn't wearing some sort of a peace ornament on his or her body. But one article did stand out from all the others. Matthew McConaughey, a presenter in the telecast, wore a highly visible red, white and blue pin on his lapel. McConaughey hails from Texas. Guess now we can say "don't mess with McConaughey" either. An Internet-sized "thank you" has to go out to an enthusiastic group of demonstrators that displayed support for the U.S. military. They gathered on the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue, about a half block away from the Kodak Theatre. Many of the demonstrators involved were "Freepers" from the Web site Free Republic. These folks forced the news media to report the truth - that there are a whole lot of people who believe in this mission, back the president, thank the troops, pray for peace and love this great nation of ours. This reporter points out that not all stars that adhere to the leftist Hollywood handbook. In fact, it looks as if some celebs have actually undergone star-sized epiphanies. In the past, Brad Pitt has had doubts about the war. But now he apparently understands what is happening. Pitt told the New York Daily News that "we can't go back now. We're in this together as Americans. We're going to have to go in and get the job done as soon as possible." Pitt had a pearl of wisdom for the anti-war folks. He said: "We have to be productive instead of concentrating on what we should have done. Where do we go from this day forward?" Ralph of "The Sopranos," also known as Joe Pantoliano, showed the ability to change his mind, too. "I didn't vote for [Bush]," he acknowledged. "But now that the war is on, there's something compelling about a photo of hundreds of Iraqis kissing U.S. Marines." The best thoughts came from a young actress who just may be the Betty Grable of this present-day war. Brittany Murphy focused on those who are now defending freedom. "Thank you to the troops and to their families, USMC - Semper fi!" she exclaimed. The show ended with a stellar salute. As the Academy Awards show came to an end, Steve Martin spoke to the troops overseas. He said, "We're thinking of you. We hope you enjoyed the show. It was for you." Too bad Martin's theme wasn't strung throughout the whole Oscar telecast. If it had been, maybe the show wouldn't have been the lowest rated in history. At least Martin managed to prove one thing - Hollywood has some classy folks in it after all. xponent A Conservative Turn Maru rob Along the drifting cloud the eagle searching down on the land Catching the swirling wind the sailor sees the rim of the land The eagles dancing wings create as weather spins out of hand _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
