Hi, all, from Joe B in NOLA-- on a wet, cold but still partying Mardi Gras Day (I'm working!) I wasn't going to comment on the Sunday Night Follies but I guess I'll get over it and do so: I can only sum up my depressing disappointment in "Oscar" in the 21st Century (in general) and Sunday's debacle (in particular) by noting that it was inevitable from the announcement of the choice of "host." The talented and generous Ellen is simply the WRONG person for the job-- the worst host (barring Letterman!) in Oscar history--- And "Oscar" obviously wants to put on a new costume--- the flashy rags of the 21st-Century Silly-Yuppie -- rather than the one it wore most of the time--- that of the premiere Arts organization it was supposed to be. Though he wasn't the nicest of guys, I salute Louis B. Mayer for founding the Academy, even if he did so to stack the decks for MGM rather than to truly honor anyone or anything but himself. But Oscar was most always about Excellence in previous days. Mayer and Company would have run Ellen and Company, pizzas and twitterers in hand-- out of town--- far, FAR past the Hollywood Sign!! It's time for the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts & Sciences to live up to its name again. It can start by televising the late fall awards show for the techies and "old folks" (like Angela Lansbury and Liza Minnelli and Lauren Bacall and ME!); on Internet or Satellite, of course, not the regular networks, for they are reserved for The Masses!! In future years, let's leave the "Big Show" to the 40-yr-old kiddies with their explosions and comic book fare. It'll be on right after The Game!!!!! Joe B in NOLA PS-- Congrats, though, to the winners!!! Most deserving! Everyone!!! In particular, Jared and Michael!! Right on, guys!
On Tuesday, March 4, 2014 2:05 PM, Kirby McDaniel <[email protected]> wrote: Those clips could not have been longer than two minutes if that. It would be interesting to know whether The Academy has those clips archived. I still remember the one from BEN HUR. Am I wrong — or did they have those clips for the Best Actor / Best Actress awards too? K. On Mar 4, 2014, at 2:02 PM, Richard Halegua Posters + Comic Art <[email protected]> wrote: Kirby's comment actually highlights one of the differences between today's film editing techniques and the old techniques: > >today's films - particularly those by Zach Snyder for instance - are overloaded with staccato 15 frame edits to force visual action. You hardly see what the camera setup was. > >This would be unlike the long orations of a few seconds or longer, or the focus on a star's face for many seconds > >of course, add the staccato edits to low lighting techniques used commonly today and you always have a feeling you missed lots of imagery > >it makes sense that the current audience is more interested in these fast clips than a 3.5 minute Kubrick take as in Paths of Glory or the one by Welles at the beginning of Touch of Evil > >is it progress? that's for the historians to pronouce down the road > >Rich > >At 11:40 AM 3/4/2014, Kirby McDaniel wrote: > >I have one comment. I think that the Best Picture clips were better when they used to be short scenes from the films rather than these mash-ups that they do now. >> >>Other than that I can’t really comment much about them because I missed them for the FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE! I attended a concert by The Cleveland Orchestra on Sunday >>night. Since the orchestra was utterly FABULOUS, I don’t feel bereft of anything. I did see the last few awards. The nominees were all in pretty good company this year. Some >>outstanding pictures. You people in Cleveland are lucky to have that wonderful orchestra. They played a great program at the Menuhin Festival here, including the Tchaikovsky >>5th Symphony which was a tour de force. An orchestra of that dimension ----- is the highest - fi there is. >> >> >> >>Kirby >> >>On Mar 4, 2014, at 12:34 PM, Channing Thomson <mailto:[email protected]> wrote: >> >> >>What's Alf? On a more serious note, I felt the reaction to Kim Novak was painful and cruel and left me feeling down for a couple of days. I didn't like the overall tone of the Awards this year. I'd like to see a little more focus on film history and the people that made the industry great as well as a return to it being presented as an Academy and not a celebrity roast. Channing Thomson >>> >>>On Mar 4, 2014, at 9:29 AM, Scott Burns <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>> >>>There was a time when the Academy celebrated the magic of the movies, both past AND present. That’s clearly not the case these days. The only “salute” to Hollywood’s past was the Oz tribute—but they didn’t think enough of Garland’s offspring to even bring them up on stage. Couldn’t the last surviving Munchkin, Jerry Maren make an appearance? Nothing against Pink, but what relevance to Oz did she have? Major missed opportunity Academy! >>>> >>>>It seemed to me that no one in the audience even recognized Kim Novak (please no plastic surgery jokes). No standing ovation for this star of the 50’s/60’s? There’s no excuse for anyone in the movie biz not having ever seen “Vertigo” or “Picnic.” >>>> >>>>And no tribute to Shirley Temple? Come on. Even those members of “new Hollywood” must have watched a few Temple films when they were growing up. Of course my beef about classic stars goes beyond the Oscars. Entertainment Weekly puts Phillip Seymour Hoffman on the cover when he kills himself via a drug overdose, yet arguably the biggest star of the 1930’s gets no mention on the cover at all? She did get 2 pages inside, but I was surprised they gave her even that much space. >>>> >>>>Even when I was in my 20’s and watching the Oscars, I always enjoyed seeing the classic stars who had dropped out of the limelight. I enjoyed the honorary Oscar presentation and even the Jean Hersholt award …now such honors have been moved off the Oscar telecast completely. >>>> >>>>Not to diss the younger generation, but the world did exist before you were born and there are people and events worth knowing about. I work with some people who’s pop culture knowledge only reaches back as far as the “Alf” TV show in the 1990’s. Scary!!! >>>> >>>>Scott >>>>MoPo List Owner >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>>From: MoPo List [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Zeev Drach >>>>Sent: Tuesday, March 04, 2014 9:47 AM >>>>To: mailto:[email protected] >>>>Subject: Re: [MOPO] The Oscars - a slave to sentiment? >>>> >>>>My instinctive reaction re modern “stars” is the same as yours, but after thinking a moment you realize that for a good chunk of viewers, if not the majority, Robert De Niro IS an old-time star! Anybody prior is a vaguely familiar. All this means is that some of us, like you yourself suggested, are getting really old! >>>> >>>>Zeev >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>>From: MoPo List [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Bruce Hershenson >>>>Sent: March 4, 2014 8:14 AM >>>>To: mailto:[email protected] >>>>Subject: Re: [MOPO] The Oscars - a slave to sentiment? >>>> >>>> >>>>One thing I am certain of is that if you are a fan of the "Ellen" TV show, then you surely liked the Oscar telecast. And if you like watching people pat themselves and their peers on the back, you were surely in hog heaven. >>>> >>>>I know I am getting really old, because I think the modern "stars" can't hold a candle to the stars of the 1920s to 1960s. >>>>I always hated those "production numbers". I would SO rather see old-time stars, and not just given a second and then shuffled off stage. How about clips of classic movies that DON'T last three seconds each? >>>> >>>> >>>>On Tue, Mar 4, 2014 at 6:47 AM, Tommy Barr <[email protected]> wrote: >>>>I know it’s not really about posters, but I haven’t read anything here about the Oscars, so I wondered if any others share my puzzlement over exactly what the criteria for ‘best film’ is? Apart from the big one 12 Years A Slave won 2 other Oscars, while Gravity won 7 awards, including best director. Surely that must be a win on points for Gravity? Ellen joked that either 12 Years would win or else the Academy was racist, and I suspect that the Afro-American dimension did, in fact, contribute to the end decision. Racism does not necessarily have to express itself as hatred, but it is not particularly edifying to see it expressed in a patronising way either. I was saddened to see the great actor Sidney Poitier trundled out to receive what was, given the occasion, something like a pat on the head for his career and being the first black actor to win an Oscar for Best Actor, and am I being in overly critical in the Academy then having Will Smith present the Best Film award? There is no doubt that Hollywood, like the rest of the USA, can have its conscience tugged when it comes to the treatment of the Afro-American community. Birth of a Nation is hardly an advert for multi-cultural harmony, and movies like the Marx Brothers A Day At The Races have scenes which sit uncomfortably with present day attitudes. Maybe the Academy felt some atonement was due for the failure of The Color Purple to win any awards? Anyway, as a non-American I may have a jaundiced view which is not shared by others, but I am interested in finding out what the views of MOPO subscribers are. >>>> >>>>Tommy >>>>Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at http://www.filmfan.com/ >>>>___________________________________________________________________ >>>>How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List >>>>Send a message addressed to: mailto:[email protected] >>>>In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L >>>>The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>>-- >>>> >>>>Bruce Hershenson and the other 29 members of the eMoviePoster.com team >>>>P.O. 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Antivirus >>>>protection is active. >>>> >>>>Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at http://www.filmfan.com/ >>>>___________________________________________________________________ >>>>How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List >>>>Send a message addressed to: mailto:[email protected] >>>>In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L >>>>The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. >>>> >>>>Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at http://www.filmfan.com/ >>>>___________________________________________________________________ >>>>How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List >>>>Send a message addressed to: mailto:[email protected] >>>>In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L >>>>The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. > >Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at http://www.filmfan.com/ >___________________________________________________________________ >How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List >Send a message addressed to: mailto:[email protected] >In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L >The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. > > >Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at http://www.filmfan.com/ >___________________________________________________________________ >How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List >Send a message addressed to: [email protected] >In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L >The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. > Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [email protected] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [email protected] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.
