This is topic Academy Awards for the year 2006 in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.


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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 02-25-2007, 06:38 PM:
 
Will anyone actually be watching this? Since I have no life (at least for tonight), I may tune in. I'll probably walk away for the boring parts, though. I bet Martin Scorsese will get his pity Oscar this year. Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and that fat guy (Coppola?) all called me and told me that they were presenting the Oscar and they were gonna give it to Scorsese... out of pity.

I don't even remember what movies came out this year so I don't know who or what should win.
 

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Posted by Will Kutler (Member # 770) on 02-25-2007, 07:01 PM:
 
What can I not stand about the Oscars: JOAN RIVERS and her FREAKS! It's enough to listen to her "constipation of the brain, diarrhea of the lips" syndrome every time I turn on the TV Guide Channel to see whats on...but to see her on the red carpet of the Oscars!
 

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Posted by Mike Heenan (Member # 392) on 02-25-2007, 07:22 PM:
 
Count me out... stopped watching these a few years ago save for occasionally taping it and fast forwarding to the in between jokes (when the host was good) and the awards at the end. I hear this one is supposed to run even longer than normal this year. And Jonathan Demme isn't making a speech either.
 

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Posted by Jennifer Pan (Member # 2035) on 02-25-2007, 07:37 PM:
 
Yeah, same here. You have to be a real loser to even care about watching that show these days.
 

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Posted by Mike Heenan (Member # 392) on 02-25-2007, 07:59 PM:
 
Whoops, I forgot, thanks Jen.


 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 02-25-2007, 08:57 PM:
 
I am sad to see that Jack Nicholson is going through an extreme bout of chemo/radiation treatments. I hope he survives to the end of the show. I also have the same hope for the audience/TV viewers.
 

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Posted by Frank Dubrois (Member # 3042) on 02-25-2007, 10:07 PM:
 
I watch the last 30 minutes or so...Its kind of hard to figure when exactly that will be, but I only watch the important winners.
 

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Posted by Dave Williams (Member # 299) on 02-26-2007, 01:57 AM:
 
I watched the show with my wife this evening, and it actually didn't totally blow. It did slow down a little half way through, but it ended pretty good. Overall it was better then the last few years.

HOWEVER.... I NOW HATE JERRY SEINFELD!!!

He was allowed to pontificate on why people should leave their theater trash all over the place at the movie theater, because he believes that there is an implied contract between crooked theater owners and jack funkers like him.

He went on to say that theater operators are ripping people off with high concession prices, so therefore people should leave as much of their crap on the floor.

Nice. Mr. Millionare dickweed is too big to stoop so low as to be a good host. I used to love his show. I tried to watch it this evening, and it make me sick to look at him.

The bit wasn't even funny. He was just ripping on movie theaters. He was insulting to the craft, and to the people that make it possible for everyone in that audience to make a living. What a dick!

Perhaps he is too good to pick his own trash up, and apparently too good to first find out that the theaters get ripped off by ass talent like him, therefore needing to rape the average consumer.

Just a total assface.

I'm ok.
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 02-26-2007, 02:45 AM:
 
I was pretty sure someone would start something based on Jerry's bit. Dave is right... movie theaters are 100% perfect. I am proud to say that I haven't purchased concession items at a movie theater over 10 years and I never intend to again. But you know what? That also means I don't litter, which should make theater owners extremely happy.

Dave, theaters definitely need a good ribbing every once in awhile. The only reason Jerry said all that is because that's on a lot of people's minds. He didn't just pull that out of his ass. I don't think that Jerry Seinfeld "rips off" theaters therefore necessitating higher concession prices. He is right, though. We shouldn't be eating that crap in the first place.

The high definition feed cut out on me briefly towards the end for a minute or so (where Ellen was vacuuming) and then corrected itself. And although it was broadcast in Dolby Digital, sound only came from the front.
 

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Posted by Mark Lensenmayer (Member # 134) on 02-26-2007, 07:31 AM:
 
No surprises and not really very interesting. I slept through most of it. Only slight surprise was Arkin over Murphy, but I'm not bothered by that.

Saw on SUNDAY MORNING a sound mixer who had been nominated 18 times and has never won. Didn't win last night, either. He's done some big films, like TOP GUN.
 

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Posted by Edwin Sheldon (Member # 4001) on 02-26-2007, 09:50 AM:
 
I was going to watch the awards because I'm a big nerd. Thankfully, I got called in to work at the last minute. I say 'thankfully' because it saved me from having to witness the sheer retardation. Pan's Labyrinth besting Children of Men for cinematography? Happy Feet beating Cars? An Inconvenient Truth winning anything at all? Save us all.
 

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Posted by Ian Price (Member # 14) on 02-26-2007, 09:50 AM:
 
I too thought the award show was boring as hell. I thought most of the women's dresses were unimaginative. Hell, the best looking woman may have been Sherri Lancing!

Ellen is a nice lady but a weak host. And I thought we had moved away from interpretive dance. Thank God the dance numbers were short.

Jerry Sienfeld's bit was funny and infuriating too as I spent much of Saturday picking up other people's crap. Not what one should be doing as a 44-year-old. It is consistent with Jerry's brand of humor. But people are rubbish. What really get's me is how bad the women's rest room gets. I can have 500 men, they may dribble a little around the urinal but the bathroom is neat and tidy. I can get 20-women and the bathroom is trashed. And then they complain.

But I thought the awards were sweet and mostly the right people won.
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 02-26-2007, 10:27 AM:
 
Kudos to Martin Scorsese. I'm not sure I would agree with the "pity Oscar" characterization, but the Best Director and Best Picture awards for The Departed were very obviously influenced by the many times Scorsese has been snubbed when offering much greater films (Raging Bull, Taxi Driver, Goodfellas to name a few).

I don't mind the "pity vote" for him either considering the sort of blah-selection on this year's movies. Sure, movies like Little Miss Sunshine and Letters from Iwo Jima are good movies. But go back to other years, like 1976 where now classic movies like Taxi Driver and Network lost to Rocky (also a classic). Do any of this year's Best Picture nominees measure up to that? No. Therefore, I don't mind The Departed winning.

The one area where I don't agree with The Departed winning is in film editing. That movie had some odd-ball harsh-cuts, like clipping the Drop Kick Murphy's music after the opening title (which finally arrives around 18 minutes into the movie). Although I often can't stand Paul Greenglass' direction, I thought the editing scheme in United 93 was superior.

Does anyone have any idea how pissed Eddie Murphy must be for not winning the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Dreamgirls? I don't think he can play the race card either (like he has in the past) since African Americans took home the Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress awards. I liked Alan Arkin in Little Miss Sunshine. Foul mouth, good heart. Maybe the Academy is getting even with Murphy for Harlem Nights, Boomerang and Pluto Nash.

Best Animated Film: I thought Cars or Monster House should have won. The victory by Happy Feet seems like a carry-over from the Best Documentary win by An Inconvenient Truth.

Cinematography: I was happy NONE of the nominated movies were shot on video. Although it was odd two of the movies were about magicians -at least both were shot in true anamorphic 'scope.

Random Observations:

Funniest bit: Will Ferrel, Jack Black and John C. Reilly lampooning the fact the Academy has a giant board stuffed in its ass and cannot bring itself to recognize comedies, even though it is far more difficult to make a good comedy than any other type of movie.

Helen Mirren still looks pretty hot after all these years. I'll have to find a copy of Caligula. Scratch that. How about The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover instead?

Weirdest "WTF?" bit: that "chorus" of people mouthing sounds to stuff on the big screen behind them. Uncomfortable. The only time that sort of thing has ever been any good was Michael Winslow's moments in Police Academy.

Almost just as weird: the shadow "art" people making penguins, guns and the logo for Snakes On A Motherfucking Plane. I would have been far more happy if Jessica Biel disrobed and did some sexy silhouette dancing back there instead. In fact, throw Beyoncé back there for good measure and make both have a tickle fight with each other. Better yet, just get both out on to the center of the stage for some baby oil wrestling. Hmm. Maybe I should be watching the "Spike" channel instead!

Melissa Etheridge has a strange resemblance to Hillary Clinton. Maybe it's the hair.

What in the living hell was going on with Phillip Seymour Hoffmann's hair? Was that attempted dreadlocks? He looked like he passed out on the floor of a peep show and slept there for a week.

Boo to Jennifer Lopez for wearing something that didn't show off her curves. Gwyneth Paltrow had great hair but her dress made her tits look tiny. The singer from Coldplay must have a fetish for bony waifs. I prefer women with a little meat on their bones.

Most C-SPAN Boring moment: Clint Eastwood totally botching the intro on the piece about Ennio Morricone. Yes, Clint, if you are damned near blind you should remember to bring your glasses! Morricone is one of my most favorite movie music composers, but it is a shame the tribute to him was botched. At least the orchestra played his music reasonably well.

Normally, I like Seinfeld's comedy. But I agree he came off as a sniveling ass-hat during the Oscars. Seinfeld's bit about leaving trash in the theater was only funny from the perspective of the customer who doesn't know the first thing at all about the movie theater business. Maybe some of the folks in the Kodak Theater could clue him in on the fact that without those high priced concessions items there would be no movie theater at all to show the films. Many of the people in that Oscars audience have made damned sure movie theater companies get little to nothing of the box office cut!

Here's an idea: why not have Seinfeld follow his nasty jab at movie theaters with a more justified jab at movie studios making really shitty movies and then releasing 5 sequels based off the shitty original? Do we really need another Final Destination installment, Cheaper By The Dozen sequel, any more sequels at all starring Tim Allen or yet another freaking TV series send-up to the big screen?

Finally, many of these filmmakers are very adept at composing audio and video together on computer-based time lines. Few of them seem to know how to edit their acceptance speeches to a manageable amount of time. The people out in "TV land" hardly know any of the names being read off ad-nauseum. I thought it was actually pretty funny how one Sound Editing Oscar winner used up all the speech time and left his partner standing there, note in hand, when the "get the fuck off the stage" music started playing.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 02-26-2007, 12:38 PM:
 
My wife and I did the "fast-forward-through-all-the-unnecessary-crap" bit and watched the whole show in an hour and 15 minutes.

I thought Ellen's bits (which we watched all of) were ... weak. I don't know how you go about pulling that gig off, and don't know what I expected out of her, but she's no Billy Crystal.

Alan Arkin winning the supporting actor was a surprise. If Eddie Murphy is "pissed," then he's a jerk. I know it's a cliche to say "it's an honor just to get nominated," but it's the truth.

I was hoping for Meryl Streep to win for "The Devil Wears Prada." But was not surprised about Helen Mirren winning, and deservedly.

I agree with most of the observations here about Seinfeld. It looked like he didn't even want to be there. He introduced the nominees as "these five incredibly depressing films."

I was hoping for some gigantic upset to topple "Inconvenient Truth," but no luck. I thought the orchestra playing Al Gore off during his "announcement" was hilarious.

I found the silhouette doohickeys fascinating, but sort of pointless. I liked the "sound effects choir," it was cool. Made me wish we were watching on a better TV (we were using the dinky bedroom set).

I found the Jack Black/Will Ferrell bit hilarious. With all the important film-makers who have tried and failed to make great comedies, it's surprising the academy doesn't honor those who are good at it.

The victory of "Happy Feet" over "Cars" was just stupid. That was probably the only award that just made me mad. Any idiot should be able to tell that "Cars" was far and away the best movie of the three. They only gave it to "Happy Feet" because of the environmental message, which is a valid message but it doesn't make a great movie. I agree the animation of HF was great, but the story was lame. "Cars" had everything a good movie should have. John Lasseter was robbed.

[edited to fix a typo.]

[ 02-26-2007, 03:03 PM: Message edited by: Mike Blakesley ]
 

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Posted by Chad M Calpito (Member # 3736) on 02-26-2007, 01:12 PM:
 
I'm most certainly glad that I didn't watch this year's Oscars. Thank goodness I was working booth. Personally, I can't stand Ellen Degeneres.
 

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Posted by Dennis Benjamin (Member # 1137) on 02-26-2007, 02:29 PM:
 
I did not watch 90% of the Academy Awards Show. I flipped over to that channel a couple of times. I got the same uncomfortable feeling with last night's show as I did with the Golden Globes. Everything seemed fake and the people seemed oddly uncomfortable.

I really can't put my finger on the exact problem. But all the award shows seem really cheesy - nowadays. Come on - Ellen having Steven Spielberg take a picture of her and Clint Eastwood for her MySpace page? Why did they have to do that and waste time? Really stupid comical bits. The whole "backstage" thing too - retarded.

I am glad I wasn't watching when Jerry Seinfeld was on - because I would have busted my television screen and my wife would be mad at me now.....................
 

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Posted by Frank Dubrois (Member # 3042) on 02-26-2007, 03:45 PM:
 
The Jerry Seinfeld thing...well, it was just a comedy routine. I REALLY don't think he was serious. You can't watch an actor or comedian and beleive that what he is saying is true. Jerry does observational humor...He see's other people do it, and writes a skit about it. Thats all. It wasn't all that funny, but still, I think its the first I heard movie theaters even mentioned at the Academy Awards. After all, without us, the movies would be no where. Perhaps more of a tribute to the low paid workers that run the establishments and MAKE them rich and famous rather than poke fun at them?? Just an idea.

It was sad to see Clint Eastwood botch his speech. I hate to see some of my favorite movie stars get old. It makes me realize that he may not have may years left in the business and his contributions will be missed.

I think what the Academy Awards really needs to do is find a REAL host. Billy Crystal was awesome, Steven Martin was good, David Letterman didn't seem to take it seriously, who's next? Why do we need a comedian? Why not a professional MC?

Just a few ideas.
 

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Posted by Mike Schindler (Member # 1309) on 02-26-2007, 04:04 PM:
 
William Shatner should host next year's Oscars, and every one after that too.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 02-26-2007, 05:05 PM:
 

quote: Frank Dubrois

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I think its the first I heard movie theaters even mentioned at the Academy Awards.

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quote:

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After all, without us[movie theaters], the movies would be no where.

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quote: Joe Redifer

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That would have been the first time that someone would have won the best actor award posthumously.

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quote: Joe Redifer

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OK first of all, why does everyone expect Ellen (and every other host) to match or exceed Billy Crystal?

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quote: Mike Blakesley was the last to post

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Jack Black

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I hate this man. I would approve if he died. If polls were allowed on Film-Tech, I'd start a thread titled "Would you approve if Jack Black died?" and there would be two options to choose from: Yes and Hell Yes. It would be the most popular thread ever and there would be over a million votes.
 

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Posted by Chad M Calpito (Member # 3736) on 02-27-2007, 10:28 AM:
 
That's an interesting idea, Joe. I like that idea.
 

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Posted by Scott Jentsch (Member # 1681) on 02-27-2007, 11:34 AM:
 
Ellen Degeneres looked uncomfortable, but maybe that's her normal demeanor. I wouldn't know, as I don't watch anything she's done. I agree that Billy Crystal did a much better job at hosting, and Steve Martin did a pretty good job as well.

I guess it depends on why the host is there, and who their audience is. Arguably, a host should be catering to his audience, but with this show, they have two very disparate audiences. The live audience is a bunch of people in the industry (ignoring the seat fillers). The television audience is filled with celebrity watchers and movie fans.

Personally, I'd like to see Robert Osborne host the awards. For that to work, everything about the show needs to be trimmed for length. Osborne is great for the 60 second intro that he does before movies on Turner Classic Movies, but I don't think I'd want to see him try to get through a 10 minute monologue.

Right now, the host is just a court jester that they trot out on stage every once in a while to keep everyone awake.

I hated the sound effects chorus routine, it had no place and brought a slow-running production to a screeching halt. The shadow dancers were OK because they were used as transitions and were kept brief. The Dreamgirls musical number was great, and made Etheridge's win for Best Song all that much more odd.

The backstage interviewer guy needed to be tossed out the back door. He was useless and every moment he was on was wasted time.

The comment I made on my site was that the Academy needs to hire the editor that won for The Departed and edit the awards ceremony. The standard thank-yous need to be submitted by each nominee ahead of time, and those names (limit of 10) are subtitled on the screen while the winner is walking up to stage. No one can thank any person or company while at the microphone, because those people have been thanked in the subtitles. That way, no one gets offended because they weren't mentioned in the speech. Every winner gets 30 seconds with a countdown clock facing them. At 0, the mic goes dead.

Knock the 3:45 running time to 2:30. After all, that's about the length of a longish movie these days, and about all the time that people really want to sit for something like this. James Berardinelli was able to get through the entire broadcast in 70 minutes using a PVR and skipping over stuff that he didn't find interesting. I'm willing to give them more than double that amount of time.

I enjoy watching the awards because it is a nice way to look back on the previous year in movies, and I admit to enjoying celebrity watching to an extent. At some point, however, the whole affair gets self-indulgent and you just get tired of it all.

Lastly, the set design was boring. I've seen better backdrops at the portrait studio at Target. Overall, the people that produce this show need to be given better leadership. It could be so much better, but isn't.
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 02-27-2007, 06:03 PM:
 
What was with the announcer spewing random BS as each winner walked up to the stage? "This was the first movie that Martin Scorsese worked on that even remotely had a plot!" or "Penelope Cruz's road to the Oscars was fraught with adversity since she almost blew away during a mild breeze" or "Helen Mirren had brand new tits installed for her role in 'The Queen'. She liked them so much that she kept them after the production was finished, as you can clearly see".
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 02-27-2007, 06:46 PM:
 
I'd say that was inspired by either sports coverage or CNN. The need to get as much information as possible spewing from the screen at all times.
 

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Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 02-27-2007, 07:07 PM:
 
I totally agree, Joe!!! If someone would rip off the heads of Jack Black, Steve Martin, and Billy Crystal, I'd glady shit down their necks! What a bunch of losers!

Yours in Christ...
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 02-27-2007, 11:03 PM:
 

quote: Joe Redifer

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"Helen Mirren had brand new tits installed for her role in 'The Queen'. She liked them so much that she kept them after the production was finished, as you can clearly see".

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I guess it must have been a good investment, based on my earlier comment of her looking "pretty hot after all these years."

Guess we'll see more toy titty installations.

 

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Posted by Alex Grueneberg (Member # 2652) on 02-28-2007, 12:12 AM:
 
I'm supprised to read some of you did'nt favor the sound effects chorus routine. Coming from someone that’s pursing sound design and loves movies I honestly thought it was pretty cool. We had this playing in the bar at my theater as part of a red carpet night. Overall people seemed to enjoy the broadcast and we had a great turn out. Sure I started some movies empty, but at least the bar was full! I do wish there had been more technical glitches though. I get a kick out of when stuff doesnt go right.

And as always the movie I like gets shafted.

Children of men
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 02-28-2007, 09:28 AM:
 

quote:

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I'm surprised to read some of you didn't favor the sound effects chorus routine.

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quote: Mark Lensenmayer

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Saw on SUNDAY MORNING a sound mixer who had been nominated 18 times and has never won. Didn't win last night, either. He's done some big films, like TOP GUN.

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quote:

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Spider-Man 3 (2007)
The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
Apocalypto (2006)
Deja Vu (2006)
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006)
The Da Vinci Code (2006)
RV (2006)
Glory Road (2006)
Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)
The Island (2005)
Bewitched (2005)
Guess Who (2005)
Spanglish (2004)
National Treasure (2004)
Spider-Man 2 (2004)
King Arthur (2004)
Man on Fire (2004)
The Passion of the Christ (2004)
House of Sand and Fog (2003)
Big Fish (2003)
Bad Boys II (2003)
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)
The Hunted (2003)
Kangaroo Jack (2003)
Men in Black II (2002)
Spider-Man (2002)
Bad Company (2002)
Dragonfly (2002)
Spy Game (2001)
Pearl Harbor (2001)
Saving Silverman (2001)
Little Nicky (2000)
Coyote Ugly (2000)
The Patriot (2000)
Gone in Sixty Seconds (2000)
Rules of Engagement (2000)
Hanging Up (2000)
The Story of Us (1999)
Mumford (1999)
Wild Wild West (1999)
At First Sight (1999)
Enemy of the State (1998)
The Mask of Zorro (1998)
Armageddon (1998/I)
Godzilla (1998)
Starship Troopers (1997)
Lolita (1997)
Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997)
Con Air (1997)
Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)
The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996)
The Fan (1996)
House Arrest (1996)
The Rock (1996)
Twister (1996)
The Juror (1996)
Nick of Time (1995)
The American President (1995)
The Net (1995)
Congo (1995)
Crimson Tide (1995)
Bad Boys (1995)
Hideaway (1995)
Speechless (1994)
North (1994)
Wyatt Earp (1994)
City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold (1994)
Tombstone (1993)
Undercover Blues (1993)
True Romance (1993)
Heart and Souls (1993)
In the Line of Fire (1993)
Sliver (1993)
Alive (1993)
Hoffa (1992)
Trespass (1992)
Love Field (1992)
A Few Good Men (1992)
Mr. Saturday Night (1992)
Raising Cain (1992)
Unlawful Entry (1992)
Thunderheart (1992)
Falling from Grace (1992)
Grand Canyon (1991)
Ricochet (1991)
Hot Shots! (1991)
City Slickers (1991)
Hudson Hawk (1991)
Talent for the Game (1991)
Misery (1990)
The Spirit of '76 (1990)
"Tales from the Crypt" (3 episodes, 1989-1990)
The Adventures of Ford Fairlane (1990)
Days of Thunder (1990)
I Love You to Death (1990)
The First Power (1990)
Blue Steel (1990)
Revenge (1990/I)
Tremors (1990)
Triumph of the Spirit (1989)
Black Rain (1989/I)
A Dry White Season (1989)
Field of Dreams (1989)
Cousins (1989)
"Lonesome Dove" (1989) (mini) TV Series
Big Man on Campus (1989)
Judgement (1989)
The Accidental Tourist (1988)
Child's Play (1988)
Hot to Trot (1988)
A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988)
Big Top Pee-wee (1988)
Rambo III (1988)
The Wrong Guys (1988)
Beetle Juice (1988)
Masquerade (1988)
Broadcast News (1987)
The Running Man (1987)
Best Seller (1987)
The Big Town (1987)
You Talkin' to Me? (1987)
Chuck Berry Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll (1987)
Who's That Girl? (1987)
La Bamba (1987)
Beverly Hills Cop II (1987)
Morgan Stewart's Coming Home (1987)
Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986)
Ruthless People (1986)
SpaceCamp (1986)
Top Gun (1986)
Blue City (1986)
Crossroads (1986)
Miracles (1986)
A Chorus Line (1985)
Maxie (1985)
Silverado (1985)
Secret Admirer (1985)
Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)
Stick (1985)
The Last Dragon (1985)
Starman (1984)
Dune (1984)
Firstborn (1984)
Gremlins (1984)
Firestarter (1984)
Terms of Endearment (1983)
The Big Chill (1983)
Stroker Ace (1983)
Breathless (1983)
Airplane II: The Sequel (1982)
Neil Young: Human Highway (1982)
The Secret of NIMH (1982)
Poltergeist (1982)
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982)

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quote: Christian Appelt

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And I wish they would not skip over the Technical Awards as fast as they do nowadays.

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quote: Edwin Sheldon

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I was going to watch the awards because I'm a big nerd. Thankfully, I got called in to work at the last minute. I say 'thankfully' because it saved me from having to witness the sheer retardation. Pan's Labyrinth besting Children of Men for cinematography?

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