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Oscars have lost its way

2/11/2020

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When it comes to shows like the Oscars, it is imperative to have your own opinion and stay away from the conventional thinking.

You will quickly see if that conventional thinking on an event is real, or contrived. With the Oscars, it is often contrived. So, if you find yourself thinking differently than what you are hearing, do not worry. Many of the red Carpet reports are fluff and over-the-top. They praise so much you can tell they are likely not being honest in their assessment of the person or movie in which they are speaking.

And that is fine from a public relations standpoint. There is no need to complain and find fault all day and night, either. But, focus on the movies and that takes out the need to talk about the dresses, tuxedos  and all the other noise. ABC needs to be positive as they are the main sponsor, so even "Good Morning America" will gush and gush. 

The show was not good, no matter the spin. The no host approach hurt it this year. It did not hurt it last year. The transitions were bad and they stuffed too much music into the show. It is not the Grammys, it is the Oscars. Focus on movies. At least the songs were from movies, but still, too much music. Eminem's surprise appearance was not necessary. 

It was also the lowest-rated show in history, and 6 million lower than last year. While last year was up from the previous year, it was still low. But last year stopped the slide. Well, it slid again. If you think the Academy and others in the business think the low ratings do not matter, think again. The Oscars are the single biggest marketing vehicle for movies, every year. It is not a fringe award show designed to honor small films and people nobody knows. It is for the biggest movies and stars. The Indie Spirit Awards are for the smaller films, etc. The Oscars want eyes on the show and the products. 

The 92nd Oscars was also not predictable, even though I read many stories suggesting it was. Plus, listening to pundits was enough to make you feel sick. Most thought "1917" would win the top prize and its director, Sam Mendes, would win. They did not. Many had Quentin Tarantino winning Best Screenplay, but he lost too, to "Parasite." So, "Parasite" won the night, and that was not what was predicted. For surprises purposes, many also, in hindsight, said they saw this coming. Actually, not true. "Parasite" was to win International Film, but not Best Picture, or director.

Meanwhile, those who won seemed to try too hard to make a memorable and political speech. That is not necessary. Brad Pitt won many throughout this award season, and his John Bolton jab did not sound like him at all. it was as if someone thought it would be funny and timely and handed it to him.

Then there was Joaquin Phoenix's speech. It was an incoherent mess. As was Renee Zellweger's speech. Both tried too hard to make it matter and meaningful, which was noted earlier. But, when many reported on those speeches, only a small clip was used, and not much talk of the rambling nature and absurdities noted within. Phoenix's cow comments made the rounds, but the quote from his brother was the only thing I say on "GMA" the next morning and others along the way. Zellweger's commented mostly on other matters but her Judy Garland quip near the end was the only focus for "GMA." Again, "GMA" is ABC and they are the main sponsor and they air the show. Of course, only the good gets treatment.

The decline of award shows does not have to happen. Hollywood is doing it to themselves. This is happening from within, not from the American public. You give them a show that is a showcase of the best of the best and do it with class and style, then the audience will come back. Continue to lecture and hate the very audience you want to see your product and reap what you sow.

So, when dissecting an award show, note the group think. There is always a reason why everyone is for or against something. Sure, sometimes is is real. But, most times, other forces are at play. While I am glad "The Irishman" did not win any, it had 10 nominations. Why did it not win one? Perhaps Hollywood sent a message to Netflix. The star power alone could not save it. Or is was because Robert De Niro, a film icon, has insulted his audience time and time again over the last few years.

One film, "Joker," came in with 11 nominations and only won 2, while the films that got 10 nominations, got spanked. The favorite going in, "1917," won only three technical awards. "Once Upon Time...in Hollywood" got only 2. and "the Irishman" got shut out. 

What is the message there? That would take up for too much time to explain that. Oh,, and the highest-grossing film of all-time, was not nominated for Best Picture. "Avengers: Endgame" could have at least been in the Best Picture category. It does not need to win to get people to tune in. 

Hollywood needs to wake up and stop insulting the audience. The Oscars are or a mass audience, and it is the biggest fashion show, so stop pretending it is not. It is glitz, glamour and excess. Play into it and stop toning it down.
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Oscars 2020

2/8/2020

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In a move for Academy voters responding to over-blown hype, we now have a movie that has won for International Feature Film and Best Picture in the same year. And it was the first time a foreign film has taken the top prize. That film was "Parasite," a Korean film. It won the night with a total of four, including Best Director. "1917" was next with three wins.
For real time comments, click on comments on this story.

For a complete list of winners for the 92nd Oscars, click here.
Best Picture
“Ford v Ferrari” (Disney/Fox)
“The Irishman” (Netflix)
“Jojo Rabbit” (Fox Searchlight)
“Joker” (Warner Bros.)
“Little Women” (Sony)
“Marriage Story” (Netflix)
“1917” (Universal)
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” (Sony)
“Parasite” (Neon) - WINNER

Best Director
Martin Scorsese (“The Irishman”)
Todd Phillips (“Joker”)
Sam Mendes (“1917”)
Quentin Tarantino (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”)
Bong Joon Ho (“Parasite”) WINNER

Best Actor
Antonio Banderas (“Pain and Glory”)
Leonardo DiCaprio (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”)
Adam Driver (“Marriage Story”)
Joaquin Phoenix (“Joker”) WINNER
Jonathan Pryce (“The Two Popes”)

Best Actress
Cynthia Erivo (“Harriet”)
Scarlett Johansson (“Marriage Story”)
Saoirse Ronan (“Little Women”)
Charlize Theron (“Bombshell”)
Renee Zellweger (“Judy”) WINNER

Supporting Actor
Tom Hanks (“A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”)
Anthony Hopkins (“The Two Popes”)
Al Pacino (“The Irishman”)
Joe Pesci (“The Irishman”)
Brad Pitt (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”) WINNER

Supporting Actress
Kathy Bates, “Richard Jewell”
Laura Dern (“Marriage Story”) WINNER
Scarlett Johansson (“Jojo Rabbit”)
Florence Pugh (“Little Women”)
Margot Robbie (“Bombshell”)

Adapted Screenplay
Taika Waititi (“Jojo Rabbit”) WINNER
Steve Zaillian (“The Irishman”)
Anthony McCarten (“The Two Popes”)
Greta Gerwig (“Little Women”)
Todd Phillips and Scott Silver (“Joker”)

Best Original Screenplay
Rian Johnson (“Knives Out”)
Noah Baumbach (“Marriage Story”)
Sam Mendes and Krysty Wilson-Cairns (“1917”)
Quentin Tarantino (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”)
Bong Joon Ho and Han Jin Won (“Parasite”) WINNER

Animated Feature
“How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World”
“I Lost My Body”
“Klaus”
“Missing Link”
“Toy Story 4” WINNER

International Feature Film
“Corpus Christi”
“Honeyland”
“Les Miserables”
“Pain and Glory”
“Parasite” WINNER

Best Documentary
“American Factory” WINNER
“The Cave”
“Edge of Democracy”
“For Sama”
“Honeyland”

Best Cinematography
Rodrigo Prieto, “The Irishman”
Lawrence Sher, “Joker”
Jarin Blaschke, “The Lighthouse”
Roger Deakins, “1917” WINNER
Robert Richardson, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

Best Costume Design
Sandy Powell and Christopher Peterson, “The Irishman”
Mayes C. Rubeo, “Jojo Rabbit”
Mark Bridges, “Joker”
Jacqueline Durran, “Little Women” WINNER
Arianne Phillip, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

Film Editing
Michael McCusker and Andrew Buckland, “Ford vs. Ferrari” WINNER
Thelma Schoonmaker, “The Irishman”
Tom Eagles, “Jojo Rabbit”
Jeff Groth, “Joker”
Yang Jinmo, “Parasite”

Makeup and Hairstyling
“Bombshell” (Kazu Hiro, Anne Morgan and Vivian Baker) WINNER
“Joker” (Nicki Ledermann and Kay Georgiou)
“Judy” (Jeremy Woodhead)
“Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” (Paul Gooch, Arjen Tuiten and David White)
“1917” (Naomi Donne, Tristan Versluis and Rebecca Cole)

Original Score
Hildur Guðnadóttir, “Joker” WINNER
Alexandre Desplat, “Little Women”
Randy Newman, “Marriage Story”
Thomas Newman, “1917”
John Williams, “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”

Original Song
I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away,” “Toy Story 4”
“I’m Gonna Love Me Again,” “Rocketman” WINNER
“I’m Standing With You,” “Breakthrough”
“Into the Unknown,” “Frozen 2”
“Stand Up,” “Harriet”

Production Design
“The Irishman”
Production Design: Bob Shaw
Set Decoration: Regina Graves
“Jojo Rabbit”
Production Design: Ra Vincent
Set Decoration: Nora Sopková
“1917”
Production Design: Dennis Gassner
Set Decoration: Lee Sandales
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” WINNER
Production Design: Barbara Ling
Set Decoration: Nancy Haigh
“Parasite”
Production Design: Lee Ha Jun
Set Decoration: Cho Won Woo

Sound Editing
“Ford v Ferrari” (Donald Sylvester)
“Joker” (Alan Robert Murray)
“1917” (Oliver Tarney and Rachael Tate)
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” (Wylie Stateman)
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” (Matthew Wood and David Acord)

Sound Mixing
“Ad Astra” (Gary Rydstrom, Tom Johnson and Mark Ulano)
“Ford vs. Ferrari” (Paul Massey, David Giammarco and Steven A. Morrow)
“Joker” (Tom Ozanich, Dean Zupancic and Tod Maitland)
“1917” (Mark Taylor and Stuart Wilson)
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” (Michael Minkler, Christian P. Minkler and Mark Ulano)

Visual Effects
“Avengers: Endgame” (Dan DeLeeuw, Russell Earl, Matt Aitken and Dan Sudick)
“The Irishman” (Pablo Helman, Leandro Estebecorena, Nelson Sepulveda-Fauser and Stephane Grabli)
“The Lion King” (Robert Legato, Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones and Elliot Newman)
“1917” (Guillaume Rocheron, Greg Butler and Dominic Tuohy) WINNER
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” (Roger Guyett, Neal Scanlan, Patrick Tubach and Dominic Tuohy)

Documentary (Short Subject)
“In the Absence”
“Learning to Skateboard in a War Zone If You’re a Girl” WINNER
“Life Overtakes Me”
“St. Louis Superman”
“Walk Run Cha-Cha”

Short Film (Animated)
“Daughter”
“Hair Love”
“Kitbull”
“Memorable”
“Sister”

Short Film (Live Action)
“Brotherhood”
“Nefta Football Club”
“The Neighbor’s Window” WINNER
“Saria”
“A Sister”

- Rain has hampered the red carpet tent that covers it...it has leaks...
- It was a tough call, weather-wise, to hold it late February, but this is early Feb. 
-  Wolfgang Puck just told Ryan Seacrest he does have some meat on the menu with chicken pot pie...and little beef...
- Elton John will perform and then head to his own charity party, an annual tradition. The City of West Hollywood Park hosts his AIDS charity event.
- Most people in Hollywood do not go. They attend viewing parties and charity events. This is show business, plus charity and awards. It is not just handing out awards.
- "Parasite" has its own party at Soho House, West Hollywood.
- Red Carpet theme - red, gold white, dominate. Classic look.
- No Oscar statues outside lining the carpet again this year. There is one where the photo lineup is, right after the stars walk in. 
- Jewelry is back, it seems.
- Martin Scorsese is the most nominate living director with nine. William Wyler is most nominated director with 11.
- John Williams has his 47th nomination. Walt Disney had the most with 59.
- One of the hardest tickets are the bleacher seats with 735 only. They do not get to go inside to watch the show. They have a screening at the Disney theater across the street.
Picture
Oscar Sunday:
​Box Office of Best Picture noms (as of 2.8.2020 - the day of the show)
​

"1917" - $132.5 million
"Jojo Rabbit" - $30.2 million
"Parasite" - $35.4 million
"Ford vs Ferrari" - $116.3 million
"Once Upon a Time In...Hollywood" - $142.4 million
"Joker" - $1.07 billion
"Little Women" - $102.6 million
"Marriage Story" - $323,382
"The Irishman" - Netflix does not report box office...it was in theaters for one one day. $961,224 from Italy.
BEFORE: It feels different this year for a few reasons.
- Movies are not all that impressive.
- Netflix has ruined the movie experience.
- The divide between Hollywood and the rest of the country is deepening.
- Over-saturation of the business and its stars. Social media has made stars too visible and they often share too much.
- The lecturing by celebs has hurt the business from a PR point of view.
- Vegan has taken over and thus, the idea of the extravagant meal is gone. Perhaps overindulgence is going away. That is not bad, but the reasons are the problem.
- Over the years, even media access has not been the same. 
- The menu from Wolfgang Puck is now plant-based. Over the years, the mini-cheeseburgers were all the rage. Even stars would talk about sneaking off to In-n-Out Burger for a cheeseburger...will they again?
​- For the menu go here..
- They have not changed all their habits, though. This event should be over-the-top. It is a special event that is show biz. It is about movies and movie stars. Make it splashy. The more they downgrade it, the more they make themselves and their product meaningless. Why not just hand them out with no show from now on? Perhaps that is the reason I changed my coverage over the years. I saw the change, and it started feeling different. Well, it is now. I will always cover this show my way, as I love movies. That will never change. But, I am older, and thus, appreciated what I was able to do over the years covering show business, but for me, it is time to slow down as well. Got to Oscar Gallery for my coverage over the years. I have so many stories that I never wrote about or even talked about on radio. I will cherish those memories. My goal in high school when I wrote my first reviews, was to go and walk the red carpet. I did that many times over, with the first being when "Titanic" won 11 awards. And "Casablanca" is still my favorite movie of all-time.
Oscar Week videos...
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oscars_cocktails.pdf
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AMPAS photos
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92_oscar_noms.pdf
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Tweets by TheAcademy
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Oscars 2020 pre-show

2/2/2020

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Picture
OSCAR WEEK: DOCUMENTARIES
Tuesday, February 4, 7:30 p.m.
Samuel Goldwyn Theater

Hosted by Academy Documentary Branch Governors Kate Amend, Rory Kennedy and Roger Ross Williams
​
​
OSCAR WEEK: SHORTS
Wednesday, February 5, 7:00 p.m.
Samuel Goldwyn Theater

Hosted by director Vicky Jenson

​
OSCAR WEEK: INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM Thursday, February 6, 7:30 p.m.
Samuel Goldwyn Theater

​
OSCAR WEEK: ANIMATED FEATURES
Saturday, February 8, 10:00 a.m.
Samuel Goldwyn Theater

Hosted by last year’s Animated Feature Film Oscar winners, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller
The Academy presents this year’s event celebrating the films and filmmakers nominated for Best Animated Feature Film.  The program will feature clips from each film, with an onstage discussion with each group of nominated filmmakers (schedules permitting).
OSCAR WEEK: MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING SYMPOSIUM
Saturday, February 8, 3:00 p.m.
Samuel Goldwyn Theater

Hosted by Academy Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Branch Governors Kathryn L. Blondell, Lois Burwell and Howard Berger

Oscars...
​- First time four films have 10 or more nominations; Scarlett Johansson has two noms for two films; 62 women have been nominated, a record; 'Parasite' gets a nod in Best Picture and International Picture (that is the 11th time a foreign language film has been nominated for Best Picture; 6th time for both); 344 films were eligible for Best Picture; there are 8,469 members of the Academy; 29.6 million watched last year (still a large number but low for this event; in total 3,032 statuettes have been awarded (including honorary); Bob Hope has hosted 19 times. This year there is no host.
​Best Picture Release Dates:

"Once upon a Time...in Hollywood" - July 25, 2019
"Joker" - October 3, 2019 
"Parasite "- October 10, 2019
"Jojo Rabbit" - October 17, 2019
"The Irishman" - November 1, 2019
"Marriage Story" - November 6, 2019
"Ford v Ferrari" - November 14, 2019
"Little Women" - December 25, 2019 
"1917" - December 25, 2019
"Joker" receives 11 nominations. "The Irishman," "1917" and "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" land 10.
Above photo: Class photo provided by AMPAS from Oscar luncheon. 

Cynthia Erivo, Oscar® winner Elton John, Idina Menzel, Chrissy Metz and Oscar winner Randy Newman will perform this year’s nominated songs at the 92nd Oscars® ceremony, show producers Lynette Howell Taylor and Stephanie Allain announced. The Oscars will air live Sunday, February 9, on ABC. “We’re excited to have an incredible group of nominees and performers who will deliver one-of-a-kind music moments you will only see on the Oscars,” said Howell Taylor and Allain.
“I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away” from “Toy Story 4” – Performed by Randy Newman ...
​
Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
“(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” from “Rocketman” – Performed by Elton John
Music by Elton John; Lyric by Bernie Taupin
“I’m Standing With You” from “Breakthrough” – Performed by Chrissy Metz
Music and Lyric by Diane Warren
“Into The Unknown” from “Frozen II” – Performed by Idina Menzel and AURORA
Music and Lyric by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez
“Stand Up” from “Harriet” – Performed by Cynthia Erivo
Music and Lyric by Joshuah Brian Campbell and Cynthia Erivo
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