Some quick, unstructured thoughts on the Oscars and the broadcast (somewhat belatedly – stupid day job)…
– I was barracking for Brokeback and am disappointed that it didn’t win. However, I can’t really comment on the justice of the surprise decision, as Crash was the only one of the nominees I hadn’t seen. I didn’t think there was any point: while I made a point of seeing Capote last weekend, I wasn’t that fussed about getting a DVD of Crash out, as I assumed it wasn’t a real chance. Quite apart from anything else, when was the last time a film from that early in the year won the award? The main impression I had of it going into the awards was one of puzzlement that its makers thought it was okay to name their film Crash only nine years after David Cronenberg’s film of the same title.
– I love Oscar montages, and particularly enjoyed the one this year on “issue pictures.” But I just want to make one thing clear: no matter what the montage editor – or Roland Emmerich, for that matter – thinks, The Day After Tomorrow does not count as an issue picture. This is a movie about climate change in which the climate change chases people down hallways. This is raising the awareness of climate change to about the same extent that Psycho raises awareness of a crisis in aged care.
– The win for best animated feature by Curse of the Were Rabbit caps off a remarkable record for the Wallace and Gromit series. Nick Park has directed four Wallace and Gromit films, three of which won an Oscar. The only one that didn’t win was A Grand Day Out – and for that, Park was beaten by his own film (Creature Comforts).Who has a better record than that?
– Some random stats from Wikipedia: “The awards were unusually divided; for the first time in 58 years, no film won more than three awards, with Brokeback Mountain, Crash, King Kong, and Memoirs of a Geisha each receiving that many. Crash was the first Best Picture winner since Rocky 29 years earlier to win only three awards; it was also the first Best Picture winner since Chariots of Fire 24 years earlier to not win either for its directing or for any of its performances. For the first time in 49 years, the awards for Best Picture, Best Director and the four acting categories went to six different films; also, for the first time in 44 years, each of the acting winners was a first-time nominee. Paul Haggis was the evening’s only multiple winner, with awards for producing and writing Crash.”
– What was with playing the music when people started their speech? It’s as if the winners of the awards aren’t welcome at all any more. Next year, perhaps they should just throw the statuettes forcibly at the winners as they try to walk up on stage.
– Jon Stewart was the best host for ages, and I hope they get him back. I suspect they will: unlike previous left-field choices (like Chris Rock and David Letterman) he seemed to go over well. And there is good precedent for a host with basically no link to the movies, in five-time host Johnny Carson. I was therefore amused to see the comments from The Age’s clueless TV reviewer, Ross Warneke, who claimed that “within 10 minutes of the opening, the people in my house were as one: ‘Bring back Billy Crystal!’ “Perhaps this is just me, but when Warneke writes something like this, I can’t help but think of Grandpa Simpson screaming “Bring back Matlock!”
– I don’t really agree with the contention over on eFilmCritic (here), that the surprise win of Crash was possible because of some lack of quality in the films. They suggest that Brokeback may well seem “quaint” in years to come. I doubt it, because as I argued in my review of it, Brokeback doesn’t make a big deal of its gay theme: what will seem quaint is that it caused such a fuss. I’m still inclined to agree with those who thought this was a pretty good field: I wasn’t a huge fan of Good Night and Good Luck, but if I give Crash the benefit of the doubt and assume Clooney’s film was the weakest of the five, it’s a pretty good bottom level. Cast your eyes across the list of pevious nominees here: it’s amazing some of the films that have made up the Best Picture numbers. I mean, c’mon, The Full Monty? The Fugitive? Ghost? Fatal Attraction?