I really enjoy cinema. And I appreciate the attention the Oscars often give to good but relatively unseen films like Atonement. Unfortunately, with all due respect to critics and members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (the Academy), how much a film makes, not whether it wins an Oscar, is the generally recognized measure of its success. This, especially considering that winning an Oscar is more the result of crass political campaigning than any assessment of artistic achievement. Indeed, it might surprise, if not disillusion, many of you to learn that studios covet an Oscar for Best Picture primarily because – as Sumner Redstone, the owner of Paramount, conceded in a moment of extraordinary candor – it guarantees millions more in box office receipts.
Of course, there have been rare instances when certifiable blockbusters have also won critical acclaim and the Oscar for Best Picture: e.g., Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Titanic, Braveheart, and Forrest Gump. Nevertheless, it’s undeniable that winning an Oscar is more often the result of a crass PR campaign than of a critical assessment of artistic achievement.
That said, I’m on record stating rather emphatically how much I dislike the annual Academy Awards telecast. Because I have little regard for preening, pampered poseurs showing off their borrowed frocks and bling-bling as a prelude to a three-hour show – only six minutes of which anyone really cares about (i.e., the time it takes to present Oscars for best supporting actor and actress, best actor and actress, best director and best picture).
And, remarkably enough, the host comedians do little to relieve the boredom of the interludes between these carefully spread-out moments. Yet, to be fair, Jon Stewart did a great deal last night to redeem his poor performance of two years ago.
Never mind that the audience’s enthusiasm probably had more to do with appreciation that the writers’ strike did not cancel the show than with regard for his jokes.
At any rate, here’s how my picks for the 80th Annual Academy Awards, which I published on my weblog on Saturday morning, fared with last night’s actual winners:
· The Oscar for Actor in a Supporting Role goes to: 
My pick – JAVIER BARDEM for No Country For Old Men. Which proves once again that actors should at least give themselves a fighting chance at winning by playing characters with virtually no socially or artistically redeeming traits (ditto for leading actors).
· The Oscar for Actress in a Supporting Role goes to:
TILDA SWINTON for Michael Clayton. My pick was Ruby Dee for American Gangster; although this was admittedly a more sentimental than artistic choice.
Nevertheless, Swinton did not give an Academy-Award performance in this film. After all, she was out performed not only by Tom Wilkinson but even by George Clooney! Moreover, her American accent was not nearly as convincing as Emma Thompson’s was when she played Hillary Clinton in Primary Colors a few years ago.
· The Oscar for Actress in a Leading Role goes to:
MARION COTILLARD for La Vie En Rose. My pick was Julie Christie for Away From Her; although this is probably because I’m still harboring a crush on her from her 1965 role as Lara in Doctor Zhivago. But frankly, I did not see Cotillard’s homage to the troubled Edith Piaf, and I don’t know anyone who did.
More to the point, however, this had to have been the biggest upset of the night. Especially since I thought the Academy would have deemed Christie even more deserving of an Oscar than Ruby Dee. Go figure….
· The Oscar for Best Documentary feature goes to:
TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE. My Pick was the other anti-war documentary, No End In Sight. In fact, this category was a toss-up between these two films, which should surprise no one who knows anything about the anti-Bush sentiment that permeates Hollywood.
My only hope was that the members of the Academy would not reward that fat “sicko” Michael Moore for his clichéd portrayal of the US healthcare system, which despite it’s shortcomings is the best in the world!
· The Oscar for Actor in Leading Role goes to:
My Pick – DANIEL DAY-LEWIS for There Will Be Blood. As sure bets go, Day-Lewis was it. Not only is he that good, but his fellow actors appear to be that deferential.
Though, I suspect some actors must find his notorious “method acting” – of staying in character 24/7 during the making of a movie – tiresome, if not irritating. After all, isn’t having the ability to go in and out of character whenever the director shouts “Action!” and “Cut!” the key to acting…?
At any rate, it’s too bad this role only required him to play a mercenary oil man with no redeeming human values whatsoever: “bastard from a basket” indeed….
· The Oscar for Best Director goes to:
My pick – the COEN BROTHERS for No Country for Old Men.
· The Oscar for Best Picture goes to:
My pick – NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN. And, with their win for Writing (Adapted for Screenplay), the Coen brothers were clearly the night’s big winners!
Furthermore, given their prolific and eclectic body of work, which includes such films as Raising Arizona, Blood Simple and Fargo, they are becoming as sure a bet for directing as Day-Lewis has become for acting.
With that, I won four of the seven awards I gambled on, which I suspect compares rather favorably with picks by professional critics.Of course, it would be remiss of me not to share my pick for the best dressed rong>. Accordingly:· The Oscar for Best Dressed goes to:RUBY DEE for looking so poised, elegant, and even sexy despite being older (at 83) than Oscar himself!
Finally, the show’s best moment was when host Stewart invited the female winner of the Oscar for Best Song back on stage to give her thank-you speech. This, after her “arrogant” male partner took up all of their allotted time. And, not surprisingly, she gave the best speech of the night – stressing the theme of hope in the arts that Barack Obama has made so en vogue in politics.
That’s a wrap!
2008 Oscars
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