81st Academy Awards 2/22/09 SPOILERS!

[Lori]

2002: 4 Hours 17 Minutes.

[wendiness1]

The best Academy Awards show ever. And I've been watching them for over (a lot of) years.

[terpfan1980]

And it's over. Final verdict: definitely worse than last year. IMO, the Hugh Jackman experiment didn't work.

I didn't mind Hugh Jackman really. What I really didn't like is those intros where they brought up 5 previous winners and wasted so much time in doing it.

It wasn't so bad for the best actress and best actor awards, but for supporting actress and supporting actor I think they're better to stick to one presenter and keep it shorter and simpler.

For my tastes, sticking to a single presenter for just about all of the awards would be a good idea. Having just one person involved seems to flow quicker and smoother and stick to the task at hand rather than trying to entertain so much that it winds up wasting time.

[jpwoof]

i enjoyed the oscrars. definitely memorable.

[Neenahboy]

The opening certainly did, maybe you missed it. It broke the stuffy, uncomfortable tension and got everyone engaged enough to give him a standing ovation. And Anne Hathaway can sing and then some.

The opening number was awesome, but it all went downhill from there.

It's like they're trying to find a happy medium between no host and the Billy Crystal days, and it just didn't work. And to be perfectly honest, I think they could get by with no host rather easily.

[wendiness1]

I liked the nominees being recognized beyond simply mentioning their names.

Having the orchestra out of the pit was nice, too.

And thank God somebody nixd the music cue to get the winners off the stage.

[Lori]

I liked the nominees being recognized beyond simply mentioning their names.

Having the orchestra out of the pit was nice, too.

And thank God somebody nixd the music cue to get the winners off the stage.

I missed the performance clips, though. I care more what I think than what Shirley Maclaine thinks about most things, and would have preferred to see clips of the performances that I didn't see.

Of course, I have long been a proponent of eliminating the pointless production number and giving more time to the nominees...

[scooterboy]

BTW, my own preference is anyone but Streep. Enough of giving her accolades.

I don't care about how many accolades she's gotten. I just wanted anyone but her to win because she's not that great an actress.

[terpfan1980]

I don't care about how many accolades she's gotten. I just wanted anyone but her to win because she's not that great an actress.

Well, there's that too :up:

[Lori]

I don't care about how many accolades she's gotten. I just wanted anyone but her to win because she's not that great an actress.

I think that she *can be* a phenomenal actress, but she has picked some really terrible films, which do not show her off to her best effect.

Prairie Home Companion? Mamma Mia? Music of the Heart?

Blech.

[DavidTigerFan]

And it's over. Final verdict: definitely worse than last year. IMO, the Hugh Jackman experiment didn't work.

I think you are a little cranky tonight. Becca and I loved every minute of hugh. In fact we were wondering why they didn't have more of him.

[Neenahboy]

Oh, how could I forget to mention my candidate for line of the night?

Will Smith murdering "Sound Editing" multiple times, followed by, "Boom goes the dynamite!" :D

[EVizzle]

Peter Gabriel was robbed and insulted. Give the man the chance to sing his entire nominated song for chrissakes!!! And then have it turn into some sort of hideous medley, followed by getting beat. Lame.

I was also rooting for Rourke, because both he and The Ram deserved another chance.

[FilmCritic3000]

Anne's always been pale like that. It's her thing. Amy Adams is the same way.

Exactly. And there's nothing wrong with that.

I hate the "tan" look.

[FilmCritic3000]

Thank goodness Rourke got passed up.

Why?

I thought he was excellent in The Wrestler.

[Ment]

Exactly. And there's nothing wrong with that.

I hate the "tan" look.

+1, I hate the California Barbie look. Thankfully there's a crop of good young actresses; Anne Hathaway, Amy Adams, Evan Rachel Wood, Scarlett Johansson etc that don't cater to the LA ethos.

[FilmCritic3000]

+1, I hate the California Barbie look. Thankfully there's a crop of good young actresses; Anne Hathaway, Amy Adams, Evan Rachel Wood, Scarlett Johansson etc that don't cater to the LA ethos.

Exactly. And that's one of the reasons I find them immensely attractive.

[rrrobinsonjr]

Someone should torture and kill the person who put Jessica Biel in that dress.

I though Beyonce looked hot.

I didn't hate Hugh Jackman, but I don't like this trend. It's only memorable when you get a comedian who might say something at least a little edgy.

Heath Ledger's win was a really genuine, emotional moment.

I fast-forwarded as soon a Penn started doing his political speech.

Highlights:
Martin and Fey
Philippe Petit doing a magic trick and balancing the Oscar on his chin
Ben Stiller
Seth Rogen and James Franco

Kudos to the director for cutting to Jolie and Pitt while Aniston was on stage. There were agents and publicist burning up the phones after that happened. Guaranteed it'll be the last time we see anything like that for awhile.

Other than that the direction was actually kind of below par this year.

Charles H. Joffe and Claude Berry are dead?!?

[brebeans]

I don't care about how many accolades she's gotten. I just wanted anyone but her to win because she's not that great an actress.

What??? Given her 15 nominatioins, and performances in Sophie's Choice, Kramer vs. Kramer, Mama Mia, and dozens more, well, I'll defer to actors, Academy and box office as judges.

She is awesome.

[IJustLikeTivo]

Bill Maher is an incredible D.B. If you're going to present an award, don't complain about why your movie didn't get nominated and then bring a religious discussion up. Ass.

And water is wet.

[kdelande]

Geez, could you at least cut to full screen for the In Memoriams, guys? This is just disrespectful. :down:
I didn't follow this in real time last night but this was my biggest gripe of the night. You couldn't even make out who the hell was on the screen sometimes b/c they were so far out trying to get a wide shot of the screen plus Queen Latifa.

Majorly bad production with in memoriam this year. :down::down::down:

KD

[IJustLikeTivo]

You realize she hasn't won an Oscar for 27 years, right?

She hasn't deserved one for 26 years. And she didn't deserve this one either. Several performance this year were better.

[IJustLikeTivo]

And it's over. Final verdict: definitely worse than last year. IMO, the Hugh Jackman experiment didn't work.

And this is why there are many movies. Hugh was way better than the last 10 hosts.

[Jeeters]

Peter Gabriel was robbed and insulted. Give the man the chance to sing his entire nominated song for chrissakes!!! And then have it turn into some sort of hideous medley, followed by getting beat. Lame.He was invited to sing it but turned it down. He complained that the other two songs were going to be given 90 seconds each but he was only offered about 60 seconds to sing his. He didn't think 60 seconds was enough to "do the song justice" (i think that's how I remember reading he put it).

I suppose I can see his point. But then letting somebody else sing the song did it even *less* justice.

[DUDE_NJX]

My favorite part of the oscars? Seeing Natalie Portman and Diane Lane. Both are gorgeous.

Did anyone catch Jimmy's show after the Oscars? It was very entertaining.

[TIVO_GUY_HERE]

Where was Jack? He is usually in the front row. And Lakers were not even in town.

[Royster]

Where was Jack? He is usually in the front row. And Lakers were not even in town.

Mickey Rourke was pretending to be Jack.

[cl8855]

Someone should torture and kill the person who put Jessica Biel in that dress.

Heath Ledger's win was a really genuine, emotional moment.

Highlights:
Martin and Fey
Philippe Petit doing a magic trick and balancing the Oscar on his chin
Ben Stiller
Seth Rogen and James Franco --

Kudos to the director for cutting to Jolie and Pitt while Aniston was on stage. There were agents and publicist burning up the phones after that happened. Guaranteed it'll be the last time we see anything like that for awhile.



Agree with all these -- but don't forget the cinematographer guy with Rogen and Franco telling the current winning guy to "eat it" or whatever he said

And if you haven't seen "Man on Wire" the documentary about Phillipe walking a wire between the twin towers, it's a must-see. Insane insane to think about what and how they did...

[scooterboy]

What??? Given her 15 nominatioins, and performances in Sophie's Choice, Kramer vs. Kramer, Mama Mia, and dozens more, well, I'll defer to actors, Academy and box office as judges.


That's fine. I'll defer to my own judgment of her acting skills. She doesn't make me believe she's the character she's playing, which is my primary criteria of a great actor. I never see just the character - I always see "Meryl Streep playing the character". She's good at accents, but that's not enough to draw me into her portrayals.

Same thing with Jack Nicholson. He's always Jack, just playing someone different each time.

[harrinpj]

I never see just the character - I always see "Meryl Streep playing the character". She's good at accents, but that's not enough to draw me into her portrayals.

Now I feel the exact opposite, especially about her role in "Doubt." I thought she disappeared into that character.

[pex]

I just watched it--it was one of the Better Academy Awards I've seen. It still could be shorter, but it seemed to drag less than previous years. I thought Hugh Jackman worked out better than east coast comedians who could never resist snarking about Hollywood.

In sort of a human moment, Dev Patel, who is generally cocky, precocious, and charismatic (check out the Letterman and Daily Show youtubes), seems to be in the grips of a full scale anxiety attack when Best Picture is announced. It's difficult to tell if he's just confused, or ready to throw up. He hides behind everyone when they go on stage, but finally seems to loosen up at the end.

And the 2008 Best Picture is...
Slumdog Millionaire! That's eight!

[Marco]

Highlights:
Martin and Fey


Best segment of a pretty lame year.

I nominate these two to co-host next year's show. If Martin doesn't want to do it again, I'll take Tina Fey by herself as host. :up:

I thought Hugh Jackman worked out better than east coast comedians who could never resist snarking about Hollywood.

Definitely prefer snark to vanilla, which is what Jackman gave us.

[That Don Guy]

OK, I thoroughly enjoyed Hugh's opening medley. Who knew Wolverine could dance and sing that well?
Anyone who knows that, even before the first X-Men movie, he was Curly in the London stage production of Oklahoma! (the only reason he didn't do the Broadway version is, Actors Equity (the stage version of SAG) threw a fit about hiring "non-American" actors; they compromised and let one non-American from the London cast perform in the Broadway version, but it wasn't Jackman).
E! had red carpet coverage from 2 p.m. until 8 p.m. I started watching around 6:30 p.m., when the biggest stars were Miley Cyrus and Vanessa Hudgens. That probably was too early. :)
6:30 Eastern is usually when the big names start arriving, as that's when the KABC (Los Angeles's ABC station) red-carpet show begins. (It doesn't get much coverage out east because the Barbara Walters special always starts at 7 - out west, it airs after the ceremony.)

-- Don

[aintnosin]

Did anyone catch Jimmy's show after the Oscars? It was very entertaining.
I loved the "preview" of Mel Gibson's "next" movie, The Colonel.

[That Don Guy]

Best Animated Short: La Maison En Petit Cubes. Presto gets upset.
Remember that only people who saw all five of the films - and I think they have to be at Academy-sponsored screenings, so they have a record of who saw all five - can vote in this category.

Like how they're rifling through some of the awards that no one cares about. I prefer they just sent these guys their trophies via FedEx, but oh well.
The one thing I like about the Academy Awards over other awards shows (well, besides the fact that they're shown live to the west coast) is, they don't have any awards they consider "too minor to show on TV". Then again, the Emmys and Grammys don't do it because nobody wants to watch a seven-hour awards show, and the only reason the Tonys stopped doing it is because CBS threatened to pull the plug on the show after two hours even if they were opening the envelope for Best Musical when it happened.

They're remaking Fame?? Why for god's sake??
To give the finalists of So You Think You Can Dance? jobs. I know Kherington Payne (of "Twitchington") has been cast.

-- Don

[zordude]

I liked the opening number and the medley with Beyonce. But I'm old school. I like musicals.

I agree.

These were the highlights of the show for me.

Z

[Marco]

The one thing I like about the Academy Awards over other awards shows (well, besides the fact that they're shown live to the west coast) is, they don't have any awards they consider "too minor to show on TV".

Of course they do -- the technical awards (see Biel, Jessica).

[wedgecon]

[QUOTE=The one thing I like about the Academy Awards over other awards shows (well, besides the fact that they're shown live to the west coast) is, they don't have any awards they consider "too minor to show on TV". [/QUOTE]

Well except for the science and technical awards which are given their own show.

[scooterboy]

And the Oscar for best smeeking goes to...

{rip}

wedgecon!

{clap clap clap clap...}

[Marco]

And the Oscar for best smeeking goes to...



You pipe down there, you Streep-hater, you. :eek::p

[That Don Guy]

Well except for the science and technical awards which are given their own show.

Actually, very few scientific and technical award winners get an Oscar (they usually get a plaque or a certificate) - and the ones that do, like the one for the "pioneer of CGI" this year, get mentioned on the Oscar telecast.

-- Don

[Fleegle]

Why was Heath Ledger not listed in the actors lost last year?

[getreal]

They're remaking Fame?? Why for god's sake??

To give the finalists of So You Think You Can Dance? jobs. I know Kherington Payne (of "Twitchington") has been cast.

I'd say that with the crazy polularity and success of the High School Musical movies, that the market is primed and ready for a Fame remake.

[Neenahboy]

Why was Heath Ledger not listed in the actors lost last year?

Ledger died January 22, 2008, and the 80th Academy Awards were on February 24. He was mentioned last year.

[DevdogAZ]

Sorry, late to the thread. But I wanted to comment on the following:

Steve Martin and Tina Fey's intros for an example. Somewhat entertaining, but unnecessary. Come out, announce the nominees and move along rather than crack stupid jokes.

See also comments above about self-promotion for idiots such as Bill Maher (uncalled for) and Jack Black (entertaining, but silly and not really needed).
Personally, I think the best part about these awards shows are when the presenters are well matched and have some funny lines. I'd much prefer some good comedy from Steve Martin and Tina Fey than some random winner thanking everyone and their dog. At our house, the presenters get watched and the speeches get FF'd.
Geez, could you at least cut to full screen for the In Memoriams, guys? This is just disrespectful. :down:
Totally agree. Why did they think they needed to get fancy with the camera work during the "In Memoriam" segment? That was disgraceful. Couldn't even read many of the names because they simply refused to keep the camera still. :down: :down: :down:
The ad for Wynn's new Encore resort in Vegas was funny: "Next time, we do this in the lobby."
It was funny the first time. But after seeing it constantly for many, many months, I don't think it's funny anymore.
I missed the performance clips, though. I care more what I think than what Shirley Maclaine thinks about most things, and would have preferred to see clips of the performances that I didn't see.

Of course, I have long been a proponent of eliminating the pointless production number and giving more time to the nominees...
I agree with your first point. I would have preferred to see clips from the nominated performances. Many of them I know absolutely nothing about and would like some background.

However, I can't agree with your second point. The production number at the beginning is always one of the highlights of the show. (Unless you're talking about the part in the middle where they do a montage of the nominated songs, in which case I agree.)
Oh, how could I forget to mention my candidate for line of the night?

Will Smith murdering "Sound Editing" multiple times, followed by, "Boom goes the dynamite!" :D
I loved when he said something like: "I like action movies. They have big budgets, car chases, explosions, and one other thing. Fans." That was a great dig at the fact that most nominated movies have been seen by about 200 people.
I loved the "preview" of Mel Gibson's "next" movie, The Colonel.
Yes, that was funny. I'm glad Gibson was willing to make fun of himself and that ridiculous facial hair.

Overall, I thought Jackman did a pretty good job. The opening musical number was excellent. The tributes to the actor nominees was a nice thought, but overdone, and I missed seeing performance clips. Keep the camera still for the "In Memoriam" segment.

[Sparty99]

Kudos to the director for cutting to Jolie and Pitt while Aniston was on stage. There were agents and publicist burning up the phones after that happened. Guaranteed it'll be the last time we see anything like that for awhile.
I guess I'm curious why the director deserved a kudos for that move. I thought it was rather classless. Aniston's had to deal with enough crap in her live because Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie destroyed her marriage, and then the director decides to remind everyone on Earth of that. Brad and Angelina don't get called out enough for that.

[Neenahboy]

I guess I'm curious why the director deserved a kudos for that move. I thought it was rather classless. Aniston's had to deal with enough crap in her live because Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie destroyed her marriage, and then the director decides to remind everyone on Earth of that. Brad and Angelina don't get called out enough for that.

We don't agree on much, but I'm totally with you here.

[rrrobinsonjr]

I guess I'm curious why the director deserved a kudos for that move. I thought it was rather classless.

I guess you're a better person than most of us.

I promise you that 98% of the audience was preoccupied by the fact that Jolie and Pitt were only a few feet away when Aniston was on stage and wanted to see how they were reacting.

[smak]

That's fine. I'll defer to my own judgment of her acting skills. She doesn't make me believe she's the character she's playing, which is my primary criteria of a great actor. I never see just the character - I always see "Meryl Streep playing the character". She's good at accents, but that's not enough to draw me into her portrayals.

Same thing with Jack Nicholson. He's always Jack, just playing someone different each time.

Jack's joker was the exact opposite of Ledger's joker. There was 0% Heath Ledger in Dark Knight.

-smak-

[Sparty99]

I guess you're a better person than most of us.

I promise you that 98% of the audience was preoccupied by the fact that Jolie and Pitt were only a few feet away when Aniston was on stage and wanted to see how they were reacting.
Actually, I'm guessing they were either thinking (a) this joke is really lame and they need to get on with the show or (b) this is actually moderately funny although I really don't like Jack Black. And believe me, I don't think I'm better than anyone. But I thought it was really classless.

[marksman]

Anne Hathaway needs to visit a tan booth.

Tan looks very unhealthy these days.. pale is the new healthy look.

[Fleegle]

Tan looks very unhealthy these days.. pale is the new healthy look.

I prefer my women with alabaster skin to the overly tan ones whose skin will be leather on 20 years.

[Figaro]

OK, I thoroughly enjoyed Hugh's opening medley. Who knew Wolverine could dance and sing that well?

Well he can dance, sing? Not so much.

Let's hear it for the hot chick from Big Love though! Mamma Mia indeed!

[smak]

Well he can dance, sing? Not so much.

Let's hear it for the hot chick from Big Love though! Mamma Mia indeed!

The hot chick from Veronica Mars you mean? :D

She was dead so even sexier ;)

-smak-

[FilmCritic3000]

I prefer my women with alabaster skin to the overly tan ones whose skin will be leather on 20 years.

As do I.

[Lori]

The production number at the beginning is always one of the highlights of the show. (Unless you're talking about the part in the middle where they do a montage of the nominated songs, in which case I agree.)


I'm not talking about either of those, actually. :)

I love the opening song, and I think that the nominated songs medley is fine. I object to the pointless production number about 3/4 through the show...the one where they celebrate cinematography, or dance, or foreign films or something not related at all to the show.

This year's version of that seemed to involve Hugh Jackman and Beyonce singing something from Grease. :) Get rid of that little waste of my time, and you bring the show in on time. Simple. :)

[Alfer]

I DVR'd it and caught the Ledger win I wanted to see and the rest was pretty much FF material for me...

[Cainebj]

Peter Gabriel was robbed and insulted.

+1

He was invited to sing it but turned it down. He complained that the other two songs were going to be given 90 seconds each but he was only offered about 60 seconds to sing his.

He objected to the entire medley concept.
Which, I don't blame him - sticking it in the middle of 2 songs by the same composer from the same movie?

I saw an interview he did and all 3 songs were getting an equal 85 seconds.

The single version of Down to Earth runs 5:58. Musically, if you are a Gabriel fan, 85 seconds is usually an intro :)

Personally, I would have preferred an abridged version live performance with Peter Gabriel than most of the montages or most of the Beyonce musical number...

[David Platt]

This year's version of that seemed to involve Hugh Jackman and Beyonce singing something from Grease. :) Get rid of that little waste of my time, and you bring the show in on time. Simple. :)

Funny, I don't remember that segment being 25 minutes long. Which is how long the show went over by. ;)

[DavidTigerFan]

Did anyone else think Beyonce was lip syncing? I could hear Hugh breathing in his mic, but Beyonce sounded almost too perfect...

[IJustLikeTivo]

Did anyone else think Beyonce was lip syncing? I could hear Hugh breathing in his mic, but Beyonce sounded almost too perfect...

There is some stuff on the news wire today that seems to indicate that Beyonce was the sole lip syncer at the Oscars. All the rest went live.

[Figaro]

Did anyone else think Beyonce was lip syncing? I could hear Hugh breathing in his mic, but Beyonce sounded almost too perfect...

Yeah she was not singing for real.

[Magnolia88]

That's fine. I'll defer to my own judgment of her acting skills. She doesn't make me believe she's the character she's playing, which is my primary criteria of a great actor. I never see just the character - I always see "Meryl Streep playing the character". She's good at accents, but that's not enough to draw me into her portrayals.

Same thing with Jack Nicholson. He's always Jack, just playing someone different each time.

I could not disagree more regarding Meryl Streep. I can't think of any film actor, of either gender, living or dead, who has anywhere close to her range. It's far more than just her uncanny ability with accents that makes her great.

When I watch Sophie (of Sophie's Choice), Karen Silkwood, and Lindy Chamberlain (A Cry in the Dark), it's hard for me to even believe it's the same person each time. They couldn't be more different from one another. (Have you seen A Cry in the Dark? That one gets overlooked a lot, but she is fantastic playing a woman who can be fairly unsympathetic at times).

I completely agree wrt Jack, though. Same voice, same accent, similar mannerisms. Always Jack, just variations on a theme.

I think that she *can be* a phenomenal actress, but she has picked some really terrible films, which do not show her off to her best effect.

Prairie Home Companion? Mamma Mia? Music of the Heart?

Blech.

Mamma Mia was a huge hit and was probably a blast to film. I thought it was silly too, but a lot of people loved it. I can't imagine many actresses who would have turned it down.

Prairie Home Companion, while not my fave either, was a chance to work with Robert Altman on what turned out to be his last film. Again, not a role many actresses would have turned down.

Given how many movies Meryl Streep has made over her career, I'd say there were very few dogs in the bunch. The only one I can remember really disliking is the one with Roseanne (She-Devil?), and even in that one, Meryl was pretty funny even though the movie was not.

Having said all that, I'm really glad Kate Winslet won this year and it's long overdue. :up: I thought she deserved to win for Sense and Sensibility way back in 1995, but she lost to Mira Sorvino (who apparently won for doing a squeaky voice). :eek:

The only real upset this year seemed to be the foreign language film. I'm astonished that Waltz with Bashir didn't win. I thought maybe The Class would pull an upset, but I haven't even heard of the film that won.

[IJustLikeTivo]

I could not disagree more regarding Meryl Streep. I can't think of any film actor, of either gender, living or dead, who has anywhere close to her range. It's far more than just her uncanny ability with accents that makes her great.


This is why people think she can act but the true fact is her accents are god awful. Any one with a decent ear for language can hear the difference. There are so many actors who can do an accent that is completely natural that seeing Meryl strangle the language makes me cringe.

The problem is most actors have a tin ear and when they hear someone even slightly better they think "wow, she is a great actor" and vote for it. I'd love to see the statistics on people with accents winning vice actors who did the role without noticeable accent.

[Magnolia88]

This is why people think she can act but the true fact is her accents are god awful.

I disagree on both of those points. I think she does a good job with accents, but that's only a very tiny part of why she is so revered as an actress.

First, her ability with accents is not "why people think she can act." Examples of her acclaimed roles that required no unusual accent: The Devil Wears Prada, Kramer vs. Kramer, Deer Hunter, The Hours, Adaptation, Silkwood, Postcards from the Edge, Marvin's Room, Mamma Mia . . . it's a long list. Including Doubt, iirc (which I've only seen clips of, but she sounds American to me).

She won an Oscar for Kramer and she's not doing any accent other than her own natural one, afaik.

And I also disagree that her accents are "god awful." I'm not Australian, but I've been told by some Australians that they were impressed by her accent as Lindy Chamberlain in A Cry in the Dark (who was once the most hated woman in Australia, according to the same Australians).

The only "accent" roles that stand out in my memory are Sophie, Lindy Chamberlain, and Karen Blixen in Out of Africa. And Bridges of Madison County, she had a very slight Italian accent. Most of her roles are Americans.

[jilter]

I have not read the whole thread, but JUST finished watching the whole show (with some FF-ing). That montage of upcoming films over the ending credits....was there anything in there that even remotely you are looking forward to?
I thought it ironic that most of those films will most likely not be near contention come next year's Oscars.

[IJustLikeTivo]

I disagree on both of those points. I think she does a good job with accents, but that's only a very tiny part of why she is so revered as an actress.

First, her ability with accents is not "why people think she can act." Examples of her acclaimed roles that required no unusual accent: The Devil Wears Prada, Kramer vs. Kramer, Deer Hunter, The Hours, Adaptation, Silkwood, Postcards from the Edge, Marvin's Room, Mamma Mia . . . it's a long list. Including Doubt, iirc (which I've only seen clips of, but she sounds American to me).

She won an Oscar for Kramer and she's not doing any accent other than her own natural one, afaik.

And I also disagree that her accents are "god awful." I'm not Australian, but I've been told by some Australians that they were impressed by her accent as Lindy Chamberlain in A Cry in the Dark (who was once the most hated woman in Australia, according to the same Australians).

The only "accent" roles that stand out in my memory are Sophie, Lindy Chamberlain, and Karen Blixen in Out of Africa. And Bridges of Madison County, she had a very slight Italian accent. Most of her roles are Americans.

We're gonna have to agree to disagree. But, there is a reason why she only one 2 of the times she was nominated. Each time someone was better. It has been 25 years since she won..... Largely bad luck but interesting anyway.

[That Don Guy]

I have not read the whole thread, but JUST finished watching the whole show (with some FF-ing). That montage of upcoming films over the ending credits....was there anything in there that even remotely you are looking forward to?
I thought it ironic that most of those films will most likely not be near contention come next year's Oscars.
One is probably a lock already - Up for Animated Feature.

(Maybe I blinked and missed it, but I was surprised the list included Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince but not the upcoming Hannah Montana movie. And was the new Star Trek movie included?

And what about the continued threat of a SAG strike - especially as SAG voted about 3-1 to reject what they call the producers' "last, best, and final offer"?)

-- Don

[Jeeters]

That montage of upcoming films over the ending credits....was there anything in there that even remotely you are looking forward to?500 Days of Summer with Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. It got great buzz at Sundance this year. Zooey was outstanding as the female lead in All the Real Girls about 5-6 years ago. She was oscar-caliber in that movie; completely different than the sidekick roles and light fluff she usually does. 500 Days looks to be putting her back into a great leading lady role. :up:

I had high hopes for Tarantino's Inglorious Bastards. The footage they showed during the credits was the first I'd seen; it looked rather corny. :rolleyes: :down:

[timckelley]

Why remake Pelham either... It's not like the original wasn't really, really good. But that same question could be asked of a bunch of movies each year.

I just saw this and really enjoyed Travolta's performance. I hope he gets some recognition for it.

[IJustLikeTivo]

I just saw this and really enjoyed Travolta's performance. I hope he gets some recognition for it.

Too bad he didn't feel up to supporting the movie as he was contractually obligated.

[Royster]

I'm sorry. I won;t see any movies with Travla, Cruise or any other Scientologists in it.

[timckelley]

Too bad he didn't feel up to supporting the movie as he was contractually obligated.

Are you saying he was supposed to promote the movie to get people to come see it, and he refused to do so?

[Royster]

Well, his kid did die between wrapping the movie and release. I think we could cut him some slack for not wanting to pretend to want to promote the movie.

[wprager]

I'm sorry. I won;t see any movies with Travla, Cruise or any other Scientologists in it.

Not even Kelly Preston?

[Royster]

Apparently not. I haven't seen anything she was in since Jerry Maguire (1995). But she's not exactly a headliner.

[That Don Guy]

I'm sorry. I won;t see any movies with Travla, Cruise or any other Scientologists in it.
So I assume you've never seen The Simpsons Movie?

-- Don

[Steveknj]

I'm sorry. I won;t see any movies with Travla, Cruise or any other Scientologists in it.

While you might not believe in Scientology (and I don't, for the record), this is equivalent to not seeing a movie that has an African-American in it, or someone who's Jewish, or Muslim, or Christian). And how do you know, out of say 100 actors in a movie, that ONE of them isn't a Scientologist? Your choice of course, it's a free country. But it is somewhat of a prejudicial remark.

[DevdogAZ]

While you might not believe in Scientology (and I don't, for the record), this is equivalent to not seeing a movie that has an African-American in it, or someone who's Jewish, or Muslim, or Christian). And how do you know, out of say 100 actors in a movie, that ONE of them isn't a Scientologist? Your choice of course, it's a free country. But it is somewhat of a prejudicial remark.
Not to mention virtually impossible without forgoing movies altogether. There are so many Scientologists in Hollywood that it would be very difficult to find a movie where none were involved. And the amount of time involved to determine whether there are any Scientologists involved in any given movie would not be worth the point you're trying to make.

[Royster]

So I assume you've never seen The Simpsons Movie?

Nope.

While you might not believe in Scientology (and I don't, for the record), this is equivalent to not seeing a movie that has an African-American in it, or someone who's Jewish, or Muslim, or Christian). And how do you know, out of say 100 actors in a movie, that ONE of them isn't a Scientologist? Your choice of course, it's a free country. But it is somewhat of a prejudicial remark.

It's my money. I have my reasons which I don't have to go into here.

Perhaps I should have said "headliner" instead of "actor".

I used to like an author. I later learned he was a Mormon and a lot of his books were ruined for me because I suddenly saw Mormon themes all through them. I don't read him anymore either.

[IJustLikeTivo]

Well, his kid did die between wrapping the movie and release. I think we could cut him some slack for not wanting to pretend to want to promote the movie.

With all due respect ( or lack thereoff in truth), the entire world gets by on a max of 3 days of bereavement leave. I think what happened is awful, but Jett died in Jan, it has been five months. If everyone else can go back to work in 3 days, certainly, he can make it back in 150?

[DougF]

With all due respect ( or lack thereoff in truth), the entire world gets by on a max of 3 days of bereavement leave. I think what happened is awful, but Jett died in Jan, it has been five months. If everyone else can go back to work in 3 days, certainly, he can make it back in 150?

I won't pretend to understand what they have been through. I'm pretty sure, though, that I wouldn't be up to the emotional demands of a promotional tour for a movie even 150 days after losing one of my children. No way in hell could I go on Letterman, Conan, etc. to smile, tell jokes and talk about a meaningless movie when I felt like my whole world had collapsed.

I'll be the first to admit that our famous actors have it pretty easy. For whatever reason our society treats them way too well and really puts them on a (undeserved, IMO) pedestal. They get paid an insane amount of money to play pretend while a camera rolls for God's sake. However, I have to give the Travoltas a break here. They've lost their son.

[DevdogAZ]

I won't pretend to understand what they have been through. I'm pretty sure, though, that I wouldn't be up to the emotional demands of a promotional tour for a movie even 150 days after losing one of my children. No way in hell could I go on Letterman, Conan, etc. to smile, tell jokes and talk about a meaningless movie when I felt like my whole world had collapsed.

I'll be the first to admit that our famous actors have it pretty easy. For whatever reason our society treats them way too well and really puts them on a (undeserved, IMO) pedestal. They get paid an insane amount of money to play pretend while a camera rolls for God's sake. However, I have to give the Travoltas a break here. They've lost their son.
I think you've hit the nail on the head. It's not that he isn't dealing with his son's death. It's that by going on the promotional tour, he'll have to do one of two things: 1) Answer a ton of questions about how he's coping with the loss, which will make him relive the pain in every single interview, and will give every interview a sour note, or 2) ask the interviewers not to bring it up, and therefore pretend like it didn't happen so he can give an upbeat interview extolling the virtues of the movie. Neither option sounds very appealing to me, and if I'm the studio that's promoting the movie, I probably wouldn't want him out there either, given those two scenarios.

[DougF]

Yep, that's the other point I intended to make. There will either be questions about losing his son (awkward) or no questions about losing his son (also awkward). It's a lose-lose. He might as well stay home with his family and continue to recover.

[timckelley]

I also think that losing your son is worse than losing your parent, and probably worse than losing your spouse.