I am a huge fan of the newly formatted Hollywood Reporter thanks to J.R.'s having pointed it out to me. It offers unlimited web-access and doesn't leave readers staring at a black screen a la Cloak and Dagger when they've read too many articles like some other celebrated trades. However, the analysis of the Award season has been surprisingly short sighted given their continued articles about first Ricky Gervais' hosting the Globes and now the seeming Oscar fail.
Many of the adjustments suggested in today's article by Tim Goodman are wise. However, Mr. Goodman has fallen victim to the very misstep an Oscar worshipper like myself could tripped over himself. Mr. Goodman still sees the Oscar -- and its telecast -- as the unquestionable gold standard in entertainment ceremonies. It is. Of course it is. For heaven's sake, it's the Oscars. But the telecast has gone a bit schizo -- it knows it's too long but suddenly it's freaking out. This doesn't mean Mr. Goodman should consequently dismiss the Golden Globes as a laughable ceremony.
How are they laughable when one of Goodman's first suggestions is that the Oscars immediately move themselves to the other side of the Globes so they stop losing their "gravitas." Do the math, pal. That means HFPA has the gravitas. Slide between Christmas and Globe time? I could not disagree with Mr. Goodman more.
If the over-campaigning of the 90s Weinstein brothers, followed by the Dreamworks/Miramax wars of the turn of the century, and now the dark days of the 10 nominees has taught us anything, it is that the Oscars are in a serious state of self-doubt and -- much like our own political system -- they simply do not know how to do a bit of simple "campaign finance reform." It seems Russ Feingold is currently available. Perhaps he could swing by Tinsel town and give AMPAS a lesson or two.
The truth of the matter is that Ricky Gervais -- despite the endless criticism he received afterward -- hit the ball clean out of the park with this year's Golden Globe telecast. He was edgy, he was tough, he was hilarious. So what if a few people were offended? If another of Mr. Goodman's major suggestions is to stop looking at "the awards" as something for people "in the room" and "industry" only -- isn't a little ribbing toward the bevy of boozing celebs just what the doctor ordered? And Dr. Gervais delivered. I don't think Robert Downey, Jr. minded his introduction one bit. I think Tim Allen may have -- but so what? He can afford it! And Downey certainly proved he can take a tough joke when Jude Law once again aired Downey's arrest record at the Oscars.
Thus let's forgive Ricky -- he did an excellent job.
James and Anne -- both of whom I love -- not so much.
The other point of fun with the Hollywood Foreign Press is that it's the first telecast of the year that gets all the big stars in one room and hands out trophies to the stars of stage and screen -- and it's a good show. Christ, SAG does the same thing but few people are elevating that little wonder to Oscar status.
What we've got here is a closed award window where the Oscar nominations follow so quickly on the heels of the actual Globe presentation -- where the campaigning seems far less psychotic -- that the HFPA shifted from being a predictor to an indicator.
For years, idiots like myself hoped something amazing would happen -- even after the "SKG vs. Bob and Harvey" feud shaved a year off the Oscar calendar. We woke up on that fateful nominating Tuesday with the hopes that some crazy little weasel was going to pop its head into the best picture mix. Sure, we were stunned when things like the 1995 (a talking pig, a spaceship, and an Italian mailman beat out a Sean Penn death march and Mike Figgis?) and 1998 (5 nominees -- 3 World War II, 2 Elizabethan) happened. There's always a shun -- Dreamgirls, anyone? But we idiots continued to operate under the impression that somehow Oscar would see the light and we'd all be back in 1991 -- when a movie about a well scrubbed rube and a cannibalistic psychiatrist could take the top honors.
Amazingly this ire came to an overflowing boil when Dark Knight wasn't nominated. Suddenly there was a demand to expand the Oscar pool to ten pictures -- the worst mistake imaginable. Had any of us known this meant they were going to go right on NOT nominating Christopher Nolan we wouldn't have even looked at Dark Knight as any sort of problem -- frankly, as much of a fan as I am of that movie (I own it and watch it regularly) I would not have nominated it. I would have given it technical accolades -- just like the Bourne movies. If Greengrass wants an Oscar nomination, it's United 93 -- even he knows that.
But now we have an award show where there is a distinct separation between Musical/Comedy and Drama -- Drama always having the edge in Oscar-land -- and then find ourselves in one giant free for all. Christ, it's worse than the Grammys!
So now the pool is so damn vast, all a producer has to do is find a way to run with the ball and take down the front runner. It's been two in a row and I'll bet it happens again next year unless everyone gets a case of the Julie Andrews and starts turning down Critics Circle Awards.
"The Ten" is making Oscar borderline irrelevant -- obviously they're never going to be irrelevant. My solution is to pull away from the Globes. Screw the tailgaters by moving back to the end of March.
Studios should release all of their contenders Christmas week in both New York and LA with a slow roll out during the early spring -- let the Globes earn you money, and the reviews, and the Oscar nominations, and then the wins. Why get it all at once?
The nominations should not be announced until mid February -- a cool month after the Golden Globes. Currently the Globes are so close to the current Oscar telecast (Oscar moved, Globie stayed put like a good little Globie) they're more or less a glorified red carpet with trophies. Of course everyone's watching the pre-show -- it's like a great play off game! Why not watch both Annette and Natalie win? But this doesn't mean double the trophies. It just means let that cocktail party do its thing. You stand back and wait for the minor post season to end. You get to close and you lose your moxie.
Sometimes the best game of the year is Jets/Patriots. But not if you move the Super Bowl back a month.
So drop the ten, slide it back, and get yourself a damn host. Stop blaming the Globes for your woes. Look to the ads! Look to the ads!
For Christ sake, the next thing you know the Sierra Club and the Wiley Brothers will be buying air time for the Coen Brothers.
I thank you for your time and consideration.
Matthew J. McCue
No comments:
Post a Comment