My take on the 84th Academy Awards

The Oscars

This is one of my favorite Oscar posters. This is from the 69th Academy Awards, 1997.

My take on the Oscars. I’ve said this many times and anyone that knows me knows that I like movies. They are a very important part of my life. I’ve always dreamed of one day winning an Oscar and haven’t really given up on that dream. Perhaps it’ll come from writing a script or maybe I’ll get to be a cinematographer on my own film. If it’s meant to be it’ll happen.

Most people are only concerned with the six major awards. Best Picture, Best Director, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor and Actress. All of the other stuff only means something to people that are really crazy about films.
When I first started going to the movies I would always want to see the credits. My friends would be ready to go and I was interested in who the people behind the scenes were.
I was around 11 years old when I got my first 8mm movie camera. I had my cousins bringing my words and direction to life.

The Oscars pay tribute to the movies and gives out the gold statues to the best of what makes a movie great. Some of it seems wrong because if a movie wins for best sound effects, it would seem as if it should win for best sound editing. If a person gets best director then shouldn’t that film be the best film?
Being acknowledged by your piers is probably a great feeling. So even without the statue you do have a certificate showing you were nominated for your work.
The little statue doesn’t really guarantee anything these days. It’s all about the numbers and how much money you can make for a studio.

Billy Crystal was hosting for the 9th time after years of being away from the awards. He brought back some of the stuff that we loved about him, but there were some slow moments where his delivery and jokes could have been better.
Jennifer Lopez and Cameron Diaz made fun of their rear ends and Robert Downey, Jr. did a skit with Gwenneth Paltrow when they presented the award for a Documentary Feature.

Foreign Language film went to A Separation from Iran. Supporting actress went to Octavia Spencer for The Help. After watching the film a second time she deserved to win.

Film Editing: Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Sound editing: Hugo, Sound Mixing: Hugo, Documentary Feature: Undefeated, Animated Feature: Rango which this was a great film ***

Cirque Du Soleil put on an interesting performance, there were a few mishaps but because the stage was dark not everyone would have seen it. You had really look closely.

Visual Effects: Hugo, Supporting Actor went to Christopher Plummer for his role in The Beginner. A big deal was made on his age. He is the oldest recipient of an Oscar. I knew he was going to win because he was playing a gay character. If you know my formula for films it’s a shoe in.
That’s why I was surprised that Glen Close didn’t win for her role.

Musical Score: The Artist, Original Song: Man and Muppet, Adapted Screenplay: The Descendants, Original Screenplay: Midnight in Paris, Live Action short: The Shore, Documentary short subject: Saving Face, Animated Short: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, Best Director: Michelle Hinzanavicus for The Artist, Best Actor: Jean DuJardin for The Artist, Best Actress: Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady, this was her 17th nomination and her 3rd Oscar win.

Best Picture went to the French film The Artist. This is the first time that a foreign film has won best picture.

Oprah Winfrey won an honorary Oscar for all of her humanitarian work.
Oprah appeared on Jimmy Kimmel later and was hilarious. I’m not a big fan of Jimmy Kimmel, but lasts nights show was great. He is really liked by a lot of celebs in Hollywood. They have to like him to let down their guard and do the things he has asked of them. He got Oprah to do a tub scene and to make fun of herself.
Now I’ll see if I can see some of the films that were nominated that I feel would be of interest. Perhaps I’ll see something that will inspire me.

Thanks for stopping by; keep an open mind.


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The Help revisted

With all of the talk about The Help and the Oscar nominations, I decided to watch the film again. Sometimes I’ll watch a movie and I just won’t be all that into it. Perhaps it had to do with all the hype. Maybe it was my mind set about it being a film about maids. I don’t see where it is a classic film, but it was good. The cast is remarkable. Sissy Spacek is great. I definitely feel Octavia Spencer’s nomination is warranted. I feel the Oscars may go to Viola Davis for best actress and Octavia Spencer for best supporting actress, but since I’ve not seen the other actresses that they are up against I can’t be sure.
Seeing the movie a second time made me see it differently. It was a very interesting film. I really enjoyed it and I do recommend it. There are two actresses from New Orleans that also appear in the film.

I’ll be watching the Oscars to see what wins and what doesn’t. I was disappointed that Leonardo DiCaprio was not nominated for J. Edgar. I’m happy that Billy Crystal is back so it should be an interesting show.

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New Orleans Mardi Gras & Film

Many films have been made and set in New Orleans. Some of them weren’t the best of films, but we remember them anyway. Well, I do.

Many of the films try to incorporate what New Orleans has come to be known for. There’s the French Quarter, Mardi Gras, The Superdome, Voodoo and the Cemeteries.

The French Quarter and Mardi Gras seem to go hand in hand even though no large parade has gone through the French Quarter since 1972 when the Krewe of Bacchus turned off of N. Rampart onto St. Ann. Their theme that year was The Bacchus Book of Horrors. I’ve never forget it as King Kong strolled down the street. It was a different Kong than the one that has become a staple of the Krewe. A young blonde sat in the palm of Kong’s hand above the crowd screaming her lungs out just as Faye Ray had done. As Kong moved further into the Quarter he got tangled up in some of the electrical wiring and the lights went out.

So when movies show something that hasn’t happened in a long time it just rubs me the wrong way. LOL.

Harry Connick, Jr. in his Krewe Orpheus.

There was a film called Murder at the Mardi Gras. I know, I don’t remember it either. Then there was The Killer Bees. All I remember about this film was that the Superdome was newly built and hadn’t even been used for any event. There was a scene in which they figured to get rid of the bees they would drive them inside of the superdome and freeze them. Sharon Glass was the star of this film as she sat in the yellow Volkswagon. The bees were lured onto her vehicle and she drove slowly down the street inside the superdome. Once the bees were frozen she was able to get out of the car. The End.

Then there was Candy Man, Farewell to the Flesh. I happened to be on the set of this film and I knew quite a few people involved in the project. Once again Mardi Gras made an appearance as did a Cemetery and of course the French Quarter.

The Clydesdale horses are a significant part of Mardi Gras and are featured in several parades throughout the season.

Then there was Double Jeopardy which starred Ashley Judd. I’m not sure if there was a Mardi Gras scene, but there was a cemetery scene and lots of scene’s in the French Quarter. What got me in this film was that it was raining and everyone in the French Quarter had these pastel looking umbrellas. First of all there are enough balconies in the Quarter that people rarely carry an umbrella they just walk under the balconies and if its raining too hard they duck into a bar or a restaurant until the rain stops.

The Help

      Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer were both on Tavis Smiley and it was quite the conversation. I enjoy when actors have really strong convictions and can be honest. So many interviews are planned ahead and there are certain questions you can and cannot ask.

I enjoyed the film and I’ll have to watch it again because I don’t see all the hype. It was a fun entertaining film. Yes, I’m happy that two black actors are nominated, but were their performances really that great?
What was different about these performances that I hadn't seen in the past?

Tavis brought up a good point that I’ve long made people aware of. If you are going to be nominated for an Oscar, the best roles to play are killers, prostitutes, someone with a mental disorder, someone going through a serious change, devious or someone dying. The best actor and actress category has always gone to the actor portraying one of these attributes. A lot of people have issues with this, but you can't have it both ways. One of my big issues with Hollywood is that the films always have to be sugar coated. There is always that happen ending. Life doesn't always have a happy ending. I think it's one of the reasons I enjoy foreign films so much. They seem more realistic.

In the supporting role it’s always been some what of a comedic role. Whoopi Goldberg won her Oscar for Ghost playing a bad medium.

The point Tavis was trying to make was the fact of the role they are receiving their nomination for playing. I don’t see anything wrong with playing certain roles as long as there is meat to the character. If the character really has something to say and isn’t just there as dressing.

I have had moments where I didn’t like that an actor was nominated for playing a certain role, but its an award voted on by the Academy and some of those members are now black actors. It’s a great honor just to be nominated, but it’s a bigger honor to win. Of course winning doesn’t guarantee any better roles. It just means you might get more bad scripts to go through.

There always seems to be this thing where whenever a black actor is nominated it becomes a race issue. If they don’t win its because they are black. If they don’t win, couldn’t it just be that the other actors were better?
We have to stop basing everything on race because that isn’t always the case even if it helps the psyche of some people. It just fuels anger and there are enough angry people in the world.

Tavis also brought up the point of George Lucas’ Red Tails. I can’t afford to go to the movies like I used too, but I do buy a lot of films. Even if I could have afforded a ticket I’m not sure I would have gone to see Red Tails. It has nothing to do with it being a story about a historical event, but the story has been told. I have a film called, The Tuskegee Airmen that stars Laurence Fishburne, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Allen Payne, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Courtney B. Vance and Andre Braugher.
I’ve never been a big fan of remakes unless the right star is connected with it or if I never saw the original.

That would be the case with The Great Gatsby starring Leonardo DiCaprio, but I’ll save that for another entry.

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Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon

Sean Penn having a humorous moment. I used to joke that when I asked to Photograph Sean Penn that he didn't try to knock me out. (There was this incident he had with a photographer back in the 90's, he is really a nice guy) Actors are human and they too have bad days.

Six degrees of separation - Studies are now showing we are getting closer and closer in degrees of separation. With the social media people have a bigger chance of becoming friends with those of other people. In some cases it could be a good thing as we discover we have more in common than we originally thought.

A few months ago, Kevin Bacon was on Pierce Morgan and he was talking about how many degrees he was away from Kevin Bacon up until the point that he was on the show. I began thinking about how many degrees I was from Kevin Bacon. Orginally I thought I was two degrees from Kevin Bacon, but I’m actually one degree from Kevin Bacon.

Back in the late 90’s when I was doing the Seattle Film Festival, I met and photographed Sean Penn and his wife Robin Wright Penn. Sean Penn and Kevin Bacon starred in Mystic River. My other connection with Kevin Bacon was when I met Ron Eldard and Julianna Margulies. They met while working on ER and were secretly dating. Ron Eldard starred with Kevin Bacon in Sleepers.

That’s my little Hollywood tidbit for the day. LOL.

I’m thinking about doing some entries on the celebrities I’ve met, befriended, photographed and hung out with, and the Hollywood/Movie experience from 1978 to 2005 which was the last time I was a part of any production.

Vampires

I wouldn't say I'm a big fan of the Twilight series, but I do like vampire movies and I have added the first three films to my collection. I'm not one to go to the theater to see the films especially since they are so popular. The chance of going to a quiet theater are rather slim.

I guess the first vampire movie that really scared me and changed my perception was Blacula. The premise was interesting and when I got older and watched the films they were rather campy, but black people make some scary monsters. LOL.

Scream Blacula Scream was a better film, but I'm partial to it because it starred Pam Grier.

I'll watch the first three Twilight films this weekend. Whenever I buy the next film in any series I go back and start from the beginning. The last two films seems interesting and I like that each sequel is better than the previous one.

I have quite a few vampire films in my collection including the series Kindred: The Embrace which was only on for one season when the lead vampire died in real life.

Thanks for stopping by and Keep an open mind.

J. Edgar

I've been a fan of Leonardo DiCaprio since I first saw him on Growing Pains. His big breakout role was the mentally disabled kid in What's Eating Gilbert Grape. Most child actors when they come out with such a great role at such a young age its hard to maintain that status. It's like a drug addict trying to relive that first high.

Leonardo worked with some big stars and when he did Basketball Diaries it just blew me away. I didn't think he would ever be able to top that performance. I was write up until he did the film, The Departed. Before this it was hard to see him as an adult actor. His boyish looks didn't make it believeable. I understand how looking young can have good a bad points. People tend to only see the exterior. So, when he did Revolutionary Road I was hoping it would be a better film, but I was disappointed. Now with J. Edgar this is the film that should finally allow Leonardo DiCaprio to join the Oscar club. He's matured as a person and it was as if Clint Eastwood knew he could pull it off.

There were many reasons I wanted to see this film after finding out Leonardo would have the lead. This was a crucial moment in history, but there was a deeper story that we heard about, but you're not always sure its true. An artist can take come creative liscense such as what Oliver Stone did with JFK, but you don't want to go too far out on the ledge. I had always heard that J. Edgar liked wearing womens underwear under his suit. We don't see that in the film, but we do get an insight on the impact his mother had on him and we see him struggle with his sexual identity.

There are a lot of actors helping Leonardo DiCaprio bring his character to life, but he commands the screen. I just wish the story hadn't been told in flashbacks. I could have done without the narration, but other than that it's a good movie and I'm going to want to add it to my collection.

If you are a fan of Leonardo DiCaprio, check out this film and others that you may not have seen. Even though The Beach was not such a great box office success its an interesting film. Romeo and Juliet is also an interesting adaptation of the classic William Shakespeare story of young love from different sides of the class struggle.