But first, let me recap the past few weeks. February is the shortest month, but for three of these four weeks, I've been working some of my longest days (including two consecutive 6-day work weeks). I'm still happy with the move out here, and still looking for a new home, and relieved to be taking my time to really get settled into this new chapter in my life.
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| Front door light, on a recent apartment-hunting evening. |
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| The nice thank you card I got from the Hindu Students Community for doing a yoga demonstration as part of their Hinduism Awareness Week series of programs on campus. |
On to the matter at hand: the 83rd Academy Awards. Let's just get the sad news out of the way first: I only scored 15 out of 24 correct guesses on my ballot, for a dismal 62.50%. Yes, I know that's barely an academic grade in the D range. But I can't be fairly graded against some of the Academy's mistakes. Not that I'm bitter. I'm just standing by some of my arguments. And thankfully, I joined in on the fun party hosted by my friend Sal in the Central West End.
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| Follow the yellow-tiled road: this way to the Oscars party! |
First of all, the red carpet entrances were fun. In my opinion, standout men included Justin Timberlake, Hugh Jackman, Robert Downey, Jr., and Matthew McCounaghey; standout women included Anne Hathaway, Jennifer Hudson, Reese Witherspoon, Penelope Cruz, Helen Mirren, and best of all: Sharon Stone! She may be crazy, but she knows how to pull off Hollywood glamour.
Then the opening. When the recorded movie tribute montage farce is the best part of the show, you know it's gonna be bad for ratings. Bravo to James Franco and Anne Hathaway for leading with a well-produced and impressively edited send-up of all the nominees with a bit of light-hearted but earnest comedy. But why was James Franco cell-phone-videorecording his entrance? And why did Anne Hathaway play the starstruck little girl all night long? (Ohmygoodness, you're all real! it's the incomparable Kirk Douglas! I'm in awe of Cate Blanchett! I'm breathing the same air as Oprah! Am I really and truly introducing Steven Spielberg? - wow!) That got old and tired very quickly. Um, you're the host, so host; don't gawk or feign wonderment that you are surrounded by celebrities. It's called: "your life." I'm sure you are always surrounded by other famous people and celebrities. But I was loving her costume and hair changes, and totally loved her song routine. In my opinion, James Franco barely added eye candy as her sidekick - she can host this bad puppy all on her own. Since when does the show lead with two technical awards? Isn't it always a supporting acting category? Whatever.
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| Should I enter the party on Vine... |
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| Or on Sunset? |
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| Thanks, but I'll take the V.I.P. entrance! |
In no particular order other than the way they were printed on the oscar.go.com website (with my running tally included)...
Performance by an actor in a leading role [1/1]
Colin Firth in “The King's Speech”
- Perfectly done, and about time!
Christian Bale in “The Fighter”
- I would have also been happy with Geoffrey Rush, Mark Ruffalo, or John Hawkes too. Jeremy Renner was rather unremarkable in "The Town." I would have also been happier if Christian Bale had shown up clean-shaven.
Performance by an actress in a leading role [3/3]
Natalie Portman in “Black Swan”
- Hey, I love Annette Bening too, but I thought Natalie pulled off the greater acting challenge. Annette was greatly assisted by a solid ensemble cast and fantastic writing. I know some people were turned off by Natalie's acceptance speech, but the only part that irked me was leading with "This is insane..." Come on, Harvard grad: words can't escape you that easily.
Melissa Leo in “The Fighter”
- This was one of the toughest categories, and I would have been happy for any of the nominees to win, but I wanted the young Hailee Steinfeld to pull off the upset. Melissa Leo's shameless self-promotion apparently did not turn off enough voters to leave that door open though. But her totally rambling and profanity-laced acceptance speech turned me off enough.
“Toy Story 3”
- One word: Pixar. Duh.
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| The centerpiece I helped assemble. |
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| Cocktail napkins for drinky-drinks...end scene! |
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| More lovely decor. Way to work the theme, Sal! |
Achievement in art direction [5/6]
“Alice in Wonderland”
- Boldest colors and most audacious design choices. Good call.
“Inception”
- The first major award I got wrong and one that I thought the voters got wrong. "Inception" had some impressive camera work, but even the very short clips shown during the listing of nominees demonstrated much more artistry in "The King's Speech." Watch it (or watch it again) and notice the fish-eye lenses, the decision to shoot close-ups from above, the framing of characters in solo shots off-center or in the corners of the screen - smart and evocative, and now overlooked. Boo.
“Alice in Wonderland”
- A rather easy (and correct) choice.
“The King's Speech”
- Very happily surprised with this win, even though I guessed "Black Swan." The reason I was excited with this win is that it bode well for a Best Picture award too.
“Inside Job”
- I will have to see this one now: the relevance of the subject matter (and the ensuing political commentary offered during the acceptance speech) must have appealed to enough voters. And again I ask: what happened to "Waiting For 'Superman'" - was it somehow ineligible?
“Strangers No More”
- Didn't see any of these so I was OK with my loss of this point.
“The Social Network”
- Perhaps the most deserving recognition of intercutting in recent memory.
“In a Better World”
- Again, having seen none of the nominees, I was OK losing this point, even though I might have preferred a different story to be recognized.
Achievement in makeup [10/14]
“The Wolfman”
- When the presenter reacts to the nomination with an unscripted comment like "That's gross," then the makeup work is probably good enough to take the award.
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| The well-decorated refrigerator door for the well-executed party. |
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| I started and finished with the tempranillo...and a lot of snicky-snacks along the way! |
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score) [11/15]
“The Social Network”
- Solid. Um, has Trent Reznor always been that hot? How did I miss that all these years?
“We Belong Together” from “Toy Story 3”
- OK, this is a major gripe for me. Some people at the party said they were so happy that the cute song won over the weird ethereal nominees. But guess what? This is not an award for the bestseller single on iTunes. Nor is it an award bestowed by the music industry. This award (read the title again, above) recognizes a song written specifically for a movie. And guess what? That "weird" and "ethereal" song from "127 Hours" was the most effective one. "Toy Story 3" could have used any catchy melody in the place of Randy Newman's song, even a cover of a Monkees song a la "Shrek," and it would have been as cute and sentimental as the winner. This was a missed opportunity to give "127 Hours" some kind of win. Boo.
Best animated short film [11/17]
“The Lost Thing”
- If my choice of "The Gruffalo" is ever accessible (maybe on BBC or BBC2 television), please support the talent that went into it, and maybe you will agree with me that it got appallingly overlooked. I enjoyed all the nominated short films but really fell in love with "The Gruffalo," and it's hard not to defend the one you fall in love with!
“God of Love”
- My choice was "Na Wewe" which had powerful content and an important social message. I would have been happy with "The Confession" or "The Crush" and maybe could have even been swayed to support "Wish 143." I thought "God of Love" was quirky and cute, but not very substantial. Maybe the endorsement of the award will lead to more work from the creator, and maybe I'll be proven wrong in the long run, but for now I was disappointed.
“Inception”
- My next major gripe. "Inception" had big bold bombastic sound, but "True Grit" had more sounds that needed to be edited together (gunshots, horse hooves, dialogue, musical score, etc.). I think sound editing is one of those counter-intuitive arts: when it's done well, it's almost imperceptible. Well, there wasn't much about "Inception" that was imperceptible - it was not an exercise in restraint or subtlety, but "True Grit" was, and I wanted the intelligent and finely crafted understatements in its sound editing to make a big bold bombastic splash by taking this award.
“Inception”
- This is where "Inception" was the correct choice: sound mixing is the creation of sounds, including those that don't exist in the real world (e.g., the sound of cities collapsing into the seashore, the sound of a city landscape folding in half like a paper map).
“Inception”
- For a special effects movie, this one was rather obvious and I was happy that a solid sci-fi drama could get numerous nominations (and wins, this year).
“The Social Network”
- Aaron Sorkin has done great things for television and even Broadway, and his brain really provided the solid base for "The Social Network." But his intelligence almost killed his acceptance speech: he came across so dispassionate and cold - what was up with that?
Original screenplay [14/23]
“The King's Speech”
- "Another Year" was the only nominee I had not seen so I would have been very happy for any of the other four to win. But I really wanted "The Kids Are All Right" to be the "little movie that could" win something, and its screenplay felt like its best shot and most appropriate option because that screenplay gave the movie its sweetly emotional and intelligently realistic heart. But when "The King's Speech" won, I really felt that it would win "the big one."
“The King's Speech”
- And then it did win. And I was thrilled. So sayeth the prophecy...
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| My door prize keychain for having the highest scoring ballot at the party (or at least having seen all 10 of the Best Picture nominees) - yay! |
I loved the P.S. 22 closing musical number of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow," and it turned out to be rather prescient as a coda based on a twister-themed classic movie. I got back to the temporary apartment just when tornado sirens were blaring in the night. And less than 10 minutes later, the National Weather Service changed the warning to something much more ominous: an order to "take shelter" immediately. The staff of the apartment building went door-by-door to move us all into the lower level of the parking garage, where I typically park. So I got into my car to listen to the weather report, but could only get jazz or classical on the public radio channels, so I turned it off and reclined in the driver's seat. Well, my Academy Award adrenaline rush was now gone, and I ended up sleeping almost two hours in my car. When I woke up at 2 AM, the garage crowds were gone, as were the downpour rain, and howling wind. So I went back to the bed exhausted, and woke up even more so.
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| Take shelter, indeed! |
I'm already looking forward to the 84th Academy Awards - let the countdown begin again! In the meantime...Tony Awards in June - hooray!
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