As I have done every year (except in 2008, when I spent the weekend
in New Orleans), I sat through the 3-hour-long telecast of the Oscars. I
guess because of tradition, it is the only awards show I actually
watch, even if I haven't seen all of the nominees (10 this year!)
beforehand.
I guess I was a bit surprised that James Cameron's blockbuster Avatar
didn't win Best Film (the reason for having ten nominees was to make
sure big movies were included on the list), but if anyone was surprised
that he lost Best Director to Katherine Bigelow, I must say that I
really wasn't. After all, this was sort of a controversial awards
season, and the odds were not at all in Cameron's favor.
First, there is the fact that there was a woman nominated for that
category. There had been a lot of criticism that the Academy favored
testosterone a bit too much (only two other women were nominated in the
past, and they both lost). Also, there was also a nomination for Lee
Daniels, the first-ever African-American director nominated in that
category. In the age of Obama (please do not read anything between the
lines here... there is nothing), many organizations are trying to make
amends for their past behavior towards minorities, and the Academy does
have a spotty record in this case.
Also, in James Cameron's interviews at the time of Avatar's release,
he came off a bit arrogant, and Academy voters hate this kind of
attitude, and prefer to vote for movie makers with a humbler
behavior
.
As for the ceremony itself, I must say that having two hosts was a
clever idea, but pairing Steve Martin with Alec Baldwin was not such a
great idea. While they each had great individual moments, when paired
together their jokes just fell flat. Martin's quip about having been a
"poor black kid" on his first movie (true: in The Jerk his
character was raised by an African-American family and saw himself as a
black man) fell flat and even got some boos. His other Precious
quip on the movie "living up to its video game" was met with puzzled
looks from the cast and crew present at the auditorium. I realize a lot
of people disagree with me on that one (judging from the responses I got
to my Tweets during the telecast), but I think they should think about
bringing Billy Crystal back.. again.
