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The Oscars...
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The Oscars Are Happening: Do You Care?

By: Stephen Lackey
Date: Monday, February 25, 2008

I’ve heard many hardcore fans of film/TV say that the Emmys, the Golden Globes, and The Academy Awards are like their Super Bowls. Many years ago, I would have agreed but nowadays I don’t, to be honest, I just don’t care about these shows anymore. Admittedly, I still do check the news the next day to see who won what but I don’t care enough to watch the shows or to even care who wins or loses. If these awards shows are like our Super Bowls, they would have all been busted years ago for game rigging. My mind turned on the awards after two major events. The first was win Jethro Tull won a Grammy for best metal album over such bands as AC/DC and Metallica. The second even, the nail in the coffin was when Shakespeare in Love won the best picture Oscar over Saving Private Ryan. I remember being completely stunned by that and it woke me up to the level of behind the scenes bribes that were going on. It’s pretty well known that the Weinstein Brothers bought that award for their film. Now, so many years later, which of these two films continues to have an impact? Some would say that Saving Private Ryan was Steven Spielberg’s last perfect film. Let’s hope that isn’t true with Indiana Jones on the way, but I digress. The Academy has worked over the years to try and recover from the feeling that their awards are bought by limiting gift giving by studios and such but I and many other hardcore fans still feel like these awards are bought behind the scenes.

Even outside of any mainstream complaints with the awards, when it comes to film, our favorite genres are often overlooked because they just aren’t serious moviemaking. I was shocked when I heard Peter Jackson actually got recognized. We have an easier road on TV because good science fiction can get some attention occasionally. So my question is: did you watch the Oscars (by the time you read this they will probably have already aired)? Do you care who won?

Many shows are gone this week, some are finished for the year and some are just on a hiatus and are coming back later in March or in April. The Sarah Connor Chronicles should get a Mania award for most improved television series. It started off rocky but it just seems to be getting better and better. Jericho is also on my radar this week. It started off rocky too but the new direction the series is taking is intriguing. This week though, like the last several weeks, is all about LOST. This series is really showing everyone how it’s done this season and I expect more greatness this week.

Monday

TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES (FOX, 9PM EST) THE DEMON HAND

Sarah breaks into Ellison's apartment in search of a missing cyborg arm. While there, she discovers a file on Dr. Silverman (Bruce Davison), a psychiatrist who once treated her. Meanwhile, Cameron takes a ballet class that may lead her to the Turk. Stranger: Brian Austin Green.

Tuesday

JERICHO (CBS, 10PM EST) JENNINGS AND RALL

A deadly virus has jumped the Mississippi and is heading toward Kansas, but the vaccine is being held up by the contractor, J&R. Meanwhile, Hawkins convinces Beck (Esai Morales) that the new government may have a hidden agenda. Goetz: D.B. Sweeney.

DIRTY JOBS (DSC, 9PM EST) ICKY, GOOEY, AND STICKY FOODS

Mike Rowe recalls previous jobs involving favorite U.S. foods. Also: a Top 10 list of the most disgusting things he has eaten.

Wednesday

UFO HUNTERS (HISTORY, 10PM EST) MILITARY VS UFO’S

Supposed UFO encounters with the military in Suffolk, England, are explored. Included: claims of a 1956 sighting at the former RAF Bentwaters base; and a 1980 sighting by British and U.S. soldiers near Rendlesham Forest. Also: audio recordings; and eyewitness accounts.

Thursday

LOST (NBC, 9PM EST) THE CONSTANT

Sayid and Desmond run into turbulence on their way to the freighter, causing Desmond to suffer unusual side effects. Charles Widmore: Alan Dale. Penny Widmore: Sonya Walger. George Minkowski: Fisher Stevens.

Friday

STARGATE ATLANTIS (SCIFI, 10PM EST) THE KINDRED, PART TWO

Conclusion. Beckett's return surprises the Atlantis crew. Elsewhere, Teyla, now a prisoner, finds missing Athosians held captive at one of Michael's secret facilities. Paul McGillion.

Saturday

PITCH BLACK (SCIFI, 6:30PM EST)

Though highly derivative of ALIEN, this handsomely photographed, briskly directed sci-fi fright picture is enjoyable enough on its own limited terms. Sometime in the future, a commercial transport ship is badly damaged as it cruises through deep space. The crew must make a crash landing on a desolate desert planet, and most of the passengers and crew members are killed. Docking pilot Fry (Rahda Mitchell) survives, and reluctantly accepts that as the senior — make that the only — member of the crew to have survived, she's in charge. The stranded passengers include youthful runaway Jack (Rhiana Griffith); no-nonsense geologist Shazza (Claudia Black); effete antique dealer Paris (Lewis Fitz-Gerald); a muslim Imam (Keith David) shepherding three young religious pilgrims; interstellar bounty hunter Johns (Cole Hauser, the image of his father, Wings Hauser); and last but not least, Johns's prisoner, Riddick (Vin Diesel), a psychopath who recently busted out of jail by hijacking a transport ship and killing everyone on board. The first order of business is finding water and some way off the godforsaken planet. But it quickly becomes apparent that however barren the desert surface may appear, there's life somewhere, and it's not friendly. Worse, there's an eclipse on the way, and the hostile extraterrestrials come into their own in the dark.

Sunday

THE SIMPSONS (FOX, 8PM EST) THE DEBARTED

A new kid at school named Donny (voice of Topher Grace) works with Bart on his pranks. But when the pranks start to backfire, Bart wonders if he can trust his new accomplice. Meanwhile, the Simpsons get a fancy loaner car after Marge gets in an accident, and Homer falls in love with it. Terry Gross has a voice cameo as herself.

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Comments/Responses

mlaforcer • Feb 25, 2008, 12:01am •

nothing...

Freddyfred27 • Feb 25, 2008, 05:12am •

Not That I Care but....
How The Fuck Did No Country Win Best Picture?
I wonder how much they payed for that 1.

rgtchtiger • Feb 25, 2008, 05:19am •

I used to love watching the Oscars and Emmys every year to see who won and cheer on whichever nominees I cared about. Then I woke up and realized all these award shows are nothing more than 3 hour-long displays of ass-kissing and pats on the back. Now I really do not care at all about the shows themselves, and knowing who wins every year doesn't do much more for me. I haven't seen any of the major nominated films this year, but I would like to eventually catch No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood. I might watch Juno but it doesn't appeal to me much.

Oh, and I for one think Saving Private Ryan is one of the most overrated films in the past 20 years. The Thin Red Line was a MUCH superior film, and that was the film I was rooting for to win Best Picture that year. Before anyone jumps on me for being crazy, allow me to explain my logic. It's very simple actually. Remove the first half hour and the last half hour from the movie. What do you have left? A very uninteresting story and certainly nothing that memorable. Ask Joe Moviegoer about Saving Private Ryan and he'll probably talk about the battle sequences in the movie, but he won't tell you anything about the characters. The Thin Red Line made you care about the characters, and that is the key in making a memorable film.

mbeckham1 • Feb 25, 2008, 07:11am •

I always know there's something fishy when the director gets best director but the picture he directed doesn't get best picture.

As in Saving Private Ryan, best directed picture, but apparently lacking something the "Best" Picture, perhaps a bit with a dog.
And how exactly are Shakespare in Love and Chicago "Serious" movies but scifi and fantsy almost never make the cut. Took them three years to recognize Lord of the Rings.

And of course two years ago Ang Lee was given best director, but Crash was given Best Pic over Brokeback Mountain. Possibly because no other movie before Crash had ever addressed the existence of racisim in Los Angeles, oh wait...

Crash was a fine film, but it comes off like an 80s era morality play where as Brokeback took what remains a hot-button political issue and handled it such sensitivity, grace and depth that it becomes a modern Shakespearian tragedy.

This year however, best director Joel and Ethan Coen, Best Picture No Country for old Men, can't argue with that. Nor with Scorcese and The Departed.

Though to me Depp's merging of man monster Sweeny Todd was a smidge more engaging than Daniel Day-Lewis's Plianview, and Viggo Mortensen's was the underrated performance of the season. It's a crime against humanity if he goes too many more years without an Oscar.

I loved There Will Be Blood and what DanielDay did with the character most of the time. But it got a bit some of the performance seemed like performance. And I bought Viggo and Depp in their characers throuhghout. I know I'm in the minority there so maybe it's just me.

Thought the Assassination of Jesse James should have gotten best Cinematography too.

I still like the show and I can get aprized of things like what's going on in animatred shorts and foreign language film that I might
not otherwise have heard about.

themovielord • Feb 25, 2008, 07:41am •

I too used to care. I think the last year that I did was LOTR Return of the King. They were giving him the award for all three films on that last one. They had to.

It's not about who wins (those that are nominated) it's about who GETS the most votes. It's like our elections. Other movies can split the vote and some odd ball can emerge victorious.

I actually didn't want it to go on this year. It's all about the clothes anyway. Stewart was funny and the tributes both real and fake were great.

Do they hold any weight with me... NO. They do with normal people who just go to the movies and not LIVE for the movies like we do. But I continue to watch to check out those films you wouldn't hear about except for theie Academy nominations; Short films, Documnetaries, Foreign films.

Merin • Feb 25, 2008, 09:14am •

Spielberg has made some decent movies, but if there was ever a director more overrated it would have to be Martin Scorsese.

I liked Shakespeare in Love - a lot. I find it funny in the same series of posts / articles complaining about how the Oscars never nominate a comedy to win will have posts complaining that Shakespeare in Love, a comedy, won over the drama Saving Private Ryan.

Ben Affleck won over Matt Damon. Deal!

Then watch Jimmy Kimmel's response to his "ex" girlfirend Sarah Silverman, and see that Affleck wins again! ;)

mbeckham1 • Feb 25, 2008, 09:23am •

I did love Day-Lewis's exceptance speech, especially getting "knighted" by Mirren and the "handsomest bludgeon." and it was a great performance. I guess just wanted a surprise, like the Giants winning the Super Bowl. And everyone just assumed it was all his when there were other great performances which deserved attention.

Haven't seen valley of Eleha but Tommy Lee Jones is always good, heard he was great in Valley.

And I think it'as a shame that Depp hasn't won given all the great and varied performances he's and I really think Sweeney Todd was his best performance yet. And really daring and different from anything I'd seen before.

And Viggo was amazing in Eastern Promises, a revealation to his range, cant wait to see him in The Road. BTW that adorable little lady sitting beside him was his niece.

rudewordsmith • Feb 25, 2008, 10:04am •

I tend to doubt that people "buy" their oscars. I think that's an easy excuse for people to make when their favorite film loses. I don't think that Crash had any right being best picture that particular year, but it won. Do I think Paul Hagas or his producers bribed the academy? No. Frankly, I feel that people are still so naive about race relations that they thought the film was powerful enough to be "Best Picture". Maybe Hollywood thought some melodramatic after school special could fix intolerance, even though decades of civil rights championing from intelligent men and women couldn't completely eradicate the problem.

My point is this, though: There is no logic to how most people vote. Every one has different tastes, and in a year like 2007, when the films were very strong, it could have gone any-which-way.

But the people that deserved to win, won... except for all the Bourne Ultimatim love. I don't understand that at all.

kaybar • Feb 25, 2008, 10:40am •

yeah good call beckham, viggo was the shit in Eastern Promises

Edit: Also good call WhiteKnight on RotK, I'm a huge Rings fan but that painfully exaggerated ending in Return should have dashed any hopes of winnin an Oscar.

And what about Titanic winning best visual effects over Starship Troopers??? SHAME ON YOU HOLLYWOOD!

WhiteKnight • Feb 25, 2008, 10:41am •

The last year I actually watched the oscars was in 1999 when it was Shakespeare in Love vs. Saving Private Ryan. I watched that year just because I was hoping Star Wars Ep1 would get snubbed for best sfx (Got my wish) and to see Saving Private Ryan get snubbed for best picture. (two for two) It had been clear to me for many years at that point that the Oscars were about Hollywood politics and no real sense of recognizing achievement and I was guessing the academy would use Private Ryan and Star Wars as excuses to kiss Spielberg's and Lucas' backside respectively.

Other recent attrocities: Joaquin Phoenix in Gladiator snubbed for best supporting actor in favor of Benico Del Toro in Traffic, LOTR: Fellowship snubbed for best picture in favor of A Beautiful Mind, LOTR: Return of the King winning Best Editing simply because it's two elder brothers had been snubbed on every count the two years prior and, in my opinion the most unforgivable, Johnny Depp in PotC 1 snubbed for best actor in favor of Sean Penn in Mystic River. Hell, even if they'd given Bill Murray the statue instead of Johnny I could deal, but Sean Penn! WTF?

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