I think PVP said it best for all

[Chickstyle]

Regarding last nights academy awards.

[Zubkavich]

It's unfortunate that the Academy awards are more than just a look at the year's films and an award for the best achievments.

The politics behind the awards sway the Academy judges in so many ways that it's impossible to tell if people won for their actual performance or film that they were noiminated for or if it was a series of past performances, political correctness and popularity at work.

Is Denzel Washington worthy of Best Actor. Completely. Was 'Training Day' a worthy performance for it? Probably not...

Halle Berry seemed the only acting award that nailed it well. Great performance, at the right time.

Lord of the Rings got shafted in a lot of the major awards because it's a trilogy and most of the Academy is probably going to hold off on the dump truck of awards until 'Return of the King'. That and the fact that 'fantasy good vs. evil' isn't considered as high a concept as
'schizophrenic overcomes disability to win Nobel Prize'

I was disappointed that it didn't win for 'Best Adapted Screenply' though... adapting one of the most beloved literary works of all time into a cohesive film was really worthy.

Oh well... entertainment is a complicated social beast.

[DarkWolf_777]

Very political ... and didn't quite agree with the whole thing basically turning into a black & white issue. I never saw Monsters Ball ... I hope that Halle Barry was deserving. From the movies that I did see though, I personally feel that Nichole Kidman should have recieved that one.

Same thing with Denzel ... he's good, and he was good in Training Day, but I don't personally feel that his performance in Training Day was Oscar caliber.

And what's up with "Come What May" not being nominated for best song (from Moulin Rouge)? "Vanilla Sky" sucked ass! The movie, as good as it was, can't save the dreck that was an excuse for a song. I think the only reason it was nominated was because it was Paul Mcartney. Thank God it didn't win, at least. But I also don't agree with the Monster's Inc. song winning. I can't even remember the name, it was so forgettable. It's the same song he did for Toy Story, Toy Story 2, and A Bug's Life... just different lyrics. Of the ones nominated, I think it should have been Faith Hill, or Enya. Sting was good, but I think the other two songs were much more appealing.

Ian McKellan was robbed for Supporting Actor. That's all I have to say about that.

[Kevin Wolf]

On 2002-03-25 18:00, DarkWolf_777 wrote:

Ian McKellan was robbed for Supporting Actor. That's all I have to say about that.

I'm going to say something controversial.

First of all, I loved McKellan as Gandalf.

However, I think it is far lesser an achievement for a respected, high-calibre Shakespearean actor to convincingly portray Gandalf than it is for a virtual unknown like Broadbent to bring to life a Satanic yet strangely endearing sleazy nightclub host (while also nailing the funniest musical sequence with his daffy version of "Like a Virgin").

McKellan (who, I repeat, I loved in the role) was playing a fairly walk-in-the-park stereotype of a stern mentor, while Broadbent's performance was so incredibly zany, dark, mischievous and layered. I can imagine other older British actors as Gandalf, but Broadbent put an indelible stamp on the character of Zigler.

I agree that LOTR got shafted in virtually every other artistic category, but I believe that Broadbent more than deserved his Oscar for Moulin Rouge.

Edit: I'm a jackass. I was just reading the list of winners over at Dark Horizons, and apparently, Broadbent won for some movie called "Iris" that I've never even heard of? What the hell?

Never mind, then. If he wasn't nominated for "Moulin Rouge", then I agree--

Ian got robbed!!

_________________
Kevin Wolf
Ultimately, we all work for Mythocorp.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Kevin Wolf on 2002-03-25 23:14 ]</font>

[DarkWolf_777]

Yeah, if he was nominated for Moulin Rouge, then definitely, he deserved it. But not for Iris.

[Kevin Wolf]

What the hell is this movie "Iris?". Another polite little period piece? Anybody know? I like to keep up on things movie-wise, but I have never heard of this flick. What about it, and Jim Broadbent's performance, made it more Oscar-worthy than Moulin Rouge? Anyone? Anyone?

[Templar]

Iris is about an author (whose name escapes me ATM) who goes from being a brilliant, vibrant woman in her youth to being a sad, confused woman in her old age because of Alzheimer's. Broadbent played her long-suffering husband in their later years.

McKellan still should have won, I thought.

[DarkWolf_777]

Yeah, I'd never heard of "Iris" until Oscar night. Doesn't really sound like my kind of movie though. I may watch it whenever it hits Showtime or HBO, but won't make it a priority