1999
Talkin' 'Bout da Movies
All in all, a fairly standard broadcast in the scheme of things. Lots of jokes from Whoopi Goldberg, some lame and some pretty good. Five snoozeworthy performances of the nominated songs (be honest: does anyone actually sit through all those crapfests?) The Holocaust documentary won, again. (I’m planning to make a documentary on the making of the four Holocaust documentaries that have won over the past three years. Oscar, here I come!) Lots of people crying. Lots of people talking about how heavy an Oscar is. Lots of reaction shots of Roberto Benigni. Lots of jokes about Ken Starr and Linda Tripp.
And we got to see Chris Rock call Elia Kazan a “rat” on live television in front of a billion viewers. It is for moments like this that I live.
There was about as much applause for Kazan as I expected, unfortunately, though from the overhead shot it looked as though about a fourth or a fifth of the audience sat on their hands. We got nice closeups of Ed Harris and Nick Nolte conspicuously not applauding, which surprised me--the Academy controls the cameras. I was pleased to see that one of the first audience members to jump to his feet and clap was my very least favorite actor in the entire world, Kurt Russell. Bastard.
Glad to see the tributes to Gene Siskel and Stanley Kubrick, even though they passed on too late to make it into the parade o’ dead guys. (Did you know there’s a word for that? It’s called a “necrology.” Really.)
The Academy has taken over the pregame show this year, forbidding anybody else from broadcasting outside the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion while the stars arrive. (Who was Dorothy Chandler, anyway?) The disadvantages of having the show controlled by the Politburo are more than compensated for by the advantages of not having Joan Rivers doing it anymore.
Did anyone understand exactly why John Glenn and Colin Powell were there, other than that everyone likes them?
What was the deal with De Niro’s hair?
Nominees: ELIZABETH
SAVING PRIVATE RYAN
SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE
THE THIN RED LINE
LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL (LA VITA È BELLA)
Who Should Win:
SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE
Who Will Win: SAVING PRIVATE RYAN
Who DID Win: SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE
I didn’t think SHAKESPEARE would pull it off. Glad to see I was wrong. This was actually one of the bigger surprises of the night, I think.
Nominees: Nick
Nolte, AFFLICTION
Edward Norton, AMERICAN HISTORY X
Ian McKellen, GODS AND MONSTERS
Tom Hanks, SAVING PRIVATE RYAN
Roberto Benigni, LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL
Who Should Win:
Edward Norton, AMERICAN HISTORY X
Who Will Win: Tom Hanks, SAVING PRIVATE RYAN
Who DID Win: Roberto Benigni, LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL
La mia testa sta esplodendo con la sorpresa! I sure didn’t see that one coming. If I didn’t know all the votes are counted well in advance, I’d suspect they voted for Benigni just so they could see him act overjoyed again.
Nominees: Fernanda
Montenegro, CENTRAL STATION (CENTRAL DO BRASIL)
Cate Blanchett, ELIZABETH
Emily Watson, HILARY AND JACKIE
Meryl Streep, ONE TRUE THING
Gwyneth Paltrow, SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE
Who Should Win:
Cate Blanchett, ELIZABETH
Who Will Win: Cate Blanchett, ELIZABETH
Who DID Win: Gwyneth Paltrow, SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE
I still think Cate Blanchett should have won, but Gwyneth (what kind of a name is that, anyway? Is it Welsh?) Paltrow was my choice before I saw ELIZABETH, so I can’t be too disappointed. It’s nice to see she’s taken the kind of roles that have brought her out of Brad Pitt’s shadow, though I thought she proved back in SE7EN that she had a head for acting (heh).
Nominees: James
Coburn, AFFLICTION
Robert Duvall, A CIVIL ACTION
Billy Bob Thornton, A SIMPLE PLAN
Geoffrey Rush, SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE
Ed Harris, THE TRUMAN SHOW
Who Should Win:
Billy Bob Thornton, A SIMPLE PLAN
Who Will Win: James Coburn, AFFLICTION
Who DID Win: James Coburn, AFFLICTION
Goooooooooaaaaaaaaalllllll!!! Did I call it or what? And they laughed at me when I said Coburn would win! LAUGHED at me! WELL, WHO’S LAUGHING NOW?
Nominees: Lynn Redgrave,
GODS AND MONSTERS
Rachel Griffiths, HILARY AND JACKIE
Brenda Blethyn, LITTLE VOICE
Kathy Bates, PRIMARY COLORS
Judi Dench, SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE
Who Should Win:
Kathy Bates, PRIMARY COLORS
Who Will Win: Brenda Blethyn, LITTLE VOICE
Who DID Win: Judi Dench, SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE
An Oscar weighs about eight pounds, which is one pound for every minute Judi Dench was on screen in SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE. Whatever. See, I told you that she would win this year since I chose someone else. I doubt I can get away with calling that a successful prediction, though.
Nominees: Steven
Spielberg, SAVING PRIVATE RYAN
John Madden, SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE
Terrence Malick, THE THIN RED LINE
Peter Weir, THE TRUMAN SHOW
Roberto Benigni, LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL
Who Should Win:
Steven Spielberg, SAVING PRIVATE RYAN
Who Will Win: Terrence Malick, THE THIN RED LINE
Who DID Win: Steven Spielberg, SAVING PRIVATE RYAN
Shoulda gone with my gut instinct. I was sure Malick would get something. Not that I am complaining.
Nominees: Warren
Beatty (screenplay/story), Jeremy Pikser (screenplay), BULWORTH
Robert Rodat, SAVING PRIVATE RYAN
Marc Norman, Tom Stoppard, SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE
Andrew Niccol, THE TRUMAN SHOW
Vincenzo Cerami, Roberto Benigni, LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL
Who Should Win:
Marc Norman, Tom Stoppard, SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE
Who Will Win: Marc Norman, Tom Stoppard, SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE
Who DID Win: Marc Norman, Tom Stoppard, SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE
I hardly feel entitled to take credit for this one; it was the definitely the shoo-in of the year. (But I’m taking credit for it anyway.)
Nominees: Bill
Condon, Curtis Hanson, GODS AND MONSTERS
Scott Frank, OUT OF SIGHT
Elaine May, PRIMARY COLORS
Scott B. Smith, A SIMPLE PLAN
Terrence Malick, THE THIN RED LINE
Who Should Win:
Scott B. Smith, A SIMPLE PLAN
Who Will Win: Scott Frank, OUT OF SIGHT
Who DID Win: Bill Condon, Curtis Hanson, GODS AND MONSTERS
Okay, I can see that. Good writing, smart dialogue, managed to convey a message of tolerance AND wax nostalgic about THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN. Good for them.
Nominees: THE
GRANDFATHER (EL ABUELO), Spain
THE CHILDREN OF HEAVEN (BACHEHA-YE ASEMAN), Iran
CENTRAL STATION (CENTRAL DO BRASIL), Brazil
TANGO, Argentina
LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL (LA VITA È BELLA), Italy
Who Should Win:
LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL, Italy
Who Will Win: LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL, Italy
Who DID Win: LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL, Italy
Sono il re del mondo! This wasn’t as much of a shoo-in as one might think. CENTRAL STATION and THE CHILDREN OF HEAVEN were both very highly regarded, and some people thought LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL trivialized the Holocaust (an opinion not shared by me). I think it’s safe to like LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL now.
So to wrap up: I correctly picked 3 of the 9 winners in the categories I predicted, which is certainly something to try to beat next year. However, I point out that four of the nominees I said should win did in fact win, putting my Synergy Quotient at 44 percent. See ya next year.
—phh