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March 1, 2004 Update: Was I the only person as sad as Bill Murray appeared to be when he didn't win? One of the highlights of the evening was when Murray "celebrated Sofia Coppola's achievement as the first American woman to be nominated for a Best Director Oscar by joking he and other crew members wanted to quit her while shooting Lost In Translation. Murray -- on stage to present a montage for the Best Picture nominee at last night's ceremony -- quipped that certain members of the team lacked confidence in Coppola's leadership, and they came close to pulling out of the critically acclaimed project. He said, 'Four days into shooting, certain members of our Tokyo crew politely asked if they could quit the film. They did not feel that the director knew what she was doing. We were politely refused. We continued to follow her and her devoted cameraman up and down back stairs, service elevators of a five star Tokyo hotel in the middle of the night, steeling shots and a little piece of the heart of Tokyo. There are still some of us who think the director should have been replaced -- would have cost us one week. We could have picked it right up again. Tonight, she becomes the first American girl ever to be nominated for Best Director and her film for Best Picture.'" -- imdb.com. Here's part of an email communication with my mom: Me: I still wanted Bill Murray to win AND thought he deserved it -- -- and he looked so sad when he didn't win, I felt bad; I think in the end it was a good thing when Billy Crystal said "don't leave Bill, don't leave" -- it kind of brought him back into it. It was actually a very, very nice, thoughtful thing for Crystal to say -- some may not realize that. Mom: I wasn't sure about that....it made me feel uncomfortable .... like maybe it was embarrassing for Bill Murray. Me: Well, everyone could already see that Bill Murray was kind of not into not winning, and I think by pointing it out to everyone, and Bill at the same time, Crystal kind of by making a joke of it, made it less awkward. Here is the last part of the acceptance speech that Tim Robbins gave when he won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor: "... I would like to say one more thing, in this movie I play a victim of abuse and violence, and if you are out there, and are a person that has had that tragedy befall you, there is no shame and no weakness in seeking help and counseling, it is sometimes the strongest thing that you can do to stop the cycle of violence." He could have said a lot of things, political comments, where, maybe I would have agreed with him, lots of others wouldn't, but I dare even the most cynical conservative republican to decry that speech. Although, to be fair, my mom, a conservative republican (although not particularly cynical) said: "And I was actually impressed with Tim Robbins' speech. And, when he said ... it was nothing to be ashamed about... I'm thinking that it's very possible that just something as simple as that could actually be helpful to people suffering from such a trauma." There was one part of the Oscars I really liked, when Will Farrell and Jack Black were announcing the Oscar for Best Song, they did a very funny bit, and towards the end they cut to a shot in the audience, where Scarlett Johannson was seated right next to Sean Connery (which I thought extremely interesting in itself, but) -- and Sean Connery was totally cracking up -- I really didn't expect him to think that that was funny... I love Connery, but had never felt like his sense of humor or comedy was that well-rounded; but you could tell he was genuinely laughing, not fake gagging it up for the cameras. Sean
Penn won Best Actor for Mystic River Also of note, in a possible record-breaking situation, Lord of The Rings 3 won every award it was nominated for, 11 in all. Plus: Best
Adapted Screenplay:
Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson,
Frances Walsh (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King) Complete
list of Oscar nominations Here is a complete list of the 76th annual Oscar nominations announced Tuesday in Beverly Hills, Calif., by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences: One might say: "Hi Ted, I just went to your site to see if you'd put anything up about the Oscar noms... Anyway, I just wanted to let you know I'm anticipating the Tedstrong.com Oscar Noms!" What I want to win is in Blue. If nothing is in Blue, I don't really have a favorite. Movies I have not yet seen are in Italics. Looks like I mainly need to see In America, Master & Commander..., Cold Mountain, Monster, Whale Rider (which I'm not looking forward to), The Last Samurai, thirteen. I'm not going to sit through any of the animated movies. I should see at least (of the docs) Capturing the Friedmans, The Fog of War and maybe The Weather Underground. I have no intention of seeing any short films. Sorry, I just don't know how to; and I'm not going to try that hard either.
Of course these nominees are ridiculous, only Lost In Translation deserves a nomination as one of five best films of 2003. But at least none of the other films are terrible. Actor Kingsley is very good in the depressing, good, but flawed House of Sand and Fog; Depp is hilarious and very good in Pirates of the Caribbean; Penn is okay in the overrated Mystic River (he gets a little too method-y, and is actually better in 21 Grams); Murray gives the performance of his career -- so far -- and is funny and very touching and wonderful in Lost In Translation. He has a slight chance of beating Penn. Law's a good actor -- as of February 18, I haven't seen Cold Mountain.
Actress Keaton's good in the cute, successful romantic comedy Something's Gotta Give. I really like Samantha Morton and Charlize Theron -- but haven't yet seen In America or Monster. I haven't seen Whale Rider, but I feel like it's going to be annoying. Like, preaching to the converted. You know what? I think girls should be able to do anything they want with their lives, anything that a boy can do. And to stack the deck this way, it's too easy. Like, her grandpappy down in wherever, thinks she should act like his idea of a girl/woman and not try to do boy/man stuff -- it's like, okay, I get it, heartwarming, moving, etc. Next. Meanwhile, the amazing Naomi Watts gives one of her greatest performances in a series of great performances in 21 Grams. Supporting Actor Haven't seen Hounsou in In America or Watanabe in Last Samurai. Robbins, like Penn, in Mystic River, over-does the Method. Baldwin is good in The Cooler. Del Toro is great in 21 Grams. Supporting Actress Aghdashloo was good in House of Sand and Fog. Some people are freaking out about how good she was. She wasn't that good. But she was good. Clarkson has been great since I first saw her 15 years ago. She's fantastic in Pieces of April (as she was in 2003's The Station Agent). Gay Harden's nomination annoys. Laura Linney in the same film was much better. Plus Gay Harden just won a supporting Oscar for Pollack. Haven't seen thirteen or Cold Mountain, but Zellweger looks irritating from trailers. Director I love Clint Eastwood and can get sentimental. He's a legend and a hero. When you see clips of Good, Bad, Ugly and Dirty Harry, you just smile -- you can't help it. As a director he's always been hit or miss. He won a an Oscar for directing 1992's Unforgiven -- his best film as director. And I say leave it at that for now. Weir's good, haven't seen Master & Commander. Jackson's Lord of Rings 3 is good, but no more. City of God was very good; Meirelles did some good work. Yet, Coppola, hands down deserves the Oscar for Best Director. Foreign Film Adapted Screenplay Original Screenplay Animated feature film Art Direction Cinematography Sound Mixing Sound Editing: Original Score Original Song Costume Documentary Feature Documentary (short subject) Film Editing Makeup Animated Short
Film Live Action Short Film Visual Effects The
following Oscar winners were previously announced this
year: Blake Edwards has done some really neat, although often flawed work: Victor/Victoria (1982), S.O.B. (1981), 10 (1979), Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978), The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976), The Return of the Pink Panther (1975), Wild Rovers (1971), The Party (1968), A Shot in the Dark (1964), The Pink Panther (1963), Days of Wine and Roses (1962), Experiment in Terror (1962), Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), "Peter Gunn" (1958-1961) TV Series. But a lot of shit too: Son of the Pink Panther (1993), Switch (1991), Skin Deep (1989), A Fine Mess (1986), Curse of the Pink Panther (1983), Trail of the Pink Panther (1982). He also did a lot of bit part acting in the 40s, producing, and writing -- besides a lot of the above, some of what he also wrote or co-wrote: Soldier in the Rain (1963), The Notorious Landlady (1962), "Mr. Lucky" (1959) TV Series, "Peter Gunn" (1958) TV Series, Operation Mad Ball (1957). I'm okay with him getting a special Oscar. He'll be 82 in July. Edwards was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma on July 26, 1922, as William Blake McEdwards. His grandfather J. Gordon Edwards was a silent screen director, and his father Jack McEdwards was a stage director and movie production manager. Victor/Victoria (1982) won him French and Italian awards for Best Foreign Film. He was married to Patricia Walker from 1953 - 1967, they were divorced, with 2 children. He's been married to Julie Andrews since 1969, they have 2 adopted children from Vietnam. At one point, he used to room with Mickey Rooney for a time. Edwards also suffers from suffers from CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) -- I wouldn't be surprised if those last two items weren't related... Personal quote: "Make 'em redecorate your office. That's primary, to let them know where you stand. Then, when you're shooting interior sequences, use your own interior decorator and set dresser. That way everything on the set will fit your house when you're finished." Biography from Leonard Maltin's Movie Encyclopedia: In the 1960s, Andrew Sarris wrote that Edwards "is one writer-director who has got some of his biggest laughs out of jokes that are too gruesome for most horror films." Today, Edwards is still mining the pain from slapstick, and though his track record is erratic, the style is uniquely his own. His stepfather, Jack McEdwards, a production manager, often used him as a movie extra, and Edwards got his first speaking role in Ten Gentlemen From West Point (1942). After some minor roles, he and a friend wrote and produced the low-budget Western Panhandle (1948), which also gave Edwards his first-and last-starring role. He decided to stick to writing and created the successful radio show "Richard Diamond: Private Detective" for Dick Powell. This led to Hollywood attention, and he wrote several musical scripts with actor turned director Richard Quine-Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder, Sound Off (both 1952), and All Ashore (1953). He also cocreated a TV sitcom for Mickey Rooney, "Hey Mulligan" (aka "The Mickey Rooney Show," 1954-55), before winning the opportunity to direct his own script for the Frankie Laine vehicle Bring Your Smile Along (1955). He followed this mild musical comedy with a number of different projects that showcased impressive versatility and energy: the Prohibition spoof He Laughed Last (1956, which he also wrote), the hit submarine comedy caper Operation Petticoat (1959), the charming adaptation of Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961, which won the Oscar for its unforgettable theme, "Moon River"), the thriller Experiment in Terror (1962), and the bleak, harrowing Days of Wine and Roses (1962), with Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick as alcoholics. On a roll, Edwards created one of film comedy's great characters, the acci- dent-prone Inspector Clouseau, brilliantly played by Peter Sellers in The Pink Panther (1964) and the even better A Shot in the Dark (1964). This established Edwards as a modern-day master of sight gags and slapstick comedy, though his efforts in this field over the years have been extremely hit-and-miss, even in his gargantuan silent-comedy homage, The Great Race (1965, which Edwards dedicated onscreen to "Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy"), with its huge but not terribly funny piethrowing melee. What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? (1966) and the slapstick setpiece The Party (1968, with Peter Sellers) met with varying degrees of success from critics and the public, but Darling Lili (1970), a romantic spoof with Edwards' wife Julie Andrews as a WWI spy, was a notorious flop, which Edwards attributed to Paramount's insistence on adding musical numbers and aerial combat sequences. His next films, Wild Rovers (1971) and The Carey Treatment (1972), were recut by MGM head James Aubrey and also bombed. (Many years later, Edwards got to recut Lili and Rovers and the results were reevaluated much more favorably.) Depressed, Edwards retreated to Switzerland for some time, then teamed up with Sellers again for The Return of the Pink Panther (1975), which prompted the lively if formulaic followups The Pink Panther Strikes Back (1976) and Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978). With his commercial standing restored, he wrote, directed and produced three of his best films: 10 (1979), a comic study of male menopause that made stars out of Dudley Moore and Bo Derek; S.O.B (1981), a stinging Hollywood satire in which Andrews buried her "Mary Poppins" image forever by bearing her breasts; and Victor/Victoria (1982), a stylish and delightful comedy (arguably, Edwards' finest film) with Andrews as a singer who becomes a hit in 1930s Paris disguised as a man. Since then, Edwards' nonstop output has been mixed, ranging from silly but winning farce (Micki + Maude 1984; Skin Deep 1989) to the more introspective The Man Who Loved Women 1983; That's Life! 1986-both co-authored by Edwards and his analyst, Dr. Milton Wexler) to stale retreads of old formulas A Fine Mess 1986; Blind Date 1987; Switch 1991). There have also been the ill-advised attempts to keep the Panther series going, long after Sellers' death in 1980, with Trail of the Pink Panther (1982), Curse of the Pink Panther (1983), and most recently, Son of the Pink Panther (1993), with Italian comic actor Roberto Benigni. In addition to the films that have featured his wife, such as The Tamarind Seed (1974), 10 and Victor/Victoria Edwards has featured his daughter Jennifer in S.O.B., The Man Who Loved Women and Son of the Pink Panther and enabled his son Geoffrey to apprentice as an editor on many of his projects; he even filmed most of That's Life! at his Malibu home. Edwards also created the stylish TV detective series "Peter Gunn" (1958-61) and "Mr. Lucky" (1959-60), which launched his hugely successful and enduring relationship with composer Henry Mancini. (He later revived Peter Gunn in the 1967 theatrical movie Gunn and a 1989 telefeature, "Peter Gunn") His attempt at a situation-comedy vehicle for Andrews, "Julie," lasted only a few episodes in 1992. |
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