Monday, February 28, 2011

The Greatest Storytellers? Oscar quickviews

Film holds its place as the most lucrative form of storytelling, so I’ll give the Oscars a few lines here.

 
3 things I missed at the 83rd Oscars:
  1. Un-nominated actors as hosts? Working material and scripts for humor. Delivering lines. Some are calling for a return to comedy. The show needs LIVE spark.  Read more here.
  2. Oscar tradition casts previous year’s winners as this year’s presenters. But where were Monique and Christoph Waltz. (from Roger Ebert)
  3. The show ended early (for us in the Mountain time zone). Not enough to show?

 



3 things I liked about the 83rd Oscars:



  1. Best Picture montage with audio of emotional WW2 speech from “The King’s Speech.” Look for the “Best Picture Compilation” (3:12) here.
  2. Randy Newman speech - playful jabs at Academy, with genuine appreciation. Remember that his pop songs carry the water for his social commentary.
  3. 10 films up for “Best Picture” a little large, a bit unwieldy, but good intentions for high-profiling more films.

See you at the movies.