*** Official 2003 Academy Awards Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

[Claire Panke]

Kevin, I read the news story on the technical awards last week and ROTK did not receive "12" Oscars.

True, A LOTR techie did receive special "recognition" from AMPAS, and the gentleman in question, Steve Regelous, received a plaque, but he did not get a gold statue i.e. an "Oscar". The technical awards have three levels of achievement, from Oscars to plaques to certificates. There were two "Oscars" awarded, but they went to other individuals, and none of them were tied to a specific film. Also, it wasn't Joe Literri and his team who won as listed on IMDB, that was another team altogether who worked on the "translucent light" thang. The "Scientific & Engineering Award" plaque went to Steve Regelous of Weta, for his development of "Massive", which, of course, was used in all three LOTR films. Nice recognition, however.

You can confirm this at oscar.org

While I'm thinking of it, I was tickled to death to see Errol Morris *FINALLY* get an Oscar. (Now y'all go see The Fog Of War, a great doc, if not quite as searing as The Thin Blue Line}.

I was also pleased (and surprised) Stan Brakhage was included in the memorial film clips. Stan was my film history professor in college, and I'm not ashamed to say I shed a tear when he died. His avante garde film techniques have been a huge influence on younger filmmakers while his own works are seldom shown and languish in obscurity. Brakhage was ambivelant toward Hollywood and spent his career outside it - how ironic to see his face flashed at the Academy Awards. For the adventurous (very adventurous) few (very few), Criterion has a terrific recent DVD set of Brakhage's films.

 

[nolesrule]

As to the Return of the King, I was shocked that it won for Screenplay, Editing and even Song, but I was not disappointed one bit. The surprising thing is Howard Shore, but more specifically last year. He should have gotten the nomination (and win) for The Two Towers last year. I think it was the strongest score of the three films (they were all great and did not feel repetitive). Why was TTT score excluded for not being original enough, yet ROTK was not?

 

[DustinC]

I completely disagree. Jamie Lee Curtis is an absolutely beautiful woman. Christopher Guest is one very lucky man.


Dustin

 

[Robert Anthony]

I think there's a kind of new rule going on:

Make a billion, win a buncha Oscars.

 

[Haggai]

The big guy that Renee was sitting next to, and thanked last in her acceptance speech, is John Carrabino, her manager/agent. Can't find much of anything else about him on the web for now.

 

[Ray H]

In all, I thought it was a good show if not somewhat boring. The most exciting thing about it would be whether or not ROTK would keep its streak after winning the first few of its categories.

Although I'm very happy they received the amount of recognition from the Academy they did, I'm disappointed they didn't spread the wealth a little.

Billy Crystal did an adequate job. I enjoyed his stints in the past, but he wasn't as funny as he was back then. I didn't even get that many kicks out of the video intro/spoof this time around. Jack as Gandalf was pretty humorous.

Though I did get a huge kick out of Michael Moore popping up in the Battle of Pelennor Fields yelling at the hobbits for creating a fictional war only to be stomped on by an Oliphant.

 

[Malcolm R]

That Michael Moore cameo was hilarious!

FYI, all the acceptance speeches are transcribed at Oscar.com. Just go to the list of winners and click on the winners' names.

 

[Quentin]

A wonderful Oscar show...though, all the rolling predictability of the sweep WAS starting to bore me.

Still, I am one (of the few?) who found Crystal to be very funny and entertaining. I thought the class of Robbins was magnificent. The emotion of Charlize was great. The class AND humor of Blake Edwards, unforgettable. And, the Black/Ferrell song was epic.

I would have liked to see Depp or City of God walk with a statue, but no complaints.

I love Oscar night. Such a great celebration of film.

 

[Robert Anthony]

I COMPLETELY forgot about Michael Moore's cameo.

That was inspired.

 

[Quentin]

Ok...I'll back Chuck up, then!

Titanic was better than all the other films that year. All five were flawed in their own way, and Titanic failed to win Best Screenplay - deservedly so. But, the cinematic acheivment of Titanic was, is, and will continue to be respected by people who know film.

Once more, for the record - L.A. Confidential didn't end when it should have - 15 minutes too long killed it.

 

[Mark Zimmer]

Crystal was good but waaaaaaay too much naked Crystal. If we've gotta see someone naked during the Oscars, there are much better choices out there.

The Adapted Screenplay Oscar was tremendously well deserved. Lord of the Rings had for decades been considered unadaptable to film, in part due to the effects but also the length and character of the story itself. That Jackson/Walsh/Boyens did it and did it well (yeah, everyone's got a beef about changes and omissions, but it turned out light years better than I was fearing when I first heard the announcement) is something that everyone in the Academy knew and understood. Making a source that's considered unfilmable into a screenplay that works is something that they can and do appreciate. And that's why they got the Oscar, not for some puristic notion of hewing exactly to the Sacred Text.

And with Jamie Lee, I just focus under the neck and everything is fine. I did notice the subtle zoom in to eliminate the view of her cleavage though. Damn them. One could hear the phrase "imminent wardrobe malfunction" plain as day.

 

[Chuck Mayer]

Me...and the Oscar voters. Titanic would have beaten any of the recent Oscar winners, except Schindler's List. That's my only point. And I saw LAC in the theaters, and love the DVD. I didn't know most people put The Full Monty above Titanic. That's quite interesting.

Thanks for the backup, Quentin I feel silly defending a film that won 11 Oscars and made 1.8 Billion at the Box Office.

Take care,
Chuck

 

[Quentin]

No prob, Chuck.

I forgot you already had the support of Oscar voters! And, 1.8 billion B.O.

I agree that only "Schindler's List" could have beaten it in recent years...but, what happens in a year that brings us "Schindler's List", "RotK", AND "Titanic"?? Talk about vote split!

 

[Haggai]

How about throwing in Ben-Hur and Gone With The Wind to make it really interesting?

 

[Tino]

Add me to the list of people who feel that Titanic was the best of the five films nominated that year. It wasn't even close for me.

And I also think Titanic would have beaten ANY film in the last 25 years or so, including Schindler's List. I really think people sometimes forget what a cultural phemenon it was, and still is.

Btw, this isn't a knock to any of those films, I just think Titanic would have sunk them all.

 

[Stevan Lay]

To make it even more interesting how 'bout I make you guys an offer you cannot refuse and throw in Godfather

 

[Seth Paxton]

Me too. Tough call between ROTK and Titanic for me. Each has great scope and power.

If I made up a batch of 5 from the 10 total noms it would be ROTK, Titanic, LA Confidential, As Good As It Gets, and Master and Commander.

Of course the strength of competition from two years joined together would lead to a split of wins rather than one romp. Titanic would be especially hurt in techs and the JC/PJ battle for Best Director would be tough. ROTK would win Best Pix because it would still be a culmination of 3 films. In Titanic's year it was considered a big film, but in comparison to the LOTR trilogy it actually looks average. Still big related to others but not the LOTR project.

I prefer LAC because of the genre, but Titanic remains quite powerful to me.

"Now there's something you don't see everyday" - Molly Brown. That's true for the event and the film...and LOTR.


I think the idea of rewarding Spielberg's incredible career, the power of SList and the subject matter give it the advantage over the other two.


BTW, one of all-time Oscar choices I most strongly disagree with is Raiders of the Lost Ark losing to Chariots of Fire. I love Chariots, its beautiful and powerful but Raiders to me is cinematic perfection. The cinematography, the direction, the editing and some fantastic performances. Sometimes that gets lost behind the actual story and character.

 

[Seth Paxton]

She was looking very good last night, especially considering her age. Jolie was also incredible looking last night.


I liked the musical performances, especially Bellville but all of them.

I thought Owen and Ben were very good with their little schtick.

"I'm gonna wear it all night."
"Wear it tomorrow, wear it all week, big man."
"Maybe I will, not out of the question."


I didn't think the show was boring because I don't get my enjoyment (primarily) from seeing WHO wins, but rather in the performances and the speeches. And this year had so much great comedy.

 

[Paul Chi]

Just glad to see Sean Penn finally win. I was really happy for him. Also, Adrien Brody spraying the mint in his mouth before announcing the winner for best actress was funny.

 

[nolesrule]

OK, perhaps I was a little too all-inclusive. But we're also taliing hindsight here. Most people thought Titanic was deserving back in March 1998 and have since changed their minds on the issue.

I remember having a discussion in summer 1998 with a friend who who felt the same way you did. Last night, his opinion was in line with mine and with the article. What changed for him? He no longer confuses sappy melodrama with excellent drama and quality filmmaking (this is in his own words). From what I have seen, I think his reversal of opinion is generally more common than not.

As for L.A. Confidential being 15 minutes too long, no way. It was the blind purchase I ever made on DVD, and it has become one of my favorite films of all time.

If anything was too long, it was Titanic. The 2-hour (with commercials) special on the Discovery Channel was the proper length, and didn't rely on fictional characters making out on deck to excuse away the boat hitting an iceberg. That's my wife's biggest peeve about Titanic...she likes the movie (she agrees with me that the other 4 nominees from that year are far better films), but says that's a major story-telling blunder that stretches suspension of disbelief in a piece of historical fiction, which is the last thing a scene in a movie should ever do. Her education on that subject matter is much greater than mine will ever be.

Personally, I find the entire Titanic concept of the story in poor taste AND bad story-telling. Seriously, imagine the same story using the World Trade Center instead of the Titanic. Why not tell a true story about the real victims instead? There's probably much more drama in that.


Anyway, back to the 2003 Oscars discussion.