ACADEMY AWARDS ABOUT TO "JUMP THE SHARK"?

Network America ^ | 25 Jan 2005 | Jim Condit, Jr.

[Robert Drobot]

"Jump the Shark" is a semi-known phrase meaning "lose all credibility" or "it's all downhill from here."

The phrase comes from www.jumptheshark.com - which catalogs and debates the (paraphrase) "defining moment when you know you're favorite TV Show has reached its peak and its all downhill from here."

The phrase "jump the shark" comes from a Happy Days episode - late in the series - where Fonzie went on a vacation with the Cunninghams. In that episode of the sitcom, Fonzie jumped over a jaws-like shark while waterskiing on the ocean.

Fans generally thought this moment was so absurd, that it was the signal that Happy Days was about out of steam. Happy Days had lost credibility. Happy Days had "jumped the shark."

Another example given is that "Charlie's Angels" jumped the shark when Farah Fawcett left the show (which was after only 1 year, according to the site). Get the idea? OK.

Well, network nightly TV has itself long ago "jumped the shark" as far as I'm concerned. And it is long past the time when those producing nightly network TV shows should have been arrested for corrupting minors.

And despite the already debauched image Hollywood has achieved, there has still been a sense that there was at least a good faith ATTEMPT to give the nominations and Oscars to those who deserved the awards each year, more or less.

But this year, the Academy Awards along with Oscar himself may "Jump the Shark."

As if it wasn't bad enough that Mel Gibson's movie, "The Passion of the Christ", became the 9th largest grossing film of all time - and as if it weren't bad enough that the film was hailed by just about everyone outside of Hollywood as one of the most remarkable films, if not the most remarkable film, that many had every seen - 2004 turned out to be a really, really very bad year for memorable movies, let alone movies deserving the Oscar for Best Picture.

Things were so bad that a seeming scramble took place to release flicks which might pass as credible Oscar Nominees. A flurry of films being touted for nomination were released near the December 31, 2004 deadline.

ONE PROBLEM: none of the other mentioned Oscar nominee contenders did very well at the office. A quick internet survey revealed that all of the other movies being touted as potential nominees -- including "Ray", "Million Dollar Baby", which is actually a right-to-die movie, "Kinsey", a falsified life of the pervert which never made it to 300 screens on the way to bombing, ("The Passion of the Christ" by contrast made it to about 3000 screens), "The Aviator", "Sideways", "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", and "Finding Neverland" - all together hardly made the box office which was achieved by "The Passion of the Christ."

BIGGER PROBLEM: If you don't know much or anything about the rest of this "march of the mediocre" films - don't feel bad. If you keep up with the news at all, you probably know that "Ray" is about the life of recently deceased singer Ray Charles. But I would be hard pressed to tell you much of anything about any of the others. All of which means that nobody is talking about them, and nobody can find anything much to say about them - not even in the media.

Does anyone seriously think that ANY of these other movies will be talked about 5 years or 10 years from now? - as "The Passion of the Christ" surely will be?

I don't think so - because - hear me now - no one is talking about these other movies FIVE DAYS or TEN DAYS after they see them!

The more relevant question is: Is anybody talking about these other films FIVE MINUTES or TEN MINUTES after they see the films - while they are catching a bite to eat shortly after leaving the theater?

The artistic brilliance of "The Passion of the Christ" includes - and this is just from off the top of my head from the last time I saw the movie (this time on DVD) a few months ago:

* The aerial scene of the crucifixion which leads to the teardrop falling from Heaven;
* The camera work as Longinus the soldier thrusts the spear at Jesus' body which gives the feel of the blood and water from Christ's side almost hitting the viewer in the face;
* The strategically placed flashbacks which evoked emotion or made some important point, such as that Christ worked for a living and had a sense humor;
* The absolutely great acting performances turned in by the actors and actresses who played Jesus, Mary, Mary Magdelene, and Pontius Pilate. The important thing here is that all the actors did a good job in the movie - you always felt you were in the action and in the moment - one mark of a great movie. (If you wonder how good Jim Caviezel was in realistically portraying Jesus - just go back and look at the other performances in other movies about Jesus.)
* The scenes where Director Mel Gibson approximated great paintings or works of art. One of these scenes was where Christ's right hand was being nailed to the Cross, while he looks at his right hand out of the corner of his eye; another was at the end of the movie when Mary holds the lifeless body of Jesus, which had just been taken down from the Cross, and looks at the camera; this scene approximates Michaelangelo's Pieta.

Moving to another point: some news articles are claiming that Michael Moore removed himself from the documentary category. How can this be? Michael Moore's movie, Fahrenheit 911 - IS a documentary. It is not a movie version of anything. It is a documentary. How does anybody get to move their production from the category it belongs in to a category it doesn't belong in? In any case, this shoots down the argument that the Academy can't award "The Passion of the Christ" the Best Picture award because its characters speak two foreign languages.

To conclude this Network America e-wire: the Hollywood elite are in a real box this year. From an artistic point of view, from an cinematic historical point of view regarding the probable longevity in the public mind, and from the aspect of box office success - then "The Passion of the Christ" is the clear winner (not just a worthy nominee - but the CLEAR winner) for the categories of both Best Picture and Best Director.

One article entitled, "Choosing the Best Film Will be Trickier than Ever" ran in the Daily-Herald based in Provo, Utah. The article noted the following:

"While "The Passion" is sui generis in terms of subject and execution, it has the financial credentials: It was the third-biggest earner of the year, with more than $370 million gross. And, more important, it fed the moviegoing desires of a growing and increasingly influential segment of the country -- including an untapped reservoir of people who would never otherwise go to the movies.

"Does Hollywood, already wearing the Mark of Cain for being licentious, immoral and Jewish, want to antagonize the entire fundamentalist Christian community by overlooking its favorite film?"

And Pat Buchanan, guest hosting for Joe Scarborough on MSNBC a month or two ago, made this point (paraphrase): Do the Academy voters hate a really effective movie about the Passion of Jesus Christ so much that they will forego what could be the largest ratings in their history? Buchanan asked how it would be possible to attract more people to watch the Academy Awards worldwide than if both "The Passion of the Christ" and Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 911" were both nominated for best picture of the year? Such a lineup would probably attract the largest audience ever for the Academy Awards.

It seems a certainty that the Academy is going to completely snub Jim Caviezel for his portrayal of Jesus. This is raw religious discrimination, trying to signal actors and actresses, young and old, that they'd better do soft porn or "politically correct" themes, and not wholesome movies - if they want to be recognized for their work.

But if the Academy snubs "The Passion of the Christ" - I wouldn't be surprised to see, for the first time ever, more protesters on the outside than attendees on the inside - as the cultural war divide continues to widen.

I also wouldn't be surprised if we could all hear a collective world wide laughter if we walk outside our houses at the moment the Oscar for Best Picture is awarded to one of these other comparative turkeys, rather than "The Passion of the Christ."

NOTHING is harder to rebound from for an institution that wants to be taken seriously - than to find itself the object of derision and laughter.

Will the Academy Awards and Oscar himself - "jump the shark" this year?

We'll find out a few hours from when this e-wire is released. You will find that we sent this Network America e-wire out at 11:45 PM California time on January 24, 2005 and it is so time-stamped on the independent website www.topica.com in the Network America section. The Academy Awards for movies released in 2004 are slated to be announced 6 hours from now, at 5:30 AM on January 25, 2005.

End of this e-wire.

Jim Condit Jr.,
Director, Network America Ewire List
Director, Citizens for a Fair Vote Count

[Modernman]

"The Passion of The Christ" is already a timeless classic

TPOTC was a melodramatic mediocre movie that preached to the choir. In that way, it is no different from Fahrenheit 9/11.

[steve8714]

Only if the romantic comedies are "Chick Flicks".

[Borges]

Anything really good will have lots of bad imitators. Annie Hall is what contemporary romantic comedies aspire to but rarely achieve.

[steve8714]

I have always thought Allen's last great movie was "Sleepers".

[GSWarrior]

I was expecting an article with insights as to the decline of the Oscar telecast. I got sour grapes because someones favorite movie of the year was snubbed.

[Borges]

I'ave actually always liked Sleeper the least among his pure comedies. Love and Death is my favorite. Me being Russian might have something to do with it.

[Borges]

Or maybe five other actors just got more votes then Jim Caviezel.

[my_pointy_head_is_sharp]

I think they jumped the shark last year when Sean Penn won the Oscar for best actor. I will never watch it live again. It was a monumental bore. I will tape it, then fast forward for a glimpse of any old-time movie stars.

They may also have jumped the shark when they switched from "And the winner is" to "And the Oscar goes to". That was a stupid change.

[Borges]

Did you think he didn't deserve to win? It was a pretty acclaimed performance.

[Bella_Bru]

Just a question. How can you expect Hollywood to do anything for you when you spend all day on this forum bashing Hollywood?

And extraodinarily popular film does not mean instant Oscar. Ferris Bueller's Day Off would have taken home the award back in the 80's if that were the case.

[Diva Betsy Ross]

Ferris Bueller hit it's popularity heights when came out on video.

DUH...there were nine movies which made more at the box office than Ferris Bueller's Day off made.

[Diva Betsy Ross]

LOL! I agree with you there! What a waste of time that movie was!

[Diva Betsy Ross]

I must have missed that.. you know the part where you are asking hollywood to "do" something for you.

[Robert Drobot]

Sacred cows don't make the best hamburger???

Perhaps......bigotry is as bigotry does would have been more appropriate???

Bella_Bru, you wrote, "How can you expect Hollywood to do anything for you...."

Actually, Hollywood has more then enough do to clean up without anyone asking it to 'do' anymore 'do'. Little wonder why the City of Angels is up to its eyeballs in do.

[Caesar Soze]

According to JumpTheShark.com, it jumped when Whoopi hosted. "Day One" and "Michael Moore's Acceptance Speech" were also popular choices.

[Robert Drobot]

"....someones favorite movie...."

Whoya there me bucko....every resonable man/woman knows Tinsel Town judges a 'favorite' by the amount of denaro it banks.

"The Passion of The Christ" made more money than ALL of the nominated flicks COMB$NED !!!

Crank that through your cockeyed projector, ke-mo sah-bee.

[steve8714]

"Take the money and run" was his best, but "Sleeper" was his last movie. After that, he became a "FILMMMMAKER"

[Borges]

Shrek 2 and Spiderman 2 both made more then TPOTC. Neither one of them was nominated either. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar...It didn't get enough votes.

[Bella_Bru]

The point is Academy nominations are not based solely on box office sales.

And besides, as much as some people think Hollywood is some gigantic satan (hey, whatever keeps most of the crazies locked in their bunkers is fine by me), they shouldn't act so surprised over this.

[Diva Betsy Ross]

And who won the award for best picture in 1986? The point is - that you do not have one. You may as well shelf your big explosive comparison about Ferris Bueller not winning while being "widly" popular because it is a bunch of nonsense.

But then again you seen to be an expert at that when it comes to Hollywood.