Posted on 01/10/2006 9:31:10 AM PST by SirLinksalot
Oscar Indicators
James Hirsen, NewsMax.com
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced its choice of host for the 78th Annual Academy Awards. It's one of today's foremost wisecrackers, host of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" Jon Stewart.
Stewart apparently landed the Oscar gig after Billy Crystal turned it down citing scheduling conflicts.
In a press release announcing the Academy's selection, Stewart lampooned the fact that he was second fiddle, describing it as "another sad attempt to smoke out Billy Crystal."
The comic already has some award show experience under his belt, having served as host for the Grammy Awards in 2001 and 2002.
Evidently, he intends to take a week off from his "Daily Show" duties to work with his writers, who will most likely assist him in preparing the requisite number of Bush-bashing jokes.
Meanwhile the Producers Guild of America (PGA) and the Writers Guild of America (WGA) have announced some nominations of their own. This is significant in that their selections tend to serve as predictors of Best Picture Academy Awards. In fact, no movie has ever won an Oscar for Best Picture without first having been nominated by at least one of these two groups.
If the PGA/WGA forecasting pattern holds true, "Munich," "Memoirs of a Geisha" and "Match Point" are already out of the running.
When the PGA and the WGA ignore films, arrows point toward losses, while conversely, films that are nominated by both groups can take on front-runner status.
In this awards cycle, movies nominated by both groups include "Brokeback Mountain," "Capote," "Good Night, and Good Luck" and "Crash."
"Capote" also squeaked out a win for Best Picture from the National Society of Film Critics (NSFC) after six ballot rounds. Based on the almost universal raves given by critics to "Brokeback Mountain," one might have expected the film to win the NSFC Best Picture award in a landslide. But the critics group snubbed the movie, with the exception of giving a Best Actor nod to Heath Ledger.
Regarding the actors and directors unions, the controversial film was the nomination leader. It earned four Screen Actors Guild (SAG) nominations and a Directors Guild of America (DGA) nomination for Ang Lee for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film, a precursor for a Best Director Oscar.
Other DGA nominees include George Clooney for "Good Night, and Good Luck," Paul Haggis for "Crash," Bennett Miller for "Capote" and Steven Spielberg for "Munich."
As an interesting side note, the online gambling sites have "Brokeback" as the clear betting favorite.
We'll find out who wins the bets and the statuettes on March 5.
GN&GL is actually rather good.
I have to agree.
Brokebutt Mountain is going to bend over and take it all!
I haven't watched the "Oscar Show" in years. Do they still do production numbers? In honor of Brokeback Sheepherders, they should do the production number from the end of "Blazing Saddles" with Dom Deluise and the dancing fairy-boys!
Why all the anger over Munich?
Right from the beginning we see how brutal the Black September group is.Theres no doubt that their crime was inexcusable and worthy of Israel's revenge.
Whats the problem with short comments by "Ali"trying to justify terror in the name of Palestinian nationalism?Thats how many of them feel.Thats reality.Speilberg is not CONDONING such positions by merely allowing them to be expressed.
And so what if the retaliation squad had a couple of members who expressed moral qualms about their actions?They are human beings,not robots.Intelligent people do not just walk through life without honest self-analysis.
I thought it was a little ironic that the most"Aryan looking"of the squad was the most militant about doing anything to defend the Jewish homeland!
Most people talking about it haven't seen it.
It is not a matter of "degree".
A "degree" would be to put George Washington on a bridge crossing the Deleware, instead in a boat, or to change the route to that crossing, so that he passed some visually stimulating historic sites. That "degree" would not change the historical significance of his crossing.
Mrsrs Kushner and Speilberg invent non-historical statements of thoughts, feelings, motives and reactions of actual historical figures as a means to invent attitudes of guilt and shame on the part of those actual historical figures as if those actual historical figures came to harbor remorse for their actions. It is not a matter of degree, it is an intent to lie about the overall view of and about the Isrealis. It is not a matter of degree, it is an intent to change the heart and substance of the entire set of events, beyond the truth, historically, factually or personally, on the part of those involved. The end product, the end view of the whole, not a degree, is a lie and Speilberg and Kushner know it.
No, "everyone else" does not.
The crazy thing is that nobody has seen these movies...none are mainstream. With Stewart hosting it will be the biggest flop EVER.
Well Stewart is really popular. He's not the problem.
Its funny to me that conservatives have such animosity over Munich.
I was cheering for the Israelis throughout the film and thought the portrayal of the Black September group was NOT sympathetic to their cause.
There was no"moral eqivalency"aspect to it.Israel had to do what they did.To portray some of the Black September Movement as family men or literary men does not absolve them of being punished for their actions years before at the Olympics.
dude...you missed my point...
I am not against the movie Munich (though I've read a ton on books on the Munich massacre and could tell you Speilberg used the wrong source- he should've used Simon Reeves, author of "One Day in September"- the authority on pre-during-post Munich events)...
I just despise all of Hollywood and won't pay to see any movies...
this is the authority on what went down...my suggestion is read it to get the full story...
http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/estate/de44/sr/page3/page3.html
Good God....looks like I'm skipping this year.
You are probably right. But I learned my lesson when the English Patient won best picture prompting me to go see it. That had to be one of the most boring movies ever made.
So even if Bareback Mounting wins all the oscars, I still wont be going to see it.
though the Best Picture winners tend to do well before and/or after the Awards. I would say the last movie to win Best Picture that could be called a Box Office flop was 'The Last Emperor' from 1987.
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