Si cantas por mi, te regalo un Oscar

Wow.

And so it begins: Claudia Llosa's run as the most decorated Peruvian director continues as Peru makes it for the first time to the Oscar ceremony. Up against films from Israel, Argentina, France and Germany, the real question is... will we get to hear Quechua in Los Angeles?

In other Oscar news... wait, is there other Oscar news?

Links:

• Breaking news from El Comercio
• Peruvian film blog Cinencuentro
• Variety review from Berlin film festival
• Palm Spring fest Q&A with Claudia Llosa
  

Peru looks deep into Oscar's eyes...

I can't say I didn't hope for this. The film did, after all, win the Berlin Film Festival. And the Peruvian Embassy and Consulate in the U.S. did a bang-up job promoting the film in Los Angeles.

But boy, oh boy, it still feels awfully good to see this just-released news:

9 Foreign Language Films Advance in Oscar^® Race

Beverly Hills, CA (January 20, 2010) — Nine films will advance to the next round of voting in the Foreign Language Film category for the 82nd Academy Awards^®. Sixty-five films had originally qualified in the category.

The films, listed in alphabetical order by country, are:

• Argentina, “El Secreto de Sus Ojos,” Juan Jose Campanella, director;
• Australia, “Samson & Delilah,” Warwick Thornton, director;
• Bulgaria, “The World Is Big and Salvation Lurks around the Corner,” Stephan Komandarev, director;
• France, “Un Prophète,” Jacques Audiard, director;
• Germany, “The White Ribbon,” Michael Haneke, director;
• Israel, “Ajami,” Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani, directors;
• Kazakhstan, “Kelin,” Ermek Tursunov, director;
• The Netherlands, “Winter in Wartime,” Martin Koolhoven, director;
• Peru, “The Milk of Sorrow,” Claudia Llosa, director.

Unbelievable. It's not nominated yet (and in the pack are some strong films, including the Argentine, the Australian, the German and the French, the last of which I have seen) but it's so close. It would be Peru's first nomination. Fingers are crossed starting... now!

Global Hollywood

Much is being made right now about the fact that, for the first time, all the Oscar winners in the acting categories happen to not be American. Although two of them play Americans (convincingly, I might add), Javier Bardem is Spanish, Marion Cotillard is French and Daniel Day-Lewis and Tilda Swinton are both British.

This is significant perhaps only in context: it seems that the Academy may finally be embracing the fact that Hollywood is truly a global place, even when it comes to acting.

Certainly, many foreigners have been nominated before and several, especially the Brits, have taken home awards left and right. But we only need to look back to the year I graduated from college to see an example where this wasn't true.

We could debate left and right whether or not Marisa Tomei really deserved the Oscar for this film based on her performance. At the time it happened, I was as outraged as many, particularly since I believed Judy Davis had been robbed for her incredible performance in Woody Allen's Husbands and Wives; I also thought this because, quite honestly, I hadn't bothered to see My Cousin Vinny. Years later, I did and her performance is actually quite good. Tomei has since proven herself several times over, including fantastic turns in In the Bedroom (where she deservedly picked up a second nom) and last year's Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (where she might have picked up a third, had the field not been so incredibly overrun with really prime performances). I still don't think it's better than Davis', but maybe it's not so bad either. Besides, comedy is harder to play than it looks, so maybe we should be happy that at least this time it was rewarded.

And yet, as time has gone on, it becomes evident that one of the main reasons why Tomei probably won was that she was the only American that year. The other three nominees were all British: Joan Plowright in Enchanted April, Miranda Richardson in Damage and Vanessa Redgrave in Howards End. (Davis happen sto be Australian.) That year the field was clearly also tight: these are fine performances all and may have served to cancel each other out. That Tomei got as many votes as she did, however, speaks something to the age and overwhlemingly American composition of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In many ways, Tomei represented the home team -- and my guess is that many voted for her out of a sense of nationalism more than anything else.

It seems strange now to consider that, given how global we now take our movies. I am thrilled, for one, that this aspect has come through: that one can make it here from an international perspective. All of the winners this year still work in some of the smaller, crazy cinema projects back in their home countries (save Day-Lewis, who simply doesn't make many movies at all these days), so perhaps some attention will be drawn to those cinemas as well; certainly the Spanish is quite vibrant and deserves more attention.

Naturally, my only gripe about all of this is that the year that Oscar finally showed the love for overseas acting happens to be the one year when none of those actors were from Latin America. Maybe next year, Gael.

"This is a one-shot thing we got going on here."

I haven't written about Heath Ledger until now. The reason is perhaps obvious: everyone's already written about Heath Ledger in some form or another and I wasn't quite sure I had much to add that wasn't said more eloquently elsewhere.

That said, from the moment I found out about his death, the fact that I happen to be teaching a class about stardom (and, randomly and separately, am screening Brokeback Mountain in my grad seminar) this semester jump-started the academic in me. Quite frankly, I'll admit to being utterly fascinated at the phenomenon of Ledger's somewhat posthumous stardom. I'll admit my utter shock at finding out about his death while picking up some movies at the library 10 minutes before class -- and then somewhat puzzled why I seemed to have such an empathetic response. It's not like I've fawned over him incessantly; indeed, I have only seen three of his films, two of which were supporting turns in Monster's Ball and I'm Not There. As talented an actor as he was or potentially might have been, I had no idea he was this big of a star -- and I have a feeling many people felt the same way, surprised at their own emotions toward him.

This week my class is reading some considerable theorizing about the confluence of actors and roles that make up stardom. For me, the outpouring of emotional wringing around Ledger's death solidifies something nearly every sane cinephile has been saying for two years now: that as both a film and a cultural touchstone, Brokeback Mountain endures. Perhaps this is because BBM was really more of a throwback to the most memorable melodramas of Hollywood's classic periods. As such, we viewers (caught in the cultural zeitgeist of the film) easily and unknowingly transformed the actor into the star that matched that kind of performance. As obsessed as some of us are about the Oscars (and hey, I'm the one with the party and trademarked drinking game!), it no longer bothers me as much that what amounts to a lightweight film like Crash won that evening. Heck, Singin' in the Rain doesn't have a Best Picture Oscar and Around the World in 80 Days does: you tell me.

If this sounds like I'm gearing up for a possible article on this subject, I just might. The last time I got really this interested in stardom, I wrote a great piece on Matt Damon and Ben Affleck that I now regret not publishing; indeed, I was planning on returning to that piece instead (and still might). But once the manuscript is done done done (which will hopefully be soon), maybe a detour into the current phenomenon might be worth examining.

(This actually started as a comment on a post on Heath Ledger at The Film Experience -- so thanks for the inspiration, Nathaniel!)

Scenes from an Oscar Party, 2007

The Official Oscar Statuesque 2007, semi-commissioned by The Compleat Sculptor

Awake for his first party, Xan helps with the decorations by carrying balloons in his mouth. (Pajamas by Carters.)











Given the current climate, workers toil to ensure that the entranceway sculpture (the SnOscar) will be completed in time. Happily, all the people waiting at the red carpet have been wiped out by the snow.








Xan supervises activities, fearing that things will not be done in time for the telecast (despite ample preparation and cuteness) and wondering what a Pilobolus is, and whether it's yummy









Jeff poses with the SnOscar, constructed to commemorate the occassion which caused attendance at the year's festivities to plummet, which brought up the odds on both the Oscar contest and drinking game








The evening's hosts, before any imbibing. By wearing the perfume Cinéma by Givenchy, Angela is channeling Penélope Cruz from Volver. Jeff simply pretends that he is The Departed.

Xan samples the foot-shaped hors d'ouevres. He will not last through the evening; however, he channels Jennifer Hudson nonetheless by going through three costume changes throughout the evening, including a set of pajamas, perhaps inspired by Barbara Striesand's get-up from the 1968 awards. Like Hudson (and every other Oscar winner ever), he will not thank his father. Sigh.

Collapsing under the sheer weight of responsibility (or gravity), the SnOscar falls; Jeff mourns its passing, or perhaps weeps for the only candidate he really wanted to win, Emmanuel Lubezki

Jeff poses with Chuck and Konrad, the power couple who will take both first- and second-place in this year's Oscar contest, winning a year's subscription to Premiere (whose predictions are always way off) and DVD copies of Casablanca and Batman!: The Movie (starring Burt Ward). In a surprise move, third prize goes to co-host Angela; at his own party, the degreed film scholar comes in 9th out of 12, perhaps because he voted against Helen Mirren.

The hosts, post-party and ready to pass out (and in Jeff's case, pre-hangover)

Unsung accolades

We watched Little Miss Sunshine tonight (which, for the record, surely ain't the Best Picture of the year although it was plenty fun) and, right before I switched off the DVD, I noticed that, to my surprise, the movie had been scored by one of my favorite composers. I have a thing for film scores -- indeed, at one point I wanted to take a class in the School of Music at Michigan on film scoring -- and they used to make up a sizeable portion of my CD collection. The only thing that I miss about the recent conversion of WETA to an entirely classical music format is Weekend Edition Sunday -- relevant to this posting because right around now they review portions of all the soundtracks nominated for the Oscar.

I was also thinking about the scoring nominations for the Oscar because Ennio Morricone is getting the honorary award this year. Before JJ says something: no, I'm not enough of a score freak to actually own a Morricone soundtrack, which really should be rectified. I have stated elsewhere that I still long for some of the old guard, like Elmer Bernstein. But I do have several favorites that are still around and, hey, might actually get nominated (even win) one day themselves.

• Mychael Danna -- The inspiration of this post, as his most recent work was featured in Little Miss Sunshine, The Nativity Story and the upcoming Breach. For me, however, it's all the work with Atom Egoyan that speaks most to me. Danna has a penchant for Eastern instruments, often time working with gamelan instruments or a ney, mixing them with some haunting melodies.
  
• Carter Burwell -- As with Danna/Egoyan, I tend to associate Burwell with the quirky work of the Coen Brothers. Given the relatively high profile work he's done (Rob Roy, Before Night Falls, the exquisite Gods and Monsters), it's surprising that he hasn't been nominated yet. The rhythms he uses throughout his music tend to function as counterpoint in many ways: again, hear Gods and Monsters, where he uses a waltz almost ironically.
  
• Clint Mansell -- If you knew me way back when, you'd realize that I'd have to love this guy because he was a main part of the band Pop Will Eat Itself, which I loved for its beats as much as its electrics; Mansell's scores add string quartets to this for a very trippy composition. Again, this is a composer who can be associated with one primary director: Darren Aronofsky. Indeed, the music for The Fountain is incredible and really contributes to the film's overall power (much like what he did for Requiem for a Dream).
  
• Thomas Newman -- OK, so of these five here, Newman actually has been nominated before. (In fact, he's up this year again for The Good German.) That I can tell, however, he's still unlikely to win. I find this fascinating given that his precussive, minimalist scores throughout the 1990s have been some of the most memorable. American Beauty is the most familiar, although my favorite goes back a little further to the more jazzed up atmosphere surrounding Robert Altman's The Player.
  
• Craig Armstrong -- This former member of the Brit trip-hop outfit Massive Attack most recent composed for World Trade Center, but I know him best for his work for Moulin Rouge!, which I listen to on road trips (and for which he won the Golden Globe). The funny thing about Armstrong is that his solo albums are fantastic electronica cinemascapes themselves, so that it's not surprising to see some of the tracks off of those albums make it into films as well.
  

My favorite Oscar nomination

The Oscar nominations are up and I think it's an interesting list with a lot of potential for surprises. (I honestly have no clue who really is the front-runner in the Supporting Actor category, despite conventional wisdom going for Eddie Murphy.)

I have plenty of things I could say about the whole list, but let me give a shout-out to one: Emmanuel Lubezki cinematographer, the Mexican for Children of Men. I've been following him (and director Alfonso Cuarón) since I saw A Little Princess, an amazingly charming little film that was breathtaking as a visual piece. The Academy got it right in nominating him that year and I've been waiting for him to actually win one of these days soon. So forget Abigail and Jennifer and Meryl and Jackie Earle: it was this nomination that I looked for this morning, and I was thrilled to see him up for it.

The Oscars, live from YVR!

Well, then. Who would have thunk that the biggest surprise would come at the end? This actually attests, in my opinion, to the complete dominance of the acting branch -- half of which, I believe, were actually in the movie itself. Or, it confirms that the best predictor for Best Picture is (perhaps not so surprisingly) the Best Editing award, for which Brokeback was inexplicably left off the list.

Still, I can not believe this is how it ends. Crash is not (not) the best picture of the year by a long shot -- I am sorry, but that is my opinion and I am sticking to it. Granted, if I had my druthers, A History of Violence would have swept everything. Perhaps it is best that I do not run Hollywood.

Signing off then. Only now can I appreciate that the Oscars actually ended in 3 1/2 hours. That's incredible in itself. Good night, and good luck. Don't crash.

8:32 - The most amusing thing now: after the credits, CTV cuts back to programming already in progress, which is.... wait for it... According to Jim. Stellar.
8:25 - I have to say that I am truly, truly stunned. Hard to type because I can't believe it.
8:23 - OH MY GOD.
8:22 - JACK! How come he doesn't host the Oscars? He's more of an Oscar icon than anyone.
8:21 - Ange just thanked all three Chinas!
8:20 - HOORAAAAAAAAY!!!! Ang Lee so deserves this award. And he just had his own "Hello, gorgeous" moment.
8:19 - Jon Stewart forgets that no one cares if someone breaks a viola. (Ha! A viola joke! Hi Angela!)
8:12 - And Crash goes for two. Brokeback 2, Crash 2. Neither for acting. Hm.
8:11 - OK, these two make an amazingly amusing writing team. I love them. And Larry McMurtry gives props to books!!! GO BOOKS!!! RIGHT ON!!!!
8:10 - Brokeback goes for two! And you know, Diana Ossana definitely had the best outfit of all the nominees.
8:08 - Dustin Hoffman is thanking the losers for doing great work. This, from the man who thanked people for losing when he won.
8:03 - I feel really icky having watched that speech. How plastic.
8:00 - Oh, Brookebrown. I'm so sorry we're not having the Oscar party to watch you blow up. Don't worry: we all know Reese is a horrible person, particularly because she's the first acting winner tonight to give a traditional Oscar speech... which now seems lame.
7:58 - Judi Dench seems embarassed to see her clip.
7:55 - What? Geisha wins Cinematography? That's completely ridiculous. That is the one that makes me the least happy.
7:53 - We're about to head into Hour #3. And suddenly, I realize that I have accidentally left my leftovers from lunch at the restaurant. Oops!
7:48 - And there goes my upset. Oh well, you go, PSH!
7:46 - Terence? Maybe? Aw heck, I'll be happy whoever wins.
7:44 - Whoa. No, Hilary didn't deserve to win last year. But wow, she looks really good right now. Best Actor now? Yippee!
7:42 - And Crash gets its first Oscar. Fairly well deserved, I think. Plus, a shot on Terence Howard.
7:39 - Wow, that was really a great speech -- a great one-line comment on Foreign Film. (Plus, he one-uppsed both Colleen Atwood and Gustavo Santaolalla by thanking an entire continent.)
7:38 - The Palestenian Territories -- not Palestine, not the Palestine Authority. Are you all happy with this?
7:37 - Ooh, controversy time! Let's see what happens to Paradise Now. Where is it from?
7:34 - In Canada, we now get the ad for possible 2007 nominee The Da Vinci Code.
7:33 - I actually think it was Shelley Winters, with a runner-up from Pat Norita.
7:31 - Uh-oh. The memorium applause montage. Who wil win?
7:26 - Agreed with Stewart: that is how you accept an Oscar. I'm telling you, Terrence Howard has got it in the bag.
7:24 - UPSET TIME!!! THE PIMP WINS!!
7:20 - More interpretive dance!
7:18 - Ludacris is looking stylish. And this intro is magnificent.
7:12 - Note: there is no music playing under Altman's speech. Hallelujah.
7:09 - Really, can I explain how much I really love Altman? Just watching those clips is like watching many many masterpieces all at once.
7:04 - This is amazing. Only they could do this. Meryl is a comedic genius, yes, JJ. And this is a perfect homage to Altman.
7:03 - Lily and Meryl, together.
7:02 - And now, a shout-out to New Zealand!
7:01 - Jessica Alba appears to only have a 12-inch waist. This must be the reason why she has been asked to present, because if I'm not mistaken, even Jennifer Lopez has displayed more acting talent on the big screen.
7:00 - Oh wow, Jon Stewart reads all of our collective minds.
6:59 - Oh, duh. Of course it's not a genre montage. It's a montage to the wonders of widescreen. Well, exhibition is in the house, I guess.
6:56 - Oh jeez, another genre montage? At this point, if they don't do horror, I'm going to be very unhappy.
6:51:15 - Wait, I just got thanked. He thanked all the Latinos, everywhere. ¡De nada, Gustavo! ¡Te queremos también!
6:51 - First, Japan is thanked, now Argentina.
6:49 - Aha!! The Argentine wins!!
6:47 - I predict Iglesias or Santaolalla, because they chose Salma to give the award.
6:45 - Oooh, classy way to do the Score nomination. Gotta love Itzhak Perelman. And actually, they are doing it as if the Kodak were an old-style silent movie palace! So brilliant.
6:44 - Sorry, I dozed off there. Woke up to Salma's boobs, however.
6:42 - Oh, look! The president of the Academzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...
6:40 - And Jon Stewart makes a great crack at the montage sequence. I love it.
6:36 - No no no, the political film is not a genre of choice. Sam should be introducing horror! Or exploitation! Snakes on a Plane!
6:34 - Why did they play the Wallace and Gromit music for the section on Harry Potter? Could the Oscars not get the rights to the music?
6:32 - Oh, look: a Speed reunion! Complete with music! For Art Direction?? OK, they lost me on the relevance of presenters to awards thing that they started with. A shout out to Brad Isbister, who I went to see this movie with in North Carolina years ago at a sneak preview.
6:29 - So here's the problem with playing the Best Picture nominee clips right before a commercial: I hear Philip Seymour Hoffman's voice and think they're doing Capote... except he's talking about killing his wife. And then I realize that they've cut to a commercial for MI3. Which is not quite Best Picture material.
6:27 - I was just saying to myself, "Why didn't they simulate the movie for Transmerica?" And suddenly, I remember that Dolly was wearing a pantsuit. Was there a bulge? Hmm.
6:26 - Except I see that they're actually trying to simulate this! Or, maybe it's interpretive dance? Call Debbie Allen!
6:25 - There's a burning car in the background, which is where I remember the montage sequence begins in the film. It would be great if the stage can turn around to simulate this.
6:22 - I was actually really hoping that the Penguins would not win this one. It's not the best of the year. But then, they thanked the children of the world. And, even better, they almost just ran over Jennifer Lopez.
6:21 - Look, it's the Prius on Charlize's shoulder!
6:19 - At this point, I would like to point out that I am predicting a major upset and that Terence Howard will actually win the Best Actor race.
6:16 - That Best Actress smear campaign stunt was hysterical. I am literally crying right now.
6:13 - First, a western montage; now, noir. If we cover the musical, the melodrama and horror, I'll never have to teach a genre course again!
6:12 - Except they must be using a very small font for the teleprompter, because she's stumbling just like Morgan Freeman did. This is not good. Making Bacall look bad is not a pleasant thing.
6:11 - Lauren Bacall: now there is a movie star.
6:09 - The lead-off commercial on CTV here is for A&W fast food, where a young couple bring their parents to A&W to buy them a "Grandpaburger" to let them know that they're having a baby. I feel like yacking. This channel is also advertising both American Idol and The Amazing Race.
6:08 - Great choice for the Good Night, and good Luck clip.
6:06 - Ah, good for Weisz. She looks wonderfully simple. Pregnancy suits her well. Although I would love to have seen Frances McDormand's ensemble, just because it looked casually fab.
6:04 - Catherine Keener is so wonderful. And lovely. Mmm.
6:03:30 - See, if he had worn a tie, he wouldn't have flubbed.
6:03 - What is up with Morgan Freeman's open collar? I love Morgan, but still.
6:00 - One hour down! Time for the sci-tech awards. And wow, what a horrible dress Rachel McAdams is wearing.
5:59 - The costumer who got cut off is going to bitch-slap the guy who took up all her time.
5:57 - The ceremony is actually doing a great (and entertaining) job of pointing out what these awards are actually for. Plus, those eyelashes are a riot.
5:56 - In the comments, cardhead says that he's not going to wear pants to class tomorrow in solidarity with the ducks. I think this is a good idea.
5:53 - This is an odd montage, probably unnecessary. Of interest to me: the scene that was considered shocking and immoral and earned an R-rating in 1969 in Bonnie and Clyde plays on network TV with no problem now.
5:51 - Colleen Atwood gave a shout-out to the entire country of Japan. Shouldn't that have been a grand arigato?
5:50 - Geisha gets the first technical win for costume. Of course, because it's beautiful. Oddly enough, having just seen Walk the Line on the plane, I wonder if that wasn't the deserved win there.
5:47 - Hey, a professor won! Maybe there's hope....?
5:45 - And then we offer Chicken Little? The non-nominee? (Although the presence of Joan Cusack talking about pants is always welcome in my book.)
5:43 - Actually, the Owen brothers offer a great reason why they are the ones selected to do the short film category. (Plus for my shorts class this summer!)
5:39 - Whoa. This is how they will introduce the clips from the Oscar-nominated films? Hmm, on the one hand, a time-saving device. On the other hand, definitely doesn't give the films the platform they theoretically deserve from being nominated in the first place. Comments?
5:37 - Back to Dolly: she has the audience clapping along, which is pretty good given that she has no band. (Somehow, it seems empty without a band.)
5:36 - While Dolly is singing, this is as good a time as any to mention that I did not get that beer, after all. I decided to get a gift from a store that would close before 6. This means that, alas, I will not be grading drunk after the ceremony after all.
5:35 - I'm actually thrilled that Dolly is not wearing the pink thing she was wearing on the red carpet. But I think this therefore means that that she's this year's Beyoncé. Isn't she remarkably well-preserved?
5:32 - These ties that Nick Park and his partner are wearing are going to be the new fashion rage. I want one. No, I do! Bringing them for the Oscars is brilliant.
5:30 - Stewart is making great penis jokes tonight. No, really.
5:29 - The big monkey wins!
5:26 - If anyone really deserves to be in a green suit, it's Ben Stiller. I'm cracking up.
5:23 - Speaking of JJ, he seems to be live-blogging as well. I'll have to keep up with him. (Hey, JJ! What up, yo?)
5:20 - I'm enjoying the Clooney speech. (But what is that music in the background?) Political, but classy, not crass. Nice. (FYI: In the Oscar pool, I am now 0 for 1, because I stupidly listened to JJ. Thanks. I should know better.)
5:19 - George wins! And that was a classic opening line.
5:16 - But that intro is too long.
5:15 - My first look at the set. Very nice! I like the retro look. And my, does Nicole look absolutely luminous.
5:13 - OH NO. The gay western montage! They just stole my entire reason for showing Red River this semester! That was utterly brilliant.
5:12 - Ooh! First Jack Nicholson sighting! Where are my sunglasses?
5:11 - Charlize Theron seems to have a Toyota Prius on her shoulder.
5:10 - Bjork and Cheney, together forever. Fabulous.
5:09 - Ah, the Jewish trilogy! Loved it.
5:08 - Jon Stewart just talked about women not being able to afford enough gown to cover the breasts. And why don't they cut to Felicity?
5:07 - DARN IT! I missed the opening. I'm so upset. But I'm on now.
4:29 - Sandra Bullock says she's not doing romantic comedies anymore. Meanwhile, Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon arrive. Coincidence?
4:27 - Was about to go get some beer... and then I saw Felicity Huffman. In that dress. WOW. Is that really a desperate housewife? Hoo-hah.
3:52 - I just realized that the Oscars aren't on for another hour. I'm taking a break.
3:41 - I think Ryan Seacrest made a disparaging remark about Heath Ledger wanting to be a stay-at-home-dad for a while.
3:38 - George Clooney says that he hates Ang Lee. I now find him evil and wonder if Mizrahi just cut him off or whether he was asked to do that, haha.
3:34PM: I turn on the TV and finally find the Oscar coverage on CityTV. And Isaac Mizrahi is interviewing Dolly Parton. Who is, shall we say, a little on the gigantic side. The irony here is that they then cut to Keira Knightley, who could use some.

Oscar Live-Blogging in just one day!

As requested by Señor Pájaro, I shall be live-blogging the Oscars on this site, sitting in my hotel room (rather spacious for just me!) in lovely Vancouver, Canada, where I am staying for the Society for Cinema Studies conference. I present in about four hours, so I'll say no more for now. But tune it tomorrow night!

Ask and ye shall receive

I received an e-mail from loyal reader, Señor Pájaro...

"The most important thing I need to tell you is that you must BLOG THE OSCARS. It is your duty, and this is the perfect year for it, since you cannot throw the party. You must watch the Oscars somewhere where you can take notes (in hotel room, uncrowded bar, etc), take copious notes in diary format with onstage events interposed with your own digressive musings (e.g. "9:42 pm. Harrison Ford just had a stroke onstage, and the camera cut to a strangely laughing Carrie Fisher, and I was reminded of the way Xan sometimes throws up"), then use the plane ride home to edit these notes into a long, witty blog posting (what were you gonna do, spend the ride home working on your book?!), then post it as soon as you get home. This really needs to happen."

Well, I was planning on grading a little on the plane ride home -- but this sounds much more entertaining. And so, I shall do this. (I may ever try to gather some other random SCMSers to see if I can get them in on the fun.) I even picked a hotel that has free Internet service. And so, all of a sudden, the Oscars become exciting again!

Party poop

Since we lived in Michigan -- so going back at least seven years or so -- I have thrown a big party on Oscar night. This usually involves my Oscar Drinking Game (tm) which involves guessing who will win throughout the night before the ceremony begins. We then either drink for incorrect guesses oe earn points for correct guesses (which leads either to winning a prize, like a year's subscription to Premiere, or to much imbibement). There is also drinking involved for predetermined items, such as reference to topical issues throughout the broadcast, winners getting cut off by the orchestra, shots of Jack Nicholson's sunglasses, etc.

A good time is generally in order, although things can get rowdy. (Last year, Kat and I refused to give ground as to whether or not Charlize Theron should have called for a moment of silence for all the men Aileen Wuornos had killed. 'Talmost got ugly. Needless to say, I was two sheets to the wind by that point.) It's also the one time of the year I know I get to see Sherin, and last year I thought some guy had crashed the party in a big way until I realized that my Alpha Theta rush chair Ric -- who, the last time I had seen him years ago, sported his trademark very long hair -- had transformed in to clean-cut Dr. Softshell. (Likewise, he had not recognized me either, since I had very long hair. OK, granted, I was dressed like Jack Sparrow from PotC, but still. And no one calls him Dr. Softshell, but I'm trying to protect his identity from his students who might trawl the Internet since -- well, I'm not sure why.)

Since we now have a small child, I thought the hullabaloo of the evening would mean we'd have to cancel. I expressed this to Angela when she was still pregnant. "Nonsense," she replied. "Some kids stay up all night for New Year's and Santa Claus. Ours will stay up for the Oscars. It's a family thing." (This is why I love her.)

So I have been looking forward to this year's party. After all, we only throw two parties a year, basically (this and Peruvian Independence Day) and we tell everyone when we meet them: "Put on your calendar that we have a party for the Oscars every year!" This year, even Danny Boy, who has had some lame excuse every time for the last four years for missing the party, was thinking about coming since he'll be back in town.

And then.

While putting my syllabus together for the class on Stardom, I realized I needed to put the Oscars on the syllabus. (It's an assignment. No, really, it is.) I went to the Oscar website and looked up the date: Sunday, May March 5th. I put it on the syllabus... and then looked carefully.

That happens to be the one weekend this year that I will be at a conference. In Vancouver. Where I have to stay until Sunday afternoon. And from where my plane ticket-- already purchased, non-refundable -- has me coming back on Monday.

I will not be around for the Oscars this year.

Naturally, Angela said the she wasn't throwing the shebang without me. The irony of this is that the conference I'll be at is the Society for Cinema and Media Studies conference, so one would think that if there are any stragglers like me who are staying the extra day at the conference, we could find some bar to watch the ceremony at. Still, I'm a little bummed.

So for those of you who usually come to the Annual Event, know that there is no party this year. We'll be back next year. Sorry!

*boohoohoohoo* No really, I'm fine... *boohoohoo*

On the first day of the Awards season...

The Movie Mom likes The LA Times' The Envelope, but I've been checking out Nathaniel R's Film Experience blog for awards hullabaloo and insight. (He has some interesting comments on why the top grossing films aren't the most critically revered these days.)

BUT -- that's not why I bring him up. Over the last couple weeks, he has been doing some BRILLIANT photo collages based on the 12 Days of Christmas. (One inspired choice for "12 drummers drumming" today: the mug shot of bong-o playing Matthew McConaughey.) I highly encourage checking them out.

Back to what's important in life...

Movie awards, of course!

Thanks to NPR, I managed to remember to catch the Golden Globe nominations this morning while I was trying to feed Xan some food. (Emphasis on the "try" here, since this morning he preferred to use mush as a skin cream.)

So without further ado:

Why I Will Be Watching the Golden Globe Ceremony

• 7 noms for Brokeback Mountain (pic dram, actor Ledger, supp actr Williams, dir Lee, song, screenplay, score Santaolalla) because it is that good
  
• 3 noms for The Constant Gardener (pic dram, supp actr Weisz, dir Mireilles) because it's directed by a Latin American
  
• 3 noms for The Squid and the Whale (pic com, actor com Daniels, actr com Linney) because now I've become really interested in this flick
  
• 2 noms for A History of Violence (pic dram, actr dram Bello) although as the clear best picture of the year so far, it deserves more
  
• 3 noms for Match Point (pic dram, supp actr Johansen, dir Allen, screenplay) because the mere fact that Woody is nominated in the drama category makes me go hmm
• 2 noms for Felicity Huffman (film drama actr Transamerica, tv com actr Despearte Housewives) because she's so fab
• 3 noms for George Clooney (supp act Syriana, dir and scr Good Night and Good Luck) because he's so fat... I mean, it's just so interesting
• nom for Paul Giamatti, because -- yay!
  
• nom for Terence Howard for Hustle and Flow because that man seems to really deserve this
  
• only 2 noms for Munich (dir Spielberg, scr Kushner) and only 1 nom for King Kong (dir Jackson) because that makes me laugh
• only 2 noms for Memoirs of a Geisha (dram actr Zhang, score Williams) because, although I love all these Chinese actresses, I hear the film is a beautiful travesty
• random foreign film noms for Kung Fu Hustle and Paradise Now
• TV noms for My Name is Earl, Weeds, Eva Longoria (so people can shut up), Sandra Oh, Kyra Sedgwick and S. Epatha Merkerson
  

Why I Will Throw Things at the TV during the Golden Globes

• Shirley Maclaine for In Her Shoes, because there had to have been better supporting actress nominees (hello? Gong Li??) and because if anyone deserves something for this movie, it's Collette
  
• 2 noms for North Country (despite the fact that they are for actresses I respect, Theron and MacDormand) because the pic is supposed to be piffle
  
• no director nod for David Cronenberg, because that makes the sense that is not
  
• no nom for the French Caché -- because the HFP could do whatever they want with this and didn't
• no TV noms for Gilmore Girls or Arrested Development (!!!!)
  

Oscar will not be his middle name

There was talk (mostly from me) which said that if our son arrived yesterday, we might have to name him Oscar due to the Oscars. And halfway through the show, Angela turned to me and said, "Um, we've already gone through a lot of these categories. Aren't you worried?" For the uniniated: our big party of the year is an Oscar Party, where we go for lots of munchies and feature a drinking game. Before the broadcast, everyone votes for what they think will win; if you predict a category incorrectly, you drink! (And if you don't feel like drinking, there are prizes for the most correct.) But there are additional rules, establishes previously, where everyone must also drink. For example, Chuck Cox suggested drinking if Fahrenheit 9/11 or The Passion of the Christ was mentioned in a snarky context; "twice, of course, for bilateral snarkiness." Indeed, this happened with the opening monologue.

Why was Angela concerned then? Because the last rule said everyone should drink if she went into labor.

Fear not, friends and familia, she did not go into labor last night. So Oscar is not his missle name, much to everyone's relief. (Even mine.)

Despite the fact that a large number of people cancelled at the last minute from coming to the shindig (claiming such folly as the flu, homework or the oncoming blizzard that is currently hitting DC) and leaving me stranded with a ton of pinot noir, a good time was had by all (I think). Particularly kudos to 'Boom for making it down from Baltimora!

Here's the note I'd love to bring to light (and perhaps the attention of a certain Entertainment Weekly drone who occasionally reads thsi blog): as reported in Slate, an as-yet-unreported bouhaha developed over the Best Song category. And rightly so. Many of us thought it a bit unusual that the Powers That Be running the Oscars had selected Antonio Banderas to sing the nominated song from Diarios de motocicleta. This is unusual not just because, as anyone who saw the travesty that was Evita knows, Mr. Melanie Griffith is not quite the singer. It's also a bit annoying because, quite frankly, this movie is about two Argentine guys who travel across South America to discover freedom -- and Antonio is, after all, a Spaniard. Now, we all live in the Hollywood age where Néstor Serrano is playing an Arab on 24 (which is on tonight!! I can't wait!!!! sorry...) and Mexicano Gael García Bernal played Che in this very film. But still, you can't tell me that in all of Latin America, they couldn't find anyone else to sing this?

What is interesting is that Gael chose to boycott the Oscars entirely. This is particularly fascinating since, apparently, Gael was first asked to be a presenter at the Oscars -- even more so because, ironically, he was apparently supposed to present the Best Song category, which Prince eventually presented. The director, Walter Salles, was outraged at this decision as well.

The beauty of it all? The song wins -- a shoo-in, as it was the only interesting song of the bunch of losers anyway -- and, in lieu of a speech, Jorge Drexler, the Uruguayan singer-songwriter who sings the song in the actual film, sings his version. Simple, clear -- and a nice dig at the bombastic performance that was the Banderas/Santana version. To quote Dana Stevens' posting, "It was as if he were apologizing to his own song, saving it from Banderas' unctuous clutch." I wholeheartedly agree.

If you can read Spanish, and are curious, check out the article on Drexler in the Argentine journal Clarín. Personally, I had fun with the Oscars last night, as I usually do. But the changes made were admittedly questionable in taste -- and virtually all the song choices were odd. (Why not let Minnie Driver sing the song she sings in Phantom of the Opera? She is, after all, an Oscar-nominated actress, which Beyonce is not. And if we're talking quality, couldn't we have had anyone perform the gag-inducing "Accidentally in Love" besides Counting Crows? Where is U2 when you need them? Best line of the Oscar Party last night came from Sherin: "Oh my goodness, it's Robert Smith mashed up with Sideshow Bob!")

Next year's party should be quite interesting, given we'll be substituting milk for the wine for at least one attendee!

A page from the Bree Van de Kamp Guidebook

I know that some people (read: Emily) are all uptight about Desperate Housewives and yes, it may be slipping a bit, but it had a long way to slip anyway. I still think it's fabulous.

Anyway, in preparation got tomorrow's Oscar party (where I am rooting wholeheartedly for Catalina Sandino Moreno for Best Actress because, dammit, she deserves it), Angela brought up an electric serving tray that we think her grandmother may have had. We haven't used it yet, though we've had it for ages. So imagine our surprise when we find an article taped underneath it. Called "Dinner Can Wait: The Electric Tray's the Secret" by one Helen Furnas and written in 1958, just listen to the tone of voice in this excerpt which Angela perhaps rightly associated with Bree Van de Kamp (Marcia Cross) on DH:

I want to tell you about a new way to live with three meals a day and no
help. New to most people, that is, but not to us because years ago we were
lucky enough to have a badly wrecked evening which led to a new discovery.

A series of small emergencies obliged me to leave a just-cooked dinner waiting for one solid hour. It was rare-broiled steak, mashed potatoes, new garden peas. Resentfully, I put the pattered steak and the vegetable dishes on a white elephant of a thing I called a "hot tray" -- a long glass-topped tray heated from within by a thermostatically controlled electric unit that I occasionally used for hot hors d'oeuvres. I covered these waiting foods with an old-fashioned roasting pan and thought, Well, at least they'll keep warm, even if they do overcook and dry out.

When we finally got back to them, they were warm all right and the steak was still rare and juicy, the potatoes still fluffy, the peas sweet and not overcooked, but just the way we like them. We hadn't known what hot trays -- and sister gadgets - could do.

What an absolute miracle!! I swear, without Helen Furnas, what would we all do? There's a great picture and accompanying recipe for the porterhouse steak dinner -- so appealing to my vegetarian wife. The whole "article," if you want to call it that ends with: "And so I say to you, wives of commuting husbands, mothers of adolescent dawdlers, all other slaves to time, tide, train schedules and baby formulas, what you need in your life is a hot tray."

This sounds so kitschy and totally made up, I wouldn't believe that anyone could fall for this line. Except, of course, we actually have the hot tray, with the aforementioned article. Of course, since I study magazines, I'm curious where this was actually published and who, is everyone, was meant to read this and try it. As for us -- well, it'll be heating those aforementioned hors d'oeuvres just fine.

Better than the funky chicken

Thanks to the amazing Jeff Bird, I learned about Total Wine, a store which sells... well, you get the idea. Under normal circumstances, I'm fine getting a bottle of relatively decent wine at either Whole Foods ot the wine shop by campus -- but these are different times. I knew I needed quite a bit of pinot noir for the Oscar party this year. (And if you don't know why I needed California pinot noir, then you clearly don't know which movie I'm rooting for in the Best Picture category, among others.) So I needed cheap, but with a wide selection. Señor Pájaro told me to check out Total Wine. I did, and found what I needed.

After finding the wine I wanted for the party, however, I decided to see what other fun stuff they had. I ended up getting a couple bottles of a sauvignon blanc called "Old Tart" (which has a picture of one on its label). But it was when I went looking in the "interestinhg red" section that I found something really cool: Funky Llama. I love it! Great label, an interesting writeup -- something involving cherries, cinnamon and bark, I think -- and it's an Argentine malbec, which I tend to like a lot. Hooray! I can't wait to try the wine. I bought three bottles anyway, just in case we need to bring a bottle somewhere. We'll see if it gets opened after the pinot on Sunday. (Does pinot go well with spinach nuggets, by the way?)