February 23, 2015

This morning, I watched my recording of the 'In Memoriam' section of the Oscars show...

... and I thought it was really bad because of that cheeseball "watercolor" effect that was slapped onto the photographs and because it was full of executives and behind-the-scenes people who had no place in our hearts.



It should have been more about us, more of a show, and less about them, less like an industry convention.

ADDED: Apparently the standard for inclusion is membership in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. That's why Joan Rivers didn't make the cut.

35 comments:

Ignorance is Bliss said...

I tend to prefer the In Memoriam section of The Talking Dead.

tim maguire said...

Error: geolocation criteria unmet.

Due to rights agreements, we only offer this video to viewers within the United States and its territories.


Jerks.

traditionalguy said...

You are spot on. The Oscars has become an Industry/Trade Association Convention of Hollywood people who see themselves as elite shapers of reality. That's why they love Obama and could care less about traditional American bitter clingers watching to see their favorites on TV.

At least the Cocaine importers got an economic boost from having that many gathered in one place for one night.



Tibore said...

"It should have been more about us, more of a show, and less about them, less like an industry convention."

But, the Academy Awards is an industry convention. It's roots were in the private dinner thrown in 1929, and the press release was an afterthought.

That said, yes, the move to televise it and bring in the masses was beyond question an opening to bringing in non-industry viewers, and I do agree that it's pretty damn insular, self-indulgent, and self-absorbed a broadcast. But I don't really think anyone ever expected otherwise out of Hollywood.

Ps. Good note about AMPAS membership. It's obvious in retrospect, but I was just as confused as everyone else when I first realized she wasn't shown. Thanks for the info.

Biff said...

With respect, the Academy Awards have never been about "us." They've always been about the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. They just let us take a look into the fishbowl.

David said...

Less about them?

They gave the best picture Oscar to a movie about them.

David said...

TCM does a much better In Memoriam each year, with film clips etc etc.

Known Unknown said...

TCM does a much better In Memoriam each year, with film clips etc etc.

Yes, they do.

FullMoon said...

That Joan was such a card! Saw a clip of her saying her celebrity apprentice opponent is so vile, she would spit on the ground , then drown her mother in it. Ha Ha, classy.

I wonder if the families pay to have their dear departed included in the "In memorium" section. You know, like paying extra for a long obit in the local paper.

No Obama and no Michelle.What are they hiding?

Black millionaires talking about how tough it is for blacks to get a break, way more funny than Snowden joke, but too subtle.

Wince said...

Shut up. This is the special immortality they all share. Like the gift bags and the reserved seats.

You can't have any.

prairie wind said...

You can't have any.

But...but...Patricia Arquette!!

I understand that some actresses who earn millions deserve to earn more millions but what about the actresses who don't earn millions? Maybe they deserve millions, too. Can't have a movie without those actresses...the ones who play waitresses and receptionists and best friends, so they should earn millions, too. In fact, it is clear to me that the minimum wage for being an actress should be millions. Make it so!

If only we could find out how much those millionaire actresses pay their nannies and personal assistants and gardeners.

Sam L. said...

I care just enough to express my near-total lack of caring.

pm317 said...

Apparently the standard for inclusion is membership in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Is that why American Sniper lost?

pm317 said...

Why wasn't Patricia Arquette moaning and bitching about pay gap in the current Obama WH?

William said...

The watercolor of Robin Williams is very flattering. You want to project the best possible image, even after death. The watercolor was a form of postmortem Botox.......Most of my favorite actors are dead. When I was growing up, actors like Gary Cooper, Clark Gable, and Humphrey Bogart smoked and drank too much. They had the tact and discretion to die when they were still recognizable. Nowadays actors like Mickey Rooney and Anita Ekberg die when they're too old to make a dramatic exit. They should consult their publicist and not their gerontlogist for mortality guidance.

richlb said...

I hope I'm remembering this correctly: Shirley Temple wasn't shown, and I'm not sure about her AMPAS membership. Surely at some point she was.

She died last year on 2/10. That would have put her in this year's "In Memoriam" correct?

Fandor said...

When the "Big One" comes in California, let's hope it's on Academy Award night and everybody who's anybody is there.

And let the world watch and be amazed!

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

They need to knock it off. It's supposed to be a fun awards show, not a funeral.

FWBuff said...

@richlb, I originally thought the same thing and was shocked that they didn't include Shirley Temple in this year's broadcast. But because she died in early February before the 2014 Oscars broadcast later that month, they were able to include her in last year's In Memoriam segment. Umbrage averted!

Mary Beth said...

tim maguire said...

Error: geolocation criteria unmet.

Due to rights agreements, we only offer this video to viewers within the United States and its territories.

Jerks.

2/23/15, 10:25 AM


Hola, if you're using Chrome.

the wolf said...

@richlb, Shirley Temple was in last year's In Memoriam.

richard mcenroe said...

You need to remember the Oscars are a community function,for all they've been broadcast globally,and it's a very insular and provincial community at that. So a lot of the awards and memorials are 'local news' as it were.

richard mcenroe said...

American Sniper was never gonna win. No way Hollywood votes for it. But I thought Imitation Game would.

Titus said...

Lady Gaga was amazing.

tits.

richlb said...

My bad for missing Shirley Temple being in there last year. I thought I remembered a few years back when Roy Scheider died close to broadcast time (he also died on February 10th) that they didn't include him and stated the reason being that In Memoriam was for people who died during the previous calendar year. They may have revised that policy in the ensuing years.

CWJ said...

Was Lady Gaga singing or syncing? Watching her lips during close ups and her awkward arm movements, I thought it was the latter.

Titus said...

Lady Gaga was definitely singing live. She's a trained opera singer.

Matt said...

Wait, you're offended by the 'In Memoriam' section. Seriously? Come on. If you hate the Oscars just don't watch.

Big Mike said...

Apparently the standard for inclusion is membership in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. That's why Joan Rivers didn't make the cut.

Liberals following their own rules? I guess there's a first time for everything.

Bob Ellison said...

That pic that appears on your post as a still of Robin Williams: I can't find it online.

It's the way we men perceive ourselves. A little twisted, probably not that handsome, maybe capable of getting a laugh. Lucky to get a lady if we did.

The Godfather said...

With all due respect, Althouse, being offended that the Oscars are a trade show is like going to a strip joint and being offended by seeing tits.

rcommal said...

Wait. You want it to be all about the movie stars and not at all about all the behind-scenes folks? I mean, screw the costume designers, make-up artists, film & music editors, writers, & so on 'n' so forth?

Quite the proposition! No wonder I still find the Althouse blog so compellingly entertaining, despite everything, even after all these years.

**open guffaw**

rcommal said...

The key word ^ was "proposition"...

rcommal said...

Perhaps that Robin Williams sketched depiction ought to have been animated, as in this example, for instance.

That might have underscored the overall, underlying "theme" of the evening, better. Maybe, perhaps.

__

And I say that even though, truth be told, the memorial sketches reminded me first, and most, of--for example--the beginning titles of such long-ago programs as, for example, the Miss Marple mysteries.

Bryan C said...

"You want it to be all about the movie stars and not at all about all the behind-scenes folks?"

There's tons of recognition for "behind the scene stuff" at the Oscars, but they don't televise most of it during the prime-time show they produce for the moviegoers who pay their salaries.

Because it gets annoying. Like the frequent in-joke references to Lorne Michaels in the SNL40 show. Know your audience.