Anghus Houvouras reflects on the 85th Academy Awards...
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The morning after the Oscars is always a turbulent time. People spend countless hours analyzing every little facet of the award ceremony. From grading the host to breaking down the legitimacy of the winner, analyzing the choices and whether or not the voting body made the right call. But this year I find myself in a strange place...
I agree with all the choices.
As a film writer, it's a unique place to find yourself. Usually in the wake of the Oscar telecast there's a soapbox to stand up on to shout from or a torch wielding mob that needs to be pointed towards a particular injustice. But not this year. This year, I found myself pleasantly surprised with the winners. This year, they got it right.
First off, they didn't phone it in. When the nominations were announced, I was sure this was going to be a lazy year where Lincoln took home every award. The bleeding heart Academy voters would shower more praise on Steven Spielberg in spite of Lincoln being one his laziest and most mismanaged efforts. It's hard to argue the Best Actor award for Daniel Day-Lewis. The man is incredible and is capable of unparalleled range. It was those other awards I thought "The Beard" would walk away with, like Best Director that had me in 'pre-groan' mode as awards were announced. Surprisingly, the film was generally ignored. I say 'surprisingly' because in years with no clear standout picture, voters often get stupidly sentimental. Fortunately, that didn't happen.
Speaking of Best Director: Hooray for Ang Lee. I'm a fan of his work, and of the available nominees he was who I was hoping would win. I say 'available nominees' because it was a travesty that Ben Affleck was not nominated. Maybe that's why there's no need for a soapbox of torch wielding mob after the show. We already wasted our indignation in the run up to the race. Life of Pi was well rewarded last night in some creative and technical categories. I was glad to see this film get some love from the Academy.
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In the acting categories, I was four for four. I loved seeing Christopher Waltz winning for Django Unchained. The guy is a great actor and gives the most earnest acceptance speeches. A lot of people complained that his performance was too similar to his Inglourious Basterds role, an assertion I greatly disagree with. Others said his role was a co-lead and not really a supporting part which means he was on screen far longer than the other nominees giving him an unfair advantage. Spurious arguments, in my opinion. The kind of award season grandstanding that ends up being little more than sound and fury signifying nothing.
Although her awards speeches are painful and cloying, Anne Hathaway deserved the win for Les Miserables. She's an amazing actress who tries way too hard to appear humble. When she grabbed the statue and said "it came true.", I audibly groaned. She could take a few lessons from Jennifer Lawrence who at her young age has mastered the art of award acceptance and the post ceremony press conference. When asked if she thought she had peaked too soon, she replied "Well I am now." Love it. So glad she won over the robotic Chastain. Joel McHale tweeted this last night, which sums up my feelings on Chastain:
"@joelmchale. At the very least, Jessica Chastain should get an honorary award for “Best Glowering in Front of a Computer"
Lawrence gave a far stronger performance, in my opinion, and I was pleased as punch she took home the statue.
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As for Best Picture, it was no surprise that I was pulling for Argo. I've been championing the film since its release and it was my favorite movie of 2012. It's rare that my personal taste and the Academy voters align. This year they were totally in sync. Argo is a fantastic movie, and Ben Affleck is a real talent behind the camera. In spite of his Directorial snub, he ended up winning in the end walking away with his second Oscar. Ben, if you're reading this, don't worry. The Academy has a way of making up for past mistakes. Like when they gave Pacino the award for Scent of a Woman. Save a place on your mantle for that Best Director Oscar. You'll get yours in due time.
As for the award ceremony itself, I have to say I enjoyed it. Seth MacFarlane felt like the right blend of hip and old Hollywood. You had the production numbers and the songs mixed with a lot of jokes that bordered on bad taste. Honestly, it felt like MacFarlane was pulling his punches. He had said this was a one time deal, so I expected more bridges to be burned. Still, the guy knows how to put on a show. Anyone who can work a Captain Kirk gag into the monologue is going to get my ringing endorsement. Everyone complains about the grating length of the Oscars. At this point, why bother? Everyone knows it's going to be four hours or more. So why does everyone still endlessly complain about the length of the ceremony? It is what it is. It's never going to change. Prepare yourself for a long night and just roll with it.
What's funny is that the length of the ceremony is most complained about by Entertainment Writers. Which is like having a Sports Reporter complain about the length of the Super Bowl. This is your gig. This is what you do. What else would you be doing Sunday night other than watching The Walking Dead or Girls? And yet many of them act like the Oscars are an epic endurance test and a huge inconvenience. Here's a tip for next year: shut the hell up. Nothing is more infuriating that reading a website where someone getting paid to report on the Oscars complains that they had to spend four hours watching the event. Or even worse, giving notes on how the Producers could shorten the ceremony. It's once a year, you yammering jackasses. Drop it already.
As I said, there was an odd sense of contentment with the Oscars. They got so much right this year. Any year Quentin Tarantino gets an award for writing and Adele gets one for songwriting is a win in my book. Nice job Academy. Here's hoping for an equally fulfilling ceremony in 2014.
Anghus Houvouras is a North Carolina based writer and filmmaker. His latest work, the graphic novel EXE: Executable File, is available from Lulu.com.
The morning after the Oscars is always a turbulent time. People spend countless hours analyzing every little facet of the award ceremony. From grading the host to breaking down the legitimacy of the winner, analyzing the choices and whether or not the voting body made the right call. But this year I find myself in a strange place...I agree with all the choices.
As a film writer, it's a unique place to find yourself. Usually in the wake of the Oscar telecast there's a soapbox to stand up on to shout from or a torch wielding mob that needs to be pointed towards a particular injustice. But not this year. This year, I found myself pleasantly surprised with the winners. This year, they got it right.
First off, they didn't phone it in. When the nominations were announced, I was sure this was going to be a lazy year where Lincoln took home every award. The bleeding heart Academy voters would shower more praise on Steven Spielberg in spite of Lincoln being one his laziest and most mismanaged efforts. It's hard to argue the Best Actor award for Daniel Day-Lewis. The man is incredible and is capable of unparalleled range. It was those other awards I thought "The Beard" would walk away with, like Best Director that had me in 'pre-groan' mode as awards were announced. Surprisingly, the film was generally ignored. I say 'surprisingly' because in years with no clear standout picture, voters often get stupidly sentimental. Fortunately, that didn't happen.
Speaking of Best Director: Hooray for Ang Lee. I'm a fan of his work, and of the available nominees he was who I was hoping would win. I say 'available nominees' because it was a travesty that Ben Affleck was not nominated. Maybe that's why there's no need for a soapbox of torch wielding mob after the show. We already wasted our indignation in the run up to the race. Life of Pi was well rewarded last night in some creative and technical categories. I was glad to see this film get some love from the Academy.
In the acting categories, I was four for four. I loved seeing Christopher Waltz winning for Django Unchained. The guy is a great actor and gives the most earnest acceptance speeches. A lot of people complained that his performance was too similar to his Inglourious Basterds role, an assertion I greatly disagree with. Others said his role was a co-lead and not really a supporting part which means he was on screen far longer than the other nominees giving him an unfair advantage. Spurious arguments, in my opinion. The kind of award season grandstanding that ends up being little more than sound and fury signifying nothing.Although her awards speeches are painful and cloying, Anne Hathaway deserved the win for Les Miserables. She's an amazing actress who tries way too hard to appear humble. When she grabbed the statue and said "it came true.", I audibly groaned. She could take a few lessons from Jennifer Lawrence who at her young age has mastered the art of award acceptance and the post ceremony press conference. When asked if she thought she had peaked too soon, she replied "Well I am now." Love it. So glad she won over the robotic Chastain. Joel McHale tweeted this last night, which sums up my feelings on Chastain:
"@joelmchale. At the very least, Jessica Chastain should get an honorary award for “Best Glowering in Front of a Computer"
Lawrence gave a far stronger performance, in my opinion, and I was pleased as punch she took home the statue.
As for the award ceremony itself, I have to say I enjoyed it. Seth MacFarlane felt like the right blend of hip and old Hollywood. You had the production numbers and the songs mixed with a lot of jokes that bordered on bad taste. Honestly, it felt like MacFarlane was pulling his punches. He had said this was a one time deal, so I expected more bridges to be burned. Still, the guy knows how to put on a show. Anyone who can work a Captain Kirk gag into the monologue is going to get my ringing endorsement. Everyone complains about the grating length of the Oscars. At this point, why bother? Everyone knows it's going to be four hours or more. So why does everyone still endlessly complain about the length of the ceremony? It is what it is. It's never going to change. Prepare yourself for a long night and just roll with it.
What's funny is that the length of the ceremony is most complained about by Entertainment Writers. Which is like having a Sports Reporter complain about the length of the Super Bowl. This is your gig. This is what you do. What else would you be doing Sunday night other than watching The Walking Dead or Girls? And yet many of them act like the Oscars are an epic endurance test and a huge inconvenience. Here's a tip for next year: shut the hell up. Nothing is more infuriating that reading a website where someone getting paid to report on the Oscars complains that they had to spend four hours watching the event. Or even worse, giving notes on how the Producers could shorten the ceremony. It's once a year, you yammering jackasses. Drop it already.
As I said, there was an odd sense of contentment with the Oscars. They got so much right this year. Any year Quentin Tarantino gets an award for writing and Adele gets one for songwriting is a win in my book. Nice job Academy. Here's hoping for an equally fulfilling ceremony in 2014.
Anghus Houvouras is a North Carolina based writer and filmmaker. His latest work, the graphic novel EXE: Executable File, is available from Lulu.com.