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A
response to some of the ridiculous
blabbering going on in the wake of the Oscar
nominations.
I just read a snippet from a Chicago Tribune
column that sent me right over the edge.
I just can't take it anymore. The
article suggested that The Academy of Motion
Picture Arts & Sciences (AMPAS) shot itself
in the foot by nominating so many obscure
movies, thereby guaranteeing a poorly rated
Oscar ceremony.
First of all, who
cares about ratings? Maybe ABC, who
broadcasts the show. But they don't
get a vote. The voters are made up of
all sorts of previous nominees and winners
and the members of AMPAS, none of whom have
much interest in the difference between 150
million worldwide viewers or 180 million
worldwide viewers.
Mediaweek reported:
"The problem with the films this year is
none of them are huge, mass-appeal hits." What the
hell?
Is that a bad thing? Quite the
opposite. That is a fantastic thing.
Most of the huge, mass-appeal hits released
in a year are horrendous movies. The
general public typically rewards the most
publicized films of the year... not
necessarily the
best. What is more important -- box
office or quality? It's an easy answer.
No more box office evidence please... it has
no bearing.
Entertainment writer
(nice title) Marc Caro wrote: "(AMPAS) risks
confirming the suspicions of those who think
it has grown out of touch with mainstream
tastes." To which I respond: "Thank
fuck for that!"
You want an award
show that champions the box office winners
and the general public's easily won
affection? Then, by all means, watch the two
shows that already do -- The MTV Movie
Awards and The People's Choice Awards.
Of course, this all
stems from the fact that the Academy
virtually ignored "The Dark Knight" in all
the major categories this year. This,
of course, caused mass hysteria in the
online fanboy community -- a group that
apparently wasn't satisfied with the bone
the Academy threw at them in 2003, when they
quaintly allowed "Lord of the Rings 3" to win the big
one... if only to shut the fat kids up for a while.
Let's get this all
straightened out. Not enough voters
thought that a movie about a man in a bat
suit with a ridiculously gruff voice should
be included in the most prestigious awards
show of them all -- and that is some sort of
a shock?!?!? I think not. Let
"Dark Knight" win all the MTV awards it
wants. Let it reign supreme at The
People's Choice. But let's not presume
that it carries the emotional heft or
skillful writing to be considered a
masterpiece.
It is merely a very
good example of comic book fluff. End
of story. Move on with your lives.
The Oscars is the adults turn to play.
Maybe we will throw the fanboys a bone the
next time Lord of the Rings gets remade.
***
As a footnote to
this column, I want to point out a phrase I
read about Heath Ledger's death. I
believe it was on Yahoo news. The
phrase was "an accidental prescription drug
encounter" in reference to his passing.
That is a disgusting
representation of his death. He had
been a drug addict for a long time and he
overdosed by snorting pain medication
through a $10 bill. Let's not
glamorize a man, who had an infant child,
that was jacked up on pills and had
previously been recorded snorting cocaine at
a party. Most people couldn't name
three good films he has been in... including
"Dark Knight". The guy wasn't a legend
in the making. He wasn't the next De
Niro.
Ledger is merely the
figure upon which fanboys have decided to
practice their infantile grief and respect.
Ledger was decent in
TDK. Certainly not deserving of all
this praise. He was known for shunning
media attention and gushing praise -- and,
in his grave, he cannot seem to escape it.
Way to go fanboys!
-- He would have been so happy.
©
Written by TC Candler
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