Okay phew! I'm back on schedule. And the other great thing to report on yesterday was the Oscar Awards Ceremony. Another reason why I did not post last night. I was too busy waiting up to hear the final award announced. In the past many years I have not really been a big Oscar's fan. The over the top glitz and boring entertainment in between awards speeches were just not interesting. Generally I hadn't seen the movies either. But this year was different. Part of my campaign to remain positive in the face of overwhelming negativity has been to go see movies and as you know (if you've been reading) I have seen quite a few of the contenders.
For starters Jimmy Kimmel was funny and humble and very real. I loved that he brought a busload of tourists into the ceremony to meet the celebrities. That just flies in the face of separation of "elites" from everyday people. I loved his nurturing of the crowd by feeding them goodies from the sky! I heard many people complain that there were no jabs and speeches panning Pres T, but I think the tone was just right. Kimmel made a friendly jab by broadcasting his Twitter feed and message to @POTUS. And there were mentions about various - illegal immigrants, public schools, gay rights, people of color, the travel ban. People were not silent, but neither did they go on a soapbox.
Additionally I feel vindicated in my choices. Viola Davis finally won a much deserved Oscar.
LaLa Land did deserve Oscars for cinematography, music and directing. But the final call - the huge mistake of the evening: When Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty announced LaLa Land had won best picture erroneously - that seemed like a sweet blessing. I, and I'm sure many people were resigned to LaLa Land taking the big prize and out pacing the dark, bittersweet MOONLIGHT, but it was not to be so. Like a fine dark horse pulling ahead by a nose, the tech came out onto the stage, sneaking into the cheering cast and crew of LaLa Land to deliver a corrected envelope to its producer Jordan Horowitz - and sure enough MOONLIGHT was the true winner. This was a sad, but grace filled moment when Mr. Horowitz continued his thanks but said, "But we lost, this is not a joke - MOONLIGHT is the winner and I am very happy to hand this over to my colleagues
on MOONLIGHT." That is sportsmanship, true grace and generosity. LaLa Land for all its wonderful moments is a deeply inconsistent and flawed film. MOONLIGHT is a dark gem and a message that so needs amplification.
Yes we must hear the stories of the suffering artists, but even more so we must see and hear the stories of silenced black boys who never had the chance to find their voice. This kind of vindication is so sweet at a time when white nationalists have managed to take over our White House, our judiciary and a good deal of our media. Good for Hollywood and the professionals who cast votes for these films. It felt like a small antidote to the pain of election night 11/8/16 when we desperately hoped that the incoming tallies would shift and our horse would win. This time one could wake up wanting to hear the news with joy and not terror.
For starters Jimmy Kimmel was funny and humble and very real. I loved that he brought a busload of tourists into the ceremony to meet the celebrities. That just flies in the face of separation of "elites" from everyday people. I loved his nurturing of the crowd by feeding them goodies from the sky! I heard many people complain that there were no jabs and speeches panning Pres T, but I think the tone was just right. Kimmel made a friendly jab by broadcasting his Twitter feed and message to @POTUS. And there were mentions about various - illegal immigrants, public schools, gay rights, people of color, the travel ban. People were not silent, but neither did they go on a soapbox.
Additionally I feel vindicated in my choices. Viola Davis finally won a much deserved Oscar.
LaLa Land did deserve Oscars for cinematography, music and directing. But the final call - the huge mistake of the evening: When Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty announced LaLa Land had won best picture erroneously - that seemed like a sweet blessing. I, and I'm sure many people were resigned to LaLa Land taking the big prize and out pacing the dark, bittersweet MOONLIGHT, but it was not to be so. Like a fine dark horse pulling ahead by a nose, the tech came out onto the stage, sneaking into the cheering cast and crew of LaLa Land to deliver a corrected envelope to its producer Jordan Horowitz - and sure enough MOONLIGHT was the true winner. This was a sad, but grace filled moment when Mr. Horowitz continued his thanks but said, "But we lost, this is not a joke - MOONLIGHT is the winner and I am very happy to hand this over to my colleagues
Yes we must hear the stories of the suffering artists, but even more so we must see and hear the stories of silenced black boys who never had the chance to find their voice. This kind of vindication is so sweet at a time when white nationalists have managed to take over our White House, our judiciary and a good deal of our media. Good for Hollywood and the professionals who cast votes for these films. It felt like a small antidote to the pain of election night 11/8/16 when we desperately hoped that the incoming tallies would shift and our horse would win. This time one could wake up wanting to hear the news with joy and not terror.
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