OSCARS 2010

Hollywood Dinner Has Oscars on Menu
By MICHAEL CIEPLY

LOS ANGELES — Lauren Bacall admitted she had a thing for Gregory Peck, but his wife got in the way. Kirk Douglas said he tried to seduce Ms. Bacall, but she wasn’t interested. Warren Beatty confessed that all his best stories seemed to wind up serving himself.

Something remarkable happened on Saturday night at the new awards ceremony sponsored by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences: Hollywood let its guard down.

The academy’s inaugural Governors Awards, designed to move the presentation of career Oscars off the lengthy annual broadcast, turned out to be almost exactly what its promoters had promised — a clubby night out for movie business insiders who found themselves swapping yarns and observations that might be considered a little too real for network television.

The semi-private banquet for roughly 500 academy members and others was held in a ballroom near the Kodak Theater, where the regular Oscars will be presented on March 7. The gold statuettes and many of the players — Ron Howard, Jack Nicholson, Steven Spielberg, Annette Bening — were the same.

But the similarities ended there.

With the news and television cameras shut out and only a handful of reporters scattered at the tables, insiders got into the spirit of an evening that was set up by its producer Bruce Cohen — himself an Oscar winner as a producer of “American Beauty” — to mimic the more intimate Academy Awards ceremonies of Irving G. Thalberg’s day.

“It’s better,” said Mr. Beatty, who showed up to present the producer and executive John Calley with a Thalberg award for his work over the years on movies like “Catch-22,” “The Exorcist,” “Jerry Maguire” and “The Da Vinci Code.” “Nobody’s worried whether 36.9 million people are watching us, or 29.2 million.”

One of the night’s more startling bits of honesty came from Mr. Calley, who did not attend because of health problems, and delivered some recorded remarks on a giant video screen.

“You’re very unhappy for a long period of time,” Mr. Calley said, in speaking of the executive’s life. “And you don’t experience joy. At the end you experience relief, if you’re lucky.”

Candor of that sort was a rule, not the exception.

After raising a toast to Gordon Willis, the cinematographer behind movies like “The Godfather” and “Manhattan,” Caleb Deschanel, a protégé, cut close to the bone by telling how Mr. Willis’s salty ways had almost certainly kept him from winning an Oscar over the years.

Mr. Willis, he noted, had referred to professional peers as “flamethrowers,” presumably for using what he believed was too much light. Many directors, he quoted Mr. Willis as saying, were just “dump trucks,” who piled up film for an editor to sort out. As for Hollywood’s film labs, he said, Mr. Willis dismissed them as “laundromats.”

Accepting his Oscar, Mr. Willis, who is 78, has weak eyesight and is working less, had some consolation for the many actresses who objected to his preference for shadows, which often obscured their lovely faces.

“It’s O.K.,” he said. “It’s over now. You’re safe.”

Roger Corman, who received an honorary Oscar for directing, producing and distributing both B-movies and foreign art films by the score, came in for some ribbing about his professional parsimony.

“You can’t help but get weary” when working for Mr. Corman, Mr. Howard said in celebrating the executive who gave him a first directing job, on “Grand Theft Auto,” in 1977.

Mr. Howard recalled Mr. Corman’s telling him, “If you continue to do a good job for me on this picture, I can promise you, you’ll never have to work for me again.”

Inevitably an army of publicists worked the crowd, which brought together potential Oscar voters precisely as they are forming opinions about this year’s crop of contenders.

As the evening warmed up, John Hillcoat, who directed “The Road” for the Weinstein Company, for instance, was introduced by a busy publicist to Jeff Bridges. He, in turn, was there to honor Mr. Willis, but is now in the hunt, since Fox Searchlight suddenly decided to release his “Crazy Heart” next month, in time to qualify for awards.

Alec Baldwin, newly designated as an Oscar co-host next March, along with Steve Martin, did not take the stage but was on hand. Before the show Mr. Baldwin was chatting things up at a table with Anjelica Huston, who later told the crowd that Ms. Bacall — another of Saturday’s honorary Oscar winners — then married to Humphrey Bogart, had been a witness in the wilds of Africa in 1951 when her father, John Huston, then directing “The African Queen,” received a telegram announcing her birth.

Like most things Oscar related, the ceremony was long — 3 hours 18 minutes, not counting the cocktail hour that preceded the event. The dinner began at 7:30 p.m., but the real starting gun went off six minutes later, when a door attendant radioed an alert: “Tom Hanks has arrived.”

Mr. Hanks, who only a couple of months ago warded off a bid to make him president of the academy — he told the board he was flattered but too busy — appeared to be as relaxed as everyone else.

“How are you guys?” he said to seven tuxedo-clad past Thalberg award winners — Walter Mirisch, George Lucas, Saul Zaentz, Norman Jewison, Dino De Laurentiis and both Mr. Beatty and Mr. Spielberg — who lined up behind him.

“Good to see you,” breezed Mr. Hanks.

It was that kind of night.

Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company

http://www.thefilmexperience.net/Awards/2009/tally.html

Gad, he's so wrong about Alfred Molina: he's annoying because the part is annoying and he's annoying in it.

exes Cameron vs Bigelow?

http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/2009/12/avatar_in_the_r.php

yeah, xpost, Molina was totally the worst part of AN EDUCATION! I forget who said it, but it really felt like he was acting in a bad sitcom

God, Molina's is the one seemingly uncontested it's-gonna-happen nomination I can not figure out. That perfect storm of not a good performance from a not particularly overdue actor in a not overwhelmingly beloved movie that somehow is adding up to an Oscar lock?

I think it comes down to the fact that it was a hammy comic performance in a "prestige" picture.

Sarsgaard deserves a nod imo

Sarsgaard
Firth
Foster
Bridges
Clooney

???

I don't need to see Invictus to know that I don't want Freeman nominated.
I still haven't seen THE HURT LOCKER

Sarsgaard is considered supporting? :/

xpost but Molina wasn't even effectively hammy or comic, though I guess I can see how avg academy voter could think so

I should really stop being surprised by coattails nods, though, in the aftermath of Catherine Keener's Capote nod.

Keener's nod is way more deserving than Molina's. More useless: Frances McDormand for North Country, William Hurt in Children of a Lesser God, Kristen Scott-Thomas for The English Patient, Sophie Okenedo in Hotel Rwanda, etc.

We could almost POLL these nods.

I will stay outside this debate as i can't imagine ever seeing An Education.

all oscar "nods" are shit imo

harder and harder to care every effing year

Nah, they get it right once in a while, and if a nod allows a Judy Davis a chance to get better roles and more dough, that's fine.

like the Judy Garland TV bio?

ya weird example... when was the last time you saw her in anything??

it did however allow cuba gooding jr to make snow dogs

See these are the sort of things that actually make Oscars fun.

visual FX list (perrraise God, no Lovely Bones):

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/2009/12/11/oscar_watch_fifteen_films_up_for_vfx_oscar1/

btw right now I'd put money, if I did that sort of thing, on a Pic/Director split between Up in the Air and Bigelow.

that sounds about right.

eligibles list:

http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/rules/reminderlist2009.pdf

Being that Julia is eligible, I fully expect the Academy to do the right thing.

Actually, I don't. Because apparently they're supposed to nominate Helen Mirren's supporting performance in a glorified TV movie no one will ever see or love. *sigh*

Headless Woman is eligible, 35 Shots not.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_submissions_to_the_82nd_Academy_Awards_for_Best_Foreign_Language_Film

I'm saying I Killed My Mother slips into the lineup.

ok, now I'm just as bored as Eric.

http://oscar-watch.ew.com/2009/12/31/dave-karger-oscar-predictions/

Do I sense a "populist" win for Sandy Bullock?

Hey, even Sharen Stone got a nod once.

i'd give her a nod

this is the gay thread, son. Keep out.

sharon got a nom, not a win.

that's what "nod" means in Varietyspeak

ah, gotcha. watching her milk her brush with second-class prestige pics at the Kennedy Center Honors last week was pretty hilarious.

but yes, I can see Streep fatigue and non-actressness of Sidibe putting Bullock on the stage.

I cant wait to see all the shitty movies tossed in to the now expanded best picture category.

I also expect to see Avatar nominated for this very reason.

My prediction is they reserve one of these slots every year for Pixar movies to be nominated and lose. Not to say they are shitty, just that they wont win.

abbie cornish for best actress imo

Bullock could definitely get a nom, but i think the golden globe (she's up for dramatic AND comedy!) would be an easier grab

btw didn't everyone think while watching the "celeb fantasy" scenes in Precious, "Well this girl is going to be doing way more convincing versions of this in 2 months."

as for "shitty" films to fill out the ten, no way A Serious Man makes it w/out the extra slots. (Up too, tho that's a kind of a pity)

funny thing about "streep fatigue" is that she hasn't actually won in twenty five years. julie & julia seems like a good opportunity to reward her for showing up all these times.

Yup.

I'd rather she wins for being cartoonishly funny than being a serious cartoon.

possible, but I dunno.

With The Lovely Bones and maybe Nine looking DOA, maybe Invictus will be the worst Best Picture nominee (if it isn't the ILX Fanboy Movie).

Dave Karger didn't even mention Tilda. I am the opposite of surprised.

And, yes, Invictus looks like the requisite haaarrrible nominee of the year. If it were just five slots, I guess the worst nominee would be ... Avatar?

of the unseen contenders I'm guessing I'd hate IB more than Avatar.

ah, gotcha. watching her milk her brush with second-class prestige pics at the Kennedy Center Honors last week was pretty hilarious.

― da croupier, Monday, January 4, 2010 1:22 PM (39 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i seriously thought "milk her brush" was some sort of phrase i'd never heard before for a sec

haha

Really, Morbs? Whatever would give you that hunch?

Best pic should be a live audience call-in vote.

nominate every movie that is released. randomly select a winner thru a lottery, then blindfold and shoot them.

as vince vaughn cackles

alternately, force the nominees to fight each other to the death in a futuristic battle arena

the last person standing gets an oscar...and is blindfolded and shot

http://static.rateyourmusic.com/album_images/f7781b829076a15d3f5e7b0fdd955d9c/35441.jpg

girl who starred in precious will never get another good role, hope she had a nice time

ha i was hoping oprah's 'she has a bright future' spiel was a personal promise to basically gift her more jobs, not a (0% chance) challenge to hollywood.

lol at you guys being terrified of Avatards using their special internet powers to cry about LIFECHANGINGSTUFF and Annie Hall. most of them (except for Dan's friends?) are 14. the Brat Pack is scarier.

James Cameron doesn't seem too arsed about not winning stuff, he seems really relaxed about it all.

If I had that much money to wrap myself in, I'd let a lot of shit slide with a smile too.

joan rivers just said james cameron looked like a lesbian on fashion police

he did!! str8 association for feminist anthropology right there

Facebook is full of indignant Avatar fans. "NO ONE will even remember Hurt Locker in ten years. They will feel like FOOLS for not recognizing the impact of the greatest movie EVER MADE!" <----- a particular highlight

I don't really get the attitude of people like this... Star Wars and Avatar will be remembered regardless of whether or not they won the best pic Oscar, and I'm sure not winning it didn't hurt their popularity a bit. Whereas Annie Hall and Hurt Locker might've actually gained some new audiences because of their Oscars. So everybody wins! It's not like this is a zero-sum game where one movie's gain automatically hurts the other one.

Also, it's not like Academy always refuses to award the scifi/fantasy mega success of the year... The Return of the King won the best pic Oscar because it deserved to, whereas Star Wars and Avatar didn't.

The Return of the King won the best pic Oscar because it deserved to

Let's end thread on tuomaslol

lol at you guys being terrified of Avatards using their special internet powers to cry about LIFECHANGINGSTUFF and Annie Hall. most of them (except for Dan's friends?) are 14.

the particular friend I"m talking about is 38

(so yes, you are correct)

Your friend's message is weird, as there's nothing sinister or mean or one-uppy about saying "I see you" in na'vi iirc.

He actually posted it before the broadcast; as far as I can tell he's made one comment on a common friend's status update since the awards basically saying "how dare they not give Avatar best picture (ps Peter Saarsgard is HOTTTTTTTTTTTTTT)" so I at least know he hasn't killed himself or gone crazy(er)

favorite Glenn Kenny post:

Is Peter Sarsgaard heterosexual just to mess with people?

I've gotten that line so often.

you're hetero now?

I was once; I may be again.

if wishes were fishes...

...sarsgaard would be gay?

"We'll always have Kinsey"

did you guys know that sandy actually accepted her razzie in person?

Sandra said, "I brought the shooting script. I'm willing to go through page by page, read the line the way I did it in the film and, if anyone wants to give me a line read of how I could've done it better…. We can do this till about 4 o'clock in the morning. Or you guys can just watch the movie and rethink your decision, and I'll show up next year and we can go out for a drink afterward."

Halle Berry also accepted hers for Catwoman in person.

sandy brought a wagon full of dvd's

http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OB-HT759_sandra_E_20100307144329.jpg

she is and always will be fucking awesome

The entire Crash cast lives in a condo in Dan's heart

She seems like a fun lady but I wish she would not be in movies.

I haven't seen The Blind Side, but I guarantee you it accomplishes its goals more successfully that those terrible, terrible films.

― Your body is a spiderland (polyphonic), Tuesday, February 23, 2010 6:18 PM (2 weeks ago)

I saw Blind Side this weekend and remembered that I'd said this dumb thing.

"I'd like to thank the Iraqis for resisting our occupation. Without you, this film doesn't get made." - Dennis Perrin

Oh, right, that was Dennis Perrin sticking a dagger into Ginger Lady's back as she exited the stage.

I also liked this:

"Kristen Stewart exudes a I-hate-people-and-can't-wait-for-my-next-fix vibe that is charming."

so why do you read Perrin if he's only funny twice a year?

hooboy, my "Avatar" friend just got back from mini-vacation and is on a roll, claiming among other things that "The Hurt Locker" is destined to become a minor footnote in American cinema much like "The Sting"

he is also claiming that no one remembers "Terms of Endearment" and everyone remembers "E.T."

urge to smack rising

He'd have a better case if those two movies were actually in competition with each other at the Oscars. Or if he'd picked Out of Africa instead of Terms of Endearment. Or if he weren't generally insufferable.

Haha, oops, thought you were talking about Perrin, Dan.

insufferable aka "political"

I knew "not sufficiently anti-war" wouldn't stick to Hurt Locker, now that the peace [sic] movement from Daily Kos to Beverly Hills has shut its mouth for as long as Bam keeps us there.

Insufferable aka "there is nothing good in the world but for telling everyone that everything sucks"

It's still a valid comment, Eric!

in fairness, he did also reference "Out of Africa" vs "The Color Purple"

Haha, he read my mind.

"there is nothing good in the world but for telling everyone that everything sucks"

O ballz! He praises Gabourey Sibide and the Coens on those tweets.

Was the Hughes tribute hyped in advance? Watch for more of same, given ratings boost.

Next year Tom Cruise will blow himself up on top of Oprah when he receives his Thalberg.

Loved how the clip from In the Loop was so mildly comic touchy-feely.