Friday, February 25, 2011

Oh, Oscar.....

Could it possibly be almost over? --oops.. I mean, almost here? I'm talking about the Oscars of course and, well, I've been sick of them since early November. Not that I haven't enjoyed the stacks of screeners that appeared in Fed Ex packages on my doorstep every afternoon or the....well, that's pretty much all I've enjoyed.

But as someone that actually gets paid to write about movies (a rarity these days), I mustered up some enthusiasm and spouted and speculated along with the rest of 'em, as you'll see in my expanded "No Brainer," "Educated Guess," and "Head-Scratcher" picks from today's paper. (Here's hoping I get my predictions for all of the categories posted before the ceremony starts on Sunday evening!)

It wasn't always this way. In fact, I was obsessed with everything Hollywood all the way into my mid 20s when I actually lived there and became a part of it--albeit a miniscule part that had me making reservations for power lunches instead of actually attending them.

The thrill of celebrity lasted for a year or two but, when I got a job as a junior publicist, I finally discovered that the emperor had no clothes. In my mind, those glossy magazines with movie stars on the cover became nothing but negotiations. All those awards shows were just pageants designed to sell movie tickets and toothpaste during commercials. And everyone was in on it. The magic was gone.

In the dozen or so years since this disillusionment, I've been able to find a middle ground. A place where I can love film, follow industry trends and manage to keep my dignity. But I still have a problem with the whole concept of picking one film as a "winner" over another. How can something as subjective as art "beat" another piece of art in a contest, let alone one with as many arbitrary rules, restrictions and barriers to entry as the Academy Awards? And yes, film is art (or it should aspire to be at least).

As a critic I find the whole thing ridiculous.

As a woman with a borderline disturbing celebrity crush on James Franco, Sunday night is gonna be awesome.

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