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.
Features & Festivals
- UCSD-TV creators had big dreams for small screen (10/25/13)
- Joss Whedon, "Much Ado About Nothing" (6/23/13)
- Matthew McConaughey, Jeff Nichols, "Mud" (4/26/13)
- Danny Boyle, "Trance" (4/12/13)
- Bruce Campbell, "Evil Dead" (4/5/13)
- Park Chan-Wook, "Stoker" (3/15/13)
- San Diego Latino Film Festival (3/3/13)
- Bryan Singer, "Jack the Giant Slayer" (3/1/13)
- Alden Ehrenreich and Alice Englert, "Beautiful Creatures" (2/14/13)
- San Diego Jewish Film Festival (2/7/13)
- Christopher Walken, "Stand Up Guys" (2/1/13)
- Patrick Wang, "In the Family" (12/7/12)
- Ang Lee, "Life of Pi" (11/18/12)
- Arab Film Festival (11/15/12)
- John Gatins, "Flight" (11/2/12)
- San Diego Asian Film Festival (10/26/12)
- Mike Birbiglia, "Sleepwalk with Me" (8/14/12)
- William Friedkin, "Killer Joe" (8/17/12)
- Will Ferrell, "The Campaign" (8/10/12)
- Zoe Kazan, Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, "Ruby Sparks" (8/3/12)
- The Buck Starts Here, San Diego filmmakers using Kickstarter to fund their films (8/3/12)
- Scott Speer, "Step Up Revolution" (7/27/12)
- Benh Zeitlin, Dwight Harris and Quvenzhané Wallis, "Beasts of the Southern Wild" (7/13/12)
- Young Leaders Film Festival, Moms with Issues (6/22/12)
- James McTeigue, director of "The Raven" (4/27/12)
- Lee Hirsch, "Bully" (4/13/12)
- Barbara Chronowski, "Titanic" (4/6/12)
- Coach Bill Courtney, "Undefeated" (3/16/12)
- San Diego Latino Film Festival (3/1/12)
- "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island" producer, Charlotte Huggins (2/10/12)
- Daniel Radcliffe, "The Woman in Black" (2/3/12)
- San Diego Jewish Film Festival (2/3/12)
- San Diego Black Film Festival (1/20/12)
- Michel Hazanavicius, "The Artist" (12/23/11)
- Michael Fassbender, "Shame" (12/9/11)
- "Like Crazy" director, Drake Doremus (11/11/11)
- Actress Elizabeth Olsen and director Sean Durkin, "Martha Marcy May Marlene" (10/26/11)
- German Film Fest Joins Oktoberfest (10/20/11)
- Asian Film Festival Crosses Borders (10/14/11)
- Actor and producer Seth Rogen, "50/50" (9/30/11)
- At San Diego Film Festival, no hitch is their niche (9/23/11)
- Book Review - Jane Fonda: The Private Life of a Public Woman (9/4/11)
- "Crime After Crime" director, Yoav Potash (8/18/11)
- Author Kathryn Stockett and actress Bryce Dallas Howard, "The Help" (8/11/11)
- "Another Earth" director and co-writer Mike Cahill and actress, co-writer and actress Brit Marling (8/5/11)
- Center of Couture? La Jolla Fashion Film Festival (7/28/11)
- Life's a Joy Ride for Animator: Interview with "Cars 2" directing animator and San Diego native Victor Navone (6/24/11)
- An '8' Ball: Interview with 'Super 8' director J.J. Abrams (6/10/11)
- Morgan Spurlock is Branded for Life: Interview with "Greatest Movie Ever Sold" director (4/22/11)
- "Hanna" Director a Proud Parent: Interview with Joe Wright (4/8/11)
- Pinning Down a Childhood: Interview with "Win Win" director Tom McCarthy and young star Alex Shaffer (4/1/11)
- "Last Lions" an Emotional Journey: An interview with Dereck and Beverly Joubert (3/11/11)
- Life through a Teenage Lens: Nonprofit behind Latino Film Festival helps young people document their world (3/4/11)
- Oscar Gold Rush (2/25/11)
- Documentary premiering at Jewish Film Festival shows seniors embracing life after 90 (2/4/11)
- San Diego Black Film Festival (1/21/11)
- Indie Films, with a Wholesome Touch, SD Christian Film Festival (12/24/10)
- "Tangled" Interview w/ Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi (11/26/10)
- Guggenheim Knows He Isn't 'Superman' (10/8/10)
- San Diego Isn't Hollywood, San Diego Film Festival (9/24/10)
- Unconventional Films (8/27/10)
Friday, February 25, 2011
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