And the Winners Are...

…not James Franco and Anne Hathaway apparently. The Academy Awards presentation has such wonderful material to work with. Why do they have such a hard time putting together an interesting show?  When Bob Hope hosted the show it seemed to work – a professional comedian who was a known, likeable, and reassuring presence; presenters who took their craft seriously and behaved as such; a couple of big production numbers to break up the speeches and keep everyone entertained; good clips of the nominated films and performances; winners who gave happy, tearful and (usually) brief acceptance speeches.  Okay, the Sasheen Little Feather episode in 1973 was a bit weird, but generally it worked until the last decade or so when organizers seemed to lose sight of what it’s all about in favor of attempts at manipulating the audience in one way or another. Last night’s show was often awkward. Franco and Hathaway had no chemistry, and Hathaway’s woo-hoo when leading the applause felt like a forced cheer from someone with little enthusiasm for the game.

That said, the Brits at their best are hard to beat.  I was on the side of the film critics in pulling for The Social Network.  It was a very American, rocky-road-to-success story, I thought, but as some have pointed out, the Brits had a struggle with personal affliction set against the drama of World War II and their finest hour.

Helen Mirren 2010

At least Aaron Sorkin got his much-deserved Oscar for The Social Network adapted screenplay.  The ladies were lovely and, as one revealed, it takes an entire team of hair and makeup technicians to put each of them together.  I always watch for Helen Mirren and she didn’t disappoint, although I liked her silvery gossamer dress last year a bit better.

Helen Mirren 2011

The Academy should pick a host (one) with experience in keeping people engaged and amused (If drag is okay then I vote for Eddie Izzard!), develop a format and stick with it.  If they’re losing their audience it’s not because the show doesn’t appeal to “youth” but because it’s a bad show.

So on to another year of filmmaking.  A lot of adapted fairy tales for children on the horizon (let’s hope they keep them clean), lots of sequels (oh tedious) and here and there a little gem of a film that amazes and keeps me slogging away at this business.