Oscar night

[Jim3k]

FWIW, the NY Post's take on Seth's performance:

http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/seth...=SFnewyorkpost

A somewhat different take from the Mercury-News/Contra Costa Times' movie critic, Chuck Barney who asks "Seth MacFarlane -- worst Oscar host ever?" His answer, no, but it was a mixed performance. I think Barney liked MacFarlane's self-deprecation.

Certainly, as Barney says, there were some memorable moments:

... there were classy moments, too. Among the highlights: a rousing segment in which Catherine Zeta-Jones, Jennifer Hudson, Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway paid homage to movie musicals "Chicago," "Dreamgirls," and "Les Miserables," and a moving performance of "The Way We Were" by Barbra Streisand during the memoriam sequence, in which she paid tribute to composer Marvin Hamlisch.

Not sure that MacFarlane can claim credit or be blamed for some of the production presentations.

[Mudge]

And in at least one joke.

Maybe I am a pill (that CPA-thing), but I thought some of Seth's jokes were silly and bordering on mean. I guess he has to balance reverence and irreverence...

The most offensive to me (yeah, call me sensitive about this...sorry) was Ted and Wahlberg. Just what we needed, an anti-semitic bear styling stereotypical canards. The twitterverse I follow also lit up over that. What was next, a reading of the "Protocol of the Elders of Zion?" Followed by how Jews control the media? Geesh. (If I veered into PP, I apologize...was not meant.)

That bit constituted anti-semitism? Whew, tough crowd... it's absurd (to me) that acknowledging the true state of the industry is always considered such a hot potato-- nothing the bear said was untrue (as any power-broker in Hollywood will acknowledge-- in private), it's just viewed as unhelpful, in a variety of ways (and therefore, not for public discourse).

[Mudge]

I thought Macfarlane was a breath of fresh air. It was a great production choice to have him speak into the commercial breaks, instead of the voice of God thing they usually do. He was, as brevity pointed out, actually a host. His somewhat outsider, somewhat unknown-ness, also allowed him to play that role, rather than be a figurehead put up to attract viewers, or a traditional standup comedian saddled with outsized expectations to make us crack up every time he opened his mouth. He reminded me at times of Bob Hope. I think, despite the acerbic edge and irreverence, he actually likes Hollywood and the movies, and it showed. My impression, having not actually seen/heard the guy outside of the context of the Family Guy universe, was that that work isn't the definition of him as a person, but rather just the facet of his personality and creativity that's become public. The guy can actually sing, too.

Agreed with some others that the gobs of music, while an interesting choice for a theme, was perhaps a little much. Mainly, the inclusion of the Chicago and Dreamgirls stuff. I don't have a problem with live performances of the nominated songs (and if you're going to show them, I disagree with JE - putting on 90 seconds is a disservice to the music). But if you're going to make a big deal about movie musicals with some kind of tribute, you can't use it to showcase stuff from less than a decade ago, leading into one of the current nominees. No Grease? Travolta was in the house. Where was West Side Story? Or any number of others that would have been more appropriate, less instant nostalgia, choices.

I also don't like Bond movies at all, so that was a complete waste of three minutes, as far as I was concerned. Admittedly, the woman singing Goldfinger was great, however.

Other quick thoughts: Good on Christoph Walz, but his win sucked a ton of energy out of the room. I think everyone came in expecting to give a teary, five minute ovation to DeNiro. Daniel Day-Lewis was hilarious. Affleck was so happy it was hard not to feel good for him. I laughed at Grant Henslov's line about "I know what you're thinking: that's the best looking trio of producers ever." Who knew Clooney could get onstage and not say anything? Was Russell Crowe that bad of a singer onscreen, too? How many times do we think Anne Hathaway practiced her fake spontaneous opening line to her speech?

I thought that was exactly what to expect from Clooney-- if you read about him, he is a very self-deprecating guy, and he is already very comfortable in his own skin-- he doesn't need any further acknowledgement from the Academy or Hollywood, and the no-name producer was enjoying probably his only moment in the sun ever (e.g.- "best-looking trio" line), and, of course, everyone (including Clooney) wanted to hear from Affleck, after being left off the director list (and spending time in a near-Nicolas Cage like wilderness of bad films, since Good Will Hunting), so OF COURSE Clooney let the other two guys talk-- that didn't surprise me at all.

[duke74]

That bit constituted anti-semitism? Whew, tough crowd... it's absurd (to me) that acknowledging the true state of the industry is always considered such a hot potato-- nothing the bear said was untrue (as any power-broker in Hollywood will acknowledge-- in private), it's just viewed as unhelpful, in a variety of ways (and therefore, not for public discourse).

"True state" of the industry? ... "nothing the bear said was untrue" ... Anti-semitism and ignorance clearly resides on DBR as well. I am truly disappointed. I gotta go and sharpen my horns as I make matsoh from a child's blood. Passover IS coming, you know.

[Mudge]

"True state" of the industry? ... "nothing the bear said was untrue" ... Anti-semitism and ignorance clearly resides on DBR as well. I am truly disappointed. I gotta go and sharpen my horns as I make matsoh from a child's blood. Passover IS coming, you know.

Again, you have to have reeeeaaaallly thin skin, to call the bear's comments (or mine) anti-semitism... is it permitted to discuss this factual state of affairs at all, anywhere, in your mind? As for ignorance, with multiple Jewish family members working in high-level positions in Hollywood, I might have more awareness of the lay of the land there than you give me credit for.

[Olympic Fan]

FWIW, the NY Post's take on Seth's performance:

http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/seth...=SFnewyorkpost

there is one thing in the Post review that made me scratch my head:

MacFarlane drew ire for his song “We Saw Your Boobs,” in which he name-checked Theron, Kristen Stewart, Kate Winslet and other starlets who’ve taken off their tops for film roles. A “from the future” William Shatner wasn’t entirely joking when he called it an "incredibly offensive song that upsets a lot of actresses in the audience." During a cutaway, Theron did not appear amused.

I saw that too -- there's a cut of her positively glowering at MacFarlane when he mentioned her name.

BUT ... less than a minute later, she's on stage (in a different dress) dancing with Channing Tatum.

The Boobs song was taped, while the Theron-Tatum dance was live.

So I THINK the cutaway to the angry-looking Theron was part of the taped presentation -- and was part of the joke. You may or ma not think the Boobs song was tasteless (I thought it was outstanding), but I don't see using Theron's reaction to rip it.

[tommy]

So I THINK the cutaway to the angry-looking Theron was part of the taped presentation -- and was part of the joke.

It 100% was part of the joke.

[brevity]

So I THINK the cutaway to the angry-looking Theron was part of the taped presentation -- and was part of the joke. You may or ma not think the Boobs song was tasteless (I thought it was outstanding), but I don't see using Theron's reaction to rip it.

That's exactly what happened. You see an appalled Naomi Watts, cheerful non-nude Jennifer Lawrence, and unamused Charlize Theron, all in different dresses than the ones they were wearing that night. It's a little off-putting, particularly since Watts appears first and is not known for doing comedy sketches.

[Dukeface88]

That's exactly what happened. You see an appalled Naomi Watts, cheerful non-nude Jennifer Lawrence, and unamused Charlize Theron, all in different dresses than the ones they were wearing that night. It's a little off-putting, particularly since Watts appears first and is not known for doing comedy sketches.

Personally, I didn't even notice Naomi Watts' expression; I was too busy laughing at the guy next to her. But yeah, no way that wasn't taped.

[Billy Dat]

Classic backstage mutual flirting between Jack Nicholson and Jennifer Lawrence
http://www.eonline.com/news/391714/j...-at-the-oscars

[sue71, esq]

I didn't understand the choice of going with a theme this year (music of the movies, or something along those lines). It seemed a bit odd to me- disjointed and unclear how they worked together. Like they were trying too hard to make a production out of the show rather than highlighting the films/actors/etc that were nominated this year.

[JasonEvans]

I thought that was exactly what to expect from Clooney-- if you read about him, he is a very self-deprecating guy, and he is already very comfortable in his own skin-- he doesn't need any further acknowledgement from the Academy or Hollywood, and the no-name producer was enjoying probably his only moment in the sun ever (e.g.- "best-looking trio" line), and, of course, everyone (including Clooney) wanted to hear from Affleck, after being left off the director list (and spending time in a near-Nicolas Cage like wilderness of bad films, since Good Will Hunting), so OF COURSE Clooney let the other two guys talk-- that didn't surprise me at all.

Whoa!! Grant Heslov is not at all a "no name" producer. We see total unknowns all the time up there accepting Oscars and he does not even begin to qualify.

First of all, he is an actor who has had a career many actors would kill for. I remember him the most from True Lies, where he played Arnold Schwarzeneger's CIA sidekick (the one who wasn't Tom Arnold). It was not a small role in the film. He has had a significant role in The Scorpion King and played Don Hewitt in Good Night and Good Luck. In the 90s and early 2000s, he was in dozens of films and he was someone you would absolutely recognize from movie-to-movie.

He is a very good screenwriter, having written both Good Night and Good Luck as well as The Ides of March. He got Oscar nominations for both screenplays. He also directed The Men Who Stare at Goats.

In the mid-2000s, he and his buddy George Clooney formed a production company. That production company has made many big films, the latest of which is Argo. Grant may not be nearly as famous as George or Ben Affleck, but he is far, far, far from the no-name producers we often see accepting Oscars.

And you better get used to see him on stage because he is the screenwriter and producer of a film called The Monuments Men, which is being released the week before Christmas. It is a pretty safe bet he will be up for a slew of awards for it as well. It is the story of a crew of art historians and museum curators who are racing against time to save some of Europe's greatest works of art from Hitler's grasp during World War II. The movie is based on the bestselling book "The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History." The film has a fairly decent cast...

Matt Damon, George Clooney, Daniel Craig, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Cate Blanchette, and Hugh Bonneville (Downton!!!!).

-Jason "is that the most impressive cast you've seen since at least Oceans 11 or what?!?!" Evans

[NashvilleDevil]

Whoa!! Grant Heslov is not at all a "no name" producer. We see total unknowns all the time up there accepting Oscars and he does not even begin to qualify.

First of all, he is an actor who has had a career many actors would kill for. I remember him the most from True Lies, where he played Arnold Schwarzeneger's CIA sidekick (the one who wasn't Tom Arnold). It was not a small role in the film. He has had a significant role in The Scorpion King and played Don Hewitt in Good Night and Good Luck. In the 90s and early 2000s, he was in dozens of films and he was someone you would absolutely recognize from movie-to-movie.

He is a very good screenwriter, having written both Good Night and Good Luck as well as The Ides of March. He got Oscar nominations for both screenplays. He also directed The Men Who Stare at Goats.

In the mid-2000s, he and his buddy George Clooney formed a production company. That production company has made many big films, the latest of which is Argo. Grant may not be nearly as famous as George or Ben Affleck, but he is far, far, far from the no-name producers we often see accepting Oscars.

And you better get used to see him on stage because he is the screenwriter and producer of a film called The Monuments Men, which is being released the week before Christmas. It is a pretty safe bet he will be up for a slew of awards for it as well. It is the story of a crew of art historians and museum curators who are racing against time to save some of Europe's greatest works of art from Hitler's grasp during World War II. The movie is based on the bestselling book "The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History." The film has a fairly decent cast...

Matt Damon, George Clooney, Daniel Craig, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Cate Blanchette, and Hugh Bonneville (Downton!!!!).

-Jason "is that the most impressive cast you've seen since at least Oceans 11 or what?!?!" Evans

I thought you were going to say RED; Willis, Mirren, Malkovich, Freeman, Richard Dreyfuss, Mary Louise-Parker, Brian Cox. Borgnine! James Remar who was in Djagno twice!!

[JasonEvans]

I thought you were going to say RED; Willis, Mirren, Malkovich, Freeman, Richard Dreyfuss, Mary Louise-Parker, Brian Cox. Borgnine! James Remar who was in Djagno twice!!

If it was the mid-late 1990s, that would be an impressive cast, but it has gotten a bit long in the tooth since then. Craig, Clooney, and Damon are probably three of the top 10 stars in Hollywood today. They each have tremendous brand equity at this point from a series of high quality films with few "misses." They are all major Above The Title actors in a way that none of the Red folks are (except maybe Bruce Willis).

-Jason "close, but not quite" Evans

[NashvilleDevil]

If it was the mid-late 1990s, that would be an impressive cast, but it has gotten a bit long in the tooth since then. Craig, Clooney, and Damon are probably three of the top 10 stars in Hollywood today. They each have tremendous brand equity at this point from a series of high quality films with few "misses." They are all major Above The Title actors in a way that none of the Red folks are (except maybe Bruce Willis).

-Jason "close, but not quite" Evans

My attempt at humor didn't work.

[JasonEvans]

My attempt at humor didn't work.

Actually, my attempt at getting humor is what seems to have failed. Sorry.

-JE

[Mudge]

Whoa!! Grant Heslov is not at all a "no name" producer. We see total unknowns all the time up there accepting Oscars and he does not even begin to qualify.

First of all, he is an actor who has had a career many actors would kill for. I remember him the most from True Lies, where he played Arnold Schwarzeneger's CIA sidekick (the one who wasn't Tom Arnold). It was not a small role in the film. He has had a significant role in The Scorpion King and played Don Hewitt in Good Night and Good Luck. In the 90s and early 2000s, he was in dozens of films and he was someone you would absolutely recognize from movie-to-movie.

He is a very good screenwriter, having written both Good Night and Good Luck as well as The Ides of March. He got Oscar nominations for both screenplays. He also directed The Men Who Stare at Goats.

In the mid-2000s, he and his buddy George Clooney formed a production company. That production company has made many big films, the latest of which is Argo. Grant may not be nearly as famous as George or Ben Affleck, but he is far, far, far from the no-name producers we often see accepting Oscars.

And you better get used to see him on stage because he is the screenwriter and producer of a film called The Monuments Men, which is being released the week before Christmas. It is a pretty safe bet he will be up for a slew of awards for it as well. It is the story of a crew of art historians and museum curators who are racing against time to save some of Europe's greatest works of art from Hitler's grasp during World War II. The movie is based on the bestselling book "The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History." The film has a fairly decent cast...

Matt Damon, George Clooney, Daniel Craig, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Cate Blanchette, and Hugh Bonneville (Downton!!!!).

-Jason "is that the most impressive cast you've seen since at least Oceans 11 or what?!?!" Evans

While you make a number of valid points, I think you are missing the general point (which I made a bit cavalierly/dismissively): If we put Ben Affleck, Grant Heslov, and George Clooney on a stage, and play the old Sesame Street game called "one of these things is not like the others", which one is virtually everyone (including little kids, who know nothing about show business) going to pick out? I think even Grant Heslov was clearly (and wittily) acknowledging that it would be him, with his joke about "the best looking trio of directors, ever"... I don't think anyone would say "Well... I know Ben Affleck, because he directed and starred in the movie, and of course I know Grant Heslov-- who wouldn't know him!... But, tell me-- just who is that silent, mysterious, bearded man on the right-- and I wonder what he thinks about all this hullaballoo?"

[Mudge]

I thought you were going to say RED; Willis, Mirren, Malkovich, Freeman, Richard Dreyfuss, Mary Louise-Parker, Brian Cox. Borgnine! James Remar who was in Djagno twice!!

Who/what/where is this Djagno, of which you speak-- and is the "D" silent-- or is it the "g", like in the Spaghetti Westerns (e.g.- Bargnani or Gigli [Affleck's previous film masterpiece])?