Comments on: WHY I’M NOT WATCHING THE OSCARS

By: Tony Lafauce

Tony Lafauce — Tue, 07 Mar 2006 14:11:28 +0000

How about this; The Hollywood elite meets a couple of times a year (three if you count the Emmies) anyway, the Hollywood chosen throw a gala party complete with red carpet. They all attend this self aggrandizing extravaganza where they parade before the adoring public in borrowed gowns, jewelry etc. The festivities include all the social comment (that they are only qualified to address) and what they feel should be the route of their cultural hegemony. The cause celebre includes everything from homosexuality to how to successfully run the government.
For three plus hours they thank each other and praise each other as if from their perches atop the peaks of Mt. Olympus and they after they have thoroughly gourged themselves on lavish praise and adorned themselves with the borrowed seductive trappings of God’s selected few, they have an elaborate dinner party complete with champagne and caviar, so the love fest continues only now without our participation.
The irony of the entire situation is that after all this, they sell the “show” to a network and have them pay for their evening of mutual adoration. So therefore you won’t catch me watching this bachanal.I refuse to encourage them any longer to make horrible movies with horrible plots and with horrible actors and then to throw a party and allow us to see the results of their misdeeds.

By: TJ King

TJ King — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 21:37:48 +0000

My wife watched some of the oscars, so i lowered my book to notice George Clooney remark, “We are a mirror of america, we are not just leading america”… and then turn around and say , “we are out of touch and proud of it”. What?

He went on to say, Hollywood awarded pro civil rights movies before it was acceptable. How many? With the possible exception of the best actor award in 1963 to the white actor Gregory Peck for his excellent performance in “to kill a mockingbird”, they did not overstep other great movies to “reward” a civil rights message movie (if you want to call it that) until 1968 with the mediocre “Guess whos coming to dinner” that beat out classic “The graduate”. The same year MLK was assasinated. Thats not a leader, thats a late comer.

How about civil rights and affirmative action in Hollywood? How often do you see asian directors or actors up on that stage. Ang Lee’s claim to fame was “Crouching Tiger, hidden Dragon”, which 2000 Oscar MC Steve Martin joked, was a description of a Siegfried and Roy show. Yes, There have been funny MCs in the past. Ang Lee also made “The Hulk”. So this asian director makes a movie like broke back mountain, and leapfrogs everyone and gets “Best Director”. Message: Asians need not apply unless you kiss the ring. Does anyone expect to see Mr. Lee on that stage again?

The Left really wanted conservatives to attack “Brokeback mountain”. All they got were yawns.
Others stated that it takes courage to make these “out of touch movies”. You want to have courage and make a controversial movie? Make a movie about Jesus Christ.

You will not see many movies about our soldiers as the most dramatic and epic story of our times unfolds behind the media curtain that encourages shots of body bags, but censors images of courage, devotion and love that motivates them to sacrifice everything for the freedom from human bondage that threatens the whole world.

But, you can bet, as we speak, there are hundreds of Hollywood executives pitching there own version of Brokeback Baghdad battalion.

Oh Brother!!!

By: kreiz

kreiz — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 15:08:08 +0000

I don’t mean to minimize your complaints about boycotting the Oscars, Rick. Hollywood is a victim of its own success- always trying to do something different. And in conjunction with the tangible leftist bias, there’s a dirth of American Exceptionalism movies. So we get a steady diet of “The Constant Gardener”, “Syriana”, “Munich” and “Jarhead” without any corresponding pro-American films.

By: kreiz

kreiz — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 14:44:57 +0000

Hawkeye: I enjoyed “Pride and Prejudice” as well- it was an excellent film that I thoroughly enjoyed. Of the nominated films, my personal choice was “Munich”. I know it’s been roundly criticized by the Right, and I understand the complaint. But it was challenging cinema- and the good guys won. Finally, I was glad to see the wealth was distributed last night, especially since there wasn’t one monster film that outshined all others. I enjoyed “Crash”. I was glad that the Academy voters didn’t artifically anoit one film in the feeding frenzy that so often happens. It was refreshing.

By: Hawkeye

Hawkeye — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 02:05:25 +0000

I finally saw _Pride & Prejudice_ the other day on DVD. I thought it was very well done. It is not simply a remake of the version from the 1940s. This was a different approach and it paid off - sets, costumes, story developmnet all a great leap ahead of the previous effort.I’m a historian with a life-long passion for the subject so I can be very hard on period pieces; this is a good one.

That said, however, the overall point about Hollywood is well taken, and is one I have also made for some time. I think though that it is a mistake to see the slant of HW ideology and the dearth of creativity as unconnected. Creativity seems to me to have declined as open leftist activism has risen.This should not be surprising. Hollywood is now too busy promoting social change and striving for “The Greater Good” by preaching to the ignorant masses to truly pursue its art.

They might start making good films again when they stop trying to make propaganda films.

By: Jo

Jo — Sat, 04 Mar 2006 12:27:04 +0000

I’m not watching either. Like you, I’m enjoying older films, “Mildred Pierce” was on the other day, and I watch it as often as I can. As for the new stuff — blah.

By: Ken McCracken

Ken McCracken — Sat, 04 Mar 2006 05:55:31 +0000

Can I sue for product liability if Hollywood rots my brain?

Er, better make that a class action suit.

By: diamond

diamond — Sat, 04 Mar 2006 02:41:02 +0000

Rick, I know what you mean about todays movies and the Oscars have been the pitts for years. But I would like to recommend these three movies that I have found quite enjoyable. Ice Age, yep, animation, haven’t enjoyed animation since Cinderalla and Snow White.Now for something scary, Kiss the Girls and semi-scary, but very good, Blood Work with Clint Eastwood. Ice Age Two is coming out end of March, you don’t want to see it until you see the original Ice Age. Let me know what you think if you see these three movies, I would hate to think that I have no taste in movies, how can that be when I’m a avid fan of 24 before 24 was 24. Yep, I hung on the previews!

By: stackja

stackja — Sat, 04 Mar 2006 01:38:18 +0000

Once we had Bogie. Now we have looney tune George Clooney

By: scrapiron

scrapiron — Sat, 04 Mar 2006 01:16:24 +0000

Now quit going to the movies and quit buying DVD/CD’s. I have and life is much more enjoyable. Get cable or satelite tv and you control the buttons. Shut the BS off and/or complain to the carrier or the sponsors all the time. There shouldn’t be a day that everyone doesn’t submit a complaint against the Holy-wood garbage pit to several sponsors. Hit them in the pocket where they will notice. I burn the local stations up for the garbage content of their broadcast/print and they have changed in several instances. I won’t quit, everyone else start.