Official Academy Awards Thread

[aloofman]

BTW, how many posters here knew The Departed was based on the Hong Kong trilogy 'Internal Affairs'?

If they didn't know, they could have just watched the broadcast. They said it multiple times. The screenwriter even thanked the original movie.

Essentially, the Academy gave Scorsese the Best Director Oscar as a makeup of him not winning for Goodfellas and Raging Bull 16 and 26 years ago.

This is really common and a lot of people don't really notice it. Sometimes it's to make up for someone being overlooked after a long career. Paul Newman's win for Color of Money (one of his least interesting films) falls into this category. James Coburn won several years ago the same way. And obviously Al Pacino deserved it way before Scent of a Woman. You could make an argument for Henry Fonda in On Golden Pond and Julia Roberts in Erin Brockovitch.

Then there are others that make up for a very recent Oscar snub. Judi Dench should have won for Mrs. Brown, but instead won for her cameo in Shakespeare in Love. Jeremy Irons should have won for Dead Ringers, but got it for Reversal of Fortune instead. Russell Crowe won for Gladiator, but was far more worthy in The Insider. And I think Elizabeth Taylor won for Butterfield 8 to make up for several better performances that she had been nominated before.

I think it's a side effect of the craziness of trying to narrow such varying performances and movies down to one winner.

 

[Doctor Q]

for a moment the camera stopped on Abigail Breslin, as if she were another little cartoon character in the running.

She was animated, in another sense of the word.

I wonder if her success with this movie will be a one-shot fluke or the start of a long career. The next Drew Barrymore?

 

[IJ Reilly]

I think it's a side effect of the craziness of trying to narrow such varying performances and movies down to one winner.

And even more to do with the internal politics of the industry.

Something to ponder: Alfred Hitchcock never won a competitive Academy Award.

 

[MacNut]

She was animated, in another sense of the word.

I wonder if her success with this movie will be a one-shot fluke or the start of a long career. The next Drew Barrymore?

She better start her drug problems now then.

I wonder if "Inconvenient Truth" was the best documentary or the Academy was just proving a point.

 

[Lyle]

She better start her drug problems now then.

Heh, I was thinking the same thing. I'd love for Abigail to achieve similar success, but hopefully her twenties will be more stable than Drew's were.

 

[DMann]

Quite true

Cars = gas guzzling race cars contributing to global warming
Happy Feet = save the penguins, stop overfishing in Antarctic waters

I've seen all three nominees and it was a hard decision between Cars and Happy Feet, but it just wasn't Pixar's year and I liked Happy Feet more. How do you begin writing a plot where a toe-tapping penguin can save his species? Genius!

Great observation regarding the environmental 'idee fix' of
the Oscars. Besides, Happy Feet truly deserved it.

 

[psycoswimmer]

When Steve Carell was talking about Little Miss Sunshine, the background music was the same as spicyapple's music for her video contest entry.

 

[SactoGuy18]

Then there are others that make up for a very recent Oscar snub. Judi Dench should have won for Mrs. Brown, but instead won for her cameo in Shakespeare in Love. Jeremy Irons should have won for Dead Ringers, but got it for Reversal of Fortune instead. Russell Crowe won for Gladiator, but was far more worthy in The Insider. And I think Elizabeth Taylor won for Butterfield 8 to make up for several better performances that she had been nominated before.

Perhaps the most famous of the "short term makeup" Oscar wins was Jimmy Stewart winning Best Actor for The Philadelphia Story one year after he lost to Robert Donat despite critics hailing Stewart's great role in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.

 

[DMann]

Academy

Perhaps the most famous of the "short term makeup" Oscar wins was Jimmy Stewart winning Best Actor for The Philadelphia Story one year after he lost to Robert Donat despite critics hailing Stewart's great role in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.

Funny how guilt can sway such a staunch organization --
too bad this didn't apply to Peter O'Toole this time around.

Wonder if the Tonys will do the same with Stephen Schwartz
if he so decides to write a new musical before he dies....

 

[DMann]

Elizabieth Taylor

If they didn't know, they could have just watched the broadcast. They said it multiple times. The screenwriter even thanked the original movie.





This is really common and a lot of people don't really notice it. Sometimes it's to make up for someone being overlooked after a long career. Paul Newman's win for Color of Money (one of his least interesting films) falls into this category. James Coburn won several years ago the same way. And obviously Al Pacino deserved it way before Scent of a Woman. You could make an argument for Henry Fonda in On Golden Pond and Julia Roberts in Erin Brockovitch.

Then there are others that make up for a very recent Oscar snub. Judi Dench should have won for Mrs. Brown, but instead won for her cameo in Shakespeare in Love. Jeremy Irons should have won for Dead Ringers, but got it for Reversal of Fortune instead. Russell Crowe won for Gladiator, but was far more worthy in The Insider. And I think Elizabeth Taylor won for Butterfield 8 to make up for several better performances that she had been nominated before.

I think it's a side effect of the craziness of trying to narrow such varying performances and movies down to one winner.

Yep, they believed Elizabeth Taylor might not live another year,
and could not bear the guilt of letting her go without one.

 

[mashinhead]

A few years ago, I saw a Hong Kong action film called Infernal Affairs. A year ago I heard that Scorsese was directing a movie based on an americanized version of Infernal Affairs. I was kinda excited when I went to see the Departed but as I left the theater I was utterly disgusted. The Departed was a scene by scene copy of the Chinese master piece. There were no innovation, just replication... and what came out was an inferior version of the original. Good lord they even translated some of the Chinese jokes from the hong kong version in to English... except out side of the Chinese cultural context, the jokes aren't funny. To give this talentless baffoon an Oscar is a disgrace.

Infernal Affairs > The Departed

God forbid, Scorsese even screwed up the philosophy of the original by making it a happy/ just ending.

Wow, I'm so angry right now it's ridiculous.

yeah i saw both. The scenes are the same because they were written well. But the outcomes are so different. For example there is a reason for what damon's character does to Nicholson's that isn't given in Infernal affairs. And then ends are different. (not specifing so i don't spoil) And then ending of what happens to the mirror characters are different. The time frame for the movies are different.

I just thought that The US version really played out some of the drama of the scenes a lot better. They built in better explanations and setups for what was happening. You really felt the tension. There was one point of convience that hated which i won't say to spoil. But the characters were more interesting.

Don't get me wrong, i'm usually the guy that loves the original more. And I HATE it when the acadamy gives a "I should have given this to you years ago statue for subpar work" I thought he would have gotten it for gangs of NY or The Aviator, and that would have pissed me off (like i guess the departed pisses some of you guys off). I just really think it was very good and deserving. I liked babel but Iñárritu's best work is Amores Peros. I don't think he should have won. And i didn't think they were gonna give The Departed Best Director and Best Picture. I thought just one.

And for the trilogly comments (whoever made them) the original is trilogy i believe.