Oscar WILD

Oscars. Shouldn’t come as any surprise that it's the topical soup du jour....

I love, and I mean LOVE, Oscar conspiracy theorists. Ya knowww, the people who say “Well it doesn’t matter who/what wins, it’s about the politics of it all” or “It’s all about what ‘message’ they want to project this year”

Remember when everyone got their cinematic panties in a twist because Crash surprise attacked Brokeback Mountain for Best Picture back in 2006? Never mind Brokeback consisted mainly of the THOUSAND angles one can film sheep (RIVETING) and Heath Ledger’s enunciation was about as comprehensible as Sarah Palin’s foreign policy. No, suddenly we were a nation taking a deliberate stance to trump racism over homophobia. 

 Seriously though, Ozzy Osborne couldn’t even understand him most of the time....

Perhaps. But I’m curious, if politics is the determinant for Hollywood's prestigious honor, does it work the other way around? Can Hollywood's gambits work for politicians? Take our pal Sarah, if it’s attention grabbing rhetoric she wants, why take the “Blood Libel” route when a good ole fashioned nip slip will do the trick? 

While the Oscars may or may not have ulterior motives, I have a hard time believing the major oversights in this year's nominations are the result. Or maybe they are. Maybe Christopher Nolan’s direction was just not green enough. So while Inception was ingenious, the gaping hole left in the Ozone as a result from all the electrical generators making Joseph Gordon-Levitt spin around a room is why Nolan was robbed of a nomination. (Even though he and his DP Wally Pfister shot every single frame of that film themselves, without so much as a second team, or third, or fourth)

But it’s Best Foreign Film that I really want to put in “crosshairs”...stay with me here. I know the category is about as important to most Oscar viewers as the “showering before you get into the pool” rule. But it’s incredibly upsetting that none of the films based on the Stieg Larsson trilogy got so much as a wink. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest were unbelievable. I watched the last of the installment this week and that movie makes eating pizza in a hospital room as suspenseful as Sam Mendes makes a windblown plastic bag beautiful...let’s not forget the films have been picked up for an American remake starring Daniel Craig and the ex-girlfriend from The Social Network, Rooney Mara. 

Rooney Mara's makeover to become character Lisbeth Salander

But there’s always room for surprise, and I’m still looking forward to the Academy Awards. Mostly to have answered the big WHY made for the choice of hosts, watch Warren Beatty try and keep his eyes on one woman if Annette Bening snags Best Actress, and see what will happen should Toy Story 3 take home the gold...Happy February!