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Michael Parker's Journal
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Sunday, February 27, 2005 |
The 77th Annual Academy Awards will go down as the year that almost was for Martin Scorsese. Heading into the final moments of the broadcast, the momentum seemed completely with Scorsese and his masterful film The Aviator, wracking up awards for nearly all the categories they were nominated in-- Best Costume, Art Direction, Film Editing, Cinematography, Supporting Actress. But when Kaufman grabbed the Original Screenplay award, which was not a surprise at all, the magic seemed to eck away.
Tonight will go down as the year Clint Eastwood and his truly beautiful and endearing film Million Dollar Baby, gave a one-two punch and TKO'd Scorsese, winning the top two awards -- Best Director and Best Picture. Million Dollar Baby was also recognized for its acting, winning Best Actress for Hillary Swank and Supporting Actor for Morgan Freeman.
The Oscar ceremony started off with a tribute to the power of the movies over us, tying the themes of the old movies in with the new. Narrated by Dustin Hoffman, I enjoyed this line: "Good movies stay with us no matter what year they were released....they are timeless."
Chris Rock, who was emceeing the show for the first time, came out to a standing ovation. He sputtered along for a few minutes until he hit stride with his commentary on Fahrenheit 9/11 and Bush's deficit and Iraq war-- if this happened to someone working for Gap, there is no way they would still have their job.
Morgan Freeman, who won the award for Best Supporting Actor, received a standing ovation. He thanked everyone that had anything to do with the film, but especially Clint Eastwood and Hillary Swank. He concluded his remarks saying that working on the film was like a labor of love.
Thelma's remarks for winning the award for Best Film Editing were thoughtful and touching, declaring that this award was as much Marty's (Scorsese) as hers because he films like an editor, "he gave us such dazzling material to work with."
There were no surprises in the writing categories--they followed the wins of the WGA wins. Charlie Kaufman won Original Screenplay for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Alexander Payne won Adapted screenplay for Sideways.
Jamie Foxx, who brought his daughter with him to the ceremony, received a standing ovation for winning Best Actor. Upon taking the award, he thanked Ray Charles for an incredible legacy. He gave a memorable speech, revealing his conversation with the legendary African American actor Sidney Poitier and how they discussed Foxx picking up the mantle of responsibility and carrying it on. He thanked his grandma for being his first acting coach and teaching him how to be a Southern Gentlemen,
Other highlights of the evening:
- Touching tribute to Johnny Carson.
- The Best Song award went to the first ever Spanish song nominated, "Al Atro Lado Del Rio,"(The Motorcycle Diaries).
- The president of the Academy dedicated the awards show to the men and women serving the country.
- Honorary Oscar awarded to Sidney Lumet, whose acceptance speech recognized filmmakers who influenced his work and the writers who helped inspire his own work.
- Best Foreign Film went Alejandro Amenabar's The Sea Inside (Spain).
10:11:06 PM  | |
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I'm thrilled at the prospect of an exciting Oscar Awards show tonight with Chris Rock as the maestro of ceremonies. But in all actuality, it doesn't matter who the emcee is. The Oscars are all about the nominees, the fashion, the presenters, the music, the Envelope, and the winner's speech. I've grown up from a very young age watching the Oscars. To say that is part of my life would be an understatement.
This year, I am an advocate of most all of the films nominated. And I will be thrilled to see any number of these films, actors, actresses, and directors win. Yet, I do have my hopes and at the top of the list in the Hope Department is that Martin Scorsese will be awarded the Best Director by his peers at the Academy. I feel The Aviator is going to win the majority of the awards it is nominated for, except for the Best Picture, which, though I feel it is overall the better film, I think Million Dollar Baby will get that one.
2004 was a great year for film and the nominations are a reflection of that. And no matter how Fates of film reveal their story and make 2004 history, I feel the winners will be a magnificent representation on the quality of films on the list.
Here is the list of the major categories.(I didn't see enough of the short films-- live action, animated, or documentary -- to make a qualified decision. But from what I did view, I am rooting for "Little Terrorist" from India to win the Best Short Live Action Film.) the I wanted to represent in some way the nominees I'm rooting for so I placed a blue circle with an "M" next to those nominees I want to win. The "star" symbol represents who I predict the Oscar will go to. Have a great night everyone! And good luck to all of the nominees!
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Don Cheadle in HOTEL RWANDA |
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Johnny Depp in FINDING NEVERLAND |
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Leonardo DiCaprio in THE AVIATOR |
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Clint Eastwood in MILLION DOLLAR BABY |
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Jamie Foxx in RAY |
| Actor in a Supporting Role |
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Alan Alda in THE AVIATOR |
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Thomas Haden Church in SIDEWAYS |
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Jamie Foxx in COLLATERAL |
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Morgan Freeman in MILLION DOLLAR BABY |
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Clive Owen in CLOSER |
| Actress in a Leading Role |
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Annette Bening in BEING JULIA |
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Catalina Sandino Moreno in MARIA FULL OF GRACE |
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Imelda Staunton in VERA DRAKE |
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Hilary Swank in MILLION DOLLAR BABY |
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Kate Winslet in ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND |
| Actress in a Supporting Role |
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Cate Blanchett in THE AVIATOR |
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Laura Linney in KINSEY |
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Virginia Madsen in SIDEWAYS |
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Sophie Okonedo in HOTEL RWANDA |
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Natalie Portman in CLOSER |
| Animated Feature of the Year |
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THE INCREDIBLES (Buena Vista) Brad Bird |
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SHARK TALE (DreamWorks) Bill Damaschka |
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SHREK 2 (DreamWorks) Andrew Adamson |
| Achievement In Art Direction |
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THE AVIATOR |
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FINDING NEVERLAND |
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LEMONY SNICKET'S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS |
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THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA |
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A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT |
| Achievement in Cinematography |
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THE AVIATOR, Robert Richardson |
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HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS, Zhao Xiaoding |
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THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST, Caleb Deschanel |
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THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, John Mathieson |
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A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT, Bruno Delbonnel |
| Achievement in Costume Design |
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THE AVIATOR, Sandy Powell |
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FINDING NEVERLAND, Alexandra Byrne |
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LEMONY SNICKET'S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS, Colleen Atwood |
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RAY, Sharen Davis |
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TROY, Bob Ringwood |
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THE AVIATOR, Martin Scorsese |
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MILLION DOLLAR BABY, Clint Eastwood |
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RAY, Taylor Hackford |
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SIDEWAYS,Alexander Payne |
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VERA DRAKE, Mike Leigh |
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BORN INTO BROTHELS |
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THE STORY OF THE WEEPING CAMEL |
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SUPER SIZE ME |
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TUPAC: RESURRECTION |
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TWIST OF FAITH |
| Achievement in Film Editing |
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THE AVIATOR |
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COLLATERAL |
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FINDING NEVERLAND |
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MILLION DOLLAR BABY |
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RAY |
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AS IT IS IN HEAVEN, Sweden |
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THE CHORUS, France |
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DOWNFALL, Germany |
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THE SEA INSIDE, Spain |
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YESTERDAY, South Africa |
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LEMONY SNICKET'S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS |
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THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST |
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THE SEA INSIDE |
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FINDING NEVERLAND |
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HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN |
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LEMONY SNICKET'S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS |
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THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST |
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THE VILLAGE |
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"Accidentally In Love" from SHREK 2 |
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"Al Otro Lado Del Río" from THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES |
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"Believe" from THE POLAR EXPRESS |
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"Learn To Be Lonely" from THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA |
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"Look To Your Path (Vois Sur Ton Chemin)" from THE CHORUS |
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THE INCREDIBLES |
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THE POLAR EXPRESS |
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SPIDER-MAN 2 |
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THE AVIATOR |
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THE INCREDIBLES |
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THE POLAR EXPRESS |
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RAY |
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SPIDER-MAN 2 |
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HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN |
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I, ROBOT |
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SPIDER-MAN 2 |
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BEFORE SUNSET, Richard Linklater & Julie Delpy & Ethan Hawke |
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FINDING NEVERLAND, David Magee |
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MILLION DOLLAR BABY, Paul Haggis |
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THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES, José Rivera |
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SIDEWAYS, Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor |
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THE AVIATOR, John Logan |
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ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND,Charlie Kaufman |
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HOTEL RWANDA, Keir Pearson & Terry George |
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THE INCREDIBLES, Brad Bird |
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VERA DRAKE, Mike Leigh |
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THE AVIATOR |
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FINDING NEVERLAND |
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MILLION DOLLAR BABY |
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RAY |
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SIDEWAYS |
Who do you want to win?
11:32:05 AM | |
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Thursday, February 24, 2005 |
I'll be back writing about the Oscars. It's been a crazy past couple of days. Everyone in the house is ill with something. But it seems everyone is on the mend, thank goodness.
So, if you would not mind, I'd like to get sidetracked on something I've been pouring over the past week or so. I submitted a poem to Mipo magazine (you can get information about this over at Chyna's Nothing New link in my blog list).
After submitting it, I reworked it and it is much better. However, I'm to that point where I need to step away from it and ask advice. I have an inkling that I use to many various images. But hey, I'll let you take an axe to it. I'm all ears.
"Sitting With A Broken Friend"
Words are intangible things like clouds.
Compressed, they often come down in floods--
Sudden news is never kind.
I am thrown by its force blinded
into miniature eternities until
focus returns to these world-weary eyes.
You sit with a broken friend; you're benevolent
spoon-feeding her thoughtful, pleasant words
tiny sacraments of bread and wine and you
are at heart a Caretaker--You'll bleed
dry to nourish her hope.
I shake the words out of my books.
Scatter them around. Look for "soul."
How long has it been since I've used it?
Find it. Paste it in a book-- It is
your book with only the best of words
healers use for healing.
Even the kindest spoken words fade and
Disappear like leaves in autumn's unkind winds.
If not me, who would dare chase the wind
Recapture the spoils? Who else would
Take care, restore your spent hope?
10:10:45 PM | |
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Monday, February 21, 2005 |
Written and Directed by : Ashvin Kumar
Starring: Julfuqar Ali (Jamal), Sushil Sharma (Bhola), Megnaa Mehtaa (Rani)
Distributed by WahIndia.
William Faulkner once wrote that the art of writing short fiction was next to writing poetry: "...almost every word has got to be almost exactly right."
This same principle can be applied to short film. Think of it as a dance with perfection - every single element of the film must be in rhythm with the other. The story has to be tight. The plot can’t wallow or skip a beat. The conflict can’t be obscure. And the photography and dialogue, more than any of the other elements, must be the window of meaning, the purveyor of symbolism, and must carry the weight of character development, metaphor, irony, truth, reality, and the soul of humanity.
Not an easy task when you consider you are working with a time-frame of less than twenty minutes.
Ashvin Kumar’s short live action film, Little Terrorist, is a wonderful story that is as taut, rhythmic, and meaningful as poetry. It’s been nominated for the Best Live Action Short Film category at the Academy Awards and it was a pleasure to be able to screen it over the weekend.
Little Terrorist is about Jamal, a Pakistani Muslim boy who sneaks under the barbed-wire fence and into the landmine-riddled Indo-Pak border in order to retrieve an errant ball he and his friends were playing with. When the Indian Guards start shooting at him, Jamal frantically scrambles to safety, not realizing that he ends up on the enemy side of the border. Running away from the guards, he eventually follows an old Hindu schoolteacher (Bhola) into his village.
Before long, the Indian military begin a door-to-door search for the boy who they’ve declared a "terrorist."
Bhola hides Jamal from the soldiers until he can guide him across the border and return him home.
Little Terrorist is a story of poignant meaning in our world where divisions between peoples and countries is most visible and tangible. The hope in its message is that beyond the traditions and prejudices between us (Jamal and Bhola), bonds of friendship can be forged.
These lines from the review on the WahIndia website were highly accurate and I couldn’t say it any more clearly: "[H]umanity triumphs over prejudice....This symbolic story of hope is a tale of human solidarity conquering all artificial boundaries."
Ashvin Kumar, who has written, produced, directed, and edited the short films Sam and First Day Out, will take on a project to transform his 48-minute feature, ROAD TO LADAKH into a major motion picture. This is his first Oscar nomination.
For your consideration for the Best Short Live Action Film Oscar: Little Terrorist is definitely worthy of it.
View the website for the film here. View the short film online at WahIndia. (There is a small fee.)
11:03:30 PM | |
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Sunday, February 20, 2005 |
The Screenwriters of America (WGA) came together in Los Angeles and in New York City last night to honor the best scripts of 2004. And the winners for film were Charlie Kaufman's ingenious "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" (Original Script) and Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor's witty "Sideways" (Adapted Script).
Kaufman beat out such noteworthy scripts as "The Aviator" (John Logan), "Garden State" (Zach Braff), "Hotel Rwanda" (Keir Pearson and Terry George), and "Kinsey" (Bill Condon).
Payne and Taylor's "Sideways" bested such incredible scripts as "Before Sunset" (Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, and Ethan Hawke), "Mean Girls" (Tina Fey), "Million Dollar Baby" (Paul Haggis), and "The Motorcycle Diaries" (Jose Rivera).
Best Script for a documentary was awarded to Morgan Spurlock for "Supersize Me."
For more information on the winners for Radio, TV, etc, please go to www.wga.org
Very Shameless Plug: I was quite pleased to see that many of these films were in my top ten of the year. TO view my list, please click on the following link:
NOTE: It requires Shockwave Player.
2004 Best of Films
1:36:21 PM | |
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Saturday, February 19, 2005 |
The Notebook (2004)
Directed by: Nick Cassavetes
Adapted to a screenplay by: Jan Sardi and Jeremy Leven
Starring: Gena Rowlands (Allie Calhoun), James Garner (Duke), Kevin Connolly (Fin), Ryan Gosling (Noah), Heather Wahlquist (Sara Tuffington), Rachel McAdams (Allie), James Marsden (Lon), Sam Shepard (Frank Calhoun), Joan Allen (Anne Hamilton), David Thornton (John Hamilton), Starletta DuPois (Nurse Esther)
Robert Fraisse' photography is the best thing that The Notebook has going for it, especially the scene of the rower in the opening credits and the sequence of scenes in which Noah takes Allie out on the canoe to see the interim resting spot for hundreds of migrating fowl and they get caught in a heavy rain storm on their return.
The second best thing going for this film is the performances from the large ensemble cast. Despite the incongruities in the script, the acting was noteworthy and helped make the film bearable.
Inspired by Nicholas Sparks' best-selling novel, Nick Cassavetes' adaptation suffers most from incongruity. Let me throw out some points that had me scratching my head:
1. The casting director botched casting James Garner as Duke, the older Noah. (Ryan Gosling plays the young Noah.) Why? Ryan Gosling is blonde with a thin frame and James Garner is salt-and-pepper black and gray with a heavy build. I don't know any blonde person whose hair turns black when they age. James Garner looked more like Lon, the young veteran who Allie was engaged to. Besides, the older Noah should have looked more like Sam Shepard, who was well-cast as Noah's father Frank.
2. Where in the hell did the knickname Duke come from? To my recollection, no one in the film calls him Duke except the nursing staff and his wife in the closing moments of the film.
3. The evening Duke has a heart-attack, he opens the notebook (which is more like hard-covered journal or diary) and there is a preface by his wife Allie stating that if he reads her this story, she will come back to him. This gives the impression that Allie wrote the notebook. And if this is the case, it doesn't correlate at all with the Allie we see throughout the film. Noah is the writer and the reader of poetry. I don't recall Allie ever picking up a pen to write even a letter. If Noah did indeed write the story, the film didn't address why Allie wrote what she did in the preface of his story.
4. On their first date, Noah and Allie go out on a walk. Noah makes a comment saying that Allie seems to not have freedom to do what she wants, to think on her own. Well, this is a pretty stuipid thing to say since Allie was the one who (when they first met) unbuckled, unzipped, and pulled his pants down around his ankles as he hung helpless to defend himself. Don't you think? And then, Noah proceeds to lay down in the middle of the street and persuade her that she should lay in the street with him as evidence that she can make her own decision, which she ends up doing. By making that choice, isn't she following his edict, thus proving that she once again isn't thinking on her own?
5. Sometime in the middle of the film, Duke explains that Noah and Allie used to fight all the time because they were both so hard-headed and independent. Well, first, this flies in the face of Noah telling Allie that she doesn't think for herself. Second, we only see them fight three times, two of which do not count because the topic of their conversation warranted high emotions and comments that they both wish they could have taken back as soon as the spoke them. (On one occassion, Noah overheard Allies parents tell her that was not good enough for her so he broke off their relationship, which angered Allie. The second occassion was when Allie's fiance came into town to find Allie and Allie didn't know whether or not she was going to choose to stay with Noah or go with Lon. This angered Noah.)
On the contrary, both of these characters were very cordial, considerate, and respectful in most all their relations to each other and other people. IN all, this seemed lazy script writing to me, as if they said "Let's make our two main characters more complex by telling the audience that they fought all the time." Actions speak louder than words and their actions and words throughout the film spoke contrary to that judgement of them.
6. There were two holes in the conversation that took place between Duke and his doctor. First, Duke made the comment that religion trumps science in the end. This statement seemed so out of character for Duke-- he never once spoke about religion or God throughout the film. His conviction here stands out like a sore thumb. Second, he tells the doctor that he needs to go help Allie turn the page of the sheet music. (Allie is sight-reading, playing the piano.) This could have been written better or filmed better because Duke leaves Allie at a table when he goes to see his doctor. The impression we get is that Duke leaves the room and goes to a clinic in another area of the hospital. Besides, Allie goes to the piano after Duke leaves. So how does Duke know that no one is there to turn pages for her? Then we realize that the observation room in which Duke is meeting with his doctor is just off of this living area where the patients watch TV, play games, and play the piano.
7. When Noah's friend Fin dies before his eyes, Noah's reaction lacks the emotion of someone who has just lost a best friend.
There's more but I think you get the picture. It seems like the writers, filmmakers, editors, and directors could have storyboarded this film much better than they did. I assume that everyone wanted to stay as true to the book as possible, but in doing so, they became lazy and expected viewers to fill in the holes with information from the novel. In the end, it is an adaptation whose potential is evident but not fully achieved.
9:04:15 PM | |
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Thursday, February 17, 2005 |
Interesting article on the disparity between the top-grossing films and the films
nominated for best picture--"Best Picture Race Lands Outside Mainstream" Does this mean this Oscar show is less relevant?
I say absolutely NOT.
8:51:19 PM | |
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Tuesday, February 15, 2005 |
Two things: 1) Salon blogs posts the types of files that it supports. The shockwave .dcr file is not one of them. That is the reason why the file was automatically removed from my /images folder. That is the reason for the Error 404 message when clicking on the link. (I'll be finding another server to add the file to and then re-link the post there so you can view it. Please give me a couple more days.)
2) My three month old came down with a bad case of broncialitis (mis-spelled?). I had to sit in the Lazy Boy holding him last night till 3:30 AM so that he could breathe well enough to get some sleep. J got up with him the rest of the night. His cough and chest & nasal congestion is worse. So this isn't going to be a restful night. If there is one thing I hate, it is when your little kids get sick and you can't do enough to help them. Times like this make you seem so helpless.
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Monday, February 14, 2005 |
Figures. I get it finished and I end up with errors when trying to run it in live mode.
Error 404 suggests that it cannot find the URL. But when I right-click on the html page that embeds the .dcr file, and click on Open File in New Window, the new window opens and the shockwave symbol comes up, which indicates that it is recognizing the file.
I'll try to troubleshoot this tonight and tomorrow. I'm terribly sorry for the delay!
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Finally I'm finished with this arduous project!
I used Macromedia Director to create a simple interactive shockwave file that allows you to view the content for my top ten Best of Films of 2004. The purpose in doing this was primarily so that I could use the program again and add it to my resume.
(I created a more complex and larger computer based training program using this application in 1999 and felt my skills leaving me.)
I also wanted an environment for my top ten list that would be visually appealing and something more grand than just reading content on a webpage. I employed fade ins and transparencies that make the viewing experience a tad more interesting.
Now, regarding the movies: I know my top ten list means nothing being published so far out here in the middle of February of 2005. But when you have a full-time job, a family (with a newborn who is colicky), and a contract job, you only have so many minutes of each day you can sit down and write. (HINT to news agencies: If anyone out there would like to hire me full-time as a movie critic, you won’t be disappointed!)
Click on the link below to view the shockwave file.
2004 Best of Films
16 Feb. 2005 NOTE: The link to the shockwave video is working now. The Best of Films will take about one minute to load so please be patient.
****And here's a shout out (Hello) to Andres. Welcome and thanks for placing me in your list of connections on your website Web of Oscar 2005!*****
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Sunday, February 13, 2005 |
The Aviator and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind came away with the most awards at the British Academy Awards last night. The Avaitor was named Best Film but it was Eternal Sunshine that ran away with the Best Director (Michael Condry) and Best Original Screenplay (Charlie Kaufman). It was quite a dismal performance for The Aviator, and one can only assume that Scorsese and company were disappointed, considering that their biopic of Howard Hughes only garnered 3 wins out of 13 nominations.
Other than Cate Blanchett's deserved win in the Best Supporting Actress category, for her stunning performance as Katherine Hepburn, Scorsese's film was recognized for Best Production Design and Make-Up & Hair.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind also came away with three wins. Besides Best Director and Original Screenplay, the films editor Valdís Óskarsdóttir beat out the editors of some highly impressive films (The Aviator, Collateral, House of Flying Daggers, and Vera Drake) for Best Editing.
Finding Neverland , the feel-good film of the year, had the worst of luck. After showing great promise after receiving an impressive 11 BAFTA nominations, it came away empty handed. Nada. Zilch.
Another surprise was the win for Best Cinematography. In a field with such impressive films such as The Aviator, Collateral, Finding Neverland, House of Flying Daggers, and The Motorcycle Diaries, it was Dion Beebe / Paul Cameron for Collateral who walked away with the honor.
In other main awards:
Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor won Best Adapted Screenplay (Sideways).
Ray won the award for Best Sound.
The Day After Tomorrow won the award for Best Visual Effects.
There were no surprises in the acting categories. Other than Cate Blanchett's win, Jamie Foxx received the Best Actor award (Ray), Imelda Staunton won the Best Actress award (Vera Drake), and Clive Owen won another Best Supporting actor award for his role in Closer.
The Brits have three unique awards that the Oscars do not-- they hand out an award for best British Film, Best British Director/Producer or Writer in their First Feature Film, and Orange Award for Film of the Year (which is voted on by the public). This year, the films running in these categories were Dead Man's Shoes, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, My Summer of Love, Shaun of the Dead, Vera Drake, A Way of Life, Afterlife, Layer Cake, and Dear Frankie.
Best British Film was awarded to My Summer of Love.
Best Director/Producer or Writer in their First Feature Film went to writer and director Amma Asante (A Way of Life).
And the Orange Award for Film of the Year went to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
I have to say that the BAFTA's are not an indicator for the upcoming Oscars. However, the results do seem to highlight a trend this year-- that no one film is sweeping the major awards. In all, the BAFTA's honored some great films and achievements in film.
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Tuesday, February 08, 2005 |
I discovered today that I am the only technical writer in my entire company that has not read Dan Brown's worldwide blockbuster phenom novel The DaVinci Code. After not being able to participate in a conversation that lasted nearly twenty minutes, I was convinced that I will have to read it.
And I'm sure everyone out there knows that it is being made into a movie. Yep! I hadn't even read the book and yet I knew. But what I did not know is the caliber of people participating in the creation of the film. Consider the following:
Oscar award winning director Ron Howard (A Beautiful Mind) is directing the film.
Oscar winning writer Akiva Goldsman (A Beautiful Mind) is adapting the novel into a screenplay.
And Oscar winning actor Tom Hanks is playing Robert Langdon.
I was also most impressed that France's most loved actress Audrey Tautou is playing Sophie Neveu. (You have seen Audrey in the Oscar nominated film Amelie and last years' World War 1 epic A Very Long Engagment, which I consider one of the best films of 2004.)
So, what I'm trying to say is that I'm a fan already. Long live symbolic theory!
10:42:55 PM | |
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Thursday, February 03, 2005 |
by Shawn Hammond (your guest blog friend for a Thursday night because Michael is too busy to be your friend)
I wish this administration was as good at creating sound policy as it is at writing whiz-bang screenplays.
CNN's Wolf Blitzer made the most comically naive comment I've heard so far, with something like, "The highlight of the night had to be the embrace between the soldier's mother and the Iraqi mother, whether it was scripted or not." Whether it was scripted or not? What the hell?
This multimillionaire veteran journalist wasn't sure if it was scripted? He thinks maybe the two just decided to stand up in the middle of the biggest news conference on earth? Yes, it was touching. Seriously. It was impeccable theatrics, too.
In a nutshell, the State of the Union convinced me that this administration is the George Lucas of politics: They're unsurpassed at lining up what appears to be a dream-team cast full of diversity and talent--different races, women, decorated military figures, etc.
Likewise, they spare no expense in making sure they have the slickest production in every performance (such as the GOP convention, the inauguration, and last night). Like Lucas, they studiously go over the laundry list of Hollywood blockbuster techniques to make sure they use every trick in the book: Just like Lucas, this administration never fails to have a huge budget to finance revolutionary special effects, big-name performers, and incredible sound effects. Yet, just like "The Phantom Menace" and "The Clone Wars," every time this White House puts on a big gala it's pretty much devoid of value to anyone with a semi-sophisticated worldview. It has practically no relation to reality. (Certainly they're not the first to do this, but they are without doubt one of the best at it.)
The only way in which Bush & Co. upstage Lucas is that they know how to write better lines for public consumption. If you aren't acquainted with the disparity between their paeans to virtue and their true methods of operation and more-jaded and creepy unspoken rationales, their rhetoric--especially in Oscar-worthy performances like last night's--seems like honey-soaked manna from heaven. When you are familiar with the disparity, their much-sweated-over and focus-group-approved script rings as true as Anakin Skywalker's laughable, lifeless professions of love for Amidala in "Clone Wars." "I die a little every day since you've come back into my life."
Pshaw.
If Bush's language last night were rooted in reality, I'd jump up and down clapping and hooting every other sentence like those Republican jackasses did. It's not, though. So their responses come across like high-school kids rooting for their team regardless of anything else.
Can anyone deny that Sunday's election in Iraq was historic? No. Is the story over? Hell no. The fact that people casted ballots is not proof positive that this enterprise has succeeded. We'll see in the coming years whether it did. Nevertheless, the true point is easily overlooked: With the world's most powerful military, we could feasibly lay waste to despotic governments (not to mention untold thousands of innocents) around the globe. But is it our responsibility? Is it our right? Is it moral to ignore genocide in Sudan but to invade Iraq? Is it moral to overlook countless other human tragedies around the globe and to instead inflict more suffering in the name of grandiose themes that sound good in internationally televised "news" performances?
Should we underfund our pathetic education system and overlook poverty, injustice, and affliction in our own land so that our president can attempt to put himself in the history books alongside names like Alexander the Great, Caesar, and Napoleon Bonaparte? I guess if it's entertaining, why not, eh?
Because of this administration's masterful production team, it seems just about everyone loves Bush right now. Our consumer society has already thrown away the jaw-dropping knowledge that these guys are serial liars with a constantly rotating rationale for going to war and another Hollywood-worthy collection of outlandish policies and procedures. But, hell, if it sounds, looks, and feels good, it must be good, right? Why else would the last two Star Wars pieces of shit make ungodly sums for Mr. Lucas? And why else would so many laud the president as some sort of Saintly Hero and willingly lay aside established fact to the contrary? It's all about the show, my friends.
It's acting...merely acting.
10:16:53 PM | |
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Wednesday, February 02, 2005 |
Just a note to let you know that blogging will be light. I'm busy with a contract job till next weeks' deadline.
And when I get the opportunity, I'll be working on my Best Films of 2004 shockwave file. (I hope each one of you have a Shockwave Player installed on your system so you can run my file. I do think you are going to love it.) Back on subject: I had previously planned to get my list out last week but the films Million Dollar Baby and Hotel Rwanda opened up at the theaters in my state. I thought I'd hold off publishing until I could see those highly acclaimed films.
And I will also be writing up a review of Mario Frangoulis' sophomore CD titled Follow Your Heart.
In closing, my daughter K (5) came in to the office just now and handed me a note she had written and ripped out of her mini-notebook. Since she is not in school yet, her words are made up of make-believe letters, words, and scribbles. She's put forth a great effort because there are words that have been erased and written over. With the note in my hand, she told me that I need to take this note to work to give to my teacher. Without skipping a beat, she informs me that the note says "My daddy needs to stay home from work because I want him to stay home and I don't want to go over to [name of her daycare person]."
Yes, I intend on handing my supervisor this note. Who knows, maybe it will work.
6:46:07 PM | |
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