Monday, Los Angeles, California

 

Ten Observations About the Academy Awards:

 

1. Several of the commercials used inappropriate passion & misplaced melodrama to sell their product. For instance, what was GMC thinking using an illusion to the Myth of Sisyphus promoting their SUV? Huh?

2. Is no one close enough to John Travolta to tell him the truth about how absurd his hair looks? It looks like it is painted on his scalp. Spend some money and get a good do!

3. Although he is a unique and wonderful actor, sitting in the audience Johnny Depp looked like he was wearing the fake nose and glasses.

4. I am already dreading the inevitable demise & disappearance of the legend that is Jack Nicholson.

5. My advice to high school students is to pay more heed & give more love to the nerds in your school. Seeing the Cohen Brothers should remind you that eventually, it is the geeks roaming the corridors, the ones you often harass, who eventually rule your world.

6. Violence & murder ruled the awards - both domestic and foreign. It is perhaps because we’re so powerless in the face of those who use aggression that these stories give us vicarious fascination with power.

7. John Stewart found the right balance between respect for the industry & its traditions with his trademark comedic wit. It was somewhat surprising that he resisted politics.

8. Small films rule! With the breath taking advances in recording technologies, available to consumers, can you imagine what’s coming to screens in the next decade? The YouTube phenomenon may be yet in its infancy, but there are thousands of emerging artists with wonderful things to offer on screen.

9. Daniel Day Lewis, winner for There Will Be Blood is so elegant and humble, it is a vivid contrast to his stunningly intense characters portrayed on screen.

10. While the shenanigans of many celebrities - and the idiots who stalk them with cameras - are often revolting, the art that is created onscreen by the teams of writers, producers, actors & crew make profound statements about humanity and our struggles. I may get impatient with spoiled personalities but the artistry of films is awesome. But there remains an imbalance, with too much focus and money spent on actors. Far too little is offered to the other geniuses who create, edit and stream the content that appears on the screen.