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Friday, February 29, 2008
Oscar doesn’t care whether you like his winners
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Dear Mr. Smithee,
I saw the Oscars telecast. Tilda Swinton won for best supporting actress. Was she in that very odd movie some years ago called “Orlando”?
BETTY FORSTER, Orono, Minn.
Dear Loner,
So you’re the person who watched the Oscars.
The ratings for Sunday’s telecast were so low I thought maybe no one saw the show at all.
What’s interesting to me is what always happens with the Academy Awards. The public complains about how the Academy nominates movies nobody goes to see. They complain that Academy voters don’t cast their lot with popular choices. They complain that nobody watches the show and say if the Academy catered more to public tastes, perhaps ratings would go up.
My good people, I have a message for you from Hollywood and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
It goes just like this: We don’t care.
The Academy Awards is a feel-good private party for Hollywood. The public is invited to look on from afar in amazement. But the public is not invited to attend, to question or to request alterations in the proceedings.
You see, Hollywood cares whether you buy a movie ticket. That is why the theaters are clogged with mindless entertainment, movies that go boom and stupid, stupid romantic comedies without an ounce of artistic quality to them.
But the Oscars represent the time Hollywood pats itself on the back and whispers into each other’s ears that they are good and produce art.
One thing more the public must understand: They pay for the Oscars. It’s your money — the millions that you heap upon “Spider-Man” movies and a failed full-length “Simpsons” feature and sickening comedies — that, in effect, bankrolls the party you are not invited to attend.
So watch or don’t watch.
But don’t expect an industry that depends on you for its very existence to then turn around and care if you don’t like how they celebrate.
That would be like asking Hollywood to be human. And that, my friends, is asking the impossible.
(By the way, Betty, Tilda Swinton did indeed star in 1992’s “Orlando.” And at the Oscars she most certainly looked like she picked up her bathroom rug and wore it to the show.)
ALAN
P.S. You get an “Indiana Jones” whip (use it wisely) and an “Ask Alan Smithee” T-shirt.
Dear Mr. Smithee,
Do you know when “The Counterfeiters” will play in Atlanta?
JEFFREY A. FREEMAN, Atlanta
Dear Oscar-minded,
As I am sure you know, Austria’s “The Counterfeiters” won the Oscar for best foreign-language film and is about a Nazi concentration camp where Jews were forced to print fake pounds that Germany could pass in England.
The film was screened last month at the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival. Obviously, you missed that opportunity.
A regular theatrical run is scheduled to begin April 4 at Landmark’s Midtown Art Cinema.
ALAN
P.S. You get a “Ratatouille” T-shirt and an “Ask Alan Smithee” T-shirt.
Dear Mr. Smithee,
Everybody asks you about the “best” this or that. But what, in your estimable opinion, are the worst movies ever to win the Oscar for best picture?
DANIEL PINKERTON, Minneapolis, Minn.
Dear That or This,
I try to forget the clunkers. I really do.
I also believe the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has a habit of making some fairly horrific selections.
For you, Daniel, I’ll give you my Worst 10 countdown:
“Oliver!” (1968).
“The English Patient” (1996).
“Gentleman’s Agreement” (1947).
“Around the World in Eighty Days” (1956).
“Forrest Gump” (1994).
“The Life of Emile Zola” (1937).
“Cimarron” (1931).
“The Greatest Show on Earth” (1952).
“The Broadway Melody” (1929).
“Cavalcade” (1933).
ALAN
P.S. You get “Spiderwick Chronicles” toys and an “Ask Alan Smithee” T-shirt.
HAVE A QUESTION FOR MR. SMITHEE?
E-mail him at alansmithee@ajc.com or go to accessAtlanta.com and click on Movies. Please include your name, city and daytime phone number. Mr. Smithee can’t reply to every request, but inquiries chosen for publication will receive movie-related prizes.
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March to be big month for Tyler Perry
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Just about every month something big is happening with Tyler Perry. But March will be more notable than usual.
This weekend the Atlanta entertainment mogul will begin production of his next big-screen comedy, “The Family That Preys” at Tyler Perry Studios and other Atlanta locations.
On March 11, Perry will be the cover image for Best Life magazine’s April issue. And on March 21, he will release the big-screen version of his comedy stage play “Meet the Browns” in theaters nationwide.
After production of “The Family That Preys” officially begins Sunday, Perry’s Family Productions on Monday will begin shooting scenes in a southeast Atlanta home. Residents in the area received notice of the filming earlier this week.
“Preys,” about two families, stars Oscar winner Kathy Bates, Oscar nominee Alfre Woodard, Sanaa Lathan, Taraji Henson and Rockmond Dunbar. Perry co-stars and directs.
The film is tentatively scheduled to debut in theaters in September.
In Best Life, Perry talks about his rise in the entertainment industry, from originally living in his car to running a $500 million enterprise.
Billboards are already up in Atlanta to promote “Meet the Browns,” which stars Angela Bassett, Irma P. Hall and Perry as Madea and Uncle Joe. Rated PG-13, it was filmed in Chicago and Atlanta.
Permalink | Comments (38) | Categories: Bob Longino
