Oscar Thoughts

I'm feeling obligated to blog about the Oscars, since I'm a filmmaker and screenwriter.

I had another obligation last night, so I had to watch the show on DVR time-delay, which I hate doing. I liked being able to fast-forward through the boring bits, but all the anticipation is gone. You might as well just look at a list of winners.

And as someone who would like to one day win or be nominated for an Oscar, I suppose the ceremony has some allure for me. I know it's political, and it's not solely based on merit -- I have no illusions. I just enjoy it and would love to be a part of that. Some years, the show has inspired me. Some years, it has depressed me beyond measure (because my career was nowhere). This year? It hardly registered. I was curious to see who won, but that was about it.

I don't have a strong opinion on most of the winners, because I had precious little time this year and didn't see most of the nominated films. I enjoyed Crash and can't see why some people despise it. I only saw it once, on DVD, and was interrupted several times, so it didn't have the emotional impact for me that it could have. I really need to see it again.

I enjoyed Reese Witherspoon in Walk the Line and wasn't disappointed to see her win (though I don't think it was that great a role; Joaquin Pheonix's performance as Johnny Cash
was the role in that film that captivated me). And I think Philip Seymour Hoffman needs and deserves the wider exposure that his win for Capote will bring him (and I still haven't been able to see that film).

So, all in all, an average Oscar telecast. George Clooney's reaction shots really stole the show, IMO, and Jon Stewart's Oscar-campaign parody videos were hilarious. I think a few more of those would have been great, but I don't think the audience there was enjoying them (judging from the quiet reaction anyway).

In other news: the film has been rejected from a few more fests. Still waiting to hear from many more. And my script, Jonesing, hasn't yet gone out to production companies and actors. The word I have from Agent and Manager is that it will go out some time this month. The only negative on this front is the somewhat alarming news that a similarly-themed script is already making the rounds. How similar it is, I don't know. How good it is, I don't know. The fact that it's out there ahead of mine, regardless of quality or true similarity, isn't good. Nevertheless, we push on...