As a Netflix subscriber since 2001 (and a member of Denville, New Jersey's Hollywood Nites for the duration of its existence), I've been made to feel foolish by the Motion Picture Academy. It seems like this year's strategy is to scoff at a subversive, low-society, wretched underclass: movie renters.
A montage to illustrate this scolding included Ben Hur, a 1959 movie I'd estimate only 5% of the audience saw in theaters. Jake Gyllenhaal could barely suffer through his oddly confrontational intro, which included a gratuitous shot at portable DVD players.
Has any of this inspired me to run out to my local theater? Nah. I'm ripping Cinderella Man for tomorrow's commute.
I do feel good about Phillip Seymour Hoffman's win. He should have won 8 years ago, for his memorable role of Brandt in The Big Lebowski. I don't think he was nominated.
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I think that the Academy should bend over and kiss all of our asses for the inconvience of what they call "the film experience."
Overpriced tickets, WAY overpriced food, $2.50 bottles of water, $5.50 cups of soda, and then add to al of that surly superunder-intelligent excuses for ushers and even managers, unbelievably rude patrons who yak away, practically fuck in the back row and of course, talk on their cell phones during the show.
Thank the gods for such programs as Gnuella, and LimeWire, and whatever else P2P gives us.
Ah, film. I'll fucking "experience" it at home, thank you.
I purposely don't watch the oscars. After we we finished watching something that we DVRed we tuned in and saw that 'please don't forget the theater' montage and it reminded me why. Incredibly self serving.
The MPAA is getting about as pathetic as the RIAA these days. Poor Jake Gyllenhaal must have drawn the short straw getting stuck with that bit.
I thought John Stewart was brilliant although it didn't seem like anyone in the audience thought so. They were always cutting to stone faced reactions to his punchlines. Everyone expected him to go all political but instead he had Hollywood in his sights. I'm sure he won't be invited back but I thought he was the funniest host in years.
The fact that Clooney had to respond to one of his jokes just shows how silly the whole thing is