"Should the Oscars be political?" some ask. What a stupid question!

[keopeli]

The real questions are:

Why AREthe awards political (when they are)?
AND
Who will profit from the awards program?

These people make a LOT of money. It is not anything like what it used to be in the decades after the McCarthy brutalities on the Hollywood region. That bastard squashed a system that was developing rapidly by slandering and ruining people.

The people on stage TODAY are very different for the most part. There are many people there with a lot of money. There are also people there with agendas of one type or another. The winners tonight did not, by and large, live through the desolation laid waste by McCarthy. They are a product of a reformed and far more commercialized industry. They still have compassion for the historical interests of their industry, but that is not the defining character of the people anymore.

These people are mostly filthy rich, and that is not only because they are talented. Hey...I'm talented! Really! These people are also both very smart and very lucky people. If they choose to use their money (which largely is their influence, as the bulk of the profit from this awards show airing lies with the winning artist's financiers, and the artists themselves) for a political cause, I assure you that they will be much more cunning than to air some blunt attack across the airwaves.

Michael got stepped on by an elephant! That is very funny, and ONLY works because Michael himself appeared. That means that this little act was carefully prepared and considered long before it was aired, by ALL parties. Noone can deny that. That was a pro-Republican joke if I've ever seen one, and I laughed my ass off as I always do at good humor.

In other words, we watched rich people who don't support the current handling of VAST QUANTITIES of US resources tell a joke to make their opponents laugh. Why? To diffuse the tension. To relax the audience. To make the audience more responsive. It's OK to be in the room together. And it worked.

Back to the big question: who profited tonight?

It seems VERY clear and undeniable. An underdog creative type guy who enjoys being outside the mainstream (it doesn't bother him that he must, I assume, never comb his hair) is about to exponentially multiply the wealth that he created through a project. Also, the country of New Zealand has and will prosper from tonight. An underdog production company bet the bank on the Lord of the Rings...and won. BIG TIME WON. Time/Warner, after having removed the AOL from their list of wins to their list of losses, now has a major win. For these larger companies, we're talking billions of dollars spread out over several years. That is a big thing.

I'd be willing to bet that Bush* didn't watch the Awards this year.

Keo

[Dogmudgeon]

1. Don't despair *too* much

Digital technology has already made it possible for millions of people to produce high-quality music on their own; cinema-quality digital video is already starting to do the same in the field of film.

The monopolies are looking at their last days; the gallows are already under construction. That's why the MPAA and RIAA have become so litigious. The corporate entertainment empires won't go without a fight. But they will go.

--bkl

[regnaD kciN]

2. Absolutely true!

Digital technology has already made it possible for millions of people to produce high-quality music on their own; cinema-quality digital video is already starting to do the same in the field of film.

Just wait for my first feature (shot on digital video), which should be completed next month!

http://www.northernlightsmotionpicturecompany.com/Messages/One-sheet.htm

[xchrom]

3. that is so cool

congrats!

[Dogmudgeon]

4. Wow!

What's it about?

And: Do you have distribution? How much did it cost? And how many people were involved?

I had friends in the early 80s who had bands, and they would spend upwards of $20k to make a few local indie records, hire a lawyer, and court record labels ... without success. I'd guess that $20k will be typical for the budget of an independent film soon -- even the ones lucky enough to snag a Bill Murray or a Christopher Walken.

--bkl
Lights! Camera! Revolution!

[patricia92243]

5. No politics - I don't want listen to neo-conservatives - which is what....

will eventually happen if politics is allowed.

[Bridget Burke]

6. Sorry to disappoint you...

But there were political statements at the show last night. The opening bit with Michael Moore, many of Billy Crystal's remarks (including a subtle reference to W's spotty Texas National Guard service). Sean Penn mentioned the non-existence of WMD's. The recipients for Best Documentary drew a parallel with the "rabbit hole" of Vietnam & today's situation; their film was a long interveiew with Macnamara, so it was entirely apropos.

Everybody behaved themselves. Nobody took over the podium for a long speech. But they managed to slip in a few zingers.

[FlashHarry]

7. Billy Crystal ad lib: "Scary Times."

After Errol Morris' 'rabbit hole' comment, Crystal said, "I'd hate to see his IRS audit." Then he said, wistfully and under his breath, "scary times."

[Touchdown]

8. Look at the message of the winning film...it's liberal.

It emphasises the importance of teamwork. That no single person can accomplish an insurmountable task without the help and trust of others. Horatio Alger and Ayn Rand's heroes would've been eaten alive if they were in LOTR. Frodo couldn't have done it without the help of Borimir, Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas, Gandalf, Faramir, Gollum (reluctantly, and accidentally), and especially Samwise.

The two solitary loner characters (Saruman and Gollum) were desperate and troubled souls.

<SPOILER> Even at the end, Aragorn and his friends knew to distract the great eye enough so that Frodo and Sam could sneak into the mountain unnoticed. Even at the end, Frodo couldn't do it as he succomed to the ring's power...it took the selfish Gollum to make his last mistake and finally destroy the ring.

Many times, the message of the film in contrast to the political climates of the times is enough of a push for the academy to reward the prize. It's no mistake that they awarded To Kill A Mockingbird at the light of the civil rights battle in the late 50s.