Hope springs eternal
I spent part of my birthday watching this excellent film, although I will admit that I might've enjoyed it even more if I was in a better frame of my mind when I did see it. It was inventive, creative and also vastly entertaining, and it seems like Malkovich with a less weird edge (but still amazingly quirky at the same time). I'll probably see it again soon so I can wrap more of my brain around it.
Monday, March 29, 2004
The nightmare is over
As much as I wanted to hate the show, I did get hooked on Dream Job. So it seemed almost fitting that the guy who seemed good enough not to lose would actually have enough to win the grand prize. As Cooch has already mentioned, Mike Hall wasn't the best of the final four, nor the final two, but somehow he won the grand prize.
I still think people got confused how their vote was supposed to count, just like Week 1 when Mike got voted off by the fans, partly because he was on first, and no one was sure whether to vote for your favorite or to eliminate a contestant. And if you consider Dream Job's Survivor-like setup, shouldn't the final vote be the one you want to win, not lose? Thus, Mizzou boy wins it after all, much to the chagring of seemingly everyone around me.
However, I do think there is a silver lining to Aaron not winning. First off, Mike has got to be getting some scorn from those in Bristol (and everywhere else in the profession) because he answered some trivia questions to bump his salary to $95,000. A college senior doing highlights making $95,000. Think about that for a second. How much do you think some of the j-school students will make at their first job? How many people at ESPN make that much? I don't think you're going to get much support from those living on ramen right now.
Secondly, I think Aaron could turn into the Dave Holmes of the show, meaning Mike is the Jesse Camp of MTV. Anyone hear from Camp or his hair recently? Holmes ended up becoming a halfway decent personality on the network for a few years as the runner-up to MTV's similar contest a few years ago and still shows up on cable as a host. Aaron will find himself in a high double-digit market in a few months and work his way up quickly, probably earning a bit more respect as he takes the "normal" path to success. He's got one hell of a resume tape already. (Oh yeah, after that performance on the buzzer in the sports quiz test, we've got to get him to play a trash tournament.)
Of course, when it comes down to it, I think Aaron got screwed when he was paired with L-Co (?!?) for the SportsCenter segment. Then again, you could see the scorn on Karl Ravech's face when he was paired with Mike. (When's Baseball Tonight going to start? Where's Harold? Where's Gammons? Where's Stark? Who did I piss off to get this gig?)
As much as I wanted to hate the show, I did get hooked on Dream Job. So it seemed almost fitting that the guy who seemed good enough not to lose would actually have enough to win the grand prize. As Cooch has already mentioned, Mike Hall wasn't the best of the final four, nor the final two, but somehow he won the grand prize.
I still think people got confused how their vote was supposed to count, just like Week 1 when Mike got voted off by the fans, partly because he was on first, and no one was sure whether to vote for your favorite or to eliminate a contestant. And if you consider Dream Job's Survivor-like setup, shouldn't the final vote be the one you want to win, not lose? Thus, Mizzou boy wins it after all, much to the chagring of seemingly everyone around me.
However, I do think there is a silver lining to Aaron not winning. First off, Mike has got to be getting some scorn from those in Bristol (and everywhere else in the profession) because he answered some trivia questions to bump his salary to $95,000. A college senior doing highlights making $95,000. Think about that for a second. How much do you think some of the j-school students will make at their first job? How many people at ESPN make that much? I don't think you're going to get much support from those living on ramen right now.
Secondly, I think Aaron could turn into the Dave Holmes of the show, meaning Mike is the Jesse Camp of MTV. Anyone hear from Camp or his hair recently? Holmes ended up becoming a halfway decent personality on the network for a few years as the runner-up to MTV's similar contest a few years ago and still shows up on cable as a host. Aaron will find himself in a high double-digit market in a few months and work his way up quickly, probably earning a bit more respect as he takes the "normal" path to success. He's got one hell of a resume tape already. (Oh yeah, after that performance on the buzzer in the sports quiz test, we've got to get him to play a trash tournament.)
Of course, when it comes down to it, I think Aaron got screwed when he was paired with L-Co (?!?) for the SportsCenter segment. Then again, you could see the scorn on Karl Ravech's face when he was paired with Mike. (When's Baseball Tonight going to start? Where's Harold? Where's Gammons? Where's Stark? Who did I piss off to get this gig?)
Wednesday, March 24, 2004
Not to be too much of narcissist, or The Narcissist, it's interesting that I share my birthday with not just Peyton Manning but also Mike Vanderjagt. Those two put their differences behind them and did just fine, as well as lifting my fantasy team to the finals in the Sportsline Experts League last fall.
And since I know Craig would also appreciate this -- Happy Birthday, Willow!
And since I know Craig would also appreciate this -- Happy Birthday, Willow!
Tuesday, March 23, 2004
One reason why I've been quiet lately here (other than the standard work thing) is that I'm also cranking out stuff for TRASHionals, and it seems like of the stuff I want to talk about eventually germinates into questions and I'm not going to give any more edge to those playing who also reads this blog.
Brushes with greatness?
I guess it's a matter of time before I ran into someone famous at Distant Replays, given all the pictures of rappers and athletes on the wall. I actually saw Cee-Lo starting to film some fluff piece while shopping for throwbacks. Me, I'm just happy trying to get a t-shirt, hat or "reasonably" priced jersey-type thing (i.e. no $300 Kansas City Scouts jerseys).
However, those of you coming down next month for TRASHionals that happen to be traveling through Atlanta, maybe I can arrange a little shopping trip.
I guess it's a matter of time before I ran into someone famous at Distant Replays, given all the pictures of rappers and athletes on the wall. I actually saw Cee-Lo starting to film some fluff piece while shopping for throwbacks. Me, I'm just happy trying to get a t-shirt, hat or "reasonably" priced jersey-type thing (i.e. no $300 Kansas City Scouts jerseys).
However, those of you coming down next month for TRASHionals that happen to be traveling through Atlanta, maybe I can arrange a little shopping trip.
Does Tony grade on a curve?
Unfortunately, I am addicted to Dream Job, mainly because it's one of the few things really worth watching at that point on Sunday night at work. It's getting slightly better, although I feel like I'm watching a broadcast journalism class in action, and is that really a good thing?
This week's Al Jaffe's sports quiz was good, although I was disappointed how poorly everyone did. Then again, I suppose your brain could go blank on national TV, although I feel like you could get some of us out there and blow away the field.
So we're down to the final four, and I guess it proves that youth rules on the show. All four finalists are in their 20s, with Shaggy being the oldest at 28. I think he's the guy to beat, primarily because the fans determine the winner instead of working with the panelists. So yes, it's a lot like American Idol. He's got the cool look, the "attitude" and the knowledge to win over the crowd.
Stanford Asian Guy is probably the most suited to the role, but I think he's too plastic to win over the crowd. Mizzou Boy is the classic "fly under the radar" reality show contestant. He's good enough not to get voted off, but he's not good enough to win it all. Look for him (and Aaron for that matter) and a low 100 market in a couple of years. Ivy League/Chicago girl seems like a fun girl to hang out with, although she's a bit of a spaz even for my tastes.
Unfortunately, I am addicted to Dream Job, mainly because it's one of the few things really worth watching at that point on Sunday night at work. It's getting slightly better, although I feel like I'm watching a broadcast journalism class in action, and is that really a good thing?
This week's Al Jaffe's sports quiz was good, although I was disappointed how poorly everyone did. Then again, I suppose your brain could go blank on national TV, although I feel like you could get some of us out there and blow away the field.
So we're down to the final four, and I guess it proves that youth rules on the show. All four finalists are in their 20s, with Shaggy being the oldest at 28. I think he's the guy to beat, primarily because the fans determine the winner instead of working with the panelists. So yes, it's a lot like American Idol. He's got the cool look, the "attitude" and the knowledge to win over the crowd.
Stanford Asian Guy is probably the most suited to the role, but I think he's too plastic to win over the crowd. Mizzou Boy is the classic "fly under the radar" reality show contestant. He's good enough not to get voted off, but he's not good enough to win it all. Look for him (and Aaron for that matter) and a low 100 market in a couple of years. Ivy League/Chicago girl seems like a fun girl to hang out with, although she's a bit of a spaz even for my tastes.
Happy Action Fun Time
While everyone else seems to be updating the status of their brackets, I've been helping to pound out the coverage at work. But to get everyone up to speed, I have three of four Final Four teams left (Duke, Georgia Tech and Pitt) only losing Stanford. I always pick a ton of upsets in the first round, and I did hit both of the 12 seeds that advanced (Manhattan was a slam dunk, and surprisingly so was Pacific, given Providence's struggles at the end of the season), but missed another 12 (BYU), not to mention a close call with ETSU, a not-so-close call with Western Michigan, and realizing the Princeton offense only worked for about 25-30 minutes (crashing out with both Air Force and Princeton -- I almost always pick the Ivy League team).
Everyone got hammered with the second round, obviously, but I wished I had picked Xavier. (The Catholic school thing, not to mention not liking Mississippi State.) I even mentioned in the office after the lack of upsets in the first round that we'll get a bunch of big ones in round two. Same thing happened in 2000 -- only four lower seeds advanced after the first round, but we ended up with two eight seeds and a five in the Final Four.
While everyone else seems to be updating the status of their brackets, I've been helping to pound out the coverage at work. But to get everyone up to speed, I have three of four Final Four teams left (Duke, Georgia Tech and Pitt) only losing Stanford. I always pick a ton of upsets in the first round, and I did hit both of the 12 seeds that advanced (Manhattan was a slam dunk, and surprisingly so was Pacific, given Providence's struggles at the end of the season), but missed another 12 (BYU), not to mention a close call with ETSU, a not-so-close call with Western Michigan, and realizing the Princeton offense only worked for about 25-30 minutes (crashing out with both Air Force and Princeton -- I almost always pick the Ivy League team).
Everyone got hammered with the second round, obviously, but I wished I had picked Xavier. (The Catholic school thing, not to mention not liking Mississippi State.) I even mentioned in the office after the lack of upsets in the first round that we'll get a bunch of big ones in round two. Same thing happened in 2000 -- only four lower seeds advanced after the first round, but we ended up with two eight seeds and a five in the Final Four.
Friday, March 12, 2004
I suppose if there's any sign that Ed is just about done, check out this upcoming auction. Anyone really itching for a complete bowling alley can just head over to northern New Jersey for the goods.
Tuesday, March 09, 2004
Forgot to mention I also saw Starsky and Hutch over the weekend. It had its moments, but I wanted to like it more than I really did. I don't mind all the remakes of '70s shows into movies, but you have to get into the spirit of the thing to make it work. The movie couldn't tell if it was a serious crime drama (what the show was) or comedy (what the movie tried to be). At least Todd Phillips' last two films (Road Trip and Old School) knew what they were and it was easy to go off from there, which was why they were funnier.
But the strangest thing about the whole experience was that I saw the film in the same exact screening room I saw The Passion of the Christ earlier in the week. For all I know, it could've been the same seat.
But the strangest thing about the whole experience was that I saw the film in the same exact screening room I saw The Passion of the Christ earlier in the week. For all I know, it could've been the same seat.
Monday, March 08, 2004
Finally, it seems that at least one baseball commentator knows who the real audience is for spring training games. While doing a bit about top Angels pitching prospect Bobby Jenks, Rick Sutcliffe mentions that fantasy owners should pick him up in their leagues if he isn't already taken. Think Sutcliffe plays in a keeper league or two?
Thursday, March 04, 2004
Saving Private Christ
At least that's what I got out of watching The Passion of the Christ. Simply put, it was an amazingly brutal and violent version of some old mysteries of the rosary/stations of the cross films I watched back in elementary school. The scourging at the pillar seemed to go on forever and had that Private Ryan feel to it, as did the crucifixion.
I do believe the complaints about anti-Semitism are well-founded. While I hear the passion passages every year during Lent, the movie depiction of it, especially the role of Caiphas and other rabbis, really puts the Jews (especially those in power) in a bad light. If anything, all the hype and hoopla about Mel Gibson's faith just made it a tad easier to take that part of the film (i.e. it wasn't as huge a shock).
Given everything I've heard about Jim Caviezel's faith, I couldn't see anyone else taking this role, and he did a great job with it. I also now appreciate how some filmmakers avoid putting stars in certain roles so as not to distract the viewer. Caviezel blended into the role thanks to the beard and long hair , but Monica Bellucci was slightly distracting as Mary Magdalene, if only because I had the thought of those bad Matrix movies stuck in my head (obviously, she wasn't wearing her Persephone outfit on Mt. Calvary).
For those expecting more, such as further going into Jesus' teachings or even how he got to this situation in the first place, you're best served reading the Bible or other scholarly works. As the title suggests, it was a passion play. An overly elaborate and often dark one. It's the Stations of the Cross expanded over two hours with lots more bloodletting replacing prayers.
One thing I've noticed has been swept aside in the whole hoopla is the fact that none of the dialogue is in English. While there was talk of not including subtitles at all, using them let the words and the message sink in a lot more than if they were spoken -- in some way, it was like reading a scripture passage. And given there were probably more elderly viewers (with hearing problems) at the theater compared to your usual movie, the subtitles were a huge bonus.
I am curious, though, if the film would qualify for a "Foreign Language" Oscar, given that the dialogue was in a language other than English.
As for the reviews in general, I really haven't bothered to go through most of them. I was going to see this movie anyway (and probably would've gone to one of those packed outings with my church if it didn't conflict with work), but here's a link to Roger Ebert's review, which seems to be one of the fairer assessments of the film -- although I'd like to have seen him actually comment a bit more on the "technical" aspects of the movie.
At least that's what I got out of watching The Passion of the Christ. Simply put, it was an amazingly brutal and violent version of some old mysteries of the rosary/stations of the cross films I watched back in elementary school. The scourging at the pillar seemed to go on forever and had that Private Ryan feel to it, as did the crucifixion.
I do believe the complaints about anti-Semitism are well-founded. While I hear the passion passages every year during Lent, the movie depiction of it, especially the role of Caiphas and other rabbis, really puts the Jews (especially those in power) in a bad light. If anything, all the hype and hoopla about Mel Gibson's faith just made it a tad easier to take that part of the film (i.e. it wasn't as huge a shock).
Given everything I've heard about Jim Caviezel's faith, I couldn't see anyone else taking this role, and he did a great job with it. I also now appreciate how some filmmakers avoid putting stars in certain roles so as not to distract the viewer. Caviezel blended into the role thanks to the beard and long hair , but Monica Bellucci was slightly distracting as Mary Magdalene, if only because I had the thought of those bad Matrix movies stuck in my head (obviously, she wasn't wearing her Persephone outfit on Mt. Calvary).
For those expecting more, such as further going into Jesus' teachings or even how he got to this situation in the first place, you're best served reading the Bible or other scholarly works. As the title suggests, it was a passion play. An overly elaborate and often dark one. It's the Stations of the Cross expanded over two hours with lots more bloodletting replacing prayers.
One thing I've noticed has been swept aside in the whole hoopla is the fact that none of the dialogue is in English. While there was talk of not including subtitles at all, using them let the words and the message sink in a lot more than if they were spoken -- in some way, it was like reading a scripture passage. And given there were probably more elderly viewers (with hearing problems) at the theater compared to your usual movie, the subtitles were a huge bonus.
I am curious, though, if the film would qualify for a "Foreign Language" Oscar, given that the dialogue was in a language other than English.
As for the reviews in general, I really haven't bothered to go through most of them. I was going to see this movie anyway (and probably would've gone to one of those packed outings with my church if it didn't conflict with work), but here's a link to Roger Ebert's review, which seems to be one of the fairer assessments of the film -- although I'd like to have seen him actually comment a bit more on the "technical" aspects of the movie.
This is only a test
If all final exams were as silly (and I suppose easy, if you like sports) as Jim Harrick Jr.'s final exam. Some of the multiple choice questions could've been written by the crew at Millionaire, although I doubt they'd misspell the name of Harrick Sr.'s predecessor.
If all final exams were as silly (and I suppose easy, if you like sports) as Jim Harrick Jr.'s final exam. Some of the multiple choice questions could've been written by the crew at Millionaire, although I doubt they'd misspell the name of Harrick Sr.'s predecessor.
Monday, March 01, 2004
Reality check
Not sure what it is about the words "season finale" that gets me watching some of the bad reality shows, but here I was catching the last few minutes of Average Joe 2 and losing it while the "average" guy takes the girl on a date to Fenway Park, complete with a dream meeting with ... Tim Wakefield! Everything just seemed too surreal on that trip, including the guy's thick Boston accent. (BTW, is the Mass-hole, at least accent-wise, one of the stereotypical people reality shows must cast these days? C.T. from Real World Paris and Rob M. from Survivor come to mind.) And despite getting a big old kiss in center field, he struck out in the end, but so did girl, so I guess it's all good.
But you can't kill the franchise as Adam from the first show pulls off a Trista and gets to turn the tables in two weeks. However, it looks like he'll get to choose from a bunch of the beautiful people. Will the twist be that he gets "average" women down the line? Things that I think about that I really shouldn't be, especially since I'm usually watching Airline or wrestling when I get back from trivia.
Not sure what it is about the words "season finale" that gets me watching some of the bad reality shows, but here I was catching the last few minutes of Average Joe 2 and losing it while the "average" guy takes the girl on a date to Fenway Park, complete with a dream meeting with ... Tim Wakefield! Everything just seemed too surreal on that trip, including the guy's thick Boston accent. (BTW, is the Mass-hole, at least accent-wise, one of the stereotypical people reality shows must cast these days? C.T. from Real World Paris and Rob M. from Survivor come to mind.) And despite getting a big old kiss in center field, he struck out in the end, but so did girl, so I guess it's all good.
But you can't kill the franchise as Adam from the first show pulls off a Trista and gets to turn the tables in two weeks. However, it looks like he'll get to choose from a bunch of the beautiful people. Will the twist be that he gets "average" women down the line? Things that I think about that I really shouldn't be, especially since I'm usually watching Airline or wrestling when I get back from trivia.
The Oscar blog
It's probably nothing like Sports Guy, but since I'm here in the office working and watching the Oscars while also watching some games and the news wires, might as well do a running log of what I saw. For those who I'd usually IM for stuff like this, consider this what I might've said had I decided to converse that way. It was the best way to balance work and fun all in one.
I will apologize for the length in advance …
Pre-game show
Chris Connelly is finally earning his Disney money after doing the occasional "must get paid" feature for ESPN. But what the heck is "competish"?
Billy Bush -- I thought it was the guy Ryan Seacrest eliminated from American Idol, but instead he caused plenty of awkward moments with every nominee. And why bring up "Oprah … Uma" again?
I think Elijah Wood and Peter Jackson wanted Maria Menounos' multi-million dollar dress to have a wardrobe malfunction. But I guess my friend Stew was happy to see her on screen again.
8:31 p.m. Thanks for bringing out Sean Connery to open, but I was waiting for him to mention something about swords.
8:32 p.m. Great opening film with references to everything under the sun, although it is tough to incorporate Lost In Translation with all the big-budget flicks involved. I liked the A-Rod throwaway line, not to mention Michael Moore getting trampled during the big LOTR war.
And yes, the songs are back, and while I suppose I was dreading the familiar, but Billy was fun. I really liked the "My Favorite Things" bit for "Lord of the Rings"
8:51 p.m. Tim Robbins wins Best Supporting Actor -- no surprise, really. I'm surprised he hadn't had an acting nomination before. Even more surprising -- his political statement was about child abuse.
8:55 p.m. Another awkward Jason Biggs moment to shill for Diet Pepsi. Wouldn't he have been a better choice for a Sara Lee or Mrs. Paul's ad campaign.
9:00 p.m. I'm not a big Angelina Jolie fan, but she did look good. Time for those smaller categories that actually make or break the Oscar pools. Oh look, LOTR won. I guess it's time for the sweep to begin. I thought it might be the place for one of the "other" films to earn a token nod.
9:03 p.m. How come Robin Williams doesn't crash Billy Crystal's party more often? Oh wait, his frenetic humor could turn people off. That includes the Elmer Fudd impression reading off the list of nominees for Best Animated Feature. And was there any doubt Finding Nemo was going to win?
9:06 p.m. I forgot about the silly instant replay between commercials. They're still slightly behind sporting events in turning those replays over quicker.
9:08 p.m. Hey, Oswald found a job while The Drew Carey Show is in limbo. ABC, just show it once and cancel it now so I can win points in the LaPlaca.
9:13 p.m. Yup, LOTR wins again for costumes. The rout has to be on, don't you think. Great, the one year I decide not to vote along the LOTR party lines -- at least not for the art and costume categories.
9:15 p.m. The Dennis Miller Big Picture bit makes a short but entertaining appearance.
9:20 p.m. Renee Zellweger finally gets that Oscar, although she needed to move down to Supporting Actress to get it. Why did they cut to Nicole Kidman when Renee thanked Tom Cruise? Just wondering.
9:27 p.m. Nice tribute to Bob Hope, and actually seems relevant to the show, but it probably extended the program by another 15-20 minutes. There will also be tributes to Gregory Peck and Katherine Hepburn, which now makes me feel bad to those who will be "relegated" to the annual death reel.
9:30 p.m. Oh wow, Florida State just went ahead of Duke (going back to be my actual job). The 'Noles beat Duke at home when they weren't good, so what will this year's good team do?
9:32 p.m. Couldn't Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson just say, "Go see Starsky and Hutch next weekend. And the nominees are …" instead of having Stiller wear the '70s stuff?
9:33 p.m. OK, a film about squash got nominated? Couldn't tell you too much about the other films for best live action short, though. But there goes another pick down the drain.
9:37 p.m. Hey, I got Harvie Krumpett right in our quickly assembled office pool. Sometimes picking the silliest name works.
9:38 p.m. Look, Lisa Loeb is at the Oscars. Oh sorry, that was Liv Tyler. I didn't know much about most of the original song nominees, but having Alison Krauss, Sting and Elvis Costello around to perform can't be a bad thing.
9:54 p.m. Billy Crystal can do a great Robin Williams. Otherwise, the "what are they thinking" bit seems to be done better at Thrashers games.
9:59 p.m. Gee, LOTR wins again. I think I got that one right this time.
10:00 p.m. I guess it's a rule that the scientific and technical awards must be hosted by a hot female actress to appease all the geeks in attendance. This year, Jennifer Garner drew the short straw. But hey, she gets face time at the Oscars because it wasn't for her appearance in Daredevil.
10:02 p.m. A Blake Edwards tribute is a great time for Jim Carrey to act like a nut. Works for me.
10:08 p.m. So much for Florida State against Duke.
10:15 p.m. Oh wait, Dream Job is on. Umm, I'll wait to skewer it on the replay. Instead, let's leave the comedy to the real masters like Bill Murray who's introducing Lost In Translation.
10:17 p.m. Interesting 1-2 punch with Murray followed by Johansson. She looks much better here than at the Golden Globes, but I still don't see her as such a glamour girl.
10:19 p.m. LOTR wins for makeup. The rout continues. Wait, Peter King is one of the winners? Is he going to have his own Oscar diary in Monday Morning Quarterback? Thankfully, he didn't use the Oscar podium to rail on Delta again.
10:25 p.m. A non-LOTR film wins a technical award (Master and Commander for sound editing). Of course, LOTR wasn't nominated.
10:28 p.m. When I first saw Julia Roberts on the red carpet tonight, I wasn't sure if I was looking at Sarah Jessica Parker or worse yet, Courtney Love with a dye job. But it's still a good choice to intro the Hepburn tribute.
10:33 p.m. Nightly crash in the office. Also seeing the Dream Job guys do Fact or Fiction, which actually seems like a good test for the contestants. Oh yeah, that Ogre/Hobbit dude is pretty slick.
10:40 p.m. I like the pairing of John Cusack and Diane Lane, even if it is for the documentary awards. At least they had better chemistry that John Travolta and Sandra Bullock.
10:43 p.m. The Fog of War wins Best Documentary Feature, and brings a nice ovation from the CNN.com newsroom, who were hyping it up in recent months. He didn't go as far as Michael Moore, but it was getting there, and with even more blank stares from the stars (which is why they weren't usually shown during the other awards). Crystal's retort, "I can't wait to see his tax audit," was a nice recovery.
10:50 p.m. Time for the "others" dead celebrity montage. It's always spooky to see who gets the most applause, while others get none. Why don't they just turn off the crowd mike when that happens? Just a thought. And Donald O'Connor gets the last frame, but John Ritter appears to be the winner of the loudest reaction.
10:52 p.m. Ah, here's the Tiger Woods as Carl Spackler ad. What took them so long? Nice ending, too. Kenny Loggins -- enemy of the gopher.
10:56 p.m. Time for the Adult Contemporary portion of the Oscar telecast with Sting and Phil Collins presenting. No word if they'll apologize for their music of the '90s. At least Bryan Adams isn't around.
11:03 p.m. Cool, they're in character for A Mighty Wind.
11:11 p.m. Over on Dream Job … It's not a good sign when a sponsor comes up with a plan to give a not-so-good performer a second chance on a reality show. Thankfully, Alvin (the Wendy's Wild Card winner) was shown the door quickly. Although that also means two of the four black contestants have been eliminated.
11:14 p.m. OK, Will Ferrell and Jack Black get three minutes to be goofy, this time with music. Cute.
11:17 p.m. You know it's LOTR's night when it's winning Best Original Song.
11:21 p.m. And best Foreign Language Film goes to El Lordo del Ringos. Never mind, it went to a Canadian film (yes, it was in French, much to Triumph's delight). Oh great, the producers of the winning film thought the same thing I did.
11:23 p.m. Overheard in the office: Uma Thurman looks like Heidi.
11:26 p.m. Does the Mars Rover have Lo-Jack?
11:31 p.m. I think LOTR nails the sweep after taking adapted screenplay against a solid field. In the words of Warner Wolf, if you took LOTR as your default Oscar pick, you won.
11:35 p.m. Lost In Translation gets the Oscar for "most buzzworthy out-of-the-box film that's not going to win Best Picture," otherwise known as Best Original Screenplay. (see The Usual Suspects, Pulp Fiction, Good Will Hunting). I loved the film, but as a screenplay, I'm not sure it was all that great. However, there was a well-timed cut to cousin Nicolas Cage screaming in approval. There are more Oscars to share in the family.
11:43 p.m. 10 down, one to go for LOTR. Is there much suspense involving anything LOTR? Oh wait, the acting awards are up.
11:48 p.m. No surprise, Charlize Theron wins the award for "beautiful actress who needs to look ugly to gain respect." Nice touch by Adrian Brody with the Binaca before opening the envelope. If I didn't know, I wouldn't have believed Theron was from South Africa -- maybe that's because I had a co-worker originally from there who still had a thick accent.
11:53 p.m. What's with the filler promoting Best Actor? The telecast could've finished close to on time.
Midnight It's a matter of time before Sean Penn won Best Actor. But to me, he'll always still be Jeff Spicoli, although now he's got a bit of a political agenda. Thankfully, it wasn't the main part of his speech. I'm disappointed Bill Murray didn't win, but he's a funny guy
12:05 a.m. I guess it's only fitting that Spielberg would give out Best Picture the year that Lord of the Rings takes it all. Isn't it usually some well-known actor or actress hands out the biggest piece of hardware?
12:07 a.m. A clean sweep for LOTR, making it easy to mark up those Oscar pools. But props to Peter Jackson for mentioning "Meet the Feebles." Billy Crystal knows how to play up to the camera after the so out-of-place mention of a producer dating Crystal's cousin. I love his, "Get the camera off me" look he had. BTW, those hobbits keep perpetuating their stereotypes. Even as they panned through the crowd on stage, they were together, much shorter than the statuesque models handing over the hardware. They couldn't find Peter Dinklage to make them look tall?
12:15 a.m. Nice job overall by Billy Crystal. Sometimes going with the old reliable works, just look at the Bob Hope Oscar clips they kept on showing. The show was actually kept at a nice pace, even those time fillers weren't all that long.
I think we're only a bit surprised that Lord of the Rings went 11-for-11. There were a few places where other films probably could've snuck in and grabbed an award or two, but it didn't happen. Instead, it was the unpredictability of predictability that won out tonight. I suppose the oddsmakers were happy with that.
More "real" reflections later. Maybe this'll be distilled into something later on.
It's probably nothing like Sports Guy, but since I'm here in the office working and watching the Oscars while also watching some games and the news wires, might as well do a running log of what I saw. For those who I'd usually IM for stuff like this, consider this what I might've said had I decided to converse that way. It was the best way to balance work and fun all in one.
I will apologize for the length in advance …
Pre-game show
Chris Connelly is finally earning his Disney money after doing the occasional "must get paid" feature for ESPN. But what the heck is "competish"?
Billy Bush -- I thought it was the guy Ryan Seacrest eliminated from American Idol, but instead he caused plenty of awkward moments with every nominee. And why bring up "Oprah … Uma" again?
I think Elijah Wood and Peter Jackson wanted Maria Menounos' multi-million dollar dress to have a wardrobe malfunction. But I guess my friend Stew was happy to see her on screen again.
8:31 p.m. Thanks for bringing out Sean Connery to open, but I was waiting for him to mention something about swords.
8:32 p.m. Great opening film with references to everything under the sun, although it is tough to incorporate Lost In Translation with all the big-budget flicks involved. I liked the A-Rod throwaway line, not to mention Michael Moore getting trampled during the big LOTR war.
And yes, the songs are back, and while I suppose I was dreading the familiar, but Billy was fun. I really liked the "My Favorite Things" bit for "Lord of the Rings"
8:51 p.m. Tim Robbins wins Best Supporting Actor -- no surprise, really. I'm surprised he hadn't had an acting nomination before. Even more surprising -- his political statement was about child abuse.
8:55 p.m. Another awkward Jason Biggs moment to shill for Diet Pepsi. Wouldn't he have been a better choice for a Sara Lee or Mrs. Paul's ad campaign.
9:00 p.m. I'm not a big Angelina Jolie fan, but she did look good. Time for those smaller categories that actually make or break the Oscar pools. Oh look, LOTR won. I guess it's time for the sweep to begin. I thought it might be the place for one of the "other" films to earn a token nod.
9:03 p.m. How come Robin Williams doesn't crash Billy Crystal's party more often? Oh wait, his frenetic humor could turn people off. That includes the Elmer Fudd impression reading off the list of nominees for Best Animated Feature. And was there any doubt Finding Nemo was going to win?
9:06 p.m. I forgot about the silly instant replay between commercials. They're still slightly behind sporting events in turning those replays over quicker.
9:08 p.m. Hey, Oswald found a job while The Drew Carey Show is in limbo. ABC, just show it once and cancel it now so I can win points in the LaPlaca.
9:13 p.m. Yup, LOTR wins again for costumes. The rout has to be on, don't you think. Great, the one year I decide not to vote along the LOTR party lines -- at least not for the art and costume categories.
9:15 p.m. The Dennis Miller Big Picture bit makes a short but entertaining appearance.
9:20 p.m. Renee Zellweger finally gets that Oscar, although she needed to move down to Supporting Actress to get it. Why did they cut to Nicole Kidman when Renee thanked Tom Cruise? Just wondering.
9:27 p.m. Nice tribute to Bob Hope, and actually seems relevant to the show, but it probably extended the program by another 15-20 minutes. There will also be tributes to Gregory Peck and Katherine Hepburn, which now makes me feel bad to those who will be "relegated" to the annual death reel.
9:30 p.m. Oh wow, Florida State just went ahead of Duke (going back to be my actual job). The 'Noles beat Duke at home when they weren't good, so what will this year's good team do?
9:32 p.m. Couldn't Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson just say, "Go see Starsky and Hutch next weekend. And the nominees are …" instead of having Stiller wear the '70s stuff?
9:33 p.m. OK, a film about squash got nominated? Couldn't tell you too much about the other films for best live action short, though. But there goes another pick down the drain.
9:37 p.m. Hey, I got Harvie Krumpett right in our quickly assembled office pool. Sometimes picking the silliest name works.
9:38 p.m. Look, Lisa Loeb is at the Oscars. Oh sorry, that was Liv Tyler. I didn't know much about most of the original song nominees, but having Alison Krauss, Sting and Elvis Costello around to perform can't be a bad thing.
9:54 p.m. Billy Crystal can do a great Robin Williams. Otherwise, the "what are they thinking" bit seems to be done better at Thrashers games.
9:59 p.m. Gee, LOTR wins again. I think I got that one right this time.
10:00 p.m. I guess it's a rule that the scientific and technical awards must be hosted by a hot female actress to appease all the geeks in attendance. This year, Jennifer Garner drew the short straw. But hey, she gets face time at the Oscars because it wasn't for her appearance in Daredevil.
10:02 p.m. A Blake Edwards tribute is a great time for Jim Carrey to act like a nut. Works for me.
10:08 p.m. So much for Florida State against Duke.
10:15 p.m. Oh wait, Dream Job is on. Umm, I'll wait to skewer it on the replay. Instead, let's leave the comedy to the real masters like Bill Murray who's introducing Lost In Translation.
10:17 p.m. Interesting 1-2 punch with Murray followed by Johansson. She looks much better here than at the Golden Globes, but I still don't see her as such a glamour girl.
10:19 p.m. LOTR wins for makeup. The rout continues. Wait, Peter King is one of the winners? Is he going to have his own Oscar diary in Monday Morning Quarterback? Thankfully, he didn't use the Oscar podium to rail on Delta again.
10:25 p.m. A non-LOTR film wins a technical award (Master and Commander for sound editing). Of course, LOTR wasn't nominated.
10:28 p.m. When I first saw Julia Roberts on the red carpet tonight, I wasn't sure if I was looking at Sarah Jessica Parker or worse yet, Courtney Love with a dye job. But it's still a good choice to intro the Hepburn tribute.
10:33 p.m. Nightly crash in the office. Also seeing the Dream Job guys do Fact or Fiction, which actually seems like a good test for the contestants. Oh yeah, that Ogre/Hobbit dude is pretty slick.
10:40 p.m. I like the pairing of John Cusack and Diane Lane, even if it is for the documentary awards. At least they had better chemistry that John Travolta and Sandra Bullock.
10:43 p.m. The Fog of War wins Best Documentary Feature, and brings a nice ovation from the CNN.com newsroom, who were hyping it up in recent months. He didn't go as far as Michael Moore, but it was getting there, and with even more blank stares from the stars (which is why they weren't usually shown during the other awards). Crystal's retort, "I can't wait to see his tax audit," was a nice recovery.
10:50 p.m. Time for the "others" dead celebrity montage. It's always spooky to see who gets the most applause, while others get none. Why don't they just turn off the crowd mike when that happens? Just a thought. And Donald O'Connor gets the last frame, but John Ritter appears to be the winner of the loudest reaction.
10:52 p.m. Ah, here's the Tiger Woods as Carl Spackler ad. What took them so long? Nice ending, too. Kenny Loggins -- enemy of the gopher.
10:56 p.m. Time for the Adult Contemporary portion of the Oscar telecast with Sting and Phil Collins presenting. No word if they'll apologize for their music of the '90s. At least Bryan Adams isn't around.
11:03 p.m. Cool, they're in character for A Mighty Wind.
11:11 p.m. Over on Dream Job … It's not a good sign when a sponsor comes up with a plan to give a not-so-good performer a second chance on a reality show. Thankfully, Alvin (the Wendy's Wild Card winner) was shown the door quickly. Although that also means two of the four black contestants have been eliminated.
11:14 p.m. OK, Will Ferrell and Jack Black get three minutes to be goofy, this time with music. Cute.
11:17 p.m. You know it's LOTR's night when it's winning Best Original Song.
11:21 p.m. And best Foreign Language Film goes to El Lordo del Ringos. Never mind, it went to a Canadian film (yes, it was in French, much to Triumph's delight). Oh great, the producers of the winning film thought the same thing I did.
11:23 p.m. Overheard in the office: Uma Thurman looks like Heidi.
11:26 p.m. Does the Mars Rover have Lo-Jack?
11:31 p.m. I think LOTR nails the sweep after taking adapted screenplay against a solid field. In the words of Warner Wolf, if you took LOTR as your default Oscar pick, you won.
11:35 p.m. Lost In Translation gets the Oscar for "most buzzworthy out-of-the-box film that's not going to win Best Picture," otherwise known as Best Original Screenplay. (see The Usual Suspects, Pulp Fiction, Good Will Hunting). I loved the film, but as a screenplay, I'm not sure it was all that great. However, there was a well-timed cut to cousin Nicolas Cage screaming in approval. There are more Oscars to share in the family.
11:43 p.m. 10 down, one to go for LOTR. Is there much suspense involving anything LOTR? Oh wait, the acting awards are up.
11:48 p.m. No surprise, Charlize Theron wins the award for "beautiful actress who needs to look ugly to gain respect." Nice touch by Adrian Brody with the Binaca before opening the envelope. If I didn't know, I wouldn't have believed Theron was from South Africa -- maybe that's because I had a co-worker originally from there who still had a thick accent.
11:53 p.m. What's with the filler promoting Best Actor? The telecast could've finished close to on time.
Midnight It's a matter of time before Sean Penn won Best Actor. But to me, he'll always still be Jeff Spicoli, although now he's got a bit of a political agenda. Thankfully, it wasn't the main part of his speech. I'm disappointed Bill Murray didn't win, but he's a funny guy
12:05 a.m. I guess it's only fitting that Spielberg would give out Best Picture the year that Lord of the Rings takes it all. Isn't it usually some well-known actor or actress hands out the biggest piece of hardware?
12:07 a.m. A clean sweep for LOTR, making it easy to mark up those Oscar pools. But props to Peter Jackson for mentioning "Meet the Feebles." Billy Crystal knows how to play up to the camera after the so out-of-place mention of a producer dating Crystal's cousin. I love his, "Get the camera off me" look he had. BTW, those hobbits keep perpetuating their stereotypes. Even as they panned through the crowd on stage, they were together, much shorter than the statuesque models handing over the hardware. They couldn't find Peter Dinklage to make them look tall?
12:15 a.m. Nice job overall by Billy Crystal. Sometimes going with the old reliable works, just look at the Bob Hope Oscar clips they kept on showing. The show was actually kept at a nice pace, even those time fillers weren't all that long.
I think we're only a bit surprised that Lord of the Rings went 11-for-11. There were a few places where other films probably could've snuck in and grabbed an award or two, but it didn't happen. Instead, it was the unpredictability of predictability that won out tonight. I suppose the oddsmakers were happy with that.
More "real" reflections later. Maybe this'll be distilled into something later on.
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