Oscars used to be a special night

Published by admin on Thu, 02/13/2020 - 4:16pm
By: 
Steve Lyon
The Academy Awards have always
been a tribute to the best work in
the film industry and a toast to
Hollywood’s brightest talents in front of
and behind the camera.
It’s also been a night of unabashed
glitz and glamour, both on the red carpet
in Los Angeles and elsewhere.
I remember when there
were Oscar parties in Boise
complete with formal wear
and fake Oscar statutes as
table settings. It was always
a fun night.
The awards show itself
could drag on and the
number of categories was
lengthy and a bit obscure.
You had to sit through best
visual effects and best sound
editing to get to the biggies
– best film, best director and
the acting awards.
I was always interested in the writing
awards – the Oscars for best original
screenplay and best adapted screenplay.
Not that I had any inkling whatsoever of
picking up a pen and trying the craft. It
used to be said that every waiter and gas
station attendent in LA was shopping a
screenplay.
You’d never get your brilliant script
in the hands of any movie folks unless
you were repped by a big-time agent,
anyway.
The spontaneity of the unscripted
comments from the
Oscar winners was part of
the fun of the award ceremony.
Over the years, and even
this year, the speeches were
full of thank yous and sometimes
they were political.
The scroll on the screen of
those in the movie business
who passed away in the previous
year is always moving.
You had forgotten about
them until their photo appeared
on the screen. Even
legends don’t live forever.
The Irving Thalberg Award is big.
It is given periodically to someone in
the business with a huge and impressive
body of work. The academy gave
Frank Marshall and producer Kathleen
Kennedy Thalbergs in 2019. I don’t
think they awarded one this year.
I didn’t get the sense that the Oscars
were that special this year. People were
not planning to stay home like they used
to just to watch the awards. The buzz
wasn’t there this year.
Like so many other things in this media-
saturated, 24/7 online world of distractions,
it’s just not that entertaining to
people anymore, I guess.
The best picture winner piqued my
interest. I’ll try to find a theater where
“Parasite” is showing. It is the first foreign
film to win the best picture Oscar in
the 92-year history of the award.
It didn’t surprise me that Joaquin
Phoenix won best actor. His performance
in “Joker” was huge, thunderous. I
didn’t see the movie, but I watched the
trailer a few times. Even then, I could tell
he was over the top in his portrayal of the
fictional character.
Brando would be proud.
Steve Lyon is the editor of the Weiser
Signal American. Contact him at

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