३० जानेवारी, २००६
SAG awards and politics.
Here's an article about the Screen Actors Guild awards, which is linked at Drudge with the line "'BROKEBACK' SHUT-OUT AT SAG..." Why is what happened to "Brokeback Mountain" the story? Isn't it nice that the ensemble cast of "Crash" got some recognition? Do we find politics so much more interesting than art? We're obsessed with the politics of sexual orientation, aren't we? Don't forget to note that Reese Witherspoon beat out Felicity Huffman for the best actress award, after both women won Golden Globes (the Globes have two categories, for drama and for comedy/musical). Huffman played a transexual in "Transamerica," while Witherspoon played a good wife in "Walk the Line." Witherspoon even went on at some length, in her acceptance speech, about all the wonderful wives who support their husbands and get little recognition for the fine lives they have lived in that role. It's all so meaningful, isn't it?
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Yup, about as interesting as the foreign affairs expertise of most actors, especially the ones that don't have a college degree.
I hear, quite shockingly, that Brokeback is also going to get shut out at the ESPies, the Emmies, the Olympics, the Stanley Cup, and the Calamaugas County Fair Pie Cooking Contest, though it has a good shot at either the Pulitzer Prize, or the Nobel Prize.
But seriously though. Why would they give an award to some gay sheep boys, er cowboys, when there was a transexual available? I mean, come on. Brokeback is hardly transgressive of the patriarchal social order at all. I can't believe it is still making headlines. Gay Cowboys... it's the old Black.
Simple explanation is probably the best.
The headline on Drudge is because of the filter Drudge has on news, the actual article is called "Witherspoon, 'Crash' Win Top SAG Honors".
Drudge is an active partisan, and that's how he viewed the news. Want talk about Crash making it, just read the actual headline.
This reminds me why one of my least favorite phrases is "the personal is the political". I hate that this humble little movie was turned into a political pawn by both its supporters and detractors. One of the better filmic attempts to tell a story that, metaphorically, many gay men can relate to is dismissed as simply another decadent volley by the "gay agenda". Sad.
I'm going to trash the next heterosexual romantic melodrama that comes down the pike as a bald-faced attempt to push a transgressive agenda onto urban homosexuals.
Drudge -is- a partisan. I happen to like him but to claim this particular headline isn't some partisan take on the situation doesn't really jive.
He's 'fighting' back against the other side, nothing else really to it. But the point was that Ann wondered why this headline existed - I guess I should have just said, "Consider the source."
I think movies are political mainly in that execs are always looking to keep their jobs, which entails generating successful box office or, alternatively, someone to blame. Brokeback was from a prestige literary source, check, and portrayed a blue state story, check. So if it tanks, the execs can say, who knew, it was an Annie Proulx story, and, oh, those red staters!
It's absurd that there are so many awards presentations. Weren't we just talking about some other Hollywood awards I can't be bothered to remember a few weeks ago?
Why people outside the business care about any of it (except for maybe one big one every year) is way, way beyond the scope of my comprehension.
I understand why Drudge does it. I just mean to be critical of him.
so, how about the CNN.com article: 'Crash' tops 'Brokeback' for SAG honor
so, now CNN is biased, too? it's because the BM bandwagon was all kind of being jumped on, and they lost. they weren't supposed to lose. it was a huge (supposed) upset. the title's not much of a stretch, if you ask me.
then again, I posted a story that said that BM got totally boned, but what do I know?
Clearly actors hate gay people.
(sorry, Kanye stole my keyboard)
Sean - The acting is incredible.
If you think Heath Ledger is bad in Brokeback, I'd hate to see what you consider to be good acting . . .
Sean - well seeing a clip is almost like actually seeing the movie.
The pleasure that some Republicans take in any perceived failure on behalf of Brokeback Mountain is deeply troubling to me. Its worse than when Air America first started up, and Republicans were willing to throw any number they could find out there to prove that the Democrats were out of touch with mainstream American because Randi Rhodes was only getting a 9 share, or whatever.
Let's say Brokeback Mountain doesn't win any Academy Awards. What does that prove? What effect does being considered merely the second or third best movie of the year, rather than the best movie of the year, by the Hollywood establishment have on the price of rice? These are the same people who said that nobody would see Farenheit 9-11, and yet $120 million later . . .
I wouldn't be surprised of these carping harpies denouncing Brokeback Mountain, or cheering the fact that it lost out at awards shows, eventually turn out to be closet queens on the scale of J. Edgar Hoover and Roy Cohn.
Brokeback Mountain will get the most Academy Award nominations tomorrow and will almost undoubtedly win the most Oscars on March 5. None of the wins will be for acting.
As always, I'll be content with a screenplay nomination for my favorite release from the year recently concluded. It will get one. After all...
The critics agree...
Best (Original) Screenplay
National Society of Film Critics
Los Angeles Film Critics
New York Film Critics
Toronto Film Critics
National Board of Review
and nominated for Best Original Screenplay by the Writers Guild of America
Noah Baumbach - The Squid and the Whale
Where's the drama?
Terry, the key difference between "Brokeback Mountain" and "Air America" is that "Brokeback Mountain" is actually pretty good. And does not star Rhandi Rhodes.
Well, my favourite outburst of SAG politics was when Sean Astin stood up at the 2004 ceremony and delivered this gem:
"I'm worried about the labor movement in our country, to pay attention to our union when it's not the awards show. There is internecine strife, there is controversy. Some of us make a lot more money than others of us, but I think we need to be involved, or the union will not endure.
Rather ironic when he was standing there as co-winner of a best ensenble cast award forLoTR: Reutn of the King where American actors were very much in the minority. If SAG ruled the world I don't think too many Hollywood films would be shot in New Zealand with multi-national casts and high skill, relatively low wage crews who don't belong to American unions.
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