Oscars 2011 And ... Yeah

Once again the Oscars came and went. People both applaud and debate who won and who should have won. I am not an Oscar basher. I believe in awards and honoring people. I like seeing everyone all glitzed and glamoured for the night. Althouggh the allure of celebrity is not what it used to be as in the modern age of knowing everything about everyone we know too much about these people. However, I am always happy to see someone awarded for their creative effort.

I in no way have any ill feelings toward the award or the importance of it with such a marvelous history behind it. I do have ill feelings towards the way the show is produced. It has really gone down hill. This might surprise some people but while I have made jokes about it the fact is the length of the show is not a problem with me. If it was five hours long then so be it. I say this not because I actually want to sit there for five hours but only because if it means bringing back what is missing from the Oscars then I'd rather it be longer. And the thing that is missing is the love of movies.

Over the years in their attempt to shorten the show and make it more "hip" they have stripped away all of the celebration and honoring of movies which is what the Oscars are. The Oscars were always more than just giving out the awards. It was celebrating the movies and the people that make them. Unfortunately it doesn't feel that way any longer. By cutting corners to shave off a few minutes they stripped away the one thing that used to inspire me. Every year when I would watch the show I would want to go out and make a film the second it ended. I felt so inspired. No longer. And that is a shame.

One such way they have completely ruined it for me is the recent decision to not include the giving out of the Honorary Oscar and the Irving Thalberg award. I don't mind them doing the main event at a different time and place but the actual awards should be given to the recipients on the show. Instead the entire presentation was done at a different venue and a few seconds of highlights was shown during the telecast as the recipients were brought out on stage to stand there awkwardly as they went to commercial. Considering one of the Honorary Oscars went to legendary actor Eli Wallach and the Thalberg award went to none other than Francis Ford Coppola(!) just made this a bigger insult to me. These awards represent part of the history of the awards and of the film industry. To treat them this way only emphasizes my point and my displeasure.

I will also say much like other people I was also disheartened to see that during the memoriam that Corey Haim was not included. Having been in so many amazing films in his life his absence was uncalled for. We fans honor you even if they don't.

I will say that unlike other years I was pretty much either happy or content with the winners. While I haven't seen it yet I do wish to congratulate 'The King's Speech' on all of its wins. Plus a congratulations to everything 'Inception' won. My favorite film of last year. I knew it wasn't going to win any of the major awards but I was happy to see it win what it did.

The one I was rooting for the most was for Christian Bale to win for Best Supporting Actor for 'The Fighter'. He was so amazing in that role that the moment I saw the film I said he better win it. So I was very happy that he did. Congratulations Christian. You deserve it.