After the Oscars® – Post Oscar Review for the 2008 Academy Awards® by Edward X. Young

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OSCAR: THE GREATEST INFOMERCIAL ON EARTH by Edward X. Young

Oh, those interminable Oscar® speeches! Where is Sean Young when you need her?
In January, the outspoken actress Sean Young was escorted from the Directors Guild of America Awards® (an important forerunner to the Oscars®) after she heckled a long-winded nominee. She may have been speaking for all of us when she let her inhibitions down and shouted, “Come on – get to it!” Afterwards, poor Sean was forced to check into an alcoholic rehab clinic. This grateful critic wishes her a speedy recovery. I’ve always been a big fan ever since I first saw her playing that cute little replicant in BLADE RUNNER (1982).


Nevertheless, I’m glad that the Oscar® musical director Bill Conti and his orchestra did not rush slow-speaking 98-year-old production designer Robert F. Boyle, who was introduced by Nicole Kidman and presented with a lifetime achievement award for his invaluable contribution to many classic pictures such as, NORTH BY NORTHWEST, THE BIRDS, and IN COLD BLOOD. Boyle’s name may not be well-known to the general public; but his work is unforgettable; and he deserved his lingering moment in the spotlight.


I was delighted when Oscar® host Jon Stewart brought back 19-year-old composer Marketa Irglova, to make her acceptance speech. When she and her songwriting partner Glen Hansard were originally on stage to accept the Oscar® for Best Original Song, “Falling Slowly,” from ONCE, the petite Czech composer was unceremoniously cut off before she had a chance to even utter “Thanks.” With his magnanimous gesture Jon Stewart shows what a rare quantity he is: a Hollywood star with a heart.

In an Oscar® year that everyone thought was going to be predictable, it was anything but. As your “Psychic Critic” of the Hollywood Gold Contest in SentinelSource, my predictions were way off – my accuracy less than 50%. But I was no worse (and in some cases much better) in my picks than all the other major media critics.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the evening was Tilda Swinton winning the award for Best Supporting Actress for MICHAEL CLAYTON. I was sure that Cate Blanchett (I’M NOT THERE) or Ruby Dee (AMERICAN GANGSTER) had it pegged; but I was thrilled to see Tilda take it. It was so refreshing to see such recognition for an artist who made her name in truly “independent” films. Tilda cut her teeth in real “underground” works, such as Derek Jarman’s THE LAST OF ENGLAND (an apocalyptic epic shot on super-8 home movie stock) and BLUE (an autobiographical swan song made after the director went blind from AIDS and could only see the color blue; so the film is just that: a static blue screen for it’s 79-minute running time).


The day before the 80th Academy Awards®, the Independent Spirit Awards® held their ceremonies – and that was such a load of hypocrisy. This so-called celebration of independent filmmaking is anything but – and they don’t have anyone fooled. Most of the “Indie” awards went to producers like John Malkovich and big name actors like Philip Seymour Hoffman and Cate Blanchett for movies that may have been shot outside of Hollywood, but are still often financed by and distributed by the major studios. It’s clear that these “alternative” Oscars® are just set up to provide publicity to market Hollywood’s lower budgeted productions. You’d never see the so-called Independent Spirit Awards® recognize pictures as ruggedly independent, non-commercial, and courageously experimental as THE LAST OF ENGLAND or BLUE.


If the Independent Spirit Awards® truly stood for what they pretend to stand for they would have given a whole bunch of awards to the greatest independent picture of the year THE SENSATION OF SIGHT. This modestly budgeted feature shot on location in Peterborough, New Hampshire, was co-produced by leading actor David Strathairn, the Oscar®-nominated star of GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK, whose involvement was obviously a labor of love. Co-stars Jane Adams (HAPPINESS), Scott Wilson (IN COLD BLOOD), Ann Cusack, Ian Somerhalder, Daniel Gillies, Elizabeth Waterston, and Peterborough resident David Szehi all obviously shared Strathairn’s sentiments.

Made by New Hampshire residents and maverick first-time feature filmmakers, Aaron J. Wiederspahn and Buzz McLaughlin, THE SENSATION OF SIGHT is quite literally a dream come true. The story of a door-to-door encyclopedia salesman (Strathairn) struggling to spiritually come to terms with a midlife cataclysm is based on an actual dream experienced by director/screenwriter/producer Weiderspahn, who followed his dream of transforming his inspiration into an actual art film.

A thing of rare beauty, THE SENSATION OF SIGHT is stylistically evocative of Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky. It has the look of a foreign film, but is 100% American – and 100% independent. In fact, it’s so independent that the New Hampshire-based filmmakers have chosen to distribute THE SENSATION OF SIGHT themselves rather than take the more financially lucrative option of selling the picture to Hollywood distributors. Because of this, the Hollywood studios don’t stand to make any money off of THE SENSATION OF SIGHT. Consequently, there’s no way this marvelous picture would be recognized by the Independent Spirit Awards.

At least the Oscars® are honest. The Academy Awards® show doesn’t pretend to be anything other than what it is: the world’s longest and most expensive annual infomercial. It’s a four-hour star-studded TV pitch to boost box office and sell more DVDs of Hollywood’s more prestigious, albeit less profitable, pictures. Many more people will now see ATONEMENT, JUNO, MICHAEL CLAYTON, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, and THERE WILL BE BLOOD, just because of the attention they received on Hollywood’s self-serving sideshow. And there’s nothing wrong with that. They’re all really good movies. The Oscars® are an instrument for good old-fashioned American capitalism.

Embracing this true sentiment of what the Hollywood Gold is really all about, your Psychic Critic, Edward X Young, wants to exploit his own opportunity for self-promotion.

My faithful readers should know that in addition to reviewing movies, I’m now also acting in them. You’ll soon see me in the independent horror picture SEA OF DUST, directed by Scott Bunt and featuring horror movie legends Ingrid Pitt and Tom Savini. (Expect a New Hampshire premier at the Peterborough Community Theatre!) In SEA OF DUST, I play Doctor Maitland, a 19th century surgeon struggling with an evil force that has overtaken his community. If you like movies filled with mayhem, you’ll be thrilled to know that my climactic scene has more blood than THERE WILL BE BLOOD, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, and SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET combined.

I’m also starring in four more genre pictures currently in production: DAMAGED DISCIPLES (a Faustian horror/comedy which is being shot by New Hampshire-based independent filmmaker Rob Roy), ZOMBIE MASTERS (a kung-fu/zombie/vampire epic), MEGAMAN (a live-action science-fiction feature based on the video game and animated series), and ONLY GO THERE AT NIGHT (a supernatural slasher movie). I’m the voice of the “Vampire Monster” in the animated KUJIBIKI UNBALANCE. You can also see me in three scenes for about 20 seconds as a sportscaster (uncredited) in the Walt Disney picture THE GAME PLAN, starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

Don’t worry! You’ll still be seeing my movie reviews in SentinelSource – as well as seeing me in the movies. I’d like to thank the Academy for giving me the freedom to plug myself.

 

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