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| This is what happens when you relive history |
So here's mine!
I CAN'T HELP but be amused at how what was supposed to be a truly touching moment of this year's ceremony wound up becoming one of the historic gaffes. Actors Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway made the announcement of the "Best Picture" winner exactly 50 years after they were the stars of "Bonnie and Clyde," which won Best Picture for 1967.
I know, I know. That's really not historic, unless you're the type of person who has no real sense of what history is.
The real-life Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker who went through a southwestern U.S. crime spree for a few months at the height of the Great Depression of the 1930s was historic. Seeing Beatty and Dunaway continue to try to live off the reputation of a job they had five decades ago is almost pathetic.
Then, to top it off, it seems that the couple couldn't read a card properly. They informed us that this year's "Best Picture" was the film "La La Land," only to have to cut off that director's film in mid-acceptance speech so we can be told the real winner was "Moonlight."
NOW I KNOW the official explanation was that someone handed Beatty the wrong "envelope" which contained the card saying that Emma Stone won "Best Actress" for her "La La Land" performance -- which led to Beatty stumbling about and Dunaway actually telling us that the film many people thought would take a whole slew of awards actually won the big prize!
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| The real winner |
Which led to the moment when a PriceWaterhouseCooper accountant got his moment of glory when he got to step forward publicly and bring the Academy Awards to a halt with the word that the announcement was wrong. Accountants of the world probably cheered in unison, while the rest of us wondered "Who's this schlub?!?"
What makes me laugh about the way this was handled so publicly in a manner that will embarrass many on the Hollywood scene is that there are those who are convinced of past year conspiracies that say a different film or actor actually won a prize, but that some sort of gaffe caused a public announcement of a different winner -- and the academy was too ashamed to admit it.
I know for a fact there are those people who are convinced Marisa Tomei didn't really deserve that "Best Supporting Actress" award she took for her obnoxiously sensual role as the girlfriend in "My Cousin Vinnie."
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| Should we rescind this Oscar as punishment? |
THERE ARE WEBSITES that traffic in this sort of conspiracy who will insist a wrong envelope was grabbed, or a card was misread, and that there is an actress out there who should have won -- but was robbed!
Not that I expect any of this to put past speculation to rest. Those of us who can't get over certain things usually never do. We carry a grudge to the bitter end of our time in this realm of existence.
Now as for Beatty and Dunaway, I wonder what happens to them -- particularly Beatty, whom it seems is the one that people want to place blame on. After all, you can't hit a girl, particularly one as lovely as Faye herself.
Maybe we can come up with a conspiracy saying that Beatty's Oscar as "Best Director" for "Reds" (he has been nominated 14 times) should somehow be taken back? Although I doubt there are many people who want for "Chariots of Fire" (which took Best Picture that year) to win another award. Could we give it retroactively to Steven Spielberg for "Raiders of the Lost Ark," even though "Reds" really was a spectacular film?
OR MAYBE WE could subject the Beatty/Dunaway pairing to a fate similar to what became of their Bonnie and Clyde characters in the film? Nah, having them blown away in a hail of gunfire would be grotesque -- even if that moment was a historic one in the tales of cinematic action.
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| Can we now concede Marisa Tomei really won? |
The outcome of all of this most likely was that Sunday night's Academy Awards became the Warren Beatty show. It was definitely the only way he'd have a significant role -- since his own film from last year, "Rules Don't Apply," certainly wasn't in the running for any Oscars.
Of course, there were those people who were convinced that the memorable moment of the evening would be some Hollywood snot-nosed punk who'd take it on him/or herself to publicly take a pot-shot at President Donald Trump.
It seems, instead, the focus was placed elsewhere for an evening and nobody cared the least what Trump thought. Which, considering the size of the overbloated presidential ego, probably bothers Donald J. more than anything else; making it more likely he'll go all-the-more over-the-top Tuesday when he delivers his first joint address to Congress.
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