More Oscar Fun Results

Well, there weren't many guesses for the mystery IDs of these past Oscar winners. Although Cary Grant and Julie Andrews were featured in the major publicity materials for this year's Academy Awards ceremony, these secondary images feature slightly less "vintage" performers than the previous two.

It's pretty easy to guess the male figure is Sidney Poitier, although this photo was from his recent honorary award from 2002, not his 1963 Best Actor award for Lillies of the Field.





The female is another recent winner, Renee Zellweger for 2003's Cold Mountain. The odd ring on her forefinger triggered my memory and hinted that this was a more recent winner.

Plan to Save the Airlines

This open letter has some great ideas.

A Plan to save bankrupt airlines:

Replace all female flight attendants with some good-looking' strippers! What the hell? The attendants have gotten old and haggard-looking. They don't even serve food anymore, so what's the loss?

The strippers would double, triple, perhaps quadruple the alcohol consumption and get a "party atmosphere" going in the cabin. And, of course, every heterosexual businessman in this country would start flying again, hoping to see naked women.

Muslims would be afraid to get on the planes for fear of seeing naked women.

Hijackings would come to a screeching halt and the airline industry would see record revenues.

Why the hell didn't Bush think of this? Why do I still have to do everything myself?

Sincerely,

Bill Clinton

March Madness in Los Angeles

Today was one of the most unusual days I have ever experienced. Little did I know as I made my way to the Metro station this morning to catch the train to downtown Los Angeles that today I would witness one of the largest public demonstrations in U.S. history!

My first clue that something was amiss was when the train arrived at the Hollywood station. Our Metro system is widely used, but Saturday mornings usually have pretty light passenger volume. Not today. The train arrived completely packed with people. I ran to several different cars looking for space, but they were all full, so I had to dive in with the crowd in hope of getting to work on time.

The train was stuffed with mostly Latino people. They were smiling and engaging in polite conversation, and they were all wearing white T-shirts. Despite the cramped quarters, everyone was in a friendly mood and several people spoke to me reassuringly since they could see I was flabbergasted by the unusually large crowd, and I was the only gringo in sight.

"You OK, man?" one gentleman asked. "You look a little nauseous."

"What's going on?" I asked. "Are you all together?"

He said they were all going downtown to participate in the immigrant rights demonstration in downtown Los Angeles. I hadn't heard a thing about it.

"Where is the protest going to take place?" I asked him.

"We're gathering at Olympic and Broadway, and then marching down to city hall," he replied.

"So you'll be marching down Broadway?"

"Yeah, you can join us if you want," he offered with a smile revealing his gold-lined teeth.

"Oh, thanks. I wish I could, but I've got to get to work today," I said. Inside I was thinking "oh shit" because Broadway is where I work part time on the weekends giving tours of downtown Los Angeles. I knew that any public demonstration on Broadway would definitely affect my tours.

We arrived at the next station to a large group of people who somehow squeezed onto the train with us. The crowds of people waiting on the station platforms got larger and larger at every station. There was simply no room left on the train for more people, and yet they kept crowding on again and again. Luckily everyone was in good spirits, but we were literally packed like sardines together. I couldn't even reach a hand bar so I had to lean on others to keep from falling when the train stopped and started. It was extremely uncomfortable. Beads of sweat began dripping from my face.

"What station are you all getting off at?" I desperately asked my Mexican friend.

"Pershing Square," was the answer. Great, I thought, that is my station as well.

There was no relief from the growing crowds at every train station. At one point it was so bad that the train conductor asked some people to get off and wait for the next train since the cars were so full some of the doors wouldn't close. It was like Tokyo at rush hour, and the train was running several minutes late because of the delays in getting people on and off at each stop. The conductor announced that MTA was ordering more trains into immediate service to accommodate the high volume of passengers.

Finally, we arrived at our destination and everybody got off. I made my way upstairs out of the station and on to Broadway. Sure enough the street was closed to automobile traffic, but there were many Latino people in white shirts congregating. Many of them had banners and flyers with mottos in both Spanish and English, mostly supporting immigrant rights.

"Viva la raza!" someone yelled. Others were cheering things in Spanish I couldn't understand. I was like a complete stranger in my own town. One man said to me, "Good morning, sir." And another gave me a white t-shirt decorated with an American flag and the words "Stand and Salute" eblazoned across the front. "It's free!" he cheerfully explained.

I learned later that although the march had not been well publicized in the mainstream (i.e. white) media, the event had been heavily promoted by Spanish-language radio, and all participants were encouraged to wear white shirts as a sign of peace and solidarity.



Amazingly my morning Historic tour customers made it to the office on time. They were upbeat and very Anglo. The protest march was just officially getting underway as we started our tour. A horse-mounted officer blew his whistle and shouted, "Let's go!" The people started cheering. I took my guests around the neighborhood as best I could through the masses of people. It took some navigating and I had to cut a few things from the tour because of limited access, but we made it through and the folks had a great time.

After the tour, I struggled to make it back to our tour office at the Bradbury Building at 3rd & Broadway. This was almost impossible because by now the crowds were peaking (over half a million people by some estimates) and not only had the march taken over Broadway, it actually was spilling over to side streets and parallel streets like Hill and Spring streets. These streets had not been closed to traffic, so there were hundreds of cars logjammed among the throngs of people who swarmed through the boulevards, effectively shutting down the streets. Horns were blaring, protesters were cheering, helicopters were roaring overhead.



I had to swim against the tide of humanity to make it across Broadway to the Bradbury building. I got as far as the sidewalk and then the momentum went against me and I got swept into the crowd. I couldn't get back to the Bradbury entrance way. Instead I navigated into the Sprint cell phone store at the corner of the building. All the store employees were standing at the windows watching awestruck the scene outside. "Are you OK?" one of them asked me.

"I'm fine thanks, but I'm trying to get to my office inside the Bradbrury building. I got cut off outside," I explained.

"No problem, man. We got a back entrance to the Bradbury building. I'll show you." And he took me through the employees-only area of the store and showed me out through their back door which led to the back door of my tour office just across the hallway. Actually, I knew of the rear entrance from the Sprint store, which is why I went there in the first place, hoping they would help me get inside.

I finally made it back to the office, never expecting the single tourist booked for my twelve o'clock Contemporary tour to actually show up, but he did. Fifteen minutes late, but he showed up. He was a nice man from Toronto, a retired television producer, and he actually offered to reschedule the tour for another day for my sake. But, being the true professional that I am (and a bit of a masochist), I said I would gladly give him the tour since he had worked so hard to get here.

Back out into the streets we went. This guy I gave a special tour since he was the only participant and in fact he had booked also for the ealier Historic tour but couldn't make it in time, so I gave him a hybrid tour including elements from both the Historic and Contemporary tours. He was a friendly fellow and we had a pleasant tour despite the continuing crowds downtown. He took literally hundreds of pictures and had to keep changing the memory cards for his camera. It was bit too much like Austin Powers' as the fashion photographer, if you know what I mean ("Yes, yes, yes! NO!")

By this time, the official march was starting to wind down so not only did we have the end of the "parade" following down Broadway, we had marchers going back in the opposite direction on Hill Street. Police were out in force trying to manage the crowd and the traffic, which was gridlocked beyond belief.

To add to the confusion, there were at least three different film crews trying to shoot downtown today. It's extremely common to see film crews downtown on the weekends shooting movies, TV shows, and commercials. You see their white trucks lined up along the curbs and they often close the sidewalk for filming. Today I'm sure those guys lost their whole day of shooting. Beside the crowds, the noise was unbelievable.

I left my customer at the Cathedral at the conclusion of the second tour and made my way back to the Bradbury building. It was a lot easier this time since the herds were thinning, but there were still many, many people roaming the streets, cheering and waving American and Mexican flags. The street was a mess, littered with all kinds of paper and garbage.

Two hours later now, and things are starting to calm down. Broadway is open to traffic again, but I still hear sirens and helicopters buzzing around outside. I just hope the trains are running with extra capacity by the time I go home.



The picture above shows Broadway Street in Los Angeles where I was trying to give walking tours!

I still can't get over how many people there were in the streets. I've never seen anything like it before in my life.

P.S. MSNBC has an updated news article about today's march. It delves a little deeper into the motivations behind the controversial and emotional immigration issue, which will likely top the agenda for this fall's congressional elections.

More Oscar Fun

Remember those photos of vintage Oscar winners the Academy used for this year's promotional materials? Here are two other photos from that set. These are scans from postcards.

I don't know who the people are yet. See if you can guess!

Are Your Cats Old Enough To Learn About Jesus?

Funny piece from The Onion:

Are Your Cats Old Enough To Learn About Jesus? | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

SI.com - Soccer - Galaxy prez dies on plane returning from match - Friday March 10, 2006 12:09AM

Sad local news.

SI.com - Soccer - Galaxy prez dies on plane returning from match - Friday March 10, 2006 12:09AM

It's Julie Andrews!!

Remember last week when I posted about the photos of vintage Oscar winners in this year's promotional materials? I recognized Cary Grant, but for the life of me I couldn't figure out who the female in the white gloves was.

Well, river selkie is the winner! It is indeed Julie Andrews, as can be confirmed by the photo below. She won the Best Actress Oscar in 1965 for Mary Poppins.



See, I knew she was "close" to Audrey Hepburn!

I Won the Oscar...

...voting contest at the party where I watched the show!



It's true -- I had 13 correct picks for this year's Oscar awards. I was surprised Brokeback Mountain didn't have a stronger showing, though I'm glad it won the awards it did, especially Best Director for Ang Lee. It's very rare to split the awards between Best Director and Best Picture, but Crash was also an excellent film and worthy of the award. This makes two in a row for Paul Haggis, who last year scored with Million Dollar Baby. He's definitely going to get some great phone calls tomorrow.

I'm shocked that the "Pimp" song won instead of Dolly Parton or the Crash song, but I guess the Academy has to skew to the younger crowd to keep the ratings going. Another unusual thing was the use of music to underscore all of the acceptance speeches. Rather than interrupting the speakers to play them off, the orchestra played some cheesy lounge music behind the speeches which psychologically kept the pace of the show moving.

Jon Stewart did a serviceable job but some of his jokes didn't quite play with the stuffy Academy crowd, who were being mocked by Stewart half of the time. It's always weird when the Academy chooses an outsider to host the awards ceremony. I guess they enjoy a little abuse with their praise.

My friends and I got thoroughly drunk on champagne thanks to the great drinking game created by my friend Heidi. This year's "Dead Celeb Montage" really put me over the edge. Luckily a delicious steak dinner helped absorb some of the booze. Wolfgang Puck, eat your heart out.

By the way, that's a real Oscar I'm holding in the photo above. The Academy had all 50 of tonight's award statuettes on display at the Hollywood & Highland shopping center next to the Kodak Theater where the ceremony is held. For the first time, they also had one statuette available for the public to hold and you know what? They are surpringly heavy!

Thanks to The Saint for the photo and the excellent dinner.

Oscar Picks 2006 (hey, that rhymes!)

OK, here are my picks for the winners of the 78th Annual Academy Awards this Sunday, March 5th. I've included only the major categories and my favorites such as Best Original Score. I also offer my prediction for the winners and my personal choices.

If you don't have your own ballot yet, here are a printable PDF version and an html version.

It was a rather weak year for films, until the late fall season when a flood of really excellent films hit the marketplace. Or could it be that the first part of the year was so lame that even a mediocre movie released late in the year seemed good in comparison? Only time will tell.

BEST PICTURE

"Brokeback Mountain," "Capote," "Crash," "Good Night, and Good Luck," "Munich."

Will win: "Brokeback Mountain"

My pick: It's a "Brokeback" year without doubt. If any other movie wins the award, it will be a major upset. The momentum behind this film is indomitable and besides that, it's a darn good film. Great acting, directing, cinematography, music; it tells a heartrending, epic love story set in the American west; there's nothing not to love about this film. "Brokeback Mountain" is more than a movie -- it's a cultural phenomenon.

BEST ACTOR

Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Capote"; Terrence Howard, "Hustle & Flow"; Heath Ledger, "Brokeback Mountain"; Joaquin Phoenix, "Walk the Line"; David Strathairn, "Good Night, and Good Luck."

Will win: Philip Seymour Hoffman, and rightly so because he was and is always awesome! I admire Hoffman, especially for his work in P.T. Anderson's Boogie Nights and Magnolia. He's one of the best in the biz.

My pick: Heath Ledger. He dominated this film. What a wonderfully understated performance. He was so real and truthful that I'm actually a bit surprised the Academy even noticed him since there wasn't a lot of "pyrotechnics" in this type of role.

BEST ACTRESS

Judi Dench, "Mrs. Henderson Presents"; Felicity Huffman, "Transamerica"; Keira Knightley, "Pride & Prejudice"; Charlize Theron, "North County"; Reese Witherspoon, "Walk the Line."

Will win: Reese Witherspoon

My pick: Reese. This is not really fair since I haven't seen all the films in this category, but Reese is so popular in Hollywood for being a talented actress and an adorable person. She's consistently good in everything she does and she was great holding her own against Joaquin Phoenix in "Walk The Line."

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

George Clooney, "Syriana"; Matt Dillon, "Crash"; Paul Giamatti, "Cinderella Man"; Jake Gyllenhaal, "Brokeback Mountain"; William Hurt, "A History of Violence."

Will win: George Clooney

My pick: Matt Dillon. This I think is the hardest category because all five are wonderful actors who gave excellent performances. Each of them deserves to win, but I think Clooney will walk away with it because he's a favorite in Hollywood and he's an actor who is also finding success as a director (nominated this year for "Good Night, and Good Luck") and that is a huge aphrodisiac to Academy voters. Giamatti was robbed last year for "Sideways" which he should have easily won. But that was last year. Jake won't upstage Heath for "Brokeback" and William Hurt's already won the Best Actor award for "Kiss of the Spider Woman" way back in 1986. First time nominee Matt Dillon is one of my all-time favorites and he's always been something of an outsider (no pun intended!), so I'm going with him. (Huh, I wish I were!)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Amy Adams, "Junebug"; Catherine Keener, "Capote"; Frances McDormand, "North Country"; Rachel Weisz, "The Constant Gardener"; Michelle Williams, "Brokeback Mountain."

Will win: Rachel Weisz.

My pick: Rachel Weisz. She's becoming the "It Girl" of the moment and she gave a standout performance in the mesmerizing "The Constant Gardener". Keener and Williams gave fine performances in their respective films, but nobody blew me away. I haven't seen the others, though Frances McDormand is always amazing.

BEST DIRECTOR

Ang Lee, "Brokeback Mountain"; Bennett Miller, "Capote"; Paul Haggis, "Crash"; George Clooney, "Good Night, and Good Luck"; Steven Spielberg, "Munich."

Will win: Ang Lee

My pick: Ang Lee. How can you have the best film of the year without being the best director of the year?! I know it's happened before (remember the Saving Private Ryan - Shakespeare in Love split back in '99?), but I'm not sure this is the year for an upset, especially considering how popular and respected Ang Lee is. Having said that, Paul Haggis is a contender because he won the screenplay award last year for the Best Picure "Million Dollar Baby." Miller did a great job with "Capote" and again Clooney is a Hollywood favorite. I haven't seen "Munich" yet, but considering it's a Spielberg film, it can't be that bad!

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana, "Brokeback Mountain"; Dan Futterman, "Capote"; Jeffrey Caine, "The Constant Gardener"; Josh Olson, "A History of Violence"; Tony Kushner and Eric Roth, "Munich."

Will win: "Brokeback Mountain", Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana

My pick: "Brokeback Mountain" All of these screenplays are worthy of the award, but I think "Brokeback" will continue its sweep of the major categories. Plus McMurtry is a long-time favorite (Lonesome Dove, Terms of Endearment, The Last Picture Show, Hud) and it was a notable achievement to take a short story, albeit an excellent one, and flesh it out into a full-length drama without spreading the story too thin.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco, "Crash"; George Clooney and Grant Heslov, "Good Night, and Good Luck"; Woody Allen, "Match Point"; Noah Baumbach, "The Squid and the Whale"; Stephen Gaghan, "Syriana."

Will win: "Crash", Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco

My pick: "Crash". A really tough category! I saw all of these except for the Woody Allen film and again each of them are deserving of recognition. But I think "Crash" walks away with it because the film did create a big splash and has had huge legs in Hollywood terms. The film was released almost a year ago and yet people are still discovering the film and talking about it. It impressed a lot of people. Plus, as mentioned above, Paul Haggis is hot now for his success last year with Million Dollar Baby.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Gustavo Santaolalla, "Brokeback Mountain"; Alberto Iglesias, "The Contant Garndener"; John Williams, "Memoirs of a Geisha"; John Williams, "Munich"; Dario Marianelli, "Pride & Prejudice"

Will win: "Brokeback Mountain"

My pick: "Memoirs of a Geisha" As much as I loved the music in "Brokeback Mountain" (I loved Santaolalla's work in The Motorcycle Diaries and Amores Perros), I have to go with my favorite John Williams and his wonderful score to "Memoirs of a Geisha." Williams is the best at enhancing character development through thematic music. In fact, no one can touch him in that regard. And although he's the hardest working man in movie music, with no less than FOUR feature scores this year (!), his music is always sincere and appropriate. I thought he did a wonderful job of blending western orchestrations with traditional Japanese instruments and themes.

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

Michael Becker and Kathleen "Bird" York, "In the Deep" - CRASH; Paul Beauregard and Jordan Houston, "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" - HUSTLE & FLOW; Dolly Parton, "Travelin' Thru" - TRANSAMERICA

Will win: "In the Deep", CRASH

My pick: "In the Deep", CRASH. This is mostly because I haven't seen the other movies! It's a big step for Oscar to recognize hip-hop music as a legitimate art form, but I don't think the Academy is quite hip enough to actually award a song with the word "pimp" in the title. Dolly Parton is a long-time popular favorite and previous Oscar nominee ("9 to 5") but she's never won an Oscar so this could be her year.

OK, that's far more information than anyone deserves to suffer through, so if you actually read this far you owe yourself a stiff drink! So break out the bubbly, get your ballots and pencils handy, and let's hope for an entertaining broadcast regardless of who wins or loses.

In the words of a dear friend, "Oh Oscar, who will your golden light shine upon tonight?!"