March 11, 2014

Oscar Follow-Up

Yes, I know I'm late with this...but what can I say?  I've been busy!

I'm pleased to report that all six of my Oscar predictions that I made here were correct.  It's not about picking who I wanted to win...it's about trying to think like a member of the Academy and calculate how the majority of them would vote.

If anyone is wondering why I didn't announce the final Movie Trivia winner on Oscar night, it's because I had no entries!  Moving on...

My least favorite moment at the Oscars:  Ellen DeGeneres' saying that the real Liza Minnelli was a male Liza Minnelli impersonator.  Thought that was really mean-spirited, and Ms. Minnelli was very generous to go along with it.  If that had been me, I would have had some choice words for Ms. DeGeneres backstage.

I had several favorite Oscar moments. The speeches of producer Steve McQueen when Twelve Years a Slave was announced as the Best Picture, along with Brad Pitt and the other producers (Brad spoke first, but he kept it short), and also Lupita Nyongo's acceptance speech for Best Supporting Actress.  I love the sound of her voice.  I wish her a long and varied career.

But my absolute favorite Oscar moment of the evening was the words Robert DeNiro said when presenting the Writing awards.  The words, as were all of the preludes by presenters, were scripted by someone else, but as any writer knows, they are the truth:

"The mind of a writer can be a truly terrifying thing. Isolated, neurotic, caffeine-addled, crippled by procrastination, consumed by feelings of panic, self-loathing, and soul-crushing inadequacy. And that’s on a good day."


And with that, I will go back to my manuscript.