morning rain shower: 2013

Monday, December 02, 2013

Thursday, February 28, 2013

OSCAR

This was the best acceptance speech by far and well deserved. So funny and touching. He is a great actor. However, I have this theory that Hollywood operates on a guilt complex. They make exorbitant amounts of money for what they do, while most of the artists of the world can barely make ends meet. So, somehow it seems to justify them being able to take the ribbing, the jokes, the scalding and scolding humor, the poor taste, the mean spirited jokes and poor production elements that seem to make up an evening at the awards ceremony for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences we call the Oscars. If this evening is supposed to award excellence and the best that Hollywood has to offer, why can't the producers and writers put together an evening that celebrates the arts and sciences of the motion pictures industry? If indeed as First Lady, Michelle Obama said, we are making movies to inspire the next generation of artists, let your acceptance speeches and your production numbers reflect that. I understand the need to thank everyone in your sphere of existence, but why not write a speech that inspires and creates possibility in an industry that is full of rejection and criticism? I will remember a speech that does that. I will not remember your speech that thanks all the people who get paid to do what they do for you. Thank that drama teacher who inspired you, that mentor who helped you realize you had a voice that the world might want to hear, a parent or a family member or friend or lover who was there for you when it seemed like you should get a job that paid you a living wage. Reach out and inspire those of us who don't get paid to create the art we feel obliged to create in spite of the odds. I know it's all about selling soap or beer or whatever product pays the most money and I have always said that there are those who are artists and creators in Hollywood and those who make money off of them. Just saying.