Farrah Fawcett “In Memoriam” Snub: Academy Issues “Apology” (of Sorts)

According to People Online, Farrah Fawcett’s family, friends, and fans have received "an apology" from Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences executive director Bruce Davis, who reportedly was responsible for the inclusions and omissions in the "In Memoriam" segment of Sunday’s Academy Awards ceremony. As previously mentioned in this blog and elsewhere, Fawcett was left out of the tribute.
Among those criticizing the omission were Roger Ebert, Jane Fonda, and Academy Award-winner Tatum O’Neal, whose father Ryan O’Neal had been Fawcett’s companion. On Tuesday, Tatum O’Neal issued a statement that said:

"On behalf of myself, my father Ryan O’Neal and my entire family, we are deeply saddened that a [sic] truly beautiful and talented actress Farrah [...]

Pedro Almodóvar, John Hughes’ Alumni: Oscar Ceremony 2010

On the positive side, it was good to see Pedro Almodóvar (above, with Quentin Tarantino) introducing some of the Best Foreign Language Film nominees, the speech by art director Robert Stromberg — who survived some unspecified deadly illness — was quite moving, and it was interesting to see John Hughes‘ alumni in 2010 in an otherwise poorly presented tribute. (A tribute for the recently deceased Eric Rohmer at the Oscars would have been unthinkable; but Rohmer did get his due at the Césars.)
Anyhow, the presence of Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy, Matthew Broderick et al. was proof positive that, apart from Kathryn Bigelow and Robert Downey Jr, time doesn’t stop for anyone.
Photo: Darren Decker / [...]

Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner, and Horror Movies: Oscar Ceremony 2010

Kristen Stewart clearing her throat didn’t bother me like it did some people, but the horror movie tribute that followed felt completely out of place in a ceremony that didn’t feature any horror films in the running for Best Picture. Perhaps a sci-fi homage would have been more appropriate, considering Avatar and District 9, but then The Twilight Saga: New Moon’s Stewart and Taylor Lautner would have had to present some other award. (Never mind the fact that despite the presence of vampires, werewolves, and — most frightening of all — humans, the Twilight Saga movies aren’t really horror films.)
Also, as it’s been pointed out elsewhere, what Stewart and Lautner were given to recite was incorrect. There were [...]

Oscar In Memoriam Tribute: Jean Simmons-Jennifer Jones Mix-Up

Jean Simmons, Paul Newman in Until They Sail

Jean Simmons, who died this past January, was remembered in this year’s In Memoriam segment at the 2010 Oscar ceremony. Well, great. Simmons was a fantastic actress. As far as I’m concerned, she stole Hamlet from Laurence Olivier, Elmer Gantry from Burt Lancaster, and Spartacus from Kirk Douglas.
But why an image of Jennifer Jones in The Song of Bernadette (right) above Simmons’ name? Oops!
That mistake reminded me of another homage a few years back, when on the occasion of the Oscar’s Grand 75th Anniversary the Academy honored every Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Actress winner with a one-minute (or whereabouts) montage.
The very first actress to win the Oscar was Janet [...]

Best Picture THE HURT LOCKER: Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal’s Oscar Acceptance Speeches

Best Picture: The Hurt Locker. Oscar acceptance speeches:
Mark Boal: Thank you so much. This has been such a dream. Beyond a dream for all of us who have lived for so long with this story. And, you know, we had this fantasy of making our film our way with the talent that we hoped to have. And hopefully, we would find a distributor and somebody might even like the movie.
So to be standing here, this was really, truly, honestly never part of anything we even imagined in our wildest dreams. So thank you so much to each and every member of the Academy for really honoring us beyond anything we could’ve ever imagined.
Greg Shapiro: Thank you to the [...]

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