I turned on the Cataldi show this morning to see how long it would take before I heard a “Jeffrey Lurie has won an Oscar but not a Super Bowl” joke. The answer: four seconds. Literally. And I’m not talking about the beginning of the show- I turned it on when I got in the car, and there it was, four seconds later.
Noah blogs about February at his site.
News Item: Andrew Sullivan leaving Atlantic for Daily Beast
I’ve been reading Andrew since he hosted his own site and used to have pledge drives, and followed him to Time and the Atlantic, so I don’t expect things to change much now.
Yes, I realize hosting the Oscars is a thankless job, and yes, I know that we all complain about it and watch it every year anyone. But this a slog, or what? I like Anne Hathaway and James Franco quite a bit, but they were given just about nothing to work with- especially Franco, who just sat there mostly silently for the better part of two hours. I mean, even “Saturday Night Live” has given Hathaway and Franco better material in the last couple of years, and they’re not exactly consistent either.
A few notes:
– As I’ve written before, I didn’t exactly dislike any of the ten Best Picture nominees, but “The King’s Speech” wouldn’t have been my first choice. “Inception” or “Social Network” would’ve been, although both won plenty of awards. And I did really like the actual king’s speech being used for the Best Picture montage.
– At what point do they think about hiring someone besides Bruce Vilanch to write the Oscars? His funny reputation notwithstanding, I’m beginning to think he’s the Bob Shrum of awards-show writers.
– I’m trying to figure out if that Kirk Douglas moment was hilarious, creepy, or both. Probably both.
– Yes, Trent Reznor is now an Oscar winner. Even if the entire “Social Network” score was mostly ripped off from the Death Cab For Cutie song “Passenger Seat.”
– No idea why something as awful as “Alice in Wonderland”- which was all CGI anyway- could win best art direction or costume design?
– So who should host next year? Neil Patrick Harris? Billy Crystal again? Kevin Spacey? Whoever it is, bring some better writers please!
I watched it this weekend and found it a fascinating and fair look at the former president. Not a smear job, but not a whitewash either. Three thoughts:
– Even though they all worship him, there’s no one like Reagan on the Republican side now, in terms of optimism or political skill. Not even close.
– Glad it didn’t soft-pedal the role “Rocky IV” played in the end of the Cold War.
– Could you imagine if something like Iran Contra happened with Obama? He’d be impeached the next day, with Reagan worshippers leading the charge.
How CBS can solve their dilemma:
This is pretty unbelievable:
I don’t know what’s weirder- that Donald Rumsfeld appeared on the “Opie and Anthony” show, that that show actually broadcast something funny, or, uh, the whole lizard thing.
My review of “Cedar Rapids” is up at the Patch.
If you guessed that the show would be shut down for the year– and probably forever- after Charlie Sheen went on the Alex Jones show, called his boss a “hymie” and made various other comments, well, you’d be right. I mean, listen to that interview- just nonstop ass-kissing.
I won’t miss the show, of course, but I feel bad for the couple dozen people who are going to be out of work because of the actions of this monstrous, selfish fuckup.
Stephen Silver, Writer 