Jackman Gives EW A Hint About His Oscar Hosting Plan: 'Nudity'- Page 2

[Dollypop]

Posted: 1/28/09 at 7:38pm

I boycott the Oscar telecast every year. In time to come, we'll all realize that movies are the reason for the decline of western civilization--that, and mail-oder cookies.

On Oscaar night I think I'll pop in my DVD of the Met's current LA BOHEME and relish Puccini's beautiful music and Franco Zeffirelli's gorgeous sets and costumes.

Thank you very much!

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 1/28/09 at 7:57pm

Movies can be art just like opera. Not all of them are, but not all operas are good, either.

[americanboy99]

Posted: 1/28/09 at 9:20pm

IMHO:

Best Actress is FAR from a lock. Streep and Winslet are pretty much neck and neck.

Best Actor is also not a lock. Penn may be slightly in the lead, but Rourke is close behind. Langella could also sneak in. Who knows?

Best Picture and Best Director really are feeling like locks right now. SLUMDOG is going to be sweeping, and there's no doubt about it.

And THE READER is FAR from mediocre. It's one of the three best films of the year, and certainly one of the two best acted films (the other being DOUBT.)

[PiraguaGuy2]

Posted: 1/28/09 at 9:23pm

Winslet has it in the bag, if only because Meryl has two of the things (although she gave a better performance) and Kate has 6 nominations already and she's not even 40.

[americanboy99]

Posted: 1/28/09 at 9:30pm

I wouldn't be so sure, though I do feel Winslet's was the best performance of any actor this year (yes, including Ledger).

[jo]

Posted: 1/29/09 at 5:37am

This is what the new Oscars producers have in store --

scar-producers_N.htm>https://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/movieawards/oscars/2009-01-2scar-producers_N.htm

Sorry, it seems I have to print the whole article - the link could not be reproduced here correctly.

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Oscar show promises fun with new producers at the helm


By Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY

New guys : Dreamgirls producer Laurence Marks, left, and director Bill Condon will produce their first Academy Awards show Feb. 22.

Expect these no-shows at the Oscars this year.
Batman for best picture.

Clint Eastwood going after his first acting win as a crusty coot in Gran Torino, probably his last on-screen role.

Heath Ledger, the late Aussie actor who gave the year's most raved-about performance as the Joker in The Dark Knight, accepting a supporting trophy for what is the safest bet of the night.

On a more positive note, however, there also won't be the same old opening monologue, endless movie clips, an abundance of canned segments, silly prefab presenter banter and embarrassing interruptions of impassioned speeches.

At least that's the plan, say filmmakers Bill Condon, 53, and Laurence Mark, 59, the unflappably enthusiastic first-time producers of the 81st edition of the annual test of viewer endurance known as the Academy Awards. The show airs Feb. 22 on ABC.

When it comes to entertaining the masses, it doesn't really matter what is on the ballot, Mark insists. His and Condon's primary objective is "to celebrate all the movies of 2008." Blockbusters, sleepers, art-house fare, you name it. Attention will be paid to movie history, too, "but no clips of Gone With the Wind."

In other words, these fellows aren't losing sleep over how the voters went for the low-profile Holocaust-themed drama The Reader over superhero sensation The Dark Knight in the top contest.

"We have enough great material to attract a crowd," Condon says. "It's the academy's job to honor the best movies, not what will provide the highest ratings. We both feel they show great integrity in what they do."

"They did provide us with lots of movie stars," Mark quickly adds. That would include Brad Pitt of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Angelina Jolie of Changeling, Hollywood's very own prom king and queen, who each are competing for acting honors.

Nearly impossible task

Condon also suggests there are plenty of horse races among the 24 categories, especially the best-actor and supporting-actress contests, even if the crowd-pleasing Slumdog Millionaire has been best-picture top dog at nearly every other awards show. "And The Dark Knight is still up for eight awards," he says.

Even better: The best-song category, a prime time for bathroom breaks thanks to often ill-conceived staging, has only three nominees: Peter Gabriel's WALL·E ditty and two Bollywood-infused numbers from Slumdog Millionaire.

Not that they expect it all to be a breeze. Says Condon, who wrote and directed 2006's Dreamgirls with Mark as producer: "This makes doing a movie musical look easy. It is very intense."

Barack Obama might have them beat when it comes to tough new jobs. But the daunting chore faced by these Hollywood vets may run a close second as they attempt to re-establish the Academy Awards as an event that's worth watching. To do so, they must convince an increasingly awards-show-adverse public (the Golden Globes just suffered its second-lowest ratings since 1995) that a bloated and often clumsy pageant of self-promotion can be must-see, instead of must-flee, TV.

Academy president Sid Ganis has his reasons why he recruited Condon and Mark to tackle an assignment that often is a logistical nightmare for even the most stalwart showmen. As he told Variety: "Both of them are busy, working filmmakers, both are smart, tasteful, elegant — and they're fun."

But why did this savvy duo decide to take on what seems an impossible challenge? "Sid said he was open to new ideas," Mark says, "and I thought, 'Wow, we could shake things up and be free to do so.' Even if we can't guarantee everything will work."

Besides, these longtime Oscar buffs just couldn't say no. "I get a big budget to do a show for one night," Condon says, "It's a lot of fun."

Says Marks: "We are flying by the seat of our pants. I get a kick out of that. There is no possible way we can plan for everything that happens."

Besides, the pair can't do much worse than last year's effort put on by predecessor Gil Cates, when the dark crime yarn No Country for Old Men took best picture amid a slew of low-grossing, downbeat titles. The ratings plunged to 32 million viewers, a loss of nearly 8 million from the year before and the least-watched ceremony ever.

The gold standard for Condon was 1968, when the musical Oliver! won best picture and Broadway's Gower Champion produced and directed.

"It was the year of 'Hello, gorgeous,' " Mark says, referring to how Barbra Streisand memorably greeted her statuette when the Funny Girl star tied with Katharine Hepburn for best actress.

"It was held at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion," Condon recalls. "It was very sleek and midcentury modern. There was a real theatrical imagination behind the show. Elegant, not all glitzed up."

Picking up on that theme, the producers hope their version is "appropriate and elegant," especially at a time of economic hardships and a foggy future. "It is time to tap your troubles away, and we hope this will do that," Mark says.

'Mistakes are our friends'

With slightly less than a month to go, there is a lot of planning and preparation ahead. But Condon and Mark already have a blueprint, one that involves tossing aside tradition in favor of surprise.

"The only thing you must do is give all the awards out live onstage," Mark says. "You have to respect that. But there are many ways to do that, mind you." What is in the works:

•The host from Oz. The producers were out to make a statement when they selected X-Men star Hugh Jackman after a string of comedians such as Jon Stewart and Ellen DeGeneres.

Yes, Wolverine has animal magnetism galore. But the Australian actor, who previously handled the Tony Awards with aplomb, also has some considerable musical chops after starring in The Boy From Oz and Oklahoma! on stage.

"He can sing, dance and looks great in a tuxedo," Condon says. At some point in the evening, Jackman will perform in a production number that was conceived by his Australia director, Baz Luhrmann.

•A cozier atmosphere. Condon doesn't just want a ceremony. He wants to throw a party.

If that means dismantling the Kodak Theatre to better encourage a sense of community among the attendees, so be it. "You don't have to have large columns or a big staircase or 20-foot-tall Oscars on stage," he says. "That's not in the bylaws."

They have hired David Rockwell, who designed the theater, to make adjustments and create sets.

•Room for spontaneity. Both producers believe the show has relied on too much pre-recorded material.

"That tradition started a few years ago, when they tried to avoid mistakes," Condon says. "But we have decided that mistakes are our friends. Out of more live segments will hopefully spring more spontaneity."

•Mystery presenters. When it was announced that the identity of the awards presenters would be kept secret, more than a few Oscar watchers questioned the move. Why not publicize who will appear?

"Do you actually think anyone tunes in to see someone present an award?" Mark says. "They suddenly hear so-and-so is presenting, and young males will watch? Well, no."

One switch: Instead of lining up last year's winners and stars with upcoming movies to tout, Condon and Mark are reaching out to those names associated with a 2008 movie. And there will be a few blasts from Hollywood's past, too.

•Three-hour show, not three-hour speeches. Both vow to adhere to the three-hour mark. "We have done exercises to see what we can better speed along and streamline," Condon says.

As for having the orchestra play off long-winded speechmakers, it's a situation they would rather avoid.

"It's so ungracious," Condon says. "We will do everything we can not to have to do it. We will still put a little fear into the winners not to go on." However, the 45-second rule still stands. Mark's suggestion: "Don't thank your laundress."

•Jack Nicholson — probably. One connection Mark will try to capitalize on is his long association with the epitome of Oscar cool, whose mischievous leer is always welcome, even if he didn't appear in a movie this year.

"He does embody Oscar," says Mark, who was involved with Terms of Endearment and As Good as It Gets, for which Nicholson won two of his three Academy Awards.

"The show went way out of fashion in the '60s and '70s," Condon says of the man behind the shades. "He singlehandedly brought it back when he was nominated for Easy Rider."

•Applause-free "In Memoriam" tribute. Regular Oscar watchers often cringe when homage is paid to those in the movie business who died in the past year. That is because the audience can't help but clap harder for better-known names, essentially turning the solemn segment into a popularity contest.

Not this year. "We can't control the applause," Condon says, "but we can control what you hear on TV."

If Condon and Mark can manage to channel the spirit and drive they usually invest into what they do and put it into the Oscar show, it probably can't help but make some sort of difference.

"It is fun putting on a show," Condon says.

"Yeah," Mark says. "He's Judy Garland. I'm Mickey Rooney."

Intermission is over. Back to work. "We have to dash and beg someone to present foreign film," Mark says. "We are hoping for Hillary Clinton."


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It looks like there will be a musical number staged by Baz Luhrmann for Hugh Jackman.





Updated On: 1/29/09 at 05:37 AM

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 1/29/09 at 8:05am

Wow, I actually agree with Dollypop, for a change (minus all the typos and spelling mistakes).

[Acaila]

Posted: 1/29/09 at 1:15pm

Naked Hugh Jackman? I'd watch for that!

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 1/29/09 at 3:01pm

The Academy treats animated films like second-rate films.

How so? They created a new category especially so they could receive more recognition. But animated films can still be considered for Best Picture as well. It's the same for Foreign Language films. I agree that I like some animated films better than the Best Picture nominees, but I understand why others may not like them as much. But I don't think they are being treated unfairly any more than when a non-animated film I like is not nominated for Best Picture.

[Fan2]

Posted: 1/29/09 at 3:09pm

Hugh is going to be on the Barbara Walters Oscar special along with Mickey Rourke, Anne Hathaway and the Jonas Bros.