Word: hollywoodism
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...everyone knows the Hollywood ending to this tale. Berry and Washington both get nominated for Academy Awards. They are underdogs from the start. But Berry unexpectedly takes home the award--and becomes the first African-American woman in history to win a Best Actress Oscar. Then Washington wins in his category--and becomes the first African-American man to win a leading-actor Oscar since Sidney Poitier for the 1963 film Lilies of the Field. Cue the John Williams music. Roll credits...
Thing is, I've never trusted Hollywood endings. The very term suggests something pat, something fully resolved, something less like Pearl Harbor and more like Pearl Harbor. Real life--and great drama--is more difficult, and the endings are more ragged. Berry and Washington deserved their wins; they gave the best performances in their categories. But it should be noted that their roles were not the kind that would have got Malcolm X to give them a standing...
Like most filmgoers, I'd rather not see African-American actors play only plaster saints. Yet if Hollywood responds to Berry's and Washington's victories by serving up more leading roles for African-American actors that revel in the negative, then the result could be more distorting and destructive than if African-American actors were not recognized at all. We need to see cops and criminals, clowns and villains. We also need to see black actors in romances and sci-fi flicks, fantasy films and musicals--and we need to see such films promoted and, if worthy, honored...
...DreamWorks co-owner Jeffrey Katzenberg, both players in this year's especially combative Oscar race, took the stage in gladiator uniforms for a mock therapy session that hit a little too close to home. "You fat f___!" exclaimed Katzenberg at one point, echoing a sentiment not uncommon in Hollywood but usually muttered behind Weinstein's back. The most uncomfortable moment, however, came when it was time to hand out "Max" awards to the studio's Oscar nominees, including Marisa Tomei and Renee Zellweger. Weinstein was joined onstage by his young daughter; he joked that she had to pitch in because...
...Miramax lost its magic? That's the question Hollywood has been asking for months, and it was posed yet again after the awards ceremony on March 24. Out of 15 nominations, Miramax received just one Oscar--for Jim Broadbent's supporting performance in Iris. It's not as if Weinstein and his brother Bob, who co-founded the Manhattan-based company 22 years ago, are going hungry. Last year, say the brothers, Miramax pulled in nearly $1 billion, with $161 million in profit, at the global box office. But in an industry where you are what you drive, perception...