Word: oscars
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Oscar Ballot...
This star of TV, stage and film--and Oscar winner for Best Supporting Actress in Pollock--is currently playing an in-your-face lawyer on the critically acclaimed FX series Damages. In March she returns to Broadway, joining James Gandolfini, Jeff Daniels and Hope Davis in a production of Yasmina Reza's play God of Carnage. It's only fitting that this versatile actress has tastes ranging from landscape painting to Silly Symphonies...
Since this was clearly the biggest, most important comedy job I'd ever get, I expected the Academy to send an official package of Oscar history, tips from past writers and a truckload of money. Instead, I got just some grainy DVDs of Jackman hosting the Tony Awards. I was starting to wonder if I was really hired by the Oscars when I found out I wasn't. It turns out the Academy hires pros like Bruce Vilanch for the presenter banter but lets the host pick his own team. This makes sense when the host is a comedian with...
...shouldn't tell any jokes and should instead open with a big musical number that references the recession. But every good concept we had we immediately killed because it reminded us of Billy Crystal. You would think that would be a good thing, since Crystal was the most beloved Oscar host ever and got the job eight times. But comedy writers are far more interested in impressing other comedy writers than in pleasing an audience. This is why most comedy sucks. If we thought we could have gotten away with an opening number that made fun of genocide, we would...
...soon became clear that not only was writing for the Oscars not the hardest job of my life, it wasn't even the hardest job of my week. We brought in a guy who wrote music, and six days later, the opening number was complete. It's not bad, and when Jackman sings it, it's great. Because while we weren't smart enough to write great jokes, we were smart enough to figure out that Oscar audiences don't remember jokes. They remember whether the host set the celebratory mood, as Crystal...