# Academy Awards 2002 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 25, 2002, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/academy-awards-2002/99968 "2002-03-25T05:48:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2002, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/academy-awards-2002/99968/61 "2002-03-26T02:22:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by PunditLisa \* > \*\* > > Also, I remember Kirstie Alley saying something like, “I’d like to thank my husband for giving me the big one every night.” to Parker Stevenson when she won an award. Did Frances McDormand do the same? > > \*\* I think Frances McDormand said something along the lines of saying it was one of the few times that she was proud that she slept with the director of a film to get a job. ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2002, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/academy-awards-2002/99968/62 "2002-03-26T03:07:35Z")
She thanked three people - it was something like [somebody] made me [a something], [somebody] made me an actress, and [her husband] made me a woman / a mother (something like that). Gosh, I’m helpful, aren’t I? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2002, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/academy-awards-2002/99968/63 "2002-03-26T03:26:24Z")
I’m just disappointed that _ **Shallow Hal** _ didn’t sweep the Oscars like it deserved to. ---
**Author:** ![NightRabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbce88/32.png) [@NightRabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NightRabbit)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2002, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/academy-awards-2002/99968/64 "2002-03-26T03:44:10Z")
I can’t believe that no one’s complained about Amelie not getting ANYTHING! Amelie and Memento getting nada were my big complaints of the night. Other gripes: 1. Halle thinking that, just because she’s (half?) black, she can represent all (repressed?) blacks in Hollywood. News flash: the other black actors and actresses are representing themselves just fine, thank you. And shut up already! 2. All the filler. Cirque de Soleil was good, but all the musical numbers were just to take up time. 3. Julia Roberts hanging all over Denzel afterwards. I mean, it’s one thing to be happy for your friend, but jumping all over him on stage is a bit much. So is posing in all the pictures when you haven’t won a thing. 4. Gwenyth, your breasts looked awful. Grrr to it all. But you know, I’ll still watch it next year. Damn fix. ---
**Author:** ![NightRabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbce88/32.png) [@NightRabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NightRabbit)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2002, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/academy-awards-2002/99968/65 "2002-03-26T03:45:21Z")
whoops… I mean, 1. Hi Opal! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2002, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/academy-awards-2002/99968/66 "2002-03-26T05:46:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by NightRabbit \* > \*\* > So is posing in all the pictures when you haven’t won a thing. > > \*\* Presenters nearly always pose with winners backstage. ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2002, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/academy-awards-2002/99968/67 "2002-03-26T06:18:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Munch \* > \*\* > > I missed that one. Could you explain? \*\* Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock presented the oscar in some category… after that was over Whoopi said “It’s nice to see Hugh scoring again” ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2002, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/academy-awards-2002/99968/68 "2002-03-26T06:28:36Z")
I was even pissed at the audience! There was a nice extended segment for George Harrison in the obituaries segment, but it fell flat when the audience clapped for about 2 seconds. The clip went on for another 30 seconds to dead silence. ---
**Author:** ![ReTheInvitation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@ReTheInvitation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ReTheInvitation)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2002, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/academy-awards-2002/99968/69 "2002-03-26T08:19:34Z")
Hello?? Anyone home?? Denzel Washington is a classy guy, true, and he deserved to win an Oscar, true. For “The Hurricane.” Did any of you who are happy for Denzel actually SEE “Training Day???” I did, and if THAT was an Academy-Award winning pic, then I think I am going to go take my video-camera out into my backyard, film random things like snowflakes and a smattering of gravel, submit it to the Academy and win Best Picture next year! Sorry, but that was hardly an Oscar-worthy performance in hardly an Oscar-worthy movie. Denzel can be classy from his seat, thanks. He doesn’t need a statuette to pull that off. The winner should have been Russell Crowe, someone I don’t even particularly like! His performance as John Nash was incredible, requiring depth and scope and a lot of talent-- all of which he had in spades. I saw the movie three times in the theaters, and every time I was amazed at how awesome his performance was. When Denzel’s name was read, I just about flipped, more likely than not because I saw it coming. But boy, did Washington and Berry blaze some trails, now! Whew! Pretty soon, there won’t be a white person who will ever win an Oscar! Riiiiight… You know, I’m not so sure that the Academy members themselves actually viewed Training Day. It seems to me that the only way he could have won is if everyone just decided to vote black. I’m not racist at all, by the way, but I saw Training Day, and that was all I needed to know who should have won. And poor Will Smith just got screwed because his name came first alphabetically, I guess… And, even if you didn’t particularly care for Russell, give it to Sean Penn for goodness sake! He’s waaaaaaay overdue, and this would have been a fine time to honor him. Talk about a true shocker… And to silence all of you LOTR:TFOTR lovers, give Peter Jackson the Director Oscar, hell, take Best Adapted Screenplay for all I care, along with all of the special effects, art, etc. Oscars it garnered and keep them! Enjoy them! But the Best Picture was CLEARLY A Beautiful Mind. Remember that always. It is NOT A MAUDLIN TRIPE. Good try, though… or not… ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2002, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/academy-awards-2002/99968/70 "2002-03-26T08:20:05Z")
Anyone notice what may have been another “first” for the Oscars? Ian McKellen was seated with another man who must have been his SO. That is so great, that they could share this most special evening! 'Course, it would have been even better if McKellen had **won** … ---
**Author:** ![Heloise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e36b37/32.png) [@Heloise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heloise)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2002, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/academy-awards-2002/99968/71 "2002-03-26T11:20:21Z")
**Kirkland1244** , I’m still wondering about what you said earlier. You called someone an anti-Semite, which is quite unproven and slanderous, especially given that he already admitted to being quite sick in the head when the “infamous letter” was written, you refer to someone as a “retard,” which makes me wonder in what position you are in to judge someone else, and you’re misquoting someone else altogether. Not to mention the fact that you trashed Halle Berry for mentioning race, but failed to note that Denzel Washington mentioned it as well in his speech, more than once! This board is about fighting ignorance and yet you seem to be going out of your way to wallow in it. ---
**Author:** ![Legomancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/779978/32.png) [@Legomancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legomancer)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2002, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/academy-awards-2002/99968/72 "2002-03-26T13:27:36Z")
I’m always amazed by people that complain how the Oscars are just a popularity contest and then complain that Movie A should have gotten an oscar because it was so popular. Also people who say, “X shouldn’t have won for Y, since it wasn’t a good performance. But they should have honored Z even though he wasn’t good, but he deserves to win one by now.” Popularity contest, indeed. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2002, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/academy-awards-2002/99968/73 "2002-03-26T14:18:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kirkland1244 \* > \*\*It’s still three movies. The award is for best picture. You start with credits, go through three acts, end with credits you’ve got a picture. It’s not for “best complete story.” > > Kirk \*\* But I thought that 3 acts _were_ a story, eh? LOTR:FOTR is not a complete story. There’s no conclusion. It’s just as incomplete as Empire Strikes Back, which IMO is the best of the Star Wars trilogy. In and of itself, FOTR is not complete, and the Academy sure as hell isn’t going to say, “Hey, great part of a story! Here’s your Oscar.” This isn’t the Emmys. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2002, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/academy-awards-2002/99968/74 "2002-03-26T17:44:51Z")
Kirkland1244 wrote: > [@](#): > > Any Academy that would give an Oscar to warmed over crap like Gladiator (a massive film that recieved undeserved praise) and not Lord of the Rings (a massive film that recieved totally deserved praise) is goofed in the head. This is as bad as giving it to Forrest instead of Shawshank, worse than giving it to Titanic over LA Confidential and unthinkable in the light of giving it to Gladiator instead of Traffic or Crouching Tiger. How does it compare to giving the Best Picture award to _Annie Hall_ instead of _Star Wars_ ? ---
**Author:** ![Kirkland1244](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dc4da7/32.png) [@Kirkland1244](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kirkland1244)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2002, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/academy-awards-2002/99968/75 "2002-03-26T18:38:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Heloise \* > \*\ ***Kirkland1244** , I’m still wondering about what you said earlier. > You called someone an anti-Semite, which is quite unproven and slanderous, especially given that he already admitted to being quite sick in the head when the “infamous letter” was written, you refer to someone as a “retard,” which makes me wonder in what position you are in to judge someone else, and you’re misquoting someone else altogether. \*\* Sorry. The “retard” comment is an in-joke among my friends regarding the absolute worst piece of junk to ever steal Best Picture, Forrest Gump. I admit that it is insensitive, but it has nothing to do with real mentally handicapped people, who I respect a great deal, but instead the BS knee-jerking, bleeding heart bullcrap of Hollywood fawning over ANY movie where ANY character is the least bit disabled. I don’t buy Nash’s “it was just the disease” crap. Having read his diatribes in the newspapers a few weeks ago, he seems to me like a guy who uses his disease to hide anything he doesn’t like about himself. And that the film glossed over it was unconscionable (sp?) – don’t give us a glossy, warm and fuzzy view of a persons life. Of coursee, the writer was the excreble Akiva Goldsman, who should have been dragged into the street and shot years ago, so what do you expect? The man couldn’t even do Batman right. \*\* > [@](#): > > Not to mention the fact that you trashed Halle Berry for mentioning race, but failed to note that Denzel Washington mentioned it as well in his speech, more than once! This board is about fighting ignorance and yet you seem to be going out of your way to wallow in it. \*\* Denzel tipped his hat to Sidney Poitier. He had to mention the event. But he didn’t blubber all over it like Halle Berry did. Berry made a mockery of her own award, reduced her entire honor down to race, and pulled the entire evening down with it. With her self-aggrandizing “knocked down a door” bs she cheapened the category, herself and the entire show. And you know what? I don’t answer to you. So get off my back. Kirk ---
**Author:** ![Kirkland1244](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dc4da7/32.png) [@Kirkland1244](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kirkland1244)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2002, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/academy-awards-2002/99968/76 "2002-03-26T18:41:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by tracer \* > \*\*How does it compare to giving the Best Picture award to _Annie Hall_ instead of _Star Wars_ ? \*\* I’ll answer it this way: No one’s celebrating the 25th Anniversary of _Annie Hall_ this year. _Hall_ was a decent, forgetable film. _Star Wars_ was a monumental event that changed the entire dynamics of filmmaking. Woody Allen may have walked away with the statue, but we’re living in George Lucas’ world. Kirk ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2002, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/academy-awards-2002/99968/77 "2002-03-26T18:58:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kirkland1244 \* > \*\* > > I’ll answer it this way: No one’s celebrating the 25th Anniversary of _Annie Hall_ this year. > > _Hall_ was a decent, forgetable film. _Star Wars_ was a monumental event that changed the entire dynamics of filmmaking. Woody Allen may have walked away with the statue, but we’re living in George Lucas’ world. > \*\* Part of the weakness of handing out Oscars the March after the movies are released is that you don’t know how the movie will stand the test of time. It was impossible for people to grasp then just how far-reaching the effect of “Star Wars” would be. Still, “Star Wars” is popular today primarily because it was popular then, which doesn’t prove it was better than “Annie Hall.” “Star Wars” is far from being a perfect film. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2002, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/academy-awards-2002/99968/78 "2002-03-26T19:13:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rilchiam \* > \*\*Anyone notice what may have been another “first” for the Oscars? Ian McKellen was seated with another man who must have been his SO. That is so great, that they could share this most special evening! 'Course, it would have been even better if McKellen had **won** … \*\* While I appreciate the overall sentiment you are going for here, I think the guy he was seated with was less of an SO and more of a BT. I love IK…I’m telling you, the same gene that codes for gayness also codes for coolness. 63 years old, and he is totally hip. Of course, could have something to do with his birthdate, too… (insert missing cool smiley here). ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2002, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/academy-awards-2002/99968/79 "2002-03-26T20:21:39Z")
Sir Ian has a boyfriend but I don’t know if that was who was with him at the Oscars. From a recent Advocate interview: > [@](#): > > “I’ve got a boyfriend now,” [McKellen] adds, doing his best to be forthcoming. “But I’m not going to be photographed with him or talk to you about him, because I’ve decided that might damage the relationship.” ---
**Author:** ![MickNickMaggies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/59ef9b/32.png) [@MickNickMaggies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MickNickMaggies)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2002, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/academy-awards-2002/99968/80 "2002-03-26T20:31:27Z")
Sir Ian deserved to win a couple years back for “God and Monsters.” Fantastic film that almost would make one think Brendan Frasier can act. Certainly a BT. But it’s nice to have that, as well… Cyn 🆒 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/academy-awards-2002/99968.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/academy-awards-2002/99968.md?page=5)