# Drop the little golden man and nobody gets hurt! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 2, 2003, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drop-the-little-golden-man-and-nobody-gets-hurt/152259 "2003-02-02T05:54:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2003, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drop-the-little-golden-man-and-nobody-gets-hurt/152259/1 "2003-02-02T05:54:16Z")
If you could take away an oscar from anyone who has won one, whose would it be and why? ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2003, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drop-the-little-golden-man-and-nobody-gets-hurt/152259/2 "2003-02-02T06:30:45Z")
Frances McDormand: FARGO- I just didn’t think she earned it. F. Murray Abraham- AMADEUS- all he did was imitate Ray Walston. Judi Dench- SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE- I like her, I liked the movie, but she was only on screen for 8 minutes and really didn’t do anything to warrant winning Marlon Brando/George C. Scott- they didn’t want them anyway Jessica Lange- BLUE SKY- the woman couldn’t act dead if she was run over by a buffalo herd THE ENGLISH PATIENT- I just didn’t really “feel” this picture ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2003, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drop-the-little-golden-man-and-nobody-gets-hurt/152259/3 "2003-02-02T06:34:11Z")
Russel Crowe. That guy’s ego doesn’t need any more awards. ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2003, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drop-the-little-golden-man-and-nobody-gets-hurt/152259/4 "2003-02-02T06:35:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sampiro \* > **Frances McDormand: FARGO- I just didn’t think she earned it.** You’re so high. She should’ve gotten two. My vote is for Halle Berry, if only to save us all from seeing her acceptance “speech.” And I don’t have anything personal against the Topsy Turvy/Moulin Rouge guy, but I think his should’ve gone to the Gandalf/Magneto guy. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2003, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drop-the-little-golden-man-and-nobody-gets-hurt/152259/5 "2003-02-02T06:36:11Z")
And his performance in GLADIATOR was just “okay”. (It wasn’t an Oscar caliber role no matter who played it; Oliver Reed was more deserving.) ---
**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:** [February 2, 2003, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drop-the-little-golden-man-and-nobody-gets-hurt/152259/6 "2003-02-02T07:56:44Z")
Take the oscar for the Best Picture of 1977 away from _Annie Hall_. That way, it can go to _Star Wars_, which was the movie that should’ve gotten it all along. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2003, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drop-the-little-golden-man-and-nobody-gets-hurt/152259/7 "2003-02-02T08:14:07Z")
Easily ‘The English Patient’. ---
**Author:** ![MonkeyMensch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@MonkeyMensch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MonkeyMensch)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2003, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drop-the-little-golden-man-and-nobody-gets-hurt/152259/8 "2003-02-02T08:29:27Z")
Well aside from the Best Picture fiascos of recent years: _Titanic_ over _As Good as it Gets Good Will Hunting L.A. Confidential_ and _Forrest Gump_ (ugh) over _4 Weddings and a Funeral Pulp Fiction Quiz Show Shawshank Redemption_ …it has to be… Roberto Bug-me-me getting to clown around like the no-talent clown he appears to be while both Ian McKellen (sp?) for _Gods and Monsters_ and Edward Norton for _American History X_ being left to applaud politely in the audience. I have to say that still bugs me. ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2003, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drop-the-little-golden-man-and-nobody-gets-hurt/152259/9 "2003-02-02T08:37:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by tracer \* > \*\*Take the oscar for the Best Picture of 1977 away from _Annie Hall_. > > That way, it can go to _Star Wars_, which was the movie that should’ve gotten it all along. \*\* Yes… let’s give all the Oscars™ to crap movies. While we’re at it, let’s only recognize directors for lifetime achievement awards if they really pack 'em in the theaters. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![SnugTheJoiner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e8c25b/32.png) [@SnugTheJoiner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnugTheJoiner)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2003, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drop-the-little-golden-man-and-nobody-gets-hurt/152259/10 "2003-02-02T09:07:44Z")
No one, NO ONE, not in a million gazillion years, can justify giving the 1940 Best Actress Oscar to Ginger Rogers for KITTY FOYLE. Don’t misunderstand me; I ADORE Ginger, and her performance in that film is admirable . . . but that doesn’t change the fact that KITTY FOYLE is a shallow, soapy piece of third-rate melodrama. And to think that she beat out Joan Fontaine in REBECCA and Katharine Hepburn in THE PHILADELPHIA STORY! Take the Oscar from Ginger and let Joan and Kate fight for it. ---
**Author:** ![Einmon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Einmon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Einmon)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2003, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drop-the-little-golden-man-and-nobody-gets-hurt/152259/11 "2003-02-02T10:40:49Z")
Nothing rivals the outrage I felt 1990 when some obscure Swiss movie got picked over _Cyrano de Bergerac_ mostly because of a scandal that had erupted over Gérard Depardieu. Mind you, this was the year when I had to watch Kevin Costner accept for _Dances with Wolves_… ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2003, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drop-the-little-golden-man-and-nobody-gets-hurt/152259/12 "2003-02-02T11:14:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mockingbird \* > \*\*Yes… let’s give all the Oscars™ to crap movies. > > While we’re at it, let’s only recognize directors for lifetime achievement awards if they really pack 'em in the theaters. > > :rolleyes: \*\* I see your :rolleyes: and raise you a :wally _Annie Hall_ is one of my favorite movies, but _Star Wars_ was, literally, a phenomenon. It was an epic presentation that combined the best of every aspect of filmmaking, except possibly for acting. And even though it wasn’t clear at a time just how huge it would turn out to be, it was plain to see that the movie was a Big Deal. _Annie Hall_ was a very well-done romantic comedy, and that’s it. And it was no Grand Work of Art, no matter what your lowbrow vs. highbrow comment at the end is supposed to suggest. Please. ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2003, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drop-the-little-golden-man-and-nobody-gets-hurt/152259/13 "2003-02-02T13:05:38Z")
**Sol** - I wasn’t really aware at the time, since I was a toddler, but from what I’ve read. Star Wars had most of the critics ho-humming. It would appear that the mediocre to atrocious acting that was in the movie really swayed a lot of critics away from the decent but not outstanding special effects. It wasn’t a Big Deal until folks noticed that people were still going, in droves, long after it should have faded away. ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2003, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drop-the-little-golden-man-and-nobody-gets-hurt/152259/14 "2003-02-02T13:16:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tristan \* > \*\ ***Sol** - I wasn’t really aware at the time, since I was a toddler, but from what I’ve read. Star Wars had most of the critics ho-humming. It would appear that the mediocre to atrocious acting that was in the movie really swayed a lot of critics away from the decent but not outstanding special effects. > \*\* I rewatched the original trilogy a few weeks ago after not seeing ot since the special editions were in the theatres. I watched it cause I was feeling a bit sad at how bored I am with the prequels and wanted to see how much truth there was in the fanboy cry that “the acting and dialogue has always been bad! cut it some slack!” They hold up really well! The acting is good, the dialogue is funny, occasionally witty, Harrison Ford is really, really good. Moreso in Empire than in Star Wars, but all 3 are much better films than people nowadays seem to give them credit for. And I’m not just comparing them to the prequels, for me they stand up really well as movies on their own. Unfortunately the special effects have really aged for me. I can see all the matte lines where the space ships are. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2003, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drop-the-little-golden-man-and-nobody-gets-hurt/152259/15 "2003-02-02T13:24:58Z")
Lord Vader, the rebels have hijacked the thread!!! ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2003, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drop-the-little-golden-man-and-nobody-gets-hurt/152259/16 "2003-02-02T13:26:22Z")
Yeah, sorry about that :). Back to the Oscar bashing! ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2003, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drop-the-little-golden-man-and-nobody-gets-hurt/152259/17 "2003-02-02T13:35:03Z")
I’d take it away from Russel Crowe for _Gladiator_, and give it back to him for _A Beautiful Mind_. I have no hard and fast feelings for Mr. Crowe as an actor. I just thought his performance in Gladiator was good, but not spectacular. On the other hand, I thought his performance in _A Beautiful Mind_ was phenomenal. I’d also take the Oscar away from Helen Hunt for _As Good As It Gets_. I do have hard and fast feelings about Ms. Hunt. I think her acting ability is … well it sucks. She has the range of a Daisy air rifle. I’ve only ever seen her do about … one emotion, and one character … just different lines. I’d also take the statuette away from Gordon Wiles for his art direction of _Transatlantic_ in 1931, just because I really felt like being obscure. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2003, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drop-the-little-golden-man-and-nobody-gets-hurt/152259/18 "2003-02-02T13:39:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jack Batty \* > \*\*I’d also take the Oscar away from Helen Hunt for _As Good As It Gets_. > I do have hard and fast feelings about Ms. Hunt. I think her acting ability is … well it sucks. She has the range of a Daisy air rifle. I’ve only ever seen her do about … one emotion, and one character … just different lines. > \*\* Surely you missed her stunning performance in “Quarterback Princess”! And what about that after-school special where she played the girl who jumped out of the window after trying PCP? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2003, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drop-the-little-golden-man-and-nobody-gets-hurt/152259/19 "2003-02-02T13:41:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tristan \* > \*\ ***Sol** - I wasn’t really aware at the time, since I was a toddler, but from what I’ve read. Star Wars had most of the critics ho-humming. It would appear that the mediocre to atrocious acting that was in the movie really swayed a lot of critics away from the decent but not outstanding special effects. > > It wasn’t a Big Deal until folks noticed that people were still going, in droves, long after it should have faded away. \*\* Star Wars was a hit from day 1, with Walter Cronkite doing a story about the lines that were going around the block for this new movie. It was also very favorably critically received, with most critics overlooking the films scripting and acting flaws in favor of the spectacle. Me? I’d take the 1982 BP Oscar away from Ghandi and give it to ET. ---
**Author:** ![Wumpus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8c91f0/32.png) [@Wumpus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wumpus)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2003, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drop-the-little-golden-man-and-nobody-gets-hurt/152259/20 "2003-02-02T14:46:13Z")
I’d take away all of them, and give them to Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles, Charlie Chaplin, Stanley Kubrick, Howard Hawks, Robert Altman, Martin Scorcese, Ernst Lubitch, Fritz Lang, Richard Burton, Fred Astaire, Joseph Cotten, Albert Finney, Cary Grant, Robert Mitchum, Peter O’Toole, William Powell, Ralph Richardson, Peter Sellers, Lauren Bacall, Glenn Close, Greta Garbo, Judy Garland, Lillian Gish, Deborah Kerr, Angela Lansbury, Agnes Moorhead, Rosalind Russell, Gloria Swanson, and all the other extraordinarly talented people who never won a thing. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drop-the-little-golden-man-and-nobody-gets-hurt/152259.md?page=2)