# The Oscar Rehash Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 6, 2006, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-oscar-rehash-thread/347263 "2006-03-06T17:18:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Rachael\_Rage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71c47a/32.png) [@Rachael\_Rage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachael_Rage)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2006, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-oscar-rehash-thread/347263/101 "2006-03-08T02:46:41Z")
> [@DesertGeezer](#): > > When anything about a pimp is regarded as culture it seems to me that we’ve reached the end of our cultural rope. As far as I am concerned a pimp is very near the lowest form of life…and rap is very near the lowest form of expression. But that’s just me. Maybe I’m just too old to get it. But maybe the academy is just effing sick. :rolleyes: Did you _see_ “Hustle & Flow?” 😉 No, really. It was a very good film (even my dear mother liked it, and she _hates_ rap). IMO, the Oscars performance was a pretty lame interpretation of the song, and the presentation completely missed the point that the film was trying to make, and Taraji Henson didn’t do herself any favors by screaming the money note (keep your day job, hon), but in any case I’m glad it won. Most other films just tack a song onto the credits to try for their Oscar gold, but “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” was a key moment in the arc of the characters and the story of the film. According to the writer/director, the film is about how _anyone_ - even “the lowest form of life” - can find redemption through the creative arts (in this case, hip-hop music) and the creation of that song in the home studio was a moving and thrilling moment. One of _the_ most deserving Oscar songs in years. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2006, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-oscar-rehash-thread/347263/102 "2006-03-08T02:47:40Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > You think that a good % of the freaken films in America might just be set in the second largest city? :rolleyes: How many are set in or about NYC? Over the same time period, 3 Oscar-nominated movies were set in New York: Gangs of New York, Ray (partially set in NY), and As Good as It gets. As opposed to the 8 nominees set or partially set in LA. > [@](#): > > And, adding ; “Finding Neverland (in praise of show business); Shakespeare in Love (ditto); Gosford Park (subplot about American movie producer) ; Chicago (show business); Moulin Rouge (show business);” as 'shows about show business" is absurd. To paraphrase several _Crash_ fans on these boards, “Did you _see_ the movies?” _Finding Neverland_ and _Shakespeare in Love_ were paeans to the Importance of Acting. And do you seriously mean to say that _Chicago_ and _Moulin Rouge_ weren’t show business pictures? Your only argument might be _Gosford Park_, which was only partly about show business. Note to Oscar-hungry producers: To better your odds, make sure your movie is about show biz, or is set in LA. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2006, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-oscar-rehash-thread/347263/103 "2006-03-08T03:24:18Z")
> [@spoke-](#): > > _Finding Neverland_ and _Shakespeare in Love_ were paeans to the Importance of Acting. _Finding Neverland_ was about the importance of storytelling. I can’t see _Shakespeare in Love_ being about acting. If you described it as a paean to the theatre, I wouldn’t argue. > [@](#): > > And do you seriously mean to say that _Chicago_ and _Moulin Rouge_ weren’t show business pictures? I wouldn’t call _Chicago_ a show business picture. And if it is, it’s a rather cynical statement about show biz and the courts. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2006, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-oscar-rehash-thread/347263/104 "2006-03-08T03:46:44Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > _Finding Neverland_ was about the importance of storytelling. I can’t see _Shakespeare in Love_ being about acting. If you described it as a paean to the theatre, I wouldn’t argue. _Hugh Fennyman_: How much is that, Mr Frees? _Frees_: Twenty pounds to the penny, Mr. Fennyman. _Hugh Fennyman_: Correct. _Philip Henslowe_: But I have to pay the actors and the author. _Hugh Fennyman_: Share of the profits. _Philip Henslowe_: There’s never any. _Hugh Fennyman_: Of course not. _Philip Henslowe_: Oh, oh, Mr. Fennyman. I think you might have hit upon something. – Shakespeare in Love. The movie is filled with references that apply to modern show business, including movie making. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2006, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-oscar-rehash-thread/347263/105 "2006-03-08T03:57:03Z")
_Chicago_ isn’t about show business per se–it’s about overweaning ambitions, unloved people and cynicism of not only the press, but the judicial system. It’s a caustic commentary on “fame”. Where is it written that for a film to be considered “worthy” or “serious” or even “oscar contender” that it cannot mention Hollywood or show business? Alot of the ugliness of life takes place off stage–and the ugliness of life is what alot of films is about. There are plenty of films that have no mention of the above whatsoever-- in _Gosford Park_, the Hollywood producer et al are hardly deified–they are literally there to make numbers at the dinner table and to provide a touch of “glamor” to a weekend shoot (birds, not film!). Have you seen it? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2006, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-oscar-rehash-thread/347263/106 "2006-03-08T14:44:18Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > Have you seen it? Yes, I’ve _seen_ the film! 😉 Admittedly, the producer is not the center of _Gosford Park_. I actually think he was included in a cynical attempt to garner Oscar votes. Throws a few winks and nudges and inside references for the Hollywood audience. The [L.A. Times knows how Oscars are won](http://theenvelope.latimes.com/columnists/insider/env-screenscrash7mar07,0,5184709.column?page=1): > [@](#): > > In fact, the key to the success of “Crash” was that the film itself — and the carefully orchestrated promotional campaign undertaken by its distributor, Lionsgate — appealed to the academy’s largest voting bloc: actors. With 22% of the voting members, the acting contingent is nearly three times as big as the next-largest group, producers. > > It was actors — specifically, those in Los Angeles — who were targeted to deliver votes. And judging by the upset, deliver they did. > > … > > Still, one can’t ignore the effect of the finely tuned Oscar strategy of Lionsgate and its parent, Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. The company opened its wallet at key times in January and February to allocate an extra $2 million, bringing its total outlay to $4 million. Targeted were Los Angeles actors, the niche it needed to emerge from a field of five films, none of which was an obvious front-runner. > > … > > “Crash” was also set in Los Angeles, which probably gave it an additional home-field advantage. Seventy-eight percent of the academy’s voting members live in California — the vast majority of them in the L.A. area. > > … > > [Lionsgate’s] logic was to “win” the city, while counting on voters in the rest of the nation, mainly the New York contingent, to split their votes among all five nominees… Sounds like a clear case of home-cooking. ---
**Author:** ![Largo62](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@Largo62](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Largo62)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2006, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-oscar-rehash-thread/347263/107 "2006-03-09T02:09:46Z")
> [@vaderspal](#): > > Did you _see_ “Hustle & Flow?” 😉 Actually, I didn’t see it. It’s not really my kind of picture. If, as you say, the story is about redemption, perhaps I was hasty. I still have trouble, though, calling a rap a song. Guess my culture is just a little too old . . . as I am. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2006, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-oscar-rehash-thread/347263/108 "2006-03-09T14:22:44Z")
> [@DesertGeezer](#): > > This was about the most bland awards show I’ve seen, except for the “pimp” rap winning for best “song” (since when is a rap a song?), which I felt was not bland but outrageous. When anything about a pimp is regarded as culture it seems to me that we’ve reached the end of our cultural rope. As far as I am concerned a pimp is very near the lowest form of life…and rap is very near the lowest form of expression. But that’s just me. Maybe I’m just too old to get it. But maybe the academy is just effing sick. :rolleyes: Does age force you to take everything at face value? I think the irony of a pimp complaining about a tough life was supposed to be noted, not ignored. ---
**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2006, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-oscar-rehash-thread/347263/109 "2006-03-09T14:40:40Z")
Make that “the irony is intentional”, since obviously you picked up on it. Anyway, [these are the lyrics](http://www.smartlyrics.com/Song562292-Djay-f-Shug-Its-Hard-Out-Here-for-a_Pimp-lyrics.aspx). Do you think the authors expect any sane adult to hear that and think “Gee,a pimp’s life really is hard! They have my sympathy!” ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2006, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-oscar-rehash-thread/347263/110 "2006-03-09T15:30:50Z")
> [@spoke-](#): > > Yes, I’ve _seen_ the film! 😉 Admittedly, the producer is not the center of _Gosford Park_. I actually think he was included in a cynical attempt to garner Oscar votes. Throws a few winks and nudges and inside references for the Hollywood audience. That’s silly. Robert Altman pander to some imagined Hollywood prejudice? He never won an Oscar until this year! I think you’re reading too much into this. I don’t see the film industry as attempting to promote the film industry by making films about the film industry. I think it’s like anything else–I’m a nurse. I am also writing a murder mystery–and the main character is…a nurse! Not because I want to advance the “agenda” of nurses, but because it’s what I know. I would suck trying to write about a female electrical engineer or whatever. That is not to say that Hollywood isn’t fascinated with itself–it’s narcissistic as hell. But an agenda? Nah. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2006, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-oscar-rehash-thread/347263/111 "2006-03-09T16:27:56Z")
I think some of us are mooshing together movies set in southern California, and movies “about Hollywood.” Certainly, many movies use LA as a setting – it’s convenient. But relatively few wouldn’t work exactly as well in some other setting ( **LA Story** is one of those few). \*\*Crash \*\*could be set in any city with a diverse mix of races & cultures. Movies “about Hollywood” ( **Singing in the Rain, Sunset Boulevard** )are even rarer. The last one I can think of would be, maybe **The Player? Get Shorty**? \*\*Crash \*\*is not “about Hollywood”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-oscar-rehash-thread/347263.md?page=5)