Man, there's so much to say.
First off, Australia was great. The people are very hospitable, and the place is magnificent. Darwin has the tropical weather I'm used to, and it's scantily populated, thank God! Us Indians are just not used to seeing big broad roads with no traffic jam.
Traffic jam reminds me, what's with Bangalore lately? It seems to be rapidly deteriorating ever since I left. I know, you turn your back for two minutes and everything falls apart without you....
On a more serious note, the terrorist attack at IISc in Bangalore has had it's effect in Madurai too. According to the hushed whispers of people here, it seems Madurai was a possible target too. The very visible police deployment in Madurai doesn't bode well, either. The police have taken to stopping all vehicles passing the University and questioning them. It happened to me too. Or maybe they mistook me for a Kashmiri terrorist. Oh well. It won't be the first time the colour of my skin has gotten me into hot water here.
In other news, Brokeback Mountain scores 8 Oscar nominations, the highest of any film this year!! Yeee Haw! Bush claims not to have seen the film, though he's heard about it... he giggles, and tells people to go see it. The producer of BBM said in a recent interview that the White House requested for a print of the film and was sent one, though he has no idea who did see it.
My Oscar guesses? Glad you asked. BBM is gonna score Ang Lee Best Director. He deserves it. Best Actor is probably going to Capote, though it would be a hoot if BBM snags that as well. Best Actress? At this point, my guess is Transamerica. Notice I refer to the films scoring the awards, not the people? That's because I strongly believe each performance is unique, and is inextricably bound to the film. An actor may give a brilliant performance, but it's the film that gives him/her the opportunity to do so. It takes a film like BBM to extract rave performances from Heath Ledger and Jake G., both of whom had no serious acting credits till date. Now they're the toast of Hollywood. Funny, isn't it? A few years ago, BBM was the “greatest unproducable script”, and now, it's tearing open minds and hearts. As for acting skills, well, let's just say, does anybody remember Hoffman in a memorable role before Capote? Or any role, that they can remember? I have, and believe me, if he had talent then, it wasn't used. That's how it is. The film is bigger than just the sum of its actors.
Back to the Oscars. Best film? I hope BBM, but the SAG awards have thrown up a strong contender, Crash. BBM cleaned up at the Golden Globes, which tend to reward smaller, better made films than the glitz loving Oscars. However, Crash is a very LA film, and has strong Southern California roots, where most of the SAG voters live. Crash triumphed at the SAG awards, and BBM flopped. SAG voters make up the largest contingent of Academy voters. You do the math. The LA Weekly says that homophobia is keeping many straight Academy members from even screening Brokeback. Either way, let's see. If BBM triumphs at the Oscars, I'll commend their good judgement. If it fails, I'll lam bast their small minded, bourgeois redneck thinking.
But BBM has exceeded all expectations of it's financial returns. Made on a tiny budget of $ 14 million, its earnings per screen are the highest ever. Its popularity can only grow after the appearance of the cast on Oprah. Oprah's seal of approval means legions of Oprah's slaves zombies fans will now descend on their nearest cineplex in their millions. Each deranged fan brings their $$ with them. I commend Oprah for that. Her uneasiness with the subject matter is clear, but she's done more for this film than any wingnut neocon could hope to undo. Bravo, Oprah. Malcontent has the entire Oprah clip on his website. Check it out.
2 comments:
Oprah was uneasy with the subject matter??You mean she doesnt like homoseuxal subject matters?Whats her problem?I thought she was open minded??She could talk very easily to ex pedophiles but she feels uneasy talking about homosexuals??If that is the case then that would explain her popularity in America.Morons.
I dunno what it is, but Oprah's talked about a LOT of stuff... but whenever she talks about homosexuality, it's usually in connection to gay men who marry and how the wives feel duped, and so on. Or it's the now infamous episode on the "Down Low". I've seen a LOT of Oprah (guilty as charged!!), and never have I seen an episode that talked about the problems queers face. Not even when Matthew Shepherd was bashed.... well, maybe if he had been black, then maybe.
I have a lot of respect for Oprah. She's done a lot of good, and she gives people hope. But sometimes she does things that really piss me off. Like when Nate Burkis talked about losing his "partner" (as she called it) in the tsunami in Sri Lanka, just a couple of months after it happened. It was probably the most heartbreaking episode of Oprah i have ever seen.... poor Nate was recounting the story of barely surving the Tsunami himself, and of losing his partner of 12 years, Fernando. He was in such a terrible state, and he's such a wonderful person.
I wish Oprah had been more respectful of Fernando. And Nate. A lot of people who saw that episode probably thought Fernando was Nate's business partner, not his life partner. I know that for a fact, because that's what my mom thought.
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