Tag Archive for: movie stars

I Miss the Elegance of the Oscar Ceremonies of Old

/in /by

When did the powers that be decide that crass and obnoxious should be be the theme of the Oscars?

Needless to say I was not impressed with the young man who was chosen to be the master of ceremonies this year. I don’t enjoy people being made fun of–and even though the audience laughed, I’m not sure they did either.

I miss the David Niven kind of host who can be sophisticated even when a streaker ran across the stage. Surely we still have some of those celebrities in Hollywood.

The female stars did look elegant in their beautiful gowns. Those who won were gracious in their thank-yous. And there was some marvelous entertainment. I loved Les Miserables, the movie, and the presentation at the Oscars was wonderful. And how great it was to see and hear Barbra Streisand and her wonderful voice.

I had to chuckle at Daniel Day Lewis’s comment about all the different men his wife has had to live with when he’s playing a role. Years ago, my husband was in community theater and he stayed in his role through the duration of he play. I lived with a gangster, a detective, a black man (hubby was in A Member of the Wedding playing a part none of the blacks would play because it was too Uncle Tom), and he placed a Chief in the Navy in Mr. Roberts when he was a Chief in the Navy. The easiest of these men to live with since it was type casting. He even wore his real uniform.

I love the Oscars even when I’m critical of the hosts or actors who have to throw in political comments.

My father worked for Paramount Studios when it was one of the top studios. He was a master plumber and as such got to know many of the stars. There were only a few he respected because of their lack of morals and kindness towards others. Besides finding and fixing broken pipes and other such problems, he often had to figure out how to make something that involved water could work in a movie. He knew exactly how things worked and when we were at the movies pointed out things like vapor trails in the sky that shouldn’t be there, telephone poles before telephones, painted backgrounds, toy trains instead of real ones, an ocean scene that was done in a tank on the back lot. Of course filming on location and computers have changed all that.

We always watched the Oscars as a family once they were on television. My dad told us his opinion of each star as they appeared. My sister and I loved it. He made us feel like insiders.

I liked the winners this time. I loved Daniel Day Lewis’ portrayal of Lincoln.

What was fascinating about Argo is that though everyone knew it was going to end well, it didn’t keep our hearts from beating faster and wanting to urge them to hurry as they headed for the grand escape–and that’s what made Argo Oscar worthy.

What was your opinion of the Oscars this year?

Marilyn 

Don’t Listen to Movie Stars’ Opinions About Much of Anything

/in /by

When I was a kid I loved movie stars. I cut their photos out of movie magazines (that’s what we had back in my day) and taped them to my closet doors. (Only place mom allowed me to do it.)

Our family went to the movies every Friday night. Sometimes I went to matinees with my friends.

My father worked for Paramount and loved to tell us how awful different stars we liked really were–how they acted on and off the set, how they treated anyone they thought a bit lower in status than they were, lack of morals and so on. At that time, I didn’t really care–and probably thought my dad was exaggerating.

In case you misunderstand, I do believe everyone has a right to their own opinion. But what galls me is to hear a big name movie star speak out on TV like he is an expert about–you name it, politics, global warming, religion, family, the economy, how to fix whatever our problems are or he or she thinks they may be.

Thanks to all the magazines we have now, we know that my dad was right, most of these people don’t behave on or off the set, and have an alarming lack of morals. Frankly, I wonder about some of their intelligence. Just because someone has a beautiful face, body, talent that doesn’t necessarily equal brains. (If you want to know the truth, I feel the same way about most of the politicians.)

For instance, what right does someone who lives in a big house (and probably owns more than one) with who knows how many big screen TVs and other appliances that use up all kinds of electricity and drive and own multiple cars, and maybe fly his or her own airplane wherever they want to go, to tell me or you that we need to conserve, start walking instead of driving, well you get the idea.

None of these folks live in the real world–the world we all live in. They have no understanding of the problems the rest of us face in our day-to-day lives.

I’ve gotten it off my chest and I feel much better.

Might as well let me know what really bugs you.

Marilyn