Dear Oscar…
Everyone (see here and here) seems all up in arms about Crash winning best picture at the Oscars last night. Admittedly, I gasped at the announcement and agree that it was NOT the best picture of the year by any means. But, the Academy Awards are what they are. And to be honest, I don’t get excited about watching them the way I used to. It’s much more gratifying to find a film in a film festival and have your little moment with it. It may not be as fun because then nobody knows what you’re talking about when you can’t shut up about this great little film you saw. And then seeing the Academy Award nominees becomes a must and in order to exist as a human if you don’t see Brokeback Mountain you don’t know what everyone’s talking about. That’s what happened with me and the Penguins. I missed it at Sundance where it played as The Emperor’s Journey, then I missed it a few other places, then finally I had to grab my husband, go to the movies and see the dang thing. And…I liked it. I was not only in the crowd that had seen it, but even became, “Oh, you should see it, you’ll love it,†convincing my Mom and others to head to theaters to see those penguins cross the arctic.
The other night at the IDA’s celebration of the documentary nominees they showed a clip of those cute penguin chicks taking their first steps away from their mamas and I couldn’t help thinking that with a clip like that, it had to win. It was going to win. And last night, it did win. I saw all 5 of the nominated docs, Murderball, Enron, Street Fight, Darwin’s Nightmare and the Penguins and they’re all great movies. They all make you think. Ultimately the fact that people are going to see documentaries in theaters and talking about them is the important thing. That’s what’s great! That’s what makes me feel good. So, on that note, congrats to all the documentary nominees, you’re all winners. And as to the features, I would have lost my Oscar pool and voted for Brokeback.