...Oscar winner Francis Ford Coppola who will receive the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award for producing, iconoclast and French new wave legend Jean-Luc Godard (I'm guessing he won't show) and two Emmy winners, actor Eli Wallach and film historian/preservationist Kevin Brownlow.Perhaps no one is receiving the Jean Hersholt Huminatarian Award this year and all three of those men are just the standard "Honorary Oscar"? Pity that the reports aren't specific on this detail. Brownlow is the name I wasn't familiar with. His career is a mixture of television work, film history, restoration work and documentaries.
...unfortunately you won't get to hear these accomplished men giving speeches about their life's work and the cinema. Again.
The Academy is still operating on that "Keep the old folks away from the stage! Get Miley Cyrus" edict from god knows when. Never mind that The Mileys (i.e. all celebrities who have no real business being at the Oscars because they have precious little to do with the art and glamour of either current movies or legendary ones) didn't turn the Oscar ratings around. The positive spin is that these presentations at the Governor's Awards on November 13th will be more like Oscar nights of old, parties to celebrity peers without those pesky commercial breaks, and merciless 45 second time limits on speeches. But honestly, if they're going to keep making the town's legends celebrate off camera as if they've expired -- what is this Logan's Run? -- they should at least let them collectively present Best Picture each year. Or something. Lord knows Oscar needs a new thinktank when it comes to Best Picture presentations. I mean, even after I gave them a detailed and sound argument that they have no imagination in this realm -- I even helped them with household name suggestions! -- they ignored me and went with Tom Hanks. Again.
I mean just once, Academy, try a legendary Actress. It's been 20 years since you let an Actress do it on her own (Barbra Streisand) and that was even an actress who you've let do it again since with a man. Why are you so stuck and repetitive? And if you're that stuck and you simply must pull from your list of "people who've done it before," pony up and ship Olivia de Havilland over from France for a real shocker.
My longwinded point is this: It better be an actress this year, since you went with all men for your honorary prizes. Here's a helpful reminder of living actresses -- some of them Oscar winners -- who have not presented Best Picture and who the general public would recognize.
That's what's called "scratching the surface"
You're welcome.
I could totally go on. Especially if you were willing to consider people who the public would recognize after a few seconds of "oh, yeah, right her. She's important!"
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