Of awards and magical moments

27Feb08

One of my most memorable TV moments was when Cuba Gooding Jr. got the best supporting actor award for Jerry Maguire. In a moment of spontaneous madness he went on to thank every one long after his speech had been drowned by the music of the orchestra. His joy for the achievement was infectious and he got a standing ovation from the crowd. What a moment that was and from that day I have been watching the Oscar awards ceremony year after year.

This year was no different and with “No Country for Old Men” nailing the big two I was more than happy although a bit disappointed for Viggo Mortensen (Eastern Promises) who had his performance of a lifetime ignored.
The moment of the night was when Marketa Irglova, Best Original Song co-winner, stepped up to speak after partner Glen Hansard had thanked all and the inevitable music from the Orchestra started playing. In a fantastic gesture the impeccable Jon Stewart called her again to the stage after the break and gave her another chance to enjoy her very own moment of glory. What a moment for her and to top that she gave a fantastic acceptance speech thanking all the independent musicians who struggle hard throughout their lives yet dream big.

Ah…Javier Bardem. What a performance in “No Country for Old Men”. Anton Chigur is the meanest-deranged-badass since Dennis Hopper in ‘Blue Velvet’. Bardem could have got the Oscar only for his haircut in the movie. In his acceptance speech he thanked his mother, who was sitting there, in Spanish. Really well deserved award for him. His was the category I was 150% sure he would win the moment I saw the movie. The only other category I was so sure was the original musical score category in which I was sure that Atonement’s score, which is simply brilliant, would triumph. I have been raving about the score to all my friends.
The Coen brothers looked like two nerdy geeks out there accepting their PhD degrees. In an insightful look into their career Joel mentioned how as their first adventure they shot a movie titled ‘Henry Kissinger: Man on the Go’ on their Super-8 camera while Ethan was so endearing with his gawkiness. They truly deserved the award leaving the incredibly talented Paul Thomas Anderson feeling gutted. Any other year he would have just walked away with the Oscar which has been eluding him despite making movies of the quality of ‘Boogie Nights’, ‘Magnolia’ (I still believe he deserved a nomination for Magnolia) and ‘Punch drunk Love’. Sheer bad luck that the movie was released this year as was the case of Viggo Mortensen in Best Actor category. Daniel Day Lewis’s performance was too powerful and incredibly brilliant to snub.

Finally the night was made memorable by Jon Stewart as host and Bill Conti with a brilliantly consistent musical score for the event. Both of them totally rocked the night. Especially touching were the musical scores during the montage moments and the ‘In Memoriam’ segment.

Alas our Award shows are yet to come of age and stop the farce they put up in the name of awards night. How can one possibly explain no nominations for Manorama – Six Feet Under, 1971 and Pankaj Kapoor who had two totally different memorable performances in Dharm and Blue Umbrella. The problem with the jury is they just can’t think beyond the Khans, Kapoors and the Bachchans. The only person who deserved the Best actor award was Pankaj Kapoor for either of the two roles. Will follow up with a round up of Bollywood in 2007.

Filed under: Bollywood, Entertainment, Hollywood, Movies, Oscar   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: Acceptance Speeches, Anton Chigur, Award Ceremonies, Bill Conti, Celebrities, Coen brothers, Cuba Gooding Jr., Glen Hansard, Javier Bardem, Jon Stewart, Magnolia, Manorama – Six Feet Under, Movies, No Country for Old Men, Once, Oscar, Paul Thomas Anderson, Punch drunk Love, Stars