March 22, 2001
My favourite Oscar moments - THE COMMENTARY
By Joseph Planta
VANCOUVER -- Every Oscar telecast, while long and boring at times, possess few gems amongst the glut orgy of Hollywood self-aggrandisement. The first Oscar telecast I saw in its entirety was the 1993 telecast, the 65th Annual Academy Awards. Billy Crystal was the host and one of my favourite moments on that show was when Billy introduced Sophia Loren and she and Marcello Mastroianni went on to present Federico Fellini with an Honorary Oscar. In less than 1 week, it’ll be time for the 73rd Annual Oscars. So in this space today, a recount of some of my favourite Oscar moments.
The Loren/Mastroianni appearance was a real treat, because that was one of the few times before his death that they appeared together. Also, Fellini died some months later, thus making the moment of cinematic reunion all the more special. It was a neat year, because Clint Eastwood was making his first appearance at the Oscars in almost 20 years. See, in 1973 Charlton Heston was to host a segment and it so happens he was caught in traffic. Thusly, Eastwood was thrust behind the podium repeating a script written especially for Heston. The script as tailored for Heston mentions something biblical from Heston’s 10 Commandment’s picture -- thus Eastwood was equally flustered. It is reported that he vowed never to go to the Oscars unless he was duly nominated. In 1993 he was, where he triumphed with major nominations, and wins, for Unforgiven.
In my 8 years of Oscar watching - 1993 to 2000 - there have been many hosts. Billy Crystal hosted 4 times, in 1993, 1997, ‘98 and 2000; while Whoopi Goldberg took bat 3 times in ‘94, ‘96 and ‘99. The 1995 show was hosted by David Letterman. Letterman’s hosting performance has been widely panned in critical circles, yet it proved one of the highest rated shows in recent memory. I had never found Letterman’s show to my liking. Believe it or not, I was actually a Jay Leno fan! (Ah, the perils of youth.) But after his performance -- Top Ten, Stupid Pet Tricks and funny insults and all -- I was hooked. David Letterman, is truly the premiere late night talker of our time.
The host is a vital part of the show. While movie stars, legends and fledglings wander in and out the Oscar stage, the host is one of the few constants. From the monologue to the 2-hour midway point to the final good night, the host is there on its feet with funny lines and double entendres. One of Letterman’s funnier outbursts in ‘95 (notwithstanding the whole Uma, Oprah bit,) was when he paraphrased from the year’s best picture Forrest Gump. The joke went something like this: Forrest Gump said “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get,’ that’s unless you sit next to Roger Ebert and you know you’re not going to get any.” Whoopi Goldberg when noting the year of films previous on the 1996 telecast, reminded us of the flop Showgirls. Goldberg made the slight, “I haven’t seen that many poles mistreated since World War 2.” Billy Crystal opened every show with a medley of songs poking fun at the nominees for best picture. Last year “Mame” doubled as Caine, a funny rework saluting Michael Caine who starred in nominee The Cider House Rules. In 1993, “Unforgettable” was reworked to salute Eastwood’s Unforgiven. 1998 saw the theme from Gilligan’s Island introduce the blockbuster Titanic. Steve Martin, for the first time will host this year’s Oscars. He’ll have a daunting task following those previous Oscar traditions, while no doubt forging a new path for future hosts to follow.
The Oscars are also famous every year for what people wear. Besides tuning in to find out who won or lost or what they said when they did win, people watch because they want to see what Hollywood is wearing. There’s a terrific documentary the CBC aired last month entitled Dressing For Oscar. It follows designer Randolph Duke’s life from mid-February to Oscar night as he finds actresses to wear his clothing creations. (It’s a super showing of the madness of Hollywood and the whole path to that big night -- Oscar night.) Anyways, who can forget costume design winner Lizzy Gardner’s own creation she wore when accepting a statuette in 1995? Her dress was, as you’ll recall, was made of 200 or so American Express Goldcards and nothing but. There was Whoppi Goldberg herself, who in 1999 donned all the nominated costumes and more of that year. She wore an over-the-top costume from Velvet Goldmine to a slave outfit from Oprah’s Beloved adorned with a hundred carat diamond ring. She must have gone through a dozen costume changes that night. She looked good, but the press pilloried her performance, thus her own vow that she’ll never host again. But what truly counts is what one wears. Cleavage and diamonds, glitz and style - that’s what the Oscars are all about.
Some of the memorable moments are derived from the winners and what they say. The speeches are some of the more remarkable insights into the human mind and human emotion. The pressure of being nominated now becomes a moment of electric ecstasy climaxing with grabbing that golden guy in the glimpse of over a billion people.
Tom Hanks has always impressed me and in particular the conduct to which he composed himself on the two instances he won in 1994 and 1995 for Philadelphia and Forrest Gump, respectively. Hanks speaks beautifully of his thanks to the Academy, his gratitude to his collaborators and love for his wife Rita Wilson. He moves himself, and some of those watching. (As an aside, someone wrote Roger Ebert trying to extol what he thought of the product placement of the volleyball in Cast Away by its name, Wilson. Ebert informs us that the ball isn’t named after the ball maker company, but after Hanks’ Mrs. Rita Wilson.) Cuba Gooding Jr. truly brought the sheer joy and happiness of winning an Oscar in full view when he accepted in 1997 for Jerry Maguire. He was beginning to be played off by the band, when his excitement became louder and louder and he kept talking and talking. By that point, the audience was on its feet. Ben Affleck and Matt Damon emulated the same the next year, turning the acceptance from moving by people like Tom Hanks, to boisterous and joyful. Another gem are the two speeches made by Emma Thompson winning in 1993 for Howard’s End and 1996 for Sense and Sensibility. While shocked and disbelieving, Ms. Thompson was utterly droll and wickedly funny in sheer self-deprecation and thanks. And who can forget Roberto Benigni winning 2 Oscars in 1999. He spoke mangled English and he straddled the furniture and made Hollywood cheer.
The 1998 telecast will be particularly memorable for a number of reasons. First, it was the year in the acting category that Jack Nicholson (As Good As It Gets), Robert Duvall (The Apostle), Peter Fonda (Ulee’s Gold), Dustin Hoffman (Wag The Dog) and Matt Damon (Good Will Hunting) were all nominated. It was Titanic’s year and it also brought to the stage 70 past acting Oscar winners on the stage for applause and introductions. From Anne Bancroft to Teresa Wright, to Robert De Niro to Sidney Poitier, the entire audience was on its feet for the 20 minutes that went on.
But for me, the moment that nearly brought me to tears took place in 1996. Nicolas Cage and Elisabeth Shue had wandered out what were to be a standard -- go raid the fridge points in the telecast -- presentation; they doled out the two documentary awards. The first winner was Kary Antholis for his picture One Survivor Remembers. He had brought along an older looking woman, who happened to be the subject of the picture. After he gave his remarks, the woman, Gerta Weitzman Klein, strode up to the podium during the fanfare and spoke. Telecast director Jeff Margolis was lauded for not cutting off the microphone as she spoke. She told the audience that the hoopla of the Oscars was more than she imagined and she contrasted that to the 6 years she spent in a Nazi concentration camp. Mrs. Klein spoke emotionally how winning to her then was not a statuette, but a drink of water and a crust of bread. She reminded the audience that when they returned home that night, they were all winners. She concluded her remarks and the audience was defiently moved. Ms. Shue tried to recover as they took back the podium to present the 2nd documentary Oscar. This time it went to a documentary entitled, Anne Frank Remembered. The director, a self-confident Brit bounded that stage with another little old lady and began speaking. He then informs the audience that the accompanying woman was the woman who found Anne Frank’s diary “on the floor”. The audience leaps to its feet and shots of Oprah and Meryl Streep shaking their heads in profound movement. It’s moments like these that galvanise Hollywood and add depth to the shallow exercise of handing out prizes.
For me, the Oscars have always been the mixed-bag we all want. It’s got the jokes and pretty blokes, miscues and mistakes, mayhem and joy, love and tears, shame and shamelessness. It’s got the dresses and tuxes, excesses in extravagance and the requisite display of skin and cleavage. Once a year we pay attention, because for a brief moment we too are a part of Hollywood.
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An archive of Joseph Planta's previous columns can be found by clicking HERE .