With the possible exception of Billy Crystal, entertainers
based at New York haven't fared very well as hosts for the
Academy Awards, and this Sunday a comic, Chris Rock, will try to
improve a dismal record that includes David Letterman's Uma-Oprah
routine, which went over like a lead balloon.
Actually, New York was part of the earliest telecasts until 1957,
though only old-timers like me seem to remember that tidbit of
cinematic history. The first telecast was in 1953. Bob Hope was
emcee at the RKO Pantages Theatre, and in New York the host was
Conrad Nagel, with Fredric March doing the presentations at the
NBC International Theatre. In 1954 it was Bob Hope there and
Fredric March and Jean Hersholt here. In 1955, Hope there, Thelma
Ritter here. In 1956, Jerry Lewis there, Claudette Colbert here,
and finally, in 1957, Jerry Lewis there and Celeste Holm here.
I watched every one of those shows, because I was a film buff
with a great desire to direct a masterpiece one day. As a teen, I
bought movie magazines such as Modern Screen, Photoplay, and
Motion Picture, and I followed gossip columns by Louella Parsons
and Hedda Hopper. As I grew up, my interests in the denizens of
the silver screen persisted.
Last year it finally died.
Sorry, Chris, but I plan to skip Sunday's broadcast, and I have a
sneaky suspicion that many Americans will do the same. Your being
the host will have nothing to do with that. Last month's Grammy
awards show had its lowest ratings in years, and network
programmers are still wondering why - which just goes to show how
out of touch they are with real people.
We happen to be a nation at war, and unlike their counterparts
during World War II the current crop of movie stars, along with
some musicians and television performers, chose to exercise their
freedom of speech by protesting the war and our president. They
are certainly free to do so. Hooray for Hollywood. They are so
peace-loving.
I, on the other hand, along with millions of other Americans, no
longer have to pay attention to them. I did try to separate the
actors and actresses from their private anti-war campaigns and
simply enjoy their theatrical endeavors. Alas, I could not. I
simply lost respect for them. I found them to be intellectually
moribund individuals living in the lap of luxury who had become
bores.
Besides, what is spewing out of Hollywood is not worth watching,
no matter how fine the performances.
There seems to be a pattern of deliberate disingenuousness in
this year's crop of nominees. "Million Dollar Baby" is
a heavy favorite to win Best Picture, but it is also a subtle
endorsement of an act that a true Catholic would never condone.
"Kinsey" is a biographical whitewash of an amoral
pervert. "Vera Drake," like "Cider House
Rules," seeks to transform abortionists into heroic figures.
All this would be tolerable except for that steady bombardment
during the last election campaign of Hollywood heavyweights
pontificating on how stupid President Bush is and why our
presence in Iraq is evil. Apparently I'm not the only person who
was turned off by the politicizing cinema icons. A billboard went
up in Hollywood recently thanking those stars for re-electing
George Bush. Naturally, it was soon defaced by a swastika drawn
on the president's forehead. Nice town, Hollywood.
The Sturm und Drang continues. Now there seems to be a
controversy over remarks Chris Rock made in an interview with
Entertainment Weekly magazine. He's the Oscars emcee, yet he
apparently has no respect for these types of award shows. In
typical profane language, he mocked the proceedings he's been
engaged to celebrate: "What straight man sits there and
watches the Oscars? Show me one."
Who in the Academy of Arts and Sciences, pray tell, came up with
the brilliant idea of selecting someone who admits to avoiding
all Oscar telecasts until 2002, when many blacks were nominated?
The real shock of Mr. Rock's interview was not his "straight
man" remark but his proclaiming that he makes most of his
choices based on color. Mr. Rock says he wears clothes by Sean
John to "Help out the black designer." He names as his
favorite actors Eddie Murphy and Denzel Washington. As for the
Oscar show, he said, "... you don't see a lot of black
people nominated, so why should I watch it?"
Indeed. Maybe I'll watch the Oscars only when Rita Moreno is
nominated again. Seems to me that Mr. Rock wouldn't be enjoying
this golden opportunity if blacks were the only ones who came to
see him perform.
Methinks Billy Crystal will be back on board next year.