It’s not surprising that awards fatigue has felt especially jarring this year, what with the extended calendar year due to COVID-19. The Oscars will finally have their telecast this Sunday, April 25, whereas the Academy usually has handed out their statues by late February. It seems odd to still be celebrating films that came out in 2020 over a quarter into 2021, but then just about everything this past pandemic year seems unprecedented.
In February of 2020, when sex offender Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years for his decades of sexual assault, it was a moral victory and a hard-earned one for his many victims and the #MeToo movement. Putting away the former mogul had a real impact and it’s forced every corner of Hollywood, let alone other industries, to examine how it treats women today and re-examine how it has done so in the past.
Every couple of years, someone announces plans to remake THE WIZARD OF OZ. Variety magazine reported that New Line and director Nicole Kassell have a new take on L. Frank Baum's classic in the works, promising a fresh take on the material. You can read the details here, but even the most optimistic movie fans likely furrowed their brows over the announcement. After all, to attempt to remake such a classic, even if it's going to be more faithful to the book, is easily seen as a fool's errand. Filmmakers ask for trouble toying with the great history and affection for Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, and Bert Lahr in the seminal 1939 film.
You know that Oscar season is upon us when Hollywood Reporter film critic Scott Feinberg starts making his nominations forecast for all 23 categories. He made them yesterday and it’s an informed list, though Oscar voters always throw a few curves that the best pundits cannot see coming. One thing that no prognosticator got quite right this cycle was how long and damaging the pandemic would be to Hollywood’s box office, awards, and calendar. Indeed, it’s infected all the norms of Tinsel Town in all kinds of terrible ways. Few productions, closed theaters, lost revenues, etc. Even the Oscars were moved back two months to accommodate all the mess.
Christopher Plummer, the legendary actor of stage, screen, and television, died February 5 at the age of 91. He did so many big roles and so many notable films in his last two decades that it seemed as if he would go on forever. I remember thinking so when I saw him dominate a healthy portion of the thriller KNIVES OUT just two short years ago. The man didn’t seem to be any less sharp, sly, or intimidating than he was decades earlier. Plummer was still handsome, too, cutting a dashing figure with his intense eyes, strong features, and masculine timbre. As he aged, it seemed that Plummer simply grew more and more brilliant on film.
Right now, filmmaker Spike Lee is having what they call "a moment."
America has never seen quite as dark a day as Wednesday, January 6, 2021, when the President of the United States incited his MAGA mob to storm the Congress in an unlawful attempt to turn over a fair election and threaten the lives of everyone there. The domestic terrorists he encouraged even wanted to hang Vice President Mike Pence and Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and, as we all know by now, five people died as a result of the rioting. The horrors of such treasonous acts are just beginning to be dealt with and for the nation to heal, the Republican Party must not only start to respect the rule of law but recognize what is fact and what is fake news. Does the GOP believe in truth, justice, and the American way, or do they believe that Trump’s lies trump everything else?
