Obviously Mr. Jackson did a bang-up job with this movie. I enjoyed hearing the NZ accent!
I watched the Oscars for the first time in, oh, a decade or two--it had seemed to be brought to my attention in one medium (is that the correct singular of media when you're speaking of news media?) or another practically every time I turned around. Also, I wanted to see the little girl from Whale Rider. The poor thing seemed embarrassed to death when one of the announcing hosts dragged her over to be introduced to some actor whom he had just told millions that she considered a "stud", or some such thing. I had known there wasn't much chance that a child would win, but I thought it was neat that she got nominated. I haven't seen the movie that the actress--oh, Charlize Theron--was in who won, but from the clips shown she was pretty amazing. I liked her acceptance speech, esp. where she thanked her mom for all the sacrifices, and they were both crying.
But I can't help thinking: look at all that glitz, glamour, and hoopla, for what? A movie. A form of entertainment. That in 20 years or less no one will remember. Yes, he worked hard. Yes, he has wonderful talent. But at the end of the day, what will it matter? I really wonder what the total cost of the Academy Awards would be, if someone added up not only the cost of the production itself, but things such as what the stars paid for their clothing and transportation. (One of the things that brought the Oscars to my attention was a clip on the kinds of cars they like to rent to get there.)
I don't mean to be a spoilsport. Sure, they can have this recognition of their achievement. But I couldn't help thinking that it would be nice if we could also do something like this for people who, say, make breakthroughs in medical treatment. Yes, there are the Nobel prizes, but.
