Award Show Irrelevancy?

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Watching the Golden Globes and SAG awards I can’t help but wonder if award shows have become irrelevant. Do people care any more? I obviously care because I’m watching them, and writing about them, but do average moviegoers and people care about award shows?

Before I go any further I should mention that there is a part of me that acknowledges I may be bitter because I’m not actually attending these award shows. If I were nominated for something at any award show, I don’t care if it was in the armpit of the world aka Panama City Beach, I’d be there the night before just waiting to make sure I get in. With that nugget in mind…

I don’t feel as though award shows are as relevant anymore for one reason: The oversaturation of stars. A big appeal to these shows was and is getting celebrities together, seeing them in one place, and then seeing them interact. When people used to ask what Jane Doe is wearing other people actually cared. Due to social media and paparazzi the appeal and mystique has faded. But is this really anything new? No.

So what happens when the appeal of celebrity is totally gone? What happens when we’re so immersed in Jane Doe’s instagram and Twitter life that nothing is new? Where do award shows go from there? Well, the actual award will have to mean something and people will have to care about what the award means.

Back in the day when I’d ask my mom to see a movie I’d pitch it as “It’s from the director who won the academy award for…” Does that thought process really exist anymore? I don’t necessarily think it does… as much. I don’t think society boasts about awards like it once did, especially when we’re talking about movies.

Just to confuse things and essentially make an argument against myself I checked out this article: According to this article when your film is nominated you roughly get a 22% spike in sales and then actually winning gives another 15% - That’s pretty significant. This is called the “Oscar Bump” and up until that article I thought the Oscar Bump didn’t happened anymore.

We’ll see how this plays out over the next 10 years. It’ll be interesting to see what happens, especially with technology changing the game even more than it currently is. We’ll see if the old school mysterious celebrity morphs into a newer common day “my life is yours to watch” celebrity. If this happens then award shows may have to adjust and become somewhat of a reality show in itself.

For the record I want a striving entertainment industry. I want award shows to be relevant and I want more people to see things because of those awards.

Alright.

I’m off to DVR the Oscars and prepare my predictions of who will win what.

Real quick - Can you answer who won the academy award for best picture last year and the year before?

Why does this make sense?

http://youtu.be/HI-vja-tcc0 Before we all watch the Lakers and their suddenly horrible offense with amazing players we should all watch this and be happy it exists.

I present: Metta World Peace in a Lifetime movie called “The Eleventh Hour”

…And yes, that is Jenny Garth.

…And yes, I may have to break this video down at some point in the near future.

A New Hope (part 2)

Disney + Star Wars = Episode VII. Yesterday I had a knee jerk reaction that could only be described as … ah… not a good knee jerk. I couldn’t really imagine a world with another Jar Jar Binks. Nor could I imagine the Disney touch in a Star Wars film, but then I got to thinking. Worst-case scenario is easy to see, there are 743 different options, but after a night of sleep sans any alcohol I think I came to some best-case scenarios with this whole thing. Maybe not best case scenario but definitely more of an optimistic approach…

Why has Star Wars become tainted?

Lucas kept adding new shit to the originals - Hayden Christensen as a ghost in Jedi, new effects, Han actually shooting first, new characters, etc. But the main reason is because of the prequels that I stood in line for. The series really took the plunge when Jar Jar hit the screen. I should probably note at this point that I like Revenge of the Sith.

Point is, it’s already been tainted! We can only go up from here, right? If the prequels weren’t released wouldn’t this be a really fucking great moment? Is it possible that Disney would repeat the same mistakes?

Disney is about longevity.

It’s a business, and Disney is a machine. It’s in Disney’s best interest to preserve what they currently have. No way would they break format, they’re gonna ride this universe out far longer than any of us can comprehend. They’re going to recognize what worked, right?

Directors and writers.

There are a lot of good ones. Anyone who takes on the Star Wars universe is going to be shitting because odds are they’re working on the exact thing that got them excited for movies. This is the Holy Grail … wait … speaking of Holy Grail, are we going to see a new Indiana Jones franchise too!?

Kids will like it.

Don’t have kids, not really worried about them, but I am happy knowing that my 1-year-old nephew will one day live in a Star Wars world. Am I seriously writing about Star Wars VII right now? Can I figure out any other reasons to be optimistic about things, maybe. But this will have to do.

There’s no reason to run from the inevitable. The original movies will live on, nobody is holding a light saber to your head and making you see the future of Star Wars. Nobody bitches about the books that have been released exploring the Star Wars universe. We’re just as selfish as the Disney execs wanting to bring back the franchise… it’s just that we want it to stay sleeping so all we have is a lasting memory.

I have been brain washed by the machine. Bring on the movies!

Dear 49ers Fans --

Lets just excuse the bitter aspect of everything for a second because I am a Green Bay Packers fan.

I hopped on Facebook today and noticed my friend just posted a picture of Alex Smith with the tag “Who’s got it better than us?” I stared at it for a long time trying not to think what I was about to think but I thought it anyway —

You can’t use the phrase “who’s got it better than us” only when the 49ers win. That’s just not right. You either commit or you don’t commit. That phrase is the most ridiculous phrase ever uttered from any fan base that has actually lost games. You either gotta double down on the stupidity or abandoned it completely… just like Aaron Rodgers and his title belt move… um… I mean discount double check.

Are we all clear about this? Does this make sense? Any time I talk to San Francisco fans about this I never get an explanation as to how people can act like this phrase doesn’t exist. Where was this just the other week when you lost? I’m confused.

Now back to bitter Packers fan mode. Go Packers.

10 minutes later: I just read the origins of this saying and I can kind of appreciate it from a family point of view, but still… You can’t just sometimes use it.

The Weekend When a World Series Apparently Happened.

I’ll just be honest – I think I’ve given up on wanting to like baseball. It’s almost shocking for me to even say this because growing up in Wisconsin produced sports culture 101 and going to Brewers games was a normal occurrence when I was a kid. I think the times have caught up to me and I find the sport to be boring. The true test is if “my team” was in the World Series, problem is, is that I don’t really have a team anymore. I root for the Brewers due to hometown pride, the Cubs due to parental nostalgic pride, and now the Dodgers due to… shit… close proximity?

Whichever team I end up rooting for, or not rooting for, the bottom line is that baseball needs to inject itself with steroids again. I tried to watch a bit of game 4 last night and nearly fell asleep. Also, I’ve never really noticed until recently but it’s fucking annoying with all the chewing and spitting that’s happening with 90% of the players. I feel like an old man (or woman) saying that but it’s true.

Baseball needs to speed things up otherwise they’re going to fade away into the world of irrelevance.

Prediction: In lieu of NBC recently winning the rights to the Premiere League, I think soccer… ahem… futbol… will take over the ratings from baseball in the future. This is going to piss a lot of people off.

By the way, casual Sunday night NFL beat the World Series in ratings last night.

Topic transition!!!

Speaking of NFL…

My Green Bay Packers. This season has been killing me. Almost watching them lose to Blaine Gabbert yesterday only helped the production of grey hairs on my head.

I had a conversation via text with my friend who said he thinks the coaching staff needs to be realigned and Mike McCarthy needs to get the boot. I think I may agree to a certain extent. Watching the Packers week in and week out just tells me that Aaron Rodgers is amazing and he bails out the poor coaching and lack of discipline from the team.

Topic transition!!!

Speaking of movies…

Okay not speaking of movies, but I think I should note that I saw Taken 2 and Paranormal Activity 4 this weekend. I’m not exactly sure how another sequel can be produced for either franchise from here on out but my god I’m curious. I’m absolutely aware that these films may not be as great as the original but I love when sequels come out and they do well. My thought is… If people are going to see it… do it. That may not be the popular opinion but it only makes sense and dives deeper into the human psychology for specific entertainment and comfort in what we know.

Topic transition!!!

One more thing about the Packers – They’re taking form of the 2010 Packers when they played pissed off come from behind football and won the Superbowl. The only things that scare me are injuries and Eli Manning.

Onward.

What Happened To Ninjas?

Back in my glory days (aka the 90’s) the simple idea of ninjas were pumped into children maybe 75 to 80 times a day, whether it be cartoon or live action. Yesterday I had a moment to think about the times and I came to a realization that the idea of wanting to be a ninja may have died. What happened to ninjas?

In my book there is no question that we’ve gone soft as a society and part of me wonders if ninjas had to be faded out due to people thinking it was too violent. Just for clarity purposes, when I say ninjas what I mean is kids who pretend to know karate and think they can kick the shit out of anything, to a certain extent that kind of bleeds into being a silent assassin… which may or may not be some kind of ninja credo.

Do kids not think ninjas are cool anymore? If not, I blame the parents. The ironic part is that the parents are basically my age or just slightly older. Does this mean there could be a ninja reboot coming in the next 5 years when people my age start pumping out more kids and realize that they were fed ninja material for almost a decade?

Lets just rehash what the 90’s really brought us:

Teenage Mutant Ninjas Turtle: The TV show and the awesome movie and semi awesome second movie. Third movie is a piece of time travel junk and I’m not going to get into the latest TMNT reboot a few years ago nor am I going to get into the Michael Bay thing. I just realized the fate of the ninja turtles sits in Michael Bay’s hands… This may not be a bad thing.

Street Fighter: Amazing video game, questionable movie. Who cares though, they were mostly fighting with karate.

Speaking of Street Fighter... Anything with Jean Claude Van Damme: The Belgian sensation basically ruled the 90’s: Kickboxer, Double Impact, Double Team, and Sudden Death. Is Van Damme underrated?

Steven Seagal! Before Segal was on a reality show he was saving the world with karate.

3 Ninjas: Anyone remember Rocky, Colt, and Tum Tum? This was probably pitched as Home Alone meets Ninjas Turtles – seriously. This also had 3 movies following, one with Hulk Hogan.

Aren’t these examples enough? They should be. Are ninjas still around like they once were? Am I missing something? Are they still marketed towards children? Will Seagal be in the next Expendables? These are the questions that keep me up at night…

Ashton Kutcher!

 

So, Forbes named Ashton Kutcher TV’s highest paid actor by bringing in 24 million between May 2011 and May 2012. I almost can’t believe I’m going to say this but is this guy a genius? I’d be lying if I didn’t say I appreciate (maybe admire) what he’s doing and basically what he has been doing for the last 10 years or so.

Aside from being the dumb guy on That 70’s Show his biggest contributions have been in the tech world and investing in start up companies. He seems to have some foresight and takes chances with new technology. I remember reading an article about 6 years ago that I was positive was in Time (I just searched the web and can’t find it) that was written by Kutcher discussing the benefits of twitter. In the last few years he’s seemingly invested in 20+ start ups and is on advisory boards of a handful of companies.

Whatever it may be worth you have to at least appreciate what he’s doing. When I first moved to LA he had a restaurant located about 10 minutes away from me on Sweetzer and Melrose called Dolce and now, many years later, that restaurant is closed down and looks as though Ratatouille may be cooking for all of his rat friends because the place is run down and taken over. He went through the “I’m a celebrity I need a restaurant phase.” Now, it seems as though tech investment is the smart thing for him.

I get the sense that he’s on TV to pay for his tech investments, and if that’s the case, then this guy is even smarter than I thought… and I can definitely appreciate that.

It’s early, I need coffee, and this has just filled my Ashton Kutcher quota for the next year or so.

*Side note: The Butterfly Effect is slightly underrated.

Dustin Diamond and the Greatest Party Ever?

I jumped on facebook this morning and my buddy Marko had mentioned this party. I almost can’t believe it’s real. I kind of love that Dustin Diamond lives in Wisconsin and I kind of love he’s driving this Screech thing into the ground. I wish he’d embrace it a bit more.

I did a little more digging then found this YouTube video that he released to promote his party a little more (below). If anyone goes to this party you need to let me know. I cannot stress this enough… You need to tell me everything!

Thanks again Marko.

ps: DJ James Freshluggage - Greatest name ever?

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZe5_VSq00w&w=420&h=315]

Well... That Was Fun

 

I guess the NFL has reached an agreement with the refs, eliminating the replacement refs. Just to be clear I’m a Packers fan and after last Monday’s debacle I wrote this and told myself I was done with football until they came back because I felt like I deserved better.

So… they’re back. I had a good run of resting my mind from football. For a few hours I was actually excited to detach and not watch football on Sunday. I thought of the end of The Cable Guy when everyone starts to read when the cable goes out – that was going to be me.

This Sunday I planned on reading books and saving the world, maybe knitting a blanket, feeding homeless animals, and feeling as though I really earned the day. I suppose I can still do that, but will I? Realistically I will be watching football and yelling at my TV like I know more than everyone.

I had a good two-day run of day dreaming what my life would be like without football during football season – it looked good. Instead of relating to the final scene in The Cable Guy I’m relating to this…

 

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPw-3e_pzqU&w=560&h=315]

 

I'll detach someday...

 

 

Yes. Yup. Yep.

 

I was in a conversation with my friend and he asked me:

“How do you feel about people who say “yep?”

After about a second I said, “I hate it, it’s so indecisive.”

Which then turned into a conversation about the many different variations of saying “yes.” I feel that “yes” is the OG (Original Gangster for everyone else that’s not my 5 friends who actually use “OG”) of affirming something. Since the meaning of “yes” we’ve gotten grunts, yuups, head nods, fist pounds, looks, and about thirty other things to show that we mean, “yes.”

When dealing with someone over email or text message I think that the most commonly used terms of “yes” are “yep” and “yup.” The thing about not saying “yes” is that it can mean so much. The words “yup” and “yep” can seem so incredibly passive that it means there is probably some weight behind using them. Here is a quick little break down that I may have spent way too much time thinking about-

Using “Yes” -

Is there really a better word? As I mentioned above it’s the OG of affirming a situation. It gives comfort. I feel that if someone uses “yes” it’s basically a binding contract or at least should be viewed as one. When you get a “yes” you know what the person means.

Using “Yup” -

“Yup” is tricky. Imagine sending this email:

Hey man, I’m thinking about getting engaged, do you like my girlfriend?

Then receiving:

Yup.

That doesn’t exactly seem to reassuring. I actually have no idea why you’d email that to someone but you get the point, right? But on the flip side “yup” is such a bro term.

Hey man I’m going to get some beers for the game, you want any?

Yup!

I can just hear the person responding with “yup” being a doofus who is already drunk. “Yup” is very dependent on context to be honest, but it’s no “yes” and “yes” doesn’t rely on context, its definitive.

Using “Yep” -

The most passive of the bunch. I hate using and also receiving a “yep” because I feel like I always envision the person who is writing it. The only time I ever consciously have used “yep” it’s when I’m basically agreeing with something but I’m not happy about it, so I’m being passive and I want that person to know I’m not happy.

Using “yep” is basically saying, “I’m so annoyed with you.” Also, the word “yep” drastically changes depending on context and the relationship you have with someone.

Imagine if you’re dating someone and you send this:

Want to get dinner tonight?

And you receive:

Yep.

That response is basically saying that the other person has nothing better to do so they’ll get dinner with you.

OR:

Did you finish the presentation?

Yep.

That’s a “fuck you stop asking me about my work and focus on yourself” response.

Yes. Yup. Yep. And I’m currently not really taking into consideration the voice to voice interaction when you can hear people say these different words, once you enter that world it’s a whole new monster. To avoid any and all confusion we just need to stick with the OG. When asked a question, don’t confuse people… just go yes.

Side not to all of this: If you’re the person who just response to people with a “Y” then that’s a whole new ball of wax. That means you’re either a) lazy b) have a old phone and don’t want to type out the word c) not a fan of technology and could give a shit d) receive so many messages in a day that you can’t stand two other letters or e) think you’re so incredibly important.

Some of those reasons stated in the side note are understandable, but just try to stick with yes for the sake of humanity.

Green Bay Packers: Rational Reminders

I’ve been a little reluctant to write anything about the Green Bay Packers simply because I kind of don’t know what is happening to them. Last Thursday I was talking with my friend Ottford while they were playing the Chicago Bears and we collectively may have gone through a rollercoaster of emotions that only those who are in psychotic relationships go through. One minute we were basically giving up all hope and conceded that nothing good is going to happen to this team. The next moment their defense was playing better and we talked us into the idea that they have figured out how to play and everything is okay.

We’re sports fans, this is how it’s supposed to be, right?

Moving forward I’ve made a list to keep me sane while this football season is active, these are things that I need to remind myself because without this list to knock sense into me I may look back at this time in my life as an embarrassment. An embarrassment because I cared so much about things out of my control…

Reminder 1: The Packers had a historically horrible defense last year, why would they have pulled a total 180 this year?

Reminder 2: Their offense will pull their shit together.

Reminder 3: Even though Donald Drive has never dropped a pass in his entire life and is the most reliable player on the Packers, Aaron Rodgers obviously knows something I don’t know because he’s not passing to him every play.

Reminder 4: They’re going to get a running game. No they won’t. Yes they will. No they won’t!

Reminder 5: They won the Super Bowl when they were 9-7 and season long team momentum has never seemed so important. It’s okay if the Packers lose games.

Reminder 6: The Packers have the best quarterback in the NFL.

Reminder 7: Jermichael Finley will always piss me off; I shouldn’t be surprised about his rock hands.

Reminder 8: Once again: I’m not playing on the team so for me to think that I have a single bit of control makes me reverse insane. Just accept whatever is happening (This is a crutch… but seriously I need to actually believe this).

With these year long reminders I think I can successfully remain okay with what’s happening, win or lose – or at least pretend to be okay with things.

Goon: Perfect Netflix Clutter

You know when you’re putzing through Netflix and see more shit than you know what to do with, but then you watch something and it reminds you that you’re getting a bargain by only paying 7.99 – that reminder is Goon.

I should note that Netflix streaming has always been a source of clutter and total randomness for me. One day I go to my home screen and it’s promoting Felicity and the next day it’s showing Mission Impossible as a new release. I think they need a better organization system, especially when their “new release” was released to the world in the 90’s.

The clutter that is Netflix steered me to the film starring Sean William Scott and Jake Baruchel. It reminded me to trust Netflix and their options (unless they change their name to Qwikster) and it also reminded me that Netflix is more than just TV series and random reality shows – for now.

The best way I can describe Goon is … shit … that’s the thing - I can’t describe this movie. Maybe that’s why I like it so much. Is it Rocky meets Miracle? Eh, sort of. The film follows William Scott, the insanely nice and self describe “stupid” bouncer whom hangs with Baruchel (also the writer of the film). Baruchel takes William Scott to a hockey game where one of the players rushes the stands and attempts to kick Baruchel’s ass. William Scott steps in and drops this guy in seconds – unleashing his talent: Kicking ass.

The ass kicking capabilities of William Scott gets him a job on the hockey team. His sole purpose is to fight and protect his players, which he does aka a “Goon.” Many fights later he’s brought up to a semi pro team to serve the same purpose. However, William Scott isn’t the only person in the world who serves this exact purpose. A crafty vet played by Liev Schreiber is currently positioned in the semi-pro league and he’s a legend. He’s also probably the best part about this film (more on that later).

As William Scott unknowingly makes his team better and forms bonds with his teammates we build to the inevitable conclusion of Liev (not using his last name because I like his first name so much) and him meeting in a “who gets into the playoffs” game where the two are destined to face off in one historic fight… And they do.

I’ll avoid the spoilers, but what you need to know about this film is that it somehow is filled with a heartbeat. William Scott carried this film. I would argue that aside from playing “Kar” in Bulletproof Monk this might be his best film. No, but seriously, this is his best film.

Liev kind of killed it as the old man who has seen everything but is still fighting to fight. As I was watching I kind of forgot how much I liked him as an actor. Aside from the performances, it was funny, fast, to the point, and was quite possibly the perfect Netflix movie.

Having said all of that I should probably note that there are some definite flaws in the movie, but I don’t want to dive into them because it’s not exactly a movie that you’d try to tear apart, you just enjoy it. Also, I kind of like trusting Netflix…

See Goon.

'Glee' and the (Non)Progression

 

I like Ryan Murphy. I would even say that admire what Ryan Murphy has been able to do on television. I feel that he’s managed to constantly create highly engaging programs but also do it in a new and artistic way. Due to this artistic/stylized vision I used to watch Glee pretty regularly but had to stop after they just kept going to nationals and it turned into too much of a soap opera.

I’d occasionally jump back into Glee to see what’s happening and also because I like the musical numbers (seriously) so I managed to catch a bit last season. I wasn’t too sure what was happening with all of the characters but what I did know is that Quinn (Diana Agron) was in a car accident and Rachel (Lea Michele) was moving to New York. Aside from that, I didn’t know what the hell was happening.

Seeing that we’re in fall TV mode I did kind of wonder what happened to everyone and I even kind of made a point to watch the show to check out how it’s progressed. As I drove down La Cienega (Los Angeles shout out!) I saw a billboard with Kate Hudson dropping the patented Glee “L” (representing “Loser”) over Rachel, whom is obviously in NY – then I remembered. I remembered why I don’t watch the show and I had to ask myself: Is the show really progressing?

Ignoring the big question of “why is Kate Hudson on Glee” lets jump to the smaller question of “why does Glee think everyone is a Loser?” I get it Glee – Being in High School and singing isn’t exactly what the “popular” kids do so we’ll go ahead and toss random slushies on them to represent them being losers but you’re going to try and pull this shit in NY? Really?

I suppose Glee finds itself in a weird position. It’s one of those shows that shouldn’t last longer than three seasons but it’s trying to extend its glory days and use the themes that we all know and love, that theme being the “L” thing aka “The Underdog theme.”

The unfortunate reality is it’s not progressing and pushing forward like it once was; now it’s just that show where random celebrities pop in and sing songs from their childhood. The days of having the songs mean something to move the story forward is gone.

Why am I thinking about Glee this much? I have no Fing clue. As I’ve written this out I realized that I really liked the show more than I thought. I also realized that Glee is about to face the inevitable scenario of kids not being in high school anymore. As far as I know, no show except maybe One Tree Hill has successfully embraced this change… maybe Gossip Girl?

Wow… I can’t wait for Breaking Bad, Mad Men, or any show that reminds me I’m not a 15 year old female to be back on - is this what I’m going to be writing about for the next few months?