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9 Weeks Away: 1.23.03 10 Weeks Away: 1.16.03 11 Weeks Away: 1.09.03 12 Weeks Away: 1.02.03 13 Weeks Away: 12.26.02 14 Weeks Away: Part 2 14 Weeks Away: Part I 15 Weeks Away: 12.12.02

January 30, 2002

8 Weeks Away

The ballots are in. What’s left to say? Two columns worth of tap dancing, because there’s really nothing to do but reflect on a year that finally took us from the kind of campaigning that always seemed strained but amusing, to the kind of campaigning that has become the hallmark of the Democratic and Republican parties – a few early primaries that could strengthen an underdog and then the party essentially decides who wins.

People have demeaned themselves this year in ways I never expected, and some of those ways are so disgusting that I can’t even write about them… it’s not my job to get people fired for the sake of some gossip (truth, but gossip). Spreading the truth about a movie, written for all to see in the source material, was an ugly tactic last year. But it was truth, however spun. This year, the lies are more aggressive.

My respect for Chicago has grown over time. But really… is it really anything approaching the best film made in English and released in 2002? Forget about the “ivory tower’ people who love only the most artistic, pretentious films. Is Chicago anything other than a pleasant amusement? Moulin Rouge was loved by many and hated by many, but it was revolutionary. All That Jazz was a serious adult film. And even Cabaret was a more raw and gutsy film – albeit deeply flawed – than this year’s inevitable Oscar winner.

Understand… none of this devalues the contribution of any of the artists involved. I couldn’t be more excited about seeing Bill Condon’s version of Alfred Kinsey’s story. I am thrilled by the idea of Renee Zellweger eating her way into Bridget Jones again. I hope that Queen Latifah’s comedy is funny, that Richard Gere’s next movie is thoughtful and demanding and that Catherine Zeta-Jones’ baby is as adorable as mommy.

But is Chicago a significantly better piece of entertainment than Spider-Man? If people make fun of Marisa Tomei for winning for an excellent performance that survived a truckload of superior dramatic performances that apparently cancelled one another out, what are we all going to be saying in a few years about Ms. Zellweger’s Oscar? She may be one of the best-liked actresses of her generation, but is there any question but that she is the least compelling singer/dancer of the five top names in the film?

What about Scorsese’s distinctly possible win for Best Director? Am I supposed to be thrilled that my favorite working director wins the Oscar for the most bastardized work of his career? Every time my blood pressure settles down and I start to accept the idea that I should be happy that a man I honor is likely to be honored, he turns up somewhere – most recently NPR’s Fresh Air – spinning the idea that there is another, superior version of Gangs of New York into something that none of us who believe there is has said. No one has claimed that the October 2001 version is better because of added scenes. Or that any of us think that his first assembly should have been released into theaters. It is enraging! If he simply said, “People didn’t understand what I had put together and, in the name of paying for this very expensive film, I made changes to make the film more palatable to a wider audience,” well, okay. I wouldn’t love it. But it wouldn’t pain me so. He doesn’t have to diss Harvey Weinstein to please me. He doesn’t even have to say that he liked the earlier version better. But the absurd degree to which he sinks to silence some of his truest fans is ugly.

(One last time: I believe that the longer version that I saw was superior primarily because it let the story happen and didn’t chop things up and add excessive voice-over to indulge the stupid. It is a significant stylistic variation. And I honestly believe that at least 50% of those disappointed with Gangs would find it far more palatable in this more intimate, artistically rich cut.)

Conrad Hall will get a cinematography nomination, which is not undeserved. But it probably would not have happened were it not for his death. Which is sad.

Original Screenplay is such a lame category this year that not being nominated will be a hard slap in the face to some. Meanwhile, there are three – count `em – three films competing in the category that are categorically NOT original screenplays. But hey, get away with anything you can, right?

Maggie Gyllenhaal and Campbell Scott are exactly the kinds of outsiders who have made the nominations game fun in the past. Expect both to have to settle for Independent Spirit Awards this time out.

The charts aren’t changing much this week… mostly clean up. And when the nominations are announced, I will breath deep and get ready for a few more weeks of very specific focus. And it will pass. And we can all start figuring out how Harvey is going to take on The Return of the King next year at this time.

The next edition of 15 Weeks to Oscar will appear next Thursday.

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