Hey, they revealed the official Oscar nominations today and, while perusing the Best Picture category, I couldn’t help but notice a few notable omissions. Where was The Hangover? And Coraline? Thirst? Ponyo? Zombieland? Fantastic Mr. Fox? Sadly, handcuffed by the fact that they are only able to nominate a very limited number of films in the Best Picture Category, the Academy has once again overlooked some very worthy candidates. It’s unfair and I think steps should be taken to see that this doesn’t happen again. To that end, I would strongly suggest expanding the Best Picture category to twenty nominees. Being more inclusive would not only generate interest in more movies, but it would ensure fewer producers with hurt feelings at the end of the day.
Of course as most of you know, this year the Best Picture category was extended from five nominations to ten (Not good enough, I say). According to Sid Ganis, President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences: ““After more than six decades, the Academy is returning to some of its earlier roots, when a wider field competed for the top award of the year.”
I applaud the Academy for this decision and would love to see them return to their roots by also bringing back a few more of the classic elements that made those Oscar’s of yore truly special. Specifically, the following retired categories:
Best Assistant Director
Best Dance Direction
Best Film Tinting
Best Short Subject, Two-Reel
Best Title Writing
Best Pantomime in a Silent Film
Best Vitaphone Recording
Best Unique and Artistic Quality of Production in a Talkie
Best Photoplay Music by a Pianist or Organist
Finally, given that these extra categories may add a few extra minutes to the show’s time and that the biggest complaint about the Oscar telecast is its length, I’d like to propose the following suggestions to help speed things along:
Move the opening monologue and dance number to the commercial breaks.
Condense all five Original Song nominees into a 3 minute medley.
Choose: Best Sound Editing OR Best Sound Mixing. You can’t have both. Unless someone present can explain the difference.
If you’re not there to pick up your award – too bad! Next winner gets two!
Final Oscar of the night is awarded in the category of Shortest Acceptance Speech
A big thanks to everyone who took the time to offer up their list of SGU likes, dislikes, and general wish list for what lies ahead. Many of your responses confirmed what I’d suspected while others came as a bit of a surprise. I can reveal that a significant number of your requests and issues will be addressed in the back half of season one, specifically with regard to character and backstory development, set-ups and pay-offs, pacing and plot, exploration and extraterrestrials, and even those damn communication stones! Others have garnered some serious in-room discussion. Would love to let you know how it all turns out but I figure it might be best if you simply tuned in and found out or yourselves. In the meantime…
Have I mentioned yet that the first ten episodes of SGU’s first season hits store shelves February 9th? Extras include actor commentaries, Destiny SML, kino video diaries, and Stargate 101: Presented by Daniel Jackson.
Mailbag:
Deni writes: “Right now, I’m SO enjoying “Arthur’s Mantle” and can’t help but miss the story-telling in SGU. I understand SGU is a completely different thing, just saying I still would love to see a bit of the old humour back once in a while. Who came up with the idea of using Arthur and the Knights of the Round in Stargate?”
Answer: That would have been Exec. Producer and idea-man Robert Cooper.
Michael A. Burstein writes: “But pulsar belts?”
Answer: Wait! Not pulsar belts. Photon belts. Much better!
Thunder writes: “Happy Birth Month to little Miss Jelly!”
Answer: Jelly thanks you. And wants to know if you’re planning on finishing those leftovers.
Bloomgate writes: “If I used the stones and entered a normal person’s body, would I be able to eat anything I want without consequence? Have you guys considered anything like that?”
Answer: You could eat anything you wanted, but would still suffer the indigestion-related consequences. Or the host body would anyway. We will be exploring the pros and extreme cons of body-swapping in episodes to come.
Tawny writes: “Will what happened and its consequences of Rush and Young seeming to trust any Earth based scientists less continue to affect the way they handle and major problems, and make the ship based crew the first option in the remainder of the first season, and into the second?”
Answer: The events of Earth certainly soured Young on having so-called experts onboard and calling the shots. Rush is equally reluctant – but has his own reasons. That’s not to say they wouldn’t bring in experts on an as-needed basis however.
Tawny also writes: “Seeing as though you enjoyed the Haggis, what are your top 5 foreign cultural foods you would most like to sample? And are there any you are adamant you never want to taste?”
Answer: I don’t really have a top 5. I’m a fairly adventurous eater and have covered a lot of ground in that respect. As for anything I’d probably never want to try, it’s unlikely I’ll ever sample the Peruvian delicacy of roasted guinea pig.
PJR writes: “viewers are only 10 eps in but you see the arcs, so do you think we’re (mostly) where you’d expected? Pleasant surprises on our take? Disappointments?”
Answer: To be honest, a little of all three. But that’s been the case with every season of Stargate to date.
Niall Mcnamara writes: “i only asked because it’s wat i wanna do when i am older i am olny 14 and it would be my dream job”.
Answer: Hi, Niall. The best advice I can give a new writer is to write! Read, get feedback from people you can trust and keep writing!
Kabra writes: “Someone a few days ago had a question about belly fat, I found that drinking green tea helped me.”
Answer: Yep. I do green tea first thing in the morning and then again before dinner. Don’t forget to add a squeeze of lemon juice as the citric acid apparently makes it easier for your body to absorb its beneficial properties.
Alexander of Houston writes: “hey joe, you think you could set up one of the viseffects directors for interview?”
pilotjeff writes: “After the dust settles with MGM debt can we expect some definitive statement on the SGA/SG1 movies?”
Answer: At this point, you’re guess is as good as mine.
Overmind One writes: “I have my snarky attitude because I was insulted by Mr Mallozi’s rant a few months ago where he basically said he was going to do this the way he wanted, and our Stargate format was passe. We were going to be in for a “loooooooong haul”. He implied that “old” Stargate fans were IQ challenged.”
Answer: Really? Did I kick you in the nuts and steal your wallet too? I love how, on the one hand, those posting critiques of the show decry the fact that the show’s producers aren’t pay enough attention to them and yet, on the other hand, are prone to silly generalizations or quick to wholly dismiss any comments made by said producers. If you’ll go back to my “rant” and actually read what I had to say, you’ll note that my issue was not so much with the criticism but the way in which that criticism was being expressed. Furthermore, the show is the show. It will continue to develop and evolve (and, judging from the input of many fans over the past few days, I’m happy to say it will do so in ways that will please many), but don’t expect a complete overhaul of the premise, style, or tone. Also, do direct me to the quote in which I “implied that “old” Stargate fans were IQ challenged.” It sounds to me more like you’re allowing your own insecurities vis-a-vis your television viewing preferences to color your interpretation of my remarks.
Kevin writes: “The element I’d like to see changed most is that I’d like to see the word “Stargate” dropped from the show’s title. Let it stand alone as a independent soap opera in space.”
Answer: Stargate mythology? Stargate elements and characters? Check. Stargate? Check! If we lose any of the aforementioned, I’ll let you know.
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