Jorge Drexler... yay!

[Kairus]

Now this is really weird!
First time a song in Spanish is nominated for the Oscars
First time a Uruguayan is involved in anything related to the Oscars
And he wins!!! He's name is Jorge Drexler and won the best song award for "Al otro lado del río", the song he made for the movie "Diarios de motocicleta" about the life of Ernesto Che Guevara. For a country as small as this one which doesn't appear anywhere but in a funny quote in the simpsons this is a great honor.

You probably haven't heard a word about him, I really hate how he sings but some people seem to like it.
These last days there has been a lot of discussion here in the media because of the decission of the awards organizers not to let Drexler sing the song but instead make Carlos Santana play the guitar (nice) and Enrique Iglesias sing (PLEASE DON'T!!!! HAVE A LITTLE MERCY WITH THE SONG!!!), fortunately they decided to make Antonio Banderas (not that bad at least) do the singing. I definately prefer how Antonio Banderas sings even if he's not a singer but I like the fact that a Uruguayan could win something!!! YAY!!!

Let me cry a little...  :'(  :'(  :'(
Ok, thanks, I'm fine now.

EDIT: I don't know why it says 'aerío', it should say 'río' but when I modify it, it just keeps saying aerío. I think it must be a problem with the ' (tilde).

[Darth Mandarb]

Personally I don't understand how a song not in English, from a movie not in English, gets nominated for Best Song in the Oscars.

Why do they have the foreign language categories?

Now I know, of course, that as an American I'm not allowed to stand up for Americans because that would just be so close minded of me, but it bothers me just the same.

Oh well ... congrats Whore-Hay.

[DragonRose]

Um... because the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science is about ALL forms of film art, not just ones created in the States?

I thought it was a nice song- it just didn't really fit with Santana playing solos between every line.

What I don't understand is why Beyonce sang most of the songs. They got Counting Crows to come in for their own song. And I can understand having Andtonio sing for "Al otro lado del areío," because getting the original singer to come from Uruguay to do rehersals and soundchecks might be a tad awkward. But why did she sing the song from Les Choristes? Isn't it supposed to be performed by a boys choir?

[Darth Mandarb]

Um... because the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science is about ALL forms of film art, not just ones created in the States?

I can understand that.  But it doesn't make sense then to have categories for foreign languages.  At least to me.  If they want to make it 'worldly' then throw them all in together.

That would ruin the Oscars for me though.  Don't get me wrong, there are some great foreign films, but I watch the Oscars to see the movies I can watch, not read.    Bah ... it's a lost cause anyway.  The Oscars have seriously gone down hill for me in recent years.

What I don't understand is why Beyonce sang most of the songs.

I don't know why they had Bay-Once sing all those songs either.  I think she's got a good voice, but in my opinion she butchered 'Believe' with Josh Groban.  He's 10 times the singer she is and should have done the song solo, as it was recorded.

[Kairus]

And I can understand having Andtonio sing for "Al otro lado del areío," because getting the original singer to come from Uruguay to do rehersals and soundchecks might be a tad awkward.

But Jorge Drexler was there, not in Uruguay. He even sang a little part of the song when he was supposed to do his speech. I also think Santana's performance wasn't too good, but Banderas singing was good.

[Oneway]

I haven't watched those dreaded awards myself, so please correct me if i'm horribly mistaken.
It sounds to me like there is a nicely oiled money-making-machine at work here..

Why not let the original artist perform his song:
1. None of the (american) viewers care, they want to see people they know and love. Strange is scary
2. The 'management' probably decided the original artist wasn't confident in such a 'high profile' gig and thus wasn't found competent to do a flawless performance.
3. Making viewers listen to a song performed by an artist they don't know and in a language they don't understand is bound to make it a zap-away moment.

Dragonrose, although you are somewhat correct in your statement about the Academies being about forms of film art, i find it painfully obvious that this original intention of the awards has been overshadowed by commerce. Not allowing the original artist to perform, to me, is just one of many examples that confirm this.

I was going to add that Carlos Sanatana's brilliance is only surpassed by his ego, but unintentionally my reply has become somewhat bitter, so i'll leave it behind.

Oh wait, i still said it.. damn!


Kairus, congratulations with the Academy award. I'm glad you have found something to be proud of. But if it were me i'd be much happier with a little credit on a Simpons episode

[Neil Dnuma]

3. Making viewers listen to a song performed by an artist they don't know and in a language they don't understand is bound to make it a zap-away moment.

Since you didn't watch it you are in some way excused, but from what I remember one song was performed in french and another one in spanish... it was still pretty awful though.

[DragonRose]

Dragonrose, although you are somewhat correct in your statement about the Academies being about forms of film art, i find it painfully obvious that this original intention of the awards has been overshadowed by commerce.

Actually, the Academy was originally formed as a completely commercial venture. The idea was that if the producers gave good actors shiny statues and a nice dinner, maybe they wouldn't strike or ask for pay increases.

Kairus: Oops. I didn't realize that Drexler sang the original cut. So, yeah. Now it makes no sense at all.

[DGMacphee]

Darth:

I can understand that.  But it doesn't make sense then to have categories for foreign languages.  At least to me.  If they want to make it 'worldly' then throw them all in together.

I'm not too sure what you're trying to say, Darth.

Are you trying to say the Academy shouldn't recognise foreign films with their own category, or are you saying they should recognise them but keep them limited to their own category?

The Foreign Film category is for foreign films as a whole production and were first established to promote foreign films, especially since the Academy Awards are an American institution and dominated by English-speaking films. It's basically the reason why Animated Features got their own category -- because several fine animated films were being ignored by the Academy (Chicken Run, for example)

Meanwhile, the song category is for individual songs, despite their language. Now, it seems kind of ridiculous to discount Non-English songs, right? And I don't see what's wrong with non-English songs being nominated. After all, music isn't just about lyrics. I watched the ceremony and was happy to hear the song from The Motorcycle Diaries as well as the song from Les Choristes.

And if you discard films not in English lanuage, you miss out on some very fine films. Kurosawa, Miyazaki, Godard, Fellini, and Bergman are some of the finest filmmakers. Apart from Godard, the Oscars have honored them all, and rightfully so. In fact, one of my favourite films is Cinema Paradiso, an Italian film that won Best Foreign film for 1989. The film sums up why people go to the movies in the first place. And I think the Foreign category gave it the kudos it deserved.

So, what's wrong with that?

[Darth Mandarb]

especially since the Academy Awards are an American institution and dominated by English-speaking films.

That was basically my point.

I definitely think foreign films should be recognized, just in their own categories.

The Oscars feel like they're getting away from what they used to be (to me).

They're less magical.  Maybe I'm just getting older and more cynical.

I know it's unpopular 'round these boards to express 'pro American' sentiment ... but what's wrong with the Oscars belonging to America?  It's how it used to be.  There are other award ceremonies and film festivals which hi-light films from accross the globe.

[SSH]

Darth, do you think that if an animated movie was good enough, it should be allowed to enter into the Best Picture category?

Also, the Foreign Langauge movies are judged very differently from the other movies, I beleive: its a small commitee not the whole academy who votes on them. I might be wrong on this, maybe thats just nominations. This is to stop a high profile FL movie from getting unfair "ignorant" votes from members who couldn't be bothered watching the other ones.

Also, why are you so scared: its not as if they've had a huge success rate in any of the main categories. Let's face it, its a novelty when a British or Australian film gets nominated, let alone a Uruguayan one.

But,I see your point: bring back those heady days when awards were won by Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Attenborough, Richard Burton, Donald Sutherland, Lawrence Olivier, oh hang on, none of them are american!

[Darth Mandarb]

But,I see your point: bring back those heady days when awards were won by Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Attenborough, Richard Burton, Donald Sutherland, Lawrence Olivier, oh hang on, none of them are american!

I don't mean that the actors, actresses, directors, etc. are Americans ... but that the Oscars are for movies that are American made.  From Hollywood.

I mean, if that were the case I'd be excluding some of my favorite people.  Gary Oldman, Russel Crowe,  Peter Jackson ... I could go on and on.

Darth, do you think that if an animated movie was good enough, it should be allowed to enter into the Best Picture category?

If it was American made, and in English, sure.

Also, why are you so scared: its not as if they've had a huge success rate in any of the main categories. Let's face it, its a novelty when a British or Australian film gets nominated, let alone a Uruguayan one.

I'm not scared, it's more like annoyed.  Call me uncultured if you want, but I don't enjoy 'reading' a movie.  For me personally, I like watching a movie.  If I have to pay attention to the subtitles I miss what's happening on-screen ... movies, to me, are to be watched, not read.  I enjoy reading books.

[MrColossal]

So, an American movie means that the money comes from the United States of America?

What if it's American made and not in English?

Also, I don't think it's unpopular to be pro-america on these boards. What do we not make fun of on these forums? It's unpopular to be pro-weird arguement, hehe. I mean, at the end of the day what does it matter what some people do at an awards ceremony? Maybe it's because I just never cared at all but what is magical about people giving statues to people?

[Esseb]

I'm not scared, it's more like annoyed.  Call me uncultured if you want, but I don't enjoy 'reading' a movie.  For me personally, I like watching a movie.  If I have to pay attention to the subtitles I miss what's happening on-screen ... movies, to me, are to be watched, not read.  I enjoy reading books.

If you had given it a chance you would have realised that after you get used to it you don't really read the subtitles at all. As an added benefit you get really good at speed reading.

[Andail]

As long as a movie went up on the cinemas in america, it's legitimate in the ordinary categories.
The foreign categories are for movies never shown in american cinemas.
And if there's something making the oscars worse than back in the days, I'm pretty certain it has little to do with foreign movies.

Also, saying that you can't accept the sub-titles is a bit narrow-minded. We don't dub movies in sweden, which means 95% of all movies have sub-titles.
I can assure you that my average movie experience is no less than yours. It sure makes me better in English, though.
Now, for people who don't care much for a second langauge, well....

[DragonRose]

What if it's American made and not in English?

I.E. Passion of the Christ? We'll ignore that Aramaic and Latin are pretty much dead languages, but there isn't any English in the film at all, other than in subtitles.

Edit: I quoted the wrong part of the post. This is why sleep is good and not-sleep is bad.

[Darth Mandarb]

Also, saying that you can't accept the sub-titles is a bit narrow-minded. We don't dub movies in sweden, which means 95% of all movies have sub-titles.
I can assure you that my average movie experience is no less than yours. It sure makes me better in English, though.

I didn't say I couldn't accept them, just that I don't enjoy 'reading' a movie (being dyslexic doesn't help much either).  I don't see how that's 'narrow-minded'?

[Kairus]

Darth, will you decline the opportunity to enjoy a good story or learn about a different culture just because it's in another language and you have to read the subtitles?
Maybe you would like it if it was dubbed, but you know, dubbed movies are always bad, and it's true that they lose a lot of its magic.
If everyone thought like you Hollywood would lose millions of dollars because they could sell their movies to just a few countries and it wouldn't be 'global' as they want.
What really happens with subtitled movies is that they are annoying at the beginning, but later on you get used to them and they are fine. You don't even need to read all the subtitles and you can get most of the information from the image itself and not the text (except for those movies that are heavily based on dialogues). Dyslexia won't be a problem in the end, there are many dyslexic people outside the US and I'm pretty sure most of them get used to the subtitles as well.
Give it a try if you want, you won't regret it. Go and watch 'Whiskey' which is a Uruguayan film that won a lot of awards (but not the Oscar) and will probably be subtitled if it's ever going to be shown there.

[Darth Mandarb]

Good lord ...

I never said I didn't like foreign films!!

[Kinoko]

Darth makes a good point here, no matter what you personally think about foreign films.

Because I'm not American, and I just don't watch these award thingies that much, someone clear this up for me.

IS the Academy Awards (is that what this is?) about American made films, or is it ALL films regardless of country?

Since Dragonrose has commented that it's the latter, I'll assume that for now. So, assuming that, why is there a foreign  film catagory? Also, why is it that American films by FAR dominate the rest of the catagories? If the Academy Awards is in fact for films from all over the world, why is it that you never see one or two non foreign films in the Best Film or Best Sound or Best this or that catagory? Foreign actors are never in the Best Actor/Actress awards.

It just seems to me that if it is for films globally, then they would judge films from all over the world before nominating, people other than Americans would nominate, and despite America's clear advantage in the film industry financially and by sheer number (excusing India, I think), we would see a hell of a lot more foreign films in the nominations. They  may still not dominate, because America, well, has Hollywood. Even so, there would be a lot more of them.

Seeing as this is not the case at all, I agree with Darth that the Awards should be for American films. Films made in America with American money. I can't stand the tokenism of having one or two foreign films that Americans find 'charming' shoved in there amongst the rest. It's clearly run as an Amarican ceremony, it should be for American products. Otherwise it's just unfair.

Pisses me off also the way we ship American actors/singers over here for our (lame) Australian award ceremonies.