Monday, March 8, 2010

Yesterday was quite a day for TV. Sunday night you could watch Hollywood congratulate itself, and Sunday morning you could have watched the Republican Party try to explain itself. Unlike the Oscar broadcast itself, we’ll get right to the best stuff. As you probably already know, last night Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win the Oscar for Best Director.  It’s rather ironic that men have won every Oscar for directing up until now—everybody knows that men refuse to even ask for directions. Kathryn Bigelow’s movie, “The Hurt Locker” won six Academy Awards, including Best Picture. It’s a movie about the Iraq War that cost $11 million to make. The movie, that is. The actual Iraq War has cost almost a trillion dollars… so far.  And it hasn’t won any prizes. James Cameron could have brought the Iraq War in on a tighter budget than George Bush’s cronies have. No wonder we switched directors in the middle. Speaking of Mr. Cameron, Avatar supposedly cost $500 million to make. For that kind of money they could have financed a trip to another planet and just made a documentary. And as everyone knows by now, Kathryn Bigelow is James Cameron’s ex-wife. So her movie not only beat out the most expensive movie ever made, it beat out a movie made by her ex-husband. That must feel like getting the last parking space ahead of your ex when they’re driving a Corvette. 

The Sunday morning festivities weren’t as fancy, and the participants were not nearly as well dressed. But it was fun watching Republican leaders try to distance themselves from the Republican Party. GOP leaders were critical of a fundraising document revealed last week that mocked Democrats, and mocked Republican donors even worse.  I don’t think Republican leaders were upset over the documents as much as they were over the exposure of the documents. After all, the plan in the documents undoubtedly would have raised money for the GOP. Having the plan get out may end up costing them money. The documents divided GOP donors into rich, “ego-driven” donors seeking access, and “visceral” donors motivated by fear and hate. So the worst thing about it is its stunning accuracy. Hey, if nothing else, maybe it can get a nomination for next year’s Feature Documentary award.