I am still tired from my 11-hour coverage of the Academy Awards, but so much is still on my mind.
The big upset – undoubtedly all the Oscars that went to a little film called Argo that capped off the night with a Best Picture win. Ever since the nominations were announced, pretty much all that has been heard about was how the Academy overlooked Ben Affleck for Best Director while nominating Argo for Best Picture. Many tried to explain that the problem lies in that there were eight films nominated for Best Picture, but the Best Director field only allows for five nominees. Any way you slice it, someone’s going to be left out. Last night’s Best Picture win without a Best Director win (which went to Ang Lee for Life of Pi) was the first time it had happened since Driving Miss Daisy won back in 1989. Argo also took home the gold for Best Editing and Best Adapted Screenplay.
Life of Pi might not have won Best Picture and had no actors nominated, but it did take home four Oscars. Zero Dark Thirty, which had gotten quite a bit of Oscar buzz in the last few months, only took home one Oscar – for Best Sound Editing.
But, even that win was a bit controversial. I have been watching the Oscars for as long as I can remember and I couldn’t remember a tie before, but that’s what happened last night with the Best Sound Editing award. When Mark Walberg said it was a tie, there were a few laughs, but it was no joke – Zero Dark Thirty tied with Skyfall. This has happened six times in Oscar history, most recently in 1994 for Best Action Short Film.
How did Seth McFarlane, creator of “Family Guy,” do as host? Well, that depends on who you talk to. Some say he was good while others think it was a complete bomb. Some say he came off as sexist and mean in his jokes as the night went on. Personally, I think he was good, not the best, not the worst.
And so, this is it for me and my Pop Culture blog on Families. As my favorite film writer, Quentin Tarantino said after winning Best Original Screenplay, “Peace out.”