"A live experiment gone fantastically awry"
April 15, 2021 2:52 AM Subscribe
They must be grateful to Warren Beatty for outdebacling them.
posted by fairmettle at 3:51 AM on April 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by fairmettle at 3:51 AM on April 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
Though I don't remember seeing clips of this (I know I did, I just don't remember them because I'm old and disinterested enough to not care all that much) - I imagine Hathaway would be great with anyone other than Franco: put her with another theater-focused person or someone who could stand next to her in gentle awe (ok fine yes I think she's the bee's knees of an actor), a straight-man of sorts (or vice-versa) and it would have been great. Franco always struck me as too cool for school. And fuck those kids.
posted by From Bklyn at 3:57 AM on April 15, 2021 [7 favorites]
posted by From Bklyn at 3:57 AM on April 15, 2021 [7 favorites]
Yeah, I think it's not really fair to call it the Franco-Hathaway debacle. The debacle was Franco. And I don't know how much of this was conscious on his part, but the vibe I got was some super gendered "she's the hard-working straight-A good girl and I'm going to totally undermine her during our presentation because I'm the cool guy" bullshit.
posted by trig at 4:11 AM on April 15, 2021 [43 favorites]
posted by trig at 4:11 AM on April 15, 2021 [43 favorites]
Yeah I'm pretty sure any source of "debacle" was the walking, talking piece of shit that is James Franco, not the living embodiment of joy and splendour that is Anne Hathaway. She was like, hey everyone, let's have a good time, and he was like "i am not okay if we are not about me."
posted by seanmpuckett at 5:15 AM on April 15, 2021 [25 favorites]
posted by seanmpuckett at 5:15 AM on April 15, 2021 [25 favorites]
a straight-man of sorts (or vice-versa) and it would have been great.
I submit to you: Anne Hathaway paired with Tom Hanks... That would have been awesome.
posted by Pendragon at 5:39 AM on April 15, 2021 [27 favorites]
I submit to you: Anne Hathaway paired with Tom Hanks... That would have been awesome.
posted by Pendragon at 5:39 AM on April 15, 2021 [27 favorites]
I confess that I have never even thought about this before but... I cannot even imagine actually wanting to host a teevee show like that. As in, someone actually asking me to do it... and then I'd consider for a week or so, "yes or no?" Just imagine that actually happening...
It takes guts of steel and a level of confidence that is nearly alien to me. I usually tune in to the Oscars for part of the show, but show business is so far off my radar that I have never even thought about what goes on behind the scenes of that show, live on stage. I don't have much interest in Hathaway or Franco (ick), but that article really hit me deeply in a strange, unexpected way.
Thanks for posting it.
posted by SoberHighland at 5:56 AM on April 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
It takes guts of steel and a level of confidence that is nearly alien to me. I usually tune in to the Oscars for part of the show, but show business is so far off my radar that I have never even thought about what goes on behind the scenes of that show, live on stage. I don't have much interest in Hathaway or Franco (ick), but that article really hit me deeply in a strange, unexpected way.
Thanks for posting it.
posted by SoberHighland at 5:56 AM on April 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
Given things like this that came after, I'm even more convinced that Letterman got a bad rap.
I mean, forget Uma/Oprah. I submit to you: Sadie the Spinning Dog (with Hanks for the Assist!). Letterman took one look at the glitz and glamour of the evening and said to himself, "Yeah, I don't care. I'm still doing a Stupid Pet Trick on this stage".
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 6:04 AM on April 15, 2021 [5 favorites]
I mean, forget Uma/Oprah. I submit to you: Sadie the Spinning Dog (with Hanks for the Assist!). Letterman took one look at the glitz and glamour of the evening and said to himself, "Yeah, I don't care. I'm still doing a Stupid Pet Trick on this stage".
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 6:04 AM on April 15, 2021 [5 favorites]
Clearly people should not diss Anne Hathaway. She was there to do the job with enthusiasm. Franco...was as meh as he ever is. It's amusing that they have to point out he was sober and not stoned. I'm also amused at this article referring to his academic phase.
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:16 AM on April 15, 2021
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:16 AM on April 15, 2021
Sorry, as debacles go, this was nothing compared to the infamous 1989 Rob Lowe-Snow White Oscars Debacle
posted by briank at 6:27 AM on April 15, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by briank at 6:27 AM on April 15, 2021 [3 favorites]
I submit to you: Anne Hathaway paired with Tom Hanks...
I literally just gasped. That would have been delightful.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:48 AM on April 15, 2021 [6 favorites]
I literally just gasped. That would have been delightful.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:48 AM on April 15, 2021 [6 favorites]
The word 'vapid' and the phrase 'who cares?' regarding the intense micro-introspection of some people, who (for a brief moment) step into our lives and are elevated to a level of importance that belies their insignificance, comes to mind...
ha I think about this like once a week so I don't know what that says about me . . .
posted by Think_Long at 6:50 AM on April 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
ha I think about this like once a week so I don't know what that says about me . . .
posted by Think_Long at 6:50 AM on April 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
[Hathaway] admitted, “You know how sometimes your optimism tips into delusion and you’re just like, ‘If I’m just really, really nice to everybody, everything’s going to work out?’ It did not work.”
That quote hits me in a deep, desperate part of my soul. Anyone, especially women, who has tried to host an outing, a family dinner, project kickoff meeting, a mixed-friend-group party has felt that. I practically started sweating reading it.
posted by gladly at 6:57 AM on April 15, 2021 [67 favorites]
That quote hits me in a deep, desperate part of my soul. Anyone, especially women, who has tried to host an outing, a family dinner, project kickoff meeting, a mixed-friend-group party has felt that. I practically started sweating reading it.
posted by gladly at 6:57 AM on April 15, 2021 [67 favorites]
Being pulled into a dimly lit closet with Anne Hathaway, well, fanning self
posted by Ghostride The Whip at 7:14 AM on April 15, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by Ghostride The Whip at 7:14 AM on April 15, 2021 [3 favorites]
Letterman remains the gold standard of the Oscars show flying off the rails. I'd love to watch the whole thing again - I can only find a few clips online.
posted by Jessica Savitch's Coke Spoon at 7:17 AM on April 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Jessica Savitch's Coke Spoon at 7:17 AM on April 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
The only thing I remember was the unscripted moment after the technical awards montage, where James Franco said "Congratulations, nerds." I couldn't decide if it was condescending or endearing. Franco seemed as surprised as anyone that those words came out of his mouth.
posted by Capt. Renault at 7:22 AM on April 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Capt. Renault at 7:22 AM on April 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
Given things like this that came after, I'm even more convinced that Letterman got a bad rap.
I mean, forget Uma/Oprah.
I have never understood why this particular dumb joke is held up as the nadir of Oscar hosting. It’s exactly the sort of musing on unusual-sounding words and names he did three to five times a night for decades on his shows. It kind of flopped, but why this one should live on in legend is inexplicable.
Still, let us just be glad that Letterman is now semi-retired and will not have a chance to reprise this moment by introducing Gugu Mbatha-Raw to Lady Gaga.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:28 AM on April 15, 2021 [5 favorites]
I mean, forget Uma/Oprah.
I have never understood why this particular dumb joke is held up as the nadir of Oscar hosting. It’s exactly the sort of musing on unusual-sounding words and names he did three to five times a night for decades on his shows. It kind of flopped, but why this one should live on in legend is inexplicable.
Still, let us just be glad that Letterman is now semi-retired and will not have a chance to reprise this moment by introducing Gugu Mbatha-Raw to Lady Gaga.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:28 AM on April 15, 2021 [5 favorites]
"The only thing I remember was the unscripted moment after the technical awards montage..."
Aaaaand it wasn't unscripted, just awkwardly delivered. My one highlight is now gone.
posted by Capt. Renault at 7:45 AM on April 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
Aaaaand it wasn't unscripted, just awkwardly delivered. My one highlight is now gone.
posted by Capt. Renault at 7:45 AM on April 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
> the vibe I got was some super gendered "she's the hard-working straight-A good girl and I'm going to totally undermine her during our presentation because I'm the cool guy" bullshit
100% this. If you want to sneer at the Oscars, that's fine but stay home and have a party with your friends like everyone else, don't be an asshole and accept the job so you can make a big show of proclaiming yourself above it all.
posted by The Card Cheat at 8:19 AM on April 15, 2021 [10 favorites]
100% this. If you want to sneer at the Oscars, that's fine but stay home and have a party with your friends like everyone else, don't be an asshole and accept the job so you can make a big show of proclaiming yourself above it all.
posted by The Card Cheat at 8:19 AM on April 15, 2021 [10 favorites]
I have never understood why this particular dumb joke is held up as the nadir of Oscar hosting. It’s exactly the sort of musing on unusual-sounding words and names he did three to five times a night for decades on his shows. It kind of flopped, but why this one should live on in legend is inexplicable.
I think its notoriety is because it's a convenient "Exhibit A" for why it was such a weird idea to have Letterman host in the first place. Because you're right - this is exactly the kind of thing he did all the time on his own show. And the Oscar producers should have known that when they asked him to host, and should have anticipated that he would do that. But it feels like they were either not aware he would do that, or - even worse - that they were aware this was the kind of thing he would do but somehow deluded themselves into thinking he would somehow magically not do that. It's like they needed an orange for a recipe, and were having trouble finding oranges so they got a banana instead because "well, bananas are tasty too" and then got upset that the banana acted like a banana and not an orange.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:21 AM on April 15, 2021 [3 favorites]
I think its notoriety is because it's a convenient "Exhibit A" for why it was such a weird idea to have Letterman host in the first place. Because you're right - this is exactly the kind of thing he did all the time on his own show. And the Oscar producers should have known that when they asked him to host, and should have anticipated that he would do that. But it feels like they were either not aware he would do that, or - even worse - that they were aware this was the kind of thing he would do but somehow deluded themselves into thinking he would somehow magically not do that. It's like they needed an orange for a recipe, and were having trouble finding oranges so they got a banana instead because "well, bananas are tasty too" and then got upset that the banana acted like a banana and not an orange.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:21 AM on April 15, 2021 [3 favorites]
I recall Letterman explaining (years later on The Late Show) that the producers backstage were telling him to pad out the show because a longer show can have more commercial breaks.
posted by riruro at 8:25 AM on April 15, 2021
posted by riruro at 8:25 AM on April 15, 2021
I admit that too much of my ideas of Hollywood insider stereotypes are formed from Bojack Horseman episodes, but James Franco teaching a college class about himself is just amazing.
posted by traveler_ at 8:31 AM on April 15, 2021 [6 favorites]
posted by traveler_ at 8:31 AM on April 15, 2021 [6 favorites]
I submit to you: Anne Hathaway paired with Tom Hanks...
So are we admitting that the real reason we see young women paired with old men is that generally, we all know young men are too god damned immature to be expected to be paired onstage (in film or in ceremony) with women of any age? Tom Hanks is only literally almost thirty years her senior.
Even if it's not in a movie with a romantic plot, throwing old fogey men up next to beautiful young women always rubs me the wrong way. (In 2011, she would have still been in her 20's, and Hanks would have been in his mid-50's.)
He wasn't as well known back then (well, arguable, he was well into his SNL run at that point), but I bet Andy Samberg could have done well next to Hathaway and they're actually roughly similar ages. He strikes me as someone who enjoys having fun and wants others to have fun.
posted by deadaluspark at 8:56 AM on April 15, 2021 [9 favorites]
So are we admitting that the real reason we see young women paired with old men is that generally, we all know young men are too god damned immature to be expected to be paired onstage (in film or in ceremony) with women of any age? Tom Hanks is only literally almost thirty years her senior.
Even if it's not in a movie with a romantic plot, throwing old fogey men up next to beautiful young women always rubs me the wrong way. (In 2011, she would have still been in her 20's, and Hanks would have been in his mid-50's.)
He wasn't as well known back then (well, arguable, he was well into his SNL run at that point), but I bet Andy Samberg could have done well next to Hathaway and they're actually roughly similar ages. He strikes me as someone who enjoys having fun and wants others to have fun.
posted by deadaluspark at 8:56 AM on April 15, 2021 [9 favorites]
So are we admitting that the real reason we see young women paired with old men is that generally, we all know young men are too god damned immature to be expected to be paired onstage (in film or in ceremony) with women of any age? He's only literally almost thirty years her senior.
.....Dude, this wasn't a casting suggestion for a rom-com, this was a co-hosting situation.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:59 AM on April 15, 2021 [24 favorites]
.....Dude, this wasn't a casting suggestion for a rom-com, this was a co-hosting situation.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:59 AM on April 15, 2021 [24 favorites]
but James Franco teaching a college class about himself is just amazing.
One of his professors also made a documentary about him, F for Franco, which is something.
posted by Ashwagandha at 9:19 AM on April 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
One of his professors also made a documentary about him, F for Franco, which is something.
posted by Ashwagandha at 9:19 AM on April 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
Never really had strong feelings about Anne Hathaway. But I see I’m in the minority here.
posted by Don.Kinsayder at 9:57 AM on April 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by Don.Kinsayder at 9:57 AM on April 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
Even if it's not in a movie with a romantic plot, throwing old fogey men up next to beautiful young women always rubs me the wrong way.
I was actually thinking of a father/daughter vibe, but hey, you do you...
posted by Pendragon at 10:30 AM on April 15, 2021 [3 favorites]
I was actually thinking of a father/daughter vibe, but hey, you do you...
posted by Pendragon at 10:30 AM on April 15, 2021 [3 favorites]
I don't have much interest in Hathaway - Never really had strong feelings about Anne Hathaway
I'm sorta sad for you - not in a condescending way at all! it's just that, man, it has been a real joy for me watcing her career. it was absolutely clear from ella enchanted that she has tremendous chops. and a special treat - does the actual singing for a terrific cover of queen's 'somebody to love'. i would say one of the great queen covers of all time.
drama, rom-com, action-comedy, she pulls it off every. time. what a showing in brokeback mountain.
a recent-ish terrific performance with jason sudeikis in the surreal 'collosal'.
i have no problem categorizing her as one of the great talents working today.
the only appropriate response to being paired with her for a live presentation is to graciously stand back.
who would be at least a near match? maybe carell. maybe.
posted by j_curiouser at 10:41 AM on April 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
I'm sorta sad for you - not in a condescending way at all! it's just that, man, it has been a real joy for me watcing her career. it was absolutely clear from ella enchanted that she has tremendous chops. and a special treat - does the actual singing for a terrific cover of queen's 'somebody to love'. i would say one of the great queen covers of all time.
drama, rom-com, action-comedy, she pulls it off every. time. what a showing in brokeback mountain.
a recent-ish terrific performance with jason sudeikis in the surreal 'collosal'.
i have no problem categorizing her as one of the great talents working today.
the only appropriate response to being paired with her for a live presentation is to graciously stand back.
who would be at least a near match? maybe carell. maybe.
posted by j_curiouser at 10:41 AM on April 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
maybe carell. maybe.
They were in Get Smart together, which was awful. The feel I get from this is that the writers let them both down. Also, my opinion is that the double host idea is really difficult to pull off. Fey and Poehler are great friends and terrible hosts.
posted by The_Vegetables at 10:45 AM on April 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
They were in Get Smart together, which was awful. The feel I get from this is that the writers let them both down. Also, my opinion is that the double host idea is really difficult to pull off. Fey and Poehler are great friends and terrible hosts.
posted by The_Vegetables at 10:45 AM on April 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
Sorry, as debacles go, this was nothing compared to the infamous 1989 Rob Lowe-Snow White Oscars Debacle
The dancing tables at 7 minutes in are amazing. The Worst Oscars Ever is a deliciously detailed account of that 1989 show... "Before the end of business Thursday, the Walt Disney Company slapped the Academy with a federal lawsuit charging that the Oscar telecast of March 29, 1989, had abused and irreparably damaged the studio’s 52-year-old Snow White character."
posted by oulipian at 10:46 AM on April 15, 2021 [4 favorites]
The dancing tables at 7 minutes in are amazing. The Worst Oscars Ever is a deliciously detailed account of that 1989 show... "Before the end of business Thursday, the Walt Disney Company slapped the Academy with a federal lawsuit charging that the Oscar telecast of March 29, 1989, had abused and irreparably damaged the studio’s 52-year-old Snow White character."
posted by oulipian at 10:46 AM on April 15, 2021 [4 favorites]
Hey! Get Smart is perhaps my single favorite comedy of all time!
Honestly, I'd agree that Anne Hathaway is generally fantastic. Even Franco can be decent - but the pairing of the two of them was completely totally wrong.
posted by goddess_eris at 10:54 AM on April 15, 2021
Honestly, I'd agree that Anne Hathaway is generally fantastic. Even Franco can be decent - but the pairing of the two of them was completely totally wrong.
posted by goddess_eris at 10:54 AM on April 15, 2021
I was 15 when I watched the Rob Lowe-Snow White Oscars live...even at that age I remember thinking "this is a fuckup and somebody should have put a stop to it."
posted by The Card Cheat at 11:24 AM on April 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by The Card Cheat at 11:24 AM on April 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
Even as a sometimes-connoisseur of schlock... I couldn't stomach that Snow White/Rob Lowe catastrophe. I was 17 when that aired and wasn't a part of the "watching the Oscars" demographic. That is simply jaw dropping
posted by SoberHighland at 11:30 AM on April 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by SoberHighland at 11:30 AM on April 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
Get Smart...ignore writing, direction, and editing. how was her *performance*?
posted by j_curiouser at 11:36 AM on April 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by j_curiouser at 11:36 AM on April 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
Wasn't there a whole thing about women not liking Anne Hathaway in general for a time? I'm assuming that's all over now or was just a bunch of sexist BS to begin with? I don't have a horse in this race or care one way or another, but am just surprised by the overwhelming warmth she's getting here, based on what I remember from some old meme.
posted by St. Oops at 11:41 AM on April 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by St. Oops at 11:41 AM on April 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
Get Smart...ignore writing, direction, and editing. how was her *performance*?
I'm the one that didn't like it, and I don't think much of her performance, even though I generally agree she's an amazing actor and singer. In my opinion, she's like Vince Vaughan or Jason Bateman in that they can be amazing actors but also star in lots of so-so stuff playing a slightly different version of the same character.
posted by The_Vegetables at 12:00 PM on April 15, 2021
I'm the one that didn't like it, and I don't think much of her performance, even though I generally agree she's an amazing actor and singer. In my opinion, she's like Vince Vaughan or Jason Bateman in that they can be amazing actors but also star in lots of so-so stuff playing a slightly different version of the same character.
posted by The_Vegetables at 12:00 PM on April 15, 2021
I have trouble understanding what is so astutely bad about the Snow White thing. I mean, I cringed through it and did not enjoy a second of it, but I have trouble seeing what makes this the stand-out catastrophe everyone remembers, compared to all the other Oscars skits I've cringed through and not enjoyed. I'd love to know more about people's extreme reactions to it!
posted by meese at 12:19 PM on April 15, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by meese at 12:19 PM on April 15, 2021 [3 favorites]
fair enough.
posted by j_curiouser at 12:19 PM on April 15, 2021
posted by j_curiouser at 12:19 PM on April 15, 2021
Wasn't there a whole thing about women not liking Anne Hathaway in general for a time?
Oh yes, and I feel like it wasn't long after her Oscar hosting that it started, then again, that's also when she won for Les Miserables. Anne Helen Petersen had a good examination of the phenomena and her own susceptibility to it.
posted by gladly at 1:46 PM on April 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
Oh yes, and I feel like it wasn't long after her Oscar hosting that it started, then again, that's also when she won for Les Miserables. Anne Helen Petersen had a good examination of the phenomena and her own susceptibility to it.
posted by gladly at 1:46 PM on April 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
Wasn't there a whole thing about women not liking Anne Hathaway in general for a time? I'm assuming that's all over now or was just a bunch of sexist BS to begin with?
The latter.
I have trouble understanding what is so astutely bad about the Snow White thing. I mean, I cringed through it and did not enjoy a second of it, but I have trouble seeing what makes this the stand-out catastrophe everyone remembers, compared to all the other Oscars skits I've cringed through and not enjoyed.
I think it may have been a rare occasion where it was a combination of the two main categories of Oscar cringe - those categories being:
1. "Oh God, they're doing a production number/interpretive dance for THAT?" This would be where they take a nominee and do something just....weird with it. For example, in 1989 they also tapped Paula Abdul to come up with a series of brief dances to commemorate each of the Best Costume Design nominations - the dancers would be dressed in costumes that evoked the nominated films' designs, and do their little number as the nominees were read. Or, in 2006, they had a bunch of interpretive dancers doing their thing while the Best Song nominee "It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp" was going on. Or, instead of having Phil Collins perform "Against All Odds" the year that was nominated, they had Ann Reinking sing a verse and then do a Fosse routine to it.
2. "Hang on, what the hell does this have to do with anything?" This would be where they decide to pay a tribute to some historic film which is having some kind of anniversary, or they want to commemorate some anniversary of some other film-related event. Most of the time this is a much simpler "someone comes and sings a song" kind of thing - Diana Ross singing "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" to commemorate the whatever-th anniversary of The Wizard Of Oz, Lady Gaga singing a medley of Sound Of Music numbers to commemorate that anniversary, Eminem performing "Lose Yourself" last year to commemorate....uh...actually, no one was 100% sure. This is a trickier category, because sometimes this one actually works (have a look at this thread, in which people are watching the Oscars that year and you can suddenly see the thread take a turn as people live-blog their reactions to Lady Gaga killing it with the Sound Of Music thing).
This was a combination of both - a full-on salute-to-Hollywood production number in which Snow White goes on a date with Rob Lowe (who was at the time trying to recover from a leaked-sex-tape scandal) and they hit a night club in which some old hoary Hollywood stars sing some show tunes and then duet themselves with..."Proud Mary". It was thoroughly unconnected to any existing nominee, and it was really overblown in its camp a double-header.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:00 PM on April 15, 2021 [3 favorites]
The latter.
I have trouble understanding what is so astutely bad about the Snow White thing. I mean, I cringed through it and did not enjoy a second of it, but I have trouble seeing what makes this the stand-out catastrophe everyone remembers, compared to all the other Oscars skits I've cringed through and not enjoyed.
I think it may have been a rare occasion where it was a combination of the two main categories of Oscar cringe - those categories being:
1. "Oh God, they're doing a production number/interpretive dance for THAT?" This would be where they take a nominee and do something just....weird with it. For example, in 1989 they also tapped Paula Abdul to come up with a series of brief dances to commemorate each of the Best Costume Design nominations - the dancers would be dressed in costumes that evoked the nominated films' designs, and do their little number as the nominees were read. Or, in 2006, they had a bunch of interpretive dancers doing their thing while the Best Song nominee "It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp" was going on. Or, instead of having Phil Collins perform "Against All Odds" the year that was nominated, they had Ann Reinking sing a verse and then do a Fosse routine to it.
2. "Hang on, what the hell does this have to do with anything?" This would be where they decide to pay a tribute to some historic film which is having some kind of anniversary, or they want to commemorate some anniversary of some other film-related event. Most of the time this is a much simpler "someone comes and sings a song" kind of thing - Diana Ross singing "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" to commemorate the whatever-th anniversary of The Wizard Of Oz, Lady Gaga singing a medley of Sound Of Music numbers to commemorate that anniversary, Eminem performing "Lose Yourself" last year to commemorate....uh...actually, no one was 100% sure. This is a trickier category, because sometimes this one actually works (have a look at this thread, in which people are watching the Oscars that year and you can suddenly see the thread take a turn as people live-blog their reactions to Lady Gaga killing it with the Sound Of Music thing).
This was a combination of both - a full-on salute-to-Hollywood production number in which Snow White goes on a date with Rob Lowe (who was at the time trying to recover from a leaked-sex-tape scandal) and they hit a night club in which some old hoary Hollywood stars sing some show tunes and then duet themselves with..."Proud Mary". It was thoroughly unconnected to any existing nominee, and it was really overblown in its camp a double-header.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:00 PM on April 15, 2021 [3 favorites]
I really don’t think I’ve ever seen a good Oscars performance. It’s like singing the anthem at the super bowl - you’re already limited to being cheesy and gauche at best.
posted by aspersioncast at 2:28 PM on April 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by aspersioncast at 2:28 PM on April 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
Wasn't there a whole thing about women not liking Anne Hathaway in general for a time?
It was a whole thing, and was even covered on Metafilter (where most commenters fell on the "she's the bee's knees" side of the spectrum) multiple times (in that one there was more Hathaway hate).
posted by Anonymous at 2:47 PM on April 15, 2021
It was a whole thing, and was even covered on Metafilter (where most commenters fell on the "she's the bee's knees" side of the spectrum) multiple times (in that one there was more Hathaway hate).
posted by Anonymous at 2:47 PM on April 15, 2021
who was at the time trying to recover from a leaked-sex-tape scandal
This didn't happen until a month later, the Worst Oscars Ever article goes into detail about that.
posted by oulipian at 3:58 PM on April 15, 2021
This didn't happen until a month later, the Worst Oscars Ever article goes into detail about that.
posted by oulipian at 3:58 PM on April 15, 2021
So are we admitting that the real reason we see young women paired with old men is that generally, we all know young men are too god damned immature to be expected to be paired onstage (in film or in ceremony) with women of any age?
That read is both unfair to young men and too kind to Hollywood. The real reason is that Hollywood is generally OK with leading men aging but leading ladies usually get sent out to the cornfield at age 40 or so.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 4:55 PM on April 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
That read is both unfair to young men and too kind to Hollywood. The real reason is that Hollywood is generally OK with leading men aging but leading ladies usually get sent out to the cornfield at age 40 or so.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 4:55 PM on April 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
"Wasn't there a whole thing about women not liking Anne Hathaway in general for a time? I'm assuming that's all over now or was just a bunch of sexist BS to begin with?"
Yeah, it was called "Hathahate" in the gossip press. (But it wasn't just women.) I mean, she's a try-hard. She's a very obvious try-hard. And that grates on people, especially -- because sexism -- when women are visibly trying hard at something, and knocking it out of the park. During her Oscar campaign, she was overexposed -- she was everywhere in the media, because she's a good interview and a big star and (reportedly) easy to work with for entertainment journalists and talk-show hosts, because she comes prepared, understands her job and their jobs, and works as hard as she can. She's funny! She pokes fun at herself, and she's not precious about her work. She tells relatable and amusing anecdotes about costars, but they all manage to flatter her co-stars even as she teases them. She's great to have on your show! But there was a sort-of predictable backlash to that overexposure.
But what I was about to say was, not only has it been a delight to watch her career and her work, but it's been delightful as a woman about her age to watch her mature as an extremely talented woman publicly navigating a male-dominated career. She was a huge people-pleaser, trying to be everything to everyone, trying to make everyone happy and not step out of line. She went through some difficult and public personal difficulties. She was sometimes awkward and stepped wrong in interviews. She survived Hathahate. And we've gotten to watch her bloom from a talented, people-pleasing teenaged girl to a confident woman whose work has been recognized by her peers as the best of the best. We've watched her sometimes awkward and nervous behavior in public slowly turning into an sophisticated woman who's confident in herself, and her work, and who smilingly quashes bullshit without turning a hair. The people-pleasing has become a fundamental respect for other people, their work, and their contributions to the work she does. And the "try-hard"-ness has become what it always was: an incredible professionalism and impressive dedication to turning her manifold inborn talents into tools for the artist to use in her art.
When I was little I would look with awe on these sophisticated, professional women that everyone admired, and wondered how she got from here (braces, socially awkward, talking too much) to there, and if it was even possible. Anne Hathaway let us watch. And as someone about the same age, it's been amazing to watch a talented, hard-working woman go through everything I went through, and so satisfying to see her at the top of her field, without becoming someone else, without being "cool" or pretending to be something she isn't. She is every book-lover, horse-girl, band-camp, theater-kid, straight A girl who's ever been made fun of for working too hard and caring too much. And she won.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 5:33 PM on April 15, 2021 [25 favorites]
Yeah, it was called "Hathahate" in the gossip press. (But it wasn't just women.) I mean, she's a try-hard. She's a very obvious try-hard. And that grates on people, especially -- because sexism -- when women are visibly trying hard at something, and knocking it out of the park. During her Oscar campaign, she was overexposed -- she was everywhere in the media, because she's a good interview and a big star and (reportedly) easy to work with for entertainment journalists and talk-show hosts, because she comes prepared, understands her job and their jobs, and works as hard as she can. She's funny! She pokes fun at herself, and she's not precious about her work. She tells relatable and amusing anecdotes about costars, but they all manage to flatter her co-stars even as she teases them. She's great to have on your show! But there was a sort-of predictable backlash to that overexposure.
But what I was about to say was, not only has it been a delight to watch her career and her work, but it's been delightful as a woman about her age to watch her mature as an extremely talented woman publicly navigating a male-dominated career. She was a huge people-pleaser, trying to be everything to everyone, trying to make everyone happy and not step out of line. She went through some difficult and public personal difficulties. She was sometimes awkward and stepped wrong in interviews. She survived Hathahate. And we've gotten to watch her bloom from a talented, people-pleasing teenaged girl to a confident woman whose work has been recognized by her peers as the best of the best. We've watched her sometimes awkward and nervous behavior in public slowly turning into an sophisticated woman who's confident in herself, and her work, and who smilingly quashes bullshit without turning a hair. The people-pleasing has become a fundamental respect for other people, their work, and their contributions to the work she does. And the "try-hard"-ness has become what it always was: an incredible professionalism and impressive dedication to turning her manifold inborn talents into tools for the artist to use in her art.
When I was little I would look with awe on these sophisticated, professional women that everyone admired, and wondered how she got from here (braces, socially awkward, talking too much) to there, and if it was even possible. Anne Hathaway let us watch. And as someone about the same age, it's been amazing to watch a talented, hard-working woman go through everything I went through, and so satisfying to see her at the top of her field, without becoming someone else, without being "cool" or pretending to be something she isn't. She is every book-lover, horse-girl, band-camp, theater-kid, straight A girl who's ever been made fun of for working too hard and caring too much. And she won.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 5:33 PM on April 15, 2021 [25 favorites]
Actually, having watched Hanks for (mumble) years now, I'd guess that - given time machine technology - Hathaway in her 20's plus Hanks in his 20's would have made for an enjoyable presenter pair.
posted by Greg_Ace at 5:51 PM on April 15, 2021
posted by Greg_Ace at 5:51 PM on April 15, 2021
It's like they needed an orange for a recipe, and were having trouble finding oranges so they got a banana instead because "well, bananas are tasty too" and then got upset that the banana acted like a banana and not an orange.
True enough, but I am not crazy about oranges. I don't recall much of a televised awards ceremony I saw once, more than a quarter century ago, but I have always preferred the grumpy, acerbic Letterman to the anodyne and eager-to-please Billy Crystal, say.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:40 PM on April 15, 2021
True enough, but I am not crazy about oranges. I don't recall much of a televised awards ceremony I saw once, more than a quarter century ago, but I have always preferred the grumpy, acerbic Letterman to the anodyne and eager-to-please Billy Crystal, say.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:40 PM on April 15, 2021
Even if it's not in a movie with a romantic plot, throwing old fogey men up next to beautiful young women always rubs me the wrong way. (In 2011, she would have still been in her 20's, and Hanks would have been in his mid-50's.)
I would note that in 2011, Anne Hathaway's late husband was almost 350.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:42 PM on April 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
I would note that in 2011, Anne Hathaway's late husband was almost 350.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:42 PM on April 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
Even if it's not in a movie with a romantic plot, throwing old fogey men up next to beautiful young women always rubs me the wrong way.
Cool. What other professions do you think need to be segregated by age? TV news teams? IT departments? Law firms?
posted by Atom Eyes at 10:40 PM on April 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
Cool. What other professions do you think need to be segregated by age? TV news teams? IT departments? Law firms?
posted by Atom Eyes at 10:40 PM on April 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
Sorry, as debacles go, this was nothing compared to the infamous 1989 Rob Lowe-Snow White Oscars Debacle
IIRC, This was also Bruce Vilanch's first year as the head comedy writer for the Oscars, which explains a lot about this number.
posted by mikelieman at 6:46 AM on April 16, 2021
IIRC, This was also Bruce Vilanch's first year as the head comedy writer for the Oscars, which explains a lot about this number.
posted by mikelieman at 6:46 AM on April 16, 2021
The unofficial first choice was Justin Timberlake, the former boy band star turned solo stud who had both slayed it during his hosting appearances on Saturday Night Live and held his own as tech mogul Sean Parker in the acclaimed drama The Social Network.
Well that is...a sentence.
posted by medusa at 6:52 AM on April 16, 2021
Well that is...a sentence.
posted by medusa at 6:52 AM on April 16, 2021
I submit to you: Anne Hathaway paired with Tom Hanks... That would have been awesome.
The article more or less comes to the same conclusion:
The article more or less comes to the same conclusion:
“I know that television is changing but I’ve always had the feeling that live TV is best and most successful when it is truly broadcasting to the broadest audience possible,” Wild says. “Trying to be young and hip can limit your audience. Maybe they should have married the two ideas and paired Anne Hathaway with someone older.”posted by doift at 8:53 PM on April 16, 2021
Actually, having watched Hanks for (mumble) years now, I'd guess that - given time machine technology - Hathaway in her 20's plus Hanks in his 20's would have made for an enjoyable presenter pair.
Or at least one of the more enjoyable episodes of Bosom Buddies.
posted by gtrwolf at 6:43 PM on April 18, 2021
Or at least one of the more enjoyable episodes of Bosom Buddies.
posted by gtrwolf at 6:43 PM on April 18, 2021
> It's like they needed an orange for a recipe, and were having trouble finding oranges so they got a banana instead because "well, bananas are tasty too" and then got upset that the banana acted like a banana and not an orange.
True enough, but I am not crazy about oranges. I don't recall much of a televised awards ceremony I saw once, more than a quarter century ago, but I have always preferred the grumpy, acerbic Letterman to the anodyne and eager-to-please Billy Crystal, say.
Right, but yours is not the prevailing taste. Oranges rule the day here, I'm afraid.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:32 AM on April 19, 2021
True enough, but I am not crazy about oranges. I don't recall much of a televised awards ceremony I saw once, more than a quarter century ago, but I have always preferred the grumpy, acerbic Letterman to the anodyne and eager-to-please Billy Crystal, say.
Right, but yours is not the prevailing taste. Oranges rule the day here, I'm afraid.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:32 AM on April 19, 2021
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posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:51 AM on April 15, 2021 [3 favorites]