A response to “Jon Stewart, Hands Long Tied by Strike, Pedals Fast for Oscars,” published in the New York Times, Wednesday February 20, 2008.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/20/arts/television/20stewart.html?_r=1&ref=television&pagewanted=all
For sports fans, their Super Bowl has long been gone, concluding with one of the biggest upsets in sports history as the New York Giants defeated the favored New England Patriots. Is this any foreshadowing for the coming Oscars – entertainment fans’ own “Super Bowl?” Is the film industry in for a big upset? With the writers’ strike just finishing and Jon Stewart at the helm, it is going to be a sprint to pull off one of the most televised shows in just 8 days.
For Mr. Stewart, having only 8 days to prepare for the event does not seem to faze him. Interestingly, he considers hosting the Oscars an “elective,” coming second to his own “Daily Show” which has taken up much of his energy during the writers’ strike.
Having not watched many episodes of the “Daily Show,” I am not very familiar with Mr. Stewart’s humor or personal comedy style. As he describes it, “it’s the comedy of deflation in large amount.” Deflating Washington politicians is the norm for the “Daily Show,” but what about Hollywood? Mr. Stewart’s response: “Washington and Hollywood are really sister cities…the only difference between Hollywood and Washington is that Washington actually has power.”
For Washington politics, his humor fits because this is not the biggest night of their lives and they are not in the room with him, but for the actors and everyone else in the film industry, balance and appropriate tailoring are needed.
After reading this piece, I am interested in seeing the efforts of 8 days worth of work (on Mr. Stewart’s part) for one of biggest nights of the year in the entertainment industry. Though I have not seen many of the films that have been nominated, this is not a problem. While some people watch the Oscars to get an idea of the films that they should see, I watch the award show for the statements that are made – fashion, political, and the like. With the cancellation of the Golden Globes this year, there is a lot of pent-up energy in the industry and it is ready to be released this Sunday on the red carpet.
2 comments:
Thanks for drawing our attention to this piece. Last time he hosted, Jon Stewart breathed life into the staid show. I'm not terribly excited about any of the competitions, but I am eager to see Stewart's performance, especially considering the impacts of the strike.
I just love that he makes fun of what they're up to. When I reviewed the 75th Oscars in 2003--the one that came shortly after the U.S. invasion of Iraq--I thought they needed some levity to balance Michael Moore's polemical speech and Nicole Kidman's "Art is important" rhetoric. Yes, art is important, but are awards shows important? Steve Martin didn't quite pull it off five years ago, but Stewart and his writers' brand of stylish irreverence just might do it again this year.
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