Why “Avatar” Can Save the Academy Awards; Plus Susan Lucci in High Definition!
The Golden Globes were handed out over the weekend.
Generally the Globes are not necessarily a great predictor of the Oscars (coming in March this year due to the Winter Olympics in February.) But I’m hoping “Avatar’s” nomination and win for Best Drama might be accurate.
That’s not to say I think “Avatar” is the Best Picture of the year (though it is certainly is a contender.)
But I am hoping the Academy shows the blue people some love for the sake of the Academy itself. The last time a James Cameron blockbuster was up for Best Picture (back when a little movie called “Titanic” was king of the world) the Oscars recorded record ratings.
With “Avatar” an obvious audience favorite, it would be great to see the popular movie in the competition. Why? Because it gives the TV audience a recognizable movie to root for. And that’s good. Because while the Oscars are an opportunity to salute the Best movies, it’s really about celebrating and ultimately about promoting the movies in general!
Movies are a multi-billion dollar a year business. The viewing public are the customers. So give the customers what they want. Movies they know and love that they actually SAW. Last year, Hollywood passed on some legit, commercial contenders (like “The Dark Knight”) that were also widely seen.
The Academy knows over the past few years they’ve spent too much recognizing ”art” when it comes to the Oscars and not enough on celebrating success and some of the most popular movies. Is “Transformers 2″ the best movie? Course not. But it was THE MOST SEEN MOVIE of 2009 (with the possible exception of “Avatar.”)
This year could be a watershed year for the Oscars. In addition to “Avatar” the hugely popular
The Blind Side” will and should also get some Oscar love. (”The Blind Side” is a movie that has tremendous word of mouth, especially for families.)
Big ratings for the Oscars because of the success of “Avatar,” “The Blind Side,” and “Up” will also help the smaller “art films” (like “The Hurt Locker’) that deserve recognition by putting them in front of so many more eyeballs at the Oscar ceremony.
Look for the Oscars Sunday, March 7 on ABC and RTV 6.
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How’s this for a headline…”Susan Lucci in HD.”
Beginning Wednesday, February 3, ABC and RTV 6 will begin broadcasting “All My Children” in HDTV/Stereo Audio.
The show recently moved from it’s old New York City studios to new facilities in Los Angeles that feature HD production.
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My son peeks behind classic model kits
As a kid, I used to love building plastic model kits. Spaceships. Monsters. Cars.
My eight year old and I were in a hobby store over the weekend (picking up gear for our annual Scout Pinewood Derby cars.)
I checked out the model kit section, just to see if they still make them.
Boy, talk about a blast from the past!
I’m not sure kids like to build model kits these days, but its obvious the model manufacturers are targeting baby boomers like me.
I saw dozens of model kits that were popular when I was a kid – the original U.S.S. Enterprise model from the original “Star Trek” TV series; The Seaview submarine from “Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea;” Robby the Robot from “Forbidden Planet.”
They even had a series of model kits from the seventies that feature the Universal monters like “Frankenstein” “The Wolf Man” and Bela Lugosi’s “Dracula.”
Many of the models even feature the original packaging! The only thing that wasn’t original…the price. The Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea model kit cost $90!
Whoa!
That’s a lot of cash for a plastic model kit. But even at that price, the kits sure look tempting.
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