Oscar winners 2010: full of drama
| Los Angeles
Last night鈥檚 Academy Awards ceremony was chock-full of drama as the Oscar winners were announced. Sandra Bullock won Best Actress, beating out acting icon Meryl Streep, who has been nominated a record 16 times. 鈥�The Hurt Locker,鈥� a very tiny film that has barely made $21 million worldwide, won Best Picture over the global juggernaut 鈥�Avatar,鈥� now the highest-grossing film of all time. And, yes, Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman in 82 years of Academy history to walk off with the Best Director statuette.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a great validation for women directors,鈥� said composer and former Academy governor Charles Bernstein as he made his way from the awards ceremony in Hollywood鈥檚 Kodak Theater to the nearby Governor鈥檚 Ball. As he spoke by phone, he walked past a not very jubilant, 鈥渢hough not sad,鈥� James Cameron. 鈥淗e has nothing to feel bad about,鈥� noted Mr. Bernstein. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a wonderful David-and-Goliath story and after all, he鈥檚 got the highest grossing film of all time so both sides win.鈥�
Young female voices around town were unequivocal. 鈥淚t鈥檚 officially groundbreaking,鈥� says box office analyst Karie Bible at Exhibitor Relations. While it鈥檚 not clear how much the win will help Ms. Bigelow鈥檚 film, which is already out on DVD (鈥渋t may get a rerelease,鈥� she suggests), it will definitely help open doors for other women, Ms. Bible adds.
IN PICTURES: Oscar winners 2010
鈥淭his gives me hope,鈥� says 18-year-old Chloe Miller, an aspiring director who plans to begin film school next fall. 鈥淭his win makes me think that Hollywood is not as closed a place as it has been and that maybe doors are opening for more diversity of all kinds.鈥�
The time for change in Hollywood indeed has come, says Howard Suber, UCLA professor emeritus and author (鈥淭he Power of Film鈥�), who maintains that Bigelow鈥檚 win was more about Hollywood鈥檚 desire to recognize a woman director than the inherent quality of the film. 鈥淔ive or 10 years from now, I seriously doubt anyone will view 鈥楬urt Locker鈥� as a classic or enduring film,鈥� Mr. Suber says. Unlike a film such as 鈥淎vatar,鈥� which pushed technical and stylistic boundaries, 鈥淭he Hurt Locker鈥� is a very conventional war film. While it is gritty and intense, employing what has now become standard techniques such as a cin茅ma verit茅 style created by shooting with a hand-held camera, it does not break any new ground.
鈥淢ainstream filmmakers have been using this for decades,鈥� Suber says, adding that this is all about history. 鈥淚f this film had been directed by [a male director such as] Ridley Scott, this film would never have won Best Picture,鈥� he adds. It may have little impact on the film鈥檚 box office, but, he says, it will certainly immeasurably improve Kathryn Bigelow鈥檚 chances of getting a meeting at major studios for her next project.
Here are the top five winners with links to their acceptance speeches (for a complete list, go to the Oscar site):
Best Picture
鈥淭he Hurt Locker鈥�
Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Nicolas Chartier, and Greg Shapiro
Actor in a Leading Role
Jeff Bridges in 鈥�Crazy Heart鈥�
Actor in a Supporting Role
Christoph Waltz in 鈥�Inglourious Basterds鈥�
Actress in a Leading Role
Sandra Bullock in 鈥�The Blind Side鈥�
Actress in a Supporting Role
Mo鈥橬ique in 鈥�Precious: Based on the Novel 鈥楶ush鈥� by Sapphire鈥�
