It’s that special day of the year again. Nope, not my birthday. Nope, not the Super Bowl. Nope, not the one day out of the entire year I decide to wash my socks.
It’s Oscar night!
Well, actually, here in Shanghai it’s Oscar morning, and tradition calls for me to be at work, completely shutting myself off from all websites and instant messages that might reveal the winners of the ceremony that is going on as I type this. All of this ridiculous distance so that I can go back home and watch the replay on CCTV-6, which starts at 10 pm and runs four hours long. Which means I’ll be watching the same shampoo and toothpaste commercials run about 500 times each.
But at the end of the day, all of this will be worth it as I get my annual Oscar fix. This will make it 14 straight years that I’ve watched this thing, and after all this amount of time, even the most boring awards presentations are still fun to watch for me.
(Pause for laughter: Mike just messaged me that Jay Chow won for best actor, and then all the white people left the building. Mike is awesome)
I’m surprised that they broadcast the Oscars in China, even though this will be the third one I’m catching here. Does anyone really watch this thing? What is the interest level of the local population of who wins for best animated short and best sound editing? I mean, that’s why most Americans tune in, after all. Maybe that’s why they have it showing at 1 am in the morning.
In the meantime, stay tuned for my second annual Top 10 list. To be honest, the nominated movies this year were nothing truly spectacular. It pains me to see the Academy always overlooking quality films every year (hello? Jackass 2, anyone?) for the sake of honoring didactic, moralistic bullshit masquerading itself as high art (can anyone say “Crash?”). They need me to run the MPAA so that I can usher in movies that will truly have an impact on the cultural landscape. And to make sure that Whoopi Goldberg never emcees another Oscars ceremony ever again (fingers crossed).
Dude what’s with your new distressed, paint-splattered graphic theme? Are you mad at the world?
Clint, my dear friend, the only distress and madness I suffer is when I am reminded that you are no longer in my Shanghai life. The paint-splattering is a tribute to your departure.