There are a lot of things that suck about Hollywood awards shows (the self-important attitude of the whole thing and the cheesy dialogue come to mind). But the most prominent annoyance is the 'Thank You' speech. I don't know about you, but I don't care about Reese Witherspoon's lawyer and I can't help counting when... um... Jonathan... um... Demme... wins for... um... Silence of the Lambs.This year, producers for tonight's Academy Awards are trying to avoid the 45-second long lists of thank yous from winners by offering them the 'Thank You' cam. It's a camera that winners can turn to when they exit the stage and finish their list of 'thank yous'. The video will be immediately broadcast on Oscar.com. The host of the 'thank you' cam says, "It takes the pressure off. Don't worry about the list, say what you want to say from the heart and the rest will live on the internet."
First of all, who the hell is going to watch this? Second of all, it sounds doomed to fail. Most of the people who win feel obligated to thank a million behind-the-scenes folks with deep wallets in order to get more work/money.
So... sit back with the mute button at the ready. Or find something else to do tonight.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-25-2007 @ 5:50PM
Mel said...
I don't see the point really. Those speeches are great in the sense of showing how a star's personality is like, how quick-witted he or she is and how they handle stage fright or whatever. It's just a bit of fun to see bad speeches, good speeches, funny speeches and non-speeches.
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2-25-2007 @ 6:48PM
David said...
I'm watching a movie until 9 and then Iron Chef America then BSG will will hopefully not suck, but i'm not holding my breathe.
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2-25-2007 @ 9:11PM
Jimmy said...
Actually, I think they have every right to thank whomever they wish. How many times will an actor stand up on stage and accept an award like this from his or her peers? Hell, some of the best actors out there have never had that honor. Granted, I don't like a laundry list either, but I thought Reese Witherspoon's speach was quite heartfelt. If you don't like the speeches change the channel or watch the highlights the next day. This is an awards show; you should know what you're getting to before you watch.
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2-26-2007 @ 12:01PM
Preston said...
My thing is, winners need to keep their thank yous to a few people. Don't be going on and on and on for 3 to 5 minutes thanking everybody. If someone says, Why didn't you thank me?, then tell them you couldn't include everyone. That's the reason the Oscars go well over the 3 hour mark. I think that producers just got sick and tired of 25 straight years of lengthy thank you acceptance speeches on their telecasts that they offered the Thank You cam. I don't think it will last, because you're still going to have those few that will go for miles thanking their families, producers, the kid that stole your candy at 5 on Adams Street in Chicago just to tell them "Look at Me Now" and so forth!
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