Vegetables for the week: Oscar gets a makeover
Chels and I only saw part of the Oscars last night because we were out seeing a play, the marvelous Arden Theatre production of My Name Is Asher Lev. We did watch about half of the program after we got home. I thought it looked fabulous and went off beautifully.
I'm not a hard core Oscar watcher, but I've probably watched bits and pieces over many years, and so I feel like I have some sense for how a typical year looks and feels. And so having read in the NY Times last week about the thought process that went into this year's production, it was very satisfying to see the results on screen and working so well:
"In thinking about this year’s show, the producers honed in on an exceptional year — 1969, when the program was produced, directed and choreographed by the legendary Broadway director Gower Champion, who complained that past shows 'always used to look like Tara.' His avant-garde set featured a runway extending far into the audience and chrome-and-mirror elements that subtly suggested an urban skyline."
What I liked about this year's production was the evident thoughtfulness that went into every step of the process - there were a dozen different ideas, some big and some small, that rippled through the production. One of my favorites was the idea to have prior winners for the major individual awards come out and address each of the nominees directly. It's getting mixed reviews today from professional critics, but as a casual watcher at home I thought it added effectively to the emotional tenor of the night.
Read the whole article here.
I'm not a hard core Oscar watcher, but I've probably watched bits and pieces over many years, and so I feel like I have some sense for how a typical year looks and feels. And so having read in the NY Times last week about the thought process that went into this year's production, it was very satisfying to see the results on screen and working so well:
"In thinking about this year’s show, the producers honed in on an exceptional year — 1969, when the program was produced, directed and choreographed by the legendary Broadway director Gower Champion, who complained that past shows 'always used to look like Tara.' His avant-garde set featured a runway extending far into the audience and chrome-and-mirror elements that subtly suggested an urban skyline."
What I liked about this year's production was the evident thoughtfulness that went into every step of the process - there were a dozen different ideas, some big and some small, that rippled through the production. One of my favorites was the idea to have prior winners for the major individual awards come out and address each of the nominees directly. It's getting mixed reviews today from professional critics, but as a casual watcher at home I thought it added effectively to the emotional tenor of the night.
Read the whole article here.
