Oscar Night Open Thread. Update!

I should start off first by admitting that this open thread is not even my idea.

In fact I did not even realize that the Academy Awards were even happening this weekend.

But then I got that call from the daughter.

"So Dad are you ready for the big night?"

"Uh...big night?"

"Don't tell me you don't know what is happening this Sunday?"

"Of course I do it's..uh..you know...an anniversary or something."

"DAD! It's the Academy Awards! You know how important those are to us."

Us?

"Sure honey I was only teasing. Totally going to watch it, and I will even host an open thread on IM.

So here we are.

Just between you and me I have only seen two of the nine films nominated for Best Picture. (For those wondering the films were "Arrival" and "Hell or High Water.")

They were both great and either one could win in my opinion, but beyond that I simply have not been paying much attention.

But I am now, and boy am I stoked! This is going to be a great night!

(That sounds convincing, right?)

Here is a list to get you started.

And remember even if you are watching by yourself, in a dimly lit apartment, just you and your six cats, you are really never alone on Oscar night. The whole world is watching.

In fact in year's past even the new president was an avid viewer.

What ever happened to the good old days of The Academy Awards. This show is an insult to the past, just plain bad!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 23, 2015

The Oscars are a sad joke, very much like our President. So many things are wrong!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 23, 2015

So I imagine that Trump will be watching right along with the rest of us, which is great since I think his name is going to be mentioned quite a few times.

(Boy if he thought the White House Correspondents' Dinner was the lion's den, wait until he gets a load of tonight.)

You can also follow me on Twitter tonight, where I might have a few clever things to say. Though to be completely honest I plan to drink a little so as the night wears on they may only seem clever to me.

Update: For those who missed it here is Jimmy Kimmel's hilarious opening monologue.

After all these years I am still not tired of the Kimmel/Damon feud.

Update 2: Well Trump will be all over this tomorrow.

Good job CNN. That is all the ammunition the Right needs.

Mike Pence gets booed by the audience while attending "Hamilton." Donald Trump blames cast, demands apology.

Here's Pence getting booed as he gets to his seats at Hamilton pic.twitter.com/IRQG68x1sB

— David K (@dkipke12) November 19, 2016

As you can hear this is the reaction of audience members, and done of their own accord.

In fact the curtains are closed and the show has not yet started.

However thin skinned Donald Trump thought that this was the fault of the cast members and sent off this tweet in response.

Our wonderful future V.P. Mike Pence was harassed last night at the theater by the cast of Hamilton, cameras blazing.This should not happen!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 19, 2016

The Theater must always be a safe and special place.The cast of Hamilton was very rude last night to a very good man, Mike Pence. Apologize!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 19, 2016

Blaming the cast for the actions of the audience, before a show even starts?

Overreact much?

Actually the cast showed remarkable restraint, and at the end of the show the lead actor Brandon Victor Dixon had this message for Mike Pence: 

“We have a guest in the audience this evening. Vice President-elect Pence I see you walking out, but I hope you will hear us just a few more moments. There’s nothing to boo here ladies and gentlemen. We have a message for you sir. We hope that you will hear us out. I encourage everyone to pull out your phones and tweet because this message needs to be spread far and wide. 

Vice President-elect Pence we welcome you and we truly thank you for joining us here at Hamilton, an American Musical. We really do. We sir, we are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us, our planet, out children, our parents or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights, sir. But we truly hope that this show has inspired you to uphold our American values and to work on behalf of all of us. All of us. We truly thank you for sharing in this show, this wonderful American story told by a diverse group of men, women of different colors, creeds and orientations and we truly hope that you heard our message sir, because you all represent all of us."

Not sure how that gets translated into being rude in the eyes of Donald Trump, but if this is how he responds to everything I think our first new war will be starting less than a week after his inauguration. 

The perks of being a member of the First Family are really too numerous to mention.

I like how Malia throws the thumbs up sign as Sasha tries to suppress her giddiness.

Hopefully I don't have to point out that the gentleman in question is Ryan Reynolds who is currently attracting women to their local theaters in droves to actually watch the R rated superhero flick "Deadpool."

Something tells me that Sasha has already seen it. Right along with every other Ryan Reynolds movie ever made.

Star Trek actor, John de Lancie, discusses being openly secular.

I really enjoyed this because it so closely reflects my own experience as a very young child dealing with my own doubts about religion and my realization that I was going to see forever the world differently than many of my peers.

Part of my goal on this blog is to dispel the notion that Atheists, Agnostics, and those living a secular lifestyle are amoral psychopaths who hate the gods and want to engage in drunken orgies everyday. 

(Okay well maybe there is a hint of truth to that last part.)

Hopefully by presenting evidence of reasonable, critically thinking individuals, who are living a life free of superstition and a religiously constructed prison of fear and shame, that I am helping to do that.

Now for what dominated the news cycle yesterday. Han Solo crashed landed the Millennium Falcon on golf course. Or something like that.

Courtesy of USA Today:  

Harrison Ford was injured Thursday afternoon when his vintage single-engine airplane crashed on a golf course shortly after taking off from Santa Monica Airport. 

The actor and private pilot reported engine failure and requested an immediate return about 2:25 p.m. PT, according to his conversation with air-traffic controllers. He failed to reach the runway, crash-landing instead on the approach to the 8th tee. 

"Harrison was flying a WW2 vintage plane today which had engine trouble upon take off. He had no other choice but to make an emergency landing, which he did safely,'' Ford's publicist Ina Treciokas said in an emailed statement. 

"He was banged up and is in the hospital receiving medical care. The injuries sustained are not life threatening, and he is expected to make a full recovery," she said. 

There was no fire. The open-cockpit plane was painted with vintage markings and looked as if it could have come from one of the movies in which Ford played adventurer Indiana Jones. 

"Dad is ok. Battered, but ok!" Ford's son, Ben, a chef in Los Angeles, tweeted from the hospital. "He is every bit the man you would think he is. He is an incredibly strong man."

After I found out that Ford was okay I have to admit that my very next thought was "Damn I hope he already filmed all of his scenes for the new Star Wars movie." Because you know I am so selfless and every thing.

However I really was concerned, as Harrison Ford has been in some of my favorite movies ever, and I am a big fan.

But even that concern did not make me a little frustrated that almost half of yesterday's news was focused solely on this one incident. And that was after the first half of the day was focused on another plane mishap at LaGuardia Airport.

Look I think that both of these events were newsworthy and warranted some coverage, but not nearly the amount that they received.

Having said that once I learned that Harrison Ford was relatively okay, I thought back to this scene from "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade."

I know, I know, I'm going to hell.

Liam Neeson on terrorist attack in France: "There's too many f**king guns out there. Especially in America."

Courtesy of Gulf News:  

Liam Neeson might be brandishing a gun on posters for Taken 3 all around town, but in light of the recent Charlie Hebdo attacks in France, and ongoing protests against police brutality in America, the actor told tabloid! he’s still firmly in favour of gun control. 

“First off, my thoughts and prayers and my heart are with the deceased, and certainly with all of France, yesterday. I’ve got a lot of dear friends in Paris,” the 62-year-old said. 

“There’s too many [expletive] guns out there,” he continued. “Especially in America. I think the population is like, 320 million? There’s over 300 million guns. Privately owned, in America. I think it’s a [expletive] disgrace. Every week now we’re picking up a newspaper and seeing, ‘Yet another few kids have been killed in schools.’” 

Asked whether or not he thinks this issue extends to police responsibility, he said: “Let’s not get into it. Let’s put it this way: I think a light has been shone on the justice system in America, and it’s a justifiable light.”

It may seem a tad hypocritical for an actor who is most famous for killing people who take his kidnap his family members, however Neeson does not think that cinema is the problem:  

“A character like Bryan Mills going out with guns and taking revenge: it’s fantasy. It’s in the movies, you know? I think it can give people a great release from stresses in life and all the rest of it, you know what I mean? It doesn’t mean they’re all going to go out and go, ‘Yeah, let’s get a gun!’,” he added.

I actually agree with that.  After all one of the most popular movies of all time is the Lord of the Rings trilogy and yet you don't hear of too many cases of people killing each other with bows and  arrows.

I personally am a huge fan of action movies, and have watched literally hundred, yet I own no firearms and have never brandished one in anger.

People kill people with guns because guns are plentiful and because we are taught from infancy that they are a source of prestige and power in this country.

I have always seen that as a sign of weakness, not strength.

What everybody is talking about, the Newsroom's college rape storyline.

Courtesy of The Independent: 

The Newsroom has been accused of having a “women problem” before, but now Aaron Sorkin has come under fire for a rape storyline that implies male perpetrators are to be believed over female victims. 

The latest episode has been criticised for its portrayal of female rape victims after TV news producer Don Keefer said he felt morally obligated to believe the man’s side of the story because he had not yet been convicted of rape. 

The episode’ storyline followed a Princeton student who starts a website allowing women on campus to out their rapists after the city justice system failed to prosecute two fraternity members who she claimed raped her. 

The student is tracked down by the fictional news network ACN for a debate with her alleged attacker live on air. Don had also interviewed the man she claims raped her and when she asks him who he believes, the producer says he felt obliged to take the man’s side over hers.

This received quite a lot of backlash from all corners.

Including from a writer on the show who claims her misgivings about the segment were ignored, and that she was "kicked out" of the writer's room.

Sorkin himself responds here.

Actress Olivia Munn, who plays the character Sloan Sabbith on the show, also weighed in:  

“…The reality is that Sorkin writes things so that they can be talked about, and so we show both sides of it,” she said. “I think it was important to show what it’s like for women to be a rape victim, want to speak out, and then have somebody come in and say, ‘Hey don’t do that. That’s going to be bad for you.’ 

“Sorkin wasn’t saying ‘Don’t do that,'” Munn said. “He was saying ‘This is what happens.'” 

Personally I liked the episode. Partly because it left me conflicted, and not sure whose side I should take in the exchange between the Don Keefer character and the college student.

But that to me is the mark of great television.

I don't often watch shows that make me feel all warm and cuddly inside. I watch shows that make me think, piss me off, or make me grieve for the loss of a character that I have, against my better judgement, grown attached to. (Still miss you Beth.)

I think the show did everything that I would expect it would do with such a controversial subject.

And in the light of the Rolling Stone campus rape scandal, it could not have been more timely.

HBO films documentary on Scientology. Has 160 lawyers looking at it before broadcast. You know that might not be enough.

Courtesy of CNN:  

HBO is backing a documentary based on "Going Clear," a book about Scientology and Hollywood -- and isn't taking any chances with the legal side of things. 

"We have probably 160 lawyers" looking at the film, HBO Documentary Films President Sheila Nevins told The Hollywood Reporter. (HBO, like CNN, is a unit of Time Warner.) 

"Going Clear," by Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Lawrence Wright ("The Looming Tower"), digs into the life of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard and the influence his church has had on its believers, many of whom have close ties to Hollywood.

I have believed for years that Scientology exists solely as an opportunity for religious people to recognize how fundamentally ridiculous ALL religions are.

It is true that Scientology is filled with the so much batshit crazy that I tend to believe that L.Ron Hubbard was just putting everybody on, and would be shocked to learn that not only did his completely made up religion survive, but that it prospered.  However if you if you really examine religions, there is really NONE that stand up to even the most basic scrutiny. (Golden plates transcribed in "reform Egyptian" that only Joseph Smith ever saw? Seriously Mormons?)

And the list of famous people who follow Scientology is jaw dropping. From Tom Cruise, John Travolta, and Sharon Stone to J.D. Salinger, William S. Burroughs, and Van Morrison there are a number of highly intelligent and talented people who buy into its bullshit.

Well I certainly hope that HBO is adequately prepared for the backlash, because the Scientologists are famously litigious and not know for taking perceived attacks on their beliefs lightly.

After South Park's hilarious Scientology episode the "church" went after Trey Parker and Matt Stone with everything they had. Fortunately they found nothing they could use against the duo, but it was not for lack of trying.

Julianne Moore explains why she agreed to play Sarah Palin in the HBO movie "Game Change."

These remarks are from a Hollywood Reporter roundtable with  Reese Witherspoon, Patricia Arquette, Amy Adams, Hilary Swank, Laura Dern and Felicity Jones. Among who. by the way, are some of my favorite actors.

During the conversation the host asks Moore why she said "yes to Sarah Palin."

Moore responds with, "It was a great story, it was a great story. And I think.."

Witherspoon: "You were amazing."

Moore: "But by yourself, just with the character I wouldn't have known..what's the story, what's the story? I mean she was charismatic, very interesting, new political figure, that we did not know much about. And Jay Roach, who Laura and I both worked with, and Danny Strong kind of...you know...they managed to create, well you know it was a true, it was a true story, but they managed to encapsulate this narrative and tell the story of her rise and fall in the Republican party. Or actually not fall, she exited, is really what she did."

On playing her Moore says, "Everybody knew her voice, everybody knew her mannerisms, and she wouldn't go away. You know she was very, very present."

Boy ain't that the truth?

And yes it was a true story.

Whenever anybody asks me if Julianne Moore exaggerated Sarah Palin for dramatic effect, I always respond with an emphatic "NO." Because in fact much of what is portrayed in Game Change were things that we had heard about her from friends and family members, but this was the first time that the public at large was getting to see the lunacy for themselves.

I think Julianne Moore did a brilliant job, which of course is why won an Emmy.

Guess which famous Teabagger's daughter might be a skank. Good guess, but no not that one. (At least not this time.)

Courtesy of DListed:  

According to Us Weekly, 57-year-old Ray Donovan actor (or Manny from Scarface, whichever brings up less of a “??????” for you) Steven Bauer attempted to out-creepy Woody Allen by showing up to the premiere of Magic in the Moonlight with his 18-year-old girlfriend Lyda Loudon. According to her Twitter bio, Lyda is a “part-time nightmare-inspirer, journalist, host of Sarcasm Overdose, ceo, actress, unsalvageable degenerate film/music/cigar/espresso addict” aka she’s unemployed. But Lyda is not just a barely-legal J-list star fucker (yes she is, but go on); she also founded Tea Party Youth and the L3 Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to “educate millennials with the tools it will take to turn America’s future around”. 

Of course, it gets better (it always gets better). Lyda’s parents are former Missouri Republican senator John Loudon and Tea Party founder and author “Dr. Gina“ (she sounds like a no-nonsense discount gynecologist). Meanwhile, Steven used to be married to Melanie Griffith, and they have a 28-year-old son together. You know your girlfriend is too damn young if she can’t remember Melanie before the Antonio tattoo. Hell, your girlfriend is too young if her age is anything that ends in “-teen“!

Wow, and people say my writing style is aggressive, with no holds barred.

Of course those of us at IM know "Dr. Gina" as a Sarah Palin pal, who once famously quit the reality show "Wife Swap" after her husband complained that "dark forces" had invaded their home.

Of course Loudon is a fundamentalist Christian, who homeschooled her daughter which adequately explains why Lyda now identifies herself as an "unsalvageable degenerate" and is currently dating a man old enough to be her creepy pedophile uncle.

Look kids will do what kids will do, but if you host a radio show and write books that gives advice about about raising children and maintaining strong relationships, it might help to have a child who actually makes moral and ethical decisions.

And by the way, the same goes for Loudon's crazy friend in Arizona.

Hollywood actor Stellan Skarsgård brilliantly argues against spending government money on private schools and speaks out against religious influence.

I am a huge fan of Stellan Skarsgård, and he is in some of my favorite movies.

The video is from a Swedish talk show, where they clearly have very open and interesting conversations. 

This might be my favorite Obamacare advertisement yet.

Courtesy of Mediaite:  

The mothers of Jonah Hill, Alicia Keys, Adam Levine and Jennifer Lopez appear in the two-minute video, entitled “#YourMomCares,” alongside a conclusion from First Lady Michelle Obama. The moms recall stories about the childhood personalities of their famous kids before explaining the importance of getting insured. 

“Trust me: us moms put up with a lot,” said Hill’s mother Sharon Feldstein. “But one thing we should never have to put up with is our kid not having health care. Seriously, do you want your mothers to have a nervous breakdown? You need health insurance. It’s imperative. Taking care of yourself so your mothers can sleep and have a nice life after all they’ve done for you is not too much to ask.” 

Michelle Obama ends the video by delivering the age-old motherly adage: “We nag you because we love you.”

You know when I was a teenager nobody could get me to do ANYTHING I did not want to do. You could not bribe me, or trick me, or threaten me into anything.

However my mom  had no such problem and she was able to manipulate the snot out of me and get me to do exactly what she wanted.

After all it's your mom, without her you are nothing. Literally.

Actor Chris O'Dowd believes that someday religion will be as reviled as racism.

Courtesy of The Sydney Morning Herald:  

Actor Chris O'Dowd thinks following a religion will eventually become as offensive and unacceptable as racism. 

The Irish star of films such as The Sapphires and Bridesmaids says he grew up respecting people of faith despite his atheist views, but has become "less liberal" as he ages. 

Now he says religious doctrine is halting human progress and brands it "a weird cult". 

O'Dowd has told Britain's GQ magazine: "For most of my life, I've been, 'Hey, I'm not into it, but I respect your right to believe whatever you want'. But as time goes on, weirdly, I'm growing less liberal. I'm more like, 'No, religion is ruining the world, you need to stop!'. 

"There's going to be a turning point where it's going to be like racism. You know, 'You're not allowed to say that weird s**t! It's mad! And you're making everybody crazy!' 

"And you know, now America can't have a president that doesn't say he believes in God. So we're f**ked! Like, they f**ked everything! 

"You wanna go and live in your weird cult and talk about a man who lives in a cloud, you do that, but don't. I mean, you really think that Barack Obama believes in God? No way!" 

Interestingly enough I just finished Netflix binging on his British sitcom "The IT Crowd." It was alright, not my favorite British comedy series, but it had a laugh or two.
 

As for what he says, I certainly agree with a lot of it. Most of it actually.

And he is right, no person could be elected to the White House if they did not proclaim that they believe in God.

But do we REALLY think that all forty four of them did for certain?

Cause I don't.

The selfie of the night.

Source

For those who did not watch the festivities last night (Myself included.) the big winners are :

Best Picture" 12 Years a Slave.

Best Actor: Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club.

Best Actress: Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine.

Best Supporting Actor: Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club.

Best Supporting Actress:  Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years a Slave.

To be honest I did not see any of the ceremony as I was knee deep in zombies last night watching "The Walking Dead." And then stayed up late to watch Matthew McConaughey's brilliant "True Detective" on HBO.

I regret nothing.

P.S. This is how what is now the most re-tweeted picture on the internet came together. 

Poor Jared Leto, he simply could not get passed Jennifer Lawrence's hip check.

When George Takei teams up with Patrick Stewart that is powerful force for good.

Patrick Stewart is a Boss. pic.twitter.com/gkpPjR3kWp

— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) November 5, 2013

By the way if you have not been following Patrick Stewart on Twitter you are really missing out.

Of course the same holds true for George Takei.

Must see movie of the week.

I just saw the movie Gravity with Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, and I was blown away.

This movie is a smart, visually impressive thriller, that rarely lets up.

There is no way that I can adequately describe how enveloping this film is, but if you ever wondered what it would be like to walk in space, THIS might be as close as you can get without first going through astronaut training at NASA.

There have been a few naysayers concerning the physics of the film, or the believability of the story line, but I will leave it to none other than Buzz Aldrin to convince you that it meets and exceeds the highest standards for a believable thriller set in space.

Damn that was a good movie!

P.S. Make sure to see it in 3D if you can. Believe me when I say you will miss out on a lot if you don't.

Get Covered. Courtesy of Obamacare.

Kerry Washington

Olivia Wilde and Billy Eichner

Connie Britton

Adrianne Palicki

Amy Poehler

Lady Gaga

I think it is a great idea to have pop stars and well known actors promoting the Affordable Care Act.

It will go a long way to helping Americans, especially young Americans, wade through the bullshit and learn how the plan benefits them, both now and in the long term.

(H/T to the Obama Diary.)

Can it be July already?

I swear, and don't think I'm crazy, whenever anything huge breaks in the news, whether it be the Boston bombing, a big election, or this battle over gun legislation, I always imagine how Will McAvoy will report on it.

I know, he is only a TV character. But still, is there ANYBODY on television that has given us the straight poop the way that he did in this famous scene?

Come on July, I am not a patient man.

James Lipton of the Actors Studio interviews Tina Fey in character as Sarah Palin. Oh, you HAVE to see this!

Courtesy of Mediaite:  

James Lipton, the long-time host of Inside the Actors Studio, often asks his guests if he can interview them as one of their most famous characters. So when he invited Tina Fey onto the show last night, it was a not-so-surprising delight that he asked her if he could speak to Sarah Palin for a few moments. Fey happily obliged, showing off her sharp improv skills by answering questions as Palin and offering unique insight on some of the biggest issues facing the country. 

On guns: “I believe that if everybody had guns, then there would be fewer guns in the stores.” 

On same-sex marriage: “Well, the bible says it’s gross, and I don’t judge. A lot of the amazing, wonderful people I met in the audience at Dancing with the Stars seem to go that way. But, no, marriage is meant for people who wear different kinds of swimsuits.” 

On being a woman in a man’s world: “I don’t think of it as a man’s world or a woman’s world, unless again we’re talking about marriage. But I think of it as people being mavericks or not being mavericks.”

That was awesome!

I swear the ONLY time I can stomach Sarah Palin is when Tina Fey is channeling her.

Sarah Palin is always looking for attention, so this should thrill her. Right?

Sarah Palin needs to have a Super Big Gulp of STFU.
— Will Ferrell (@Will___Ferrell) March 17, 2013

Will Ferrell is a VERY famous actor with a huge following on Twitter.

Happy now Juicy?

Update:  Oooh this one is even better!

Who makes me want to gag every time I hear her name? Who makes me think there's no hope for the human race? #SarahPalinDoes
— Will Ferrell (@Will___Ferrell) March 19, 2013

Yep the Grizzled Mama certainly made an impression on Mr. Will Ferrell.

Kind of like the one she made on me, come to think of it.

Update 2: Oops looks like it is my turn to be red faced about getting tricked by a parody account.

Well when you blog everyday you know it will happen sometime.

Here is Ferrell's actual account. No mention of Palin as of yet.

Oh well, it was still good for a laugh.

Update  3: Hey you know now that I check his tweets it turns out that Will Ferrell and I have similar views on marriage.

Whoever invented marriage was probably creepy as hell. Like, hey I love you so much I'm gonna get the government involved so you can't leave
— Will Ferrell (@WillFerreI) March 19, 2013

Who knew?

Update 4: Sorry for all of he updates but I would be remiss if I did not mention that Jimmy Kimmel is ALSO paying attention to Wasilla's most famous attention whore: