Congratulations: Coens, Cormac and Cody
Although the telecast of the Oscars had one of the lowest viewer turnouts in the history of the Academy Awards, I enjoyed watching the results. Granted the musical sequences were painful, outside of Swell Season’s performance, and the aren’t-we-so-great Hollywood propaganda was a bit tiresome. However, my favorites in my favorite categories (writing, directing and picture) all won.
I’ve been a die hard fan of the Coen Brothers since Raising Arizona in the late 80’s. (Someday I will try to write an essay on why Arizona is pure genius and a great American film). They were able to translate a Cormac McCarthy novel with all of the writer’s raw sparseness on celluloid. They conveyed his unrelenting brutality in which pure evil overpowers all, and humans, caught in this tragedy, do their best (though often making fatal mistakes) to battle against this unstoppable force. BTW I see strong parallel between Raising Arizona and No Country for Old Men, in terms of setting off evil, battling against fate, etc.
Also a shout out goes to Diablo Cody, writer of Juno. Her funny, lightening speed dialog, a strong and compelling central actress, and realistic and growing characters set in Illinois made this a definite Oscar-worthy script. My investment in her win was also personal as I was one person removed from her by her manager (and a producer of Juno) Mason Novick. I talked to him last year about a comedy script that I sent him: Fatman. He said that he laughed throughout the script, which is a rare commodity for comic screenplay. Unfortunately, he didn’t believe he could produce it. He asked me to send him a list of ideas, which I did and never heard back. I’m afraid that with his success it might even be tougher to get a follow up phone call. Arggggh. Close, but I am without a cigar. Regardless, congratulations to Mason for picking up Diablo and presenting her talents to the world.
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