Director James Cameron is complaining that the Motion Picture Academy did not consider the stars of Avatar for awards in the acting categories. There is already some arguing going about as to what extent the film should be considered an animated motion picture...and I have no opinion on that because, first of all, I haven't seen it. I may not, in fact, because folks keep telling me, "You simply have to see it in 3-D to get the full impact," and the hypnotic power of 3-D puts me to sleep. I also think the argument of whether that process is animation or not is one of those semantic battles that hinges on everyone's particular definitions.
What I wanted to point out though was that the Oscar folks have a long history of ignoring acting performances that seem to be heavily-assisted. If an actress is dubbed or an actor is heavily stunt-doubled, that loses them points. If heavy make-up or special effects seem to be doing a lot of the acting, they lose points for that, too. There are exceptions to this but generally, Best Acting awards go to actors who seem to have kinda earned them, all by themselves. This is one reason why action and fantasy films don't garner a lot of trophies. It's because those roles are often full of stunt-doubling and camera trickery that contribute to the performance.
There may be a solid argument that in Avatar, Sigourney Weaver is "acting" her role just as certainly as she acts any roles she plays. But you can't argue that when we see her performance, we're only looking at the work of Ms. Weaver with the guidance of Mr. Cameron. There are a lot of other people making that character like that...enough to make it feel inappropriate for an award that honors individual achievement. I'm not saying that's right or wrong. But I think that's how it is.
Another one of these. Veteran TV writer Barry Blitzer has died at the age of 80 from complications relating to abdominal surgery. Barry's career dated back to the fifties. He won an Emmy in 1956 for his work on The Phil Silvers Show, meaning it's been a bad week or two for Bilko writers. He worked on Get Smart, McHale's Navy and many other sitcoms, including Gomer Pyle, USMC. He was a major writer at Hanna-Barbera for years, including work on the prime-time The Flintstones, Top Cat and The Jetsons, as well as dozens of Saturday morning shows, including the Laverne & Shirley and Happy Days cartoons.
I knew him, not as well as I would have liked, from H-B and also from work on various Writers Guild committees and projects. He was a good writer and a good man, and it's sad that we keep losing people like that.
I just went to check the weather forecast for Los Angeles at Weather Underground and did a double-take that would have been considered "overacting" on The Benny Hill Show. They post the National Weather Service forecasts and the real one for the next few days calls for temps in the fifties and sixties and about a 50% chance of rain. That's what it says in the text on that page but their little graphic display says it's going to get down near freezing and there's a decent chance of snow. The software is aglitch.
I have lived in this city for all of my 57.8 years and the total amount of snow that has fallen where I dwell is about nine flakes. Amazingly, several were identical to one another but that's another matter. The point is it doesn't snow here. I sometimes hear locals muse how wonderful it would be if it did...just once or twice, just for twenty minutes. I don't wish that. For one thing, it would eliminate the hope that all those who warn of Climate Change are wrong.
I have an odd fascination with the operation of restaurants, especially chain restaurants. I watch them the way some folks follow a favorite sports team, noting what those in charge do to win and how they lose. Lately, I feel like Koo Koo Roo — a chain in Southern California that I used to like a lot — seems to be going the way of the Washington Nationals. I haven't seen any profit/loss statements but stores keep closing and when I walk into one of the ones that are left, they just feel like they're not long for the world. The food hasn't been as good as it used to be, either...which is why I'm not walking into the ones they have left very often.
I also, of course, follow the Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes chain. They usually have my favorite, their Creamy Tomato Soup, for the month of March. I'm waiting to see if they uphold this sacred tradition. I'm also waiting to see if they send me a lot of free coupons as they usually do for mentioning that soup on this site. Hint, hint, hint.
Watching the Sizzler operation is another grand spectator sport. It goes up. It goes down. It reinvents itself. I gather it's on a bit of an uptick now. With the economy as rotten as it is, a lot of folks are skipping the expensive eateries and chowing down at places like Sizzler.
There's a Sizzler near me and once upon a time, it was a great place for lunch or a quick supper. Sergio and I used to often plot Groo stories there and the staff somehow knew who we were and gave us a 20% discount. (Don't mock it. That's the biggest perk I've received in 28 years of doing that comic.) But over the years, the service got bad and the food got worse...and I stopped going there.
Last evening, I was out for a walk and a think. Finding myself near the place and a bit peckish, I decided to stop in...but not for meat. I was going to just graze at the Soup-and-Salad Bar, plus I thought a baked potato might be nice. I recalled that years ago, someone told me that if you're getting the Soup-and-Salad Bar at Sizzler and you ask for a baked potato, they'll bring you one, no extra charge.
So I went in and asked about this. The fellow behind the counter said, "I think they used to do that but we don't now." The Soup-and-Salad Bar at dinnertime is $9.95 and he said it would cost me an extra $2.99 for a baked potato. Then he added, "Of course, you can get the Salad Bar and a baked potato with one of our Value Meals for the same price."
He pointed to the menu on the wall. Sure enough, you can get a six-ounce steak (or six fried shrimp or the Malibu Chicken) for the same $9.95 and that includes a baked potato (or rice or fries or veggies), a piece of cheese bread and, yes, unlimited trips to the Soup-and-Salad Bar. So I ordered that. I almost said, "I'll have the steak dinner...hold the steak" but I figured I could at least taste it and see if it was any better than the ones that made me give up the Sizzler. It was, a little. At least, I've had worse in fancy places.
But doesn't this strike you as a little odd, pricing-wise? If you want the Salad Bar and a baked potato, that's $12.94. But the exact same thing plus a steak is $9.95. (I think they give you the cheese bread either way.)
Seems to me the Sizzler folks are missing a great advertising pitch in these rough economic times: "Buy the Soup-and-Salad Bar and get a free steak dinner, including a baked potato!" And for free, that steak's pretty darn good.
This is a tad outta-sync at the beginning and it runs eight and a half minutes but it's worth watching. It's from a 1999 episode of Hollywood Squares with your host, Tom Bergeron...
February 2, 2010
