In a reflection of how our culture has devolved, few actors bothered with a perfunctory thanking of God. However, there was a notable and surprising exception.
Rather than thanking an assortment of managers, agents, publicists, assistants and lawyers when he won his Best Actor Oscar for his role in "Dallas Buyers Club" on Sunday night, Matthew McConaughey thanked his fellow nominees, cast mates and ... God.
And he was the one of the first of the night to do so.
"First off I want to thank God, because that's who I look up to. He's graced my life with opportunities that I know are not of my hand or any other human hand," the 44-year-old Texas native said. "He has shown me that it's a scientific fact that gratitude reciprocates. In the words of the late (British actor) Charlie Laughton, who said, 'When you got God you got a friend and that friend is you.'"
McConaughey then went on to show his appreciation for his wife, children, mother and late father.
"To my father, I know he's up there right now with a big pot of gumbo, he's got a lemon meringue pie, he's probably up there in his underwear, he's got a cold can of Miller lite and he's dancing right now," he continued. "To my dad, you taught me what it means to be a man, to my mother, who's here tonight, you taught me and my two brothers, demanded, that we respect ourselves. What we in turn learned was, we were then better able to respect others."
Showing posts with label oscars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label oscars. Show all posts
Monday, March 3, 2014
Saturday, February 1, 2014
‘Faith-Based Bigotry’: Oscar-Winning Producer Pens Scathing Letter to Academy For Rescinding Christian Film’s Nomination
UPDATE: The Academy released a statement Saturday explaining why they revoked the nomination for Christian film “Alone Yet Note Alone.” It reiterated earlier claims that improper lobbying was done by the songwriter before the nomination.
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The Oscar-winning producer of “Schindler’s List” hammered the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in a letter he penned after they made the unusual decision to rescind a nomination for a Christian film.
Gerald Molen accused the Academy of discriminating against a religious movie after the prestigious motion picture body decided to take away a nomination for Christian film “Alone Yet Not Alone,” citing alleged improper lobbying done by the songwriter before the initial nomination.
“Many will see this decision as faith-based bigotry pure and simple.”
“Every film, director, writer, cinematographer, actor, art director, costume designer and efx house finds a way to pitch or promote their work. Many will see this decision as faith-based bigotry pure and simple,” Molen said in a letter to Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs, obtained by the Hollywood Reporter.
“Critics will pounce and accuse us of being out of touch and needlessly offending middle America by stripping this song — a song sung by a quadriplegic hero to evangelical Christians who has captured the imagination of the American people — of its nomination,” Molen reportedly continued in the letter. “In my humble opinion, it seems to me that this has turned a Cinderella story that America loves into a story of the wicked stepmother who wants to keep her daughter from the ball, with we the Academy cast as the villain.”
“…this has turned a Cinderella story…into a story of the wicked stepmother who wants to keep her daughter from the ball…”
After its initial nomination, several songwriters had expressed that they did not feel the film’s song should have been nominated for an Oscar.
A private investigator was even hired by some to investigate whether the film should be disqualified for failure to meet advertising requirements, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
“It has been reported that a rival film hired a private investigator to find dirt on the film in an attempt to discredit it as not having been advertised properly and that when this failed to sway the committee, a decision was instead made to disqualify it because of the email,” Molen reportedly wrote. “I urge you and the Academy to reconsider this decision and restore the song and fairness and integrity to our process.”
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The Oscar-winning producer of “Schindler’s List” hammered the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in a letter he penned after they made the unusual decision to rescind a nomination for a Christian film.
Gerald Molen accused the Academy of discriminating against a religious movie after the prestigious motion picture body decided to take away a nomination for Christian film “Alone Yet Not Alone,” citing alleged improper lobbying done by the songwriter before the initial nomination.
“Many will see this decision as faith-based bigotry pure and simple.”
“Every film, director, writer, cinematographer, actor, art director, costume designer and efx house finds a way to pitch or promote their work. Many will see this decision as faith-based bigotry pure and simple,” Molen said in a letter to Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs, obtained by the Hollywood Reporter.
“Critics will pounce and accuse us of being out of touch and needlessly offending middle America by stripping this song — a song sung by a quadriplegic hero to evangelical Christians who has captured the imagination of the American people — of its nomination,” Molen reportedly continued in the letter. “In my humble opinion, it seems to me that this has turned a Cinderella story that America loves into a story of the wicked stepmother who wants to keep her daughter from the ball, with we the Academy cast as the villain.”
“…this has turned a Cinderella story…into a story of the wicked stepmother who wants to keep her daughter from the ball…”
After its initial nomination, several songwriters had expressed that they did not feel the film’s song should have been nominated for an Oscar.
A private investigator was even hired by some to investigate whether the film should be disqualified for failure to meet advertising requirements, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
“It has been reported that a rival film hired a private investigator to find dirt on the film in an attempt to discredit it as not having been advertised properly and that when this failed to sway the committee, a decision was instead made to disqualify it because of the email,” Molen reportedly wrote. “I urge you and the Academy to reconsider this decision and restore the song and fairness and integrity to our process.”
Sunday, January 19, 2014
Christian Movie 'Alone Yet Not Alone' Receives Surprising Oscar Nomination And a Lot of Strong Reactions
Every year there are a few Oscar nominations that come out of left field, either for a film that wasn't on the Oscar pundits' radar or giving a nod to film with artistic merit that perhaps didn't connect with critics. The most surprising nomination this year is the Best Original Song nom for "Alone Yet Not Alone,"
A Christian movie, which only screened in nine cities in 2013, has picked up an Academy Award nomination for "Best Original Song" this week and has surprised both critics and the song's composer and singer alike.
Joni Erickson Tada, the vocalist for the song, as well as an author, painter and quadriplegic who runs her own organization Joni and Friends, said that the Oscar nomination came as a complete surprise to her.
"I'm the least likely candidate to record a song for a movie, I'll tell you that up front, so it's amazing," Tada told The Hollywood Reporter. "It's amazing enough that a family friendly movie with a Christian theme is nominated in any category for an Academy Award."
Bruce Broughton, who wrote the song and was previously nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Score in 1986 for "Silverado," said he had been stunned by the news.
"You couldn't ever call it a dark horse. It was an invisible horse," Broughton told Yahoo Movies. "My songwriting partner Dennis Spiegel [who wrote the song's lyrics] called and he was so excited he could hardly speak."
"I was just trying to come up with a good tune that sounded like a hymn ... one that doesn't beat you over the head with a strong message," he added.
Released in theaters in late September 2013, "Alone Yet Not Alone," is based on a book of the same name, and tells the true story of two German settler girls who attempt to hold onto their Christian faith after being kidnapped by Native Americans.
The film is produced by Enthuse Entertainment, which describes its mission as one that works to create a "God-honoring, faith-based, family-friendly films that inspire the human spirit to seek and know God."
Since its nomination was announced, some critics have criticized the movie, claiming that it gives a negative and demeaning depiction of Native Americans. Native Appropriations, a Native American activist site, criticized the film's IMDB summary that described the story's primary conflict as "hostile native tribes are raiding the vulnerable frontier farms" and the girls' kidnapping as being " forcibly immersed into a primitive foreign culture."
"They give out oscars for racism now?" Native Appropriations asked.
Among the movie's endorsements are former presidential candidate Rick Santorum, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, and Dr. James Dobson.
Yet the film failed to garner virtually any attention from mainstream movie critics, and movie ratings aggregator Rotten Tomatoes listed no reviews for the movie.
Deadline pins the movie's unlikely success to the efforts of two men: William Ross and Bruce Broughton. Ross, who scored Alone Yet Not Alone, happens to be the conductor for the orchestra at this year's Academy Awards ceremony; Broughton, who wrote the eponymous song, is the former head of the Academy's music branch.
"Alone Yet Not Alone's" fellow nominees include songs from "Frozen," "Despicable Me 2," "Her," and "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom."
The Academy Awards will be held in Los Angeles on March 2.
A Christian movie, which only screened in nine cities in 2013, has picked up an Academy Award nomination for "Best Original Song" this week and has surprised both critics and the song's composer and singer alike.
Joni Erickson Tada, the vocalist for the song, as well as an author, painter and quadriplegic who runs her own organization Joni and Friends, said that the Oscar nomination came as a complete surprise to her.
"I'm the least likely candidate to record a song for a movie, I'll tell you that up front, so it's amazing," Tada told The Hollywood Reporter. "It's amazing enough that a family friendly movie with a Christian theme is nominated in any category for an Academy Award."
Bruce Broughton, who wrote the song and was previously nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Score in 1986 for "Silverado," said he had been stunned by the news.
"You couldn't ever call it a dark horse. It was an invisible horse," Broughton told Yahoo Movies. "My songwriting partner Dennis Spiegel [who wrote the song's lyrics] called and he was so excited he could hardly speak."
"I was just trying to come up with a good tune that sounded like a hymn ... one that doesn't beat you over the head with a strong message," he added.
Released in theaters in late September 2013, "Alone Yet Not Alone," is based on a book of the same name, and tells the true story of two German settler girls who attempt to hold onto their Christian faith after being kidnapped by Native Americans.
The film is produced by Enthuse Entertainment, which describes its mission as one that works to create a "God-honoring, faith-based, family-friendly films that inspire the human spirit to seek and know God."
Since its nomination was announced, some critics have criticized the movie, claiming that it gives a negative and demeaning depiction of Native Americans. Native Appropriations, a Native American activist site, criticized the film's IMDB summary that described the story's primary conflict as "hostile native tribes are raiding the vulnerable frontier farms" and the girls' kidnapping as being " forcibly immersed into a primitive foreign culture."
"They give out oscars for racism now?" Native Appropriations asked.
Among the movie's endorsements are former presidential candidate Rick Santorum, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, and Dr. James Dobson.
Yet the film failed to garner virtually any attention from mainstream movie critics, and movie ratings aggregator Rotten Tomatoes listed no reviews for the movie.
Deadline pins the movie's unlikely success to the efforts of two men: William Ross and Bruce Broughton. Ross, who scored Alone Yet Not Alone, happens to be the conductor for the orchestra at this year's Academy Awards ceremony; Broughton, who wrote the eponymous song, is the former head of the Academy's music branch.
"Alone Yet Not Alone's" fellow nominees include songs from "Frozen," "Despicable Me 2," "Her," and "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom."
The Academy Awards will be held in Los Angeles on March 2.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
New Film Starring Oscar Winners Concludes Online!
Seven Days in Utopia must be given credit for coming up with something new in movies: To learn what happens at the end, you've got to go online! After carefully building up to a climactic scene in which the underdog hero must sink a long putt to win a sudden-death playoff, the camera looks away, narration intones to the effect that it doesn't matter much in the big picture whether he won or not and, if you actually want to know who came out on top, you must go to didhemaketheputt.com.
Based on David Cook's best-selling 2009 novel “Golf's Sacred Journey: Seven Days at the Links of Utopia,” which has been particularly popular among struggling athletes, this independent production boasts a very fine cast including two Oscar winners Robert Duvall & Melissa Leo as well as Lucas Black and Deborah Ann Woll.
Monday, March 8, 2010
The Blind Side Captures Top Acting Oscar
First-time winners took all four acting prizes yesterday at the 82nd annual Academy Awards. Sandra Bullock won as best actress for "The Blind Side".
Monday, February 1, 2010
The Blind Side Nominated for Two Oscars
The Blind Side has been nominated for two Academy Awards: Best picture and Sandra Bullock for Performance by an actress in a leading role.
This comes on the heels of Bullock's win at the SAG Awards and the Golden Globes for Lead Actress in a Film.
This comes on the heels of Bullock's win at the SAG Awards and the Golden Globes for Lead Actress in a Film.
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