Oh, c'mon now. When Will Smith kicked alien ass in ID4, that was so patriotric. He was protecting America from the scourge of the universe! I've looked up to him ever since he uttered those immortal words, "Oh, no. You did not shoot that green s*** at me!" And what about Wild Wild West? As a secret service agent of the good ole US of A, he defeated an evil genius with a mechanical spider! Take that, Saddam! And lest we forget, he played a US government agent in MIB and MIB2, intent on tirelessly protecting America, once again, from the scourge of the universe. Wow. What a real American hero! Um, by my count, he's only had one role as a soldier, and that was in ID4, about freaking aliens attacking Earth...
Those Oscar war protests in full Who's boycotting, who's 'giving it a miss', and who has something to say Staff and agencies Friday March 21, 2003 NO-SHOWS Aki Kaurismaki The Finnish director nominated for best foreign film will skip the awards in protest at the US invasion of Iraq. In a letter to Academy president Frank Pierson, he wrote that he could "not participate in the Oscar gala at the same time the government of the US is preparing a crime against humanity for the purpose of shameless economic interests". Kaurismaki is tipped to win the best foreign film Oscar for his deadpan comedy, The Man Without a Past. Will Smith Nominated last year for his role as Muhammad Ali, Smith was due to present an award at this year's shebang until he bailed out at the eleventh hour. A statement from his office explained that: "At this time, Will thinks that attending the Oscars would be inappropriate. Given the situation in the world today he believes he is making the right choice." But the actor's publicist was keen to play down suggestions that Smith has been prompted by his active opposition to the war in Iraq: "There's no agenda, there's no speeches. He just felt uncomfortable in attending." Tom Hanks A two-time winner and five-time nominee, Tom Hanks is Hollywood royalty and a regular fixture at the Academy Awards - whether he's in competition or not. But he and wife Rita Wilson confirmed yesterday that they will not be attending this year's event. Seeing as Hanks is not normally known for his firebrand politics, the general opinion is that - like Smith - the actor simply feels uncomfortable in joining in the party while war in Iraq is still raging. THE WAVERERS There are rumours that Cate Blanchett, who is scheduled to present an award, has now decided not to travel to LA for the event. Her publicist, however, insists that her appearance will go ahead as planned. The runaway favourite for the best actress Oscar, Nicole Kidman has found herself the subject of unconfirmed rumours that she will skip Sunday's ceremony. This, however, appears unlikely, given her obvious desire to win the award and a notable lack of political pronouncements in her career to date. But if Kidman is a no-show, it will be seen as the night's most significant absence. THE "SILENT PROTESTERS" Julianne Moore (nominated for both The Hours and Far From Heaven) and guests Ben Affleck and Dustin Hoffman will attend the ceremony wearing peace signs on the designer clothes. They insist, though, that this will be their one (very subtle) symbol of protest. Otherwise, they shall be keeping their opinions to themselves. POSSIBLE PROTESTERS Michael Moore can't be expected to keep quiet if he wins for best documentary, as seems reasonably likely. Tireless activists U2 are due to play at the ceremony. This may not leave them any space in the schedule for a protest speech, but it would be out of character for them not to register their opinion. British director Stephen Daldry has said he will not pull any punches if he gets the chance to deliver an acceptance speech. That's relatively unlikely, however, so it's an easy thing to bluster. http://film.guardian.co.uk/oscars/story/0,12712,919144,00.html
I just hope Joan and Mellisa Rivers do their Fashoin Rankings, but they usually do it during the Red Carpet Entrances. That show is hillarious.
Anyone hear Bono's interview on MTV. He completely denounced the "No Blood for Oil" stance as ridiculous. It amazes me how many people still use that as their primary protest against the war like it's some unequivocal fact. I could understand a few nutcases, but that's it. Bono then went on to express his displeasure for the way the United States handled the situation as far as coming across as a bully, but he believed Saddam does need to be removed. All in all, this was an example of a celebrity giving their opinion that I can respect. There was no "Bush is an embarassment" quote with no explanation of why they believe that. There was no "this is only about the Bush Administration's ego and oil" without any way to actually prove this. And this most certainly was not Sean Penn saying "I didn't see any nukes," after a vacation to Iraq. BTW, the last one is probably my personal favorite celebrity quote of all time.
Oh, and as for Stephen Daldry. There should be a protest if he actually gets a chance to make a speech. He has no business being nominated for anything.
Since you are so dumb that you don't know what I'm talking about, Will Smith's image as the patriotic war hero is the "hand that feeds him." This image would be undermined with an appearance at the pro-war Oscar ceremony. Got it, Dummy?
I just want to see Ashley Judd again, flashing us some beaver... All the hot chicks won't be there, they'll be too scared... I agree though, I can some some hack get up there and give us his personal view...(e.g. one of the non-talented Baldwin's, giving an award, not receiving)...
Wait, I'm confused here. How is Will Smith a patriotic war hero? Because he killed a bunch of aliens in a far-fetched sci-fi movie? Help me out here, because I can't remember any soldier roles he played, save for ID4.
i freaking love Bono. i want to buy this guy a beer. and i mean that in a completely platonic way, i assure you.
Maybe it will be a good thing for you then. Perhaps the reason she isn't hosting is because she's too busy making Sister Act III. It's a possibility.
Will Smith's last role, which was probably his most challenging,, Ugh, ALI, Do you know that Ali lost his his heavyweight title for not fighting in Vietnam, or at least refusing to join the army. That's not very patriotic in my opinion, maybe its just me.
I hate it when these actor jerkoffs think that because they are celebrities, their opinions about world events are any more relevant than anyone else's. Also, they are complete idiots if they think there will be terrorist attacks at a stupid awards show. Terrorists don't give a crap about disrupting our film industry. These actors need to realize that they are not that great and completely replace-able, and they need to shut the hell up and just act already.
Is their opinion less relevant because they are celebrities? you are using this BBS as a forum for your opinions, why can't they do the same? If you don't like what they have to say then you don't have to listen.
I was happy with the outcome of the Oscars. I was worried that it would become a politcal forum but they just voiced their concern in a respectable manor. With one exception of course. What the hell happened to Daniel Day Lewis? I thought he was a shoe in to win best actor. He even got the loudest cheer from the audience.
I don't see it that way. They are exploiting their celebrity to push their banal, simplistic philosophies upon the disinterested public. I don't listen for very long, I turn the channel quickly if any one of these jerkoffs start to spout their b.s. during my valuable T.V. viewing time. This world is way to complicated for any sort of "Peace is better than war" lame ideology. No crap, Peace is better than war, but your living in a dream world if you think this is something that we can make happen just by wanting it to, action sometimes needs to be taken.
