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My POV
Brian A. Wilson
OSCARVATIONS
So ends another awards season.
But what does it all mean? Is there any substance behind the glitter, glamour and vacuous sound bites?
I think there is.
I'm an Oscar watcher. I watch every telecast from beginning through final credits. Why? For moments.
When Halle Berry's name was announced as best actress winner, all she could say was, "Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!" And another half dozen times beyond that.
Isn't that all of us, really? What are YOU going to say the day somebody hands you that check for half a million (against 750, of course)? I don't know about you, but "Oh my God!" is going to be one of my top choices.
Halle's victory reminded us of how the game works in Hollywood. For one thing, it's played slowly. In this case, the game went on so long, the first player at the table (Dorothy Dandridge) was dead and gone before the winner was announced, but Halle graciously accepted the prize for her.
It's about years of hard work, all made worth it in a torrent of joy when you reach a major goal.
As Randy Newman showed us, it's about persistence. Sixteen nominations, one Oscar, and a boatload of good material along the way. Clearly, Randy loves the work, and the gold statue is merely gravy.
It's about finding your place, then making the most of it. Brian Grazer, who I think will go down in Hollywood history as one of the greatest producers of all time, admitted to being a reformed writer. "I used to be a writer," he said. "Not a very good one, but a writer." OK, so maybe he doesn't pound out 120 pages of Courier type, but I dare say his storytelling skills are still in fine form.
It's about uncertainty. Did you or anyone you know pick every single winner? No, and neither did anyone else. That's because, as William Goldman has informed us, nobody knows anything. Not even when most of the field is cleared away, and all that's left is an incredible pool of talent and deserving projects. And we STILL don't know who gets picked.
But somebody does. Somebody gets to go up on that stage and host the little fellow holding the crusader's sword. Through hard work and persistence and a little bit of luck (the Hollywood trifecta), every year on Oscar night, people's dreams do come true in Tinseltown.
Will it be you, in a year or two years or five or ten? Set your sights on making that come true. I challenge you. And when you get there, tap me on the shoulder. We'll quaff a cold one at the post party.
Keep writing.
BW
LA
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