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Taped the shows every year for about ten years. Had Oscar parties with the very best trivia quizzes. One year had my party in the coffee house where I moonlighted (moonlit?), on Broadway in Long Beach, part of the gay ghetto, and gave away prizes donated by local merchants. That was very fun.
My obsession started when Jodie Foster won for "The Accused." Until I was about 12 years old, people used to tell me all the time how much I looked like her. (She's three months older than I am.) I hated it. Hated it more after Hinckley shot Brady et al. But when Jodie won her first Oscar, both my sisters called me yelling "You won! You won!" I don't know why, but that made me start watching the show every year. And yes, Jodie Foster is one of my favorite actresses.
I've been on pins & needles four times for Ed Harris; he is EXCELLENT and way overdue. But it was cool to see Chris Cooper win last year. I was thrilled when Hillary Swank won for "Boys Don't Cry," but a little sad that Annette Bening didn't get it; her winning would've made "American Beauty" only the fourth film to win all five "big" awards. Besides, I thought Annette Bening should've won for "The Grifters" -- but then, that was also the year I thought Mary McDonnell should've won for "Dances with Wolves," and it was the year Whoopi Goldberg won it for "Ghost." That was a consolation prize for "The Color Purple," which was completely snubbed by the Academy -- but no one could've beaten Geraldine Page that year, anyway.
So... uh... I guess I used to follow them pretty closely... not anymore. I don't know who the up & coming talent is. It doesn't mean anything much to me anymore.
In the last few years, while I still enjoy it when someone I adore is nominated, I'm just not that interested, either in watching the show or bitching about who is or isn't nominated and who does or doesn't win.
This year? It would be cool if Ellen Degeneres could be nominated, because she was just great as "Dory" -- and Albert Brooks wasn't bad, either -- but that won't happen. So I guess all I care about is Sean Penn.
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