Condon on "Dreamgirls"

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"You are not entitled," Bill Condon tells N.Y. Times reporter Laura Holson about winning an Oscar, "an honor he won in 1999 for writing Gods and Monsters and for which his Chicago script was nominated," she writes. Winning the fabled gold statuette "is a gift," he adds. "That sense that you deserve it is wacky."

"We were never going to win [the Best Picture Oscar], even if we were nominated," Condon says, laughing. "The money we would have spent on the campaign, the insane amount of money we saved...people spend like drunken sailors, you know." In Patton, George C. Scott says to an audience of soldiers, "I'd never give a hoot in hell for a man who lost and laughed." I would. Condon's attitude about the Dreamgirls shortfall is extremely classy and attractive. He's one of the best people in this town; he's coming from a very serene and confident place.

comment #1

Mgmax says ...

Wow, yeah, Bill Condon just went up 10,000% in my book. What's he doing in Hollywood having perspective and good sense like that?

comment #2

jeffmcm says ...

Good for him. Here's hoping someday he can be involved with a movie that's better than adequate.

comment #3

cjKennedy says ...

Who'd have thought the person with the most reasonable an unglamorous theory about the fate of Dreamgirls would be the classy director?

"I think academy members just liked the other movies better."

Imagine that.

comment #4

aspiringcrackaddict says ...

not better- gooder, "I think academy members just liked the other movies gooder."

comment #5

dobbsy says ...

For anyone who wasted the 4.7 minutes to read this pointless, after the fact, redundant to the nth degree NY Times piece, I can sum it up in one word: Nothingburger.

comment #6

Swebns says ...

Condon was involved in something more than adequate. He wrote "Gods and Monsters" which was so good that even Brendan Fraser looked like a real actor. I haven't seen "Dreamgirls" (and probably never will, but I've always liked Condon for "Gods."

comment #7

Chris Molanphy says ...

Agreed with Dobbsy. The whole article was entirely "meta," wildly speculative and -- in typical Laura Holson fashion -- kinda over-the-top. I mean...

"Nowhere is the line between selling and overselling more
delicate than in an Oscar campaign. And 'Dreamgirls,' having
stumbled in a dance of managed expectations, may well be
remembered as the picture that showed how far a studio
cannot go in seeking a prize."

What a short memory. That's only because it didn't actually get nominated. Miramax back in Harvey Weinstein's day (just three years ago, and all through the '90s) was far more shameless in their Oscar tactics.

Good for Jeff for picking out the only revealing quote, Condon's. Such candor is rare. He comes out of this whole sad experience looking better and better. A class act.

comment #8

christian says ...

condon's quote seems apropos with his public attitude. he doesn't take his success for granted. and probably more feel his way than don't. it's the people on the opposite side of the oscars whho are always worried about entitlement issues.

and gods and monsters was a terrific film.

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