comment #1

BurmaShave says ...

I think Bill Murray's behavior was in jest. At least I'd hope. As for Murphy, was he scheduled to present or sing? Who's to say he wouldn't have left early anyway? He does have like 6 kids at home, plus the others he doesn't know about.

comment #2

Craig Kennedy says ...

(Insert snarky comment about Jeff never letting go of the whole Murphy thing here)

comment #3

T. Holly says ...

I was personally shocked, dismayed and outraged, tossed my pizza and left my party when Black Hawk Down lost cinematography to The Felllowship of The Lord of the Rings.

comment #4

T. S. Idiot says ...

Ellen Burstyn (The Exorcist) clearly said "Shit" when she lost to Glenda Jackson (A Touch of Class).

comment #5

Zimmergirl says ...

We really expect too much of people. They are human beings. They have feelings. It has to be hard to sit there and lose, especially when everyone is predicting you'll win. The whole thing is an ugly charade. Sad and pathetic from every angle. Or as Bob Dylan would say, "you just want to be on the side that's winning."

comment #6

Kristopher Tapley says ...

Stop perpetuating the myth that Eddie "left in a huff," Jeffrey:

http://www.incontention.com/2007/02/eddie_didnt_storm_out.html

comment #7

Craig Kennedy says ...

You're asking a pitbull to let go of the mailman's ass, Kris.

comment #8

Mgmax, le Corbeau says ...

I miss the old days, when a disappointed Peter O'Toole nearly beat Rex Harrison to death with his Oscar on live TV, and Bette Davis yelled "Look, a male figure in Hollywood she hasn't gone down on yet" to Joan Crawford.

comment #9

Rod32303 says ...

Murphy ALWAYS leaves those places - he left the Golden Globes and the SAG Awards early, too, and HE WON THOSE.

Joel Stein is the new Rex Reed.

comment #10

taragossip says ...

This really makes me sad.

comment #11

TheJeff says ...

Just because he didn't stomp his feet and pout in front of everyone, Kris, doesn't mean Murphy didn't leave "in a huff." The man left in the middle of a prestigious awards ceremony that he had been invited to because he didn't win. To me, that's the height of unprofessionalism and immaturity. He is an overgrown child. The end of the piece on your blog says that reporting that Murphy stormed out amounts to "character assassination." I'm not convinced that the man has any character to assassinate. Eddie Murphy's personal decorum is a really odd cause celebre to take up.

comment #12

Dave says ...

My favorite recent Oscar audience moment-- may have been two or three years ago, but randomly, the camera cut to and focused on, of all people, Lou Gossett Jr., who obviously has a grandfather clause to sit that close to the Oscar stage.

The best part about it? He was asleep. Like, DEAD ASLEEP. And the camera didn't come off him for a good five to ten seconds. Not a quick beat, no cut away-- just Gossett, asleep in his chair, as clearly bored by the Oscars as most everyone else is.

That moment alone made up for Firewalker.

comment #13

Dzayson says ...

I remember when Burt Reynolds lost to Robin Williams in 1998 and he made no effort to conceal his anger. Everyone remembers Robin's heartfelt speech but people forget about the quick cut to Burt absolutely SEETHING in his set with his hands folded.

comment #14

Spicer says ...

This is the sort of article that makes me hate the entertainment media, it's like an E! telecast in convenient print form. How can this douchebag possibly know what these actors were thinking? If I ever get nominated for an Oscar I think I would want to win. I can't imagine the prospect of being on lived TV with a camera in my face and then be expected to phonily beam for the winner who wasn't me. Most of the time the losers look like they are politely applauding the winner. They shouldn't be disappointed? They shouldn't be human?

comment #15

Jack Price says ...

The guilty pleasure part of me hopes all the past Oscar reactions will find their way onto YouTube one day. I specifically recall Paul Thomas Anderson and Fiona Apple losing their shit after Alan Ball won, as well as Martin Scorsese mouthing "son of a bitch" when he lost as Best Director in 2003.

comment #16

Balerion says ...

I still distinctly remember seeing Murphy and his wife in reaction shots afterwards, applauding and smiling with everyone else. Murphy didn't just up and take off. And if, as someone else says, Murphy _always_ leaves these things early, regardless of whether he wins or loses, there's really nothing to comment on.