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O'Neil vs. Goldstein...Again

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L.A. Times columnist Patrick Goldstein echoed my own dismay when he criticized Envelope/Gold Derby columnist Tom O'Neil on 11.2 for posting an anonymous Oscar voter's opinion that This Is It, the Michael Jackson documentary, will grab an Oscar Best Picture nomination.

Engaging as the film is, the voter's claim is absurd given the obvious fact that This Is It (a) is first and foremost a cash-grab enterprise that (b) obviously has no theme or under-current due to its total lack of interest in portraying the Jackson back-story or any of the circumstances behind the "This Is It" rehearsal footage -- it's strictly a sizzle show. Best Picture contenders can and must be made of sterner stuff.

I also shook my head when O'Neil posted a forecast by World Entertainment News Network's Kevin Lewin about Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes looking like a Best Picture nominee, which Goldstein also made fun of. The Academy rulebook does not state that "humungously-budgeted, big-studio features directed by cravenly-on-the-make directors, especially such films that use florid CG compositions and cruise through their narratives with a smirking jocular tone, can be allowed the honor of a Best Picture nomination" -- but such a rule does exist in the minds of most reasonable-minded Aademy members.

"Call me old-fashioned," Goldstein wrote, "but these postings are another good reason why all of our nutty Oscar pundits should be required to actually watch a movie before being allowed to publicly predict its Oscar fortunes."

On the other hand, O'Neil made a fair point earlier today when he said "this certainly wasn't Goldstein's policy back in the old days, before the recent proliferation of award pundits, when he still held this terrain largely to himself, issuing racetrack odds on Oscar front-runners long before even the National Board of Review kicked off the derby with its first award.

"In 2001, Goldstein issued his earliest odds on the best-picture race, betting on Ali in August -- long before he saw it and seven months before the Oscar ceremony took place -- with 4-to-1 odds. Ali wasn't even nominated; A Beautiful Mind triumphed.

"In 2003, Goldstein issued his odds in early November -- before he saw Cold Mountain or Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. His odds on best picture: Mystic River (6-1), Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (8-1), Cold Mountain (10-1), Finding Nemo (14-1) and House of Sand & Fog (15-1). Mystic River didn't win, of course, and 60% of his picks for best-picture weren't nominated.

The fact, says O'Neil, is that "Goldstein's racetrack odds used to be an annual attraction. But now he refrains from making firm predix, preferring to take potshots at others who do. Last year he blasted me and cohorts as a 'gang of daffy, clown-suit-clad Oscar bloggers' who have 'hijacked' the Academy Awards. He thrills at taking aim at me personally. He's written in the pages of the L.A. Times that reading Gold Derby is 'a high camp experience,' like watching a Joan Crawford movie (a compliment, actually, which he meant as insult, of course) and blasted me personally as 'the poster boy for the trivialization of Oscar coverage.'

"The one person who seems to be safe from Goldstein's public ridicule while Oscar blogging is Goldstein," O'Neil concluded. "Two months ago, on Sept. 1, he fumed at me for commencing Oscar discussions too soon over movies none of us had seen yet. Then, just two days later, he announced at his blog that the Oscar hopes of The Road -- which he hadn't seen -- had taken 'a big dive' after Variety's review came out. Seven days later, after a few more reviews surfaced, a headline at his blog advised readers to "Put The Road back on your Oscar contender ballot."

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on November 4, 2009 at 12:15 PM

comment #1

Terry McCarty says ...

Whether it's the old POP EYE column or letting studio heads/marketing chiefs give their spin, Goldstein's an eternal gossip columnist.

Posted by Terry McCarty at November 4, 2009 1:12 PM

comment #2

The InSneider says ...

The issue isn't Tom O... it's who Tom O. considers to know their stuff. I read Lewin's picks and also started laughing. WENN... the shitty IMDB news crew? Are you kidding me? Reading Lewin's picks, I honestly thought he'd never even seen a movie before. Sherlock Holmes looks awful.

Posted by The InSneider at November 4, 2009 1:33 PM

comment #3

btwnproductions says ...

Meanwhile, Armond White slaps around presumed Oscar nominee PRECIOUS:

http://www.nypress.com/article-20554-pride-precious.html

Posted by btwnproductions at November 4, 2009 1:42 PM

comment #4

Terry McCarty says ...

I noticed the paragraph where White claimed that NORBIT was a worthier film than PRECIOUS.

Posted by Terry McCarty at November 4, 2009 1:51 PM

comment #5

Rich S. says ...

Yeah, White doesn't so much slap Precious around as take a meat ax to it.

Posted by Rich S. at November 4, 2009 1:55 PM

comment #6

Terry McCarty says ...

Re Rich S. comment:
White's review would be one-third shorter if all the vitriol directed at Tyler Perry and Oprah's sponsorship of the film were removed.

Posted by Terry McCarty at November 4, 2009 1:59 PM

comment #7

great scott says ...

If Armond White pans it, that's just another sign that the movie is good. Although I'm not much of a Tyler Perry fan either. This might be the first time Spike Lee is in a fued with somebody, and I'm on little Sheldon's side.

No way Sherlock gets nominated. This Is It won't either.

Posted by great scott at November 4, 2009 2:06 PM

comment #8

lazarus says ...

With every review that passes by Armond White inches closer to becoming the blind KKK member who didn't know he was black from that skit on Dave Chappelle's show.

Posted by lazarus at November 4, 2009 2:17 PM

comment #9

btwnproductions says ...

White is, however, right about THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS, a waste of celluloid.

Posted by btwnproductions at November 4, 2009 2:21 PM

comment #10

corey3rd says ...

Armond White hates black people

Posted by corey3rd at November 4, 2009 3:01 PM

comment #11

Flash Gordon says ...

10 comments and only 3 have anything to do with the subject of Jeff's post. How did this turn into a thread about friggin' Precious? We're going to hear enough about that movie as it is.

Posted by Flash Gordon at November 4, 2009 3:16 PM

comment #12

corey3rd says ...

Well This Is It has a chance if there's a large Block of Academy members that belong to NAMBLA. Did anyone else see the report from Jacko's doctor that the gloved one liked to piss in glasses in front of children? And somehow this is how little boys know about marks on Jacko's Johnson?

Posted by corey3rd at November 4, 2009 4:16 PM

comment #13

btwnproductions says ...

What would you like to say? There's not much about a Goldstein/O'Neil spat to get the heart racing.

Posted by btwnproductions at November 4, 2009 4:18 PM

comment #14

erniesouchak says ...

He's not the only one predicting a Best Pic nom for "This Is It." Let's face it, the Academy is worried about ratings, and if Michael Jackson can guarantee 1 thing, it's ratings, even when he's dead. Plus, they have to scrape together 10 nominees!!

Posted by erniesouchak at November 4, 2009 4:22 PM

comment #15

DeeZee says ...

I'm just surprised no one's considering whether or not MJ or Downey will be nominated for Best Actor.

Posted by DeeZee at November 4, 2009 5:43 PM

comment #16

EdHavens says ...

It's because most of us here aren't idiots, DeeZee.

Posted by EdHavens at November 4, 2009 7:18 PM

comment #17

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Posted by lorry at November 5, 2009 1:06 AM

comment #18