Getting out of tricky situations isn't easy. But along the way, I get to hang out with princesses (they never wear their crowns), camel jockeys (literally!) and famous (well at least quasi-famous) people...all for the love of media and travel.
From the New York Times: “…the city has a centuries-old tradition of solo exploration, personified by the flâneur, or stroller. Flânerie is, in its purest form, a goal-less pursuit, though for some it evolved into a purposeful art: Walking and observing became a method of understanding a city, an age. Baudelaire described the flâneur as a passionate spectator, one who was fond of ‘botanizing on the asphalt,’ as the essayist Walter Benjamin would later put it.”
Okay, so where am I?
Whelp, I'm not in Paris, but in a few paragraphs we will be transported there...hang tight.
Actually, I am still home in the beautiful confines of my Encino California Compound. Other that to get my mail, bread, and fresh fruit, I have been sequestered here riding out the Coronavirus since the Los Angeles-mandated prohibition started two weeks ago on my birthday.
In addition to missing out on a pretty stellar Disneyland birthday, I had two Japanese commercials wiped out because of the travel ban (postponed, not cancelled) and now I am having NBA and NHL withdrawals along with some severe cabin fever. Thank goodness— along with my family, friends and colleagues—I am safe.
I was planning to meet Margrét, My New Favorite Amazon Model, because the last time I spoke with her she was at the Baghdad Café lamenting bout trying to due her clothesless craft amongst families and kids roaming around the tourist trap over two years ago. But with all of the city shutdowns, we had to cancel and move to a video conference to catchup. Ah, the new world of “Stay At Home” work and friendships.
So just to catch you up—or you can scroll all the way down to end and read the previous columns— Margrét is a nude model who travels the world taking her clothes off in the pursuit of her art. It’s never going to make her rich, but it makes her happy and a happy Margrét makes the world a better place…
Media Guy: You usually stick close to the Western USA, but is it true you are stuck outside the country?
Margrét, My New Favorite Amazon Model: I would say luckily I was in France when all of the Coronavirus lockdows and travel bans went into effect, but Paris is a drag without all of the cuisine and museums and sights.But I’m making the best of it trying to go all Hemingway with my introspective writing at abandoned city sites soaking in the essence of the land.
MG: What were you up to before for the country ground to a halt?
MMNFAM: I was doing my thing with this self-photography exhibition on the French Countryside when, well, imagine four dudes breaking down 300 meters from my camera lens in their big Mercedes hauler. Now imagine then not knowing how to fix their hauler and I roll up on them to help. Except I wasn’t wearing more than a Nikon lens cover! I bet they never expected help to come in the form of an intrepid nude model.
MG: But I imagine that’s exactly what happened, right? And how did you pull that off?
MMNFAM: Imagine the look on these French bros' faces when a second nude model, my roommate, rolled up in an Aston Martin with a back seat full of tools. I'm telling you, it was like MacGyver met French Baywatch. The only thing mission was were our red one-piece swimsuits so that we could have run over in slow motion. I’m guessing they were fairly pleased with two mostly nude chicks fixing their timing belts while the fought to keep their jaws from dropping.
MG: I’ve often wondered about the fine line you’re walking when it comes to nude modeling because some of the readers say you are reinforcing sexist stereotypes of scantily clad women (or unclad) women on film.
MMNFAM: It's what I battle with on a regular basis with my modeling, because what is considered arty can be pretty hokey and sexist. But I figure God blessed me with a certain look and I get to control my destiny with what I charge and the situations I ultimately wind up in. At the end of the day, it’s a more honest living that some of the mucky-mucks in banking or on Wall Street.
MG: You’re doing well these days?
MMNFAM: My modeling affords me an income to support my home and my adventures. I stay off social media to avoid stalkers and weirdos and in the last five years I have shot in 31 countries. It’s a great way to make a living,
MG: What has shaped up as your specialty as of late?
MMNFAM: My specialty is artistic nudes, when translated to the layman means non-erotic nudes set in contrast against the landscapes of the world. Everyone wants this fit brunette against beautiful scenery. I love the work because it gets me outdoors. I don’t have to sit at a desk answering emails all day ad in turn I get to experience the remarkably attractive world that few ever get to see like I do. Modeling gets old pretty quick, I feel like exploring the outdoors doesn’t.
MG: What is it about the outdoors that has kept you employed all of these years?
MMNFAM: Guys will forever have a curiously mysterious hard-on for a curvy, firm backside in a ruptured landscape. I do a lot of posing in fantasy landscapes—mountains, lakes, log cabins—but the ones that garner the biggest paydays come from the most dilapidated settings like old warehouses, crumbling buildings, salt mines, abandoned parks, civil wars zones. There must be something about rotting cities that is some sort of aphrodisiac that appeals to many a photographer. The contrast of luscious nubile skin against corroded timeworn building carcasses is an age-old fantasy that will probably never go out of style. Like the Birth of Venus painting only set in Chernobyl.
MG: So your quest for post-apocalyptic ruins has taken you on a journey all over the world?
MMNFAM: With a little bit of investigating, you can find some truly extraordinary rubble to photograph and when it comes to ruin nude modeling, the Baltics and Eastern Europe are pretty much the gold standard. It’s like a Disneyland of desolation and tetanus. These areas are some that you’ve only heard about in the deep recesses of the news and now the whole region has essentially been ignored and neglected due to its being left in a state of disrepair after the boys took their weapons and petty differences and went home.
MG: And you’re finding the same in Paris?
MMNFAM: Oh no, much different here. A did a month-long series in and around Paris, fully-clothed doing a full-on Greta Garbo meets Breakfast At Tiffany’s motif. You know, it was easy to surrender in Paris to the moment. The alchemy of everything metamorphosed average activities into pleasurable ones; a stroll in the park, a cappuccino at a sidewalk café…you name it. Here, I dragged the edge of a butter knife across a baguette with a style better suited to gliding a bow across a Stratavarious. And today, with almost nobody around it is still quite the same. I am here on my own. My residence is paid for until July. I worked enough not to book another job until August and I am sponging in the city in my own post-apocalyptic illusion. In a city that has been honing splendor since the reign of Napoleon III, there are immeasurable sensual minutiae—patterns, touches, tints, hums—that can be mitigated, even overlooked, when babbling with someone or following a locked in schedule. Alone. one becomes deeply aware of the resonating clack of high heels in a park walkway; the patina of the gas lamps that light the city, the effervescence of the blue sky on a cloudless day; and how the empty wine bottles laid gently next to the recycling bins are the epitome of your neighbor’s good times.
There is a Paris that acutely repays the individual traveler.
MG: So all of this adds up to another fantastic chapter in the Book of Margrét, My New Favorite Amazon Model?
MMNFAM: It's a fantastic book I am living. I hope it never ends. Au revior!
--- Previous Margrét, My New Favorite Amazon Model Columns:
The Summer of Superheroes and Margrét, My New Favorite Amazon Model
I'm hunkered down in my office disinfecting everything, including my phone, my desk, my water bottles and mugs, and even my 10-minute sand timer that's been on my various desks for thirty plus years. Yes, the coronavirus (COVID-19) hysteria has hit multiple workplaces. Yes, people are freaking out. I mean, even Costco has stopped giving out free samples and the stock market is tanking. And no, I don't have the virus and I have seldom even been susceptible to the flu. It's business as usual for me.
Or so I thought...
But now it's hitting the sports world and this Media Guy is none too happy. Most of you know that in addition to the four jobs I already have, I cover the Los Angeles Kings at various levels. One of the things I do are game recaps (here's a couple recents: vs. Colorado / vs. Minnesota / vs. Vegas). This may or may not involve locker room access, but now that's a moot point as four major sports leagues (NBA, NHL, MLB and MLS) have banned media from locker rooms due to coronavirus. The four also jointly announced that locker room access will be limited to players and essential personnel. The Professional Basketball Writers Association issued a statement saying it would temporarily comply with the ban.
Now teams aren't allowing contact with the players and the media. Some, like the Calgary Flames, are putting do not not cross lines in pre- and post-game interviews instead of the normal scrums outside lockers in the dressing rooms.
Click on this pic to see the white line placed on the floor to separate players from the media with eight feet of space. This is the new daily interviewing setup in pro sports. Strange times indeed. pic.twitter.com/F5pnI5eC1T
In California, they took the outbreak a step further. Santa Clara County's Public Health Department announced today that a mandatory order requiring cancellation of "mass gatherings" of more than 1,000 people for three weeks is in effect. They put the order in place while it studies the spread of the virus. This means that the status of three San Jose Sharks games, the NCAA women's basketball tournament at Stanford, and an MLS game are in doubt. They could be playing these games in empty arenas. I remember in 1980, NBC tried a game with no announcers. But a game without fans? How surreal.
I guess that is better that canceling the outcome of an entire season where Germany's pro hockey league announced the end of its season, with no playoffs and "there is no German champion this year." Here's the official announcement (use the Google translate option to read in full).
In Italy, there are no sporting events...
Breaking: All sports in Italy have been halted because of the coronavirus outbreak, Italy Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte confirmed in a television address on Monday. pic.twitter.com/eLp4YRIeTT
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) March 10, 2020
How will this affect the Media Guy? I'll continue to write my columns and fill in the time helping corporations who know to call me before releasing questionable content with a multi-million dollar ad campaign. So, until all of this blows over, remember this useful World Health Organization video on how to wash your hands:
I came into the advertising business in 1974 at the age of six. I was the manager in a department of one for my dad's side home business preparing and disseminating press releases via the United States Postal Service. I prepared envelopes sticking the 1" x 2-5/8" white labels perfectly straight on number ten sized letters, collating the news releases, stapling and folding them, then stuffing the envelopes, licking them closed and then affixing postage stamps squarely in the upper right corner. I did this after school in our Inglewood apartment that could have served as the setting for the Sidney Deane family in White Men Can't Jump without the need to change a single prop. My payment for this OSHA-violating work? Tickets to a Los Angeles Kings or Lakers game that wasn't sold out. Pretty good payday until you consider that day got those tickets for free from his wife who worked in the ticketing department of the Fabulous Forum. He always told be that this work would be the backbone of breaking into the advertising business. I can't say he was wrong.
These days, advertising and public relations is a difficult business to break into, especially if you are not connected. I worked for my dad in my early years and my dad continued his penchant for loaning out my talents for little remuneration to me. In 1989, I was farmed out to a largish New York City agency to work their accounts from the inside. I was a gun for hire. I made around $400 a week before taxes. I'm sure dad's agency made ten times that for my work. It doesn't matter now because a learned a lot and that time was the backbone of my career.
I learned about two important things at the New York agency: How to maneuver around office politics and why Shel Silverstein's "The Giving Tree" is the key the being a better boss. This was the early nineties and yes, the New York agencies still had an enough misogyny, alcohol, racism, and debauchery to make any modern PC'er run for the hills. It was a lot to handle if you played those reindeer games. Most everyone dabbled in the big four but no one talked about it. Luckily, I was young and not a boss or my path surely would have spiraled much faster than it did.
My boss in New York was a typical advertising lifer. Handsome and gruff with a gift for the gab, he took long lunches with junior graphics designers in short skirts and still drank multiple cocktails during the day. He liked me because I did his dirty work and covered for him effectively when the big bosses came calling. HE taught me how to soft shoe through a crisis and that losing your temper would only make things work. He also handed me a copy of "The Giving Tree" a day after I told his biggest client he was negotiating a better media rate behind closed doors instead of the truth that he was at The Plaza with the flavor of the week from the 32nd floor. He told me to memorize the words, pictures, and pages of the small, leaf-green tome.
There are many interpretations of this masterpiece with the most obvious being the wonderful lesson of generosity it literally illustrates. It’s an Aesop's fable about life and life lessons, specifically what it means to be flawed and mortal, and wise and enlightened. He taught me that you will always have a hard working, loyal if you embraced the key teaching lessons from the book. Talent wouldn't always win the day—and most importantly, keep you employed without a good staff that had your back. Here's a few of those vital teachings...
Stop Keeping Score—Most of us have been pre-occupied with fairness, equality and justice—at home I am the self-proclaimed Commission of Fairness. It's a specialty of mine. I learned that from "The Giving Tree" because it teaches us not to tally up things up things all of the time. The tree gives in the truest form of altruism. She gives and gives and gives without ever expecting anything in return. She never asks for credit or reminds the boy of her countless sacrifices.
Know the Magic Words—The one thing the Boy in "The Giving Tree" never stops to do is say "please" or "thank you." It seems not knowing common courtesy may have been the reasons he never could find contentment. Barney the Dinosaur always said to use please and thank you. The Tree should have told the Boy that as well. Good manners are the root (pun intended) of a happy life and productive teamwork. Do you know the magic words? Excellent. Use them every day... (Please?)
You Can Run, But You Can't Hide—Life is difficult and complex. So is looking in the mirror and facing your terrors and misgivings and maddest dreams. However, if you ever find yourself so troubled with your dilemmas that you are keen—at a timeworn, shaky age—to go meandering out to sea in a makeshift canoe, it’s time to capitulate. The penultimate request from the Boy is for the Tree’s entire trunk. It always smacked me as the bluest and the saddest moment of the book, and Silverstein illustrated the bleakness so well. The lesson here is a fine one: don’t fight the waves of life in a dying vessel. Let them crash over you before you obliterate what you hold special. Remember: giving in isn’t giving up. Remember the great words of John Maynard Keynes, “The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping from old ones.”
A Picture’s Worth A Thousand Words—Silverstein has a unique method of drawing that flawlessly captures the human spirit in all its weakness and allure and immorality and eccentricity. “The Giving Tree” radiates a inimitable brand of straightforwardness. Every line is fraught with emotion, whether it’s the innocence of an untied shoelace or the speechless vacancy of the Boy’s wrinkled face as he ages, or the influential image of a infinitesimal broken man sitting on a severed tree stump, his illustrations speak loud. Louder than words. This book was one of the key lesson teachers that show me how to do presentations. My presentations are simple, yet complex through the use of imagery. It has won me awards and gotten millions of dollars of concepts greenlit over my career.
You Can’t Always Get What You Want—Mick Jagger famously sung, “You can’t always get what you want… But if you try sometime, you'll find, you get what you need…” The grass is always greener on the other side. Don’t go chasing waterfalls. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. An orchard sounds more significant than a single tree. And, after all, who wouldn’t want to actually be king instead of just pretending to be one? Unfortunately, the Boy learns this truth the hard way. After constantly asking for too many of his wants, all that’s left is too little of what he needs. Seriously, people. Know a good thing when you have it. Perfection is reserved for something celestial. Strive for greatness, but sometimes very good, is , well, great.
I kicked off 2020, by adding intriguing visuals from my lifetime of travels around the world and called it the 43 Postcards Project. So far, my quest has taken me to places familiar and others remote, in 43 countries and counting, from the deep Pacific to the deserts of the Middle East to the snow-crusted landscapes of the Arctic Circle. Here, I'll share a handful or two of snapshots from each country I visit, as I saw them. Enjoy the views.
_______________
Okay, so where am I?
It was time to go north of the border to help out with some family things, but also to continue to doing research and interviews for my Kontinental Hockey League book. This time my travels took me once again to Montreal, Canada.
Maybe you don't know Montreal. Maybe you think it's that crazy city in that crazy provence that wanted to cede from Canada. Maybe you don't care at all. I do, because Montreal is the Mecca of all hockey. The home of the greatest concentration of championships in the National Hockey League. Anywhere there's hockey finds me an invites me metaphorically to explore the city and take in a game. But there's more to Montreal than just hockey.
Montreal is a city with considerable French colonial history dating back to the 16th century. It began as a missionary settlement but soon became a fur-trading center. The city’s St. Lawrence River location proved to be a major advantage in its development as a manufacturing, financial, and transportation center. Montreal was the largest metropolitan center in the country from 1867, at the time of the Confederation of Canada until Toronto overtook it in the 1970s. It stands as the second largest French-speaking city in the world (after Paris).
The city has been a immigrant destination and is widely considered to be a cosmopolitan celebration of Québécois style. Montreal remains a city of great charm, vivacity, and gaiety, as well as one of unquestioned modernity. In short, Montreal is c’est si bon.
Fans enter the Bell Centre for the Montreal Canadiens game.
Bonsecours Market in Old Montreal.
The iconic hearts sculpture outside the Musee des Beaux Arts.
Rinkside at the Montreal vs. Carolina NHL game.
Love is in the air.
The Monument à George-Étienna Cartier
Outside of Parts, Montreal has the world's finest French food.
Unique single-wind walk up stairs line the city.
The Basilique Notre-Dame is a confection of stained glass.
He’s not the Jackie Robinson of hockey, he’s the Willie O’Ree of Hockey.
“In 1958 I broke the color barrier in the National Hockey League. Every game that I played in there were racial remarks directed towards me. They would say the ‘N word’ and they would say you should be back picking cotton and what are you doing in a white man’s game. But I just went out and played.” —Willie O’Ree, from the start of “Willie”, an ESPN documentary.
Last October the critically-acclaimed Bryant McBride and Laurence Mathieu-Leger documentary “Willie” was making its rounds on the festival circuit. Now, in celebration of Black History Month, the duo has announced a partnership with ESPN to air throughout February.
If you only know Hockey Hall of Famer Willie O’Ree from his honorary puck drops at your local NHL arena, it stands to reason you’ll be outraged by a scene in “Willie” detailing a 1961 incident against the Chicago Blackhawks where O’Ree was illegally butt-ended and racially taunted as blood spilled from his split lip and nose. He was subsequently kicked out of the game and was left at a crossroads, wondering about his future. O’Ree used his exile to the locker room to meditate on his future in the game.
(c) Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
You can see the pain on O’Ree’s face as he tries to remind us that, “names will never hurt you unless you let them.” It was during those private moments in the locker room where the first black player in the NHL decided he wouldn’t let others decide when he should leave the game—and definitely not because of his skin color. He would only leave when his skills weren’t on par with his contemporaries.
The documentary chronicles O’Ree, a hockey star from Fredericton in New Brunswick, Canada from age 15. We discover that he was a fine baseball player who got a half-hearted shot at a professional contract only to be cut due to race. We also discover he is a descendant of a South Carolina slave who escaped to Canada. At some point we discover he’s kept a big secret all of these years: he went permanently blind in his right eye after his retina shattered from a puck to the face. Even Wayne Gretzky gushes how impossible it would be for him to play with one eye. Willie O’Ree overcame everything to succeed: racism, cheap shots, and a disability.
O’Ree’s breaking of the NHL color barrier coincides will the beginnings of the civil rights movement with Dr. Martin Luther King’s words leading the narrative. It’s a tough section to sit through, with archival footage of peaceful Black America protests asking for their constitutional rights while being barked down by German shepherds, fire hoses, and blindside kicks. It is especially haunting as it is juxtaposed to Willie O’Ree’s situation and the flashpoint of racial epitaphs and taunting from NHL players and fans. It leaves you angry that a man, who by all accounts is one of the kindest humans ever created, would be subjected to such vile.
For O’Ree, playing from professional hockey from 1958 until 1980 wasn’t enough to distance himself from racism. Threats followed him even after the NHL hired him as its first diversity ambassador. The documentary tells the sad tale of someone threatening to blow up MCI Center during an event with children in Washington D.C. saying their blood would be on his hands.
We are visited by Devante Smith-Pelly, who was showered by racial slurs while in a United Center penalty box, and Wayne Simmonds who endured the humiliation of a banana peel being hurled at him while on the ice. Both point to O’Ree as their inspiration to overcome these societal horrors. Lou Vairo, Director of Special Projects, USA Hockey, confirms that, “He’s [O’Ree] inspired a generation of hockey players.” The chills start to mount as the call from Lanny McDonald of the Hockey Hall of Fame comes in. Seeing that moment alone is worth watching the documentary.
You might be able to explain some of this away if some of it didn’t happen as recently as 2018. Unfortunately racism in North America is alive and well, but with more people embracing Willie O’Ree’s philosophy of kindness and perseverance, humanity still has a chance.
For this reason alone, “Willie” is a cherished film — a long overdue, solemn big-screen documentary about one of the most important builders and culture changing pioneers of the 20th century.
How to Watch
The film will be available through the month of February on ESPN.com and the ESPN App and had four airings on ESPN2.
I've said it for nine straight year including eight in this space—there's little more electrifying that when hit that plush Oscars burgundy carpet. Dreams are created here. Some are realized. Others are energized. It's a throwback to old Hollywood. There's nothing that can stop it. Not even the rain, and there was a lot prior to the red carpet arrivals. Everyone is there, year after year, in their quest to win (or see who wins) the thirteen-and-a-half-inch tall, eight-and-a-half pound golden statuette.
According to Adweek and Nielsen's fast national ratings, the 92nd Oscars drew 23.6 million total viewers and a 5.3 rating in the adults 18-49 demo. That's a 20% decrease in total viewers and a 31% demo drop from last year's ceremony, which had veeb watched by 29.6 million people and a 7.7 demo rating. Maybe they do need a host. Who knows.
I am happy to report that I've let my verbal contract with my agent expire. He's been missing for over a year and wasn't around for my KHL/Penguin book deal and my four movie scripts are gathering dust on his swank Avenue of the Stars corner office. I will make things happen on my own thank you. Onto more satisfying things...
So for the ninths straight year, here's my first-hand view of the happenings backstage at the 92nd Academy Awards:
BACKSTAGE INTERVIEW WITH: Renée Zellweger, Judy Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Q: I loved you in Judy. I have to say that it's, I mean, absolutely amazing performance and amazing film. So, basically, you became an extension of Judy in the film. It's almost like she transcended with you in the film. And what I want to know is, how did you connect? What was it about Judy that connected you so closely by so in heart that you basically became her? I know you've done a lot of research, but was there anything else that you felt very close to with her that you were able to deliver such an incredible performance and become her, essentially?
Renée Zellweger: That's really kind. Thank you very much. I appreciate that. You know, I can't think about it. I can't extract myself from the collaboration. The only things that I would do by myself are sing in the car on the 405 in traffic, you know, for a year. So that was a lot of practice for anybody who's tried to drive down the 405. But—and, you know, the reading and things, that was by myself. But what you're talking about, that connectivity, that was a consequence of everybody's work on that set. Everybody was motivated by the same thing. We just appreciate the importance of her legacy and who she was as a person and we all wanted to celebrate her. And everyday we came to work and we just tried things, we just kept trying things. And the director, Rupert Goold, called it "mining for treasure." We were all digging around in sort of the materials of her legacy, her music, her books, interviews, her television show. You know, just everything that we could find that seemed essential in conjuring her essence to tell the story. And that was everybody's work, you know. And it was, you know, the partnership with every single department throughout. And it really was a celebration. We just came to work every day. You could feel the love, the love for Ms. Garland, and that was what we had hoped, so, and I thank you for your question.
Q: So have you called anyone? Who are you going to call first and how are you going to celebrate tonight?
RZ: Well, my phone is in somebody else's bag right now. So I haven't called anybody. But I know that my mom is with my dad and they're hanging out with their friends and they were watching TV and I told her, "Please just keep your phone on the coffee table so you can" -- so she's waiting. So I'm going to -- yeah.
Q: All right. They say that we learn a great deal in the hard times of life, but I think we learn a great deal also from success. From almost before this picture opened, people realized and began talking about how amazing your performance is, how amazing the movie is. So you've gone through this whole award after award, you know, expressions of success. How has that changed you? What has that done for you to know that you set out to do this and you did it?
RZ: Thank you. That's a really great question. It's not something that I've actually thought about, you know. I wish I could answer you in a couple of days because I would sit with that for a second and I would really think on it, you know. Off the top of my head, if I could look back on this year of experiences, it's really nice when something that really matters to you resonates with someone else. That's -- you know, it's always a huge, wonderful kind of unexpected reaction to -- I don't know, for anyone who creates art. You write an article and somebody calls you and says, that touched me or -- you know? So it's a really nice thing and it makes me happy for everybody that, you know, that I worked with, because I watched how hard everyone worked. It always goes back to that. It always goes back to the collaboration and what you intended and what you hoped for it. And like you said, when it becomes meaningful to someone else, and it's kind of a confirmation that, "Yeah, okay, that's what we meant," you know. And this definitely was not what was on my mind when we started this experience, you know. But in my mind, when I go back to those couple of years that we shared celebrating her and telling the story and building toward it, boy, that's the blessing, isn't it? Yeah.
Q: How is this award different from the first one you won in 2004, and how have you changed as a person, as an actress?
RZ: Oh, my goodness, how much time do you have? Well, at that time, I think I was so busy that I wasn't actually in the moment. I think I had just flown home from something for Bridget Jones two or something. It's different, different perspective. I'm a little more present now. I think that the time away and the time in between has helped me to appreciate it in a different way. I just look at it in a different way, what it represents is a little bit different. And, obviously, this isn't ultimately -- you know, this is about this wanting to tell that story and to celebrate Judy Garland and to shine a light on, perhaps, the nuances of the circumstances of her life, which people dismiss as tragic. And, you know, the opportunity to tell a story that challenges that narrative and says, "Oh, no, no, no, no, you can't know how extraordinary a person is until you know what they struggle with and what they overcome." And, to me, that, you know, that's what this is.
RZ: Thank you, guys. Thanks so much. And good luck. My goodness, what a busy night for you all. I know you have deadlines, so good luck with those.
Onstage Speech: Joaquin Phoenix, Joker Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Note that Joaquin Phoenix did not come backstage for a Q&A with the media. No one held it against him; that's how he rolls. Instead I put in his acceptance speech, in which I mentally screamed "you tell them, brother...!" when he talked about second chances. Respect Mr. Phoenix.
God, I’m full of so much gratitude right now. And I do not feel elevated above any of my fellow nominees or anyone in this room because we share the same love, the love of film, and this form of expression has given me the most extraordinary life. I don’t know what I’d be without it. But I think the greatest gift that it’s given me, and many of us in this room, is the opportunity to use our voice for the voiceless. I’ve been thinking a lot about some of the distressing issues that we are facing collectively. And I think at times we feel, or were made to feel, that we champion difference causes, but for me, I see commonality. I think, whether we’re talking about gender inequality, or racism, or queer rights, or indigenous rights, or animal rights, we’re talking about the fight against injustice. We’re talking about the fight against the belief that one nation, one people, one race, one gender, or one species has the right to dominate, control and use and exploit another with impunity. I think that we’ve become very disconnected from the natural world, and many of us, what we’re guilty of is an egocentric worldview, the belief that we’re the center of the universe. We go into the natural world and we plunder it for its resources. We feel entitled to artificially inseminate a cow and when she gives birth, we steal her baby, even though her cries of anguish are unmistakable. And then we take her milk that’s intended for her calf and we put it in our coffee and our cereal. And I think we fear the idea of personal change because we think that we have to sacrifice something to give something up, but human beings at our best are so inventive and creative and ingenious. And I think that when we use love and compassion as our guiding principles, we can create, develop and implement systems of change that are beneficial to all sentient beings and to the environment. Now I have been, I have been a scoundrel in my life. I’ve been selfish, I’ve been cruel at times, hard to work with, and I’m grateful that so many of you in this room have given me a second chance. And I think that’s when we’re at our best, when we support each other, not when we cancel each other out for past mistakes, but when we help each other to grow, when we educate each other, when we guide each other toward redemption. That is the best of humanity. When he was 17, my brother wrote this lyric, he said: run to the rescue with love and peace will follow. Thank you.
BACKSTAGE INTERVIEW WITH: Brad Pitt, Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Q: What's your Tinder profile going to say now?
Brad Pitt: (Laughs) You'll just have to look it up.
Q: Some unkind souls have suggested you had a writer throughout the speeches this award season. Say it ain't so.
BP: What, no, actually, historically, I've always been really tentative about speeches, like, they make me nervous. So this—this round, I figured if we're going to do this—like, put some, like, some real work into it and try to get comfortable, and this is the result of that. No, I definitely write them. I have some funny friends. I have some very, very funny friends that helped me with some laughs, but, no, it's, you know, it's got to come from the heart.
Q: It's been a pleasure for all of us watching you go up awards show after awards show this season and it will certainly be something that we all remember looking back. When you look back on 2020 and this awards season, what do you want to remember? BP: On 2020 awards season?
Q: Yes, this season, this year. BP: What do I want to -- hell, if I know, man. I can't even catch up with—you know, what do I—again, it was—for me, it was just about getting cozy, you know, up in front of a mass of people. I know that sounds antithetical given the profession I've chosen, but it's not necessarily my thing. So that's probably what I'll remember.
Q: Brad, as referenced earlier, you had a lot of humor in your previous speeches this season, but tonight you did have your -- a political reference. What kind of prompted you to go that way?
BP: I was really disappointed with this week. And I think when gamesmanship trumps doing the right thing, it's a sad day and I don't think we should let it slide. And I'm very serious about that.
Q: You mentioned your kids in your acceptance speech and Quentin Tarantino said that your son Maddox delivered one of the best film reviews he's ever heard. So what's his review of Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood?
BP: I'm going to keep that...I just keep that to the...I keep that...that's like...I just keep that indoors.
Q: How are you going to celebrate with your kids?
BP:: Don't know yet. We'll see.
Q: In your speech you mentioned Robert Garcia. Could you talk about who Robert Garcia is and why did you decide to mention him in your speech?
BP: Robert Garcia is a dear, dear old friend of mine. He's a Teamster and I rely on him heavily and he's a lovely guy.
Q: You say this was dedicated to your kids. What would you say to them if they want to become actors? Would you let them do it and what would be the advice that you would give them -- to them.
BP: We can have that conversation if—once they are 18. And then I -- listen, I want them to follow their bliss. You know, follow their passions, whatever—whatever they are most interested in. And then it's—then I think it's about, you know, guiding as you can. But they get to try everything on and find what—where their passion lies. So, sure, why not?
Q: Are you having the time of your life? You know, you've walked up and won every single award. Is this the time of your life?
BP: Well, no. I hope not. I hope I got other shit going on. But it has been a really special—really special run. And, again, it's a community I love and friends that I've made over, you know, 30 years and they mean a lot to me, truly. And I feel a responsibility to that more than anything, more than, like, a victory lap. And so I think, like, right now I'm just looking—I think it's—I think it's time to go disappear for a little while now and, you know, get back to making things.
BACKSTAGE INTERVIEW WITH: Laura Dern, Marriage Story Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Q: Happy birthday.
Laura Dern: Thank you. Thank you. Will you help me for a moment? I just want to say I was in complete shock. And I forgot to say thank you to my guides in my life: Peter Levine, Jason Weinberg, Annett Wolf, Kevin Evein, and my life-long acting teacher Sandra Seacat, who I've been with since I was 18 years old. And now I can have a great night because it's a little bit of heartbreak when you haven't thanked all the people who bring you here, you know. So thank you.
Q: Congratulations in promoting your close friends down in Australia. I have to say, so your mom's been nominated for an Oscar, your dad's been nominated for Oscars, you've been nominated for Oscars before. You are such an incredible acting family. What does it mean to be finally holding that statute tonight?
LD: Well, I went backstage, and people were telling me my mother was very moved, and that just makes me so happy to stand up and sing their praises. They literally got me here and artistically got me here as well. So it means the world. Thank you.
Q: My question is in such a divisive time culturally and politically, you mentioned about the gift of being able to talk about love through a story. What did you realize through Marriage Story that, perhaps, we should think about this year as a nation and just internationally as well? LD: I think if a couple through heartbreak and divisiveness can come together to raise a child, then this country better get our act together. I think there is much to learn from the story so beautifully told by Noah. And on a global level, as I mentioned, you know, we have a planet to save. So I pray we can all come together to focus on something that is not at all about politics. It's all about our home. Thank you.
Q: And I was wondering what advice you have for women who are looking to break into the film industry.
LD: Oh, said so beautifully by the filmmakers of How To Skateboard, you have to use your voice in this life. You have to stay true to yourself whoever you are. As my fourth grade teacher advised me, the best advice I got, "Keep your eyes on your own paper." And in a social media heyday, to stay true to your own inner voice and not be too focused on the noise and to feel blessed when we get to do what we love in this life. Thank you.
Q:Addressing the elephant in the room, if you had a chance to nominate any female directors, who would you nominate?
LD: If I could give this Oscar to Greta Gerwig, I would do it right now, and Lulu. I mean, there are so many beautiful films. I met the director of Honey Boy yesterday at the Independent Spirit Awards. There are great films. I think that our lens should focus, perhaps, less on the lack of accolades and more on the less -- the less opportunity that there is, and even more so the lack of second chances given to female voices. And as the business and the people with the money give more and more opportunity to extraordinary and diverse voices and representing who we want to see reflected in film, which is ourselves, we are going to be in a lot different shape. And I share this with Noah and Greta as well, who I spent my year with in art and friendship and now doing press for both films. So I would love to also see her continually awarded for all her beautiful work.
Q: I'm wondering on the note that you were just speaking about and considering Joaquin Phoenix's speech that he just gave at the BAFTAs encouraging everyone to actually look at what is happening systemically at these awards shows and in Hollywood in general, I'm wondering if you have any further thoughts about how the Oscars, how Hollywood as a whole, can be more intentionally inclusive when it comes to bringing about not just women but people of color as well?
LD: When we say, use our voice, we are talking about us, each other, in whatever industry we are in. We have power to say something. And when we don't see our culture reflected around us, we get to say something. And I think that's the biggest shift we've seen in the last couple of years is voices matter, and a community of voices rallying around the truth really matter in journalism, in this industry, and in many others. So make sure that your crew and the storytelling reflects our global community. And if you're an actor on a movie or you're the filmmaker, you're the producer, you get to say something. If you're the DP, you get to say something about your camera crew. And that matters.
Q: In Marriage Story and in Big Little Lies, you play these characters who, you know, take no crap, won't be silenced, and are very confident in who they are. And I'm just wondering who are the women in your life that inspired you in these roles? And if you had a message to little girls out there who want to be in the position that you are right now, what would it be? LD: Well, I start with my mother, who she and my godmother, Shelley Winters, were massive influences on my life as an actor and activist, and be loud, be proud, stand by incredible sisters. You know, I have been blessed in this year to have extraordinary roles, and they said, "Wow, this year you're playing powerful women versus, you know, complicated, indigent addicts or some other reference a journalist said." And I said, "Because there are women in positions of power to play now. But five years ago, I probably wouldn't have gotten to play a leading divorce lawyer or a CEO of a major tech company because they weren't in those positions." So there are many more exciting roles to play, and the future generations are going to be the ones that lift us up and show us because they know it's their role, not because they are going to ask for permission. They're just going to do what they love, and bless them for showing us the way. Thank you all. I'm so excited to be here. Thank you.
BACKSTAGE INTERVIEW WITH: Bong Joon-Ho, Parasite Best Picture, Directing, International Feature Film, Writing (Original Screenplay) The Full Oscars 2020 Backstage Interview
"If the Academy allows, I would like to get a Texas chainsaw, split the Oscar trophy into five and share it with all of you. Thank you, I will drink until next morning." —Bong Joon Ho
The fun of Will Ferrell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus's critical insights into the role of the cinematographer continue off-screen.
The clean-up from the rain almost encroached into the celebrity arrivals.
THE envelopes...
Cats wasn't a hit, but Rebel Wilson and James Corden as cats was...
Oscar in hand, Brad Pitt takes a moment.
In a surprise move, Eminem performed his Oscar-winning "Lose Yourself" seventeen years after he won. Here, he shares a moment with Salma Hayek Pinault.
Diane Keaton and Keanu Reeves in their own world.
It's all fun and games when Maya Rudolph and Kirsten Wiig are around.
Penelope Cruz and Bong Joon-Ho after one of his Oscar wins.
And the Media Guy on the Red Carpet prior to the show:
Whelp, I'm not in Paris, but in a few paragraphs we will be transported there...hang tight.
