The Power and the Glitter!
- Thread starter vultan
- Start date
Excerpt from Harry Knowles, posted from his account on various newsgroups throughout in Internet in early 1995
…
BOYCOTT THE OSCARS!!!!
Fellow fans, the Oscars being held this year ARE A COMPLETE AND UTTER FARCE!!!
The Academy of film arts and sciences (sic) has made the worse decision in its when selecting the movies as its best picture nomines (sic). Quentin Trantinos (sic) films are good, Overture and Four Weddings and a funeral are both fine… BUT FOREST GUMP OVER FUCKING WATCHMEN!!??!?!? (sic)
Fellow fans, Watchmen was the BEST FUCKING SUPERHERO MOVIE EVER PUT ON CELULLOID, outtstripping (sic) classics such as 1978s SUPERMAN and 1989s BATMAN.
James Cameron PERFECTLY mixed the KICKASS action and scope he demonstrated before in the TERMINATOR movies and ALIENS with the greatest and most deep plot of any movie to come out last year, if not this DECADE so far. The sfx RIVALS- nay, it is BETTER- than JURASSIC PARK (also a good film, to be sure), and the acting is PHENOMINAL. Seeing ARNOLD SCHWARZENAGGER kick serious ass on screen alongside Ash from EVIL DEAD and my childhood icon MARK HAMILL (aka LUKE MOTHERFUCKING GODDAMN SKYWALKER) is the coolest thing ever. Seriously.
Whereas Forrest Gump? UTTER AND PURE BULLSHIT. Its plot is the exact same as WATCHMEN, just instead of superheroes they have a handicapped descendant of the KKK [1]. See, the reason they picked FG over WATCHMEN was because it was the sweeter, less daring film. Gump goes throughout the decades of the baby boomers and learns only good and nice things, whereas WATCHMEN goes through the same time period and CHALLENGES the very idea of the AMERICAN DREAM, and is perfect commentary for the times we are going through today. Its exactly like a couple of years back, when the Academy picked DRIVING MISS DAISY for best picture and didnt even nominate the MASTERPIECE DO THE RIGHT THING. The latter movie talked about the same message of race in a far superior way to the former, but did it in a far more controversal (sic) way. The Academy got scared. And lo and behold, which of those two turned out to be RIGHT?
And the critics agree with me! I’ve compiled COUNTLESS reviews from newspapers and magazine articles, and as a whole THE CRITICS THINK WATCHMEN IS BETTER THAN GUMP. So what gives?
This goes into a deeper problem with the Oscars. They are AFRAID to give the BEST PICTURE award to movies PEOPLE ACTUALLY SEE. Its like when Annie hall beat STAR WARS, when Chariots of Fire beat INDIANA JONES, and Gandhi beat ET. Now, they are not even NOMINATING the BEST, most DEEP popcorn flick in years!?!?!???!!
Yes, I recognize James Cameron a nod for best director (which he won’t win) and Mark Hamill is up for supporting actor. But the damage is done: the Oscars are BROKEN.
My fellow fans, fans of movies, movies THE PEOPLE ACTUALLY LIKE, we shall fight the fuck back! DON’T TUNE IN TO THE OSCARS WHEN THEY SHOW UP ON TV. DO NOT FEED THE BEAST. Only then, when their ratings are reduced to NOTHING, will the Academy decide to return to the days of IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT and BEN-HUR, when THE PEOPLES WILL was taken into account when selecting the nominees.
I repeat, BOYCOTT THE OSCARS!!!!!!!!
…
Harry Knowles was not the only person angry about the lack of a Best Picture nomination for Watchmen. All over the country thousands of people, from comic book fans to movie buffs to respectable film critics protested the decision. It was noted, as aforementioned, that the inclusion of Forrest Gump, which had a similar setting to Watchmen but was critically not quite as well received (and far less dark), was a major point of contention. Indeed, Knowles was also not the only person to bring up comparisons to the Driving Miss Daisy/Do The Right Thing controversy that had wracked the 62nd Academy Awards.
What began as a campaign started on the nascent Internet expanded in surprising ways- a testament to the power of the world wide web even in its early years. J. Michael Straczynski, creator of the popular science fiction television series Babylon 5 and an avid comic book fan paid for a full-page in Variety magazine featuring a mildly-edited panel from the original graphic novel. In it, the vigilante Rorschach stares down upon New York City, with a caption reading “A deserving motion picture was snubbed last night. And nobody cares. Nobody cares but me.” (20th Century Fox, DC Comics, and Alan Moore all declined to take legal action against Straczynski or Variety even though he had not technically asked for permission in using material from the comic.) Famous actors including Tom Cruise and John Cusack, both fans of Watchmen, also spoke out publically against the slight. But perhaps most (in)famously, on March 26th, the night before the awards ceremony, Forrest Gump director Robert Zemeckis’ home was toilet-papered. The words “Never Compromise. Not Even in the Face of Armageddon” were also spray-painted onto the windshield of his car (the perpetrators were never identified, though Watchmen actor Bruce Campbell would jokingly “admit” to doing it at the ceremony).
It was the relatively low ratings for the actual telecast of the 67th Academy Awards that drove the point home the furthest. Only 41.3 million people tuned in the show [2]- the lowest since the 62nd Oscars night, when Driving Miss Daisy won. Though some in the media blamed the poor performance given by host Jay Leno, the ceremony’s producer Gilbert Cates admitted that “movies fans didn’t watch it because movie fans were displeased”. Though the Academy would never state an official reason, it was widely believed that the Watchmen snub was the primary reason behind expanding the number of Best Picture nominees from five to ten, effective the next year.
For Knowles’ part, after learning how to communicate his ideas a bit more artfully, he became very successful after starting his own website, Ain’t It Cool News, in 1996, focusing on gossip and reviews surrounding action and genre films.
...
[1] I’ll be honest- I stole that last line from Cracked.
[2] Historically, the number was 48.87 million viewers.
---
One more post will focus on the Oscars, first talking about Quentin Tarantino and his achievements in this world, then spitting it out already and telling who won what.
Thoughts?
…
BOYCOTT THE OSCARS!!!!
Fellow fans, the Oscars being held this year ARE A COMPLETE AND UTTER FARCE!!!
The Academy of film arts and sciences (sic) has made the worse decision in its when selecting the movies as its best picture nomines (sic). Quentin Trantinos (sic) films are good, Overture and Four Weddings and a funeral are both fine… BUT FOREST GUMP OVER FUCKING WATCHMEN!!??!?!? (sic)
Fellow fans, Watchmen was the BEST FUCKING SUPERHERO MOVIE EVER PUT ON CELULLOID, outtstripping (sic) classics such as 1978s SUPERMAN and 1989s BATMAN.
James Cameron PERFECTLY mixed the KICKASS action and scope he demonstrated before in the TERMINATOR movies and ALIENS with the greatest and most deep plot of any movie to come out last year, if not this DECADE so far. The sfx RIVALS- nay, it is BETTER- than JURASSIC PARK (also a good film, to be sure), and the acting is PHENOMINAL. Seeing ARNOLD SCHWARZENAGGER kick serious ass on screen alongside Ash from EVIL DEAD and my childhood icon MARK HAMILL (aka LUKE MOTHERFUCKING GODDAMN SKYWALKER) is the coolest thing ever. Seriously.
Whereas Forrest Gump? UTTER AND PURE BULLSHIT. Its plot is the exact same as WATCHMEN, just instead of superheroes they have a handicapped descendant of the KKK [1]. See, the reason they picked FG over WATCHMEN was because it was the sweeter, less daring film. Gump goes throughout the decades of the baby boomers and learns only good and nice things, whereas WATCHMEN goes through the same time period and CHALLENGES the very idea of the AMERICAN DREAM, and is perfect commentary for the times we are going through today. Its exactly like a couple of years back, when the Academy picked DRIVING MISS DAISY for best picture and didnt even nominate the MASTERPIECE DO THE RIGHT THING. The latter movie talked about the same message of race in a far superior way to the former, but did it in a far more controversal (sic) way. The Academy got scared. And lo and behold, which of those two turned out to be RIGHT?
And the critics agree with me! I’ve compiled COUNTLESS reviews from newspapers and magazine articles, and as a whole THE CRITICS THINK WATCHMEN IS BETTER THAN GUMP. So what gives?
This goes into a deeper problem with the Oscars. They are AFRAID to give the BEST PICTURE award to movies PEOPLE ACTUALLY SEE. Its like when Annie hall beat STAR WARS, when Chariots of Fire beat INDIANA JONES, and Gandhi beat ET. Now, they are not even NOMINATING the BEST, most DEEP popcorn flick in years!?!?!???!!
Yes, I recognize James Cameron a nod for best director (which he won’t win) and Mark Hamill is up for supporting actor. But the damage is done: the Oscars are BROKEN.
My fellow fans, fans of movies, movies THE PEOPLE ACTUALLY LIKE, we shall fight the fuck back! DON’T TUNE IN TO THE OSCARS WHEN THEY SHOW UP ON TV. DO NOT FEED THE BEAST. Only then, when their ratings are reduced to NOTHING, will the Academy decide to return to the days of IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT and BEN-HUR, when THE PEOPLES WILL was taken into account when selecting the nominees.
I repeat, BOYCOTT THE OSCARS!!!!!!!!
…
Harry Knowles was not the only person angry about the lack of a Best Picture nomination for Watchmen. All over the country thousands of people, from comic book fans to movie buffs to respectable film critics protested the decision. It was noted, as aforementioned, that the inclusion of Forrest Gump, which had a similar setting to Watchmen but was critically not quite as well received (and far less dark), was a major point of contention. Indeed, Knowles was also not the only person to bring up comparisons to the Driving Miss Daisy/Do The Right Thing controversy that had wracked the 62nd Academy Awards.
What began as a campaign started on the nascent Internet expanded in surprising ways- a testament to the power of the world wide web even in its early years. J. Michael Straczynski, creator of the popular science fiction television series Babylon 5 and an avid comic book fan paid for a full-page in Variety magazine featuring a mildly-edited panel from the original graphic novel. In it, the vigilante Rorschach stares down upon New York City, with a caption reading “A deserving motion picture was snubbed last night. And nobody cares. Nobody cares but me.” (20th Century Fox, DC Comics, and Alan Moore all declined to take legal action against Straczynski or Variety even though he had not technically asked for permission in using material from the comic.) Famous actors including Tom Cruise and John Cusack, both fans of Watchmen, also spoke out publically against the slight. But perhaps most (in)famously, on March 26th, the night before the awards ceremony, Forrest Gump director Robert Zemeckis’ home was toilet-papered. The words “Never Compromise. Not Even in the Face of Armageddon” were also spray-painted onto the windshield of his car (the perpetrators were never identified, though Watchmen actor Bruce Campbell would jokingly “admit” to doing it at the ceremony).
It was the relatively low ratings for the actual telecast of the 67th Academy Awards that drove the point home the furthest. Only 41.3 million people tuned in the show [2]- the lowest since the 62nd Oscars night, when Driving Miss Daisy won. Though some in the media blamed the poor performance given by host Jay Leno, the ceremony’s producer Gilbert Cates admitted that “movies fans didn’t watch it because movie fans were displeased”. Though the Academy would never state an official reason, it was widely believed that the Watchmen snub was the primary reason behind expanding the number of Best Picture nominees from five to ten, effective the next year.
For Knowles’ part, after learning how to communicate his ideas a bit more artfully, he became very successful after starting his own website, Ain’t It Cool News, in 1996, focusing on gossip and reviews surrounding action and genre films.
...
[1] I’ll be honest- I stole that last line from Cracked.
[2] Historically, the number was 48.87 million viewers.
---
One more post will focus on the Oscars, first talking about Quentin Tarantino and his achievements in this world, then spitting it out already and telling who won what.
Thoughts?
Last edited:
Two birds in one night, huh, vultan? 
My update, and yours too. A good night for pop culture!
Seriously, though. Tom Cruise? Wow. I can't believe that he would ever do something so... uncontroversial.
Nice Bruce Campbell bit. You're really good at putting these little details into your timeline, that just feel so right.
And as for Jay Leno, all I can say is, he more than deserves a big slice of humble pie. And Letterman, though he's no saint either, is entitled to a fair bit of gloating. Just as long as he isn't insufferable about it. Which he will be, alas.
My update, and yours too. A good night for pop culture!Hard to believe that someone like Knowles, given his present reputation for being in the pocket of the studios, could muster so much rage and indignation at anything, but it was a fun read, and it felt delightfully like vintage newsgroup raving and ranting.
And it's only been getting worse ever since then. (Witness the nominees at most recent awards ceremony - and that's with ten slots.)vultan said:
I like this! It definitely seems like something that Straczynski might do. And hey, if it gets him some extra publicity or viewers for Babylon 5, that's just icing on the cake, right? It might help to smooth out any potential future production problems...vultan said:
I love that, lumping the two of them together. Because they're both equally famous!vultan said:
Seriously, though. Tom Cruise? Wow. I can't believe that he would ever do something so... uncontroversial.
Oh boy, Watchmen is definitely one of those movies all right.vultan said:
Nice Bruce Campbell bit. You're really good at putting these little details into your timeline, that just feel so right.
Bumping the tally back to ten over a decade ahead of schedule! Imagine how many crowd-pleasers might just make it into the long list!vultan said:
And as for Jay Leno, all I can say is, he more than deserves a big slice of humble pie. And Letterman, though he's no saint either, is entitled to a fair bit of gloating. Just as long as he isn't insufferable about it. Which he will be, alas.
Looking forward to it. The wait still beats having to watch the ceremony and sit through an interpretive dancevultan said:
Two birds in one night, huh, vultan?
I know, I'd better check yours out!
Bear in mind, this was before he hit it big.
For want of a nail...
I love that, lumping the two of them together. Because they're both equally famous!
Seriously, though. Tom Cruise? Wow. I can't believe that he would ever do something so... uncontroversial.
Well, the reason I included both of them is that, historically, they are both fans of the comic, and were considered for the OTL movie in 2009 because of this.
For anyone who hasn't caught the hints yet, YES, this is The Dark Knight 15 years years early.
Much obliged!
And 1995 is the year Everything Changes for movies (well, not quite everything. There's still got on or two big ones that'll keep mostly the same...)
Looking forward to it. The wait still beats having to watch the ceremony and sit through an interpretive dance
It'll be interesting (actually, probably not, but still...)
The Sandman
Banned
We get the fifth season as originally intended, rather than compressing it all into the fourth season and then having to come up with a postscript season on short notice?
After taking several deep breaths backstage, VULTAN onto the stage of a huge auditorium, microphone in hand andready to perform. However, he notices in the hundreds of chairs only three people, BRAINBIN, THE SANDMAN, and THEKINGSGUARD are seated. Shocked, VULTAN goes ahead anyway.
"Um, is this... is this everyone? Uh, okay. So, um, how 'bout them San Antonio Spurs..."
---
Seriously, any other thoughts?
"Um, is this... is this everyone? Uh, okay. So, um, how 'bout them San Antonio Spurs..."
---
Seriously, any other thoughts?
Glen
Moderator
After taking several deep breaths backstage, VULTAN onto the stage of a huge auditorium, microphone in hand andready to perform. However, he notices in the hundreds of chairs only three people, BRAINBIN, THE SANDMAN, and THEKINGSGUARD are seated. Shocked, VULTAN goes ahead anyway.
"Um, is this... is this everyone? Uh, okay. So, um, how 'bout them San Antonio Spurs..."
---
Seriously, any other thoughts?
Oh, we are watching, vultan - we are always watching....
I really get a kick out of the different forms of media you use to write this TL. From textbook to major interview, to 1995 internet rant, the variety of style makes the story more engaging and fun.
On a side-note, did you know the Oscars use a form of instant-runoff voting now for the Best Pic award? (and maybe the others now too). As a big fan of IRV, I get a kick out of that and think ITTL it would also be brought in sooner.
On a side-note, did you know the Oscars use a form of instant-runoff voting now for the Best Pic award? (and maybe the others now too). As a big fan of IRV, I get a kick out of that and think ITTL it would also be brought in sooner.
Thanks!
Of course, some of that applies to "You Get What You Give" more than to this, so far.Let's see how the rules play out in 1995 (rather, 1996. The 68th Academy Awards
) before we wonder about any future rules made.John Fredrick Parker said:
One of five theoretically equally likely options.
John Fredrick Parker
Donor
One of five theoretically equally likely options.
Speaking of which -- were Quiz Show and Shawshank Redemption still nominated?
https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showpost.php?p=5710304&postcount=237
Here's a link to the post. Shawshank Redemption made the cut, but Quiz Show didn't.
Glen
Moderator
A couple things on the TV front.
Agree that it would be good/fitting for a more stable Babylon 5 ITTL to occur, one where the last season isn't so uncertain - keep on Claudia Christian as Ivanova, have the originally intended story order/broadcast.
Would also get bonus points if a darker, edgier Doctor Who television movie comes about that actually relaunches the Doctor Who TV series earlier.
Agree that it would be good/fitting for a more stable Babylon 5 ITTL to occur, one where the last season isn't so uncertain - keep on Claudia Christian as Ivanova, have the originally intended story order/broadcast.
Would also get bonus points if a darker, edgier Doctor Who television movie comes about that actually relaunches the Doctor Who TV series earlier.
Falkenburg
Monthly Donor
I've kept meaning to catch up on this ever since Brainbin plugged it. Glad I got around to it.
Intriguing take on things. I especially like the potential for Bruce Campbell ITTL.
And just in time to catch the Oscar Results, too.
Falkenburg
Intriguing take on things. I especially like the potential for Bruce Campbell ITTL.
And just in time to catch the Oscar Results, too.
Falkenburg