Working Title: Just Pick One Already!

This week Will Leschber splits hairs and Oscar camps…

Ok theater geeks, it’s go time. This is our Super Bowl. The Academy Awards.

So many Oscar races come down to a title fight: 12 Years a Slave vs Gravity; Avatar vs. The Hurt Locker; The Kings Speech vs The Social Network; Crash vs Brokeback Mountain; Shakespeare in Love vs Saving Private Ryan; Goodfellas vs Dances with Wolves; Forrest Gump vs Pulp Fiction; Gandhi or Tootsie; Kramer vs Kramer vs Apocalypse Now; Annie Hall or Star Wars; To Kill a Mockingbird or Lawrence of Arabia; All About Eve or Sunset Boulevard; Citizen Kane or How Green Was My Valley; Gone with the Wind or Wizard of Oz; Wings or Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans… (trick question film nerds).

As you peruse this list I’m sure you are thinking a few things: I’m sure 12 Years a Slave is great and maybe I’ll watch it one day; Thank god that towering achievement Dances With Wolves won over the endlessly forgettable and uninfluecial Goodfellas; I know Pulp Fiction is better but I’m not gonna feel bad about loving America’s Tom Hanks. Win Forrest Win! And lastly, I can hear you thinking, Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans…? Are you making shit up again? What the fuck is that?

The voices keep telling me to see Birdman but all I really want to watch is the Lego Movie…

I’m getting around the posing of the dichotomy…What is more important, the Unique and Artistic Production or the Outstanding Best Picture award? Once upon a time we had an award for both (all the way back in 1927) but now it seems there can be only one. These days, bouts between the heavy, artistic “important” pictures and the awesome spectacle that only lives in the places between the silver screens has become a common conversation. (See Avatar vs Hurt Locker, and 12 Years a Slave vs Gravity.) There’s no assumed judgement here. I loved all of these films for very different reasons. I know, I know, the best films are a balance of these elements, but that doesn’t make for a good debate! I’m saying, if you only get one and you had to pick, dear reader, which do you choose?

What is more valuable and what is more valued? Do we strive to delight and transport in a way only film can? Or do we strive to reach new depths of the human experience? Or do we strive to rage against the dying of the light? Calm down Christopher Nolan, we get it, you are super deep.

This year that title fight looks like Boyhood vs Birdman. I show up to spectacle any day. Birdman was a visual feat and feast! But the greatest and best film this year is also the quietest and the most unassuming. That’s why it achieves more. I’d love to see Boyhood win because it’s a one of the most successful films to capturing something all of us experience that rarely makes it into narrative film; the feeling and memory of growing up and the importance of all the unimportant moments that build the mortar of who we are. That’s my pick. But what should win isn’t necessarily what will win. I made peace with that award show truth long ago. Who knows Imitation Game may show up and surprise us all. We’ll see.

There can be only one…Who will you choose?

Working Title: Oscar Haters: Let It Go… or… What Oscar Could Learn from Good Theatre

Will Leschber covers the Oscars.

The year so far has proved to be quite full. I hear the echo of many friends reflecting that the last two months were supposed to be the slower, quieter time of the year. A respite from the hectic end of the year. Instead this pair of dwindling winter months have shown to be more full of work, more full of creative endeavors, more full of social obligation, just more full. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But it can overwhelm. Personally, I’ve experienced a stupidly abundant work schedule, a piercing desire to spend quality time with my fiancée, an unsatisfied need to connect with friends who also have no free time, and a responsibility to help plan a wedding (my wedding) which is approaching near summer’s dawn. Any one of these is enough to over run someone’s time. That’s the contemporary curse, I guess. Never time enough. What is needed is a little personal rejuvenation. We all have our own ways to replenish. What that looks like for me this time of year is the Academy Awards. It’s my annual oasis of enjoyment.

As I watched the 86th Oscar Ceremony, I thought that is may be the closest thing that general mass audiences get to attending a live theatrical event. The award show may resemble something closer to a variety show than a fully produced play, but all of the components that make good theatre are still crucial to the event. Good writing, emotional connection, production value, pacing, entertainment value, performance: these all contribute to a quality live performance (live theatre or live Oscar telecast, alike). Much of this falls to the hands of the host. This year Ellen DeGeneres was safe and vanilla and mostly unmemorable (besides the wonderful Twitter crashing celebrity selfie, of course).

I may be in the minority but I preferred last years Seth MacFarlane who brought energy and crass and triple threat talent. He may have been more controversial than Hollywood would like but man do I remember how impressed I was with his entertaining singing and dancing. Talk about quality theatrical performance! But that’s beside the point. DeGeneres may have been off her game but she was fine enough and more importantly there was so much more to enjoy. With the highest television ratings in 10 years (43 million viewers) was the telecast deserving of the hate it received afterwards?

It seems an annual activity to berate the Oscars and I think it lazy reporting and lazy viewership. Calling the show boring, long and self-involved is shooting at an easy target. The Academy Awards are always long. Get used to it. This jab has been used for decades. It’s cliche. Plus the broadcasts are in actuality getting shorter (at least since 2002).

If you find the show boring, maybe it’s because you lazily haven’t seen the majority of the films and have no stake in the categories. If you find the show self involved, maybe you weren’t aware that it’s an AWARD SHOW. That is the nature of award shows.

There are so many positive aspects to the Oscars and I derive so much personal joy from the discussions around and the show itself. I just hate to see all the hate. Amongst the highlights in this years Oscar ceremony, here’s a short list of things worth noting and remembering.

#5- No one’s acceptance speech was played off. I love love love that all the winners were given more time to speak. No one seemed to go long. At the pinnacle of someone’s career, is it really too much to ask to give them an extra 15 seconds to thank those who helped them arrive at a personal career high? Thank you who’s ever choice this was.

#4- The quality of the speeches overall was exceptional. When you find the bulk of your Oscar party getting dusty eyed at the speech of Best Animated Short film you know this is a good year for speeches. So many this year were emotionally engaging even if most of the viewing audiences were unfamiliar with the films.

#3- The mass appeal and the critical appeal were equally satisfied when best director and best picture split to Gravity and 12 Years a Slave. Usually Oscar awards one over the other. It was wonderful to see both recognized.

#2- Oscar got it right this year. Some have said the winners were to predictable and yet I was more satisfied by this years winners than many other collective Oscar years. Obviously this is subjective, and yes, I have minor personal gripes: the Inside Llweyn Davis shutout, Joaquin Phoenix, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Tom Hanks, Robert Redford, I could go on). But, not only were the winners satisfying but the overall range of nominated film was exceptional. Even though it wasn’t going to win, I’m overjoyed my favorite film of the year, Her, was included in the Best Picture catergory. It was a good year for film.

…and the best moment to remember…

#1- Best Supporting Actress winner Lupita Nyong’o- Just Watch- http://entertainment.time.com/2014/03/02/oscars-2014-lupita-nyongo-speech-best-supporting-actress/

I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

Citiations:

Lupita Nyongo Speech Best Supporting Actress. 2014. video. entertainment.time.comWeb. 4 Mar 2014.

Oscar 2014. 2014. Photograph. http://www.theguardian.comWeb. 4 Mar 2014.

Oscar Selfie. 2014. Photograph. http://www.thedailybeast.comWeb. 4 Mar 2014.

Working Title: Only the Best

Will Leschber embarks on the fools errand of putting together a best of list when the year hasn’t yet come to a close. Enjoy…

This time of year falls to looking back. We see the year as a whole and take time to reflect and collect our best and worst moments of the year. Shortly, most media outlets will be flooded with their respective “best of 2013” lists. Since there are never enough of those out there in the blogospheres and various media tiers, I figured I’d provide a short list here as well. For brevity’s sake, today’s list shall be limited to a top 3. Top selections of film and theatre as seen my me.

This year in film has been strong. Or at least the latter half has been, but that’s always the case. The highlights remind me of how transportive great film can be. By no means does a mere top 3 list encompass the entirety of quality film entries this year AND this isn’t necessarily the order or my final top 3 BUT they are some favorites that best fit the focus here. Meaning, not simply were they some of the years best, but they optimized the best aspects of what the film medium can achieve.

After all that ado here we go…from the top down

#1 Gravity: Alfonso Cuaron’s film was a monumental success on many fronts. From a technical stand point (editing, cinematography, score, sound design, visual effects) the film offered innovation and excellence. Also the uncommon storytelling was executed expertly. It features Sandra Bullock’s best performance to date. And if that was enough, the film was a giant financial success. Gravity shows the power of the film medium by placing us out in orbit with our astronauts and relentlessly pushing us through their spectacular struggles.

#2 12 Years a Slave: Based upon Solomon Northup’s 1853 autobiography, 12 Years tells the harrowing journey of a free black man who is abducted and sold into slavery. Narratives of this kind bring the story stakes to the highest level. However, it is director Steve McQueen who elevates the story above the mere biographic details by shining a light into variant corners of our humanity and collective past. It also features one of the best performances of the year. Chiwetel Ejiofor who plays our lead, Solomon, is simply superb. 12 Years a Slave shows the power of film by making this 150 year old story emotionally immediate and terribly accessible through its even lens. It’s a hard watch but there are few better out there this year.

And now for something completely different…

#3 Frozen: This latest entry into the Disney animation cannon reminds us how good animated fairy tales can be. This may seem light fare compared to the other two on this list but, I tell you, not a single frame is wasted in this re-imagining of the Hans Christian Anderson tale, The Snow Queen. The wonderfully rich and deep color pallet is stunning to look at. The songs co-written by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, of Book of Mormon and Avenue Q fame, rival the best in Disney’s back catalog. While playing with the familiar tropes that we love about these animated tales, Frozen also turns the true-love morality story on its ear and provides something fresh after all these years. The voice cast is chosen upon ability and character fit instead of star power. In short, Frozen is supremely satisfying. It feels like the best of good old-fashioned animated musicals. I’m not ashamed to say I saw it twice.

The best pieces of theatre that I was privy to this year range from the regional/professional to the personal independent. These stories would fundamentally change in another medium which only speaks to their power as theatre.

#1 Terminus, The Magic Theatre

This play closed the season last spring at The Magic Theatre. Boy, what a finale. Irish playwright Mark O’Rowe weaves a tale of intersecting lives on a dark Dublin night. Singing serial killers, love sick demons and other unconventional characters populate this play that is told in a series of rhymed monologues. With only three actors, a charcoal rocky raked stage, and minimal lights, Terminus relies upon it’s acting and it’s writing. Both of which are stellar. It’s a hard play to wrap ones head around with its violence and lyric poetic language, but when all the theatrical pieces work this well together it makes for potent theatre.

#2 Underneath the Lintel, ACT

Beginning with one small act of mystery, the return of a 113 year past due library book, this one man show opens up to the universal and the sublime. Lintel concerns itself with human endurance, trials through suffering and small decisions, maybe even not our own, that affect our lives in monumental ways. The play excels in this theatrical setting mainly because of its singular performer, David Strathairn. He imbues this piece with so much heart and compassion that I would have spend many more hours listening to his librarian spin further yarns on life and the dancing mysteries therein.

#3 Age of Beauty, The Exit Theatre

What this play, written and directed by Stuart Bousel, captured for me was the sense of all the important conversations that one has in their 30’s. Redefining ourselves , the loss of friendship, measuring up to our own expectations, being ok with the fact that life isn’t what we thought it may be: these things and more are on the table for discussion between four pairs of women. Like all excellent theatre, this play is held up by superior dialogue and genuine characters. We remain with these women for an hour and a half because we like them, we laugh with them and we get frustrated with them. They are real to us. Their unique perspective is valuable because it illuminates our own. In viewing them, we are privy to insight we may not have had and are reminded of things we may have forgotten. It’s life circa our 30 year old selves.

The best part of making these end of year lists is having people tell you how wrong you are…or right. What were your favorites of 2013?