If you find you have mixed feelings about last night’s big barrier buster (a woman won the Best Director Oscar for a film that has almost no women in it, a woman won the Best Director Oscar but didn’t thank any of the women who came before her, whatever) then I beg you to look beyond Kathryn Bigelow’s Best Director win & see the big picture: women empowered by Bigelow’s nomination voted with their hearts, in clear defiance of all the handicappers! Wow!!!
As I predicted, the two most vulnerable categories were Best Adapted Screenplay & Best Original Screenplay. The minute Mark Boal won BOS for THE HURT LOCKER (trouncing Quentin Tarantino), I was on my feet screaming, & when Geoffrey Fletcher won for PRECIOUS (trouncing Jason Reitman), I went into orbit.
The media’s “Battle of the Exes” blather endlessly repeated that Kathryn Bigelow & James Cameron both had 9 noms each, but as I kept telling you, KB had 4 “major noms,” whereas JC mostly had teckie noms. In the end, she left with 6 Oscars (3 majors) & he left with 3 Oscars (all teckie). Furthermore, in every case where they went head-to-head (except for cinematography), she won.
This year had more upsets than any prior year I can remember, & I submit these upsets were all due to the power of female AMPAS voters!!! So here’s a big shout-out to the women voters of AMPAS: You Did It!!!
Friends,THIS is how change happens J
Photo credit: ZumawireWestPhotos/Newscom
