joan riversI know people are upset about Joan Rivers being snubbed at last night's In Memoriam segment at the Oscars. I myself officially gave up on the awards show in 2009 when The Hurt Locker won for best picture - the same year as The Hangover was released. It was then and there that one could realize that comedies, although beloved, are just not ever going to win a best picture. And why?
Like it or not The Hangover was without a doubt the most original, the most talked about, and oh yeah, the sixth largest grossing domestic film in 2009. The Hurtlocker is actually the lowest grossing film to win Best Picture to date. It didn't even make the top 100! Not that I am saying that bottom line should be a factor in deciding the artistic merit of a project. But I will go on record as saying that a best picture should at least be able to edge out Paul Blart: Mall Cop (A comedy I know. But come on.) and Hannah Montana The Movie. Which in 2009 was not the case.
Now every year there is some controversy about the Oscars. We know academy members fail to vote. Others vote although they have not seen all the movies in a given category. Somebody gives a crazy political speech. Whatever. But one thing that Hollywood knows how to do is honor the stars. It may not be fair. it may not be right. But that is how it is done. Nobody knows the name of the Key Grip from Avatar. Ask anyone who has ever attended the Oscar's Sci-Tech Awards.
So how does Joan Rivers, staple of the red carpet, get left out of the party like Camille Cosby in Bill's sex life. She even got edged out by Universal Marketing Exec Nadia Bronson. You have to ask yourself. If casting director Pennie DuPont was casting for In Memoriam; The Movie, would she have included herself like the academy did this year or gone with Joan? All I know is nobody threw an Oscar party last night to honor a marketing director. But I guess she was good at her job. Because she made the cut.
Now Joan Rivers was never nominated for an Academy Award. But she was synonymous with Oscar night since she began hosting the E! red-carpet special in 1995. And she was in several movies. Okay so most notably Spaceballs and The Muppets Take Manhattan. But they both grossed more domestically than The Hurt Locker. Nuff Said.