Sunday, March 7, 2010

Oscars and Writers

OK, I'll admit it, I plan to watch (at least some of) tonight's Oscar presentations. I hate celebrity gossip, in spite of the fact that there's a lot of money in it for writers. (One of the many times a conscience can get in the way of a good paycheck!)

One of my favorite movies (from years ago) was overlooked by the academy and the vast majority of the general population, I'm sorry to say:  Stranger than Fiction is a story about a story, a work-in-progress by a writer (Emma Thompson), and her (unbeknownst to her) real-life main character, Will Ferrell. Will she kill him off in the end? Major spoiler alert: No. But how she writes around her planned ending after she falls in love with her main character - in real life, 'cus she hated him until she met him - makes for a truly entertaining story. Um, film. Well, both.

It's a movie you don't have to be a writer to love, but I haven't met a writer that doesn't love it. :)

But back to tonight's Oscars. Don't you think some of the actors could do their careers a favor by paying a writer to pen a charming acceptance speech... and then follow it? The good news for our profession: those who don't certainly help support the PR industry.

And for that, I'd like to thank the Academy.

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