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The Behrend Beacon
Will 'Rings' lord over the Oscars?
preview by Daniel J. Stasiewski
managing editor
The guild awards are piling up. The
fans are getting anxious. And I'll bet
Peter Jackson is sweating a little bit right
now, too
"The Lord of the Rings: The Return
of the King" is looking more like a sure
win for every award the Academy can
send its way Sunday at the 76" Annual
Academy Awards, which airs at 8 p.m.
on WJET-TV.
The question remains, will the fan
tasy film be a "Titanic"-like steamroller,
or will the Academy maintain the share
the-wealth attitude it has had over the
last three years? Only the ballot
counters know today. But being the
self-proclaimed Oscar pundit I am, I
have a feeling it's going to be a bumpy
night.
Best Picture
"The Return of the King" has every Os
car precursor a film could need. It even
grabbed the elusive Screen Actors Guild
Award for Best Ensemble, the one tro
phy that even `Titanic" didn't take home
in its run for the Oscar. Still, the only
Best Picture winner in Academy history
that has any adventure elements close
to "King" is the tedious "Around the
World in 80 Days." With "Mystic
River" approaching the $BO million
mark and "Lost in Translation" becom
a home video hit, "The Return of
Graphic 'Passion portrays Gibson's gospel
review by Daniel J. Stasiewski
managing editor
"The Passion of the Christ" is a mes
merizing work of cinematic artistry, unlike
anything Mel Gibson has ever put his name
on. It's brutal and tragic, but heartfelt and,
as you may guess from the title, passion
ate. As a filmmaker, Gibson is at the top
of his form, though his amateurish tech
niques have yet to make him a master. In
this film, however, what Gibson lacks in
technique he makes up for with intense
imagery and utter devotion to the source.
"The Passion" is an account of the last
hours of Christ as Gibson adapted from the
gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
We first see Jesus (James Caviezel) pray
ing in a garden, a man afraid of his com
mitment to God and the people for which
he will sacrifice his life. This is the only
time Jesus is shown as being slightly inse
cure, not because he won't do it, but be
cause his will is so strong it frightens him
as a man. Satan lurks in the background,
telling him the burden is too great, but
Jesus literally stomps out the voice and
readies himself for his impending capture.
Soldiers, along with Jesus' betrayer Ju
das (Luca Lionello), come to the garden,
and after small skirmish involving other
Apostles, Jesus it taken to the Temple in
Jerusalem to face the high priests. Here,
the hard-line high priests are portrayed as
unyielding protectors of their religion, will
ing to allow the abuse of a blasphemer in
order to protect what they hold sacred.
They have the attitudes of Inquisition-era
Church officials, so of course, they demand
the heretic to be killed.
When the priests take Jesus to Pontius
Pilate (Hristo Naumov Shopov) and de
mand the ultimate punishment, Pilate at
tempts to shift responsibly to King Herod,
but to no avail. Pilate, whose wife, Claudia,
warned him of the possible repercussions
for punishment, leaves it to the Jews to de
cide if the so-called blasphemer is to die.
the King" could see its trophy chances
fly away. Of course, the same people
who loved "River," love "Translation,"
possibly splitting the vote. Maybe I'm
overthinking it, but this one still looks
like a three-horse race.
Prediction: "Mystic River"
Close Second: "The Lord of the Rings
Return of the King"
Best Director
Peter Jackson hasn't proven he's more
than a B-movie director, but the biggest
B-movie of them all should giye the
king of the fantasy film genre his long
overdue Oscar. Of course, Sofia
Coppola has the Focus factor on her
side. Focus Features has delivered the
trophy to their director nominee in three
of the past four years. And her last name
doesn't hurt either. The daughter of
Francis Ford Coppola may spoil
Jackson's night. That is if the Academy
knows where the real gold is.
Prediction: Peter Jackson, "The Lord of
the Rings: the Return of the King"
Close Second: Sofia Coppola, "Lost in
Translation"
Best Actor
With even the Screen Actors Guild leav
ing Sean Penn behind, Bill Murray
should be able to place an Oscar for Best
Actor in between his Emmy and Golden
Globe on Monda morning. Murra has
We know what
they chose and
from that mo-
ment viewers are
confronted with
gruesome images
of torture and the
eventual crucifix
ion of Jesus
Christ.
Gibson's por
trayal of the tor
ture is perhaps
the most violent James Caviezel (first from the right) is Jesus in Mel Gibson's
and cringe-induc- 'The Passion of the Christ "
ing scene in mod
ern cinema. The
brutal battle scenes from his previous en
deavor, "Braveheart," are timid in compari
son. Flesh is ripped from Jesus' body and
blood is splattered in a messy pattern
around the whipping post and on the sav
age Roman centurions. The violence is at
times gratuitous, even manipulative, but
Gibson makes no excuses for it. (Though,
some of the same people who will praise
this movie would reprimand any other film
for its nearly pornographic use of vio-
lence.)
There's no style to the violence, nor is
there much in the rest of the film, short of
a lot of unnecessary slow motion. Gibson,
however, takes his storytelling to a new
level and challenges the viewer with dark
imagery. Judas' spiral into madness after
taking the blood money is emphasized with
the manifestation of his psychological
monsters and the distortion of children's
faces. When he hangs himself, Judas takes
the rope from the rotting corpse of a long
dead mule, an image that is simplistic, but
effective nonetheless.
A straightforward plot would have hin
dered the film, but Gibson and his
screenwriting partner Benedict Fitzgerald
added flashbacks to emphasize Christ as a
both a friend and a son. In one flashback,
Jesus playfully splashes his mother, Mary,
, "O li tT itis
I
1 4' t
1 ,
. ~
Friday, February 27, 2004
given the right speeches and done all
the politicking needed to take this well
deserved Oscar home. And Murray has
Focus Features on his side, as well. De
spite Johnny Depp's surprise win at the
Screen Actors Guild, Murray and Penn
are still going to be the ones duking it
out for the Oscar. Look for Murray to
be the one with his hand raised in the
end.
Prediction: Bill Murray, "Lost in Trans
lation"
Close Second: Sean Penn, "Mystic
River"
Best Actress
One word: "Monster." This Oscar is
Charlize Theron's. There just isn't any
one else even close. Sorry Diane. Sorry
Keisha. It's Theron's night to shine.
Prediction: Charlize Theron, "Monster"
Slam Dunk
Best Supporting Actor
Tim Robbins is probably racing to the
stage as we speak, because this category
is almost a clear cut as Best Actress.
"Mystic River" should lose the Best
Actor trophy and take the Supporting
Oscar that usually accompanies a Best
Picture winner. Because he is as over
due as any actor nominated in any cat
egory, Robbins should take home an Os
car he deserves this year, or any year.
Sure, Alec Baldwin's star • ower ma
(played by Maia Morgenstern) with water
as he comes in to eat. Morgenstern is from
that scene set up to be the only outstand
ing cast member, one whose anguish comes
from something personal. The Apostles
never seem concerned as friends and the
converts Jesus meets on his path to death
are taken by the Messiah's sacrifice and
strength. Morgenstern plays Mary more as
a mother than as a believer, and her hu
man emotion adds to the film's spiritual
core.
Spirituality aside, "The Passion of the
Christ" is a new Biblical film for a new
century, and Gibson may just be on the
verge of a De Mille-sized career in the
genre. It's a grand achievement that de
serves at least one Oscar for Morgenstern's
heartbreaking performance. True, the film
is far from perfect, but it's a clear example
of Gibson's ability to apply his directorial
talents to something more powerful than
simple action.
)A-*AI/2
out of
4 stars
"The Passion of
the Christ," di
rected by Mel
Gibson and star
rin • James
Cuviezel, is cur-
at Tins
pose a threat, but let's not forget, there's
a messy custody hearing going on in
volving the star. The Academy doesn't
associate itself with controversy. (Re
member Russell Crowe's loss for "A
Beautiful Mind.")
Prediction: Tim Robbins, "Mystic
River"
Close Second: Alec Baldwin, "The
Cooler"
Best Supporting Actress
She might not deserve it for "Cold
Mountain," but Renee Zellweger has
been on the verge for too long to not
grab this Oscar. Sure, she walked
through the role, but hell, it's Renee, and
she should have won last year as a lead.
This year she stole every scene from last
year's Best Actress winner Nicole
Kidman, and did I mention it's Renee?
Only the "House of Sand and Fog" ac
tress, Shohreh Aghdashloo, could ruin
Zellweger's evening. Aghdashloo, an
Iranian-born actress, has the "embattled
wife" advantage, which resulted in Os
cars in this category for both Marcia
Gay Harden and Jennifer Connelly. And
it would be historic for an Iranian ac
tress to win this Oscar. Unfortunately,
she's going up against Renee.
Prediction: Renee Zellweger, "Cold
Mountain"
Close Second: Shohreh Aghdashloo,
Silencing a legend:
Howard Stern, America's "shock jock," has been taken off the
air indefinitely. Clear Channel Communications reveiwed Stern's
interview Tuesday with Rick Soloman, the other half of the Paris
Hilton sex video.
The interview consisted of Stern asking Soloman about his
sexual lifestyle and about certain areas of the body. When a
listener called in to ask Soloman questions, he used profanity and
racial slurs. Stern hung up on him immediately. However, that
wasn't enough.
Stern has been pulled from the 75 different markets he was
broadcasted on by Infinity Radio, which is owned by Viacom
Stern was has not been available for a comment since he was
taken off of the air.
Rosie O'Donnell announced on ABC's "Good Morning
America" that she planned to travel to San Fransisco, CA where
today she married her long-time girfriend, Kelli Carpenter.
O'Donnell plans followed in the foot steps of more than 3,300
other same sex marriages have taken place since Feb. 12.
O'Donnell's actions come after the statements that President
Bush feels that same-sex marriages should be banned. O'Donnell
called the presidents actions "the most vile and hated statements
eve: spoken by a sitting president."
Clashing of two stories:
Martin Lawrence is being sued for assault, battery and inten
tional infliction of emotional distress. The charges are brought on
after Lawrence allegedly hit Jennifer Palmer in the jaw after she
invited him to a party at the Playboy Mansion. Palmer is suing
Lawrence for $25,000. Witnesses said that Lawrence was quite
intoxicated, while Lawrence has witnesses saying that Palmer was
intoxicated.
Daniel J. Stasiewski & Erika Jarvis
a & e editor
The 5 Oscar
moments that
should happen
1. "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of
the King" goes home empty handed. It's
not that I don't like the films. I just don't
love them. Better movies have won in
the past and will win in the future. And
let's face it: "Star Wars" will always be
the best fantasy film in Hollywood his
tory.
2. "Capturing the Friedmans" wins Best
Documentary. I loved this film more than
almost all of the fictional films I saw last
year. "Fog of War," however, is the po
litical documentary Oscar usually goes
for, and will most likely win. Still, I'm
hoping there's a place in Oscar's heart for
a convicted child molester and his fam
ily.
3. Keisha Castle-Hughes wins Best Ac
tress for "Whale Rider." I never had a
performance affect me as emotionally as
this 13-year-old girl's performance did.
The girl is amazing. If she did win her
career would be over, but "Whale Rider"
will always be in my heart.
4. Roy Disney takes home an Oscar for
the minated short "Destino." This Os
car is more than just another thing Disney
can wave in front of Michael Eisner's
face. It's a tribute to both Disney's Uncle
Walt and Salvador Dalf, the men who
started production almost 60 years ago.
Unfortunately, it is against a Pixar short,
and computer-animated goats are just
cute.
5. Hoet. Billy Crystal suddenly falls ill and
is replaced with Steve Martin. This will
never happen, but Martin's job last year
as host was the best I've in the past de
cade. Here's • • g.
behrcolls@aol.com