The Oscars and other oddities

IT’s a rare thing to do so much in order to coordinate an event that other people (read: normal people) would consider trivial. From my point of view, it all started from several, sporadic suggestions from friends and fans.

Our friend Romel Lalata started finalizing the sketchy plans when he sent me a text message outlining the ultimate couch kamote trip: conduct an organized vigil to gather friends and fans to watch TV on March 1, Monday, 10 a.m.

And what—you may ask—was the fuss all about? At the appointed time and date, the 76th Oscars were going to be broadcast live (albeit delayed) on Channel 9. But this was no ordinary Oscar event. This was going to be D-day for the fans of Lord of the Rings (LOTR) and here in the Philippines, the foremost fiefdom of fans would be found in The Philippine Tolkien Society (TPTS).

So I forwarded the message to Ian Roxas, head honcho of TPTS. A few more text and e-mail messages later, the Oscar Vigil for LOTR was finalized. The venue couldn’t have been more appropriate for such a geeky scheme: the Conspiracy Garden Café in Visayas Avenue.

There, TPTS members would converge not just to watch but to cheer, to send positive vibes and to just give the whole production cast and crew the wholehearted support that they deserved. Given the odds—no fantasy film, however good, ever won in the Oscars.

Although the movie being judged in the Oscars was only The Return of the King (ROTK), almost everyone—critics, fans, commentators and the guy who sells fishballs at the UP College of Music—agreed that it was the whole three movies that were at stake here, not just ROTK.

Due to a previous appointment, we were going to be late. Already, several text messages from TPTS and the organizers arrived. The messages were clear: the fun is beginning and you are missing it.

We did miss the opening sequence, which Romel told us was one of the best ever, containing the usual Billy Crystal insertions in famous scenes from competing movies. Romel also said that Michael Moore was also part of the opening sequence.

Avid couch kamotes and chroniclers of the Oscars will remember Michael Moore as the comedic filmmaker who won an Oscar for one of his searing documentaries. He had enough courage to say in his acceptance speech that the US was fighting a fictitious war.

In the ope-ning scene for the 76th Os­cars, Moore was shown shouting “It’s a fictitious war!” as he finally got stomped by an oli­phant from Middle Earth.

We arrived just after that sequence but just in time to see Catherine Zeta-Jones announcing the Best Supporting Actor. Inside Conspiracy, home-made posters were strewn all over the place. One poster declared “Best Picture, Second Breakfast.” There was a long poster that lined up the faces of the cast and a big poster of ROTK.

After the best supporting performers were announced, the people at the Oscar Vigil started crowding in front of the TV. The first award where ROTK qualified —Art Direction—was next. When the movie was mentioned in the list of nominees, the uhm, vigilantes gave a rousing cheer worthy of the battle cries of the armies of Middle Earth. I thought I heard cries of “Elendil!” interspersed with the usual “Yihaa!”

The awarding ceremonies were crisply executed. Billy Crystal was at his best element, popping instant jokes here and there. After about four awards going to ROTK, he quipped that by now, there were no people left to thank in New Zealand. Later he would add that people were actually moving to New Zealand to be thanked.

It was smooth-sailing from then on and the TPTS members shouted their throats until they were hoarse. Still, when the Best Director award was announced, the members shouted harder. After waiting for three years of LOTR screenings, Peter Jackson finally received the recognition he deserved.

When Steven Spielberg came out to announce the winner for the Best Picture, TPTS members saw this as a good omen. Spielberg was, after all, one of the most famous fantasy filmmakers. There was silence in the café and everyone was nervous.

When Spielberg read the award going to LOTR, in between the loud cheering and battlecries, someone shouted “The curse of the fantasy film has been broken!” Meaning of course that at last, a good fantasy film could now be appreciated and respected without prejudice.

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