Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Thefts, stumbles lead to Oscar jokes by Lynn Elber AP Television Writer Los Angeles - The series of missteps and strange twists leading to this year’s Academy Awards presentation, in cluding the theft of Oscar statuettes, turned into comedy gold Sunday night. Willie Fulgear, the man who found 52 of the 55 missing Oscars in a trash bin, was introduced from the audience by host Billy Crystal, who noted that Fulgear received $50,000 in reward money. wmcn is noi a 101 oi money wnen you realize Miramax and DreamWbrks are spending millions of dollars just to get one,” Crystal said, alluding to the studios waging expensive promotion al campaigns for their leading Oscar contenders, “The Cider House Rules” and “American Beauty.” Crystal also couldn’t resist noting that the other awards remained miss ing. “They searched Erykah Badu’s hat, and they found one of the missing Os cars,” Crystal said, referring to the singer’s Cat-in-the-Hat style headwrap. “So only two more to go.” The host didn’t stop there. After bantering with Jack Nicholson, Crys tal said; “Jack has three Oscars. Which is no big deal, because so does some guy in Bell,” referring to the Los *_-..i_I. r_...1 rVllgLlW 9UI/U1U 11 Will vy lUV^Il 111W JU1L uettes were stolen. Later in the show, the comedian lumbered to the microphone carrying a see-through sack of oranges hiding two Oscar statuettes inside. “We found the other two Oscars,” he said. “Somebody bought these coming off the Santa Monica freeway on an off ramp — $3.99. This is a bargain.” Bell also is where 4,000 misdirected Oscar ballots turned up earlier this month, after they were mistaken for third-class mail. The mix-up forced the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to mail new ones and extend its voting dead line. The latest irritation to the academy came Friday, when The Wall Street Journal nolled 356 of the 5.607 voting mem bers and published a list of projected Oscar winners. Crystal, citing the newspaper’s predictions, assured the audience that the Oscar winners are the best-kept secret in America, “with the possible exception of what George W. Bush did in the ‘70s.” It was a reference to whether the Republican presidential candidate used drugs in his youth. Bush has ac knowledged an earlier drinking prob lem but has refused to answer specif ic questions about past drug use. Despite the turmoil of the past few weeks, the ceremony itself went smoothly and Oscar officials appeared relaxed Robert Rehme, president of the academy, even tried schtick. The Oscar focus, he said had shifted from who would win to what in the world are we going to present them with?” Special To The Gamecock Host Billy Crystal makes his entrance in the arms of a police officer. Oscar finder low-key at awards by Anthony Breznican Associated Press Los Angeles - The junkman-savior of 52 stolen Oscars has gone from fitter to glitterati in one week. Willie Fulgear, donning a black top-hat with his tuxedo, smiled and waved to the crowd when host Billy Crystal introduced him at the start of the show. Crystal pointed out that Fulgear was given a $50,000 reward for finding the Oscars. “That’s not a lot of money when you figure Miramax and Dreamworks are spending millions of dollars to get one,” Crystal quipped. The 61-year-old Koreatown resident found the purloined statuettes stacked beside a trash bin about a block from his home. Fulgear, planning to move from his one-room apartment, said he was rum maging through the garbage for packing boxes when he made his golden find. A self-described “poor man,” Fulgear said he intended to use the reward as a down payment on a house. Once investigators were certain he had nothing to do with the theft of the missing Oscars, rulgear got his other reward: two invitations to Sunday’s awards show. He took his 22-year-old son, Allen, to the black-tie event. Despite his back ground, Fulgear appeared to fit right in with Holly wood’s top celebrities. “A lot of people want to know what the stars are thinking about during the show,” Crystal said to in troduce a segment called “What Are They Think ing?” When the camera showed Willie Fulgear in the audience, Crystal imagined him thinking: “This is cool, but what I really want to do is direct.” Special To The Gamecock Willie Fulgear holds a check for $50,000 after recovering the lost Oscar statuettes. Oscars becoming predictably unpredictable Patrick Rath bun is a sophomore journalism major and assistant news editor. He can be reached by e-mail at gamecockencore ©hotmail.com The Oscars used to be predictable, but they’ve been surprising in recent times. I thought I knew who was going to win the major cate gories the past two years, and I’ve been close to shocked when scone of the winners’ names were read. The academy has been improving in some areas. In recent years, it has been willing to spread the wealth among nominees in respec tive categories. I thought Matt Damon and Ben Affleck (“Good Wilt Hunting”) were deserv ing of the screenplay award a few years ago, and Billy Bob Thornton (“Sling Blade”) was also worthy. I anticipated that the “Being John Malkovich” writer, Charlie Kaufman, would get the award. I didn’t think “American Beau ty” would win another award in this category, and not because Alan Ball wasn’t worthy. “American Beauty” was sufficiently reward ed with five statues, and Kaufman’s screenplay could be argued to be more creative and/or original. Is it really re ward enough just to be nominated? I was even more surprised when Kevin Spacey received the Best Actor award over Denzel Washington. I thought Washington was the sure thing. My reasoning was that he didn’t receive the award in 1992 for “Malcolm X” when he could’ve been considered more de serving than A1 Pacino in “Scent of a Woman,” when Pacino over played his over-the-top part as A1 Pacino. The biggest disappointment of all, however, came before the show when Jim Carrey wasn’t even nominated for his Andy Kauf man role in “Man on the Moon.” Carrey seemed to be channeling Kaufman in the movie. But my guess, however speculative, is that Carrey refuses to schmooze for the academy. And I respect that. Artists shouldn’t have to kiss the ass of the elite in their fields in order to be considered for recognition. Politics shouldn’t creep in to Hollywood. The academy should consider only the artist’s work and not how much he or she criticizes or praises Hollywood. This could also be why Washington has been denied twice for Oscar-wor thy performances. I’m not suggesting that Spacey schmoozes, or that he wasn’t de serving of the Oscar. I believe that Spacey is at the top of his field, and I also believe that “American Beauty” was the best film of the year. I can’t think of anyone who has as much range and presence as Spacey. There are also not too many actors who possess as much of a thirst to be challenged, and who makes better career choices? But I just thought it would be time for payback for Washington. Wfe’ll have to wait to see him receive his Best Actor Oscar for a perfor mance that might not be his best. This has happened all too often in academy history. They’ve waited too long to repay their debts to artists including Paul Newman (“Color of Money,” 1986) and John Wayne (“True Grit,” 1969). Were these their best roles? Were the roles their most Oscar-worthy? I would answer no on both accounts. It was just timing that they took into account. And isn’t this exactly what happened in the Best Supporting Ac tor category this year? Clearly, Tom Cruise and Haley Joel Osment were more deserving of the award than Michael Caine. Here’s the academy’s rationale — sure, they were better, but time is on their side; they’ve got plenty more movies to make and Caine doesn’t. This is unfair. The academy needs to begin to recognize people when they’re worthy. This rationale only digs a deeper hole. Cruise keeps getting denied, and who are they to say that his best isn’t behind him? Osment could turn out like the cast of “Different Strokes,” and then there’d be regret. So, the Academy Awards have become predictably unpredictable. Look for Washington and Cruise to be “repaid” within the next decade or so. Artists including Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, John Cusack and Carrey might have to wait until they decide to schmooze, or at least for a long time. And as for Osment, he might have to wait a bit longer.