Inside Oscar 2

Baseball has the World Series. Football, the Super Bowl. And movies have the Oscars. Even those of us who sneer at the assembly line product that fills theater screens for most of the year, smugly correct our less pretentious friends when they say "movies" instead of "film," and gag at some of the Academy's choices ("...and the Oscar goes to Roberto Benigni"), this annual behemoth of often startlingly bad taste is impossible to resist.And a week after the prizes have been handed out, it's often difficult to remember who won what and why. That's where Damien Bona and the late Mason Wiley's "Inside Oscar" came in. In grand Hollywood tradition, Bona has written a sequel that continues the saga of the movie world's most enduring superstar, a bald-headed, gold-plated guy who, like Elvis, is so famous he doesn't need a last name. Oscar is in the mold of a lot of Hollywood heroes. Like Clint Eastwood, he doesn't say much and rarely cracks a smile. Yet everyone wants to take this stern looking character home. But how do you attract his attention?Like its predecessor, "Inside Oscar 2" details the cutthroat and merciless tactics that have been employed to win the golden guy's approval. The shameless campaigning, the backstabbing, and the money, money, and more money that goes into getting what amounts to a mere pat on the back from one's peers is all deftly exposed in so much detail that it makes all other Oscar books obsolete. This edition covers the eventful years of 1995-2000 when Oscar made some choices he may never live down (Begnini as best actor over Nick Nolte and Ian McKellan; "Shakespeare in Love" as best picture over "Saving Private Ryan"), and seemed to be influenced more than ever by tasteless campaigning (the Harvey Weinstein-Miramax influence on the awards are in full blossom by this time).Bona writes with a cynical and decidely liberal bent, devoting a lot of space to the controvery surrounding a lifetime achievement award for super fink Elia Kazan (whom he obviously despises). So, he's a little biased (okay, VERY biased), but for Oscar junkies, this book and its predecessor offer the best, most thorough coverage available, following each notable nominee and potential contender for the big prize through the entire awards season: from the National Board of Review's ranking of the year's best, to the various critic's awards and the Golden Globes, right through to Oscar night and its aftermath. There's also the complete list of winners and nominees for each category, as well as each year's presenters."Inside Oscar" and "Inside Oscar 2" are the definitive biography of Hollywood's biggest star - Oscar.

This review refers to "Inside Oscar 2" by Damien Bona.....What did Sharon Stone wear to the Oscar Ceremony in 1995 that caused a big stir and increased sales at "The Gap"?...And what about Oliver Stone..nominated for and Original Screenplay for "Nixon" but a no show at the ceremonies...what's up with that? What about those wacky guys who brought you "South Park: Bigger..." and the controversial song "Blame Canada" in 1999, Matt Stone, Trey Parker and Mark Shaiman. What were THEY wearing and who would be lucky enough to sing their song on stage. Find out the answer to these very important and burning questions in Damien Bona's follow up to "Inside Oscar"..."Inside Oscar 2".For fans of "The Big Night", the annual Oscar awards, this a five star book full of every detail that goes on surrounding the Oscar hubbub.It's got all the elements a good movie would have. Action and Adventure (this mostly occurs when the stars run into Joan Rivers on the Red Carpet pre-show), Mystery and Action (remember the year the Oscars were stolen and where they were found?),Romance(the stars love that little guy), Lots and lots of comedy, and even some sci/fi...who could forget that thing that Bjork wore in 2000. What was that anyway?Damien Bona has once again done an excellent job of bringing the Oscar events to us. This "sequel" covers the more recent years of 1995-2000. As in the first book, Bona has formated each year, beginning with detailed events leading up to the nominations,all the excitement of the "Big Night", who presented, Billy Crystal's opening songs, great acceptance speeches, and finally the aftermath of what went on after the presentations(find out who sat with who at what party and what they ate). And also you will find a great refrence section in the back, naming every award, nominee and winner by year. I applaud Bona for changing with the times. As over the years more attention has been paid to what the stars were wearing, those ever multiplying pre shows, and even the growing notarity of the bleacher fans, so Mr. Bona has been sure to include all those details and much more in this book.He also includes many of the critics opinions, good and bad, and is pretty open with his own feelings on certain films himself.If your as crazy for "Oscar" as you are for the films themselves, you'll love this book. It will keep you laughing at the antics of the studios and the stars, and you won't be able to put it down. And if you haven't read the first one, it's a must. It has all the info on Oscar from the very beginning of Oscar history.One little teeny complaint....Mr Bona...I was ready for my close-ups!...what happened to all the wonderful pictures of the stars and their Oscars at the beginning of each chapter..I missed those this time...Please include some in "Inside Oscar 3". I'll be waiting and thanks for the memories......Laurie

I received this book for a Christmas present from my friend, and I've hardly scarcely been able to put it down and do other things. I am learning so much about the Academy Awards that I didn't know regarding how they are campaigned for and what actually happens on "The Big Night." And I am also laughing so much.How can anyone not esteem a book that contains such funny things as:"Lasse Hallstrom got booked for an excellent gig. He was invited by Academy Award winner Rabbi Marvin Hier to screen The Cider House Rules at the Simon Wiesenthal Center's Museum of Tolerance, followed by a question and answer segment. Hallstrom would be representing a pro-choice stance a day after an appearance by George W. Bush, the simpleton Texas governor running for the Republican Presidential nomination. Bush was there on behalf of the `pro-life' side - even though he had never seen anything so forlorn as an electric chair not in use."And this, on The Green Mile,"The silver-tongued Frank Darabont told Premiere, `I have a deep, abiding fear of turning out something crappy,' and then he went and made The Green Mile. One sat in the theater dumfounded because Darabont seemed to have a kind of genius for piling absurdity upon absurdity to such a point that it got to seem utterly post-modern. . . Not only are the prison guards decorous and unfailingly civil, the death row inmates likewise - with one exception - are grand hail-fellow-well-met types, and the Depression-era prison itself is the most immaculate and pleasant institution imaginable. A lot of fuss is made about a mouse in the cell-block - as if a backwoods penitentiary in 1935 wouldn't have been crawling with rodents. Moreover, this little mouse was so precious that he could have had the title role in Stuart Little." And this,"On Poltically Incorrect the next night, host Bill Maher complained that so many fashion critics were gay men. "I'm a little tired of hearing gay men telling me what's sexy about women. How would they know?" he groused. `They don't know what's sexy about a woman." One of the guests was Richard Roeper, the man whom Roger Ebert had personally selected as his post-Siskel television partner, even though Roeper had no background in film. If Siskel and Ebert could fairly have been called Tweedledum and Tweedledee, then now it was Tweedledee and the Village Idiot. Roeper piped up to disagree with Maher, declaring that gay men "know what's sexy about women's clothes -- they wear them."Inside Oscar 2 even quotes hilarious anger from Barbra Streisand fanatics who posted their thoughts in consternation on the internet when they thought their diva wasn't treated with respect on Oscar night I'm so glad I have this book. Maybe it will not succeed to change my life, but it does succeed to make my life much more enjoyable. Thank you Mr. Damien Bona.

The original Inside Oscar is deservedly acknowledged as a classic, but I think I like this sequel even more. It is so much fun, constantly providing real honest-to-goodness out-loud laughs. And the writing is so lively. It's one of those rare books that you pick up and start reading and before you know it, you've spent an hour without putting it down. The detail for each year is just extraordinary - on such areas as the production histories of the contending movies, the background and backstage drama of each Oscar ceremony, the campaigns (which have gotten especially important in the years covered by the book), the arrivals at the show, and so on. The author knows exactly how to pinpoint the funny, telling detail.As for the author's opinions, I find them extremely well-reasoned and eloquently set forth. And also, he balances his own opinions with opposing stances from various film critics. As for political comments, these Republican reviewers need to get a grip. There's no more than a half-dozen remarks of a political nature. And none of them is arbitrary - they all come in the context of some political aspect regarding a campaign, a movie, an award or a comment made on the show..Inside Oscar 2 is a wonderful book, and is a must-have for anyone who loves movies and/or is interested in Hollywood. It's amazing to me that a book can both contain so much information and also be so entertaining.

"Inside Oscar 2" brings the encyclopedic "Inside Oscar" up to date, chronicling the past 6 years of Academy Awards. This is a somewhat more difficult task since the author has to make his calls on the fly without the benefit of hindsight, or the shakeout in taste that happens over the years. Damien Bona is up to it and "Inside Oscar 2" told me more than I ever thought I'd want to know about the Academy Awards of the last millennium's tail end.The gowns and the gossip are there, but also some real insights into the process of making these films, and promoting them. Bona is great at finding just the right quote or anecdote to represent a bigger story. He gives background information for the films (winners and losers) and tries to sort out why the film was received the way it was by the public and reviewers. The wheeling and dealing of Oscar campaigning and the machinations of the nominees are revealed in all their desperation and crassness. Bona is able to be critical of the state contemporary film and culture, yet shows a real affection for good movies and the spectacle of the Oscar awards themselves.Each year has a "The Big Night" section, which details the awards ceremony and the personalities and hoopla around it. These are the funniest parts of the book. Bona is much funnier than Billy Crystal or Whoopi Goldberg, and much, much funnier than Joan Rivers.As I watched last night's ceremony I couldn't help but wonder what words he would use to describe whatever it was that Halle Berry was going through up there. I guess I'll have to wait for "Inside Oscar 3" to find out.