A p ril 5, 2000
Page A 4
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How Denzel Washnigton was robbed
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USPS 959-680
Established 1970
STAFF
E
d it o r
P
C
in
h ie f
,
u b l is h e r
Charles H. Washington
E d
i T o R
Larry J. Jackson, Sr.
B
M
u s in e s s
anager
Gary Ann Taylor
C
opy
E
d it o r
and Annette Bening and director Sam
Mendes for appearances on major
talk shows to hype the film. It sent its
writer Alan Ball to celebrity dinners
and trib u tes to hob knob w ith
academy voters. The strategy was to
keep the film and its performers in the
eye o f as many o f the more than 5,600
Academy o f Motion Picture Arts and
Science members that pick the Oscar
winners as possible, rhe ploy worked.
DreamWorks lavish cash spree tipped
the scales in favor o f the film and
Spacey for best actor.
But there were other heavy feet
tip p in g
the scales a g a in st
Washington. Many film critics nit­
picked the film to death for its alleged
inaccuracies and glorification o f
C a rte r’s life. The critics trash
Hurricane campaign almost certainly
chased some Academy votes away
from Washington. The same critics
barely uttered a peep about the
inaccuracies in the film, Boys Don’t
Cry. A glaring omission was there
was no mention that the reason that
fem ale T eena Brandon becam e
transsexual Brandon Teena, on
whose story the film is based, was
because she was rat>ed. But this didn’t
scare voters away from awarding the
best actress award to Hillary Swank
for portraying Teena.
Another heavy foot on the scales
against Washington was that o f a
group that called itselfThe families o f
Rubin "Hurricane” Carter’s victims.
Presumably the group is made up o f
family members of the three men Carter
w as c h a rg e d w ith m u rd e rin g .
A lthough the identities o f these
Carter haters remain unknown. Their
mission was to raise as much hell as
The man probably least surprised
when pre-Oscar night favorite Denzel
Washington did not grab the Oscar
for his winning performance as boxer
Rubin "Hurricane" Carter in the film
Hurricane was Denzel Washington.
I ’ m sure he reads the three Hollywood
trade papers, the Daily Variety,
Weekly Variety, and the Hollywood
Reporter. And he knew from even the
most cursory reading that his chance
to become only the second African-
American to win the top acting award
in the 72 year history o f the Academy
A w ards cerem ony washed away
months before the night o f the awards.
That was when DreamW orks, a
creation o f film director Steven
Spielberg and his pals, made a
d ecisio n to p o u rclo seto aS l million
(known) into an ad, promotional and
lobbying campaign to virtually buy
an academ y aw ard for its film
A m e ric a n B eauty and anyone
involved in the making o f the film.
Dream Works executives remembered
how their film Saving Private Ryan
lost the best Dicture award in 1999 to
Miramax Studio’s Shakespeare in
Love. DreamWorks screamed that
Miramax won the award because it
dumped money into a last minute ad
and promotional blitz for the film.
DreamWorks was determined to rip
the page from Miramax’s text.
Even before a single movie patron
had seen A m e ric a n B e a u ty ,
DreamWorks PR hirelings smoozed
and stroked reviewers and critics to
get them to gush over the film. It
trotted out its top stars Kevin Spacey
Joy Ramos
possible about the film and Carter. A
spokesman for the groupclaimed they
were able to lobby more than a
thousand academy members to snub
the film (i.e. Washington). Whether
true or not the fact that such a group
existed if nowhere other than on paper
probably convinced some academy
m em bers in c lin e d to re w a rd
Washington with the award tochange
their minds.
Washington could find few black
academy supporters to offset the
backlash against H urricane and
frontlash for American Beauty and
honor his towering performance.
They are still mostly invisible in the
voting ranks o f academy members.
Less than 200 of the academy voters
are black. This does much to explain
why in the decades that Hollywood
has ladled out its top awards a grand
total o f six blacks, and that includes
Washington for a best supporting
actoraward in 1989 and Sidney Poitier
for best actor for his role as Homer
Smith, the happy-go-lucky traveling
laborer in Lilies o f the Field in 1963,
have won awards.
The machinations by the studios,
critics, academv members at this
year’s academy awards ceremony
gave lie to Hollywood’s claim that the
academy awards go purely for merit
and performance. The robbing o f
Washington o f the top award for
Hurricane more than proves that it
doesn’t.
Earl Ofari Hutchinson is the author
of
th e
fo rth c o m in g ,
T he
Disappearance o f Black Leadership
(Middle Passage Press, Los Angeles,
May 2000) Order Information: 323-
298-0266. He is also director o f the
National Alliance for Positive Action.
email:ehutchi344@aol.com
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one candidate on another is the dirty
work done by surrogates, who can be
disowned and/or described as loose
cannons that can’t be controlled or
silenced - the irreverent Reverend Pat
Robertson being the most recent o f
many examples of that sordid species.
Perhaps the foulest foul is the so-
c a lle d “ push p o ll,” w herein a
computerized phone call poses a
series o f innocuous questions, then
slips in a vicious slam at the opposing
candidate which is always at least a
half-truth and often a flat-out lie. Here
again, it’seasy for the other candidate
to deny e itn e r K now ledge or
endorsement o f the sleazy maneuver.
It does, though, hit the mark with
devastating effectiveness, so it is
rapidly becoming as much a part of
our political picture as kissing babies
and putting on funny hats.
Do I have a solution to this problem?
Silly question! (Breathes there a
columnist with soul so dead who
never to him self has said “here’s
EXACTLY what can be done!”?)
H ere’s the plan: Messrs. Bradley,
Bush, Gore and M cCain should
immediately subscribe to this pledge:
“I hereby promise to avoid all personal
attacks on my opponent’s character
and personal life and, regardless o f
the source, will repudiate the message
and den o u n ce the m e sse n g e r
whenever others engage in such
tactics. In such cases, I will demand
that these tactics be withdrawn and
retracted immediately. 1 deny in
advance any knowledge o f or support
for negative campaigning in any form
by me or members o f my support
team. My response to personal
attacks on me will be limited to setting
the record straight. I will devote all o f
my time, energy and resources to
laying out my plan for America’s
future.” Toward that end, 1 have
submitted the above text to the “Final
Four” and asked them if they would
be willing to join the other three in
subscribing to it. Take this to the
bank: the only thing that politicians
fear is an electorate that is both
informed AND aroused. Some o f the
early surprises in primary voting
suggest that both dynamics are alive
and well on the American scene.
Having challenged the “Quarrelsome
Quartet” to cut the crap and get down
to business, I now challenge YOU,
gentle reader, to similarly chide them.
by J ul K límjs
COLUMNIST
I am bathroom sick o f the slime-
slinging that has characterized the
Y ear2000 presidential campaign thus
far - and there’s a growing body o f
evidence that most Americans feel
the same.
Contrary to the disclaimers o f rock-
solid (and rock-headed) partisans in
both major parties, there is enough
guilt to stain the hands o f all four
front-runners, so 1’ m not taking sides.
(Alan Keyes has remained relatively
clean, out unless ne runs tne political
equivalent o f a tw o-m inute mile
between here and the finish line, he is
no more a contender for nomination
than Big Bird.)
Arguably, this has been the dirtiest
Primary season o f many decades and
it’sstarting to look likethe two finalists
will be those who flung the dung that
hung most visibly on their opponents.
Spinning, finger-pointing and tap-
dancing being the refined arts that
they have become, supporters o f all
four finalists in this marathon o f muck
describe the negative tactics o f their
own guys as “relevant facts,” while
treating those o f their opponents as
being sins that cry to heaven for
vengeance.
I f th e p re se n t u n ruly ru les o f
engagem ent continue, we o f the
unwashed masses will be exposed
mostly to biographical profiles o f the
winning candidates worthy o f being
cover stories in the National Enquirer.
Meanwhile, the issues that are o f
lasting importance to the nation will
either remain in the shadows o f
obscurity or be spoon-fed to the
public as sound bites and slick
slogans.
All the candidates have piously and
p e rs is te n tly p ro c la im e d th e ir
opposition to negative campaigning,
while pleading that it is a necessary
evil when the “other guy” throws the
first punch. W hat they say less
frequently is that, reprehensible
though they be, negative strategies
bring positive results to the polling
place - and iflow blows aren’t returned
in kind (or unkind), he who turns the
other cheek loses his political ass.
More’s the pity, but, as Jimmy Durante
was fond o f saying, “ D at’s the
sitchyayshun dat prevails.”
More insidious than direct attacks by
f
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