Wow, That Was Brutal

I almost wish I had Cablevision last night so I didn't have to see the train-wreck that was ABC's red carpet pre-show. All it did was highlight a growing trend that I can't stand - Taking famous people and turning them into reporters.

There is a skill to doing interviews (even 5 second ones where the only topic you really cover is your desire that the person you are interviewing "Has fun tonight!") MTV has done this in recent years, E! has mostly steered clear of it, but they have even had a few celebs they tried out, but nothing could touch last night's performance by Kathy Ireland.

Let me say this to start out - I like Kathy Ireland. I used to have a huge crush on her . . . as a model. But, that's what she is, a model. She's not a reporter or interviewer. She was as stiff as the little Oscar statue himself and about as good at segueing. She didn't sound at all conversational, abruptly ended interviews and at times forgot to put the mic in front of the celeb. I was embarrassed for her just watching it!

The truth is though, it's not her fault, she should never have been given that job in the first place. Seriously, nobody at ABC saw her during a try-out (please tell me there was a try-out) and said, "Hey, maybe we should go in a different direction?" I could throw out a ton of names that could do the job, for example, Conan O'Brien would have killed, but really there are a lot of people that could at least do a serviceable job.

From now on can we leave this job to the pros?

The Only Oscar That Matters

Big night in Hollywood Sunday - The 82nd Annual Oscars! I don't know about you, but I am pumped!

Just like every year, I have seen less than three of the nominated movies, and just like every year I won't let that get in the way of me giving my two cents. I think The Hurt Locker (didn't see it) will win Best Picture, but who really cares about that over-hyped category. Let's talk about the Oscar that matters the most, the Oscar for:

Sound Mixing!

This year's crop of sound mixers feature some juggernauts. I mean, who will take it? Greg "Rampage" Russell? Michael "Magic Fingers" Minkler? Or, the lady of the group, Anna Behlmer? It's gonna be a barn-burner!

My pick, the underdog, Paul N.J. Ottosson. The reasons for this pick is simple. A) I love people who use their middle initials in their name. B) He worked on The Hurt Locker which I assume (again, didn't see it) has lots of explosions. That's a lot of sound mixing! (I assume, I have no idea what sound mixing entails.)

Who do you guys got? Don't even tell me you're going Michael Minkler! Ha!