6 Oscars I’d Hand Out In A Heartbeat If The Academy Would Just Give Me The Chance

Tomorrow, the Academy will be giving out their (in?)famous little golden statues. If past years are any indication, it will be both amusing (particularly to all as sardonically-inclined as I), and numbingly predictable. (I say “sardonic” because “mean-spirited” seems so…well…mean. And I say “predictable” because the awards are so…well…you know…)

Now, I’m pretty lukewarm on the notion of the Academy as an Indicator of Actual Quality, so I’m not particularly troubled by past “slights.” Usually. But like any good cinophile, I’ve taken a fair bit of enjoyment thinking about the things I’d have done differently over the past few years. I’ve even come up with a few (sardonically-labeled) awards I’d hand out at tomorrow’s ceremony, if the opportunity presented itself.

Is this all pretty much Tongue-in-Cheek? You bet. Like nearly everything I do. But it’s also as an opportunity to highlight a few things that I love. Such as…

6. Any Designer Who Has Ever Worked (Or Will Ever Work) With Tarsem Singh

This category covers costumes, sets, and make-up. Because his work is insane. Spectacularly, mind-blowingly, surreally insane. And the set/costume/make-up design is a huge, huge part of that.

In recent years, the bulk of the work/praise (including a posthumous Oscar nomination in 2013) fell to long-time costumer Eiko Ishioka, but Singh’s music videos and commercials suggest that “the surrealook” will persist.

The Fall is definitely my favorite Singhinsanity.