I guess you heard that the Golden Globes have been more or less cancelled because of the Writer’s Strike. (Stars teamed up with the writers and declared they would not attend. 3 hours of ceremony reduced to 1 hour of press conference.) Personally, I’m a little shocked about how this is turning out.

Don’t get me wrong – I think it’s great that the stars support the writers – kudos to them! It’s unfortunate that they had to cancel the Golden Globes but that’s not my problem. They are losing their money, not me.

What I find weird that it’s so hard for the writers to get fair conditions. (And I do think what they demand is fair – have a look at wikipedia to judge for yourself.) Can you imagine the actors having to fight for fair payment?

I don’t want to sound condescending but I’m afraid I will. Sometimes I’m just really fed up with those superficial movie-goers who only pay attention to the pretty faces on screen. They have no idea about the director who told everyone what and how to do or the writer who told everyone what, when and where to say it. Of course, actors and good acting are important – you can have the best script, if the actors suck, you won’t believe it. But just because those people are on screen and others are not, that doesn’t mean they’re more important.
I know that (almost) all of the people at work for a movie are important. I also know that you can’t know them all. (Unless you’re an obsessive genius.) But at least the writer, director and leading actors of a movie should be known. [And in an ideal world: one more group you’re especially interested in (like cinematographers, composers, set designers et al.)].
If you don’t want to spend so much time with the background of the movie, that’s ok. Have fun watching it, but please don’t comment on it on sites like imdb giving every movie a 10 star rating because you didn’t fall asleep/there were some explosions/the actor or actress is soooo cute/…
Of course, knowledge about who did which film won’t prevent people from giving stupid commentaries (not stupid because of their opinions, everyone is entitled to their opinion but because they basically just have no idea what they are talking about. If “Big Mommas House 327” is your favourite movie ever, that’s fine but find some better reasons than “they have that hilarious guy dressing up as different people”) but maybe, just maybe, they will think about it before they write them.
I don’t want to encourage pseudo-philosophical/psychological/spiritual babbling either. When you see a leaf tumbling from a tree in a movie, in most cases it’s not an allegory for the fragile balance between life and death which death ultimately wins. Mostly it’s just a leaf falling from a tree, which is pretty and goes as deep as telling you that autumn is coming, so maybe a stretch of time just passed. Interpretations can be fun but don’t take them to seriously.

What I would like to see is an audience, able to think for itself and doing so as well. An audience who (which?) doesn’t take everything they see at face value but doesn’t see things that aren’t there either. And I want me to stop this rant now.

What I originally wanted to write about – before I got distracted by my frustration – was today’s poll at imdb:

How do you feel about the cancellation of this year’s Golden Globes ceremony?

Saddened — I look forward to the show every year
Steamed — I am in support of the WGA strike, but I wish it didn’t effect the Globes
Extra steamed — I am not in support of the strike, and I am annoyed that it has effected the Globes
Nonplussed — I am not into the Globes and/or I don’t care about the strike
Happy — It’s one less thing I have to TiVo and/or now I can watch my favorite show(s) that night
Confused — I have no idea what you’re talking about
Somewhat satiated — I am content to watch the planned Golden Globes news conference

7 answering possibilities and not one of them is
Satisfied — I like the Globes but I think that the WGA strike is more important and I appreciate the stars reacting to it in that way.

Disappointing.