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Vanity Fair Oscar party canceled due to Writers Guild strike

February 6th, 2008 by Scott Marks

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What would the Academy Awards be without the glitzy post game parties? A three-and-a-half hour snooze fest without the added incentive of a couple cocktails after the show.

Last night Vanity Fair decided to call off its annual Oscar gala. VF Daily issued the following press announcement:

“After much consideration, and in support of the writers and everyone else affected by this strike, we have decided that this is not the appropriate year to hold our annual Oscar party. We want to congratulate all of this year’s nominees and we look forward to hosting our 15th Oscar party next year. Inasmuch as Vanity Fair is a collection of writers, photographers and artists, we do feel ourselves in aligned solidarity with the writers, directors and actors in the film business.”

Remind me to renew my subscription to this fine, loyal, right-thinking publication.

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Instead of supporting striking writers, Oscars plan alternate party

January 30th, 2008 by Scott Marks

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With Hollywood’s biggest night less than a month away, the Academy shows no sign of getting behind its striking brethren.

Academy president Sid Ganis told The Associated Press on Wednesday that a Plan B show is in the works that would include “history, film clips and out-of-the-ordinary concepts.”

Does this mean that the show will be twice as boring as usual? If Hollywood has any “out-of-the-ordinary concepts,” why not incorporate them into their product instead of wasting the brilliance on another ponderous, self-congratulating gas fest?

CNN.com quotes Mr Ganis as saying, “”We have an obligation to the art form to present the Oscars, so we have to deal with the possibility of not being able to do the show because of pickets or agreements not being concluded.”

Since when is “art form” a buzzword for upset advertisers and celebrity egos? Does anyone aside from the studios really care whether the Oscars are handed out in February? Why not postpone the show until the strike is settled?

Academy shill Leslie Unger said, “We have made contact with the guild. We want to be able to do the kind of Oscar show that we always do, (Yikes!) and we want to create the circumstances that will allow us to do that.”

The good news is that normally presenters are announced almost immediately after the nominations come out. As of this writing, none have been named.

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Striking writers kowtow to puffy scab Elizabeth Taylor

December 3rd, 2007 by Scott Marks

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Elizabeth Taylor only seems to leave her house in order to shine a spotlight on diseases (AIDS, Michael Jackson). When the once glamorous superstar turns up to actually do the one thing (aside from marrying Larry Fortensky) she’s famous for, it’s automatically newsworthy.

Such was the case Saturday night when the corpulent, 75-year-old bobble-head wheeled through Paramount’s Bronson Gate to appear in a benefit performance of A.R. Gurney’s play Love Letters with James Earl Jones. The otherwise vocal Writers Guild agreed not to protest the performance.

Ms. Taylor, who last appeared on film as Fred Flintstone’s mother, publicly stated that she would not cross the picket lines. In a written statement Patric Verrone, president of the western chapter of the guild said, “this worthy event is happening solely through the efforts and underwriting of Dame Elizabeth Taylor, who is not only a longtime member of the Screen Actors Guild, but an outspoken supporter of the Writers Guild.”

If the Writers Guild wants to support a charity case, why not try Jay Leno?

Instead of holding true to their “offend one, you offend them all” credo, the Guild buckled under the weight of old violet eyes. If she really wanted to show support for both AIDS research and her striking brothers and sisters, Ms. Taylor would have summoned an E.T. camera crew to her home to announce that the event was canceled and that she would personally make up for the lost revenue by pawning an earring.

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