A source of entertainment

Five Dubai residents tell Vinita Bharadwaj what the Oscars mean to them

The Oscars are over. The post-mortems are over. The movies will probably be re-released. We will probably go watch them. Life goes on.

The predictability of the academy's thought process and the media analysis on the final winners has killed whatever little tension and mystery prevailed right before the famous envelope was torn open.

Anyone who had followed, or was forced to follow, the build-up to the ceremony would have known that Jamie Foxx, Hillary Swank, Cate Blanchett and Morgan Freeman would walk away with the golden statuette.

This is an age where winners are predicted without even watching the films. That is sad.

The only surprise or curiosity element was Chris Rock, the host for the evening. It definitely made for interesting viewing to watch the celebrities squirm in their seats as they were brought down in one single moment by Rock.

"They like to say there's over 100 stars out tonight. No there's not. There's only four real stars. The rest are just popular people. Clint Eastwood is a star. That's a star," he said in his opening monologue.

However, that was just one of a handful of memorable quotes from Rock's repertoire of funnies. He had to resort to rather mean-spirited humour that occasionally became personal.

Tabloid caught up with a few people in Dubai to find out if growing media attention on the Oscars automatically increases its credibility. The results as you will see thankfully reveal that personal choices still reign supreme.

What do you think of the Oscars?

Sarada Chellam: An event to catch all the top stars under one roof.
Bernie Luby: I think it's a good source of entertainment. People like to know who won which Oscar and, of course, watch all the celebrities trying to outdo everyone else with their outfits.
Gary Nickson: I don't get too excited about the Oscars.
May Mohr: I think they're too controversial.
Sony Elias: I think the Oscars are a brilliant event conceived to maximise reams of newsprint and hours of airtime, internationally. It's a wonderful night for the members to bask in all the reflected starshine emanating from around them and for the stars to make statements — of many kinds.

Do you follow the event right from the time the nominations are announced?

Sarada Chellam: Not at all.
Bernie Luby: No, I didn't really know who had been nominated for what.
Gary Nickson: No — but when the Oscars come around, it's hard to miss as it seems to be everywhere — on TV, in the newspapers and on the radio.
May Mohr: Not really, I just take a look at the main categories such as best movie and best acting.
Sony Elias: Kind of. Sometimes there is no choice. Every newspaper worth its ink and television station worth its airtime has features on the event.

Do you watch movies throughout the year thinking of its future with the Academy?

Sarada Chellam: Not at all. I go to watch movies because I'm interested in watching them and want to enjoy it. It doesn't matter to me whether the academy finds it Oscar-worthy or not.
Bernie Luby: Exactly — if I like a movie then that's more important to me than the academy's opinions.
May Mohr: If I like a movie, I'd look for it in the nominations list.
Sony Elias: Sometimes, when watching a particularly moving or powerful performance and the star involved, the thought of "WOW … this might land an Oscar" does go through my head.

What did you think of this year's nominations?

Sarada Chellam: To be honest, I didn't even know which movies were nominated.
Bernie Luby: I haven't watched most of the films nominated so I'm not really able to judge their merits or otherwise.
Gary Nickson: I've only watched one of the films nominated this year — Ray — and I thought it was excellent. I thought Jamie Foxx was brilliant as I had only previously thought of him as a comedy actor. The soundtrack was great. Even though it was probably one of the longest films I've ever sat through, it didn't seem to drag.
May Mohr: Well there is a lot of variety in this year's nominations, but I expected Million Dollar Baby to win something.
Sony Elias: I really don't know. Unfortunately I haven't watched any of the movies. The pre-event hype seemed to point at Jamie Foxx, Clint Eastwood, Cate Blanchett and Hillary Swank.

Do you watch the ceremony? What do you generally look out for?

Sarada Chellam: I watch the Oscars if I'm at home and there's not much else to do.
Bernie Luby: I don't tend to watch the Oscars, but I might read the more interesting aspects in the newspapers the next day.
Gary Nickson: I don't watch the Oscars — I'll catch enough of it on the news.
May Mohr: Yes, I usually watch it to see who is in with whom, the dresses, the show and the results.
Sony Elias: I will confess to watching these shows. Everything interests me from the stage and lighting to the way people come on and go back from the stage. I also find the acceptance speeches quite funny.

Were you hoping for any particular actor or movie to win?

Sarada Chellam: Not really.
Bernie Luby: I was hoping Shrek 2 would win all of its categories. That's a great film.
Gary Nickson: I think Ray would have been a worthy winner of Best Film and Jamie Foxx deserved an Oscar for his performance. Then again, Ray is the only nominated film I've seen, so I haven't got much to compare it to.
May Mohr: Well I thought Million Dollar Baby was a very good movie. I also liked Natalie Portman's performance in Closer.
Sony Elias: I was rooting for Little Terrorist, but it didn't win.

And finally, would you watch a movie just because it has won an Oscar?

Sarada Chellam: No I wouldn't.
Bernie Luby: Definitely not.
Gary Nickson: It depends. There are some very obscure Oscars. I wouldn't go out of my way to watch the winner of the best costume design, for instance, but I might be more inclined to watch the winner of best film if I hadn't seen it before.
May Mohr: Not necessarily.
Sony Elias: That totally depends on what the Oscar was for.
But on the whole, I think I might, depending on my curiosity about the clip shown during the awards ceremony and who won it.