TV and Movies

[just bee]

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@Greeneyedlady21 wrote:

Viola Davis has talked about the whole concept of celebrating the stories of everyday hard working struggling people while she promoted Fences. If you Google that I think the context of her speech is clear, that Fences did that and that's what attracted her. She talked about the lives of her parents in interviews and how she wanted to represent them. She grew up in poverty in Central Falls, Rhode Island. No heat, rats in their apartment, she at one point stole food because she was so hungry.

So that is her context, and I understood her speech from that. Thought it was wonderful, and real. She works for hunger organizations because of her past, and gives back to her hometown. 

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And she studied at Juilliard.  I don't doubt she recognizes those with potential who "dreamed big" but didn't see those dreams "to fruition."

[just bee]

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@LoriLori wrote:

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@just bee wrote:

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My unease about the speech is that it can't help being hypocritical.  A lot of artists struggle, early in their careers, but once they become successful, how much do they relate to the average person who is living his life?

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Hope you don't mind I snipped your post.  So many posts I feel like screaming, Celebrities are people too! 

We have one in the family -- a big one, as big as it gets.  I haven't met her but family members I know, know her well.  To them she's a daughter, a sister, a granddaughter, a mother. 

Is that true of everyone?  Maybe, probably not.  Definitely divas out there.

But like Lady Gaga this person has had a very grounded upbringing and a family where she is one among several valued children.  Everyone says the same thing about her:  When she's with the family she's surprisingly normal. 

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Lots of different types of people out there.  Ms. Davis has referred to actors as "neurotic and miserable."  I'll give her that.  But then a lot of people are neurotic and miserable.

I do appreciate that she acknowledged her parents in her speech. 

[Tinkrbl44]

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@QVCkitty1 wrote:

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@LoriLori wrote:

That's ridiculous.  They didn't pull them out of a mall, they were on a bus tour of Hollywood so of course it was a big deal for them.

I thought it went on too long, and I believe they could hear where they were while they waited on the other side of the door -- but I see nothing condescending about it.  They wouldn't have been on the bus if they weren't interested in Hollywood stars.

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I agree, some people are just looking for something to criticize, if nothing else they have a fun story to tell their friends.

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@QVCkitty1   @LoriLori    @Oznell

I read the first post twice and can only marvel at what a bunch of BALONEY this is ........   and the condescending "little people" comment is really insulting, period.    I guess she just needs someone to hate, although I don't know why. 

Clearly, @Oznell  has never been on a Hollywood Tour Bus ....  and has NO idea what she's talking about.    "Taken out of context" comes to mind.

Tourists come to Los Angeles from all over the world and hope for photos and stories to return home with.   Anyone who takes a tour hopes to see stars' homes, historical spots,  movie sets and, hopefully, snap a photo of someone at least semi-famous.  Sometimes studios have tours and, let's not forget the Universal Studios Tour experience.  Their demos of special effects from various movies is quite good.   

Ever since 9/11, the security in this area of Los Angeles is off the charts.   Streets are closed all around the theater a week in advance and you need special clearance to get in.   On the day of the show, multiple IDs are required even for highly recognizable stars.  No exceptions.  

I think the fact that people were wisked off a tour bus, ushered in through a few hallways and back entrances and come out in the midst of the show was not lost on people who had to repeatedly show their IDs just to get in.     

Further .........   can you imagine what happened when the tourists were ushered back to their tour bus?   I'm betting they had many photos to show and stories to tell as to who they saw and whose hand they shook.  They'll also have fun stories to tell when they go home.

I'm betting the tourists who didn't get chosen to get off the bus were disappointed that they missed such an impromtu glimpse into the Oscars.     

[Greeneyedlady21]

@LoriLori I'm just not going to hold her somehow accountable for that comment. She's an actor without a script making an Oscar acceptance speech. I highly doubt she meant to denigrate art or books or anything else.

[occasionalrain]

To assume all those on a tour bus are star struck longing for a glimpse of an actor is demeaning. Do you assume everyone in a bar is an alcoholic? I might take a tour bus to see the houses or a studio but I have no interest in taking a selfie with an actor and I would definitely not have wanted to participate in that Kimmel parade.

[LoriLori]

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@Greeneyedlady21 wrote:

@LoriLori I'm just not going to hold her somehow accountable for that comment. She's an actor without a script making an Oscar acceptance speech. I highly doubt she meant to denigrate art or books or anything else.

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@Greeneyedlady21, edited my post because @ChynnaBlue below has helped me see this in a different light so I no longer disagree with you.  (And I still don't know how that line above got there.)

[Caligurll]

Count me in as one who would have been star struck and loving every second of it.  I also think most people on a tour bus would have been delighted and excited to see one star, let alone a room full of the them.  I can't imagine a tour bus in HOLLYWOOD, full of people thinking, wow, hope I don't see any stars, how awful for me.

It was supposed to be a fun moment, and I enjoyed it.

[ChynnaBlue]

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@LoriLori wrote:

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@just bee wrote:

It's telling that candy, not kale, was dropped on the audience last night.

Viola Davis' speech is getting a lot of attention:

“You know, there is one place that all the people with the greatest potential are gathered and that’s the graveyard.  People ask me all the time — what kind of stories do you want to tell, Viola?  And I say exhume those bodies.  Exhume those stories — the stories of the people who dreamed big and never saw those dreams to fruition, people who fell in love and lost.  I became an artist and thank God I did because we are the only profession that celebrates what it means to live a life.”

I get what she's saying, I do, but something about that speech just doesn't sit right.

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@just bee, I posted about this in the main Oscars thread.  She's getting high marks for her speech but I didn't like it and believe that what she said is arrogant.  

What about books, plays, movies, music, which all "celebrate what it means to live a life" and transcend borders?   I'd argue especially books, as people all around the globe are reading "A Man Called Ove" and sharing a meaningful literary experience about what it means to live a life. 

Shakespeare's lasted four hundred years, we still love Mozart and Beethoven -- in two hundred years how many of these films will people know of and care about?

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She said she became an artist, not an actor. Artist includes everything you just mentioned - they are all forms of art. She did not exclude them, you did.

[cherry]

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@occasionalrain wrote:

To assume all those on a tour bus are star struck longing for a glimpse of an actor is demeaning. Do you assume everyone in a bar is an alcoholic? I might take a tour bus to see the houses or a studio but I have no interest in taking a selfie with an actor and I would definitely not have wanted to participate in that Kimmel parade.

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I would have been mortified if that had happened to me.  I hate that kind of attention.

[LoriLori]

@ChynnaBlue, point taken on Viola.  There were other remarks about how great film is elevating it above other arts but you're right about Viola's, thank you.