C’mon Hollywood #115

… Marty deserves an Oscar!
by Sturdy

Ok, first things first, I think Martin Scorsese is slightly overrated. I say slightly, because in some circles, the guy is a directing god. I think the guy has skills, and has made some fantastic films, but when it comes down to it, his style and his choice of projects isn’t as great as some fans want to make them out to be. However, the man has left his mark on American cinema and the fact he has never received a best director Academy Award is an insult to cinema.

I will also say that I can’t stand “pity” Oscars. You know, the Oscars that are given to an actor/actress/director for their body of work and not because they had the best performance of a particular year. The examples are countless, but the one that sticks out in my mind was in 1987 when Paul Newman won for COLOR OF MONEY (speaking of Scorsese…). Yeah, Paul was great, but I’d hesitate to put that role in his top ten best performances. But this year, I’m pleading with the Academy to give Martin Scorsese the best director Oscar for THE DEPARTED. Not only was it a fantastic film, but Marty did a great job with it and got some wonderful performances from some great actors.

Yes, the time has come Mr. Scorsese.

Also, I don’t want to hear any gripes about this being a remake. Marty took the basic story from INFERNAL AFFAIRS and the rest was all Scorsese. Maybe the best thing about this years Academy Awards is that there’s not much competition. No offense to the other nominees, but none of their directing jobs stand out in my mind as being better enough to nudge out Marty. Of course, I thought that in 2004 also, but apparently I’m in the minority in thinking that MILLION DOLLAR BABY was completely overrated.

I still can’t believe he didn’t win for this.

Another reason to give the award to Scorsese is that I’m sick of hearing about how he hasn’t won an Oscar yet. Just go ahead and give it to him already. He deserved it in 1980, 1990 and even in 2004. I mean, the guy lost to Robert Redford, Kevin Costner and Clint Eastwood. He’s not even losing to full time directors, he’s losing to actors. I know that’s not a fair statement, but I’d feel a little bit better if Francis Ford Coppola and Steven Spielberg were beating him. Honestly, is there anyone out there that would rather watch DANCES WITH WOLVES over GOODFELLAS? I didn’t think so.

Did you know Marty directed Michael Jackson’s “Bad” video?

I don’t want this to turn into an article about the gross hypocrisy of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. That would take a week to write and take up way too much server space. The point is that Martin Scorsese is arguably the greatest director to not win the profession’s top honor and something about that doesn’t sit well with me. The DEPARTED was a great film and it would be a crime for someone to win the best director Oscar that wasn’t named Martin Scorsese.