Friday, December 27, 2002
2002, the year in showbiz - THE COMMENTARY
By Joseph Planta
VANCOUVER – The American Film Institute has come out with a list encapsulating the top ten movies of 2002. They were, in alphabetical order: About A Boy, About Schmidt, Adaptation, Antwone Fisher, Chicago, Frida, Gangs of New York, The Hours, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and The Quiet American. They also did a list of the top television programs of the year. Those were: The Believer, Boomtown, Door To Door, Everybody Loves Raymond, The Gathering Storm, Gilmore Girls, The Simpsons, Six Feet Under, The Sopranos and The West Wing.
They doled out a third list this year, a most interesting one. It's called ‘Moments of Significance' in the year 2002. It's an interesting list and herewith are the moments that defined 2002 in the world of show business.
"DVD in/VHS out." It seems that this is a milestone as for the first time (and certainly not the last) DVD sales surpassed that of VHS sales. I understand the value in a DVD of a picture, as opposed to that of a VHS copy. At the house we haven't a DVD yet, as I'm still trying to figure out how to use this damned digital service. Once a DVD machine can record my Imus In The Morning program on MSNBC, then maybe I'd run out and get one forthwith.
"My Big Fat Greek Wedding" is a significant moment in the year, as it is the example of the power of word-of-mouth. Good things said by those seeing the film has lead it to be the highest-grossing independent film of all time, as well as the highest-grossing romantic comedy of all-time. It was, as the AFI notes, a film that did amazingly well without "the benefit of a major marketing and advertising campaign." It is a good reason to have faith that the movie going public does appreciate good work, as well as proves that the "public is the ultimate arbiter of what makes good entertainment."
The AFI bills it the "Crisis In TV Journalism." They don't go into much detail saying only that as caudience gets scarce, news outlets are increasing their tendency of blurring the line between "news/commentary, news/entertainment, and news/advocacy." This, according to the AFI, yields the need for the industry to find solutions that will best serve the public. Now what this veiled entry means is that the right-wing line taken by FOX News and other ideologically driven outlets is essentially dangerous for the public. I believe the AFI panel noted this phenomenon in light of ABC trying gut Nightline earlier in the year, in favour of luring David Letterman. This is a hard one to decipher. The AFI is going out in a limb trying to advocate for purely non-partisan news, however I don't see movie and television producers trying to make films and programs that don't rely too much on "reality," as has been the trend.
"American Idol" was a moment of show business significance in 2002, as it proved that television is still looking for up and coming talent. American Idol was not the first, as the AFI points out. They note that it's a concept that dates back to the 1940s and 1950s when one Arthur Godfrey used to scout talent on CBS. Also, CBS is re-treading Star Search yet again in the new year.
The AFI notes too the rise of women behind the scenes. "Women Lead All Four Guilds" is the headline for the reality that Martha Coolidge has become the first female president of the Directors Guild of America, Victoria Riskin is the head of the Writers Guild, Kathleen Kennedy is the president of the Producers Guild and Melissa Gilbert is the president of the Screen Actors Guild. This is important, as it suggests that if women can shatter the glass ceiling behind the scenes, perhaps in front of the cameras change is on its way.
"The Osbournes" is on this list and with reason. Its success on MTV makes it significant and its brilliance makes it all the more a credit to show business moving in strange and mysterious ways.
The movielink.com teams five Hollywood studios. The concept is that the site will act as the conduit to which consumers can access video-on-demand. The AFI notes that this "joint venture is one of the biggest distribution advances since Hollywood's earliest days, when studios distributed their films to a network of studio-owned theatres."
"Steven Spielberg Presents Taken." The AFI notes the Sci Fi channel's ambitious presentation of a 20-hour miniseries, which it says "resurrect[s] the potential for long-form storytelling on commercial television." It seems that the program aired over ten consecutive nights, whereby ten different directors directed this large and creative undertaking.
"TiVo Becomes A Verb." And how. The digital revolution was further propagated with the arrival of ‘personal recording devices.' So to solve that dilemma of a DVD not recording my favourite programs, I might as well go out and grab a TiVo machine.
And the last moment of significance in 2002, was the passing of Billy Wilder. At 95, Wilder, left behind a mammoth career that earned him an AFI Life Achievement Award, five Oscars, and the admiration of moviegoers everywhere. His classic achievements: The Lost Weekend, Some Like It Hot, Double Indemnity, The Apartment and Sunset Boulevard, amongst others, stand as some of the finest films every made.
To paraphrase Lloyd Robertson, that's the kind of year it's been. In show business at least.- 30 -
Questions and comments may be sent to: editor@thecommentary.ca
An archive of Joseph Planta's previous columns can be found by clicking HERE .