Showtime

So its Saturday morning at the Intercontinental, same dank
rainy skies as yesterday.  No doubt a beneficiary of the time
shift, I feel pretty good for being up at 7 am.  Morning
agenda will be the gym after I finish writing this, then track
down Nick Cogan for some breakfast in the restaurant down-
stairs.   The hotel has free car service to locations within a mile
and a half, so at some point I'll have them take me to a CVS
for sundries (I've been fixated on getting hair gel on the off
chance it will make me look ten years younger).

Saturday morning view

Note regarding the tux: it was in fact, waiting for me here when I
arrived.  To have made arrangements in New York, five days
ago, for a tux (with my measurements) to appear in a hotel in
Culver City, and have it actually be there on time,  with no
mistakes in the logistical chain is, well, its a feeling of relief,
and maybe, power.  Until remembering its not power but
being fleeced for 125 bucks rental at a menswear chain plus
25 dollar messenger fee to the hotel.  Still, the all the links
worked.

Speaking of links, the shirt cuffs are turning out to not be visible
under the jacket sleeves.  Fleeced AND wearing a prom clown suit.

with co-director Nick Cogan

UCLA campus

Annie Award impressions.   

William Shatner took a bemused, ironic  air as host and provided 

plenty of impromptu moments of humor, most stemming from a 

small moment when he mispronounced John Leguzamo’s name 

when introducing him as a presenter.  Leguzamo did not let 

this go without getting back at Shatner, saying the mistake 

was understandable, nafter all “it was only my given name.”  After 

this Shatner (and even other presenters) were off to the races for the 

rest of the evening, referring back to this.  Shatner tried to be 

smarmily ingraciating, kissing up to Leguzamo about what a talented 

actor he was, why get bothered by a little mispronounciation.

Shattner kept the crowed amused with other remarks.  When the 

well know Indian actor Deep Roy, Who played the lead Oompa 

Loompa in Willy Wonka finished hosting the tribute to Tim Burton, 

Shartner quipped, “You know Deep Roy—well I’m Shallow Bill.”

The smarmily ingratiating host.

Another funny running gag concerned Shatner taking over hosting 

duties from long-time Host Jeff Kinney (the voice of SpongeBob).  

They showed a video of Shatner and Kinney doing a comically 

slow and stiff fight scene shot in some scrub desert locale, 

over dubbed with the audio from the well-known Star Trek 

episode where Kirk fights a lumbering bipedal lizard called 

a Gorn.  Later, there was another brilliant video created for the 

show which had Spongebob and Patrick trying to escape to the 

surface in a rocket, with Sharter doing the voice of Spongebob—

no falsetto or anything, just Shatner.  Funny stuff, only to be 

topped by the inevitable answer to this clip, a re-dubbing of an old

Star Trek show with Jeff Kinney’s Spongebob voice replacing 

Shatners.  It was appreciated that they had found a clip which has 

Kirk emit a chuckle, which of course came out instead as the 

Spongebob laugh.

Very interesting to see all the big names in the field take 

the stage, including Pete Docter, Eric Goldberg, Don Hahn, 

a slightly drunk June Foray soldiering on through her remarks 

(and mispronouncing her own name at one point, which 

would have a genius comedy moment, given the evening, had 

it been intentional),  a spookily nervous Bill Reeve, rambling 

on for five minutes as he recounted his life odyssey in computer 

graphics in minutia,  ignoring the producer’s music cues to
wind it up several times.
  

Jeffery Katzenburg took the stage to receive  the final of 

three Windsor McCay awards.   It was somewhat of a relief to 

see that Katzenberg and other top dogs were not above

Reading off of paper or prompter as they gave their speeches.   

For a different audience, maybe the Oscars,  perhaps he 

would have made the effort to appear extemporaneous,

But thats just the cynicism talking again.

Disappointment in all three flavors for Blue Sky—no Powell, 

no Leguzamo, and most self-interestedly, no Nutty Trade.  

Two random observeations.   When they show clips from 

nominated productions, there is almost always healthy 

applause, or at worstt a smattering.  NOTHING, crickets, for 

Nutty Trade.   Until I alone clapped loudly to pathetically fill

the void.   The other thing is that I had resigned myself to 

stay in the audience, bereft of a moment of glory on the 

stage should we have won, because of some rules sent

out by Asifa requesting just one person go up to represent 

for production awards.   Turns out everyone walked all over 

those rules, as every production award saw two, three or more 

people take the stage.  My blind faith in authority would have
foolishly trumped my need for vainglory.   The advice 

to anyone else who thinks they should be up on that stage is, get 

up there and say at least “thank you”, even if somebody else owns 

the main speech.

All in all, Nick had the most riding on a win, and seeing him in 

the hotel gym at 7:30 in the morning before the show only 

underscored for me he wanted to be ready for his moment.   

I couldn’t tell how disappointed he felt afterward.  They afterparty 

at Royce hall on the UCLA campus was insufferably crowded, 

and I huddled with Nick and Gail Harrison, the FOX VP of marketing

only for a short while.   Then Nick was off with his pal Pete, while 

Gail dropped me off back to the hotel, saving me the trouble of a 

cab, and showing me a little of the Beverly Hills and BelAire 

neighborhoods we passed.