Tue 17 Feb 2009
Ari Folman (bearded) and myself during the “Cinemascope” online chat with readers, Sunday
I hosted Ari Folman, director of “Waltz With Bashir”, for a live online chat with “Cinemascope” readers (over at the Hebrew version of this blog). For over three hours he graciously answered questions posted by my readers and his fans.
Several of the questions related to his Golden Globe acceptance speech, where he recycled the same speech he gave some months back at the Ophir Awards (Israel’s Academy awards). Some were disappointed he recycled his material, others were made he didn’t use the live prime-time broadcast to make a bold statement against the war in Gaza (this was the day before the cease-fire). To those he said “Given 40 seconds, I’d rather thank the people that gave everything to me and the movie for four years then to make an anti-war statement that’s anyway inherent in the movie”. As for the recycled part he said the only time he prepared a speech in advance was at the Cannes Film Festival, and then he didn’t win anything. So from there on he decided to ad-lib his speeches as they came.
And this is where we hatched this idea: why not have “Cinemascope” readers write Ari Folman’s Oscar speech, in the event he indeed does win the Foreign Language Oscar on Sunday (A three-way first: First Oscar for an Israeli film after eight nominations, first win for an animated movie and first win for a documentary).
Folman promises this: he will read all suggestion between now and Sunday. And if he reads something genuinely brilliant he will not hesitate to use it on live TV.
Do you think you know what the director of this year’s most innovative movie should do and say on stage on Oscar night? If so, pitch it here. I’ll make sure Folman sees it. No credit or royalties are promised, but if you sign with your real name and then hear your quip delivered live, in front of an audience of a billion viewers, imagine the bragging rights you gain.
You have 45 seconds to wow international audiences, in a category that most TV watchers know nothing about. 45 seconds are about 90 words. What would you do or say on stage that would be both respectful to the film but memorable. Would you say something zany or heartfelt? Would you say something bold and political, or something personal? Would you you use some kind of prop, a flag perhaps?
The comments section is yours. Write an Oscar speech for “Waltz With Bashir” and who knows, you can hear your words live Sunday.
February 18th, 2009 at 3:23 am
Keep politics out of the Oscars. Michael Moore and everybody who has come before him are dead wrong. A suggestion for a speech..
This is an award that celebrates film, and the amazing people from every walk of life, religious background and and language spoken. The people who devote their lives to entertaining us, educating us and opening our eyes to the bigger world outside. This award is for all of us.
February 18th, 2009 at 5:22 am
Waltz with Bashir was able to see the light of day because it truly was a passion project, and to those who contributed so effortlessly throughout the years and through the making of the film – I accept this award for you. The world we live in today is highly complex, personal, and emotional – all the feelings we went in and tried to resurface in the film. The events of that took place are so surreal even today, future generations will look into the past as if a dream. Thank you. —– Armen Karaoghlanian
February 18th, 2009 at 11:09 am
“surreal even today” who are you kidding Armen???
“Thank you, Academy members. This film represents an attempt to grapple with the past, with the soldier’s conscience and guilt, with the durable awareness of intolerable responsibility, for each soldier in wartime shares responsibility for the actions of his government. It is only through acknowledging one’s individual role in the atrocities of war that we, the human community, will ever begin to see that war solves few problems and creates many more than it solves. It also is an attempt to illustrate the universal drive to remember, to connect the past with the present in order to become whole. Without memory, we are only fragments, shattered pieces of ourselves.”–Anne Rettenberg
February 18th, 2009 at 11:18 am
Holy shit, I won! I’m gonna cum!
February 18th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
“thank you. i have so much to say and only 45 seconds to say it. so many people to thank, everyone who contributed so much to the making of this film, and all those people who’ve inspired me… i’d like to list all their names but i’ve only got about 20 seconds left. i feel like maybe i should say something important, some big bold political statement, or maybe i should say something funny but what do i have left, 10 seconds at most? how can you say something worthy of this once-in-a-lifetime moment where billions of people are watching when the orchestra is cuing you to get off the stage? well that’s about all the time i have… thank you.”
February 18th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
Thank you. I really appreciate it.
February 18th, 2009 at 3:16 pm
We dedicate this statue(taps head) to our children who will one day view war as a strange and unnecessary cartoon, disconnected from the mechanics of the camera eye and disconnected from a mug with a 3/4 full magazine aimed at People. I would like to thank the crew that was involved in shifting, the reality of war and scar of conflict to the world of cinema in a persausive and colorful manner, make films not war.
February 18th, 2009 at 9:07 pm
I would like to thank the Academy for this honor. As I grow older I realized that we are all one people. Mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters, with the same hopes, fears, and dreams. To be awarded for making people forget about their sorrows for a few minutes is truly a wonderful thing. Thank you. May we all live in a world where Shalom exists in our hearts, minds, and spirits. Then say something in hebrew like “Just remember, In every revolution there is one (man) person with a vision”. That quote is from Star Trek-episode called “Mirror, Mirror”. Mazel tov and good luck at the Oscars! We are praying for you!
February 18th, 2009 at 9:33 pm
The following is a quote from George W. Bush and I think it sums up your movie nicely, and it would be a great grandstanding gesture:
War crimes will be prosecuted. War criminals will be punished. And it will be no defense to say, “I was just following orders.”
February 18th, 2009 at 9:35 pm
To quote a band, Propagandhi:
Better lives have been lived in the margins, locked in prisons and lost on the gallows than have ever been enshrined in palaces.
February 19th, 2009 at 12:47 am
I’m sorry that this movie was not better than Bolt or Kung-fu Panda.
February 19th, 2009 at 12:49 am
Films are made to forget our lives for a brief instant. But in this case, it served as the catalyst to remember a neglected time not only in Israel’s history, but in all our history. We must realize that these events are not limited to just my brothers but can touch you and your family. We all walk the same path, and to those who walked with me for this film, this is for you.
February 19th, 2009 at 11:36 pm
Say ‘Thank you’ and just wait out the rest of the 45 seconds.
February 22nd, 2009 at 1:18 pm
Here is pretty much a summary of what people have said so far:
Thank you. Thank you to the academy, and thank you to everyone who participated in this passion project with me - you know who you are. This movie is not made for people to escape from their lives, but rather to reconcile with an event that affects us all. Through the act of remembering, we can overcome the atrocity of war. This statue is dedicated to our children, who will one day see war as simply a cartoon. But maybe next time I’ll make something as funny as Bolt or Kung Fu Panda.