Truth be told, Im not crazy about Oscar night.
All the red-carpet nattering unnerves me.
And watching at home isnt much better.
Id rather barbecue some chicken.
But the morning after, one week from today, thats another story.
In fact, Oscar Monday is pretty much my favorite day in the whole movie year.
Since I started covering Hollywood 40 years ago, I have always loved that day.
If it were up to me, it would be an official holiday.
They could call it something fancy, the Feast of the Eternal Reboot, something like that.
For starters, youve got the second-guessing, and who doesnt enjoy that?
Its better than cocoa and cookies on Christmas.
Reporters fish for comment.
and what the heck are we supposed to do about it?
(Draft a statement!
Write a letter!!
Wait, lets form a committee!!!)
Watch on Deadline
Then comes some hand-wringing over the ratings.
Soft in the early numbers.
Maybe the host wasnt so bad.
Lets rebook, and get a jump on next year.
Theres usually time for a little credit-grabbing.
A Best Picture award will do that to you.
One year, David fell off the wagon somewhere between the Vanity Fair party and Mondays early deadline.
The bottom half of his copy read like Jack Nicholsons inThe Shining.
No one seemed to notice, least of all David.
Such is journalism on Oscar Monday.
By Friday, you wont remember half the winners, never mind the nominees.
Which is actually a good thing.
Oscar Monday, the Feast of the Eternal Reboot, brings with it a blank slate.
Going forward, anything is possible.
At first, its a little scary.
Oh, no, there will never be anotherOppenheimer.
Its all Comic-Con from here on out.
Scorsese cant possibly do it again.
Yet within weeks, if not days, the movies come back to life.
Maybe an early-year release, say aDune: Part Two, gets traction.
Or something out of Sundance actually sticks.
Before you know it, Cannes brings real prospects CoppolasMegalopolis?
and the new awards year is born, as fertile, and exhausting, as ever.
