$A - The Michigan Daily -- Monday, March 16, 1998 Minori actors aren't Oscar's priority Obnoxious 'Hush' nedst be siene n By Prashant Tamaskar Daily Arts Writer On the eve of the Academy Awards ceremony cele- biating the best films and performances of 1995, Rev. Jesse Jackson published an essay on the lack of nomi- nations received by people of color. His protest of the Oscars and the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences received widespread publicity and brought to light a major problem within the movie industry. will be free of color aside from Spike Lee, whose doc- umentary "Four Little Girls" was nominated. Among those deemed unworthy of recognition: Victor Nunez of "Ulee's Gold," whose direction propelled Peter Fonda to a Best Actor nomination; Pam Grier and Samuel L. Jackson for "Jackie Brown;" the cast and crew of the wonderful "Eve's Bayou;" and Lee, director of critical favorite, "The Ice Storm." But perhaps the snub that best represents the At the time of Jackson's article, only nine of the state of affair nominees in the major categories in the '90s had industry was been minorities. In the year Jackson protested, Hounsou f Ang Lee, the director of "Sense and formance Sensibility," was the lone non-white romi- not have b riee. Hopkins b Much to.the chagrin of Jackson and many 'Amistad. others, talented performers such as Don about a slav Cheadle (who won the National Society of Film 1 be a couple Critics' Best Supporting Actor Award for his work Hopkins is in "Devil in a Blue Dress") were ignored entirely Hounsou is Although the Academy's history of overlooking Moreover, th minority actors, directors and writers was long, as evidenced many felt Jackson's criticism would help improve " Damon and B matters by addressing the issue and bringing neg- bloods who h ative publicity to the largely white organization script for "Goo The next year, the Academy nominated two peo- story is rem ple of color for awards. ficulti The chosen pair were Cuba Gooding Jr. with for "Jerry Maguire" and Marianne Jean- Bi Baptiste for "Secrets and Lies" While out a Gooding's eventual victory was refresh- the ing, it is important to note that the two b performers were in supporting sate- gories, while many stirring perfor- mances in lead roles, like Denzel Washington's exceptional work in "Courage Under Fire" or Eddie Murphy's hilarious turn as "The Wc '98 Nutty Professor" (which won him the National Society of Film Critics An analysis of the pride Best Actor Award), were not hon- and rejudie of the ored. 70th Annual This year, the Oscar ceremony Academy Awards s in the Academy and the movie the failure to nominate Djimon or "Amistad." While Hounsou's per- was excellent, his omission would een as noteworthy had Sir Anthony been overlooked for his acting in " It is insulting enough that in a story ve-ship revolt the heroes turn out to of white lawyers. But to top it off, nearly laughable in the film, while the heart and soul of the narrative. e Academy seems to love underdogs, by all the attention given to Matt Ben Affleck, the well educated blue- ad a bit of a hard time selling their od Will Hunting."Yet, Hounsou's life arkably compellirng and features dif- es far greater than having problems a screenplay. 3ut the Academy should not be singled as the source of the problem. Granted, organization is fairly conservative, but in recent years it has opened its heart to more creative, innovative works, such as "Pulp Fiction" and "Fargo,' perhaps opening the doors for minority filmmakers who tend to have less conventional artistic visions. Still, the failure to win awards is insignificant in comparison to the failure to gain ground in the film industry. When so few of the peo- ple producing, directing or starring Courtesy of Trimark This year, Oscar neglected Kasi Lemmons' evocative "Eve's Bayou," starring Lynn Whitfield. in movies are minorities, can the Academy really be expected to honor more than one or two people of color a year? Thus, the only way more non-white individuals will be nominated each year is if minorities somehow infiltrate the system and increase their prevalence within the industry. Obviously, this is easier said than done, and does not necessarily guarantee more recog- nition. After all, the Academy is the organization that in the past did not nominate films such as "Do the Right Thing," "Boyz N the Hood" and "Hoop Dreams," which are considered by most to be three of the most important movies of the past 10 years. The fact that recent works such as these were not recognized by the most prominent and pervasive group in the movie world suggests an enormous problem that is nowhere near being fixed. By Laura Flyer Daily Arts Writer If horror movies are supposed to be a representation of clever plot twists and unpredictabilities, then surely the writer/director Johnathon Darby's latest thriller, "Hush," intended to be some sort of ironic satire. Not only is the audience led through a series of suspense sequences that were ridiculously obvious but it is also hit hard with the blatant lack of any acting talent from the characters. Pathetic thrillers such as these really place a bad mark on the movie industry. Granted, the chal- lenge in synthesizing the numerous loose-ended pieces of the suspense puzzle in such films is no easy task. The viewer must be thoroughly engaged in the action and all the confusions need to be concretely yet creatively wrapped up in the end. In "Hush," one gets a sense that the director decided to mini- mize the number of twists and com- plications to simplify the plot and present a neat, yet barren, package at the conclusion. Reminiscent of the reclusive and maniacal themes from "Misery," "Hush" begins with a blissful young pair in love, Helen (Gwyneth Paltrow) and Jackson Baring (Johnathon Schaech), inno- cently traveling to see Jackson's mother, who lives in the country on a horse farm. Not even two minutes of the movie pass before one has a crystal clear image of the formula- ic droll to follow. After viewing the ominous mansion-like home and the first camera shot of Jessica Lange's over-exaggerated nervous smile and piercing eyes, the rest is history. Jackson and Helen are, at first, secure under the seemingly compas- sionate love of their mother and soon-to-be mother-in-law, respec- tively. Complications soon arise, which not only create tensions between them and Martha (Lange) but also cause problems between the lovers. Martha, the stereotypical smoking, drinking antagonist, will go to great lengths to keep Jackson close to home, far away from his NYC apartment. She loathes Helen for snatching her favorite son. But nothing can break the couple apart; their undying love is stronger than any old hag. Of course hints need to be dropped along the way as to how Martha will go about her demonic pillages. Yet these clues are overly obvious. How many camera shots does it take before the general movie-going audience understands the scheme? Director Darby needs to give the audience some credit. No credit, however, should be given to the actors and actresses. Lange is melodramatic, Johnathon Schaech is dry and dull, and Pal trow just plain stinks. P- Hush At Briarwood and Showcase 1 Aside from the talent involved, their respec- tive roles were, in sum- mary, pathet- ic. We have no sympathy for any of them, because while the winners tri- umph and the losers falter, a .-- neither side shows any worthy character traits to back up their role. Another troubling aspect of "Hush" is that the film suggests incest through a series of intimate scenes between Jackson and Martha but the suggestion is never devel- oped further. These issues alone do not add up to the completely ludicrous ending to "Hush." Any speck of praisewor- thy acting left by the trio disappears completely during the last half an hour of the movie. Still, one suppos- es that filmmakers must have some degree of talent to actually be able to create such utterly bland and bor- ing suspense. Read The Michigan Daily Onine at http://ww.pu.umich.edu/daily Time's Running Out.. .. Taking the GRE? Too busy to prepare? We have the answer! GRE Fast Track Course. only $295. 6 classes. Expert instructors. ' The Princeton Review Call us. 313-663-2163 1-800-2-REVIEW /-1amn-5p ' v Michigan U6 b'nB6 ooni ,, Courtesy of TrStar "Hush"'s wretchedness catches Jessica Lange off guard. Is a*%* Fre Adtmission L a http://www.umichedulanihonlJCF I Check out Oakland University and get ahead of the game next fall. Need a general education course? A course in your major? At Oakland University you can choose from more than 1,000 spring or summer classes offered at our beautiful, convenient campus. And many are scheduled for evenings or Saturdays, so you'll have plenty of time '-- for working a summer job, soaking up the sun or having fun with hometown friends. You can transfer the credits back to your home institution in the fall, so Get Smart and Jump To The Head Of Your Class. 0 For a complete schedule of classes and application, contact the Office of Admissions today. By phone: (888) 757-OAKU or by fax: (248) 370-4462. -mail: ouinfo@oakland.edu I apply for spring classes is April 24. Last date to apply for summer classes is June 19. Think Success. Think Oakland University. 1998 spring session: May 4 - June 24 0 1998 summer session: June 30 - August 19 Make it count for your degree! Enjoy a wonderifulColorado summer! Select from 500 classes and 4 convenient terms. First 4-week term ............ May 18-June 12 Second 4-week term.........June 15-July 10 .*....... .... .............****.. ..* o seosoas..... **o .... o+0.o0 .o o oaos. .. ec** oo... o. o0 s0..0.0 a 0 RR0 0 so .0000* 0t00 0s0 0 0 Yes. I am interested in finding out more about. Oai land University's spring and summer session classes. Name College Address