And the Oscar goes to...

3.5 inches high, 6.75 pounds, tin and copper, with gold plating. A rough sketch of  a figure holding a sword hanging on the reel of a film. Not the best of designs but since 1927, its the hallmark of recognition and respect. It is probably the best-known statue in the world, known as the Oscar, because Margaret Herrick, the Motion Picture Academy of Arts (MPAA)'s first Librarian, named it as Oscar because it resembled a lot like her uncle Oscar. Monday mornings in India on 27th Feb-1st March are something to look forward to  - Its the night of Oscars telecast live in this part of the world, thanks to Star Movies. An awards ceremony that celebrates the achievements of cinema the Hollywood way, the night of limited dance and song, of solemn remembrances, of a brief snapshot of the non-Hollywood cinema seen through the prisms of "Foreign Language" category. The night of all-colour men and women dressed in Black and White and Red array of shining, coal-black, shining costumes. The night which has epic commentary on how Hollywood breathes life into the annals of society through its movies of the year.
I always admired the preciseness, grand scale of executions, class and charishma that underlines the Oscar awards. Only the best talent who usually vie with one another - screenwriters, costume designers, animators, editors, sound recordists, stage and setting designers, actors and actresses, playwrights and lyricists, writers and comedians - all of them get together, give their best flat foot forward, lend their voice, pen, nerve and sinew to make it the spectacle that counts. Somehow, the humor that comes out of this one night, according to me, is enough to drive you to raptures of laughter. Its like the night when the wit and received wisdom of PG.Wodehouse, Groucho Marx,  Erma Bombeck and  Woody Allen pillorie the pale lines off your face.
Talk about the comperes, I grew up catching up of the best comedians and standup-champions chaperone the Awards nights - from Bob Hope to Woody Allen, Billy Crystal to Eddie Murphy to Robert Downey Jr. Over the years, the Awards represent an assemblage of talents coming together to give the best glimpse of the Industry' united strength - although it is never the case because all folks can't be satisfied. I remember Bob Hope the great humorian who lived till the age of 100 - he started the whole tradition of hosting the funny side up. He never won an Oscar and rubbed it in at one of the Awards Ceremonies: "Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Academy Awards, or as it's known in our house, Passover."
Tonight (or tomorrow morning for us in India), you have some of the best contemporary actors competing for the top honours - the likes of Brad Pitt ("Moneyball") and George Clooney ("The Descendants") and the classic legends like Merryll Streep. Sophistication and class, subtety and style  - you can expect to see a harvest of all of these in the Awards ceremony especially with Billy Crystal - Oscar Awards Host for the ninth time - replacing Eddie Murphy. Contrast this with the crassness of the Filmfare Awards - OMG! Come on, Oscars, lights on!

"Moneyball" Movie Review

"Moneyball" is a smashing adaptation of best-selling author Miichael Lewis's book by the same title. It must be one of the best movies on a game that Americans and Japanese love to freak out on - Baseball. Director Benett Miller draws some of the finest talent available in screenplay including the award-winning "Social network" writer Aaron Sorkin and creates a pulsating account of a true story. Its a story of two outliers Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) and Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) who think out of the box in replacing a club team that lost its three pricey players; they instead pick unconventional players who are technically "faulty" and boy, their team - Oakland A's - goes on to win 20 consecutive games in Baseball history - the best record since 1918.

Peter Brand, partner to Billy Beane, is the whizkid who relies on arcane formulae from calculus and creates algorithm-based programs that zero in on the game's most valuable but under-valued players. The twosome meet with stiff opposition for their unconventional thinking but eventually win the plaudits when they redefine the rules of the game. The more you know the game, the less you know more about it says an introduction to the movie - and it turns out that way. Later, as goes the true story, Billy Beane - the General Manager who turned it around for Oakland gets a multi-million dollar deal for more clubs but he turns it down to dote on his daughter. Peter Brand, the silent number-crunching backbone behind this whole idea to bring down valuations of players down to the real numbers they produce on the pitches - his play becomes the new motif for another aspirant Red Sox who win the next American League season.

I always wondered why the Americans never succeeded in attracting the commonwealth nations like India and Australia to Baseball. But this is the closest to getting an appreciation of the game, its contours and its flamboyance, the pace and the adrenalin are well brought out by Bennett Miller. Brad Pitt who plays the legendary Billy Beane must have seen gold in the Michael Lewis book, he produces this as well. Jonah Hill who played the Ivy League Economics graduate Peter Brand using computer-based algorithms which made the players bidding more credulous and level-playing ground for poor teams does an impressive job too. You can't help but relating to explore if the strategy adapted by these two protagonists has any implications for Indian cricket - especially in IPL valuations, the way players are bid at astronomical prices. Brad pitt essays a brilliant role and he has the best lines. "Is losing Fun?" and "Thats how losing sounds to me" must become two of the shortest motivational speeches ever delivered in the players' restrooms in sports movies. One line I remember: "We bought you as a valued player not because of your past but because of what we believed you will deliver for us." That says it all.

Michael Lewis - Wall Street's favorite writer who brings out the funny and romantic side of monetary worlds - he should be happy with the adaptation. I gather now that buoyed by the applause for this movie, his book "Coach" rights are bought by Walt Disney. That way, American movie-makers can make sensible and intelligent movies based on true stories for many millenniums - something that movie industries in other countries including India only occasionally attempt.