To: Luke
From: Owen
Re: Kotaku Signs Syndication Deal
The Oscars are tonight of course, and one of my favorite parts about this show - inveterate sentimentalist that I am - is the montage of all the great artists, directors and contributors who passed away in the preceding year. They always pull the most iconic shot of this person and match it to the perfect theme or quote. After Sir Alec Guinness died in 2000 - despite the fact he had grown to hate this role - the fadeout of Obi-Wan Kenobi bidding the Force to be with us, for the last time, was a total sledgehammer to the kisser. Sometimes it hits even harder. Gene Siskel died too close to the Oscars in 1999 to get him into the montage (it was 10 years ago Friday; Roger Ebert wrote this brilliant and moving tribute). So after it finished, host Whoopi Goldberg gave him a thumbs up, and the audience gave a memorable, and richly deserved ovation.
Heath Ledger of course is up for an award, posthumously, but this year I can't imagine this sequence will close with anyone other than Paul Newman. I just wonder if it the last shot will be of him as Reggie Dunlop, Fast Eddie Felson, Luke Jackson or Butch Cassidy. If it is Butch, and they play "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head," I'll lose it.
Some highlights of a rainy weekend:
Microsoft Overpaid Some Layoff Severances, Asks for It Back
Parent Asks Son to Play COD According to Geneva Conventions
Nintendo Explains What the "i" in "DSi" Means
Scientists Analyzing Entire Server Logs from Everquest 2
Saturday Timewaster: Don't Shit Your Pants
Gossip Rag Says Obama is BrickBreaker Fiend
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