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Credited cast: | |||
Alan Alda | ... | Self (archive footage) | |
Kirstie Alley | ... | Self (archive footage) | |
Erykah Badu | ... | Self (archive footage) | |
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Jed Bernstein | ... | Self |
Beyoncé | ... | Self (archive footage) (as Beyoncé Knowles) | |
Mel Brooks | ... | Self (archive footage) | |
Mario Cantone | ... | Self | |
Jim Carrey | ... | Self (archive footage) | |
David Caruso | ... | Self (archive footage) | |
Gilbert Cates | ... | Self (as Gil Cates) | |
Ted Danson | ... | Self (archive footage) | |
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Kelli Delaney | ... | Self |
Lea DeLaria | ... | Self | |
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Paul Dergarabedian | ... | Self |
Simon Doonan | ... | Self |
A riveting 90 minute documentary, THE AWARD SHOW AWARDS SHOW uses vintage clips and interviews with awards show experts to explore the rise of awards shows. There are over 500 entertainment industry awards shows, 100 of which are televised, and this program explains why they matter and why they don't. Along the way, it takes a sardonic look at the way publicists manipulate red carpets, why nomination campaigns have become especially cutthroat, and why it was so hard for Susan Lucci to win a Daytime Emmy. Written by Anonymous
I went into this documentary (on the Trio Channel) with some suspicion. What could it say that hasn't already been said about the glut of Awards Shows?
The answer: plenty.
There's some wonderful history here, some intriguing factoids, and very very funny bits. It's great to hear from both the people that make awards shows, and the people that cover them. The program does a very thorough job of tracing how awards shows have always been intended to paint their sponsoring academies or foundations in a good light, and how the fake prestige of those academies was ignored starting in the 1970s with awards shows designed just to get ratings.
Things I especially liked: It's funny watching Joe Pesci go off on an interviewer at the DGA Awards, and some of the sound-bites from red-carpet celebs are very witty. And the sequence on how publicists control the red carpet was awesome, as was the footage of celebrities hogging gift bags at the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards.
Things I didn't like: the title's kind of lame, and it might have been tighter at 60 minutes instead of 90 minutes. But overall, a very good doc.
If you can find this on Trio before it totally goes off the air, watch it. Maybe it'll show up in libraries too.