And the Oscar goes to....

Diablo Cody for best original screenplay for Juno! Yes! I enjoyed Juno a lot, but I didn't think it deserved best picture. But I am so glad that Diablo won. Why? Because the first thing she said at the stand was "What am I doing up here?", because she wrote the screenplay while working as a stripper, because her screenplay made a wonderfully fun and good movie, because she's so not glitz and glamour, because she's another name in the ever increasing trend of people coming from nowhere and being amazing. Not people who come up through canned education methods, who learned the do's and don't's of a givin' art style (Not to knock them necessarily, they do good work) but who learned this stuff by trying stuff on their own or with their friends on a small scale and saying "Hey, this is pretty cool/fun, I wonder if someone else would like it." So they post it online, or (If they're lucky) ask that friend who is actually in the industry that they know. They might not make it big, but they're doing what they want to do and not taking orders from some corporation who hired them because they had a degree that says they have skill. And who knows, they might be Diablo Cody, or the team behind Portal, or Makoto Shinkai who made Voices of a Distant Star largely on his own, or the brilliant modders who made Counter-Strike. Do corporations make good products? Yes, but then its the corporations product so it better be good to make money right? (Keep those share-holders happy!) And maybe you're programmer 17 in department 4 who came up with an idea and submitted it. Oh, sorry, except today companies do try to remember peoples names, so they do put your name next to your number so when they tell you that they're taking your idea and changing it it sounds more personal like they sympathize with you. Now, if someone you respect in the field takes your idea, maybe its for the best, maybe they have better insight. You can live with that, working on an idea you came up with under a guy you like (er, maybe respect is better word?). But what if its given to Guy Manstan who got a masters in project leading and heard this industry was the next big thing? Hrm Grm Drm, basically what I'm getting at is that I don't want to go into an artistic industry unless I know I'll be working on a worthwhile project. I don't want to spend time and money on a degree in art or video game design or what have you if I'm going to be stuck designing, no not even designing, just rendering the collectibles in the next kid's movie release spin-off game 8 hours a day, 5 days a week (Seven near end production). I'd rather work at Barnes & Noble or GameStop where things are more flexible and you can recommend products to people. People like the ones I listed above are inspirations that to me say "Hey, you can go your own way and, while you might have to work some odd job in the meantime, you can make it." Not to the big time necessarily, but to the point where a group of people outside your friends says "Hey, thats pretty good." or you create a character and someone liked it enough to draw a piece a fan art and send it to you (Or, dare I say, cosplays your character?).

So yeah, that was a lot more than I thought I was going to type. But I'm happy for the props that Juno and Ellen Page got. I liked Jon Stewart's MCing (Even if he was using a few jokes from his own show). I also enjoyed the fact that someone randomly "Woo"ed in the audience like they were on some late night show. Also I want to see No Country For Old Men and There Will Be Blood, if for no other reason than so the "I Drink Your Milkshake" sketch from this past SNL will be more hilarious.