Gone in 65 seconds: Gabriel quits Oscars (nominated for Wall-E)

[IndianaGreen]

Gone in 65 seconds: Gabriel quits Oscars

Musician furious at decision to shorten his performance to a little over a minute

By Guy Adams in Los Angeles

Saturday, 14 February 2009

There's a week to go, but this year's Oscars have already spawned their first major celebrity hissy-fit. Peter Gabriel, the laid-back king of progressive rock, has abruptly withdrawn from next Sunday's awards show after his performance there was shortened to just 65 seconds.

The former Genesis singer had expected, in keeping with tradition, to have several minutes in the spotlight to perform his song "Down to Earth". Composed by Gabriel for the computer-animated film Wall-E, it is shortlisted for an Academy Award in the best original song category.

But in an attempt to revitalise ratings, the event's organisers decided to jazz up this year's ceremony by blending all three of the nominated tracks together in a short, sharp medley.

As a result, Gabriel announced yesterday that he was refusing to participate. He said in a video posted on his website: "Songwriters, even though they're a small part of the whole film-making process, we still work bloody hard, and I think deserve a place in the ceremony. So I think ... I'm an old fart and it's not going to do me a lot of harm to make a little protest. For some of the other artists, it wouldn't be so easy."

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/gone-in-65-seconds-gabriel-quits-oscars-1609175.html

[Hawkeye-X]

1. I boycott the Oscars anyway..

Don't need the extravangance to tell me what movie sucks and what doesn't suck.

What's the most suckiest Oscar winner you have ever seen?

Hawkeye-X

[IndianaGreen]

2. The BAFTAs were a heck of a lot more entertaining last week

I'm rooting for Slumdog.

[blue_onyx]

3. How can you boycott the Oscars?

I enjoy award shows, even if I'm not familiar with or disagree with the nominees. American Beauty was a movie I really didn't like and I don't see why it won Best Picture.

[NashVegas]

8. My Favorite American Beauty Criticism

Came from William Goldman, author of The Princess Bride.

"... Hollywood horseshit. I'll give you an example of one of those this year in a wonderful movie, okay? Kevin Spacey has a mad sexual frenzy about a young girl. We all do this. It's okay. But then he begins to act on it in this way he's really nailed by that kid in AMERICAN BEAUTY, right? And he begins to change his body. He begins to lift weights. He begins for the first time to look at himself in a different way. All because he wants to fuck that gorgeous 17 year old body, right? You're with me? I'm telling the story correctly, right? He finally has his chance. They're alone on the couch. She says, 'I'm a virgin,' and he says, 'Oh, my God, I can never touch you.' And I screamed! That's such Hollywood horseshit. That's not the way the script was. I'll bet anything on it! He's got to fuck her! There's no reason he shouldn't fuck her! That's what the whole movie's about, isn't it? I don't know whose idea that was, but I believe that damaged the movie."

[4lbs]

10. For the same reason "Shakespeare in Love" beat out "Saving Private Ryan"

To this day, I haven't seen SiL, and never will. I won't even enter a home that has it on DVD or VHS tape.

SPR should have won hands down.

[derby378]

4. Honestly, I can't blame Gabriel one bit

Walt Disney tried to do the same thing to Kate Bush, if I recall. She wrote a song to be used on the Dinosaur soundtrack, and some suit from Disney called back and said, "Katie, we love the melody, but we'd like you to tweak the lyrics into something that'll sell with focus groups." Bush said no deal, and Disney axed the song. I don't think she tackled Hollywood film music again until her work on The Golden Compass.

Long story short, I don't think the movie industry should screw around the musicians who do so much to make films even better. Can you think of John Williams, Barbra Streisand, or Randy Newman getting the same treatment? Ain't gonna happen. So why pick on the Brits?

[Mnemosyne]

6. Need to keep the audience ADHD at all times, nothing to savor it seems. I admit I am addicted

to the Oscars, but only to see the beautiful and/or interesting gowns, I usually quit watching after the Red Carpet Show. I watch it muted, too many morons yapping otherwise. :)

I am further fascinated by some of the choices made though in a more sociological/psychological way. Amazing to see the effects of society on fashion through the ages.

:hi:

Edited to add: I will turn the sound on when Sean receives his award as Milk. :applause:

Haven't seen it yet, haven't seen any of them, but the articles and previews are so moving.

I understand Gabriel being upset. His heart is in those songs and to treat it so fleetingly is rude and thoughtless.

[xenussister]

11. Oscars shafted Kate out of a nom for "This Woman's Work"

Although if that song were to be in a movie today, she'd probably be nominated.

I'm an Oscar and Awards slut (I'm one of those people who saw all of the nominated movies, *before* the nominations came out), so I could no more skip the Oscars than quit breathing, but this does make me very angry. The two songs from Slumdog Millionaire are the most vibrant, exciting and interesting songs ever to be nominated, and I've been a Peter Gabriel fan since 1973, and to be denied full-length performances of all three makes me want to scream bloody murder.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

5. Guess I won't be watching then

The only reason I was interested in watching them this year was to see Gabriel play "Down to Earth."

[NashVegas]

7. Good For Him

If Oscar producers think four minutes of Peter Gabriel is a ratings killer, fuck 'em.

The event, which drew 50 million viewers in the 1990s, hit an all-time low last year with a US audience of just 32 million.

With all due respect, that's because last year's Oscars were dominated by a nihilistic movie 96% of America had no interest in paying to watch, let alone see it reap rewards.

[xenussister]

12. That's such horseshit

"The event, which drew 50 million viewers in the 1990s, hit an all-time low last year with a US audience of just 32 million."

They're comparing the numbers from the year Titanic won, which is totally unfair. No Oscar broadcast will ever reach those numbers again. That movie was a phenomenon, and the Oscar viewer numbers reflected that. 32 million people is a LOT of freaking people. They're acting like it's a couple of hundred.

"With all due respect, that's because last year's Oscars were dominated by a nihilistic movie 96% of America had no interest in paying to watch, let alone see it reap rewards."

Well, first of all, who cares what America has "no interest in paying to watch"? The American public almost always (not always, but almost always) wouldn't know a good/great movie from their elbows. Great movies die at the box office all the time, while crappy movies make tons of money. Paul Blart, anyone?

No Country For Old Men was a great film, and it was by the brilliant Coen Brothers, and I'm glad it/they won, even though I was rooting for There Will Be Blood, which is, IMO, the best American movie of the last couple of decades.


Edit to add: I do agree with your "good for him."

[Lorien]

14. Yep. I'm bored with the movies AND the Oscars

they rush the award winners to get through their speeches, rush the musicians, then the host gets to drone on and on throughout the show with one lame gag after another. Not a great way to honor those who work in the film industry.

[4lbs]

9. It's interesting how the Grammys were 3.5 hours this year, and that's not enough time considering

that there was about an hour or so that wasn't aired.

The only awards show I put much stock in is the People's Choice awards, since that is the only one in which the entire American public gets a chance to decide the winners.

[Fire Walk With Me]

13. Gabriel performing is a reason I'd WATCH the Oscars.

Especially this year, a rather poor year for film overall, with some notable and excellent exceptions.

Sad.

[xenussister]

15. No, it wasn't a poor year overall.

There have been better years, sure, but there were a lot of great movies last year. I saw over 170 movies in the theater last year, so I know.

[Danger Mouse]

16. The oscars suck, this is just further proof.

Fuck em.