February 26, 2008

"Roy Scheider here. You know who definitely need a bigger boat?"

"The montage of dead people, which I was most certainly not in. What's with the arbitrary cut-off date? I starred in two iconic movies; I played Bob Fosse; I just died. I didn't expect to beat Heath Ledger on the applause-o-meter or anything, but Jesus H., who does a guy have to fuck to make the 'In Memoriam' grade around here? …You know, if I thought I would still be apologizing for The Myth Of Fingerprints in the afterlife, I would have told my agent to shove that script sideways."

Television Without Pity does the Oscars show. (People seem to forget that the Oscars is a TV show.) Click on the little pics along the top to get all the snark.

27 comments:

Hoosier Daddy said...

No kidding. Here's a guy who uttered one of the most famous movie lines and he doesn't get a mention?

Then again Hollywood has lost a lot of class in the last decade or so.

Peter V. Bella said...

Hoosier,
Hollywood lost all its class DECADES ago.

KCFleming said...

Clearly, his demise did not meet the required deadline. Scheider was certainly aware of this deadline for inclusion with the In Memoriam mantage, so he cannot now claim he is a special case.

Scheider should know better. If the Academy were to make an exception for him, it would be unable to exclude others who ask for similar consideration.

As it is, he should have applied earlier, when first he knew he was nudging death's door. Either that, or he could have arranged to die earlier.

We have rules for a reason. Else all is chaos.

Thorley Winston said...

Does that mean they'll show him in next year's montage?

And how the heck does Heath Ledger rate a bigger tribute than the guy who starred in Jaws and co-starred in the French Connection? I mean the Patriot was a great movie but his role wasn’t that important.

ricpic said...

Any Heath Ledger fan will tell you that Roy Scheider is so yesterday, man. Get with it, willya?!

Ann Althouse said...

Ledger got in, but he died on January 22. Scheider held on until February 10. Still, how hard can it be to put in another little clip? The cut-off should be the day of the show. Digital editing is easy, and the recent deaths are the ones that have the most emotional impact. If you're going to put on a live TV show, have some flexibility. Poor Jon Stewart — his "Daily Show" puts together clips and jokes the same day — and he had to preside over that boring, clunky mess.

JackDRipper said...

Then again Hollywood has lost a lot of class in the last decade or so.

Compare these to what's out there today:

http://www.classicfilmstars.com/

Actors and politicians all seem so small and unimpressive these days. And I don't mean just physically small.

Roy Scheider was also in a great movie and box office bomb called Sorcerer.

Peter V. Bella said...

We have rules for a reason. Else all is chaos.

We do have rules for a reason, but when the rules disenfranchise people, they should not apply. Did Scheider agree to abide by the rules beforehand? Did he agree to die in time to be included? Did he make a pact with other actors to die in a timely manner? If not, the rules do not apply.

Hell, Hollywood is just like politics.

Original Mike said...

Here's a guy who uttered one of the most famous movie lines and he doesn't get a mention?

I'm culturally illiterate. What's the line?

JackDRipper said...

Original Mike said...I'm culturally illiterate. What's the line?

You're gonna need a bigger boat.

Original Mike said...

Thanks, JackD. Appreciate it. I have yet to see Jaws. I'll get around to it someday.

Chris Arabia said...

I don't know whether it was an homage, but Paul Gleason in "Die Hard" as the FBI helicopter exploded and fell:

"We're gonna need some more FBI guys, I guess."

former law student said...

Whoopi, a multiple Oscar host, was bummed out about being left out of the Oscar host montage.

Hey, I don't remember seeing Johnny Carson in the montage, either. Did I miss it?

Hoosier Daddy said...

I have yet to see Jaws. I'll get around to it someday.

Oh for the love of all thats holy! You haven't seen Jaws? What the hell is the matter with you? One of the all time classics of cinema and you haven't gotten around to it?

Of all the things wrong in this nation and you have been deprived of seeing an epic adventure of the 20th century. I'm contacting the Obama campaign right now. I'm all but certain once he is aware of your deprivations, he will ensure that there is a Federal program to ensure that people like Original Mike don't have to spend their twilight years stuck watching C-Span when they could be watching Hooper and Quint squaring off on the poopdeck and Chief Brody emptying his Magnum into the Great White.

Tibore said...

Poor Brad Renfro. He died "in time" (Jan. 15), yet got no Oscar love in the Dead Guy Montage.

No, I can't name any of his films without looking them up. Someone over at GreenCine had to clue us all in on his exclusion.

Original Mike said...

I've been busy, Hoosier. It only came out in 1975.

John Stodder said...

What I don't understand is why Roy Scheider's reign as a movie star didn't last longer. He was compelling on screen.

If you watch "Law and Order: Criminal Intent," he was on a recent episode as a death-row inmate who was being asked to reveal some of the unsolved murders for which he was responsible, and ended up having a connection to the main character. He looked old, but was just as powerful as in the 70s.

Hoosier Daddy said...

I've been busy, Hoosier. It only came out in 1975.

I'm messin with ya of course.

Well when you do have the time to view it, Rich Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw IRL could not stand each other so the 'hostility' you see in the movie isn't acting.

Just one of those tidbits of trivia I love so much.

Hoosier Daddy said...

What I don't understand is why Roy Scheider's reign as a movie star didn't last longer. He was compelling on screen.

Also a very good performance in 2010 (sequel to 2001) opposite Helen Mirrin. He actually did a lot of flicks but few memorable ones (Jaws (2), 2010, All that Jazz)

Original Mike said...

Thanks, Hoosier. The tibit may help. I've never had an urge to watch it, though it seems like something I should do. To increase my cultural IQ, I guess.

blake said...

Jaws is over-rated.

Or at least it seemed to me that way at the time.

Scheider was good but he wasn't in a lot of a good movies.

He was in Rainmaker, which was based on a novel by John Grisham. John Grisham also wrote The Client, the movie version of which starred the also snubbed Brad Renfro.

(Kevin Bacon.)

Hoosier Daddy said...

Jaws is over-rated.

Or at least it seemed to me that way at the time.


Well with all movies, opinions vary. I don't think it was overrated, particularly for the time plus the soundtrack is classic.

He was in Rainmaker, which was based on a novel by John Grisham.

I think his screen time was what, 30 seconds tops? I was rather surprised myself.

Bill said...

Also The French Connection and Blue Thunder.

halojones-fan said...

And he was the captain of "SeaQuest DSV" (a job taken over in later years by Michael Ironsides.)

***

PS Nice to see TWOP resurrect the old "Galaxy Of Fame" format from FameTracker.

blake said...

Well with all movies, opinions vary. I don't think it was overrated, particularly for the time plus the soundtrack is classic.

I qualified with "at the time" because it was one of those movies (like Star Wars) that created a kind of frenzy disproportionate to what I saw as its actual quality.

But rephrase it as "for the time", then, you have a point. Spielberg and Lucas both get credit for bringing people back into the movies.

And the score is great.

DBrooks17 said...

He was in a number of good films that people forget about--All That Jazz(his performance is incredible), Marathon Man, Klute, Naked Lunch, Romeo is Bleeding, The Russia House, etc.

Unknown said...

Lets not forget Sheider's last film that is still to come out. I've heard rumors that it's supposed to be his best performance.

The film is Iron Cross. Has anyone heard anything about it?