Trailer mash-up of The Dark Knight and In the Loop on YouTube:
Another tidbit from Wells at HE — apparently someone had the really good idea of inviting MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann to present the Screenplay honor to the most deserving In the Loop — One of the best scripts of 2009, with or without a WGA nod (it was ineligible, along with Up, District 9, Inglourious Basterds, A Single Man, etc.) Insightful, layered, funny – it seemed that Olbermann would have been the perfect match. But then again, Armond White made some last-minute decision to only have prior winners present awards, and there was some kind of time conflict issue, so they had to cancel on Olbermann:
Olbermann was naturally offended. He’s a political celebrity, after all, which would have fit perfectly with an award for a political comedy. He had taken the time to watch In The Loop on a screener (and loved it, I’m told) and had arranged for that segment pre-taping. Olbermann allegedly responded with “this is the rudest thing I’ve ever [dealt with]” and “I hope this organization likes publicity.”
Your first reaction might be that Olbermann needs to get over himself. My reaction is: that was a missed opportunity on so many levels.¬† The missed opportunity was for In the Loop. So Armond White and the NYFCC aren’t in the business of promoting their winners. The prize should be that they deemed it good enough for a win. Okay, fine. But ideally these wins expand to cultural impact. Ideally, critics’ awards do have resonance and meaning beyond a few who simply “liked” the movie. Inviting Olbermann is, I think, one reason to have an awards show in the first place: the illuminate the cultural impact of the films, not so that celebrities can continually praise one another over and over again.
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