Last time I ragged on our pal James was to take the Malibu mansion-dwelling millionaire to task for his ridiculous “I believe in eco-terrorism” comment.
Today, I’m here to talk about the latest idiocy to come out of his mouth. As our very own John Nolte pointed out, Cameron explained in an interview why he just might lose out on Best Director to Katherine Bigelow, director of The Hurt Locker, in the upcoming 2010 Ego Fest 2010 Academy Awards:
“I would say that it’s an irresistible opportunity for the Academy to anoint a female director for the first time. I would say that that’s, you know, a very strong probability and I will be cheering when that happens.”
Oy vey. Where to start?
A caveat: I didn’t see either Avatar or Hurt Locker. So, I can’t debate either of these movies on their merits. But the very idea that Cameron is already cushioning the blow if he doesn’t win with the “irresistible opportunity for the Academy to anoint a female director for the first time” argument is nearly enough for me to blow chunks.
First of all, Bigelow is not the first woman ever to have been nominated for Best Director. Lina Wertmüller (1975), Jane Campion (1993) and Sofia Coppola (2003) all received nominations for their work. So if the Academy was itching to “anoint” someone as its first female Best Director, they’ve blown three chances already. Besides, aren’t we always being told that the nominees are judged on their merits, not insider politics?
Secondly, Bigelow is one of the lucky members of the James Cameron Ex-Wives Club. The two divorced in 1991. No matter how amiable the two may be now, it’s gotta sting just a little bit that his ex might be beating him out of one of the most coveted awards Hollywood has to offer:
On the surface at least, Cameron and Bigelow claim there’s no rivalry between them. They insist they are “good friends.”
Indeed, Bigelow and her ex-husband collaborated on a film, the commercial mega-flop “Strange Days,” four years after their 1991 divorce.
She even asked him to peruse the script of “The Hurt Locker” before committing to the $11 million project.
Cameron, in the midst of making the $230 million “Avatar,” told her to immediately drop what she working on and go for it. Detractors claim the notoriously ego-driven director will twist this advice to his credit if “The Hurt Locker” beats him out on March 7.
But what’s really galling, aside from Cameron’s legendary ego, is the tired old leftist meme he’s spouting. Liberals are always on the lookout for “historic” firsts based on color, creed and sex. Accomplishments? Not so much. Just so long as we get the first Latina on the Supreme Court, the first black President, etc.
How’s that last one working out for ya?
As John Nolte points out in his post, this is a
… great example … of the corrosive evil of affirmative action, multiculturalism, political correctness — whatever you want to call it. The protected class that “benefits” from this nonsense always has an invisible asterisk after their name that questions the true merit of their accomplishments.
Exactly. If Bigelow wins, the seeds of doubt will have already been planted. Did she really win because she did such a fabulous job directing? Or did she win because the Academy decided that it’s about time a woman received the honor?
And if she doesn’t win, is it because her work just wasn’t quite good enough or because the Academy is full of sexists? See, it goes both ways.
Of course, affirmative action has much deeper implications than who wins silly awards Tinseltown, as Thomas Sowell points out:
The dishonesty that is incidental to other policies is central to affirmative action. Most of what is said in support of this policy is either wholly unsubstantiated or demonstrably false.
What about the notion that affirmative action has helped blacks rise out of poverty? The black poverty rate was cut in half before affirmative action — and has barely changed since then.
What about the notion that blacks would not be able to get into colleges and universities without affirmative action? After group preferences and quotas were banned in California’s state universities, the number of black students in the University of California system has risen.
Fewer are attending Berkeley and more are attending other universities, whose normal admissions standards they meet. These students are now more likely to graduate, which is the whole point. Before, they were being used like movie extras to create a background — until most either dropped out or flunked out.
Affirmative action hurts everyone, including those it purports to help. But to liberals, it’s all about good intentions. If things don’t work out, it’s really okay because they “meant well” and it made people “feel good” at the time. This is how we get saddled with not only policies like affirmative action, but claims of anthropogenic global warming which, if policymakers continue to kowtow to this discredited, politically-motivated junk science, will further cripple the American economy.
Hey, has anyone seen Al Gore lately? Hey Al, where are you?
Look, I understand that James Cameron and his Ego (hey, that sounds like the makings of a documentary!) are having a hard time with the fact that he might not only lose the Best Director award, but lose it to his ex-wife. But playing the “She’s a woman!” card makes him look like a sexist. Which is really what affirmative action is all about: sexism and racism. You aren’t good enough to get there on your own, so we’ll automatically assign you a handicap, like in golf.
I should think the self-anointed “King of the World” will survive if he doesn’t get that additional Oscar statuette to place on his mantel. Just shut your yap, let the votes be counted, and either be humble in victory or gracious in defeat. You know, act. Like the people in your films.
So, may the best man win! Oh wait, was that a sexist remark?
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