Okay, the Oscars were over a week ago.  Yes, I knew Avatar wasn't going to win.  Sci-Fi only really wins in VFX, makeup, sound mixing and the like*  Yes, I'm ECSTATIC that a female won for best director for a very worthy film.  It was weird to think they were taking place 20 minutes from my house (approximately 3.8 days with traffic) and that I had actually seen many of the winners in real life (most of them by grace of the awesome Jeff Goldsmith who hosts podcasts for Creative Screenwriting magazine, but also the crew of "The Cove" who actually debuted that film in Boulder, Colorado before I moved away). I wanted to post this before the awards, but here it is.  A funny little anecdote:

So an experimental film friend of mine works at the Academy Archives.  I’d heard him mention this before, but I always just thought of the job: archivist.  I’d never once considered the place: The Academy.  Probably some… like… military school or university or something?  Didn’t matter to me.  He works at an archive.  I worked in preservation at a film lab.  We spoke the same language and that was enough.

He invited me and my friend to explore some of cultural Los Angeles and catch a movie (which was followed by pie at Apple Pan- YUM, YUM and DOUBLE YUM).

We followed the directions.  As we approached the building my companion said, “wait.  Your friend works at the ACADEMY archives?”

Uh, yeah.  Should I know what this means?  I’m new to L.A., so probably not.

It wasn’t until after I entered the lobby, having gotten through a couple of security checkpoints and passing several displays housing Oscars, that I realized that the “Academy” was not referring to West Point.  The Academy was referring to The Academy.  The AMPAS.  The one you would like to thank (along with your agent, significant other and hardworking crew).   Oscars.

I tried to hide my embarrassment at my naïveté.  What?  The Academy Awards.  So?  I knew that.  Like I care.  Like… what?  Like I host a party every year, glue myself to the E! channel and write my acceptance speech out in my head every time I finish a project?  Pshaw!  As if!

(*practices acceptance wave*)

It didn’t take long for me to completely geek out after that.  We got a tour of the storage facilities and some of the screening rooms.  It was pretty damn cool.  Glamour aside, it was just cool from a technical standpoint.  And it was cool from a temperature standpoint, it being a film storage facility and all that.  (Ba-dum tish!)  And *I* probably seemed pretty damn cool for appearing not to give a f&*% about it.  Then again, I just blew that cool by divulging the truth here on this blog.

Me= clueless geek.

*interesting that Avatar won for best cinematography... I've already explained why that's cool to people who say "but it wasn't 'filmed.'"  It was, actually- remember that there were also real actors and real sets on that film and that the lighting and camera on those sets needed to match exactly what was happening digitally.  Not to mention that you still have to fuss over depth of field and all of that on the computer side AND make it match what you shot in reality... Discuss!