Good morning,
THE USC SCRIPTER AWARD
As you may be aware from the overwhelming number of posters, newspaper ads and billboards, it is Hollywood’s awards season. To be clear, I generally view this awards season to be the most self-satisfied and self-congratulatory events, preying on our society’s love of the glitterati. I might watch some of the Academy Awards but not the entire long haul.
One awards ceremony that has attracted my attention for the last 35 years is the USC Scripter Awards. Those awards focus on what I believe are the most creative people in Hollywood—the authors of books and the writers of the adaptations of those books to the big screen (the movies) and the living room screen (TV). The Scripter Award is the only award that honors the writer of the book AND the writer of the screenplay.
The awards were founded 35 years ago (truth in advertising: I’m a co-founder of this event), as a means of acknowledging the importance of the written word to the best entertainment.
This year’s nominees for film are:
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Living
She Said
Top Gun: Maverick
Women Talking
I’m on the selection committee and am proud to share my vote. Mine was for Women Talking, which I felt was a unique storytelling that addressed sexual abuse, societal mores, the role of religion, and people discovering their voice and power.
On the TV front, where I believe much of the best writing resides, Here are the nominees (each actually for a specific episode):
The Crown
Fleischman is in Trouble
Slow Horses
Tokyo Vice
Under the Banner of Heaven
This was a close call for me. I went with Slow Horses, the British adaptation of the story of a group of misfits and rejects from the intelligence business. Gary Oldman does a star turn in what I believe he describes as his last major role. I also really liked all of the others.
All the foregoing being said, all the candidates are worthy. They were narrowed down from over 101 films and over 65 TV shows. They’re all winners.
AMERICA’S PASTIME
The baseball season begins at the end of this month. In the meantime, the teams are playing Spring Training games. At these games, many of the regulars play but also young guys trying to break into the big leagues. The stakes are meaningless, so no one should get too excited that the Angels are 5-1. They are toying with their beleaguered fans…!
New rules are in place in the coming year, all of which promise to make the game move along. Hopefully we are over with 3 ½ hour nine inning games. The average length of a nine inning game has extended relentlessly over the years, now taking a little over three hours. Back in the heyday of the game, a typical game took between two and 2 ½ hours to play. The seventh game of the 1960 World Series, which culminated in Bill Mazeroski’s home run for the Pirates to win 10-9 required only 2 ½ hours to play and had no strikeouts by either pitcher. These were the days when one could attend a game and get home at a reasonable time.
The new rules are intended to reduce the “dead time” in the game. Pitchers only have a prescribed number of seconds to get ready; they can only throw to first base two times without consequence; batters must be ready to go within eight seconds. No more repeatedly stepping out of the batter’s box. No more endless pickoff throws to first base. The umpire’s admonition at the beginning of the game never took on greater importance—“Play ball!” Get on with the playing and skip the tedium.
Another rule is to make the bases slightly bigger (18” square, versus the prior 15” square). This is ostensibly to reduce injuries through contact of a runner and a defensive player. A practical effect also should be an increase in base stealing attempts. This will make the game more exciting. I’m all for it.
BASEBALL BOOKS
Baseball, besides being a family bonding experience and part of our culture for over 150 years, also has been reflective of events in the world outside the ballpark. The Dodgers’ breaking the color barrier when Jackie Robinson joined the team in Brooklyn is a part of American history. A day honoring him is observed each April 15, when his number 42 is donned by every player, recalling a historic event that transcends baseball.
For the seminal story of Baseball’s interconnection with American psyche and social fabric, watch Baseball, the nine-part Ken Burns documentary. And if you want some great baseball reading, consider the following, all books ostensibly about baseball but also evocative of the time and place (exclusive of a few books tied to a specific year, which will be included in an upcoming Musing):
· Sandy Koufax: A Lefty’s Legacy, by Jane Leavy. Learn about arguably the greatest lefty (sorry Kershaw and Carlton fans), the hero who missed the first game of the World Series in honor of Yom Kippur, the reclusive Dodger legend, who boasts the greatest legacy over one of the shortest careers. Just reading about the beating his arm took starting every fourth day, with 137 complete games in his career, and the rehab of his discolored, swelled arm after every game is eye-opening. The book does a great job of painting a picture of the era of his career, in the late 50s and early 60s. Leavy’s prose is brilliant. If you like this, then also try The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America’s Childhood, another period-focused story of an enigmatic, larger than life player.
· The Boys of Summer, by Roger Kahn. A loving tribute to the Brooklyn Dodgers, who until 1955 were the perennial National League victors and also-rans to the Yankees. The Ebbets Field days saw characters like Roy Campanella, Duke Snyder, Pee Wee Reese, and Jackie Robinson. Love exudes from each page.
· October 1964, by David Halberstam. A picture of an era, with the last “big season” of a Yankee dynasty that stretched back to the 1920s with only intermittent droughts. The series was against the Lou Brock and Bob Gibson Cardinals. Halberstam brings his usual excellent narrative style and attention to detail.
· Game Six, by Mark Frost. The story of the 1975 World Series, designated #2 of all time by ESPN. I remember that series like it was yesterday. Who wasn’t thrilled by Carlton Fisk’s game winner (but one can’t forget the Bernie Carbo set-up to get to extra innings). The 1975 Reds, arguably was one of the best teams ever fielded, with four future Hall of Famers (should be five when Pete Rose finally makes it). What a game and series.
Have a great day and make sure to “root, root, root for the home team,”
Glenn
From the archives:
By the way my vote would have gone to "Living" - a poignant drama about redemption and change in the face of imminent death.
I agree twith your choice of "Slow Horses".
While I agree with you that the subject matter explored in Women Talking timely and important, I found the dialogue totally preachy and sophomoric - written more like a play than a film script. I also felt the film was front loaded an anti-male POV not worthy of the feminist movement.
On a different (but not dissimilar) note, Your reading list does not include John Updike's seminal Rabbit Quartet (" Rabbit Run", "Rabbit Redux", "Rabbit is Rich" and Rabbit at Rest"). I don't think any other novel or novels explore the contours and desires of the American male psyche as well as Updike.