Tonight saw the 68th Annual Hollywood Foreign Press Association's Golden Globe Awards, which supposedly honor the best in both movies and television. Since they are the first awards given during "award season," many people consider them to be indicators of how the AMPAS voters will choose the winners of the Oscars. To which I say: Feh!
Why do I say this? Two words: Pia Zadora. Yes, Pia Zadora. Does anyone remember her? Way back in 1982, Pia won a Golden Globe as Most Promising Newcomer (an award which is no longer given, by the way) for her work in the truly awful Southern potboiler Butterfly. A true stinker of a film, Butterfly is basically about the incestuous relationship between an Arizona farmer (Stacy Keach) and his daughter (Zadora). A wretched train wreck of a film, co-starring Orson Welles as a bellicose judge, Butterfly had yet to be screened by anyone when Zadora won her award. It turned out that her husband Meshulam Riklis (who was 31 years older than she was when they married), actually paid members of the HFPA to vote for her. The scandal nearly scuttled the Golden Globes for good.
So tonight, while I watched the first two hours of this year's Golden Globes (mostly to see just how catty host Ricky Gervais would be), I couldn't help but think of Pia Zadora and her completely undeserved award. And of course, Gervais delivered the goods, taking jibes at certain Scientologists not in attendance and the most recent scandal involving tickets to Cher's show in Vegas.
Still doubting? Then take a gander at Zadora's "Award-Winning" performance:
Zadora would go on to be in the film adaptation of Harold Robbins' The Lonely Lady and later make a hilarious appearance as a beatnik artist in John Waters' 1998 Hairspray. She also had a small role in The Naked Gun 33 1/3, but has since gone on to be a rather minor footnote in Entertainment History. I should also point out that as a child, she appeared in the horrendous Santa Claus Conquers The Martians, though the hilarious folks at MST3K have already skewered that movie - My favorite line? "Pills for breakfast? What are we, Judy Garland?"
So, while favorites like "Glee," The King's Speech and The Social Network may have won Golden Globes tonight, I'll wait until the real awards are given out later this year.
More, anon.
Prospero.
She did a wonderfully awful 80's tune with Jermaine Jackson called "When the Rain Begins to Fall"
ReplyDeletePia rules!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GM-BzSz-wSY&feature=related
All I have to say is that I want Christian Bale to drive it home, b/c so far this year (altho I haven't screened loads of nom'd films) delivered the best performance of the year so far IMHO-- I think you saw the Fighter, but no, you said no interest, right? Anyways, if not for just his performance, I recommend it. So happy for him and it's well deserved, regardless of his over the top intensity in his work sometimes! But hear hear to your post-- Oscars will be fun, regardless. I think Eva Longoria tripped, too? And Bieber, oh the Biebs, how I heard the rustling in the crowd...and yes, Ricky is always a good rub. xo
ReplyDeleteNot sure if my first post went through...?
ReplyDeleteSo ..Pia Zadora did a wonderfully awful 80's song with Jermaine Jackson called "When The Rain Begins To Fall"..so awesome!!
Pia rules! Jermaine, not so much lol
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CU3qemyZZBE
You're so right! Pia Zadora. I think her best - no, her ONLY slightly good performance - is in the non-musical film, HAIRSPRAY. Pia saying, "Let's do some reefer. We'll get high and I'll iron the chick's hair." Classic. Truly classic. :-)
ReplyDeleteYou're so right! Pia Zadora. I think her best - no, her ONLY slightly good performance - is in the non-musical film, HAIRSPRAY. Pia saying, "Let's do some reefer. We'll get high and I'll iron the chick's hair." Classic. Truly classic. :-)
ReplyDelete