That was sarcasm.
It stuns me that people who are vastly overpaid, over-hyped and too visible have to have not only awards to validate not only their existence but their job performance. On top of that, they have to have a show where they get to act some more, behaving as if they're really happy for the winner when they lose or humble when they win. And this is after they get praised for looking amazing on the red carpet before the show, when people ooo and ahh at them for merely getting dressed up. It's amazing and just a little sickening.
To be honest, I'm looking forward to seeing Maureen O'Hara, perhaps for the last time, when she's given a lifetime achievement/honorary Oscar. She's classy and feisty and Irish. Other than that, I really don't give a whit.
But this morning, I heard a report on the Swag -- Stuff We All Get, which is a lie -- that the losing nominees and the host, Neil Patrick Harris, get for dragging themselves out of bed and getting gussied up to possibly win an award validating their life and work. Frankly, I'm shocked. Millionaires, people paid quite handsomely for playing make believe, are in line to get gifts totaling nearly $125,000. Here's a partial list from Variety:
a three-night stay at a resort in Tuscany valued at $1,500; a luxury train ride through the Canadian Rockies worth more than $14,500; natural French Mediterranean sea salts worth $1,500; a custom silver necklace inscribed with the latitude and longitude coordinates of the Dolby Theater from Lat & Lo at $150; a “glamping” trip valued at $12,500; a $800 gift certificate for a custom candy and dessert buffet; a $250 Haze vaporizer; a $250 Afterglow vibrator; a Wellness 360 gift pack worth $1,200; a year’s worth of all-Audi A4 car rental from Silvercar valued at $20,000; a Reset Yourself lifestyle makeover package worth more than $14,200; and so much more.
It's as if these people were being asked to forego killing them, tributes offered for their godliness. It's astounding to me that for losing an award -- albeit an award that's meaningful within their industry -- people have to be placated with this many gifts. It's an extension of the notion that everyone gets a trophy for participating. Mind you, the winners don't get the swag bags -- a mighty consolation to the losers, I'm sure -- but c'mon, are you kidding me?
Can anyone imagine going to the office Christmas party and getting even a tenth of that lucre? That's outrageous. What makes it even more unpalatable is that many of these people then turn around and lecture the hoi polloi about income inequality. That's unconscionable and even disgusting.
News reports, however, hasten to add that taxes must be paid on this swag, as if for us mere mortals that will soften the blow at all.
Yeah, that should be hard for them to pay, especially for some of them who get upwards of $10M per picture. Moreover, either the studio or their agent may agree to foot that bill, easing the burden for the celebrity.
Try telling that to the poor people these fools claim to champion.
(c) 2015 The Truxton Spangler Chronicles
No comments:
Post a Comment