Huffington Magazine Issue 35-36 | Page 40

i x i n g o s c Robin Williams performs the song “Blame Canada” from South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, nominated for Best Original Song, during the 72nd Academy Awards in March 2000. ner; each time someone thanks, say, Harvey, the Harvey icon’s head would swell with volume.” TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/GETTY IMAGES THE POINT “I don’t want it to be an opera by Puccini. I don’t want it to be a reading aloud of War And Peace by Leo Tolstoy,” Talese told HuffPost, sounding as if he were reading aloud from Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss. “I don’t want to have somebody give me their view of President Karzai. I don’t want to hear about Iraq or Hillary Clinton. Those in Hollywood who think they’re very knowing on policy may want that, but I think it’s stupid. Don’t do it on Oscar night. We’re talking about entertainment.” The 80-year-old writer described his ideal Oscar night as a tour of Hollywood’s “fantasy factory,” with no view to the outside world. And yet, watching our favorite actors and actresses fumble through cue cards is rarely a t