Jean-Luc Godard Drives a Hyundai, Doesn't Want Your Half-Assed Oscar

godard_found_225alt.jpgHey, check it out! Someone found eminent (and eminently elusive) French master Jean-Luc Godard! That only took a week and a freaking half, and there he was in his adopted home of Switzerland the whole time. All anyone had to do was look for his... Hyundai? Oh -- and prepare for the worst.

The choice in automobiles must be taken in context; they do imports differently in Switzerland (obviously), and let's face it: If you didn't want to be spotted, you'd probably drive the same thing. But there he was in Rolle, tracked down by a journalist for The Australian who simply wanted to know if the 79-year-old French New Wave kingpin had heard about his honorary Oscar win and/or if he planned to accept the prize this fall in Hollywood:

"I got the letter" [...] Godard says nothing more except "Thank you" as he strides towards a two-storey pink cottage he rents from the local greengrocer on a quiet, leafy street in the picturesque village of Rolle, not far from Geneva.

It is left to Anne-Marie Mieville, his partner in life and in work, to explain his feelings about the honour, which is also due to be bestowed on veteran American actor Eli Wallach, and British film historian Kevin Brownlow, at a ceremony in November.

"He just told me, 'It's not the Oscars,'" she says, referring to his reaction on learning about the award. "At first he thought it was going to be part of the same ceremony, then he realised it was a separate thing in November."

Not that it would make any difference. "Jean-Luc won't go to America, he's getting old for that kind of thing. Would you go all that way just for a bit of metal?"

Ah. You mean, it's a bit of metal he would have to collect this year at the Governors Awards as opposed to next year at the actual Oscars. Cheeky! That bit of metal is worth more than his car, lady.

Anyway, I love this. Let's push it, Academy: Offer to give him his award next spring, just to see if he's getting old for that kind of thing? And anyway, what's an extra five minutes for the guy who made a fistful of the most important films ever? Maybe just plug Godard into the unofficial Pixar spot, and let those guys collect their Animated Feature Oscar for Toy Story 3 in November. We have options. What are some others?

· Jean-Luc Godard to be an Oscar no-show [The Australian via Hollywood Elsewhere]



Comments

  • Christopher Rosen says:

    Jeez, I don't know -- the Oscars are normally such a tight ship, it might be hard to squeeze Jean-Luc in during the 4 1/2 hour telecast. What about the Best Original Song montages? Those have to stay.

  • Bronson says:

    That, and/or any of the bad jokes. Like whatever gag Ben Stiller is planning for this year.

  • Pierre says:

    Godard is a swiss and french national. His family is a french-swiss protestant and he spent his early life in Nyon, Switzerland. Only at 18 years old he went to Paris.

  • Krom Suvro Das says:

    Mr. vanairsdale. I never knew that people like you can make a living in the so called first world. What is this post for? and imporatntly, Why??? Problem with you materialist guys is that you cannot do away with things like cars and guns. Howdoes that matter he drives Hyundai or Fiat? You have your Oscars bagged for most of the films and filmmakers who would go by the international policies of the US? of course if i cite examples of greats like Ray and Ghatak, you will be clueless cause your knowledge would end there.
    Try to study and acquire some fuel to your pen, ofcourse with understandings in the medium called film. I feel its defamative, biased and quite low in taste and sentence construction, leave apart your knowledge on cinema and JLG.