What a difference two days makes: Less than 48 hours after the launch of Movieline's "Consider Uggie" crusade, the movement's Facebook page has acquired 1,100 followers and counting, its honoree has his own Twitter page, and Uggie himself joined trainer Omar Mueller for a campaign stop on E! News. Crazy! And overdue.
The effort to recognize The Artist's wonder dog this awards season received another significant boost with a whole segment Wednesday night on E! News, which Ryan Seacrest teased via Twitter and which also highlighted the double-barreled social-media presences at Facebook and @Uggie_The Artist. But most necessary for any awards narrative, it told the story of Uggie's rescue and recovery to become one of Hollywood's foremost canine stars. Think of him like Mickey Rourke with four legs and sans the power of speech -- an improvement, no doubt:
And of course there are the haters. "This is what some of us are talking about as the year draws to a close and the best films are being examined and debated?" groused Jeffrey Wells. "Melting down and making a fuss over a cute dog or an emotionally constant horse is the most basic emotional default in the human behavior book. And to me dog and horse talk during award season just feels low and common and... I don't know, trailer-parky. And it indicates that there's not a lot of passion out there about the November-December films, let's face it."
Indeed! Stop being low and common, Team Uggie. God forbid any of us should want to see great work rewarded or actually have fun with the next three months of awards nonsense. We'll try to keep it dry and joyless wherever possible from here on out.
[Footage via E! News]
· Consider Uggie [Facebook]
· @Uggie_TheArtist [Twitter]