J. Law's Backstage Speech

http://bit.ly/125AfSI

This is bouncing around the Internet burnishing Jennifer Lawrence's image while the Academy is home slapping its back for a miniscule ratings increase not admitting it has nothing to do with Seth MacFarlane or the show itself but good movies and the desire to play where everybody else is.

Water-cooler moments.

That's why Marissa Mayer is getting everybody to come back to work, inside the building. Turns out you can be really damn productive at home, but you're just not that innovative. While Sheryl Sandberg is out starting a religion, getting into touchy-feely world whilst alienating her core audience on her way to running for office, Marissa Mayer is looking at the books and realizing Yahoo is a disaster and is willing to do what's unpopular to right the ship.

Unlike the Academy.

End game today?

Death.

Just ask the L.A. "Times."

Wanna know why the "New York Times" is selling the "Boston Globe"? Because all news is national now. Of course we need local reporting, then again, the "New York Times" breaks more L.A. stories than the local paper, but the Internet has brought us all together. We only need one Google, one Amazon, one iTunes and maybe only a couple of major newsgathering organizations. Scary, I know. Then again, how much reporting and how accurate were the regional papers anyway? And there are scores of sites digging deep on all topics if you're truly interested.

And the point I'm making is if you think it's yesterday's world, you've already been left behind. Facebook has peaked and Turntable.fm has already died. Famous for a minute doesn't count. It's about the long haul.

Facebook established a paradigm. That we would never lose touch with anybody ever again, that everybody would be findable and reachable online. But we don't have to do it on Facebook. And it takes too much time to update your profile. And who wants everybody to know everything anyway. If you think Facebook is the future, you're still e-mailing jokes to your buddies on AOL. Times change, can you?

The Oscars are opaque. It's all image. In a world where we've got photographers on every corner, looking for faux pas. Wanna do something off the record? Then do it in the bathroom, in the dark, alone, otherwise it's open season, everything's up for grabs.

So Jennifer Lawrence wins an Oscar and instead of kissing butt for the inane press corps, asking questions so dumb and so rote they're not worth answering, she criticizes them and speaks the truth.

"What was the process of getting ready?"

I JUST WOKE UP AND TRIED ON THE DRESS AND IT FIT...

This along with the profanity and the comment about the inanity draws you in, the clip is magic, you want to watch it again, because this is a person you know, but she's talented and a star.

Everything you knew about being a star is toast.

1. Have Edges

They're the only things that can hook people. If you've rounded off all your edges and sanded off all your warts you may be pretty, but you're damn uninteresting.

2. Know Your Audience

It's not gatekeepers, it's the end user.

Movie-makers are so busy kissing the butt of distributors and marketers that they're missing the point. We know if a flick is a hit within hours of its release, oftentimes before, because of advance screenings. You've got a plethora of texters and tweeters spreading the word. Advertising is not what it once was. This clip already has more views than almost all late night television programs.

It's directly from your heart to theirs. Be real, and true, and more people want more of you.

3. Irreverence

Our whole nation is questioning authority, wondering why? If you're a true believer following the party line you're ignored. The way Jennifer pokes fun at the proceedings puts you on HER team as opposed to THEIRS!

4. Honesty

We know when you're telling the truth. So do so. Don't worry about alienating the vocal minority... That's what they are, a cadre of pissed-off people who don't care about you but want to weigh in so they can be heard. Yup, they need the attention, and by responding you give them what they want.

5. Hate

It goes with the territory. As good as Jennifer Lawrence is in this clip, she's still young, beautiful and rich. Not everybody likes that. So she's gonna be attacked. Accept it. People have felt this way forever, they just didn't have a way of expressing it, not in way you could hear. Life has become high school. With cliques and snark. Own it. Unlike the Academy. Which thinks it's above it all, when nothing could be further from the truth.

6. Don't Let Them Put You Down, Or In A Box

Defend yourself against the system. The old man asking if Jennifer thinks she's peaked too soon... Talk about raining on her parade... She just won! It's like putting a mic in front of someone who's dying and asking if they've got any regrets. It's not the time. And who cares about the answer anyway?

7. Don't Take Yourself Too Seriously

If you act above us, we're just going to be inspired to tear you down.

We're looking for viral moments. And now they're quantifiable. All YouTube clips have a counter. And, of course, the lame labels are trying to game the system, but not when it's news, not when it's an evanescent moment captured on tape. This clip will never have a billion views, but it'll have enough to help Jennifer Lawrence open her next movie.

And how did it happen?

By breaking all the rules.

Hell, the action's supposed to be on the screen, during the show!

But it's small, off-guard moments that end up winning.

What are we gonna remember about the Oscar telecast? Seth MacFarlane, boobs? Even Babs?

No.

We're gonna remember the mistakes, the honesty, the truth of this unscripted exchange.

It's all about being forward-worthy.

Think about that when you create. Is what you're doing so interesting that people are gonna want to tell others about it, without you imploring them to do so?

That's the magic you're looking for.

And it's got nothing to do with perfection, it's got very little to do with beauty.

It's got to do with humanity. Life. Insight into what it's like to be where Jennifer Lawrence is.

She won.

More than an Oscar.

The audience's heart.


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