The Oscar Awards Show 2007 Director Louis J. Horvitz

The inclusion of so many theatre based images and performances during the Oscars 2007 prompted me to search for the name of the director; and the man responsible is none other than Oscars and Emmys veteran Louis J. Horvitz.

Boasting of having directed the Oscars 11 times and the Emmys 12 times in his 3 decade career, Louis J. Horvitz has worked in diverse shows that include a whole spectrum of performers and film icons such as rapper/producer P Diddy to American Idol finalist Clay Aiken to Star Wars icon George Lucas.

Some of the most memorable highlights for me during the Oscars 2007 were the following:

Amazing Shadow Dancers The performances that I most looked forward to were the dancers cum gymnasts whose shadows could be seen on a white screen doing forward rolls for entrances, and, using only their bodies, combine into unbelievable and amazing silhouettes such as the Oscar statue, or the penguins from Oscar Winner Happy Feet, or the dysfunctional family in the van with a member running after them from Oscar winner for Best Original Screenplay Little Miss Sunshine.

Musical Theatre Trio The Oscars 2007 beginnings had a musical theatre type of song composed for the occasion that highlights the travails of the comedic actor’s work usually not being noticed by the Oscars’ voting ensemble, ably sung by comedians Will Ferrell and Jack Black, and whose lamentations were lightened by Oscar nominee John C. Reilly from the film Chicago, who joined the pair after singing initially from the stage audience area.

Ellen Degeneres in her Element And then Ellen Degeneres was in her element by bringing humor into simple details. The funniest for me was asking legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg to take a picture of her and another film legend Clint Eastwood, and then even asking him to retake it so that both she and Clint would be more in the center of the frame. Only Ellen could get away with it with so much down to earth charm.

The Spielberg, Lucas and Coppola Triumvirate And, Louis J. Horvitz’s decision to include three giants of film directing, namely, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola to award the winner for the Oscar for the Best Director Award was a brilliant stroke that had Oscar winners Spielberg and Coppola reminiscing the wonderful feeling they had as Oscar winners in the same category, with George Lucas butting in that he hasn’t won, which, of course, led to some good natured ribbing.

The Triumph of Martin Scorsese But, most of all, the gamble of this powerhouse triumvirate casting became even more poignant when renowned film director Martin Scorsese finally won the golden statuette after years of being nominated, with Scorsese acknowledging the presence of his colleagues in his acceptance speech.

Note: The photo of Oscars 2007 director Louis J. Horvitz is from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

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