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"Psycho," "The Man Who Knew Too Much '56" and "Family Plot" at the 2019 Oscar Broadcast

posted 6 years ago by ecarle (14979)
6 replies | jump to latest

"Psycho" got two commercials on the 2019 Broadcast for the 2018 Oscars.

One was crystal clear: shots of Janet Leigh driving up to the Bates Motel while checking her Google phone or whatever it was. (Similar clip commericals used 2001, Scream, and Jerry McGuire -- but Psycho made the grade.) A less "spot on" commercial gave us the build-up to the shower scene "from Mother's POV," creeping up to the shower, and on the woman screaming, a CUT to a "voice artist"(black) screaming for the white woman in the shower.

So Hitchcock got two references in the COMMERICALS! No, wait, THREE. Another commercial was cued to a girl singing "Que, Sera, Sera" -- from The Man Who Knew Too Much '56.

And during the "In Memoriam" segment, Barbara Harris was shown as Madame Blanche.

So Hitchcock, and Psycho, at the Oscars....still abide.

[–] swanstep (2715) 6 years ago

Amazing. I've been looking online for the phone ads with no luck. Can you remember the brand (i.e., so I can refine my searches a bit)?

[–] MizhuB (165) 6 years ago

The one with Janet Leigh driving is here:

https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/24/18239125/google-assistant-oscars-2019-ads-space-odyssey-psycho-scream

[–] swanstep (2715) 6 years ago

@Mizhub. Thanks for that link. The 2001 ad. contains an error: Dave Bowman's command to Hal is to open the doors to let him *in* whereas the pod-bay doors we see opening are to let Bowman out.

[–] MizhuB (165) 6 years ago

swanstep. Heh, the only one of those I watched was the Psycho one, but I just watched the 2001 one, and I see your point.

[–] swanstep (2715) 6 years ago

A deeper problem with the 2001 ad. is just that google's 'digital assistant you come to rely on' tech *is* a version of HAL, the thing that's the obstacle in 2001. In the Psycho case the obstacle is lack of knowledge about a motel, something that google's tech can plausibly help with. In 2001 the obstacle is recognizable descendants of google's tech which of course we become very dependent on. Google can't promise that its future AI's won't be much harder to predict and control, won't exhibit HAL-like neuroticisms, etc.. Put another way, future google assistants won't be things we can turn to when a HAL goes screwy, they'll be HAL, which will be a problem as the movie shows.

[–] ecarle (14979) 6 years ago

An interesting analysis of the 2001 commercial, swanstep.

I ran the DVR of the Oscars again to find these commercials in the show. They ran all of them in a pack EXCEPT the Psycho one, and gave the Psycho one a stand alone play...and then ran the others with stand alone play. Not sure what this means other than, perhaps that the b/w Psycho would have "stood out" amongst the color clips.

Funny: while the Psycho commercial was playing I was too much talking ABOUT it("Hey, look at that)to get the gist. On re-run (here and on DVR), there's the gag: don't stop at that motel! Even some survivor probably rated it "poor" for ambiance...