Tom Hooper, Phil Jackson, and The Karate Kid

Another Oscars ceremony has come and gone, leaving ugly dresses and mild controversy in its wake. While the sometimes over-extended telecast has often been compared to a marathon, during our discussion of the events we found some other sports-related metaphors. Best Director: While Tom Hooper was technically the front-runner for the award, many were still hoping that David Fincher would pull off the victory, which would have been both a deserved win and a consolation prize of sorts for not winning Best Picture. The argument has been that The King’s Speech is a fairly easy movie to direct. Its plot is a straight-forward one, not unlike The Karate Kid. A person has a problem, and a lovable mentor helps them overcome said problem. Sure, one uses crane kicks while the other uses profanity, but in the end they are both about mentor/mentee relationships that progress to actual friendships. It also stars two incredibly talented actors who have been great in many films. Meanwhile, The...