Norton slams award ceremonies

Edward Norton has had a pop at the silly season that precedes the Oscars.

Nov 21 2006

Edward Norton has launched a scathing attack on the vast number of award ceremonies that he fears will demean the Oscars.

The 'Fight Club' star believes there are too many ceremonies in the calendar between now and March and has urged his peers to stop attending so many.

Norton said: 'It's just a bloodbath. What has evolved in terms of this orgy of self-congratulation at the end of the year, everybody's willingness to schlep out for every single little [ceremony]. It's like half the best filmmakers in the world are showing up for the 'Buster Brown Film Awards' and it's got to stop.

'We've debased the integrity and the specialness of the Academy Awards, which is the true compliment within the industry among peers.'

Norton also did his best Bob Geldof impression by criticising the lavish gift baskets given to celebrities at the Oscars and the Golden Globes.

He said 'The gift baskets, worth amounts of money that a low income family could live on for a year, [are given to] people who have so much already. It gets depressing. You sit there, going, 'This is an embarrassment'.'

Whether his fellow stars join him in his noble crusade to 'ban the basket' remains to be seen. We don't recommend Norton holds his breath however.

• 
•