We all love to watch the Oscars, but the staff from the menswear section at David Jones in Adelaide today have more reason than most to tune in.
They’ve dressed one of Australia’s two nominees.
Tim Crosbie, a lovable redhead who works at Adelaide-based Rising Sun Pictures, received an Oscar nomination for visual effects on X-Men, Days of Future Past.
He departed Australia on Friday for today’s ceremony, and to attend the Governor’s Ball.
Trouble is, the awards ceremony is strictly black-tie, and Tim didn’t have a tux, so he headed down to the Hugo Boss section at David Jones in Adelaide ‘and I spent a fun time doing all the measuring up. Not cheap, but this is a once in a lifetime thing,’ he told the Weekly.
The weeks since Tim got the nod have been a bit of a whirl. His sister had the best reaction, ‘screaming down the phone when I called, with a few expletives thrown in. She’s so proud.’
He has also been overwhelmed by the number of old friends who have called with their congratulations.
“I had a really great phone chat with an old friend of mine yesterday. We’d lost touch over the years and he tracked me down. I was really touched. It’s overwhelming,” he said.
Of course, he hopes to win – or, more precisely, that X-Men should win.
“My team back at Rising Sun did such an amazing job. We did seven months of really hard work on potentially the most complex visual effects sequence seen on the screen this year.
“I watched it again just the other weekend and it definitely stands up really well against the other nominees in our category.
“However I have to admit that it’s a really difficult choice for the Academy voters. The work across the genre in all the movies is stunning. It’s almost impossible to pick who will win.”
Tim’s ticket to the Oscars is a precious plus-one, meaning he can bring a guest. There were plenty of takers but in the end, he decided on one of the founders of Rising Sun Pictures, Tony Clark ‘because he’s been the driving force, getting name out there with the studios to enable us to get a look-in on all these amazing projects.
“If it wasn’t for Tony, I wouldn’t be here in LA and up for an Oscar.”
Tim is the only one of the two Australians nominated to make the trip: David Lee, who was nominated for sound on Angelina Jolie’s Unbroken, was too busy working on Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales to attend.
Of course, David already has an Oscar, for his sound work on The Matrix in 2000. He started out on A Country Practice, so he’s certainly done his time.
Everyone who is anyone else is in town, however, but when asked who he most hoped to meet, Tim said: “Honestly, I’m just so glad to be going!”
The Oscars are always a little controversial, and this year’s event has proved no exception. The Academy was criticised for failing to include a single black actor or actress in the Best Actor and Best Actress categories, while female directors and writers were also ignored.
