Basically agree with you, especially on how Malala put Kimmel in his place. What was with the intrusive non-stop VO descriptions of fashion, etc. throughout the broadcast, obviously intended for a sight-impaired audience? I thought I was accidentally tuned into some special audio subchannel, but I couldn't turn it off. The VO talked over most of the musical numbers, making them impossible to enjoy.
Excellent recap, and I’m in agreement on nearly every point. (Especially re: Angela Bassett....put her performance side by side with Curtis’s, and it’s just no contest that Bassett should have won. The Queen deserved her moment of miff.)
Generally, the show moved along pretty well, and the speeches were crisp and heartfelt. The major weirdness for me were the VERY weird film tributes-that-were-actually-trailers, especially the “homage” to Warner Bros. (It felt like an In Memoriam to a studio.)
Well, I didn't watch. I have not watched for years. I saw some of the movies in question, didn't see others, didn't have too many strong opinions. Except: I did NOT understand why Elvis got so many nominations, as I thought it was dreadful. I hate to admit how ancient I am, but at '72, I can remember Oscar night in the 60's, when My family would gather around the TV and watch. I regarded it as important national event, a holiday, a sacred institution of great cultural significance. I liked seeing the film clips. I NEVER cared for the acceptance speeches.
But eventually, this wore out for me. My favorite academy awards night became the one in Naked Gun 2 1/2.
Now I see the awards as: an industries’ marketing device, and a way to pat itself on the book. I gave up, as every year, what I thought should get an award didn't, and things that I thought shouldn't did. This show used to be an extremely effective marketing device, as so many regarded it in the same light as I once did, though I think now it's wearing out.
I did channel surf into about 30 seconds of it. Some singer I didn't care about was singing triumph of the human spirit music that made me gag, and I quickly switched the channel.
I don't know that it should have won anything, but I really liked All Quiet on The Western Front, and thought it a great contribution to what the first two versions had to offer.
I will TRY and watch Everything..I did see a snippet when surfing and was not attracted. Pretty sure I won’t like it based on opinions of close friends in MY age group. Interesting that I love movies from my parents age group.
Why does Everything’ seem not to resonate with MOST? “older” viewers?
I believe a relatively weak field of movies competed last night so it’s not surprising that a movie won that is not universally praised
As much as I loved EEAAO when I saw it early last year, I could not have predicted it to carry the night with so many notable wins. The kids from Emerson done good. And a great night for come-back stories. That made me very happy. The music, with the exception of Lady Gaga, was not a high point of the show.
Can't help but agree though I can still get (silly, I know) miffed that really beautifully crafted and layered filmmaking like Tar can lose out to the pleasing but ultimately pablum of "EEAAO". But it's the Oscars, which pretty much says it all.
One other note: the one and only moment that knocked my Sox off was the RRR music and dance. Wonderful!! And I usually skip the music segments. It was Breathtaking
I would've appreciated more seasoned interviewers on the champagne carpet. I think Jonathan Majors's deliberate articulation of certain words convinced Ashley Graham he's British. She made a comment about him getting the accent right for his upcoming Dennis Rodman role.
Dennis Rodman grew up in Texas, as did Jonathan Majors.
Also, in the Hugh Grant exchange (as it were), she was unable to distinguish between the concept vanity fair and the after-party sponsored by the magazine Vanity Fair.
I loved EEAAO, but I also loved the The Fabelmans and Women Talking. I am surprised by the fact that Fabelmans is not mentioned as a competitor of EEAAO. And Jamie Lee Curtis over Angela Bassett--really?
Fun column, Ty, and I agree about 'Banshees.' I have been an Oscars denier ever since 'Forest Gump' won, but I did have one eye on the show since I streamed almost all the movies.
Yes, many heartwarming moments from the acceptance speeches, and an important moment to see a younger unique, original genre movie get its due. We’re going to need to see more films like Everything that innovate beyond the “prestige indie formula" for film to thrive.
(And more Top Guns and Avatars, especially as the superhero cinematic boom exhausts itself—even for comics fans)
As for scandal, I think that having Donnie Yen, who has spoken of Hong Kong protests as “riots”, speak right after the award for Navalny was a brazen movie by MPPA head Janet Yang, who has her own problematic history as outlined by activist Jeffery Ngo:
Two things can be true: this was an amazing and overdue night recognizing some of the astonishing contributions of Asians to film, and that, in 2023, giving a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference a platform to speak is an insult to universal concerns for human rights for Uyghurs, Tibetans, the citizens of Hong Kong, as well as artists, writers, publishers and everyday citizens facing repression.
Hollywood is definitely going to need to learn to navigate this more successfully.
You touched on the seismic shift in Academy voters: a few years ago, when diversity became a mantra cry in our culture, the Academy switched gears, and decided to open the floodgates of membership to a younger, more diverse, crowd (mostly actors, who represent the bulk of academy members). The Spielberg faction lost its edge, and will forever lose it. What may transpire ( I hope) is that the Academy will begin to embrace other forms of long format film ( okay, okay, video), explicitly mini-series - and no longer require theatrical performance as a condition of application. Covid and technology has changed us, and if the Academy wants to stay relevant, it needs to recognize that.
Basically agree with you, especially on how Malala put Kimmel in his place. What was with the intrusive non-stop VO descriptions of fashion, etc. throughout the broadcast, obviously intended for a sight-impaired audience? I thought I was accidentally tuned into some special audio subchannel, but I couldn't turn it off. The VO talked over most of the musical numbers, making them impossible to enjoy.
Excellent recap, and I’m in agreement on nearly every point. (Especially re: Angela Bassett....put her performance side by side with Curtis’s, and it’s just no contest that Bassett should have won. The Queen deserved her moment of miff.)
Generally, the show moved along pretty well, and the speeches were crisp and heartfelt. The major weirdness for me were the VERY weird film tributes-that-were-actually-trailers, especially the “homage” to Warner Bros. (It felt like an In Memoriam to a studio.)
Yes! to everything Banishees. No! to being tossed around in one of those laundry machines.
Well, I didn't watch. I have not watched for years. I saw some of the movies in question, didn't see others, didn't have too many strong opinions. Except: I did NOT understand why Elvis got so many nominations, as I thought it was dreadful. I hate to admit how ancient I am, but at '72, I can remember Oscar night in the 60's, when My family would gather around the TV and watch. I regarded it as important national event, a holiday, a sacred institution of great cultural significance. I liked seeing the film clips. I NEVER cared for the acceptance speeches.
But eventually, this wore out for me. My favorite academy awards night became the one in Naked Gun 2 1/2.
Now I see the awards as: an industries’ marketing device, and a way to pat itself on the book. I gave up, as every year, what I thought should get an award didn't, and things that I thought shouldn't did. This show used to be an extremely effective marketing device, as so many regarded it in the same light as I once did, though I think now it's wearing out.
I did channel surf into about 30 seconds of it. Some singer I didn't care about was singing triumph of the human spirit music that made me gag, and I quickly switched the channel.
I don't know that it should have won anything, but I really liked All Quiet on The Western Front, and thought it a great contribution to what the first two versions had to offer.
I love the Harrison Ford/Ke Huy Quan embrace almost as much as I hated Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Thoroughly enjoyed EEAAO.
I will TRY and watch Everything..I did see a snippet when surfing and was not attracted. Pretty sure I won’t like it based on opinions of close friends in MY age group. Interesting that I love movies from my parents age group.
Why does Everything’ seem not to resonate with MOST? “older” viewers?
I believe a relatively weak field of movies competed last night so it’s not surprising that a movie won that is not universally praised
Great synopsis of the night. AOK
As much as I loved EEAAO when I saw it early last year, I could not have predicted it to carry the night with so many notable wins. The kids from Emerson done good. And a great night for come-back stories. That made me very happy. The music, with the exception of Lady Gaga, was not a high point of the show.
Can't help but agree though I can still get (silly, I know) miffed that really beautifully crafted and layered filmmaking like Tar can lose out to the pleasing but ultimately pablum of "EEAAO". But it's the Oscars, which pretty much says it all.
One other note: the one and only moment that knocked my Sox off was the RRR music and dance. Wonderful!! And I usually skip the music segments. It was Breathtaking
I would've appreciated more seasoned interviewers on the champagne carpet. I think Jonathan Majors's deliberate articulation of certain words convinced Ashley Graham he's British. She made a comment about him getting the accent right for his upcoming Dennis Rodman role.
Dennis Rodman grew up in Texas, as did Jonathan Majors.
Also, in the Hugh Grant exchange (as it were), she was unable to distinguish between the concept vanity fair and the after-party sponsored by the magazine Vanity Fair.
I loved EEAAO, but I also loved the The Fabelmans and Women Talking. I am surprised by the fact that Fabelmans is not mentioned as a competitor of EEAAO. And Jamie Lee Curtis over Angela Bassett--really?
Fun column, Ty, and I agree about 'Banshees.' I have been an Oscars denier ever since 'Forest Gump' won, but I did have one eye on the show since I streamed almost all the movies.
Yes, many heartwarming moments from the acceptance speeches, and an important moment to see a younger unique, original genre movie get its due. We’re going to need to see more films like Everything that innovate beyond the “prestige indie formula" for film to thrive.
(And more Top Guns and Avatars, especially as the superhero cinematic boom exhausts itself—even for comics fans)
As for scandal, I think that having Donnie Yen, who has spoken of Hong Kong protests as “riots”, speak right after the award for Navalny was a brazen movie by MPPA head Janet Yang, who has her own problematic history as outlined by activist Jeffery Ngo:
https://twitter.com/jeffreychngo/status/1635181916394786816
Two things can be true: this was an amazing and overdue night recognizing some of the astonishing contributions of Asians to film, and that, in 2023, giving a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference a platform to speak is an insult to universal concerns for human rights for Uyghurs, Tibetans, the citizens of Hong Kong, as well as artists, writers, publishers and everyday citizens facing repression.
Hollywood is definitely going to need to learn to navigate this more successfully.
You touched on the seismic shift in Academy voters: a few years ago, when diversity became a mantra cry in our culture, the Academy switched gears, and decided to open the floodgates of membership to a younger, more diverse, crowd (mostly actors, who represent the bulk of academy members). The Spielberg faction lost its edge, and will forever lose it. What may transpire ( I hope) is that the Academy will begin to embrace other forms of long format film ( okay, okay, video), explicitly mini-series - and no longer require theatrical performance as a condition of application. Covid and technology has changed us, and if the Academy wants to stay relevant, it needs to recognize that.
Not bad - I planned to read the Sunday NYT while watching but got sucked in.