Special Event: 2023 Academy Awards
March 12, 2023 3:46 PM - Subscribe

Come see how the Academy handles the Will Smith elephant in the room, whether anyone dances in the aisles to "Naatu Naatu", and count up how many Oscar's go to EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE.

FYI, Ke Huy Quan is pretty much a lock for Best Supporting Actor, so you'd get to see at least one awesome acceptance speech
posted by EmpressCallipygos (142 comments total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
My predictions for the big ones:

Picture: EEAAO
Director: Spielberg
Actor: Brendan Fraser
Actress: Cate Blanchett
Supporting Actor: Ke Huy Quan
Supporting Actress: Jamie Lee Curtis
Adapted Screenplay: Women Talking
Original Screenplay: Banshees of Inisherin
Best song: Naatu Naatu in my LOCK OF THE WEEK
posted by The Notorious SRD at 4:03 PM on March 12, 2023


The dine-in theater I'm watching at has a drinking game along with a ballot. And one of the 'finish your drink' options is "they play NAATU NAATU". I mean, come on.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:34 PM on March 12, 2023


EEAAO better win an absolute shit ton of awards or I will make a very angry TikTok.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 4:40 PM on March 12, 2023 [8 favorites]


I will fall asleep before the end. Hope the ceremony is boring compared to last year!

Janelle Monae's dress is amazing and Florence Pugh's crumpled paper sack dress makes me happy. Love that Questlove continues to wear fancy dress crocs to the Oscars.

I have favorites but haven't seen all the nominees in any category, and also the Oscars are arbitrary so whatever. Hope EEAAO and Banshees both win at least a couple, and also fingers crossed for My Year of Dicks for animated short.
posted by the primroses were over at 4:44 PM on March 12, 2023 [1 favorite]


Literally the only reason I am bothering to watch the Oscars is that I hope EEAAO gets a shit ton of awards.

I just watched My Year Of Dicks today, FYI.
posted by jenfullmoon at 4:47 PM on March 12, 2023 [1 favorite]


Angela Bassett looks just absolutely stunning--the dress is both flattering and memorable, and what a gorgeous color. I'm rooting for Stephanie Hsu in that category, but if Angela wins, I'll be happy to see her accept an award looking majestic as hell.

I too am hoping that EEAaO wins a ton of awards.
posted by creepygirl at 4:50 PM on March 12, 2023 [2 favorites]


Seth Rogen actually into these jokes of Jimmy's, happily kinda losing it in the back.

Love the point about Encino Man.
posted by jenfullmoon at 5:06 PM on March 12, 2023


The simulcast crashed at the theater here - and the hosts just calmed us down by joking "guys,it's okay - did we really need to hear Jimmy Kimmel anyway?"
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:07 PM on March 12, 2023 [2 favorites]


I don't even know what to make of "we will make dancers DANCE YOU OFF THE STAGE."
posted by jenfullmoon at 5:16 PM on March 12, 2023


Janelle Monae! So stunning.
posted by suelac at 5:17 PM on March 12, 2023 [1 favorite]


Okay, quick sidebar - I am on my mobile and switched to old view somehow. How do I switch back?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:18 PM on March 12, 2023


I got it, never mind, Yay Guillermo Del Toro
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:19 PM on March 12, 2023


There’s someone on the presenter’s right who is wearing what looks like a huge poofy veil. I’d be so annoyed to sit behind it, lol.
posted by The Notorious SRD at 5:21 PM on March 12, 2023 [3 favorites]


Tems? You're not wrong but also I love it.

Aww, I know he was the favorite, but still so thrilled for Ke Huy Quan.
posted by the primroses were over at 5:31 PM on March 12, 2023 [2 favorites]


Thought same on that giant poof.

Ke Huy won!!!!!! Ariana choked up! Everyone is losing it!!!! He gives us all hope.
posted by jenfullmoon at 5:32 PM on March 12, 2023 [2 favorites]


Everyone here is crying over Ke's speech.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:34 PM on March 12, 2023 [1 favorite]


I'm teary. My mom (who I'm ticked at today, see other thread) just texted to never give up on my dreams.

Jamie Lee!!!!! I admit I was rooting for her or Stephanie.
posted by jenfullmoon at 5:36 PM on March 12, 2023 [5 favorites]


Ok now I'm furious about Angela Bassett losing.
posted by TwoStride at 5:37 PM on March 12, 2023


It's a hard pick this year, but EEAAO is an extremely unique movie that will be hard for anything else to top.
posted by jenfullmoon at 5:38 PM on March 12, 2023


And I just lost a point on the Oscar pool from Jamie Lee Curtis but I DON'T CARE
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:38 PM on March 12, 2023 [1 favorite]


I'm tearing up again at her parents being nominated but she got it. Awwwwwwww.
posted by jenfullmoon at 5:39 PM on March 12, 2023 [4 favorites]


Yeah, so this is the first time I am hearing this song "Applause" and yeah, I think "NaatuNaatu" is fine.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:42 PM on March 12, 2023


Angela Bassett did not look happy about losing.
posted by madajb at 5:43 PM on March 12, 2023


I have not seen Banshees of Inisherin but it looks good.
Is that Colin Farrell?
posted by madajb at 5:45 PM on March 12, 2023


The Little Mermaid ad is an ABC/Disney thing, right?
posted by The Notorious SRD at 6:03 PM on March 12, 2023


The team of IRISH GOODBYE getting everyone to sing Happy birthday to one of their own was adorable.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:06 PM on March 12, 2023 [3 favorites]


Jenny showing up was the highlight. Let's pack it in.
posted by the primroses were over at 6:30 PM on March 12, 2023 [1 favorite]


I don't know what RRR or Naatu Naatu are about, but boy, did they look like they were having fun.
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:34 PM on March 12, 2023 [1 favorite]


Now that is how you do a Best Song performance.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:34 PM on March 12, 2023 [1 favorite]


For the love of God, award show directors, put the names of the presenters up on the screen!

You can put a ridiculously large "LIVE abc" bug in the corner but God forbid you tell me who is on stage.
posted by madajb at 6:38 PM on March 12, 2023 [4 favorites]


Ah yes, the moment where we wait for "My Year Of Dicks" to be said aloud and it's hedged.
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:53 PM on March 12, 2023


And STOP CUING THE PLAYOFF MUSIC IF YOU HAVE TWO WINNERS, sometimes they both want to make a speech!
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:54 PM on March 12, 2023 [1 favorite]


Aw darn it, no Oscar for dicks/Pamie.
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:54 PM on March 12, 2023 [2 favorites]


Gaga dressed down just weirded me out. Her intro is very touching though.
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:56 PM on March 12, 2023


The EXTREME GAGA CLOSE-UP is unsettling.
posted by TwoStride at 6:58 PM on March 12, 2023


I almost never want to see any movies any more (the fact that I've seen three with award noms this year is astounding), and I would never, ever have any interest in seeing something called "Triangle of Sadness" because it sounds like yet another horribly depressing movie. But....CRUISE SHIP PARTYING is definitely NOT what I would have expected AT ALL.
posted by jenfullmoon at 7:07 PM on March 12, 2023 [2 favorites]


Can we give Hugh Grant an award for Best Snark?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:07 PM on March 12, 2023 [3 favorites]


I don’t understand how Stephanie Hsu did not win Best Supporting Actress. She was practically the star of EEAAO (with all due respect to Michelle Yeoh).

I’m a straight white dude, and it’s not even so much about representation for me (although I love seeing more and more representation in movies). She was absolutely incredible in what was essentially multiple roles, and I think she got robbed.
posted by khrusanthemon at 7:14 PM on March 12, 2023 [5 favorites]


Best Supporting Actress was a really tight close race.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:18 PM on March 12, 2023 [4 favorites]


Gah, the awards for All Quiet on the Western Front are making me nervous of an upset for Best Picture.
posted by creepygirl at 7:19 PM on March 12, 2023


Elizabeth Banks tripping reminded me of J.Law tripping. AND THEN THERE'S THE FUCKING COCAINE BEAR.

I have thought same, khrusanthemon, re: Stephanie. But yeah, very close race on that one.
posted by jenfullmoon at 7:22 PM on March 12, 2023


I'm expecting the bear to take off its head and reveal Jimmy Kimmel, somehow.
posted by jenfullmoon at 7:23 PM on March 12, 2023 [1 favorite]


Malala is not down to clown.
posted by jenfullmoon at 7:26 PM on March 12, 2023 [2 favorites]


I seriously think that ALL QUIET getting Best International was a consolation prize.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:30 PM on March 12, 2023


Although I am a tiny bit worried about Best Song now.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:33 PM on March 12, 2023 [1 favorite]


Malala is not down to clown.

She did not think that was funny at all.

Kimmell recovered pretty well though.
posted by madajb at 7:33 PM on March 12, 2023


Rihanna had the best pregnancy gown I have ever seen.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 7:33 PM on March 12, 2023 [1 favorite]


So we can all come back and watch this again: Stephanie Hsu and David Byrne w/ Son Lux perform This is a Life.
posted by fiercekitten at 7:39 PM on March 12, 2023 [4 favorites]


Again, EEAAO HAD to win the original screenplay or I would have rioted.

Appreciate the word "butthead" ending up in an Oscar speech, and it wasn't even Jamie Lee who did it!
posted by jenfullmoon at 7:41 PM on March 12, 2023


I do not get the logic of Glass Onion being in adapted screenplay. Is that just where they plug sequel movies in? (Ditto Maverick.)
posted by jenfullmoon at 7:42 PM on March 12, 2023 [2 favorites]


The other technical awards for All Quiet are what have me thinking upset. If they win Adapted Screenplay, I think EEAaO is toast. :(

And yes, all sequels are put into best adapted screenplay. It's dumb.
posted by creepygirl at 7:43 PM on March 12, 2023 [2 favorites]


Damn, I forgot I could come in here. I think it's been a good show so far. I am still laughing at how little Malala passed the vibe check :D
posted by Iteki at 7:44 PM on March 12, 2023 [2 favorites]


Sarah Polley PREACH.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:44 PM on March 12, 2023 [2 favorites]


Sarah Polly Canada REPRESENT
“Thanks to the academy for not being mortally offended by the words Women and Talking so close together” LOL
posted by St. Peepsburg at 7:48 PM on March 12, 2023 [12 favorites]


Yay Sarah!!!
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 7:49 PM on March 12, 2023 [1 favorite]


Wait, Top Gun is up for best pic? That's a bit of a stretch like... I mean I really enjoyed it but it's a popcorn sequel bordering on remake.
posted by Iteki at 7:50 PM on March 12, 2023 [3 favorites]


"Text Gimme a Blake" is another moment of uncomfortable, but at least Jimmy's boners are moved past quickly.
posted by jenfullmoon at 7:51 PM on March 12, 2023


Yeah, Top Gun Maverick as an "adapted screenplay" seems quite ridiculous. And Glass Onion adapted from the characters the writer/director wrote? WTF
posted by rhizome at 7:51 PM on March 12, 2023 [1 favorite]


I have to say, the predictions have been pretty on point this year.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:53 PM on March 12, 2023


Yay Naatu Naatu! It is a banger and it's just plain fun (the rest, well...are serious). Janelle's gasp!

"I grew up listening to The Carpenters" just cracked me up. Followed by singing his speech, awwwww.
posted by jenfullmoon at 7:57 PM on March 12, 2023 [3 favorites]


He is one of my new favorite people.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:58 PM on March 12, 2023 [1 favorite]


Oh noooo, the whole audience going mmmmmm when they realised/remembered why he was choking up. Ooof.
posted by Iteki at 7:58 PM on March 12, 2023 [4 favorites]


Kirstie Allie died?? I really appreciate that they mute the audience a little on this, it jused to be so jarring the absolute silence of "never heard of 'em" compared to enormous applause.
posted by Iteki at 8:00 PM on March 12, 2023 [1 favorite]


The shifting focus on the side-by-side pics made me dizzy.
posted by TwoStride at 8:03 PM on March 12, 2023 [1 favorite]


It was a little weird.

EEAAO also needed one for film editing, especially in that movie. "This is my second film, y'all, this is crazy."
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:08 PM on March 12, 2023


Agree completely, EEAaO wouldn't have worked at all without excellent editing work.
posted by creepygirl at 8:10 PM on March 12, 2023 [2 favorites]


Seemed like at least they realized that the wide pullout didn't work the first time. Gold font on white bkg in a small size isn't the greatest honor
posted by rhizome at 8:11 PM on March 12, 2023


And directing too!!!!!!!!!!
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:11 PM on March 12, 2023


AND DANIEL K HAS PUNK ON THE BACK OF HIS JACKET!!!!
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:14 PM on March 12, 2023


We are up to the acting awards and I may barf from stress
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:20 PM on March 12, 2023


I've never helt Colin Farrell in much high esteem, but he was absolutely great in Banshees. Curious to see how this goes. Some Irish fella anyhow come on!
posted by Iteki at 8:21 PM on March 12, 2023 [1 favorite]


"So this is what the multiverse looks like!!!!" I hear ya, sir.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:23 PM on March 12, 2023 [2 favorites]


I mean I know the biz wanted this for him, but I hope Frasier has a lot more opportunities ahead of him. He's a good actor (haven't seen this film). A24 again, holy heck! I don't see Farrell getting a performance opportunity like this again.
posted by Iteki at 8:24 PM on March 12, 2023 [3 favorites]


ok now we’re back to classic oscars, an award for a performance in a movie specifically designed to get an oscar but that nobody has ever seen. all the awards for EEAAO and i was getting worried the academy had moved into the 21st century
posted by dis_integration at 8:25 PM on March 12, 2023 [2 favorites]


WOOOOOOOOOO MICHELLE WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:27 PM on March 12, 2023


YAAAAAAAAAAAAY!
posted by Iteki at 8:27 PM on March 12, 2023


Wait, seriously, she has NO FORMAL TRAINING IN MARTIAL ARTS?!?!?!
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:27 PM on March 12, 2023 [1 favorite]


I don't know how to tell you this, but those aren't real fights!
posted by rhizome at 8:28 PM on March 12, 2023 [4 favorites]


I know, but shit, I'd go train in martial arts if I was going to be in a martial arts movie!!!! Nobody made her do that?
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:29 PM on March 12, 2023


Her training was in ballet before she was an actor, and then in the Hong Kong film industry.
posted by LobsterMitten at 8:30 PM on March 12, 2023 [2 favorites]


ok now we’re back to classic oscars, an award for a performance in a movie specifically designed to get an oscar but that nobody has ever seen. all the awards for EEAAO and i was getting worried the academy had moved into the 21st century

I think this is pretty disrespectful to Andrea Riseborough and To Leslie, which is a damn fine movie.
posted by rhymedirective at 8:31 PM on March 12, 2023


I saw THE WHALE. Brendan Fraser earned his award.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:31 PM on March 12, 2023 [1 favorite]


Everyones mammy is 84. I was a bit annoyed at the voiceover being like "here's something the winner doesn't have", I mean I know what they mean, but still. Also, seriously, no formal training? I mean, what does that even mean, she's never even done a little tai-chi? She must have had one-on-one training for decades on set from people who are professionals like. AND THERE IT IS!
posted by Iteki at 8:32 PM on March 12, 2023


AND EEAAO WON FOR BEST PICTURE. I am quite satisfied and happy with these Oscars. For once I actually thought a movie was great and it won a ton of well deserved stuff.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:32 PM on March 12, 2023 [1 favorite]


Oh god I am so glad I was wrong about an upset. Will take some time to calm down.
posted by creepygirl at 8:33 PM on March 12, 2023 [1 favorite]


You know what? Great ceremony! Not a lot of dragging on shit or tedious skits, they kept things short and moving. Good job, everyone!
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:34 PM on March 12, 2023 [4 favorites]


And still runs 45min long!
posted by rhizome at 8:35 PM on March 12, 2023


Number of Oscar Telecasts Without Incident: 001. Bwahahahahah.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:36 PM on March 12, 2023 [6 favorites]


Was that Paris Hilton with the donkey?
posted by Iteki at 8:36 PM on March 12, 2023


I mean, in what formal training in what discipline would you learn how to do this?
posted by Superilla at 8:40 PM on March 12, 2023 [3 favorites]


I'm glad the show added back the 8 categories that were booted into the afternoon last year - best score, makeup and hairstyling, production design, sound, animated short, documentary short, live action short and editing. It was a stupid decision to not include them and it's good they reversed it this year. I mean, editing!!!

Also, I don't have much hope that I'll ever see Best Stunt Work as a category before I die, but damn does it continue to be awful that they don't have it.
posted by mediareport at 8:44 PM on March 12, 2023 [8 favorites]


I really wish the Oscars would limit the nominees per movie.
It's boring to see the same movie rack up a bunch of wins.

I get it, it was a popular movie but was it really so much better and the actors so much better than every other nominees that night?

Spread the wealth, make movies put forth their 3 best categories and that's all they are eligible for.
posted by madajb at 8:47 PM on March 12, 2023 [4 favorites]


I kinda want to say yes, in this case, but I'm biased.

Stunt work absolutely needs an Oscar.

Re: the clip: well, I presume stuntman school/driving for the motorcycle bits, but I assumed what with all the kicks she HAD done martial arts....
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:03 PM on March 12, 2023 [3 favorites]


I mean, a movie hasn't dominated like this since 2008, according to Variety. So it doesn't seem like it's a perennial problem that needs a radical solution. Usually the Academy divvies things up more.

And just being nominated is a career highlight for a lot of people. I'm glad that Shirley Kurata got nominated for her costume work in EEAaO, even if she didn't have a strong chance to win. If EEAaO had to pick 3, she wouldn't be one of them, and that would be a damned shame from my perspective. She did great work, and the nominators thought she was in the top 5 this year!

Moving on to fun facts: If I'm reading this article correctly, tonight's actor winners are the oldest quartet of actor winners in history.
posted by creepygirl at 9:33 PM on March 12, 2023 [2 favorites]


My Facebook comment just a while ago after the show:

Ok... Dear Hollywood: Please take in this moment tonight, post-Oscars. Please look at these wins for "Everything Everywhere All At Once" and learn that there is a future for movies that is NOT the formulaic, over-polished odes to egotistic actors like "Top Gun," or the ponderous muck and gore of yet another war movie that gets its prestige more for the historic book it's based on than what it actually is as a movie... Please look at this crazy, messy, hilarious, and still deeply powerful and moving movie created by some misfits to highlight a long overlooked star from another country, and learn that you can have action, you can have comedy, you can have pathos, and above all you can have stories people can relate to and empathize with, and you can have them All At Once. Harvey Weinstein is in fucking jail now and can rot there, so you don't have to keep bending to his ideas of what Oscar winners should be - which is what you've been doing for about 25 years or so now. Also, maybe if Colin Farrell and Brendon Gleeson and Martin McDonagh ever work together again maybe toss them a few nods because damn those guys are wonderful.
posted by dnash at 9:36 PM on March 12, 2023 [15 favorites]


Whoops, I was reading the article wrong. It's the third oldest quartet of acting winners tonight.
posted by creepygirl at 9:42 PM on March 12, 2023 [1 favorite]


Belatedly answering a question:

I don't know what RRR or Naatu Naatu are about

RRR is basically an action-film fanfiction about two actual Indian activists in the 1920s, and "they never met but what if they did and became friends".

"Naatu Naatu" is from a scene where a kind British woman invites the two of them to a garden party, and some other dude there starts busting on them for not knowing how to do European dances like the salsa or the flamenco or the waltz, and they say "you're right, we don't....but do YOU know 'naatu'?" And they have a huge danceoff. (The lyrics pretty much translate to being various riffs on "this music is bangin' so cut loose and dance your butt off".)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:51 PM on March 12, 2023 [11 favorites]


Re: the clip: well, I presume stuntman school/driving for the motorcycle bits, but I assumed what with all the kicks she HAD done martial arts....

She famously did that shit herself.
posted by Quonab at 11:42 PM on March 12, 2023 [4 favorites]


Mostly here to partake in all of the EEAAO love, a movie that made me sob unashamedly in a theater. I'm so glad it got the recognition it deserves.
I'm Indian and while Naatu Naatu is mad catchy, I (and everyone I've asked) am slightly perplexed at the amount of hype around it. We have/have had better music than that, in a lot of movies.
Very thrilled about The Elephant Whisperers, though.
posted by Nieshka at 1:35 AM on March 13, 2023 [4 favorites]


I'm Indian and while Naatu Naatu is mad catchy, I (and everyone I've asked) am slightly perplexed at the amount of hype around it.

Pay it no mind, Americans (mainly) are just very excited and would like to demonstrate how excited they are to have heard something like it. If you can wait, someone will be by shortly to explain exactly why.
posted by cendawanita at 1:39 AM on March 13, 2023 [3 favorites]


Hang on a second - not only was Navalny up for Best Documentary, but the "Naatu Naatu" scene was also filmed at the Ukranian presidential residence - but the Academy still didn't want to let Zelenskyy make any kind of token appearance?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:10 AM on March 13, 2023 [1 favorite]


Also:

Americans (mainly) are just very excited and would like to demonstrate how excited they are to have heard something like it. If you can wait, someone will be by shortly to explain exactly why.

You know we're all idiots, what's to explain? ;-)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:11 AM on March 13, 2023 [1 favorite]


I’ll say this: everyone who worked on EEAAO seems like a nice person.
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 4:29 AM on March 13, 2023 [6 favorites]


And I am curiously pleased that all four acting winners were people known mainly for action, horror, and bonehead comedy.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:59 AM on March 13, 2023 [6 favorites]


RRR is fantastic* and I recommend it to anyone. Also: it's 3 hours long... but it has an actual intermission built in! Please bring intermissions back!

*I've heard that it has some questionable political content but I don't know enough about it to comment.
posted by SoberHighland at 7:02 AM on March 13, 2023 [3 favorites]


Yeah people in the know say RRR is Hindu nationalist.

Why did the Oscars not honor Charlbi Dean, who died at 32! And was the star of Triangle of Sadness?
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 7:21 AM on March 13, 2023 [3 favorites]


I was gonna say it's rare in the Oscars for the actual best film to win Best Picture, but looking over the last few years, Moonlight and Parasite won, so maybe less so than it used to be.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 7:24 AM on March 13, 2023 [2 favorites]


Moonlight is definitely the best movie to win best picture in a long time, and really unexpected (although less unexpected than Parasite, since I think it was the first foreign language film to win?). I do think something is happening to the academy voting patterns as the hollywood old timers get replaced by a younger generation. I'm curious if there are other transition points in the past that are similar (like when the boomers started to gain prominence in the 70s). Definitely I think the best picture winners from the first half of the 60s are much different in tone and content compared to those from the late 60s (compare Tom Jones to Midnight Cowboy!)
posted by dis_integration at 7:36 AM on March 13, 2023 [2 favorites]


Yeah, Top Gun Maverick as an "adapted screenplay" seems quite ridiculous. And Glass Onion adapted from the characters the writer/director wrote? WTF

It's Academy rules for the writing categories, any sequel is by definition an "adapted screenplay," as it's created from extant characters and previous story (regardless of who wrote the original).
posted by LooseFilter at 7:47 AM on March 13, 2023 [2 favorites]


I mean, I wouldn't want to oversell how they're doing on Best Picture. They did give the award to Green Book.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:08 AM on March 13, 2023 [4 favorites]


Since I am In sweden, I was not awake for the Oscars, and it was just so delightful to be able to experience it from afar via this thread. Thanks to everybody for your comments!
posted by Bella Donna at 8:11 AM on March 13, 2023 [1 favorite]


Malala is not down to clown.

She did not think that was funny at all.

Kimmell recovered pretty well though.


She was on the NPR game show "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" recently and they already pulled that type of joke on her. I'm surprised Kimmell tried it.
posted by fuse theorem at 8:42 AM on March 13, 2023


I barely saw any of the program, but I did manage to catch Harrison Ford presenting. I know he's getting older (as are we all) but he seemed really off. I haven't seen him in his current TV roles, but how does he appear in those?
posted by sardonyx at 8:43 AM on March 13, 2023


Yeah, Top Gun Maverick as an "adapted screenplay" seems quite ridiculous.

It makes a little more sense for Top Gun Maverick, because the people who wrote this screenplay are not the same people who wrote the original Top Gun, so they are adapting that earlier work. Glass Onion seems like more of a stretch (although I understand the rule).
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 9:00 AM on March 13, 2023


I'm surprised at all the hate I'm seeing online directed at Jamie Lee Curtis. I saw something along the lines of "of course the Academy would celebrate a film about the Asian-American experience by giving an award to a white lady" as if the Academy didn't also give awards to Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, and Daniel Kwan.

Personally, I would have given supporting actress to Stephanie Hsu, but it was incredibly close between her and Jamie Lee Curtis. And it is undeniable that the Academy places a thumb on the scale towards someone who is universally beloved but has yet to be nominated/win. (This leads to people winning for roles that weren't their best work, e.g. Leo for The Revenant, Denzel for Training Day instead of Malcolm X, etc.). Jamie Lee Curtis benefited from being in that position. Stephanie Hsu has a long career ahead of her, and she has so much talent that I am sure she will have another crack at an Oscar (and when that happens, we can complain about how they're only giving to it her because they should have given it to her for EEAAO).

I just think it's a shame to tarnish such an amazing movie, with a cast and crew who clearly think the world of one another, by suggesting that Jamie Lee Curtis didn't deserve to win or only won because of racism.
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 9:26 AM on March 13, 2023 [8 favorites]


Ben: I think that the people who were complaining about JLC's win were thinking about the other "universally beloved but has yet to win" nominee: Angela Basset. The "racism" accusations weren't about "they gave an award to a white lady in a movie about Asian Americans," it was more like "they gave the award to a white lady instead of a black lady".

I was kinda surprised by that myself; I hadn't seen Wakanda Forever, but Angela Basset generally kicks ass, and she's come close to a win before but missed out and the Academy likes to throw things that way. I actually went with Basset in my "predict the Oscar winners" ballot thing, but that was one of the hardest choices on the ballot, precisely because Curtis and Basset had both gotten so much attention, but so had Kerry Condon, Hong Chou, and Stephanie Hsu.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:57 AM on March 13, 2023 [5 favorites]


Stephanie Hsu has a long career ahead of her, and she has so much talent that I am sure she will have another crack at an Oscar (and when that happens, we can complain about how they're only giving to it her because they should have given it to her for EEAAO).

You are way more optimistic than I am about Hollywood. Michelle Yeoh clearly has talent, but she didn't get a leading role until she was in her 60's--and she only got the leading role because Jackie Chan turned down the lead role in EEAaO. She has been talking all season long about how rare it is for her to get a role that was as complicated and challenging as the stuff that someone like Cate Blanchett routinely gets.

I am delighted EEAaO did so well last night, and I hope this means a lot of fantastic roles for Yeoh, Quan, and Hsu. But given the sorry history (some of it very recent!) of both the industry and the Academy when it comes to opportunities / awards for POC, I'm not holding my breath.
posted by creepygirl at 10:05 AM on March 13, 2023 [4 favorites]


>I think this is pretty disrespectful to Andrea Riseborough and To Leslie, which is a damn fine movie.
I'm sure she dabbed her tears away with $100 bills.
posted by pxe2000 at 10:58 AM on March 13, 2023 [1 favorite]


Ben: I think that the people who were complaining about JLC's win were thinking about the other "universally beloved but has yet to win" nominee: Angela Basset. The "racism" accusations weren't about "they gave an award to a white lady in a movie about Asian Americans," it was more like "they gave the award to a white lady instead of a black lady".

Empress - I did see one person online explicitly make that comment about "a white lady in a movie about Asian Americans," but I think you're right that a lot of the talk is in the context of Angela Bassett. I do feel bad for Bassett (she should have won for What's Love Got to Do With It, or even the first Black Panther), but I don't think she stood a chance against the juggernaut this year. I'm more bothered by the exclusion of Viola Davis and Danielle Deadwyler from the Best Actress nominations.

You are way more optimistic than I am about Hollywood.

creepygirl - Not necessarily. Rather, I am so overwhelmed by Hsu's talent (did you see the audition footage from EEAAO?) that I think she will have a long and successful career despite Hollywood. (Also, I didn't realize until after the fact that I saw her live in the Spongebob musical.)
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 11:42 AM on March 13, 2023 [2 favorites]


Here's a Vox piece on the troubling nationalism and patronizing casteism in RRR, with contextualization of some of the iconography of the film and how it's being read by right-wing Hindu nationalists in India today:

It is why Komaram Bheem [one of the 2 heroes who in real life came from a more marginalized position], a well-educated man who could read and write, is reduced to an illiterate simpleton, playing to historic Adivasi stereotypes. It is why you have a scene wherein he exclaims he is but a simple tribal person who did not and could not understand the greater vision of the upper-caste savior Ram. It’s also why the Gonds are framed as a “simple” people, compared to sheep, with Bheem having to ask Ram for the gift of education.

And it is also why, in the end, Bheem’s real revolutionary slogan of “Jal, Jangal, Jameen,” his iconic contribution, which is vital to Adivasi activism to this day, is altered to be written and inscribed instead by the upper-caste Kshatriya hero Ram. It is, as Gond journalist and critic Akash Poyam described in depth, deeply dehumanizing and appropriative...Every choice made in the film is deeply steeped in and informed by a privileged upper-caste lens and framework that brutally reinforces the invisible Brahmanical hierarchy...

The end credits, which valorize historic heroes of the nation, put a fine, final point on this troubling upper-caste Hindu lens. Nowhere in this lineup of luminaries will you find icons of a secular India such as Mahatma Gandhi or Jawaharlal Nehru, the founders of the nation, whom Hindutva agents are not terribly fond of. And what of Muslim kings like Hyder Ali or Tipu Sultan, who also stood against the British and were part of key battles against them? And the presence of Muslim freedom fighters like Saifuddin Kitchlew? Not a chance. Do not even expect to see progressive and radical Dalit revolutionaries like B.R. Ambedkar, who stood firmly for the annihilation of caste. You will, however, find the Hindu king Chhatrapathi Shivaji in it, who never even fought the British, but has been co-opted to be a Hindutva favorite. The credits certainly feel like they’re peddling a curated vision of history and the freedom fight right in line with it.

posted by mediareport at 12:08 PM on March 13, 2023 [7 favorites]


(Also, that song had a really boring beat compared to so much other Bollywood music don't hate me.)
posted by mediareport at 12:08 PM on March 13, 2023


EmpressCallipgyos, this Twitter thread by Jeffrey Ngo, activist historian on the current Academy president Janet Yang may shed some light on her politics, and also provides commentary on what the Oscars mean for Asians and Asian Americans.
posted by toastyk at 12:19 PM on March 13, 2023 [1 favorite]


....thanks for that, toastyk, but I'm not sure why you're calling my attention to it?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:54 PM on March 13, 2023


(Not that it isn't educational in and of itself, I mean that I'm not clear why you are specifically pointing me at it, in this specific context, at this specific time. If I said something I shouldn't have done, please let me know so I can avoid it next time?)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:56 PM on March 13, 2023


Oh sorry, I was referring to your earlier comment questioning why Zelensky was not invited to speak. I should have been clearer. I did not mean to say that you had said something inappropriate.
posted by toastyk at 1:11 PM on March 13, 2023


Oh sorry, I was referring to your earlier comment questioning why Zelensky was not invited to speak. I should have been clearer.

....Understood, but now I'm even more confused but I'll take that to Memail.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:12 PM on March 13, 2023


I like Angela Bassett an awful lot and while I would love for her to win an Academy Award I felt the same way about her Wakanda Forever performance as I did about everyone else's in that movie; she was just kind of there and deserved a better showcase for her considerable talents.

I hope she gets her Oscar but I also think the Academy made the right call on this category.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 1:19 PM on March 13, 2023 [4 favorites]


I would've liked Bassett to take it; if it was going to be someone from EEAAO, Stephanie Hsu had a much harder (set of) roles to pull off and carried them with aplomb; but it's hard to begrudge Jamie Lee Curtis. Not to be a Pollyanna, but it's great that the choices included two women of color and one older and neither-glammed-up-nor-monster-glammed woman. An embarrassment of riches!

My sore points are: Brendan Fraser for the fatsuit (sorry, Brendan, you know we love you, but no) and Woman King not even making the longlist for Best Picture. It wouldn't have been in real contention for the actual award, but then neither would Elvis, and it's the kind of movie that, when it's about white people, Hollywood generally overrates rather than underrates, so that still grates.
posted by praemunire at 1:30 PM on March 13, 2023 [4 favorites]


The Woman King also had the benefit of being watchable. It was snubbed.
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 2:35 PM on March 13, 2023


I read this morning (hadn't quite picked up on this last night) that Banshees of Inisherin, Elvis, Fabelmans, and Tar were entirely shut out. In a different year, any one of those could be been the big winner.
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 2:53 PM on March 13, 2023


EEAAO was good but not sweep good. I’m happy for Ke Huy Quan but sad for the Banshees crew (and mad at The Whale’s fat suit for taking the one that EEAAO couldn’t).

Hopefully this means more good roles for KHQ but I’m kind of grasping.
posted by supercres at 3:12 PM on March 13, 2023 [1 favorite]


Colin Farrell as Best Actor sounds strange, but I would've taken it.
posted by praemunire at 3:35 PM on March 13, 2023 [2 favorites]


For no particular reason, I watched the nominees for Best Animated Short Film this evening. IMO My Year of Dicks was robbed. I see someone at Slate agrees: "That Oscar Absolutely Should Have Gone to My Year of Dicks."

I don't know how long it'll be available at that first link (i.e. the Vimeo version on the director's website) or whether it's viewable outside the US, but it's pretty great: "Hilarious and genre-mashing, an imaginative fifteen year-old is stubbornly determined to lose her virginity despite the pathetic pickings in the outskirts of Houston in the early 90’s. Created by Pamela Ribon from her critically-acclaimed memoir. Directed by Sara Gunnarsdóttir."
posted by Wobbuffet at 7:43 PM on March 13, 2023 [2 favorites]


I was a fan of pamie.com and her books (and her film career from what I saw of it) back in the day.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:17 PM on March 13, 2023 [2 favorites]


Here's a Vox piece on the troubling nationalism and patronizing casteism in RRR, with contextualization of some of the iconography of the film and how it's being read by right-wing Hindu nationalists in India today:

Just finished that one as well and worth adding to the fanfare thread so I'll go ahead.
posted by cendawanita at 3:29 AM on March 14, 2023


Ah my bad, that was already shared in the thread. This one however is what I was reading today: A Wild Indian Blockbuster Is Ravishing Movie Fans, but They’re Missing Its Troubling Subtext

Obviously, one film cannot encompass everything, and as the filmmakers have themselves noted, RRR is sheer fantasy. I cannot fault viewers for enjoying RRR so much, whether they ironically lap up the superhuman stunts or get swept up in the thrilling anti-imperial action. I’m concerned more about the timing of it all, the global presence, the recipe for viral success that other filmmakers will be eyeing. It’s an ingenious form of soft-power propaganda, one that can be interpreted as positively asserting an otherwise-marginalized ideology. Other notable Indian films—the aforementioned Purab Aur Pachhim, LOC: Kargil, Gadar: Ek Prem Katha, and many, many more—have raised fiery nationalism to nowhere near the same viewership. RRR seems to have figured out an apt formula.

Already, it’s far from the only recent historical-fiction Indian blockbuster to soft-peddle nationalist ideology. This year alone, The Kashmir Files, praised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, garnered controversy for giving Hindu nationalists more Islamophobic ammo through the use of alternative history. The Marathi period film Pawankhind whips up furor against the historic Muslim-led Mughal Empire, a sore spot for Hindutva acolytes. Even Rajamouli’s previous hits, like Baahubali, have been uplifted as “the answer to all anti-Hindu Bollywood crooks.” You don’t have to take my word for it. You can read the words of Hindu nationalists themselves, in provocative headlines like this one: “If The Kashmir Files Gave Liberals the Wounds, RRR Is the One Rubbing the Salt.”

In another context, I’d be excited about an adventurous Telugu-language film finally getting a wide-scale audience and bringing South Indian cinema to more of the world. But with RRR, I feel uneasy. I can’t say you shouldn’t experience this dazzling roller coaster of a movie, but I will say that you should keep your eyes open while doing so.


Came to my attention by way of an Indian-American journalist who finally saw the movie post-oscars and was having Thoughts about it.
posted by cendawanita at 3:34 AM on March 14, 2023 [4 favorites]


The Woman King also had the benefit of being watchable. It was snubbed.

I did appreciate Jimmy Kimmel calling that out in his opening monologue. (Not enough to forgive him for trying to drag Malala into a stupid Spitgate bit, though.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:56 AM on March 14, 2023


Ke Huy Quan and David Tran, the man who popularized sriracha in the US, probably came to the US on the same boat. Imagine being another kid on that boat who became a doctor and your mother is still all "Ehhh... not bad, but..."
posted by Etrigan at 9:57 AM on March 14, 2023 [5 favorites]


IMO My Year of Dicks was robbed. I see someone at Slate agrees: "That Oscar Absolutely Should Have Gone to My Year of Dicks."

Wow, thank you so much for that link. What a great film - honest, funny, real, shocking (her father omg) and so, so heartfelt. I skipped viewing the shorts this year (except for that walrus doc, which was beautiful and meditative and an ode to fieldwork and walruses both, but to my taste also needlessly elliptical, which diminished its impact) but I'm so glad to have seen My Year of Dicks. What a fantastic, creative, imaginative, empathic short film.
posted by mediareport at 11:23 AM on March 14, 2023 [3 favorites]


IMO My Year of Dicks was robbed. I see someone at Slate agrees: "That Oscar Absolutely Should Have Gone to My Year of Dicks."

Similarly Fire of Love was robbed. Navalny is a pretty bog standard doc, bordering on the hagiographical, with a basically uncritical approach to Navalny (waving away his associations with right wing russian groups in particular, and letting heavily motivated Bellingcat spook assertions go unexamined). Not really that interesting, certainly not innovative, while Fire of Love is an one of kind work of art that left me alternatively in awe and weeping.
posted by dis_integration at 11:45 AM on March 14, 2023 [2 favorites]


A couple of articles I thought were interesting:

It Took Me Nearly 40 Years To Stop Resenting Ke Huy Quan by Walter Chaw.

But here’s Quan, the same as he was when he was a kid, embodying all of the qualities that actually matter in the pursuit of a life well-lived: love for and faith in the people in your life who see you, and the candid recollection of the journey it took to get you to a place where you can finally see yourself. It’s not the awards that matter, it’s only this. I used to be embarrassed to be set against Quan in some way; now I can’t imagine a kinder comparison. I’m old, but I’m teachable.


Why Halle Berry Presenting Michelle Yeoh With Her Best Actress Oscar Win Was So Significant by Abbey White.

The night was ultimately a literal win for Yeoh and representation in Hollywood for the Asian community, but it could also be seen as a personal win for Berry, who has lamented that no other women of color had won in the category since her historic first. In 2017, the lack of fellow winners of color had Berry feeling like her win was “meaningless.”

“That moment really meant nothing,” Berry told Teen Vogue. “It meant nothing. I thought it meant something, but I think it meant nothing.”

And in a 2022 interview with GMA that marked 20 years since Berry’s win, she noted that she felt “completely heartbroken that there’s no other woman standing next to me in 20 years.

“I thought, like everybody else, that night meant a lot of things would change,” she added. “That there would be other women. I thought I would have the script truck back up to my front door and I’d have an opportunity to play any role I wanted. That didn’t happen. No other woman is standing there.”

posted by creepygirl at 2:16 PM on March 14, 2023 [3 favorites]


It Took Me Nearly 40 Years To Stop Resenting Ke Huy Quan by Walter Chaw.

That reminded me of this video - Everyone Needs Waymond Wang.
It makes a really good point that the usual character arc for characters like Waymond - the "nice guy" who gets perceived as a "beta male" - often have a moment where they finally "level up" and get aggressive, pushing back at the people who've been dumping on them throughout the whole story and sort of "earn" their success. But Waymond doesn't ever do that - he stays the same nice, positive, optimistic guy throughout.

Instead - at the point when the "nice guy" would usually have that moment of change - it's Evelyn who changes, by realizing that his niceness and kindness and positivity have been working behind the scenes all along to make everything better for her, his family, and others around him. It's also a kind of strength, and he might even be stronger because he's not looking for acknowledgement or accolades. She - and we - have been misjudging him all along.

So Waymond doesn't change to get recognized for his strength - Evelyn does, and by extension, we do.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:17 AM on March 15, 2023 [11 favorites]


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