Special Event: Academy Awards 2019
February 24, 2019 7:18 PM - Subscribe
Oscars Night -- it's late but I don't care! Come talk about your faves, who was robbed, whether people were wearing clothing!
I can't believe that Period. End of Sentence. won and I cried because I was so happy!
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:22 PM on February 24, 2019 [6 favorites]
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:22 PM on February 24, 2019 [6 favorites]
I'm all in for Black Panther for best picture. Would also accept The Favourite.
posted by LobsterMitten at 7:27 PM on February 24, 2019
posted by LobsterMitten at 7:27 PM on February 24, 2019
Loving the dresses this year - people are actually taking some risks finally. Love that pink pouf dress sleeves.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 7:28 PM on February 24, 2019
posted by St. Peepsburg at 7:28 PM on February 24, 2019
Lady Gaga wins an Oscar! She must be so proud. I was rooting for the cowboy song even though that’s not my typical genre.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 7:32 PM on February 24, 2019
posted by St. Peepsburg at 7:32 PM on February 24, 2019
Olivia Colman was awesome but I didn't see the other movies. How does Glenn Close not have an oscar yet though?
posted by LobsterMitten at 7:33 PM on February 24, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by LobsterMitten at 7:33 PM on February 24, 2019 [1 favorite]
Ok some outfit pics here - that tux ballgown is something else! A lot of velvet going around, it seems like.
posted by LobsterMitten at 7:48 PM on February 24, 2019
posted by LobsterMitten at 7:48 PM on February 24, 2019
I love this show. The Oscar stage is gorgeous, many of the commercials are well-done. Agree that there are some gowns that are sculptural and interesting, though the long trains don't do it for me, and men in such interesting attire. The writing of the presentations seems less awful than usual. Lots of diversity making a refreshing change.
posted by theora55 at 7:55 PM on February 24, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by theora55 at 7:55 PM on February 24, 2019 [1 favorite]
Ok that best actress speech wins the night.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 8:04 PM on February 24, 2019 [9 favorites]
posted by St. Peepsburg at 8:04 PM on February 24, 2019 [9 favorites]
Also - Julia Roberts presents best picture!
I was saying to hubs that tonight feels lacking in big star power... that or I got old.
Was not expecting Remi Malek to win best actor, and I don’t think he was either.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 8:06 PM on February 24, 2019
I was saying to hubs that tonight feels lacking in big star power... that or I got old.
Was not expecting Remi Malek to win best actor, and I don’t think he was either.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 8:06 PM on February 24, 2019
It is surprising and interesting to me how many of these commercials are in Spanish!
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 8:13 PM on February 24, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 8:13 PM on February 24, 2019 [3 favorites]
What the everliving fuck, Academy???!?!?!?!
I was literally sitting here chanting "anything but Green Book, anything but Green Book ...."
Ugh
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 8:14 PM on February 24, 2019 [15 favorites]
I was literally sitting here chanting "anything but Green Book, anything but Green Book ...."
Ugh
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 8:14 PM on February 24, 2019 [15 favorites]
Seriously? Eurgh.
posted by LobsterMitten at 8:17 PM on February 24, 2019
posted by LobsterMitten at 8:17 PM on February 24, 2019
All I could think is how I’m loving Julia’s style tonight and great jewelry too
posted by St. Peepsburg at 8:17 PM on February 24, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by St. Peepsburg at 8:17 PM on February 24, 2019 [1 favorite]
What the Actual Fuck re: Green Book
Literally any of the other Best Picture nominees is more worthy of the award.
This is like when Crash won over Brokeback Mountain.
On the plus side - Yay Black Panther and Yay Spike Lee and Yay Olivia Coleman!
posted by tzikeh at 8:26 PM on February 24, 2019 [3 favorites]
Literally any of the other Best Picture nominees is more worthy of the award.
This is like when Crash won over Brokeback Mountain.
On the plus side - Yay Black Panther and Yay Spike Lee and Yay Olivia Coleman!
posted by tzikeh at 8:26 PM on February 24, 2019 [3 favorites]
Lindsay Ellis: Really messed up that Spike Lee lost to Driving Miss Daisy a second time three decades later
posted by octothorpe at 8:34 PM on February 24, 2019 [43 favorites]
posted by octothorpe at 8:34 PM on February 24, 2019 [43 favorites]
Green Book winning Best Picture is inexcusable. They should be forced to apologize and retract it.
posted by Automocar at 8:39 PM on February 24, 2019 [7 favorites]
posted by Automocar at 8:39 PM on February 24, 2019 [7 favorites]
Plot summary of Green Book from Seth Myers' team:
White Savior
posted by tzikeh at 8:55 PM on February 24, 2019 [17 favorites]
White Savior
posted by tzikeh at 8:55 PM on February 24, 2019 [17 favorites]
Amandla Stenberg is beautiful and her dress of thin chains, oh my. Olivia Colman is adorable.
posted by theora55 at 8:56 PM on February 24, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by theora55 at 8:56 PM on February 24, 2019 [2 favorites]
Hello and good evening, Academy. I've been rehearsing my speech for many years and now, finally, I think I've got it right. Okay, are you ready?
OLIVIA COLMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!
Thank you.
posted by h00py at 8:58 PM on February 24, 2019 [3 favorites]
OLIVIA COLMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!
Thank you.
posted by h00py at 8:58 PM on February 24, 2019 [3 favorites]
Schrader got robbed.
posted by j_curiouser at 9:08 PM on February 24, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by j_curiouser at 9:08 PM on February 24, 2019 [2 favorites]
Thus spake someone who was watching with me: "Maybe Spike Lee needs to work on his next film with Glenn Close so they can both be snubbed together."
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:12 PM on February 24, 2019 [10 favorites]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:12 PM on February 24, 2019 [10 favorites]
I have been a fan of Olivia Colman since Mitchell & Webb. She has always been excellent in everything (especially things where she has to be simultaneously completely silly and completely serious like Yorgos Lanthimos movies and Peep Show).
Has anyone ever been knighted by a monarch they’ve portrayed in a Netflix series? Because that would be a thing to see. Just saying.
posted by Sys Rq at 9:19 PM on February 24, 2019 [11 favorites]
Has anyone ever been knighted by a monarch they’ve portrayed in a Netflix series? Because that would be a thing to see. Just saying.
posted by Sys Rq at 9:19 PM on February 24, 2019 [11 favorites]
Also can we talk about how weird it was for things Wayne and Garth would say coming out of grown-up Dana Carvey and Mike Meyers' mouths?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:51 PM on February 24, 2019 [4 favorites]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:51 PM on February 24, 2019 [4 favorites]
As a Mexican but also as a movie lover, I'm so happy for Cuaron's win.
Loved Olivia Coleman's speech. It had me at the edge of my seat crying and laughing with her.
WTF Green book??....My favorite for best movie was Bohemian Rhapsody
posted by CrazyLemonade at 9:52 PM on February 24, 2019
Loved Olivia Coleman's speech. It had me at the edge of my seat crying and laughing with her.
WTF Green book??....My favorite for best movie was Bohemian Rhapsody
posted by CrazyLemonade at 9:52 PM on February 24, 2019
I’m still giggling about Melissa McCarthy struggling to open the envelope while wearing a bunny handpuppet, making it look very much like the bunny was gnawing the envelope open.
posted by mochapickle at 10:13 PM on February 24, 2019 [12 favorites]
posted by mochapickle at 10:13 PM on February 24, 2019 [12 favorites]
Olivia Coleman was amazing, but man The Favourite needed to take a couple more home.
Guessing that this might be the break into American mainstream for both her* and Yorgos. I’m digging the sound of his next outing.
* I was eye-rolling at the SNL Family Feud sketch where her sole bit was “No one here knows me!” Cmon rest of America. At least people will see The Crown.
posted by supercres at 10:28 PM on February 24, 2019 [1 favorite]
Guessing that this might be the break into American mainstream for both her* and Yorgos. I’m digging the sound of his next outing.
* I was eye-rolling at the SNL Family Feud sketch where her sole bit was “No one here knows me!” Cmon rest of America. At least people will see The Crown.
posted by supercres at 10:28 PM on February 24, 2019 [1 favorite]
The outfits were the most on point, especially Billy Porter, Jason Momoa and Lisa Bonet matching, the entire cast of Black Panther as usual, and that dream that Michelle Yeoh had on. Billy and Michelle get extra points for gowns with trains.
And gaaaah on Green Book. I was rooting so much for Roma to get Best Picture and free up room for Cold War to get Pawlikowski's second Foreign Language Oscar.
posted by I claim sanctuary at 1:52 AM on February 25, 2019 [2 favorites]
And gaaaah on Green Book. I was rooting so much for Roma to get Best Picture and free up room for Cold War to get Pawlikowski's second Foreign Language Oscar.
posted by I claim sanctuary at 1:52 AM on February 25, 2019 [2 favorites]
Green Book can fuck right off, but man I hope the Oscars never gets a host again, because the lack of a host was excellent.
posted by TwoStride at 6:06 AM on February 25, 2019 [9 favorites]
posted by TwoStride at 6:06 AM on February 25, 2019 [9 favorites]
Unfortunately, Green Book winning Best Picture was pretty-much a given. It's exactly the kind of story Hollywood loves to wrap itself in. I was pulling for Roma, myself.
Agree that the lack of a host didn't hurt the proceedings, though it still went long. This was the first Oscars we've watched in years. We tuned in just to see how the lack of a host went. To be honest, though they were funny, I think they could have ditched the opening bit, too, and just jumped right into things.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:11 AM on February 25, 2019
Agree that the lack of a host didn't hurt the proceedings, though it still went long. This was the first Oscars we've watched in years. We tuned in just to see how the lack of a host went. To be honest, though they were funny, I think they could have ditched the opening bit, too, and just jumped right into things.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:11 AM on February 25, 2019
I had a bad feeling when (half of) Queen + Adam Lambert started with their dumbest arena-rock number to a bunch of people in tuxes and gowns. As the night went on, I got more and more afraid -- "Is this Spike's consolation prize?" "Did Rami just ignore John Deacon's existence? ... And HIV/AIDS?" "Is Olivia going to stroke out right there on stage?"
And then, the last award landed like a fart. I swear I heard something between a gasp and a boo when it was announced, the speech somehow managed to be more cringey ("Thanks to the one white guy! This was all him!"), and then Julia Roberts just... ended things, almost mercifully.
I don't think Green Book was fated to win, but I do think that a lot of the old white guys who fill the voting ranks voted for it because of the controversy, and I think the Academy is going to need to deal with that bloc sooner rather than later.
posted by Etrigan at 8:13 AM on February 25, 2019 [4 favorites]
And then, the last award landed like a fart. I swear I heard something between a gasp and a boo when it was announced, the speech somehow managed to be more cringey ("Thanks to the one white guy! This was all him!"), and then Julia Roberts just... ended things, almost mercifully.
I don't think Green Book was fated to win, but I do think that a lot of the old white guys who fill the voting ranks voted for it because of the controversy, and I think the Academy is going to need to deal with that bloc sooner rather than later.
posted by Etrigan at 8:13 AM on February 25, 2019 [4 favorites]
The old white guys have gotta all die soon, right?
posted by jacquilynne at 8:24 AM on February 25, 2019
posted by jacquilynne at 8:24 AM on February 25, 2019
I mean, of natural causes, peacefully in their sleep. I'm not suggesting an Academy voter murder spree.
Although a movie about an Academy voter murder spree has potential.
posted by jacquilynne at 8:25 AM on February 25, 2019 [14 favorites]
Although a movie about an Academy voter murder spree has potential.
posted by jacquilynne at 8:25 AM on February 25, 2019 [14 favorites]
The old white guys have gotta all die soon, right?
Here's a fun story my father told me about the Freemasons (he's a lifelong member and has served in high-level leadership positions in the organization and many of its spinoff organizations): For a long time at the end of the 20th Century, the age of the median Freemason in the U.S. was rising faster than the passage of time. As in, more than 1.0 years per year. That means it wasn't just a static membership that wasn't getting new members -- it means they were losing younger members faster than the old ones are dying off. It was an existential crisis that a huge chunk of the leadership was simply unable or unwilling to deal with, and I have no idea whether they've altered course, because my father had to throttle back his involvement with the Freemasons due to -- wait for it -- his advancing age.
So the old white guys (and let's face it, we really mean the old white people, because white women have their own issues to deal with in this regard), who are already way over-represented and statistically more likely to live longer, may well be driving out the younger, less white people. It's probably not overt, but even in as prestigious a group as the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, people get tired of beating their heads against the old-white-guy wall.
posted by Etrigan at 8:38 AM on February 25, 2019 [1 favorite]
Here's a fun story my father told me about the Freemasons (he's a lifelong member and has served in high-level leadership positions in the organization and many of its spinoff organizations): For a long time at the end of the 20th Century, the age of the median Freemason in the U.S. was rising faster than the passage of time. As in, more than 1.0 years per year. That means it wasn't just a static membership that wasn't getting new members -- it means they were losing younger members faster than the old ones are dying off. It was an existential crisis that a huge chunk of the leadership was simply unable or unwilling to deal with, and I have no idea whether they've altered course, because my father had to throttle back his involvement with the Freemasons due to -- wait for it -- his advancing age.
So the old white guys (and let's face it, we really mean the old white people, because white women have their own issues to deal with in this regard), who are already way over-represented and statistically more likely to live longer, may well be driving out the younger, less white people. It's probably not overt, but even in as prestigious a group as the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, people get tired of beating their heads against the old-white-guy wall.
posted by Etrigan at 8:38 AM on February 25, 2019 [1 favorite]
Trevor Noah's Xhosa proverb, Abelungu abazi' uba ndiyaxoka, does not mean "In times like these, we are stronger when we fight together than when we try to fight apart."
It means "White people won't know I'm lying."
posted by Etrigan at 8:43 AM on February 25, 2019 [45 favorites]
It means "White people won't know I'm lying."
posted by Etrigan at 8:43 AM on February 25, 2019 [45 favorites]
The outfits were the most on point
I also got a kick out of Alex Honnold wearing a tux by The North Face.
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 9:30 AM on February 25, 2019 [3 favorites]
I also got a kick out of Alex Honnold wearing a tux by The North Face.
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 9:30 AM on February 25, 2019 [3 favorites]
Does anyone have the candid interviews of academy voters from this year? I saw it passing around social media recently, but can't find the actual article.
posted by codacorolla at 9:59 AM on February 25, 2019
posted by codacorolla at 9:59 AM on February 25, 2019
As I understand it the Best Picture is ranked voting. So where people are fairly split on their number one choice it makes it more likely for a movie that is consistently in the top three of most voters rankings to win. And I think that is what happened here and with Crash, The Shape of Water and many other years. Take The Favourite, some people loved it, I thought it was a hot mess and the general consensus is that it had potential but was half baked. So everyone who voted that as number one had their second or third choice used instead. Rinse and repeat for a few other polarizing choices like the Bryan Singer led Bohemian Rhapsody, a comic book movie, a movie from a streaming service in black and white, a remake and a musical and bam, the movie everyone ranked third wins. Blackkklansman and Green Book were probably the two contendors for the slot.
Tldr; never ascribe malice when simple math will do.
The real winner should have been Beale Street, imho.
posted by fshgrl at 10:21 AM on February 25, 2019 [9 favorites]
Tldr; never ascribe malice when simple math will do.
The real winner should have been Beale Street, imho.
posted by fshgrl at 10:21 AM on February 25, 2019 [9 favorites]
As I understand it the Best Picture is ranked voting. ... And I think that is what happened here and with Crash
The ranked voting started when they expanded the field of nominees from five in 2009 (after The Dark Knight wasn't nominated), so Crash (2004) was just a regular old bad vote.
posted by Etrigan at 10:26 AM on February 25, 2019 [1 favorite]
The ranked voting started when they expanded the field of nominees from five in 2009 (after The Dark Knight wasn't nominated), so Crash (2004) was just a regular old bad vote.
posted by Etrigan at 10:26 AM on February 25, 2019 [1 favorite]
Tldr; never ascribe malice when simple math will do.
There is actual malice, though. The interviews I'm talking about routinely have the old white fucks who vote for these things talking about panning pictures because they felt "forced" into voting for them.
posted by codacorolla at 10:53 AM on February 25, 2019 [3 favorites]
There is actual malice, though. The interviews I'm talking about routinely have the old white fucks who vote for these things talking about panning pictures because they felt "forced" into voting for them.
posted by codacorolla at 10:53 AM on February 25, 2019 [3 favorites]
Was it this story, codacorolla?
Also Period. End of Sentence — it's well done, but it's about women getting their period, and I don't think any man is voting for this film because it's just icky for men.posted by Etrigan at 11:06 AM on February 25, 2019
I said when the nominations were announced "It's going to be really embarrassing for everyone when Green Book wins over Black Panther."
And then last night I said, "nah, I don't think Green Book is going to win" and I went to be pretty sure that was going to be the case.
Sigh.
posted by darksong at 11:06 AM on February 25, 2019
And then last night I said, "nah, I don't think Green Book is going to win" and I went to be pretty sure that was going to be the case.
Sigh.
posted by darksong at 11:06 AM on February 25, 2019
I'm here for Oscar award winning superhero masterpieces and for ignoring that other dumb movie. Oh Mahershala Ali, your Midas gift and curse is to bring Oscar gold to everything you touch.
posted by nicebookrack at 11:20 AM on February 25, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by nicebookrack at 11:20 AM on February 25, 2019 [2 favorites]
A lovely moment making the rounds on Disability Twitter: actress Selma Blair came out for a Hollywood fancy dress event for the first time after going public with her MS diagnosis in October. She looks regal posing for Vanity Fair with her princess gown and cane, which you can find on Amazon for a practical $25.
My fave Twitter response: "turns out all I gotta do is make [the cane] the least interesting part of my outfit"
posted by nicebookrack at 11:48 AM on February 25, 2019 [12 favorites]
My fave Twitter response: "turns out all I gotta do is make [the cane] the least interesting part of my outfit"
posted by nicebookrack at 11:48 AM on February 25, 2019 [12 favorites]
Another great moment: Ruth E. Carter won her 260% deserved Academy Award for Costume Design for Black Panther and read her acceptance speech from a BLACK NOTECARD COLOR-COORDINATED WITH HER OUTFIT. I can't believe that the Academy TV organizers would've liked to hide that speech during the commercials. How dare they deny us that aesthetic.
posted by nicebookrack at 12:00 PM on February 25, 2019 [14 favorites]
posted by nicebookrack at 12:00 PM on February 25, 2019 [14 favorites]
Trevor Noah's Xhosa proverb, Abelungu abazi' uba ndiyaxoka, does not mean "In times like these, we are stronger when we fight together than when we try to fight apart."
It means "White people won't know I'm lying."
This is the only funny thing Trevor Noah has ever done.
But I’ve got to hand it to him: it is a damn great joke.
posted by Atom Eyes at 12:20 PM on February 25, 2019 [5 favorites]
It means "White people won't know I'm lying."
This is the only funny thing Trevor Noah has ever done.
But I’ve got to hand it to him: it is a damn great joke.
posted by Atom Eyes at 12:20 PM on February 25, 2019 [5 favorites]
That’s pretty much the ur-Noah-joke, so if you liked that one I strongly suspect he’s said/done some other things that would elicit a chuckle from you.
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 1:41 PM on February 25, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 1:41 PM on February 25, 2019 [1 favorite]
Queen + Adam Lambert started with their dumbest arena-rock number
Yeah, We Will Rock You was written by Brian May, so he loves it. It's also their easiest karaoke number, so perfect for touring with Lambert.
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 1:58 PM on February 25, 2019
Yeah, We Will Rock You was written by Brian May, so he loves it. It's also their easiest karaoke number, so perfect for touring with Lambert.
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 1:58 PM on February 25, 2019
It's also their easiest karaoke number, so perfect for touring with Lambert.
I'm not what you would call a fan of Lambert's but dude has a three-octave range, a pre-Idol background in musical theater and session work and has been performing with Queen since 2011. Snark if you want, but he's got the goods.
posted by ApathyGirl at 2:35 PM on February 25, 2019 [11 favorites]
I'm not what you would call a fan of Lambert's but dude has a three-octave range, a pre-Idol background in musical theater and session work and has been performing with Queen since 2011. Snark if you want, but he's got the goods.
posted by ApathyGirl at 2:35 PM on February 25, 2019 [11 favorites]
Period. End of Sentence. Trailer. And you can watch the 25-min movie on Netflix. It's fantastic. I cried. Twice.
posted by heyho at 2:43 PM on February 25, 2019 [5 favorites]
posted by heyho at 2:43 PM on February 25, 2019 [5 favorites]
Getting back to some of the sillier stuff -
I had a bad feeling when (half of) Queen + Adam Lambert started with their dumbest arena-rock number to a bunch of people in tuxes and gowns.
I had the complete opposite reaction. I love stuff like that because it's fascinating to see who in the audience stays buttoned up and who rocks out; at one point in the crowd you have Christian Bale standing there with a faint smile like "I am standing because everyone else is but oh fie this is a serious occasion", and elsewhere you have Javier Bardem completely rocking out and bellowing at the top of his lungs like he's back in his teenage bedroom or something, and it's adorable. And I think that it was the BlacKkKlansman crowd who were starting the sway-back-and-forth-in-their-seats-and-wave thing to "We Are The Champions" while everyone else around them just sat there.
I came in here expecting much more chatter about Melissa McCarthy's fabulous bunny train gown and bonus bunny presenter and am disappointed!
I thought it was hilarious, but it also took me the entirety of her speech to realize that it was a riff on The Favourite. I had to explain that to my mother today; she didn't really see that it was all bunnies and thought it was random stuffed animals; and even if she had seen it was all bunnies she hadn't seen the movie so it was a joke that went over her head. I suspect that a lot of the silence on the topic may simply be due to people not getting the reference.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:31 PM on February 25, 2019 [3 favorites]
I had a bad feeling when (half of) Queen + Adam Lambert started with their dumbest arena-rock number to a bunch of people in tuxes and gowns.
I had the complete opposite reaction. I love stuff like that because it's fascinating to see who in the audience stays buttoned up and who rocks out; at one point in the crowd you have Christian Bale standing there with a faint smile like "I am standing because everyone else is but oh fie this is a serious occasion", and elsewhere you have Javier Bardem completely rocking out and bellowing at the top of his lungs like he's back in his teenage bedroom or something, and it's adorable. And I think that it was the BlacKkKlansman crowd who were starting the sway-back-and-forth-in-their-seats-and-wave thing to "We Are The Champions" while everyone else around them just sat there.
I came in here expecting much more chatter about Melissa McCarthy's fabulous bunny train gown and bonus bunny presenter and am disappointed!
I thought it was hilarious, but it also took me the entirety of her speech to realize that it was a riff on The Favourite. I had to explain that to my mother today; she didn't really see that it was all bunnies and thought it was random stuffed animals; and even if she had seen it was all bunnies she hadn't seen the movie so it was a joke that went over her head. I suspect that a lot of the silence on the topic may simply be due to people not getting the reference.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:31 PM on February 25, 2019 [3 favorites]
I did not get the reference but I enjoyed it all the same.
posted by wabbittwax at 4:46 PM on February 25, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by wabbittwax at 4:46 PM on February 25, 2019 [1 favorite]
How did I miss McCarthy and Henry presenting in those gowns? That was amazing.
posted by fshgrl at 4:46 PM on February 25, 2019
posted by fshgrl at 4:46 PM on February 25, 2019
Speaking of gowns: a friend of mine wanted to know how many tutus died to make Kacey Musgraves' dress.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:51 PM on February 25, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:51 PM on February 25, 2019 [1 favorite]
I decided to rewatch GREEN BOOK this morning to see if I could figure out why it won Best Picture, and... I guess the Academy just really loved Morrissey's end credits song?
(Demi Adejuyigbe via Twitter)
posted by Atom Eyes at 6:31 PM on February 25, 2019 [8 favorites]
(Demi Adejuyigbe via Twitter)
posted by Atom Eyes at 6:31 PM on February 25, 2019 [8 favorites]
The outfits were the most on point, especially Billy Porter
I honestly feel like Billy Porter's tuxedo gown is one of the most important things that happened last night. It was a masterful homage, looked both timeless and like the future.
posted by gladly at 7:35 PM on February 25, 2019 [16 favorites]
I honestly feel like Billy Porter's tuxedo gown is one of the most important things that happened last night. It was a masterful homage, looked both timeless and like the future.
posted by gladly at 7:35 PM on February 25, 2019 [16 favorites]
Oh, hey, last night's broadcast is now up on Hulu for anyone who wants to relive M. McCarthy's funny bunny goodness et al.
posted by mochapickle at 12:11 AM on February 26, 2019
posted by mochapickle at 12:11 AM on February 26, 2019
Also I have been consoling myself all day by randomly naming other awful Best Picture winners while completing my regular daily tasks.
Laundry: "Crash!"
Brushing the dog: "Forrest Gump!"
Loading the dishwasher: "Dances With Wolves!"
Picking up takeout: "The English Patient!"
Locking up for the night: "A Beautiful Mind!"
There are many to choose from!
posted by mochapickle at 12:18 AM on February 26, 2019 [4 favorites]
Laundry: "Crash!"
Brushing the dog: "Forrest Gump!"
Loading the dishwasher: "Dances With Wolves!"
Picking up takeout: "The English Patient!"
Locking up for the night: "A Beautiful Mind!"
There are many to choose from!
posted by mochapickle at 12:18 AM on February 26, 2019 [4 favorites]
That's the thing, Best Picture winners have been terrible or at least forgettable more often than not. Has anyone ever rewatched Out of Africa?
posted by octothorpe at 4:08 AM on February 26, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by octothorpe at 4:08 AM on February 26, 2019 [1 favorite]
That's the thing, Best Picture winners have been terrible or at least forgettable more often than not.
Casablanca.
From Here To Eternity.
On The Waterfront.
West Side Story.
Lawrence of Arabia.
My Fair Lady.
The Sound Of Music.
In The Heat Of The Night.
Midnight Cowboy.
Patton.
The French Connection.
The Godfather.
The Godfather II.
The Sting.
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.
Rocky.
The Deer Hunter.
Gandhi.
Silence Of The Lambs.
Schindler's List.
Lord Of The Rings.
12 Years A Slave.
Moonlight.
....Eh, forgettable films all, I suppose....
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:30 AM on February 26, 2019
Casablanca.
From Here To Eternity.
On The Waterfront.
West Side Story.
Lawrence of Arabia.
My Fair Lady.
The Sound Of Music.
In The Heat Of The Night.
Midnight Cowboy.
Patton.
The French Connection.
The Godfather.
The Godfather II.
The Sting.
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.
Rocky.
The Deer Hunter.
Gandhi.
Silence Of The Lambs.
Schindler's List.
Lord Of The Rings.
12 Years A Slave.
Moonlight.
....Eh, forgettable films all, I suppose....
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:30 AM on February 26, 2019
I didn't say every best picture was bad and/or forgettable just most. They do manage to pick the right one sometimes but a lot of time they pick stuff like Oliver! or Argo. Also I kind of don't like a few on your list like Cuckoos's Nest or Gandhi. I loved Gandhi the first time I saw it on opening weekend in NYC at a 70mm showing and it is spectacular looking but watching it since, it really doesn't hold up. Kingsley is great and I think that Attenborough had good intentions but it just seems like it's not his story to tell.
*I've never actually managed to watch Sound of Music all the way through. I had an elementary school music teacher who was obsessed with that score and to this day, I just can't.
posted by octothorpe at 5:05 AM on February 26, 2019 [1 favorite]
*I've never actually managed to watch Sound of Music all the way through. I had an elementary school music teacher who was obsessed with that score and to this day, I just can't.
posted by octothorpe at 5:05 AM on February 26, 2019 [1 favorite]
I agree with you, octothorpe. I generally don't agree with the Academy's choice of what's "best" in a given year when it comes to that final category. The rest of the awards generally make more sense to me, but that one is frequently way off base somehow.
For my money, The Favourite was the best film of the year; most were more like tv movies to me, to be honest. I'm pleasantly shocked to see Hollywood embracing Lanthimos; it gives me hope for (and makes me more interested in) American cinema.
Also, an observation. The more time goes by, the more Frances McDormand and Willem Dafoe morph into the same person, I swear to god. It's hilarious how much they look alike these days, and I love it. (I'm not even kidding; look at them—they could play each other in their respective biopics.)
posted by heyho at 5:35 AM on February 26, 2019 [4 favorites]
For my money, The Favourite was the best film of the year; most were more like tv movies to me, to be honest. I'm pleasantly shocked to see Hollywood embracing Lanthimos; it gives me hope for (and makes me more interested in) American cinema.
Also, an observation. The more time goes by, the more Frances McDormand and Willem Dafoe morph into the same person, I swear to god. It's hilarious how much they look alike these days, and I love it. (I'm not even kidding; look at them—they could play each other in their respective biopics.)
posted by heyho at 5:35 AM on February 26, 2019 [4 favorites]
For my money, The Favourite was the best film of the year. No way: Sorry to Bother You, which was way more creative.
posted by TwoStride at 5:49 AM on February 26, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by TwoStride at 5:49 AM on February 26, 2019 [2 favorites]
but a lot of time they pick stuff like Oliver!
You did not just say that.
posted by Sys Rq at 5:55 AM on February 26, 2019
You did not just say that.
posted by Sys Rq at 5:55 AM on February 26, 2019
No way: Sorry to Bother You, which was way more creative.
Thanks; I'll check it out!
posted by heyho at 6:07 AM on February 26, 2019 [2 favorites]
Thanks; I'll check it out!
posted by heyho at 6:07 AM on February 26, 2019 [2 favorites]
It's also their easiest karaoke number, so perfect for touring with Lambert.
I had to sing it once on stage (long story) and motherfucking Freddy fucking Mercury never takes a damn breath through the verses. Unless you're slowing the tempo, it's actually a moderately technical song.
posted by restless_nomad at 6:14 AM on February 26, 2019 [9 favorites]
I had to sing it once on stage (long story) and motherfucking Freddy fucking Mercury never takes a damn breath through the verses. Unless you're slowing the tempo, it's actually a moderately technical song.
posted by restless_nomad at 6:14 AM on February 26, 2019 [9 favorites]
To be fair, it's kind of a dumb reductionist game to try to pick one film out a whole year as "the best". I loved The Favorite and Sorry to Bother You but how do you compare such wildly different films like those? Or Into the Spiderverse vs. Annihilation? Or Shirkers vs. Won't You Be My Neighbor?
posted by octothorpe at 6:38 AM on February 26, 2019 [4 favorites]
posted by octothorpe at 6:38 AM on February 26, 2019 [4 favorites]
This is the second year in a row I've made a point of seeing all the Best Picture nominees. (Last year I got to all of them in theaters, while this year I watched Roma and Bohemian Rhapsody at home.)
Spider-Verse was a better movie than any of this year's nominees.
As to the nominees, I find that The Favourite occupies a similar mental niche, for me, as Phantom Thread. In addition to the superficial similarities - period pieces about toxic relationships (literally toxic, at times) - they are both movies that I thought I didn't care for much when I first saw them, but which I found myself thinking about more than any of the other nominees in their respective years, and the more I thought about them the more I liked them.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 6:57 AM on February 26, 2019 [5 favorites]
Spider-Verse was a better movie than any of this year's nominees.
As to the nominees, I find that The Favourite occupies a similar mental niche, for me, as Phantom Thread. In addition to the superficial similarities - period pieces about toxic relationships (literally toxic, at times) - they are both movies that I thought I didn't care for much when I first saw them, but which I found myself thinking about more than any of the other nominees in their respective years, and the more I thought about them the more I liked them.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 6:57 AM on February 26, 2019 [5 favorites]
....Eh, forgettable films all, I suppose....
You listed 23 movies from the last 77 years and only three from the 21st Century, so maybe "more often than not" isn't far from the truth.
posted by Etrigan at 7:24 AM on February 26, 2019 [4 favorites]
You listed 23 movies from the last 77 years and only three from the 21st Century, so maybe "more often than not" isn't far from the truth.
posted by Etrigan at 7:24 AM on February 26, 2019 [4 favorites]
I still can't get over how badly Leave No Trace was snubbed- not a single major nomination!
posted by emd3737 at 11:17 AM on February 26, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by emd3737 at 11:17 AM on February 26, 2019 [1 favorite]
I know someone involved with Period. (he managed/coordinated shooting in India) and everyone is very excited; the whatsapp thread has been blowing up nonstop. The other documentary shorts I saw were also very good - A Night at the Garden and Lifeboat.
posted by ChuraChura at 12:03 PM on February 26, 2019 [4 favorites]
posted by ChuraChura at 12:03 PM on February 26, 2019 [4 favorites]
They do manage to pick the right one sometimes but a lot of time they pick stuff like Oliver! or Argo. Also I kind of don't like a few on your list like Cuckoos's Nest or Gandhi.
Well, that's actually kind of my point - that there is a difference between "good/bad" in terms of empiric quality, and "good/bad" in terms of your own individual emotional response to it. I mean, by the same token, a couple of the films you took a side-eye to (A BEAUTIFUL MIND, for one), I liked. Also, in this very thread we've already had a difference of opinion on a given film you disliked and someone else liked.
You listed 23 movies from the last 77 years and only three from the 21st Century, so maybe "more often than not" isn't far from the truth.
I listed the 23 movies which time and time again rank especially high on different critics' "best films ever" lists, that's why. That's about the same batting average as the various baseball greats, which is still really damn good. We all will each have our individual lists of films that were Best Picture winners but someone else will disagree with; that person disagreeing with you does not mean it was something that wasn't good or deserving of its win.
I learned a long time ago that my disagreement with several of the Best Picture winners wasn't necessarily because the Academy was wrong about what constituted the "best picture", but rather that my personal taste frequently differed from a mainstream concensus. Empirically they are well-made movies, they just don't fit my own personal aesthetic. Quality and "my personal aesthetics" are two very different things. And the same is true of us all.
"Best Picture Winners have been terrible more often than not" is a statement I can't agree with. "I have actually ended up hating the Best Picture Winners more often than not", however, is a statement I cannot find any fault with at all. (I mean, I may look at you funny if one of the pictures you hate is one I love, but because you've said it's because you just plain don't like it, I can't really do anything to change that, so I just gotta live with that.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:21 PM on February 26, 2019 [2 favorites]
Well, that's actually kind of my point - that there is a difference between "good/bad" in terms of empiric quality, and "good/bad" in terms of your own individual emotional response to it. I mean, by the same token, a couple of the films you took a side-eye to (A BEAUTIFUL MIND, for one), I liked. Also, in this very thread we've already had a difference of opinion on a given film you disliked and someone else liked.
You listed 23 movies from the last 77 years and only three from the 21st Century, so maybe "more often than not" isn't far from the truth.
I listed the 23 movies which time and time again rank especially high on different critics' "best films ever" lists, that's why. That's about the same batting average as the various baseball greats, which is still really damn good. We all will each have our individual lists of films that were Best Picture winners but someone else will disagree with; that person disagreeing with you does not mean it was something that wasn't good or deserving of its win.
I learned a long time ago that my disagreement with several of the Best Picture winners wasn't necessarily because the Academy was wrong about what constituted the "best picture", but rather that my personal taste frequently differed from a mainstream concensus. Empirically they are well-made movies, they just don't fit my own personal aesthetic. Quality and "my personal aesthetics" are two very different things. And the same is true of us all.
"Best Picture Winners have been terrible more often than not" is a statement I can't agree with. "I have actually ended up hating the Best Picture Winners more often than not", however, is a statement I cannot find any fault with at all. (I mean, I may look at you funny if one of the pictures you hate is one I love, but because you've said it's because you just plain don't like it, I can't really do anything to change that, so I just gotta live with that.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:21 PM on February 26, 2019 [2 favorites]
Spider-Verse was a better movie than any of this year's nominees.
I emphatically agree. Though it sounds kind of silly to say, I think that Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse will prove to be a significant movie (primarily, I expect, because of its influence on other artists in the medium--it really breaks new ground technically and culturally). It is virtuosic.
posted by LooseFilter at 5:51 PM on February 26, 2019 [10 favorites]
I emphatically agree. Though it sounds kind of silly to say, I think that Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse will prove to be a significant movie (primarily, I expect, because of its influence on other artists in the medium--it really breaks new ground technically and culturally). It is virtuosic.
posted by LooseFilter at 5:51 PM on February 26, 2019 [10 favorites]
Some kind soul has made a GIF out of the look that Chadwick Boseman gave to Michael B Jordan after GREEN BOOK won Best Picture.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:40 PM on February 26, 2019 [7 favorites]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:40 PM on February 26, 2019 [7 favorites]
Do note that Photoshop and After Effects got tech Oscars and very deservingly:
Edwin Catmull for the original concept, and to Tony DeRose and Jos Stam for their pioneering advancement of the underlying science of subdivision surfaces as 3D geometric modeling primitives.
Paul Debevec, Timothy Hawkins and Wan-Chun Ma for the invention of the Polarized Spherical Gradient Illumination facial appearance capture method
(quite likely important for the spiderverse)
posted by sammyo at 9:28 PM on February 26, 2019 [4 favorites]
Edwin Catmull for the original concept, and to Tony DeRose and Jos Stam for their pioneering advancement of the underlying science of subdivision surfaces as 3D geometric modeling primitives.
Paul Debevec, Timothy Hawkins and Wan-Chun Ma for the invention of the Polarized Spherical Gradient Illumination facial appearance capture method
(quite likely important for the spiderverse)
posted by sammyo at 9:28 PM on February 26, 2019 [4 favorites]
My favorite films for 2018 in no order would be:
Other Side of the Wind
Shirkers
Widows
First Man
Annihilation
Mission Impossible: Fallout
Won't You Be My Neighbor?
But I'm far behind on my viewing and haven't seen First Reformed, Buster Scrugs, Can You Ever Forgive Me?, Burning, Black Klansman, Leave No Trace, Paddington 2, Blindspotting, Private Life, Cold War, Death of Stalin.
posted by octothorpe at 4:58 AM on February 27, 2019 [1 favorite]
Other Side of the Wind
Shirkers
Widows
First Man
Annihilation
Mission Impossible: Fallout
Won't You Be My Neighbor?
But I'm far behind on my viewing and haven't seen First Reformed, Buster Scrugs, Can You Ever Forgive Me?, Burning, Black Klansman, Leave No Trace, Paddington 2, Blindspotting, Private Life, Cold War, Death of Stalin.
posted by octothorpe at 4:58 AM on February 27, 2019 [1 favorite]
Another great moment: Ruth E. Carter won her 260% deserved Academy Award for Costume Design for Black Panther and read her acceptance speech from a BLACK NOTECARD COLOR-COORDINATED WITH HER OUTFIT.
I noticed that too! So good. She was really fabulous.
posted by apricot at 6:14 AM on February 27, 2019 [2 favorites]
I noticed that too! So good. She was really fabulous.
posted by apricot at 6:14 AM on February 27, 2019 [2 favorites]
Weirdly, I'm way more likely to see a film in the theater than on Netflix. If Buster Scrugs that played in a theater, I would have seen it opening night but months later, I still haven't bothered to sit down on the couch and watch it on the TV.
posted by octothorpe at 6:40 AM on February 27, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by octothorpe at 6:40 AM on February 27, 2019 [1 favorite]
Green Book’s Best Picture Win Wasn’t the Most Embarrassing Oscar Victory. This Was. - "Yet Green Book was not the worst movie to win at the Academy Awards last night, nor was its victory the night’s most embarrassing. That is because Skin won."
posted by the man of twists and turns at 7:22 AM on February 27, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by the man of twists and turns at 7:22 AM on February 27, 2019 [3 favorites]
Yeah, I don't think my favorite movies of the year -- Sorry to Bother You, Death of Stalin, Annihilation, all streaming now! -- were even campaigning, so it wasn't a surprise they were ignored. And yet...gosh, what an indictment of the world's most prestigious film award, that we're not supposed to expect that they recognize anyone who doesn't have a good enough press strategy.
posted by grandiloquiet at 10:52 AM on February 27, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by grandiloquiet at 10:52 AM on February 27, 2019 [3 favorites]
what an indictment of the world's most prestigious film award, that we're not supposed to expect that they recognize anyone who doesn't have a good enough press strategy.
It's a minor star in the constellation of Harvey Weinstein Should Burn In Hell, but he was the major player in turning the Oscar races from "For Your Consideration" ads in Variety into full-on campaigns.
posted by Etrigan at 11:03 AM on February 27, 2019 [4 favorites]
It's a minor star in the constellation of Harvey Weinstein Should Burn In Hell, but he was the major player in turning the Oscar races from "For Your Consideration" ads in Variety into full-on campaigns.
posted by Etrigan at 11:03 AM on February 27, 2019 [4 favorites]
Jesus, that synopsis of Skin sounds like the plot of a particularly bad high-concept student film.
posted by Atom Eyes at 12:20 PM on February 27, 2019 [4 favorites]
posted by Atom Eyes at 12:20 PM on February 27, 2019 [4 favorites]
I just saw a showing of all the live-action shorts nominated, and they pretty much all seemed like questionable high-concept student films, but Skin was particularly heavy-handed and problematic in the way that the article describes. Since all the Slate article does is bag on Skin, I'd kind of like to know which one the author thought should win and why.
posted by LionIndex at 10:35 AM on March 3, 2019
posted by LionIndex at 10:35 AM on March 3, 2019
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posted by LobsterMitten at 7:20 PM on February 24, 2019 [2 favorites]