The Annual Academy Awards - General Discussion

[BetterButter]

Kevin Hart Confirms He’s Hosting the 2019 Academy Awards

[mojoween]

I am...not a fan of Hart as the host.  His brand of humor does not resonate with me.

Good for him and obvs I’ll still watch, because I can’t dismiss him out of hand.  He might be good, who knows?

[cpcathy]

I'm disappointed, but what do I know? I hated NPH as host and LOVED Ellen's last hosting gig.

[truthaboutluv]

Just now, cpcathy said:

I'm disappointed, but what do I know? I hated NPH as host and LOVED Ellen's last hosting gig.

Is that unpopular, at least the NPH part. I thought everyone hated him as host. 

[ShadowHunter]

I also thought no cared for NPH. 

[cpcathy]

I saw a listing of hosts somewhere (can't remember where now), but they placed him second best.

[ProudMary]

Maybe the Oscars are going to have to find a different host.
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/michaelblackmon/kevin-hart-homophobic-tweets-gay-oscars

Quote

Comedian Kevin Hart is cleansing his social media feed after anti-gay tweets by the performer recently resurfaced following his announcement as the next Oscars host.

[Angeleyes]

I’m really surprised with the choice of Kevin Hart in the wake of the #MeToo movement given his very public cheating and blackmail scandal. I think they could make a better choice. 

[Irlandesa]

45 minutes ago, cpcathy said:

I saw a listing of hosts somewhere (can't remember where now), but they placed him second best.

Weird.  As  a host of the Tonys,  he's been excellent.  But for whatever reason, that did not translate to the Oscars.

But Oscar host is a tough gig.  It's long.  People seem more up tight/nervous in the audience.  There's pressure to perform in a way that plays well with the audience in person and the audience at home. But things that die in person affect how the home audience perceives them.  It's also the one ceremony with so much celebrating of its history. So much.  When the Tonys or the Grammys do it, there's usually fun musical performances but with the Oscars, it's just random clips.

Finally, performances need to age. I'm not sure Letterman's gig was ever truly loved but Uma/Oprah has had a surprising amount of staying power.

@Angeleyes, I don't know a whole lot about the cheating scandal and blackmail but cheating is not really a #metoo issue.  It seems like he and the woman had consensual relations. Cheating on its own is unlikely to put a dent in his career.

Edited December 6, 2018 by Irlandesa

[Angeleyes]

I’m a little fuzzy on some of the details, but Kevin was caught cheating by paparazzi in the back of a limo. His wife was pregnant at the time. I think Kevin’s ex and maybe an ex employee or something were blackmailing him with a sex tape of him in a threesome during this same time period. I would just think after all the backlash the show has received for various reasons that they would try to choose someone who didn’t have such a recent scandal. 

[Dancingjaneway]

I'm really hoping that they fire Kevin from the gig. His comments about being gay are not funny & are quite scary. I think he is going to cost them viewers(which they cannot afford). Also I feel like celebrities will be hesitant to take part in the night or be open to playing along with whatever he has planned for that night. 

[Inquisitionist]

No interest in Kevin Hart.  Guess I'll be using the Ffwd button even more than usual this year. I don't know how anyone watches this monstrosity of a program in real time.  :-)

[BetterButter]

[Silver Raven]

2 hours ago, BetterButter said:

All he had to do was apologize.

There's a move on Twitter to get Patton Oswalt as the host.

[MsTree]

Just ask Ricky Gervais and be done with it already.

[Angeleyes]

Are there no female comedians available? My vote is for Wanda Sykes. Maybe they could switch things up and have a group of people hosting or the no host format. 

[stonehaven]

I would love Bonnie Hunt to host...or even Tina Fey...

[Kel Varnsen]

On 12/7/2018 at 8:14 AM, Angeleyes said:

Are there no female comedians available? My vote is for Wanda Sykes. Maybe they could switch things up and have a group of people hosting or the no host format. 

No host seems like the easiest. Just have an announcer introduce the presenters.

[chitowngirl]

3 hours ago, Kel Varnsen said:

No host seems like the easiest. Just have an announcer introduce the presenters.

The Golden Globes used to be like this. They have more awards to give out and they always managed to come in on time.

Plus, the host of the Oscars seems to disappear in the middle and an announcer introduces the presenters anyway.

[BW Manilowe]

On 12/7/2018 at 2:30 AM, Silver Raven said:

All he had to do was apologize.

There's a move on Twitter to get Patton Oswalt as the host.

At least part of the reason Kevin Hart lost the Oscar Host gig was because The Academy asked him to apologize for what he said, although the comments were 10 years old & he (says he) already apologized for them in the past. This is from Deadline about the whole “lost the job because he won’t apologize as The Academy asked him to” thing.

[Silver Raven]

Entertainment Weekly came out with their Best of the Year issue today, and they had two different people picking the Best Movie of the year, and both of them picked the same top two best:

1-The Favourite

2-Roma.

[Angeleyes]

It sounds like the Academy is planning to move forward with no host. I’ve seen other awards shows use this format and it was fine. Honestly, if it can move the show along faster I’m all for it. 

[chitowngirl]

The Golden Globes for years never had a host and it came in on time. 

[JAYJAY1979]

It seems best not to have a host, and maybe the Oscars will clock in under 3 1/2 hours for once :) I recall the days when a presenter would get in trouble for putting their political views in while presenting the nominees... now it's almost expected for the presenters to put in their two cents. 

[Vermicious Knid]

They don't need a host, just an opening act.

[BetterButter]

Oscar Nominations 2019: The Complete List

[chitowngirl]

Wouldn’t it be a hoot if Roma won Best Foreign Language Picture and Best Picture!!

[Dr.OO7]

On 8/9/2018 at 1:17 AM, crimsongrl said:

With the move to February 9th, will that stop studios from releasing Oscar worthy films in January? I miss the days when all the contenders were out by Christmas.

They still are. They just aren't in WIDE release until January. Only us lucky New Yorkers and Los Angelites get them in December.

How long before we get the usual dissection of the snubs? I don't usually care, but I'm very surprised at John David Washington (Ron Stallworth in Black Kkklansman) not getting a Best Actor nod.

[truthaboutluv]

10 hours ago, chitowngirl said:

Wouldn’t it be a hoot if Roma won Best Foreign Language Picture and Best Picture!!

Not entirely out of the realm of possibility. It would be a first of course, even though there have been many Best Foreign Film winners that were in the Best Picture category. 

Looking quickly at the list, I'd say the biggest surprises/snubs were Timothee Chalamet not getting a Supporting Actor nod and Bradley Cooper not being nominated for Best Director. I still want to know what the deal was with Ethan Hawke and First Reformed. 

I cannot, off the top of my head, remember an Awards season where a performance was SO lauded by the critics and yet the major Guilds/mainstream awards just ignored it completely. Dude swept almost every Critics Circle awards and yet didn't get a Globe, SAG, BAFTA and now Oscar nomination. Weird. 

Meanwhile I continue to be deeply amused at the critics' continued bafflement over the success of Bohemian Rhapsody, since they were so lukewarm and downright dismissive about it. They all agreed that Rami was amazing, so I don't think people are surprised by his success and nominations but they all dismissed the film as average, mediocre and yet it became a commercial smash and now has a Best Picture nomination. 

 

Quote

I don't usually care, but I'm very surprised at John David Washington (Ron Stallworth in Black Kkklansman) not getting a Best Actor nod.

Based on buzz and the precursor awards, he was always a question mark. The fifth spot for the Best Actor nod was always a toss up between him, Willem Dafoe and even maybe Ethan, despite, as I said, his being ignored by all the other major Award Shows. The locks for the category were Bradley Cooper, Rami Malek, Viggo Mortensen and Christian Bale. I do wish he'd gotten it but I am happy at all the other love the film got, especially the Best Director nod for Spike Lee.

Edited January 23, 2019 by truthaboutluv

[legaleagle53]

2 minutes ago, Camille said:

They still are. They just aren't in WIDE release until January. Only us lucky New Yorkers and Los Angelites get them in December.

And that's why viewership of the Oscars has been down for years.  Most of the country has never heard of these movies, let alone seen them, by the time they've been nominated.  People aren't going to watch a boring telecast honoring movies that they had no idea even existed until now.

[Valny]

2 minutes ago, Camille said:

 

How long before we get the usual dissection of the snubs? I don't usually care, but I'm very surprised at John David Washington (Ron Stallworth in Black Kkklansman) not getting a Best Actor nod.

I'd rather him than Sam Rockwell.

Wish the Best picture was 10 noms. I suppose eight is fine but 10 gets two more worthy

I know many critics now are cringing that Bohemian R got in,only because they're scared of a possible win,which I don't think will happen,fingers crossed. I'm betting Roma.

[ProudMary]

I'm pretty shocked by the snubs in the Documentary Feature category where neither Won't You Be My Neighbor nor Three Identical Strangers got a nomination.

[chitowngirl]

1 minute ago, ProudMary said:

I'm pretty shocked by the snubs in the Documentary Feature category where neither Won't You Be My Neighbor nor Three Identical Strangers got a nomination.

I agree! I thought this category was going to be a bigger fight than Best Picture!

[Dr.OO7]

It appears that poor Amy Adams (officially the Susan Lucci of the Oscars) will once again go home empty handed, being up against Regina King for Best Supporting Actress.

By the time she finally wins, it will be a consolation prize for a "meh" performance, like so many other perennial nominees.

Edited January 23, 2019 by Camille

[blackwing]

I'm ticked that "Crazy Rich Asians" got shut out completely.  For all the talk about how groundbreaking it was... zero nominations.  There was room for two more Best Picture nods.  It was on the list of many of the year's best.  Golden Globes, Critics Choice, SAG Ensemble nod and a Producers Guild nod.  I know that Michelle Yeoh had pretty much been written off for a Supporting nomination but I was still hoping for an outside chance.  Her performance as the regal and stern matriarch was sensational.  And I believe the movie had chances to get nominations for Costumes and Production Design.  

For all the talk about the strides made since the OscarsSoWhite incident of a few years ago, I guess the diversity push hasn't made its way to include Asians yet.  African-Americans have done particularly well in acting in recent years.  And Hollywood has always been very pro-Mexico to the point where Mexicans won Best Director four out of five years from 13 to 17.  I'm guessing Cuaron wins again this year.  But no inclusion push yet for Asians.  Disappointing.

I'm also disappointed for Emily Blunt and Ethan Hawke.

Edited January 22, 2019 by blackwing

[ProudMary]

I'm just so relieved that Regina King received her Oscar nomination after somehow NOT getting the nod from either SAG or BAFTA.  Now, she's clearly the Oscar's frontrunner.

Also, and I'll call these minor snubs, several actors were considered possibilities for receiving either a lead or supporting nomination or both, as an outlier:  Emily Blunt (Mary Poppins Returns/A Quiet Place); Nicole Kidman (Destroyer/Boy Erased); Lucss Hedges (Boy Erased/Ben is Back.)  None received a nomination.

[blackwing]

30 minutes ago, Camille said:

It appears that poor Amy Adams (officially the Susan Lucci of the Oscars) will once again go home empty handed, being up against Regina King for Best Supporting Actress.

By the time she finally wins, it will be for a "meh" performance, like so many other perennial nominees.

Ahem... I do like Amy Adams (I would have given her the Supporting Actress Oscar for her outstanding turn as a young nun in "Doubt").  But Glenn Close is the Susan Lucci of the Oscars.  One more nomination and a longer and more distinguished career.  Back in the 80s she was nominated 5 out of 7 years, similar to Adams' recognition in the past decade.  I'm really hoping that Close wins this year.  She deserves it.

Edited January 22, 2019 by blackwing

[chitowngirl]

I’m so glad Meryl Streep did not get nominated for Nutcracker or Mary Poppins. It always seems like an appearance by her was an automatic nomination.

[blackwing]

8 minutes ago, chitowngirl said:

I’m so glad Meryl Streep did not get nominated for Nutcracker or Mary Poppins. It always seems like an appearance by her was an automatic nomination.

I think you mean Mamma Mia 2, not Nutcracker?  Was she in Nutcracker?  I think the "older lady" part in Nutcracker was Dame Helen Mirren.  But yes, I agree, usually Meryl Streep sneezes and gets nominated.  I found it funny that some in the media were saying she was snubbed by the Golden Globes for her less-than-five-minutes appearance in Mamma Mia 2, during which she sang parts of the final song.  Her character had died before the movie even began, they never explained how she died, nor how she appeared at the end in some sort of weird dream sequence or what.  And still people were clamoring about how she got snubbed hahaha.

[Chaos Theory]

I haven’t seen an actual movie in an actual theater in years so I used to use The Oscars Best movie category as a way to dump movies on my Netflix DVD queue but I dumped that as well.  So......not gonna bother to care but kinda still hoping Gaga wins just to see everyone’s reaction.   

Edited January 22, 2019 by Chaos Theory

[Simon Boccanegra]

2 hours ago, truthaboutluv said:

Based on buzz and the precursor awards, [Washington] was always a question mark. The fifth spot for the Best Actor nod was always a toss up between him, Willem Dafoe and even maybe Ethan, despite, as I said, his being ignored by all the other major Award. The locks for the category were Bradley Cooper, Rami Malek, Viggo Mortensen and Christian Bale. I do wish he'd gotten it but I am happy at all the other love the film got, especially the Best Director nod for Spike Lee.

Interestingly, almost all of the buzzed-about "possibles" for that open fifth spot (besides Washington and Stephan James) had had at least one previous Oscar nomination for either Lead or Supporting. Hawke (whom I thought was stunning in First Reformed; he had my rooting interest), Redford (possibly his last shot), Gosling, Carell, Hedges, Reilly. Dafoe turned out to be the lucky boy. The Academy obviously respects him; it will be his fourth nomination over a span of more than 30 years now. 

[Spartan Girl]

2 hours ago, ProudMary said:

I'm pretty shocked by the snubs in the Documentary Feature category where neither Won't You Be My Neighbor nor Three Identical Strangers got a nomination.

Yeah, what the hell was with that?  It didn't even get nominated when it was one of the best movies of the year?  Ugh.

Happy Spike Lee finally got something.  I know it's a long shot against Cuaron.  At least he won't have to worry about losing to Peter Farrelly (since he was snubbed, but if fucking Green Book wins Best Picture, I will vomit.

[Nidratime]

I, too, was very disappointed Crazy Rich Asians was snubbed, but rom-coms have never been respected, no matter how well done and popular. Plus, the "stigma" that it was a movie that attracted a huge female audience -- another reason not to take it seriously. 

Quote

The network thinks that having that new category will bring in more viewers, but I think that notion is silly. Let's be honest here, there are at least two big reasons why viewership has fallen. First, it's irrelevant to most people, and two, people don't care for super wealthy out of touch with reality celebrities lecturing them about politics.   Even if you agree with their stance, people want to watch award shows for entertainment and not politics.  We get enough politics in our everyday lives.

I find the political statements to be one of the more entertaining aspects of the show, better than the long list of thank yous to people I've never heard of ... or thanking Jesus, of whom I have heard. Besides, it's not like film-making and politics have no connection. Some of the nominated films are even about politics and/or social justice!

Edited January 22, 2019 by Nidratime

[Chaos Theory]

Honestly I think the funniest moment this award season was when Christian Bale thanked Satan.  Not that I watched the movie or anything but for that alone....I hope his luck holds.

Edited January 22, 2019 by Chaos Theory

[BW Manilowe]

4 hours ago, Camille said:

They still are. They just aren't in WIDE release until January. Only us lucky New Yorkers and Los Angelites get them in December.

How long before we get the usual dissection of the snubs? I don't usually care, but I'm very surprised at John David Washington (Ron Stallworth in Black Kkklansman) not getting a Best Actor nod.

Regarding the bolded: I believe residents of Los Angeles are called “Los Angelenos”, not “Los Angelites”. They may not like it, but I have heard/read of them being referred to as “Los Angelenos”.

[BW Manilowe]

On 1/22/2019 at 9:57 AM, ProudMary said:

I'm pretty shocked by the snubs in the Documentary Feature category where neither Won't You Be My Neighbor nor Three Identical Strangers got a nomination.

I’m still ticked off Wait For Your Laugh, the biographical documentary about the life & career of the late actress/singer Rose Marie (best known as a co-star of the original Dick Van Dyke Show & a fairly regular to regular panelist on the original Hollywood Squares version, hosted by Peter Marshall), which was eligible during last year’s Oscars & seemed to be getting great “buzz” & headed for a nomination didn’t get 1 last year.

Edited January 27, 2019 by BW Manilowe
To remove an extraneous capital letter.

[slowpoked]

First thoughts:

Roma is going to be a big winner on awards show night. The fact that the film were able to sneak in two of their actresses in the acting categories bodes well for the film. Time to watch on Netflix.

Happy for Glenn Close. It's her time, dammit! Give her the Oscar, regardless of whether it's a make-up Oscar or not. The woman is a masterclass in acting. Look no further than the TV show Damages.

Disappointed Emily Blunt didn't make it. One of my favorite actresses and also is great at what she does. Victim of a bad movie the year before (Girl on the Train). Victim of too much competition this year. What's it going to take, Academy?

I hope the Academy doesn't over-correct ala-Ben Affleck with regards to Bradley Cooper and ASIB. It is a good movie and maybe he should have been nominated, but I cannot get over that article about how thirsty he is while trying so hard to act not like it.

3 hours ago, blackwing said:

I know that Michelle Yeoh had pretty much been written off for a Supporting nomination but I was still hoping for an outside chance.  Her performance as the regal and stern matriarch was sensational.  And I believe the movie had chances to get nominations for Costumes and Production Design.  

Ugh. You took the words out of my mouth. I was hoping the Academy can have a place for an understated performance such as Michelle Yeoh's. It doesn't always have to be so in your face. She obliterated that tiger mom stereotype with a flick of her emerald-ring-laden hand. 

 

3 hours ago, ProudMary said:

Nicole Kidman (Destroyer/Boy Erased);

For some reason, Nicole Kidman didn't really get any traction in the major awards categories this year. What happened? Not too much campaigning? Nicole Kidman fatigue??

Edited January 22, 2019 by slowpoked

[slowpoked]

All the women who weren't nominated:

https://ew.com/oscars/2019/01/22/oscar-snubs-women-julia-roberts-nicole-kidman/

[Neurochick]

I know this is a UO (don't know why) but I loved Green Book.  If it wins I'll be happy.  If Black Panther wins I'll be happier.

[GHScorpiosRule]

1 hour ago, Chaos Theory said:

Honestly I think the funniest moment this award season was when Christian Bale thanked Satan.

It totally was! And I laughed my ass off. But I truly enjoyed listening to his Welsh accent, which reminded me of Cockney. Because in all his interviews when promoting his movies, he's always speaking with an American accent. I still laugh whenever he talks about how he overbulked himself getting ready for Batman Begins. He literally took Nolan at his word to "get as big as you can" and when crew members he'd worked with before, mocked him with "Bloody 'ell, Chris! Are we doing Fatman or Batman?" I really love how he's so willing to mock/make fun of himself.