The Annual Academy Awards - General Discussion

[ProudMary]

1 minute ago, SusanM said:

That's really odd because I'm sure I read, either here or somewhere else that he was with Al Pacino immediately afterwards and that he spoke with people backstage about the incident.  I guess there will always be conflicting stories but hopefully Rock himself will eventually speak up if he hasn't already.

He's got a now sold-out gig in Boston this weekend. Should be interesting. Ticket sales for his current tour have skyrocketed since Sunday night.

[ProudMary]

5 minutes ago, blackwing said:

I completely agree regarding Jessica Chastain.  It was a great performance, but I wasn't understanding the narrative that she was "overdue".  As far as I can remember, she has only been in movies for about 10 years.  I think the aforementioned "The Help" might have been one of her first roles.  Followed by her nominated turn in "Zero Dark Thirty".

She was actually nominated for Supporting Actress for her excellent performance in The Help, and might have won too but there was NO denying her co-star Octavia Spencer's magnificence that year. The Academy should start booking THAT cast for a 15 year reunion in 2026 right now!

[slowpoked]

5 minutes ago, blackwing said:

There are plenty of people I would have put on the "overdue" list before her.  In addition to Glenn Close and Amy Adams.... there's Michelle Pfeiffer (truly a national treasure), Sigourney Weaver, Angela Bassett, Annette Bening, Helena Bonham Carter, Kristin Scott Thomas.  As to men... Edward Norton, Ralph Fiennes, Liam Neeson, Willem Dafoe, Harrison Ford.  I'm sure there's plenty more.  All of these people are more overdue than Chastain supposedly was.

I would add Michelle Williams to that list, as well, although she's on the younger side. But I'm almost always mesmerized by whatever performance she gives. I think she's one of those actresses that tend to be overlooked and under-appreciated during Oscar time, in that while she gets nominated, it's not enough for a win, and people think "Oh well, she's still young, she has a lot of great performances left in her. Let's award ____________ this time."

7 minutes ago, blackwing said:

I'd have put Jessica Chastain on equal "overdue" level as Emily Blunt.  I love Emily Blunt, but I'd hardly say either have been around long enough to merit the "overdue" narrative.

Emily hasn't even been nominated yet. I suspect she will eventually take Kirsten's path in which there's an award worthy movie that may not necessarily be her best, but a lot of people will think she's "overdue" in that sense. FWIW, I think she should have been nominated for The Devil Wears Prada, Girl on the Train and A Quiet Place 1. 

Another "overdue" actress that in my personal opinion is such a travesty that she has never been nominated, and a good chance that she will never ever be nominated - Cameron Diaz. There was a stretch in her career that she was just giving out one exemplary performance after another. But no cigar, which is really a shame. I would have given her nominations for My Best Friend's Wedding, Vanilla Sky, Gangs of New York and Being John Malkovich. 

16 minutes ago, SusanM said:

but hopefully Rock himself will eventually speak up if he hasn't already.

But why would he though? He's currently winning the "narrative". Heh.

[ProudMary]

13 minutes ago, slowpoked said:

I would add Michelle Williams to that list, as well, although she's on the younger side. But I'm almost always mesmerized by whatever performance she gives. I think she's one of those actresses that tend to be overlooked and under-appreciated during Oscar time, in that while she gets nominated, it's not enough for a win, and people think "Oh well, she's still young, she has a lot of great performances left in her. Let's award ____________ this time."

This x100. Michelle Williams is brilliant. She absolutely should have won for Manchester By the Sea, but the studio chose to put Viola Davis in the Supporting category for Fences and Michelle's chances went up in smoke. Just as info, Michelle Williams is 10 years older than Jennifer Lawrence, 8 years older than Emma Stone and one year older than Natalie Portman; all of whom already have an Oscar. She's definitely overdue.

Edited to add: I adore Viola Davis. She should have won Best Actress for The Help and Meryl Streep basically acknowledged it when instead, she accepted the BA award for showy bio-pic, The Iron Lady.

Edited March 30, 2022 by ProudMary

[PepSinger]

6 minutes ago, ProudMary said:

19 minutes ago, slowpoked said:

I would add Michelle Williams to that list, as well, although she's on the younger side. But I'm almost always mesmerized by whatever performance she gives. I think she's one of those actresses that tend to be overlooked and under-appreciated during Oscar time, in that while she gets nominated, it's not enough for a win, and people think "Oh well, she's still young, she has a lot of great performances left in her. Let's award ____________ this time."

Expand  

This x100. Michelle Williams is brilliant. She absolutely should have won for Manchester By the Sea, but the studio chose to put Viola Davis in the Supporting category for Fences and Michelle's chances went up in smoke.

I completely agree. While I was happy to see Viola Davis win an Oscar, she should’ve won one in the Best Actress category. I still don’t understand how her performance could possibly be considered supporting. She even won for Lead Actress when she won a Tony Award for the same part. Michelle Williams broke my damn heart in that movie; she should’ve been a winner that night.

[absnow54]

55 minutes ago, blackwing said:

I completely agree regarding Jessica Chastain.  It was a great performance, but I wasn't understanding the narrative that she was "overdue".  As far as I can remember, she has only been in movies for about 10 years.  I think the aforementioned "The Help" might have been one of her first roles.  Followed by her nominated turn in "Zero Dark Thirty".

There are plenty of people I would have put on the "overdue" list before her.  In addition to Glenn Close and Amy Adams.... there's Michelle Pfeiffer (truly a national treasure), Sigourney Weaver, Angela Bassett, Annette Bening, Helena Bonham Carter, Kristin Scott Thomas.  As to men... Edward Norton, Ralph Fiennes, Liam Neeson, Willem Dafoe, Harrison Ford.  I'm sure there's plenty more.  All of these people are more overdue than Chastain supposedly was.

I'd have put Jessica Chastain on equal "overdue" level as Emily Blunt.  I love Emily Blunt, but I'd hardly say either have been around long enough to merit the "overdue" narrative.

Jessica Chastain benefited from making a movie that was good enough in a very uncompetitive year for the Best Actress Category. I joked previously that Amy Adams and Glenn Close are kicking themselves for not doing any Oscar bait movies this year, because they probably would have won. 

[greyflannel]

For one thing, CR is a comedian. He makes jokes. People in the audience are very often the butt of those jokes at these award shows. Comics also make on the fly comments about what they're observing. Things that others may think, but would never say. Comics actually say it. This particular joke, taken on its face, wasn't even particularly mean. He didn't make a joke about her losing her hair, or having bald patches showing on her scalp, nor did he (reportedly) even know about her hair loss issues. It was a joke about her shaved head. A style choice. She looked more "We are not amused" than hurt by it. This is all said because some have the idea that CR is at least partially at fault for this whole pile of garbage because he was being mean. I don't think he was either at fault or mean. WS thought the above was deserving of an assault. He got up from his seat, went up the steps and struck CR, then returned to his seat and continued to be classless jerk. His "tearful apology" during his acceptance speech was a self serving justification, and the "apology" issued to CR the next day, that some call a real apology, was again a "sorry, but your actions made me do it" pile of "not my fault" garbage. Also, I don't get that he's being applauded for controlling himself for all these years without being violent before this. Most of us go through our whole lives managing not to hit anyone. If it's that tough, maybe he needs some help.

Edited March 30, 2022 by greyflannel
missed a word

[ProudMary]

Wanda Sykes speaks out.

https://variety.com/2022/awards/news/wanda-sykes-will-smith-oscars-1235218514/

“I just felt so awful for my friend, Chris. It was sickening. I physically felt ill. I’m still a little traumatized by it,” Sykes said.

“No one has apologized to us,” she continued, despite Smith’s apology to Rock.

“We worked really hard to put that show together — so I’m like, what the hell is this?,” Sykes said.

[slowpoked]

3 minutes ago, absnow54 said:

Jessica Chastain benefited from making a movie that was good enough in a very uncompetitive year for the Best Actress Category. I joked previously that Amy Adams and Glenn Close are kicking themselves for not doing any Oscar bait movies this year, because they probably would have won. 

Not exactly true. For Glenn, there was this travesty:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10344522/releaseinfo?ref_=tt_dt_rdat

At least it got Dianne Warren her 13th nomination.

For Amy, there was this so-so meh:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6111574/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_5

[Thumper]

16 hours ago, slowpoked said:

And what the heck was that bit about Will saying that Denzel told him that "when you're nearing the top, the devil comes for you" (or something like that)?! Like seriously, he was the victim there?! Like Chris Rock is out to get him just because he was the night's frontrunner?! I enjoy the Oscars as much as the next movie fan, but my golly, I can see why it's turned off a lot of people over the years. These people feel too important and take themselves too seriously.

I don’t understand that comment either.

 

[Rebecca berkowit]

21 minutes ago, greyflannel said:

For one thing, CR is a comedian. He makes jokes. People in the audience are very often the butt of those jokes at these award shows. Comics also make on the fly comments about what they're observing. Things that others may think, but would never say. Comics actually say it. This particular joke, taken on its face, wasn't even particularly mean. He didn't make a joke about her losing her hair, or having bald patches showing on her scalp, nor did he (reportedly) even know about her hair loss issues. It was a joke about her shaved head. A style choice. She looked more "We are not amused" than hurt by it. This is all said because some have the idea that CR is at least partially fault for this whole pile of garbage because he was being mean. I don't think he was either at fault or mean. WS thought the above was deserving of an assault. He got up from his seat, went up the steps and struck CR, then returned to his seat and continued to be classless jerk. His "tearful apology" during his acceptance speech was a self serving justification, and the "apology" issued to CR the next day, that some call a real apology, was again a "sorry, but your actions made me do it" pile of "not my fault" garbage. Also, I don't get that he's being applauded for controlling himself for all these years without being violent before this. Most of us go through our whole lives managing not to hit anyone. If it's that tough, maybe he needs some help.

Amen!

[millennium]

1 minute ago, Thumper said:

I don’t understand that comment either.

 

I'm sick of those who, when they know they're in the wrong, try to redeem their actions by invoking God or religion.   "The devil comes for you" implicitly absolves Smith of any wrongdoing, i.e.,  "Not your fault.   You're just a good guy who made it to the top, now the evil people want to bring you down." 

I was raised Catholic.   The nuns taught me that when the devil comes for you, it's because you seriously fucked up.

[GHScorpiosRule]

24 minutes ago, ProudMary said:

Wanda Sykes speaks out.

https://variety.com/2022/awards/news/wanda-sykes-will-smith-oscars-1235218514/

 

 

Wanda also said in the Ellen interview that was posted up thread that Chris apologized to her, because it was her, Regina, and Amy's night. But not Will. 

[Rebecca berkowit]

4 hours ago, Shannon L. said:

There have been horrible incidents before--it's just been a while, so many of us weren't aware of them. 

 

Hattie McDaniel wasn't allowed to sit at the Gone With the Wind table, but had to sit at a small table, way off to the side, with only her guest.  Imagining knowing that they think you're good enough to win an award, but God forbid you sit with the people you worked with for several months.

So, if John Wayne had actually punched that person, do you think he would have been escorted out?  (I’m not sure, I’m just asking.). And, if Wayne did punch the person, and he was up for Best Actor and won, do you think they would’ve  given him a standing O?  It’s interesting to think about, just how mores may have changed since that time.

Edited March 30, 2022 by Rebecca berkowit

[millennium]

17 minutes ago, Rebecca berkowit said:

So, if John Wayne had actually punched that person, do you think he would have been escorted out?  (I’m not sure, I’m just asking.). And, if Wayne did punch the person, and he was up for Best Actor and won, do you think they would’ve  given him a standing O?  It’s interesting to think about.

The Academy was staring down the barrel of a PR nightmare last Sunday night.  After all the criticism of "whitewashing" and the public promises to promote diversity, officials were unexpectedly confronted with the dilemma of potentially having to remove not only a prominent black celebrity, but the front-runner for the Best Actor award.   I think the current controversy is nothing compared to what it would have been had they actually removed Will Smith or denied him the Oscar.   In terms of damage control, they seem to have chosen the least inflammatory course of action.

Maybe the standing ovation was more an expression of the crowd's relief that the pressure in the room had eased rather than approval for anything Smith said.

Edited March 30, 2022 by millennium

[slowpoked]

I agree with Wanda about this. I'm glad she's speaking out directly and forcefully. Amy sort of skirted around the issue, but I understand her hesitation. 

[CountryGirl]

I took Will's comment to mean the proverbial angel vs devil on your shoulder and he made the choice to give in the devil/his darker side vs listening to the angel/taking the high road. 

[proserpina65]

4 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

There was nothing involuntary about it. Jada wasn't amused by Chris's joke and so rolled her eyes.

And that's absolutely fine.  She didn't like the joke and responded to it in a sane manner.  Her husband, who LAUGHED at the damn joke, acted like an asshole.

[chocolatine]

6 minutes ago, CountryGirl said:

I took Will's comment to mean the proverbial angel vs devil on your shoulder and he made the choice to give in the devil/his darker side vs listening to the angel/taking the high road. 

That's still putting the responsibility for his actions on external factors. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

2 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

And that's absolutely fine.  She didn't like the joke and responded to it in a sane manner.  Her husband, who LAUGHED at the damn joke, acted like an asshole.

Oh absolutely. I didn't mean that she didn't have any right to react as she did. She has every right. I don't think rolling one's eyes is an involuntary action, was what I meant.

And yeah, agree about Will.

[Bastet]

3 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Wanda Sykes discusses her perspective

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1035406347067052

I'm touched to learn Chris Rock apologized to her at the party, saying it was supposed to be her, Amy, and Regina's night, and now it's all going to be about that incident instead.

It also must have been even more surreal for Wanda than everyone else in the house, traveling between trailer and backstage when the actual slap happened, so she just sees Will Smith walking offstage and then him start shouting curses from his seat.

She and Amy have now both said they still feel sick and even traumatized by what happened.

[AgathaC]

30 minutes ago, millennium said:

I'm sick of those who, when they know they're in the wrong, try to redeem their actions by invoking God or religion.   "The devil comes for you" implicitly absolves Smith of any wrongdoing, i.e.,  "Not your fault.   You're just a good guy who made it to the top, now the evil people want to bring you down." 

I was raised Catholic.   The nuns taught me that when the devil comes for you, it's because you seriously fucked up.

l’ve always read that sort of statement to mean when you’re feeling really up and pleased with yourself, you need to be very careful, because that’s when you have the greatest tendency to fall. Not necessarily be knocked down by others - could be all you. So, not an automatic absolution. Put another way: I have a loved one who struggles with emotional regulation and anger management. When he’s really happy or excited, he’s very prone to going overboard angry. Anything that pushes him out of the moderate zone is going to send him into more extreme territory - good or bad.

I’m in no way condoning Will Smith’s actions because I 100% do not. I just saw something I recognized. And, of course, I have no idea what Denzel actually meant by his statement. Or whether Will even heard it/interpreted it right.

[CountryGirl]

8 minutes ago, chocolatine said:

That's still putting the responsibility for his actions on external factors. 

No, it's not- it's your inner devil and angel. You always have a choice to do the right thing. He chose badly.

[FilmTVGeek80]

12 hours ago, MsTree said:

Totally agree, but that was ignored by the Smiths. 

And Jada is a fuckin' hypocrite. Just recently she did a video saying how she's accepted her condition and thinks she looks great, but then she rolls her eyes at a silly joke?! 

I don’t know if I would say Jada was a hypocrite, since we don’t know if she said anything to instigate Will’s reaction, but I do think it’s ridiculous that there are so many talking about Jada being traumatized or hurt by Chris’s comment when she specifically said she doesn’t give a shit what anyone thinks of her hair. Now maybe she was just putting on a front, but don’t say that if you really are still super sensitive about it. It’s especially weird to me since many who are justifying Will’s actions(not necessarily here)  are using excuse of his wife supposedly being hurt/insulted.

4 hours ago, blackwing said:

Yes.  In fairness to the Academy, she did present Best Picture at last year's awful show, so maybe they thought she had presented recently.  But still, considering that the West Side Story remake was nominated for Best Picture, it seems like a glaring omission not to use her.

But I suppose Rachel Zegler had to whine her way into an invitation, and then the Academy was guilt tripped into naming her as a presenter, so no room for Rita.  Would rather have seen Rita.

From what I understand, Zegler was pissed she wasn’t invited - which I totally get - not that she lobbied to present. Maybe after they saw the outcry they realized she has fans and wanted to use that popularity for the telecast. We have no idea if Morena would have been invited to present regardless of Zegler and it’s not like both of them couldn’t have presented.

I wonder if Sykes and Schumer are going to be raked over the Twitter coals because they dare see WS’s actions as wrong, the way Zoe Kravitz and Jim Carrey have.

[Rebecca berkowit]

30 minutes ago, FilmTVGeek80 said:

I don’t know if I would say Jada was a hypocrite, since we don’t know if she said anything to instigate Will’s reaction, but I do think it’s ridiculous that there are so many talking about Jada being traumatized or hurt by Chris’s comment when she specifically said she doesn’t give a shit what anyone thinks of her hair. Now maybe she was just putting on a front, but don’t say that if you really are still super sensitive about it. It’s especially weird to me since many who are justifying Will’s actions(not necessarily here)  are using excuse of his wife supposedly being hurt/insulted.

From what I understand, Zegler was pissed she wasn’t invited - which I totally get - not that she lobbied to present. Maybe after they saw the outcry they realized she has fans and wanted to use that popularity for the telecast. We have no idea if Morena would have been invited to present regardless of Zegler and it’s not like both of them couldn’t have presented.

I wonder if Sykes and Schumer are going to be raked over the Twitter coals because they dare see WS’s actions as wrong, the way Zoe Kravitz and Jim Carrey have.

Why wasn’t she invited? Wasn’t her movie up for lots of awards?  Don’t they invite the whole cast?  A lot of the cast was there.  

Also, I’m sorry, and I’m super old, but Twitter is ridiculous.  This “backlash” is literally a couple of random people who are nobody, noting that Zoe Kravitz may have said something (on Twitter) nice about Jaden Smith back in 2014, and somehow linking that with what she said (on Twitter) today.   Then this gets picked up by legitimate news outlets, and somehow it’s a story?  So we have a take of a take of a take? At least Carey said his thing in an actual interview.   Also, get off my lawn!  

Edited March 30, 2022 by Rebecca berkowit

[slowpoked]

30 minutes ago, FilmTVGeek80 said:

From what I understand, Zegler was pissed she wasn’t invited - which I totally get - not that she lobbied to present. Maybe after they saw the outcry they realized she has fans and wanted to use that popularity for the telecast. We have no idea if Morena would have been invited to present regardless of Zegler and it’s not like both of them couldn’t have presented.

And to be fair, it's not the Academy's fault in her case. The Academy allocates a set amount of tickets to the studios, and the studios choose to distribute to their stars however they want to. Rachel found out she was not given a ticket, so she said she won't be attending. It sounded like she would have been fine just sitting in the audience. It's Disney's boo-boo in this case, not AMPAS. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

16 minutes ago, Rebecca berkowit said:

Also, I’m sorry, and I’m super old, but Twitter is ridiculous.  This “backlash” is literally a couple of random people who are nobody, noting that Zoe Kravitz may have said something (on Twitter) nice about Jaden Smith back in 2014, and somehow linking that with what she said (on Twitter) today.   Then this gets picked up by legitimate news outlets, and somehow it’s a story?  So we have a take of a take of a take? At least Carey said his thing in an actual interview.   Also, get off my lawn!  

I'm not going to get into it here, but it's wayyyyyyy more than that, and there's video too.  Basically, a LOT of Hollywood that is choosing to comment on this issue and condemn Will have done way worse than him in the past so they're getting up on their high horse and being major hypocrites thinking social media won't call them out on it - but they will.  OJ Simpson has weighed in.  OJ.  Simpson.

Jim Carrey assaulted Alicia Silverstone and Will Smith at awards shows himself.  Again, there is video.  I don't believe in just pretending these things didn't happen whether somebody hates Will Smith or not.  I'm not here to defend Will, but I applaud calling out the hypocrisy.  

Edited March 30, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[Adiba]

1 hour ago, CountryGirl said:

No, it's not- it's your inner devil and angel. You always have a choice to do the right thing. He chose badly.

I took it as Will saying “the devil made me do it,” in a way of deflecting full accountability. He, WS, made a choice and acted on it— saying anything else looks like one is trying to blame an outside force, imo.

Maybe the Oscars should have an enclosed penalty box, like they do in hockey, for Will Smith if they allow him to come to future shows.

[Rebecca berkowit]

8 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I'm not going to get into it here, but it's wayyyyyyy more than that, and there's video too.  Basically, a LOT of Hollywood that is choosing to comment on this issue and condemn Will have done way worse than him in the past so they're getting up on their high horse and being major hypocrites thinking social media won't call them out on it - but they will.  OJ Simpson has weighed in.  OJ.  Simpson.

Jim Carrey assaulted Alicia Silverstone and Will Smith at awards shows himself.  Again, there is video.  I don't believe in just pretending these things didn't happen whether somebody hates Will Smith or not.  I'm not here to defend Will, but I applaud calling out the hypocrisy.  

I had no idea.  And OJ has some nerve.  But we already knew that.  

[blackwing]

31 minutes ago, Rebecca berkowit said:

Why wasn’t she invited? Wasn’t her movie up for lots of awards?  Don’t they invite the whole cast?  A lot of the cast was there.  

I guess I didn't pay attention, who from the cast was there besides Ariana DeBose (nominated) and Rita Moreno (legend)?  I don't think Ansel Elgort was invited.  And I didn't see anything in the news about him whining about it.  If Zegler didn't get an invite, why would other supporting actors (besides DeBose and Moreno) have gotten invited?

29 minutes ago, slowpoked said:

And to be fair, it's not the Academy's fault in her case. The Academy allocates a set amount of tickets to the studios, and the studios choose to distribute to their stars however they want to. Rachel found out she was not given a ticket, so she said she won't be attending. It sounded like she would have been fine just sitting in the audience. It's Disney's boo-boo in this case, not AMPAS. 

I agree.  She wasn't nominated for an acting award.  Her movie wasn't expected to win Best Picture.  And I think this was her very first acting role.  If a studio gets a limited number of invites, it seems some studios would rather give invites to their big name stars.

I'm not sure if I like the way the theater was re-designed so there are tables and couches in the first portion, and then traditional seating farther up.  Apart from the nominees, how is it determined who gets to sit in the front section?  Is that the studio as well?  I'm trying to figure out why non-nominated Bradley Cooper got to sit in the front.  The people in the back section, are those notable actors and other people in the industry?  I wish we had gotten more shots of people in those seats, the only time I noticed anyone was Caitriona Balfe standing when Branagh won screenplay.

Who has to sit in the balcony?  Guests of the nominees?  Or D-tier Hollywood people?

How come Venus and Serena got their own private box instead of sitting in the audience along with the other non-nominees?

[DeeDee79]

19 minutes ago, Rebecca berkowit said:

I had no idea.  And OJ has some nerve.  But we already knew that.  

No one should listen or care about anything that OJ Simpson has to say. I hope that the response was an overwhelming "no one gives a f**k about your opinion" and he crawls back into his hole. 

[bluegirl147]

4 hours ago, Rebecca berkowit said:

I’m glad someone noticed, good to know it’s not just me.   I will search this up.  

How many men do you know that would slap another man?  Wouldn't most punch?  Unless it's a man who is used to slapping because it leaves less of a mark.

[scarynikki12]

For what it's worth I saw one of the bit actors from West Side Story talking to what's her name on the red carpet. I may have the character wrong but I think it was the actor who played Graziella. A minor character in the movie and she got an invite while the lead actress did not. The issue regarding Rachel's lack of invite is that she wasn't told ahead of time that she wasn't initially getting one. After it blew up Disney said they hadn't issued her one because of her Snow White filming in London and concerns about Covid exposure. That may be true but they didn't act proactively so all she knew was that she wasn't invited. 

[slowpoked]

LOL, what is it really, Academy?! That you didn’t know what to do in that “short span of time”? Or that you actually asked Will to leave but “he refused”?!

https://people.com/movies/academy-reveals-it-asked-will-smith-to-leave-2022-oscars-after-chris-rock-outburst-and-he-refused/

Someone isn’t getting their statements in order. Or got too ahead with the earlier releases.

 

 

Edited March 30, 2022 by slowpoked

[blackwing]

Very interesting... the Academy released a statement saying they are initiating disciplinary proceedings against Smith.  They also said that after The Slap, they asked him to leave the ceremony, but he refused.  Ass.  How come they didn't get security to remove him forcibly?

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/will-smith-chris-rock-academy-disciplinary-proceedings-1235122743/

Quote

“Mr. Smith was asked to leave the ceremony and refused, [but] we also recognize we could have handled the situation differently.”

I hope they take some kind of action against him.  Expulsion from the Academy or at the very least, he will never be invited to the ceremony ever again.

Oh and in googling, I found out that Ansel Elgort was specifically not invited because of some sexual assault allegations.  By this standard, Will Smith, who actually did commit assault, witnessed by billions of people around the world, should not get invited to future ceremonies.

[mojoween]

Every time someone from the Academy opens their mouth they sound more and more dumb.  I’m so sorry Will was too much of a Hulk for you to be able to get him out of the building.

[blackwing]

20 minutes ago, bluegirl147 said:

How many men do you know that would slap another man?  Wouldn't most punch?  Unless it's a man who is used to slapping because it leaves less of a mark.

This is why I initially thought the whole thing was fake.  Why would a man slap another man?  Why wouldn't he punch him?  Slapping seemed like a comic routine, like something out of a Three Stooges movie.

[dmeets]

LOL, I don't buy for one nanosecond that they asked him to leave and that he refused. Unless it was one person (unbeknownst to Whoopi Goldberg et al) asking him and Denzel and others being like don't you dare leave. Or asking him if he felt like he needed to go outside and get some air.

But no, I highly doubt either of those scenarios happened... just someone trying really desperately to save face.

It's becoming apparent to me that Hollywood thought at first that the General Public would be overwhelmingly Team Will, and when it turned out the spin didn't quite work out that way, folks are now coming out of the woodwork to speak out, or being allowed to speak their true feelings on the matter.

 

Quote

This is why I initially thought the whole thing was fake.  Why would a man slap another man?  Why wouldn't he punch him?  Slapping seemed like a comic routine, like something out of a Three Stooges movie.

He knew a punch would have likely gotten him escorted out of the building, probably by police. I suspect he thought he'd get away with the slap. Plus as an added bonus: an extra bit of humiliation for Chris Rock to be slapped rather than punched.

Edited March 30, 2022 by dmeets

[slowpoked]

19 minutes ago, dmeets said:

He knew a punch would have likely gotten him escorted out of the building, probably by police. I suspect he thought he'd get away with the slap. Plus as an added bonus: an extra bit of humiliation for Chris Rock to be slapped rather than punched.

Plus throwing a punch would probably have Chris punching back. The slap did its purpose - he slapped Chris, and the latter wasn’t able to immediately react, most probably due to confusion. A punch would most signal that it’s a real fight, and it would have devolved into something really ugly, real fast.

Edited March 30, 2022 by slowpoked

[mojoween]

I still cannot get over that if some random unwashed masses had strolled up the aisle and slapped Chris Rock they would have been tackled by security and escorted out faster than you can say “GI Jane”.

As Twitter has been delighting in saying for three days - the rules for thee are not for me.

[Irlandesa]

52 minutes ago, dmeets said:

It's becoming apparent to me that Hollywood thought at first that the General Public would be overwhelmingly Team Will, and when it turned out the spin didn't quite work out that way, folks are now coming out of the woodwork to speak out, or being allowed to speak their true feelings on the matter.

I don't think they thought that far in advance. 

I can see how the Academy might have decided they didn't want video of him being dragged out of the theater if he refused to go.

But they still held the ace.  I don't think they are under any obligation to televise the Best Actor award.  AMPAS could have decided that it wasn't going to be announced that night.  Closed the show and handed it to him later.

I do not think he deserves to have it revoked. But as I said earlier in the thread, I also don't think he deserved to be able to celebrate his moment after that slap. If leaving the theater would have been too much, then the Academy had other options.

[DkNNy79]

1 hour ago, mojoween said:

Every time someone from the Academy opens their mouth they sound more and more dumb.  I’m so sorry Will was too much of a Hulk for you to be able to get him out of the building.

Yeah, this has me rolling my eyes a little.  All those famous people in the building with expensive dresses and jewelry and you don’t have the security to escort Will out?  I would’ve told Will we can do this the easy way or the hard way.  Up to you.

[KittyQ]

4 hours ago, Thumper said:

I don’t understand that comment either.

 

The Denzel comment about "devil comes for you" - I took this to mean that you should be careful about allowing "the devil" (representing your selfish, greedy, negative impulses) to take control when you are most vulnerable ("at your highest" - when you are feeling pretty full of yourself). 

It seems to me that Will Smith either didn't get that warning correctly or ignored it.

[scarynikki12]

We know a publicist joined Denzel in speaking to Will so maybe ABC/whichever Academy leader(s) who was present told the publicist that they wanted him to leave, the publicist tells him, and Will refuses. I remember speculating on Oscar night that Will agreed/offered to apologize if he won and would leave if he didn't and that's why he was allowed to stay. Maybe that's what happened. If the request to leave was only between a few people in close quarters conversation and, if there was an agreement reached among those same few people that Will would apologize in an acceptance speech, then it wouldn't have been common knowledge. ABC/Academy leader(s) may have wanted him removed immediately but that also would have been a big part of the story and maybe in the moment they were worried it would end up overshadowing the slap. 

3 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

I can see how the Academy might have decided they didn't want video of him being dragged out of the theater if he refused to go.

Exactly. In the moment they clearly thought the risk was too great. 

[RealHousewife]

1 minute ago, DkNNy79 said:

Yeah, this has me rolling my eyes a little.  All those famous people in the building with expensive dresses and jewelry and you don’t have the security to escort Will out?  I would’ve told Will we can do this the easy way or the hard way.  Up to you.

I know Will is bigger and stronger than Chris Rock, but it's not like he's The Rock. Security should have easily been able to get him to leave.

8 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

I can see how the Academy might have decided they didn't want video of him being dragged out of the theater if he refused to go.

That would make sense. 

[KaveDweller]

1 hour ago, blackwing said:

I'm trying to figure out why non-nominated Bradley Cooper got to sit in the front.  The people in the back section, are those notable actors and other people in the industry?  I wish we had gotten more shots of people in those seats, the only time I noticed anyone was Caitriona Balfe standing when Branagh won screenplay.

Bradley needed to be up front so he could go up on stage during Regina's stupid bit about needing to test the single men for Covid.

Plus, I think they just put the biggest celebrities up front. And the best looking people.

1 hour ago, scarynikki12 said:

For what it's worth I saw one of the bit actors from West Side Story talking to what's her name on the red carpet. I may have the character wrong but I think it was the actor who played Graziella. A minor character in the movie and she got an invite while the lead actress did not. The issue regarding Rachel's lack of invite is that she wasn't told ahead of time that she wasn't initially getting one. After it blew up Disney said they hadn't issued her one because of her Snow White filming in London and concerns about Covid exposure. That may be true but they didn't act proactively so all she knew was that she wasn't invited. 

Yes, Maddie from Dance Moms had a very small part in WSS and she was on the Oscar red carpet. Her part was so small I don't even know the name of the person she played.

Disney should have asked Rachel if she would be able to fly back for the Oscars. I assume Snow White is a Disney movie, so it's not even like she was working for a competitor that wouldn't work with Disney if they wanted the actress to promote their movie.

[FilmTVGeek80]

2 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I'm not going to get into it here, but it's wayyyyyyy more than that, and there's video too.  Basically, a LOT of Hollywood that is choosing to comment on this issue and condemn Will have done way worse than him in the past so they're getting up on their high horse and being major hypocrites thinking social media won't call them out on it - but they will.  OJ Simpson has weighed in.  OJ.  Simpson.

Jim Carrey assaulted Alicia Silverstone and Will Smith at awards shows himself.  Again, there is video.  I don't believe in just pretending these things didn't happen whether somebody hates Will Smith or not.  I'm not here to defend Will, but I applaud calling out the hypocrisy. 

OJ Simpson, sure, did way worse. But, I don't think anything Kravitz is being accused of is way worse than what Will did. So, she made a cringey comment about Jaden Smith on video. As if most of the people suddenly clutching their pearls about it didn't know.  And did Carrey receive standing ovations after what he did? Plus, those instances happened like, what decades, ago?

 It's just like Twitter to try and unearth shit from ages ago to try and gotcha someone as if this stuff wasn't known for a long time. First of all, if the only people allowed to call a spade a spade are saints than no one's bad behavior would ever be denounced by anyone. Secondly, most of the people on Twitter doing this stuff aren't doing it because they hate hypocrisy, but because they're upset because Will Smith is rightfully being called out for his crappy behavior.

 

27 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

I can see how the Academy might have decided they didn't want video of him being dragged out of the theater if he refused to go.

But they still held the ace.  I don't think they are under any obligation to televise the Best Actor award.  AMPAS could have decided that it wasn't going to be announced that night.  Closed the show and handed it to him later.

Yeah, I highly doubt they wanted a situation where it was possible they'd have to pause the telecast so security/police could drag him out of there. Plus, yeah, I don't think they wanted to deal with the optics of  dragging out a celebrity - and a Black celebrity at that.

Even if they decided to present the award, I think the least they could have done was keep him to the time that's supposed to be allotted to all winners. I know people have joked that the orchestra would have been too scared of getting hit to play him off, but I think that's what they should have done and then cut the feed if he refused to get off the stage. Instead, they let him ramble for ages and make excuses.

Quote

Bradley needed to be up front so he could go up on stage during Regina's stupid bit about needing to test the single men for Covid.

Plus, I think they just put the biggest celebrities up front. And the best looking people.

I think it's also that, not only, was Bradley in two of the Best Picture nominees, I think he might have also been a nominee as a producer for one of them - I think Licorice Pizza, but I'm not sure.

Edited March 31, 2022 by FilmTVGeek80

[ProudMary]

In a post earlier today, I erroneously mentioned that Chris Rock was appearing in Boston this weekend. He is actually appearing tonight and tomorrow at The Wilbur.

https://www.boston.com/culture/entertainment/2022/03/30/chris-rock-readies-for-boston-show-the-1st-since-will-smith-slapped-him/?p1=hp_secondary

[Guest]

4 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Wanda also said in the Ellen interview that was posted up thread that Chris apologized to her, because it was her, Regina, and Amy's night. But not Will. 

Setting aside the joke itself I am really impressed with how Chris handled the aftermath. In the unmuted version you can see a moment where he starts to respond to Will’s yelling and then reins himself in rather than engaging. I also read on social media that Chris has recently been open about being in therapy to deal with issues from being bullied as a child and that he was diagnosed with non-verbal learning disorder and has difficulty processing nonverbal communication. I have no doubt that the joke was triggering to Jada and that the slap was triggering to Chris. 

19 minutes ago, KaveDweller said:

Yes, Maddie from Dance Moms had a very small part in WSS and she was on the Oscar red carpet. Her part was so small I don't even know the name of the person she played.

Seeing Maddie there representing WSS was so bizarre after the stuff with Rachel. Some speculated not inviting Rachel was I at least partially because of limited seating due to Covid but Maddie getting an invite blew that out of the water. 

[I Want My MBTV]

On 3/29/2022 at 3:08 PM, RealHousewife said:

Exactly. He didn't even like to curse as a rapper

I keep wondering if Eminem is going to change the lyrics to The Real Slim Shady!