The Annual Academy Awards - General Discussion

[blackwing]

7 minutes ago, slowpoked said:

It really depends on what narrative can sustain the entire season. There's always the overdue narrative, like Glenn Close, Amy Adams, etc. But there's also the first ever narrative - like Ariana Debose last year. It's all about what can sustain through the Oscars voting.

I mean Michelle Williams is now nominated for five Oscars and no one is thinking she's way overdue for one! Meanwhile, Michelle Yeoh has been in the industry for 40+ years, never been nominated before, and somehow she's overdue. Sometimes there's just no logic to these things.

I really think SAG tipped it to Jaimie. Had the timing of the precursors been different, I think Angela would have won it. They both have the overdue narrative, Jamie just had the momentum coming in to the voting. 

 

I would say both Michelle Williams (5 nominations since 2006) and Amy Adams (6 nominations since 2006) are overdue.  However, age is obviously a factor.  They're still in their 40s.  They might be overdue, but they aren't as overdue as Glenn Close or Michelle Pfeiffer or Angela Bassett or Sigourney Weaver.  They have more nominations than Pfeiffer, Bassett, or Weaver, but I would still put the elder ladies on "more overdue" status than them.

I liked what Michelle Yeoh said about her winning the Oscar as an "older lady".  She is 60 years old.  In all the years of Oscar, only Katharine Hepburn, Geraldine Page, Jessica Tandy, Helen Mirren, Meryl Streep, Frances McDormand, and now Michelle Yeoh have won Best Actress at age 60 or older.  The average age of the Best Actor winner seems to be significantly older than the average age of the Best Actress winner.

[slowpoked]

Kudos to Jessica Chastain for understanding the situation and letting these ladies have their moment, before hugging Michelle. Jessica may be too earnest at times, but she's also quite sincere and genuine.

 

[libgirl2]

11 minutes ago, LegalParrot81 said:

Overall, this is one of the better Oscars in the last 5+ years.

I agree, I really enjoyed it and for the first time, the night seemed to fly. 

[MicheleinPhilly]

I only went 16-7 on my ballot. And 3 of those 7 were in the acting categories! And you know what, I'm fine with that! 

This was the first time in a long time that I've enjoyed an Oscars as much as I did - genuine suspense, moved at a good clip, some really moving moments, etc. 

Were there missteps? A couple. I thought The Little Mermaid commercial was particularly gross. Come on, Disney! You know what this show wasn't lacking in? Commercials! Stick it in a break. 

And the playing off of certain team award winners and not others. I wish each member of each team would at least get the opportunity to say SOMETHING, even if it is just "Thanks Mom!" But I also put some of the blame on the first member of the team who hogs the mic for 45+ seconds knowing their colleagues won't have the same opportunity. 😒

Really surprised that so many BP nominees went away completely empty-handed and was bummed for some of my personal faves (Cate, Colin) but I was still thrilled for Michelle and Brendan. 

Well done, Academy. 👍

[libgirl2]

1 minute ago, MicheleinPhilly said:

Were there missteps? A couple. I thought The Little Mermaid commercial was particularly gross. Come on, Disney! You know what this show wasn't lacking in? Commercials! Stick it in a break. 

And the playing off of certain team award winners and not others. I wish each member of each team would at least get the opportunity to say SOMETHING, even if it is just "Thanks Mom!" But I also put some of the blame on the first member of the team who hogs the mic for 45+ seconds knowing their colleagues won't have the same opportunity. 😒

 

I agree about the Little Mermaid preview. Isn't that what actual commercials are for? 

You see that all the time. The first person goes on and on and the next person is lucky to be able to say thank you. I think beforehand nominees should discuss who says what and for how long. 

[slowpoked]

34 minutes ago, libgirl2 said:

I agree, I really enjoyed it and for the first time, the night seemed to fly. 

The pacing was much better than previous years. Host bits were kept to a minimum, and didn't go on for too long. Also, pairing up the Actor and Actress wins together helped with the pacing as well, as they didn't have to cut to commercials, although it makes the first announced win less impactful, at least to the viewers, because the presenters have to jump right back in to announcing the next winner, without leaving time to the audience to digest the previous winner.

[libgirl2]

4 minutes ago, slowpoked said:

The pacing was much better than previous years. Host bits were kept to a minimum, and didn't go on for too long. Also, pairing up the Actor and Actress wins together helped with the pacing as well, as they didn't have to cut to commercials, although it makes the first announced win less impactful, at least to the viewers, because the presenters have to jump right back in to announcing the next winner, without leaving time to the audience to digest the previous winner.

Yes, there seemed to be less bits by hosts and presenters then in previous years. I didn't mind the pairing  up either. It felt a bit odd but I thought it worked overall. 

[slowpoked]

Amazing moment in Michelle Yeoh's hometown. Mama Yeoh was there and jubilant!

Who knew there was a fight between Malaysia and Hong Kong in claiming MY as their own? It was nice of MY to acknowledge both in her speech last night.

 

[blackwing]

42 minutes ago, MicheleinPhilly said:

And the playing off of certain team award winners and not others. I wish each member of each team would at least get the opportunity to say SOMETHING, even if it is just "Thanks Mom!" But I also put some of the blame on the first member of the team who hogs the mic for 45+ seconds knowing their colleagues won't have the same opportunity. 😒

Really surprised that so many BP nominees went away completely empty-handed and was bummed for some of my personal faves (Cate, Colin) but I was still thrilled for Michelle and Brendan. 

Well done, Academy. 👍

I don't mind that at all.  I think each award should get the same 45 second limit.  If there are four winners, then they have to decide how to allot the time.  I can't remember the exact details, but I seem to recall in last year's ceremony, there was a guy in one of the lesser awards who just droned on and on and the other person didn't get to talk at all.  Too bad.

This year, the guy who won with two women, he hogged all the time, the first woman stepped up and started to speak and she got played off, she raised her hand to try and get them to let her speak.  Too bad.  She should blame her partner for hogging all the time.  I saw people in the chat last night saying it was rude to not allow the women to speak... my response would have been that if it was important for a woman winner to speak, then they should have let her go first.

I'm really disappointed that Banshees got nothing.  I liked it way better than EEAAO and I wish it would have at least won screenplay.  Especially since the Daniels were clearly winning Best Director.  I also think it should have won Best Score.  Was the score for "All Quiet on the Western Front" really that good?  Because the snippet they kept playing when it won, that droning sound, just didn't sound good.

15 minutes ago, slowpoked said:

The pacing was much better than previous years. Host bits were kept to a minimum, and didn't go on for too long. Also, pairing up the Actor and Actress wins together helped with the pacing as well, as they didn't have to cut to commercials, although it makes the first announced win less impactful, at least to the viewers, because the presenters have to jump right back in to announcing the next winner, without leaving time to the audience to digest the previous winner.

I think the pacing picked up in the second half, because the first hour was all filler and only 5 awards.  The Little Mermaid commercial and the Warner Brothers commercial were just useless.

They needed to pair up Jessica and Halle for Actress/Actor because of Slappy Smith, so it made sense to pair up Ariana DeBose and Troy Kotsur for the Supporting categories.  I did think maybe they could have found a Best Actor to pair with Jessica, but I liked the choice of Halle because of the wonderful hug with Michelle Yeoh.

Edited March 13, 2023 by blackwing

[blackwing]

6 minutes ago, slowpoked said:

Amazing moment in Michelle Yeoh's hometown. Mama Yeoh was there and jubilant!

Who knew there was a fight between Malaysia and Hong Kong in claiming MY as their own? It was nice of MY to acknowledge both in her speech last night.

 

She's ethnically Chinese, but born and raised in Malaysia.  She moved to Hong Kong and got her start in action films, which is where she learned Cantonese.  If I recall correctly, I believe that when she filmed "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", she didn't speak Mandarin.  She had to speak all her lines phonetically.

She was clutching hands with Jamie Lee Curtis when the winner for Best Picture was being announced.  I found out that the small old white man that they were clutching hands over appears to be her longtime partner, Jean Todt, some kind of French auto racing executive.  Did she acknowledge him in her acceptance speech?  I don't think she did, did she?

[slowpoked]

13 minutes ago, blackwing said:

I found out that the small old white man that they were clutching hands over appears to be her longtime partner, Jean Todt, some kind of French auto racing executive.  Did she acknowledge him in her acceptance speech?  I don't think she did, did she?

No, she did not acknowledge him. And yes, it's her longtime partner, who used to be president of F1, and I believe the Ferrari group back during Schumacher's F1 days. I thought it was weird to acknowledge her godchildren (?), nieces and nephews, but I realized she didn't have children because she couldn't have any. 

[kittykat]

In Honorary Oscar news, alongside Diane Warren was Michael J Fox, Euzhan Palcy and Peter Weir. 

Weir directed among others: Gallipoli, The Truman Show, Master and Commander: the Far Side of the World, Picnic at Hanging Rock, Dead Poets Society, and Witness.  Multiple noms for Best Director but 0 wins. Yay Peter.

[libgirl2]

11 minutes ago, kittykat said:

In Honorary Oscar news, alongside Diane Warren was Michael J Fox, Euzhan Palcy and Peter Weir. 

Weir directed among others: Gallipoli, The Truman Show, Master and Commander: the Far Side of the World, Picnic at Hanging Rock, Dead Poets Society, and Witness.  Multiple noms for Best Director but 0 wins. Yay Peter.

I enjoy Weir's work. Picnic at Hanging Rock is one of my favorites. 

[MicheleinPhilly]

Now that Diane Warren has an honorary Oscar, can they please stop nominating her? 

[libgirl2]

1 minute ago, MicheleinPhilly said:

Now that Diane Warren has an honorary Oscar, can they please stop nominating her? 

One can only hope.... every song sounds the same! Sorry if anyone really likes her, JMHO. 

[slowpoked]

2 hours ago, blackwing said:

I did like that Ariana seemed very excited and pleased for Jamie Lee.  Even if that meant we were cheated of a perfect opportunity for Ariana and Angela to do side by side "did the thing" dances.

I was thinking that Ariana was probably readying herself to say "SHE DID THE THING!!!" the moment she saw Angela's name when she opened the envelope. But alas, she saw JLC's name instead.

[blackwing]

32 minutes ago, MicheleinPhilly said:

Now that Diane Warren has an honorary Oscar, can they please stop nominating her? 

 

30 minutes ago, libgirl2 said:

One can only hope.... every song sounds the same! Sorry if anyone really likes her, JMHO. 

Agreed.  Every song of hers is this boring sappy ballad.  That song she had this year was truly boring.  I'm disappointed that one of the catchy boy band songs from "Turning Red" couldn't have been nominated instead.

[sugarbaker design]

46 minutes ago, libgirl2 said:

I enjoy Weir's work. Picnic at Hanging Rock is one of my favorites. 

He was a big deal back in the 70s and 80s, I'd rather see a tribute to PW than commercials for The Little Mermaid and Warner Brothers.

[CaliforniaLove]

My biggest takeaway was, my god Hugh Grant is a PRICK. 

[Browncoat]

I saw six of the ten nominated films -- EEAAO and Banshees twice each.  In the theater.  I loved both of them in different ways, and was thrilled with all the wins for EEAAO.  I did hope for a Banshees win for Score, as it was just perfect and beautiful.

The Whale reminded me a LOT of Leaving Las Vegas, but with food instead of alcohol.  Brendan was so good with the face acting.  I'm not sad he won, but I would have loved to have seen Colin take it for Banshees.

I thought Cate Blanchett was amazing in TAR, but that was a tough movie.  Too many odd cuts and, while I do like "show, don't tell", there were bits where they did neither, which made it effortful to watch. 

Top Gun was fine.  Nice action movie, especially when it became OG Star Wars.

The Fabelmans was fine, too.  Any other year, and it probably would have been at the top of everyone's list.  It checks all the right boxes.

I likely won't ever see Avatar or All Quiet, or Triangle, for that matter, but Elvis is on my DVR.

[NUguy514]

2 hours ago, libgirl2 said:

Naatu Naatu really was a lot of fun. That is the first Indian song to win best song, isn't it? 

"Jai Ho" won for Slumdog Millionaire.  The film obviously wasn't a Bollywood film, but the song is in Hindi.

I know a number of people were surprised by a few of the acting wins (Curtis, especially), but I thought the four winners would mirror SAG because they all had a ton of momentum going into the voting period.  Frankly, once I heard the deafening cheers for Curtis when she did her "I'm Jamie Lee Curtis, and I'm an actor" thing at the beginning of the SAG Awards, I thought to myself, "Oh, she's going to win the Oscar."  People LOVE her in the industry, and that love far supersedes nepotism (which is very much a real thing) at this point.  She has worked with everyone and made a ton of friends, and people love working with her.

In a general sense, Oscars for acting are almost never about just the performance; there's always a narrative.  That would've been true had Blanchett or Butler or Bassett or Farrell won; it's just that more compelling narratives won out.  Honestly, the last acting winner I can think of who maybe won "just" for her performance was Mo'Nique, and an argument could be made even in that instance that her refusal to campaign and desire to let the performance speak for itself was the narrative.  There's always something else driving an actor to an Oscar because it's so ludicrous to compare expressions of art to each other and choose the "best" at the end of the day.

I'll also say that EEAaO is LOVED here in LA.  I know there are plenty of people who don't like it, but there are very few of them here.  I haven't heard anyone talking about any other movie with such passion this year, so the film's sweep is not surprising to me.  And I love that such an atypical Oscar movie swept!

12 minutes ago, CaliforniaLove said:

My biggest takeaway was, my god Hugh Grant is a PRICK. 

Oh god, he's been a notorious prick forever.  That's really why his head looks like a scrotum.

[wonderwoman]

1 hour ago, libgirl2 said:

1 hour ago, MicheleinPhilly said:

Now that Diane Warren has an honorary Oscar, can they please stop nominating her? 

One can only hope.... every song sounds the same! Sorry if anyone really likes her, JMHO. 

kind of like the way i feel about. john williams’s film scores.

[FilmTVGeek80]

3 hours ago, truthaboutluv said:

The correlation was that the last time an actor won Best Actor without their film being nominated for Best Picture was 2009. So statistically, that seemed to work against Brendan's favor but obviously not as he still won.

A perfect example of this - Ma Rainey's Black Bottom was not nominated for Best Picture, which is what Chadwick Boseman was nominated for but The Father, which Anthony Hopkins was nominated for, was. 

I get what you’re saying in that context. Like you said, many of the Oscar voters are lazy and if they already don’t like a film, or heard it was bad, or can’t make it through the screener they’re less likely to award the actor. But the person I was replying to seemed to be indicating that it made no sense for someone to have delivered an Award-worthy performance if their film wasn’t considered the best. I don’t agree with that.

3 hours ago, blackwing said:

 

As I've said, I like Jamie Lee, but if there was going to be an award for Supporting Actress from EEAAO, it should have been Stephanie Hsu, who was amazing.  Jamie Lee's character was just sullen and dry.  At the start of award season, I don't think she was even mentioned much, her role didn't seem to be award worthy.  Angela Bassett's Queen Ramonda was the emotional heart and soul of "Wakanda Forever".  Her speeches were stirring, her defiance was strong, her death was tragic.

I did like that Ariana seemed very excited and pleased for Jamie Lee.  Even if that meant we were cheated of a perfect opportunity for Ariana and Angela to do side by side "did the thing" dances.  I can see that Jamie Lee is saying "SHUT UP!" in surprise when she hears her name.  But can anyone make out what Kerry Condon is saying?  It looks like to me she says "wow" in resignation.  Is that what she is saying?  I love the reaction and glee of Stephanie for Jamie Lee.  Hong Chau looks gracious too, although she probably knew that of the five nominees, she was the one that had zero chance of winning.

I have to believe that Jamie Lee Curtis only won because of sentiment.  Her name and her famous parents and her Hollywood legacy.  Mira Sorvino, Gwyneth Paltrow, Laura Dern.  All must have benefitted from having beloved actor parents.

It's interesting to me, because sentiment and/or a feeling that he or she is "due" often doesn't seem to be enough.  Gloria Stuart, Lauren Bacall, Glenn Close.

While some would say that Jamie Lee Curtis was "due", on the whole, her career doesn't seem to include a lot of Oscar-worthy performances, unlike Angela Bassett.

I hope that Angela Bassett will get another chance soon to win and show that she "did the thing".  As well as others who are long overdue, like Glenn Close and most of all, national treasure Michelle Pfeiffer.

Is it possible for you to spoiler tag the part about her character in Wakanda Forever? I know it’s been out for months, but I haven’t seen it and was disappointed to find out that particular detail?

I don’t think JLC’s famous parents had much, or anything at all, to do with her win. This isn’t necessarily directed at you, but I’ve seen so many nepo baby taunts thrown her way on Twitter and I don’t find it a valid argument. She’s been in this business for decades and never had a nomination. I can believe sentiment played a huge part, but because of well-respected and liked she is, not her parents. I’m not sure their parents played a big role in the other women’s wins either. Mira Sorvino starred in a Woody Allen movie at a time when that was a great way for an actress to get a nod and/or win. Paltrow seemed to benefit from the love of that film and because of Weinstein’s campaign for it. I think Laura Dern was just well-liked and respected like JLC.

1 hour ago, blackwing said:

 

I'm really disappointed that Banshees got nothing.  I liked it way better than EEAAO and I wish it would have at least won screenplay.  Especially since the Daniels were clearly winning Best Director.  I also think it should have won Best Score.  Was the score for "All Quiet on the Western Front" really that good?  Because the snippet they kept playing when it won, that droning sound, just didn't sound good.

 

They needed to pair up Jessica and Halle for Actress/Actor because of Slappy Smith, so it made sense to pair up Ariana DeBose and Troy Kotsur for the Supporting categories.  I did think maybe they could have found a Best Actor to pair with Jessica, but I liked the choice of Halle because of the wonderful hug with Michelle Yeoh.

I was very disappointed in that score win. I’m sure their was other music in the movie, but that piece you heard was the running theme throughout and I scratched my head at the nomination, let alone the win.

1 hour ago, blackwing said:

She's ethnically Chinese, but born and raised in Malaysia.  She moved to Hong Kong and got her start in action films, which is where she learned Cantonese.  If I recall correctly, I believe that when she filmed "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", she didn't speak Mandarin.  She had to speak all her lines phonetically.

She was clutching hands with Jamie Lee Curtis when the winner for Best Picture was being announced.  I found out that the small old white man that they were clutching hands over appears to be her longtime partner, Jean Todt, some kind of French auto racing executive.  Did she acknowledge him in her acceptance speech?  I don't think she did, did she?

THANK YOU! I thought - especially when Ke won - that the guy was Mel Brooks. I didn’t know why he’d be in the front row with them, but thought maybe he was a producer or something. It wasn’t until later, I realized it might not be Brooks but couldn’t figure out who else it could be.

[Sarah 103]

I liked Jimmy Kimmel as host. I thought he did a good job. 

16 hours ago, dmeets said:

A Warner Bros. 100 years segment? Surprising Disney approved that, but good for them.

Here's my question: If each major studio was given time to promote themselves (either a single film like Disney, or the company's history like Warner Brothers) than why didn't Paramount say yes to the free advertising/chance to promote themselves. Did I miss it? 

16 hours ago, dmeets said:

I guess every year we’re going to get a commercial for the museum

It makes sense. It is the sponsoring organization and people who ware watching the Oscars are probably really into movies, so it's the logical audience. 

15 hours ago, KittyQ said:

Is this John Williams' last chance for another Oscar? Although he is prolific, so maybe he has at least one more opportunity in him.

He does. He did the score for the 5th Indiana Jones movie that is coming out this year or next year. That will be his last film score. 

15 hours ago, KaveDweller said:

The bear made me laugh.

I thought the bear was funny, bordering on stupid, but I enjoyed the bit on stage.  

15 hours ago, absnow54 said:

They’d still have to reset the stage after. 

That's a good point. If they had to cut to the audience, they probably could have come up with something better to do. 

15 hours ago, dmeets said:

Did at least one of those writers happen to have worked on Star Wars: A New Hope?

Funny story. On the Top Gun: Maverick thread on this site, someone made the connection to A New Hope, which lead to an interesting argument/discussion of which 1940s or 1950s war movie A New Hope based thier trench run/big mission on. 

15 hours ago, Browncoat said:

Awww, he's all emotional and hopelessly devoted.

I kind of wonderded if that would be the song they used for the montage "Hopelessly Devoted to you."

13 hours ago, Racj82 said:

I don't give a damn how simplistic Maverick was deemed. I always love movies I actually give a shit about being represented at the Oscars. I didn't even see it in the theater. But, I laughed, cried, smiled and was thrilled. It's why I love movies. There should always be space for that among the somber weepfests or overwrought character studies. You can have all of that. I feel like everything everywhere was vastly entertaining and thrilling while also being well acted, directed and written. But, I'm glad Maverick is up there.

I think the Oscars need to add a new category-Best Blockbuster. Use the same rules to determine eligibability as Best Picture. The top 5-10 movies with the highest box office that also meet the criteria for Best Picture are automatically the nominees (The voters do not get to vote on which movies are nominated. That is determined by box office). Academy voters would then vote on which movie they thought was best like any other category. 

[MicheleinPhilly]

10 minutes ago, NUguy514 said:

"Jai Ho" won for Slumdog Millionaire.  The film obviously wasn't a Bollywood film, but the song is in Hindi.

I thought so and was really confused when the presenter said that Naatu was the first song from an Indian film nominated. 

And then I had Jai Ho in my head for the rest of the night so that was unpleasant. 

[slowpoked]

12 minutes ago, NUguy514 said:

Frankly, once I heard the deafening cheers for Curtis when she did her "I'm Jamie Lee Curtis, and I'm an actor" thing at the beginning of the SAG Awards, I thought to myself, "Oh, she's going to win the Oscar."  People LOVE her in the industry, and that love far supersedes nepotism (which is very much a real thing) at this point.  She has worked with everyone and made a ton of friends, and people love working with her.

Yes, it's not like JLC is a current IT girl ingenue, who suddenly won last night because she was a nepo baby. She's been in the industry for decades, working different kinds of films, from the cheesy to gory to the well-made ones. And you know, being well-liked IS a factor in the industry, whether we think it's right or not. (i.e. JLo). 

It also helped that JLC leaned INTO the nepo baby accusations rather than shun it. That line at SAG "Yeah, yeah I know, nepo baby, but the fact of the matter is, I'm 64 years old and this is just amazing!" touched just the right emotions.

7 minutes ago, FilmTVGeek80 said:

I'm really disappointed that Banshees got nothing. 

Me as well. Banshees grew at me, just such a well-acted movie, and I was really hoping Colin would pull a semi-Adrian Brody last night and shock everyone, or that Kerry upsets Hollywood royalty. Score and writing would have been the best awards to give to Banshees to show it some love, if it's not going to win any big awards.

6 minutes ago, Sarah 103 said:

I think the Oscars need to add a new category-Best Blockbuster.

A couple of years back they were toying with a Best Popular Film award but dropped the idea rather quickly after it was received not rather well in the industry, to say kindly.

[starri]

3 hours ago, sugarbaker design said:

Indiana Jones and Short Round embracing.

Seeing someone as over it as Harrison Ford seemingly so legitimately happy made my night.  Definitely worth staying up late for.

Aside from Marcel the Shell With Shoes On being passed over as Best Animated feature, this is was one of the most satisfying ceremonies in a long, long time.

[libgirl2]

5 minutes ago, starri said:

Seeing someone as over it as Harrison Ford seemingly so legitimately happy made my night.  Definitely worth staying up late for.

Aside from Marcel the Shell With Shoes On being passed over as Best Animated feature, this is was one of the most satisfying ceremonies in a long, long time.

I wonder what the viewing numbers were? 

[kittykat]

33 minutes ago, sugarbaker design said:

He was a big deal back in the 70s and 80s, I'd rather see a tribute to PW than commercials for The Little Mermaid and Warner Brothers.

Right.  They used to have show segments for Honorary winners (they did one for Peter O'Toole and Robert Altman).  Peter Weir was definitely deserving of one.

19 minutes ago, NUguy514 said:

Oh god, he's been a notorious prick forever.  That's really why his head looks like a scrotum.

For real and this is coming from someone who wore out her FWaaF VHS copy.  I wanted to squee loudly at the Hugh/Andie reunion but Hugh's behavior really put a damper on it.  He doesn't deserve Benoit Blanc.

 

26 minutes ago, NUguy514 said:

a general sense, Oscars for acting are almost never about just the performance; there's always a narrative.  That would've been true had Blanchett or Butler or Bassett or Farrell won; it's just that more compelling narratives won out. 

Definitely true.  One Hollywood legend, one international legend (and one of the most underrated Bond girls), and two monumental comebacks that made an early Kimmel joke come full circle.  That said I love all these winners considering all the acting ones were two person races.  I would've been fine with Barry, Angela, Austin and Cate but somehow this group just feels special.  And maybe that is because I'm buying into the Hollywood narrative they're selling this year but this is probably one of the most satisfying group of acting wins in awhile.

I do agree that Austin Butler gave a great performance but I'm tired of the great performance in a mediocre by the numbers biopic getting the win.  Sadly Tom Hanks' loopy acting is likely going to viewed the same way Russell Crowe was in Les Miserables.  

[cmahorror]

Now that I have had time to read everyone's reactions, I will weigh in on the Supporting Actress category, at least the three performances I watched. Please keep in mind this is only my opinion and I understand that a lot of people will disagree with me - that's fine. Just please be respectful of my opinion and I will be respectful of yours 🙂

Stephanie Hsu - honestly, hers was the performance I was least impressed with in the whole film. The only time she really shined to me was in the last scenes with Michelle Yeoh who elevated Hsu's performance. I never felt the conflict, only a petulant child who does not appreciate everything her parents have done for her. Maybe that was the point but it just left me cold to her character.

Angela Bassett is an amazing actress and should have won 30 years ago but not for Wakanda Forever. She had a few great scenes but that should not equal an Academy Award (I'm looking at you Judy Dench). It was not a snub and her reaction, especially after losing the SAG Award, was the exact opposite of gracious. Maybe I shouldn't but I expect better from a woman I have always admired.  Yes, you can be disappointed but do not blame Jamie Lee Curtis for that. Cate Blanchett was instantly on her feet for Michelle and won far more precursor awards than you did. It wasn't your award to lose and anyone who told you otherwise was lying to you. It was neck and neck and neck throughout the awards season and I guarantee you that Jamie Lee Curtis would have been the first one to give you a standing ovation if you had won.

Which leads me to Jamie Lee Curtis who, I firmly believe, earned the award. Deirdre was a complex character throughout all the universes and JLC was great in all of them. I believed her as a heartless IRS agent who slowly allows this family to see a different and more injured side of her, a woman in love with Evelyn who is devastated when she leaves her and thrilled when she returns, a vengeful monster who only wants to destroy Evelyn, and so on. Each universe gave us a different, nuanced character and that is tough to do. Key He Quan, Michelle Yeoh, James Hong, and Jamie Lee Curtis all 4 did that and did it beautifully. It is no surprise to me that three of them ended up with Oscars for their performances. 

Again, just my opinion. 

[starri]

7 minutes ago, libgirl2 said:

I wonder what the viewing numbers were? 

Up from last year. 

[slowpoked]

Love seeing this!

 

[absnow54]

17 minutes ago, slowpoked said:

A couple of years back they were toying with a Best Popular Film award but dropped the idea rather quickly after it was received not rather well in the industry, to say kindly.

Best Animated Feature has been around for 30 years, and its existence is still criticized. That will probably be the closest thing to a "Movie People Actually Saw" category. Didn't they Oscars even try to do an informal poll last year to recognize "popular" film, and the internet trolled the hell out of it.

[LegalParrot81]

40 minutes ago, FilmTVGeek80 said:

I don’t think JLC’s famous parents had much, or anything at all, to do with her win. This isn’t necessarily directed at you, but I’ve seen so many nepo baby taunts thrown her way on Twitter and I don’t find it a valid argument.

I have to agree with this.  Her parents film careers were winding down as JLC's was coming up.  By the time they each passed away (2001-Mom; 2010-Dad), they were mostly doing occasional guest shots on TV.  Both parents hey days were in the 50's & 60's.  Will a name  give you a better chance of getting in the door, sure, but to have a 40 year career with your own hit movies kind of kills the nepotism argument in my mind. 

Edited March 13, 2023 by LegalParrot81

[Milburn Stone]

I personally prefer when presenters have some funny material instead of lecturing us on how important the editor's job is. I know that already.

[LegalParrot81]

Nothing to see here.  I was wrong, wrong.  

Edited March 13, 2023 by LegalParrot81

[Crashcourse]

I'm so happy that Naatu Naatu won best song.  I was tempted to get up and start dancing but, thankfully, I realized I needed to just sit my ass down and watch.  

I thought Gaga sounded like self-important ass.

Although I wasn't at all surprised that Everything Everywhere blah blah blah won, I thought it was over the top and frenetic and I didn't like it at all. 

[libgirl2]

1 minute ago, Crashcourse said:

I'm so happy that Naatu Naatu won best song.  I was tempted to get up and start dancing but, thankfully, I realized I needed to just sit my ass down and watch.  

I thought Gaga sounded like self-important ass.

Although I wasn't at all surprised that Everything Everywhere blah blah blah won, I thought it was over the top and frenetic and I didn't like it at all. 

I was not a fan of the movie either, it wasn't bad, just messy. I did think the acting was amazing though. 

[Crs97]

11 minutes ago, Crashcourse said:

I thought Gaga sounded like self-important ass.

Doesn’t she always?

[sugarbaker design]

38 minutes ago, LegalParrot81 said:

And hooray for James Hong!!!!  94 years young with an Oscar.  

Well, Hong is in a movie that won Best Picture, but he sure doesn't get an Oscar.

34 minutes ago, Crashcourse said:

I thought Gaga sounded like self-important ass.

A self-important ass at the Oscars?!  Heaven forfend!

[LegalParrot81]

13 minutes ago, sugarbaker design said:

Well, Hong is in a movie that won Best Picture, but he sure doesn't get an Oscar.

Never mind.

Edited March 13, 2023 by LegalParrot81

[tennisgurl]

I am actually pretty happy with the winners and thought that the ceremony itself went pretty well, only a few really annoying moments. Showing trailers during the ceremony was embarrassingly cringe. I am also always annoyed at how quickly they tend to play off the less glamorous awards as compared to the big awards with the big stars. Sure sound editing isn't as sexy as directing or acting, but without it movies don't get made, you don't realize how important something like editing or production design is until you see something that has bad editing production design. At least more people got to talk for awhile than some years. 

I guessed early on that Brendan Fraser would win, Hollywood loves a comeback narrative, I was really happy to see him take home the gold. I will really need to finally watch The Whale sometime soon. 

I liked All Quiet, Elvis, and the Fablemans, Banshees is next on my list, but Everything was one of my favorite movies of the year so I was thrilled to see it sweep! Science fiction nerd that I am I love seeing that genre getting some critical love. All things considered, it was one of the best ceremonies in years. Jokes worked, the winners were all deserving and all seemed thrilled to be there, I really did have fun.

Edited March 13, 2023 by tennisgurl

[libgirl2]

I do think the In Memoriam really messed up with some of the misses. Paul Sorvino? Leslie Jordan? I feel bad for the people who are skipped. 

Edited March 13, 2023 by libgirl2

[slowpoked]

Here's a good interview with the producers and director that touches on a lot of things - absence of Cruise and Cameron, the Will Smith jokes, planning presenters around possible winners, etc. 

They say they don't have anything to do with who is included in the In Memoriam segment.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/oscars-2023-producers-interview-lady-gaga-tom-cruise-will-smith-1235351208/

 

8 minutes ago, libgirl2 said:

I do think the In Memoriam really messed up with some of the misses. Paul Sorvino? Leslie Jordan? Every year someone is skipped! 

Yeah, there's quite a number there. Paul Sorvino stands out the most. He was an integral part of the mob movie era of Hollywood. Anne Heche was not there as well.

There was also some discussion about how Charlbi Dean was left off as well. She's most likely not an Academy member, but she was the lead star of a BP nominee (Triangle of Sadness), so maybe there should be some consideration for that.

[MicheleinPhilly]

There is a much larger "in memoriam" gallery available at Oscars.org. It's obviously impossible to capture everyone that passed away in a 3-ish minute segment but it felt like this year's focused REALLY heavily on behind the scenes talent. 

https://aframe.oscars.org/news/in-memoriam

I personally don't care who they showcase on the broadcast, I just want people to stop clapping. 😡

[libgirl2]

2 minutes ago, slowpoked said:

Here's a good interview with the producers and director that touches on a lot of things - absence of Cruise and Cameron, the Will Smith jokes, planning presenters around possible winners, etc. 

They say they don't have anything to do with who is included in the In Memoriam segment.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/oscars-2023-producers-interview-lady-gaga-tom-cruise-will-smith-1235351208/

 

Yeah, there's quite a number there. Paul Sorvino stands out the most. He was an integral part of the mob movie era of Hollywood. Anne Heche was not there as well.

There was also some discussion about how Charlbi Dean was left off as well. She's most likely not an Academy member, but she was the lead star of a BP nominee (Triangle of Sadness), so maybe there should be some consideration for that.

And Sorvino was in Goodfellas with Ray Liotta. You would think they would maybe include a clip/picture of the two of them in that movie? 

I was not familiar with Charbli Dean, but come on! Her movie was nominated for goodness sake. 

Just now, MicheleinPhilly said:

There is a much larger "in memoriam" gallery available at Oscars.org. It's obviously impossible to capture everyone that passed away in a 3-ish minute segment but it felt like this year's focused REALLY heavily on behind the scenes talent. 

https://aframe.oscars.org/news/in-memoriam

I personally don't care who they showcase on the broadcast, I just want people to stop clapping. 😡

I would be willing to expand it to 5 minutes . 

1 minute ago, MicheleinPhilly said:

There is a much larger "in memoriam" gallery available at Oscars.org. It's obviously impossible to capture everyone that passed away in a 3-ish minute segment but it felt like this year's focused REALLY heavily on behind the scenes talent. 

https://aframe.oscars.org/news/in-memoriam

I personally don't care who they showcase on the broadcast, I just want people to stop clapping. 😡

Bernard Cribbins!!! I know he wasn't as well known here in the states but I read that they left him out at the BAFTAs too! 

Okay, I take back my 5 minutes, they would need a lot more than that to show everyone. I guess it is inevitable that people will be left out. 

[MicheleinPhilly]

Quote

[An Academy spokesperson clarifies that the Academy committee that makes In Memoriam decisions features a representative from each of the organization’s 17 branches, and some names that are more familiar to audiences cannot be included because all branches are entitled to representation during the limited time alotted for the segment.]

From the Hollywood Reporter piece...

[blackwing]

3 minutes ago, slowpoked said:

Yeah, there's quite a number there. Paul Sorvino stands out the most. He was an integral part of the mob movie era of Hollywood. Anne Heche was not there as well.

There was also some discussion about how Charlbi Dean was left off as well. She's most likely not an Academy member, but she was the lead star of a BP nominee (Triangle of Sadness), so maybe there should be some consideration for that.

Also Tom Sizemore and Topol, both of whom recently died.  Tom Sizemore should have been included.  "Saving Private Ryan", "Blackhawk Down", "Pearl Harbor".  They can't use the excuse that "he died recently and it was too late to include him" because they've included recent deaths before.

The way the whole segment was done was terrible.  Why fuzz out one half of the screen and then have it come into focus and then fuzz out the previously in-focus half?  Terrible.  If the Academy didn't think they rated their own screen then just put both on at the same time. 

The singer should never be the focus.  When Ray Liotta's picture came up (and he also rated actual screen clip on the right side of his screen), the camera was on Lenny Kravitz with the TV screen in the background, and I couldn't tell at first that it was him.   At other points, the camera went to Lenny Kravitz when there were no pictures being seen.  Why?  Why not have given us more people instead of wasting those seconds on him?

Also, I get why they had John Travolta introduce it, so he could cry over ONJ, but honestly, I feel like he is seemingly asked to present at the Oscars every single year.  I for one would like a break from him.  It's like those years when there was a Gwyneth Paltrow overload, she was seemingly asked to present almost every year.

[meep.meep]

2 hours ago, FilmTVGeek80 said:

I get what you’re saying in that context. Like you said, many of the Oscar voters are lazy and if they already don’t like a film, or heard it was bad, or can’t make it through the screener they’re less likely to award the actor. But the person I was replying to seemed to be indicating that it made no sense for someone to have delivered an Award-worthy performance if their film wasn’t considered the best. I don’t agree with that.

Marion Cotillard won best actress for La Vie En Rose which was not nominated for Best Picture.  It's a bad movie but she's fantastic.

Makes me want to see The Whale!

[Ms Blue Jay]

5 hours ago, slowpoked said:

Kudos to Jessica Chastain for understanding the situation and letting these ladies have their moment, before hugging Michelle. Jessica may be too earnest at times, but she's also quite sincere and genuine.

 

Well said.