Monday, March 28, 2022

"Don't Look Up" shut out at Oscars

Don't Look Up was nominated for four awards at last night's Academy Awards (Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Film Editing). The film came away empty handed, unfortunately. But the four nominations were all sort of long shots, with maybe the exception of screenplay. 

I don't know how one can write anything about this year's award ceremony without mentioning the slap heard 'round the world. After Chris Rock took the stage to present the award for Documentary Feature, he made a comment to Jada Pinkett Smith, referencing her shaved head by joking that he was looking forward to G.I. Jane part 2. I still do not know (as I was not aware) if Rock understood that Jada suffers from alopecia, a medical condition which causes hair loss. Will Smith, her husband, originally laughed at the comment, but then approached the stage, slapped Rock, returned to his seat and twice shouted, "Keep my wife's name out of your fucking mouth!" 

It was surreal. I, like I'm sure many other viewers, could not believe at first that it was not a bit. It quickly became clear that it was not. I don't want to write a bunch about it, but from my perspective, I'm amazed Will Smith wasn't escorted from the building. He assaulted a presenter. As insensitive or perhaps even hurtful a comment may be, physical violence in retaliation is a step too far. I say this fully appreciating how one's upbringing and culture may strongly influence the impulse to defend oneself or one's family as Smith did. I also believe Chris Rock's comment to Jada Pinkett Smith was inappropriate and should not have been said. 

Will Smith of course later in the evening won the Oscar for Actor in a Leading Role for his portrayal of Richard Williams in King Richard. I was disappointed in his attempt to rationalize his behavior by invoking some maudlin mission of love. I found the speech bizarre and self-indulgent, and his actions "in defense" of his wife to be misogynist and exceedingly juvenile. It completely overshadowed any other nominee's or winner's experience, and the show will forever be remembered solely for this preposterous event. 

Congratulations to CODA for being the little movie that could. Alas, a new season is upon us. 

8 comments:

  1. What a chaotic, messy affair. The Academy was so desperate to be liked this year, for a viral moment. And in some ways, they reaped what they sowed. Be careful what you wish for and all that.

    Alas, a new season is upon us - one in which I expect Meryl to feature even less than she did this year. Though, I'm starting to think the longer she's out of the game (nominations wise), the more likely she gets to ride one more overdue wave to that stage, gold man in hand.

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    1. I agree, Darcy. Unless there's some miracle that Places, Please starts shooting next week or something. But I also agree that it's more likely that she'll be considered for recognition the longer she's out.

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  2. It's unfortunate this awards season ended in a chaotic slap. All the important issues like pandemic, war, anti-gay bill and climate change are not talked about. DLU really isn't exaggerating!

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  3. I'm just relieved she wasn't present to witness all that mess.

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  4. I too am glad she wasn't present. I haven't watched but understand many people actually gave Will Smith a standing ovation. I echo that this was a very unfortunate ending to awards season and further damage The Oscars reputation.

    Let's hope Meryl comes back refreshed and ready to immerse herself in some fantastic roles. Unfortunately the next time she wins an Oscar it may be seen via streaming!

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  5. I have a feeling she's consciously stepping away from acting for a while for reasons we may not be aware of, and not because roles are hard to come by at her age. (Look at Judi Dench - she has three movies coming up and she is much older and has some illness). And I don't think she's been secretly filming - it's hard nowadays to get away with that due to social media. Here's hoping that she will announce something soon (please no more over the top roles like the Prom!)

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    1. If Places Please wasn't able to get going last year for reasons we don't know, this may just be a sort of planned break like the one's Meryl does every 5-6 years. She'll go a year or two without filming any new projects. And she sort of always has. Maybe it's her way of keeping people wanting more. Not just Streepers.

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    2. Judi has glaucoma, which yes has made her nearly blind but it’s not an illness that limits her otherwise, so not a fair thing to use here.

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