Oscar Wrap-Up 2022

 

There’s a lot to talk about.

·         Just to get it out of the way I got 20/23. The shorts and song did me in. Not too difficult with Dune taking almost all the technical awards.

·         Beyonce’s performance to start the show was nice and all but not being in the theatre reminded me of the Grammys or MTV Video Music Awards.

·         What was DJ Kahlid doing there? His “hype-up” was anything but.

·         The three hosts were not that great. Wanda was too political. Amy was trying to be Ricky Gervais. Regina was horny.

·         I usually don’t comment on dresses but H.E.R. and Ariana DeBose sure have a lot of extra material to lug around with their dresses. Liked DeBose’s acceptance speech.

·         Gotta roll my eyes at the double standard. Apparently, it’s okay for Regina Hall to physically grope male actors and demean them on stage. Can’t imagine a man getting away with those shenanigans.

·         Why did the White Men Can’t Jump actors get a standing ovation?

·         Loved Troy Kotsur winning for CODA and his acceptance speech. Loved the audience signing their applause throughout the night as well. Also, Yuh-Jung Youn was cute as she presented the nominees.

·         So we rushed the tech awards but Chris Evans gets to plug Lightyear with a full trailer. Luckily CTV played a bank commercial instead. Maybe that’s the first time I was happy that CTV took over the feed.

·         We definitely should not talk about ‘Bruno’. That sucked. Maybe stick to the lyrics instead of Meghan Thee Stallion adding Oscar verses.

·         What was the lady beside the International Feature director writing in her note pad? Is she doing a magazine article or something?

·         The fan-voting stuff was a complete joke. Zack Snyder fan-boys apparently flooded twitter so Justice League and Army of the Dead topped the lists. Awesome idea Academy. Way to represent the masses. (I’m being sarcastic.)

·         Wanda and Regina’s consolation prizes was a dud.

·         How did Maya Rudolph get such a prime seat behind the nominees?

·         Why is Tony Hawk and other sports people introducing James Bond?

·         Robert DeNiro isn’t in The Godfather. He’s in Part II.

·         Then there’s the slap. I’ll grant you that Chris Rock shouldn’t poke fun at a medical condition, but he’s a comedian. Will Smith subsequent slap and verbal threats was way out of line, and frankly criminal. That’s assault. Plain and simple. Why he wasn’t escorted from the ceremony is beyond me. I kind of hope Chris Rock presses charges. Initially, Smith laughed at the joke (before looking over to his unimpressed wife). More on Smith later.

·         What the hell was up with the In Memorium? I liked the comments of Tyler Perry, Bill Murray and Jamie Lee Curtis but that singing group was distracting. They apparently wanted a gospel vibe and proclaim that everyone is going to heaven. Seemed disrespectful to me as it was all about the performers and not those who died. Also, why not sing “Thank You for Being a Friend”? What a trainwreck.

·         I liked Kevin Costner’s director introduction.

·         When the Pulp Fiction actors are dancing on stage to the music you’re playing way too loud, why would you instead cut to people in the crowd?

·         Will Smith’s acceptance speech was all over the place. It seems he was trying to justify his assault. He’s a man who ‘protects’ women? Saying ‘love can make you do crazy things’ seems like something an abusive husband might say. I have lost a ton of respect for Will Smith. He apologizes to the Academy but not Rock? The Oscars also kept blocking some of his speech with their title card while he cried on stage. Why not play him off? Are you afraid he’ll go and smack the shit out of the orchestra?

·         Why is the Make-Up award the third last award of the night? What an odd placement.

·         Gotta love the class of Amy Schumer who first insults Kirsten Dunst and then honors the Governor’s General award winners before making a comments about genocide and women’s rights. Way to make them feel shitty. If you don’t think it’s appropriate to give awards while there is tension in the world, don’t host the show.

·         Jessica Chastain is going on way too long. Do we not play people off anymore? Or is it only for technical and international winners?

·         Stop bringing ‘legends’ on stage for final awards. They are old and get flustered easily. Remember five years ago? It was cringy watching Liza interact with Lady Gaga who sounded like she was talking to her grandma.  

·         Oscar tried to streamline the show and still went 30+ minutes overtime. Just go back to the traditional way. I don’t think they gained any new viewers tonight. Maybe more will tune in next year to see a Smith and Rock rematch.

Okay, here’s who won:

LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
THE LONG GOOD BYE (predicted)

ANIMATED SHORT FILM
THE WINDSHIELD WIPER

DOCUMENTARY SHORT
THE QUEEN OF BASKETBALL

SOUND
DUNE (predicted)

ORIGINAL SCORE
DUNE (predicted)

ORIGINAL SONG
NO TIME TO DIE

VISUAL EFFECTS
DUNE (predicted)

MAKE-UP & HAIRSTYLING
THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE (predicted)

COSTUME DESIGN
CRUELLA (predicted)

PRODUCTION DESIGN
DUNE (predicted)

FILM EDITING
DUNE (predicted)

CINEMATOGRAPHY
DUNE (predicted)

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
SUMMER OF SOUL (predicted)

ANIMATED FEATURE
ENCANTO (predicted)

INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM
DRIVE MY CAR (predicted)

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
CODA (predicted)

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
BELFAST (predicted)

BEST DIRECTOR
JANE CAMPION [THE POWER OF THE DOG] (predicted)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
ARIANA DEBOSE [WEST SIDE STORY] (predicted)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
TROY KOTSUR [CODA] (predicted)

BEST ACTRESS
JESSICA CHASTAIN [THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE] (predicted)

BEST ACTOR
WILL SMITH [KING RICHARD] (predicted)

BEST PICTURE
CODA (predicted)

How did you do? What did you think of the awards?