Oscars shock with remixed ceremony
Oscars shock with remixed ceremony
And 'SNL' stars criticize Elon Musk hosting
What to know
Oscars shock with remixed ceremony and off-the-rails ending | Deadline
So, the Oscars happened! The big news from the show is not Nomadland winning Best Picture, but instead Anthony Hopkins upsetting Chadwick Boseman for Best Actor, despite the Oscar producers banking on a Boseman win giving them their grand finale. If we consider telecast producer Steven Soderbergh’s earlier comments about wanting to make the Oscars a “movie” with “characters,” getting an emotional tribute to Boseman at the very end makes sense, unfortunately, Anthony Hopkins’ absentee win completely undercut Soderbergh’s narrative.
But let’s not dwell on that any more than we need to. For the sake of positivity, I was impressed with how the Academy pulled off an intimate and normal-feeling award show in a pandemic. You can't say that about any other award show in the last 14 months. Despite Film Twitter’s complaints about the lack of clips and the shuffled categories, there were plenty of great speeches and moments, the show looked real good, more women won than ever before, every Best Picture nominee (except for Chicago 7) won at least one award, and in the end, it gave us a lot to talk about.
What about the Oscars aftermath? Anthony Hopkins proved he’s a class act by paying tribute to Chadwick Boseman in a delayed acceptance speech. Uproxx and others are suggesting that the Oscars bring back a host, and I completely agree. Last night’s show could definitely have benefited from the levity and consistency a host brings. And unsurprisingly, the Oscars fell to its lowest ratings ever. This was likely due to the niche movies that were awarded, waning interest in award shows in general, and as this op-ed smartly points out, a general distaste for everything 2020.
Fun fact: We’re only 10 months away from the 2022 Oscars. I’m predicting now that we’ll see West Side Story, In The Heights, CODA, Soggy Bottom (new Paul Thomas Anderson), The French Dispatch (new Wes Anderson), and House of Gucci represented.
SNL stars publicly question Elon Musk as host | TVLine
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is set to host SNL on May 8… for now. Cast members Bowen Yang and Andrew Desmukes took comedic shots at Musk on social media after Musk tweeted “Let’s find out just how live Saturday Night Live really is.” SNL stars haven’t openly criticized an upcoming host since maybe 1990 when Nora Dunn protested Andrew Dice Clay. What is Musk planning??? I’d say odds are 4:1 that Musk doesn’t end up hosting.
Also...
Razzies award Giuliani, MyPillow guy, Sia’s Music … one of those things isn’t like the others 🤔
Anthony Bourdain documentary to hit theaters, CNN, HBO Max this summer … one last kitchen confidential
GoT prequel House of the Dragon is in production, will premiere in 2022 … winter is coming again 🐉
Leonardo DiCaprio might star in an English remake of Another Round … seems unnecessary, but OK 🍸
Sam Wilson’s Captain America will greet fans at Disneyland … on your left 🇺🇸
What to watch
Trailer: West Side Story — Dec 10
Directed by Steven Spielberg, written by Tony Kushner, starring Ansel Elgort, Ariana DeBose, Rachel Zegler, David Alvarez, Mike Faist, Josh Andrés Rivera, Ana Isabelle, Corey Stoll, Brian d’Arcy James, and Rita Moreno.
Well, it certainly looks like West Side Story! The big winners form this teaser trailer are Janusz Kaminski, Spielberg’s go-to cinematographer, and Paul Tazewell, the movie’s costume designer. Those two seemed to have knocked it out of the park. The long-shadowed shot of the Jets and the Sharks walking into the alley is genius and destined to be iconic. Spielberg, Kaminski, and Tazewell also appear to have captured the look and feel of not just a movie that takes place in the ‘50s, but one that was shot in the ‘50s as well. Will West Side show up at next year’s Oscars? Could be, who knows.
For all past ‘what to watch’ recommendations, see the full list here!
New notables this week:
Sesame Street: 50 Years of Sunny Days (Apr 26) — ABC special
Handmaids Tale s4 premiere (Apr 28) — Hulu drama series | 60% RT
Headspace Guide to Sleep (Apr 28) — Netflix docu series
The Mitchells vs. the Machines (Apr 30) — Netflix animated film | 95% RT
22 vs. Earth (Apr 30) — Disney+/Pixar Soul prequel short
Assembled: The Making of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (Apr 30) — Disney+
Without Remorse (Apr 30) — Amazon thriller film w Michael B Jordan | No RT
Pose s3 premiere (May 2) — FX/Hulu drama series | No RT
Before you go… Melissa Villaseñor’s Kristen Wiig impression is next level