by Josh Sewell
Now that the 98th Academy Awards ceremony is in the books, it’s safe to say historical precedent still tends to beat vibes when it comes to predicting winners. In the way-too-long run up to this year’s telecast (seriously, let’s get this thing back to February where it belongs), there was an excessive amount of time to overthink and theorize that Sinners or The Secret Agent were going to come out of nowhere to sweep and shock everyone – despite all evidence to the contrary.
Instead, Oscar nerds like me analyzed past winners, took a couple of guesses (do most of us really know anything about the shorts categories?) and did pretty well. I got 20 out of 24 categories right, which shakes out to a respectable 83 percent.
For the most part, voters chose some excellent winners this year. Plus, as a bonus, the horror genre got a lot more respect than it typically does on Oscar night. That gives me a shred of hope that someday the Academy might remember comedies exist.
With those initial thoughts out of the way, here are a handful of moments from this year’s ceremony that stood out most, for good or for ill:
The Good
Conan O’Brien is still an excellent emcee
Hosting the Oscars is always a thankless task, but O’Brien (returning for a second year) is friendly enough with celebs that the audience didn’t mind him throwing a few good-natured jabs. He’s also a delightful weirdo, which keeps things from getting too stale for the folks watching at home. Most of his bits were great, especially the opening sequence where he played Aunt Gladys from Weapons and his Netflix-style Casablanca remake with Sterling K. Brown. He also handled the unending stream of technical issues with professionalism.
The best films won the most awards
One Battle After Another (with six wins) and Sinners (with four wins) shared most of the night’s biggest prizes, which is fitting since they’re actually the year’s best films. That doesn’t always happen. We also witnessed history when Autumn Durald Arkapaw took home Best Cinematography for Sinners, becoming the first woman to ever win the category. The terrific KPop Demon Hunters won for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song, bringing some welcome South Korean representation to those categories.
Speeches (Part 1)
For the most part, winners used their brief time at the mic to make actual heartfelt remarks instead of thanking a laundry list of agents, publicists, managers, accountants, etc. The aforementioned Arkapaw recognized the importance of the moment while still coming off breezy. Amy Madigan, who won Best Supporting Actress, held court like – appropriately enough – a weird, funny aunt at Thanksgiving. Jessie Buckley, the night’s most unsurprising winner, accepted her Best Actress trophy while gushing about her family. But perhaps the most endearing moment was watching Michael B. Jordan process his well-deserved Best Actor win in real time while trying to find the right words to express his gratitude.
Leonardo DiCaprio is the King of Hollywood
Best Actor nominee DiCaprio (for eventual Best Picture winner One Battle After Another) was in much happier spirits than usual. His enthusiastic response to Jordan winning their category was genuinely moving. He was also a willing participant in the onstage shenanigans all night, assuming the role of “go-to guy for reaction shots” that once belonged to Jack Nicholson. Even better, he was rocking a sweet mustache, most likely for the Scorsese film he’s currently shooting with Jennifer Lawrence. It looked great on him, so I’m guessing there’s a desperate studio exec somewhere pitching a big screen Magnum, P.I. remake this week.
In Memoriam
Aside from Barbra Streisand rambling a bit during her Robert Redford tribute, this year’s look at Hollywood legends we lost was incredibly respectful and moving. Billy Crystal gave a poignant speech about Rob Reiner’s astonishing run in the ’80s and ’90s, before taking his place alongside many of the actors who starred in those films. I was already blinking back tears, but Rachel McAdams made them fall with her beautiful words about Catherine O’Hara and Diane Keaton.
The Ill
Sean Penn? Really?
I wasn’t a big fan of Best Supporting Actor going to Penn (who now has three Oscars) when anyone else in the category would’ve been a better pick, especially Delroy Lindo. However, it’s not a big shock considering Academy voters have long believed “best” equals “most.” He had the showiest part, so there you go.
Crippling tech issues
I don’t know what was going on behind the scenes, but there were problems with presenters’ mics and camera operators missing shots all night. It felt like amateur hour, especially during O’Brien’s opening monologue. Viewers couldn’t hear any laughter in the audience, so it seemed like his jokes were bombing.
Obnoxious scripted banter
Speaking of bombs, can we please stop making presenters tell lame, halfhearted jokes before announcing the winner of a category? The only time it worked was when the Bridesmaids cast was on stage, mostly because they’re improv geniuses. The rest of the night we got cringeworthy moments like Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans sleepwalking through a never-ending bit.
Speeches (Part 2) – let people talk!
All that time wasted on lame banter would’ve been better spent on letting every winner give a brief speech – not just the people in “sexy” categories. So many folks were cut off by the orchestra and a disappearing microphone. It’s the greatest night of these people’s lives and they can’t have an extra 20 seconds to express their gratitude? Ridiculous.
Instead, Oscar nerds like me analyzed past winners, took a couple of guesses (do most of us really know anything about the shorts categories?) and did pretty well. I got 20 out of 24 categories right, which shakes out to a respectable 83 percent.
For the most part, voters chose some excellent winners this year. Plus, as a bonus, the horror genre got a lot more respect than it typically does on Oscar night. That gives me a shred of hope that someday the Academy might remember comedies exist.
With those initial thoughts out of the way, here are a handful of moments from this year’s ceremony that stood out most, for good or for ill:
The Good
Conan O’Brien is still an excellent emcee
Hosting the Oscars is always a thankless task, but O’Brien (returning for a second year) is friendly enough with celebs that the audience didn’t mind him throwing a few good-natured jabs. He’s also a delightful weirdo, which keeps things from getting too stale for the folks watching at home. Most of his bits were great, especially the opening sequence where he played Aunt Gladys from Weapons and his Netflix-style Casablanca remake with Sterling K. Brown. He also handled the unending stream of technical issues with professionalism.
The best films won the most awards
Speeches (Part 1)
For the most part, winners used their brief time at the mic to make actual heartfelt remarks instead of thanking a laundry list of agents, publicists, managers, accountants, etc. The aforementioned Arkapaw recognized the importance of the moment while still coming off breezy. Amy Madigan, who won Best Supporting Actress, held court like – appropriately enough – a weird, funny aunt at Thanksgiving. Jessie Buckley, the night’s most unsurprising winner, accepted her Best Actress trophy while gushing about her family. But perhaps the most endearing moment was watching Michael B. Jordan process his well-deserved Best Actor win in real time while trying to find the right words to express his gratitude.
Leonardo DiCaprio is the King of Hollywood
Best Actor nominee DiCaprio (for eventual Best Picture winner One Battle After Another) was in much happier spirits than usual. His enthusiastic response to Jordan winning their category was genuinely moving. He was also a willing participant in the onstage shenanigans all night, assuming the role of “go-to guy for reaction shots” that once belonged to Jack Nicholson. Even better, he was rocking a sweet mustache, most likely for the Scorsese film he’s currently shooting with Jennifer Lawrence. It looked great on him, so I’m guessing there’s a desperate studio exec somewhere pitching a big screen Magnum, P.I. remake this week.
In Memoriam
Aside from Barbra Streisand rambling a bit during her Robert Redford tribute, this year’s look at Hollywood legends we lost was incredibly respectful and moving. Billy Crystal gave a poignant speech about Rob Reiner’s astonishing run in the ’80s and ’90s, before taking his place alongside many of the actors who starred in those films. I was already blinking back tears, but Rachel McAdams made them fall with her beautiful words about Catherine O’Hara and Diane Keaton.
The Ill
Sean Penn? Really?
I wasn’t a big fan of Best Supporting Actor going to Penn (who now has three Oscars) when anyone else in the category would’ve been a better pick, especially Delroy Lindo. However, it’s not a big shock considering Academy voters have long believed “best” equals “most.” He had the showiest part, so there you go.
Crippling tech issues
I don’t know what was going on behind the scenes, but there were problems with presenters’ mics and camera operators missing shots all night. It felt like amateur hour, especially during O’Brien’s opening monologue. Viewers couldn’t hear any laughter in the audience, so it seemed like his jokes were bombing.
Obnoxious scripted banter
Speaking of bombs, can we please stop making presenters tell lame, halfhearted jokes before announcing the winner of a category? The only time it worked was when the Bridesmaids cast was on stage, mostly because they’re improv geniuses. The rest of the night we got cringeworthy moments like Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans sleepwalking through a never-ending bit.
Speeches (Part 2) – let people talk!
All that time wasted on lame banter would’ve been better spent on letting every winner give a brief speech – not just the people in “sexy” categories. So many folks were cut off by the orchestra and a disappearing microphone. It’s the greatest night of these people’s lives and they can’t have an extra 20 seconds to express their gratitude? Ridiculous.
Reach out to Josh Sewell at joshsewell81@gmail.com or on BlueSky @joshsewell.bsky.social
Comments
Post a Comment