The most likely answer to the first question is… no. The Academy will have a “crisis team” ready for action Sunday after the episode featuring Will Smith last year.
The answer to the second question seems to be yes.
“Everything everywhere at the same time”about a Chinese immigrant laundromat owner who battles an interdimensional villain who turns out to be her own daughter, couldn’t be further from the usual Oscar winners.
With a charismatic mostly Asian cast that includes the popular Jamie Lee Curtisdominated almost all the awards in hollywood and it has become the happy film of the season.
Jamie Lee Curtis in a scene from “Everything Everywhere at the Same Time.”
“Behind the film there is a group of very nice people for whom it is impossible not to be happy”Scott Feinberg, an awards columnist for the Hollywood Reporter, told AFP.
After winning top accolades from Hollywood’s directors, producers and actors’ unions, the film, which became a $100 million box office hit thanks to true word-of-mouth promotion, is expected to dominate the night. of the oscars.
But unlike what happens in other Oscar categories, the film could be disadvantaged in the best picture contest due to the “preferred” voting system, in which Academy members rank nominees from best to worst. .
The system penalizes films that generate mixed reactions, and Feinberg says “many” voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences “they just don’t understand” the crazy charm of the tape.
Instead, they can benefit “No news at the front”the German film Netflix on First World War who dominated the british awards BAFTAand “Top Gun: Maverick”the highly anticipated sequel to Tom Cruiseabout who Steven Spielberg recently said that he and his film “could have saved the entire movie industry” from the pandemic.
Tom Cruise stars in “Top Gun: Maverick.”
CLOSE TIES
On the other hand, the competition in the acting categories is pretty tight.
“I can’t remember a year, at least since I’ve been doing this, where three of the four acting categories were tied.Feinberg said.
For best actress, cate blanchett is the great favorite for “Tár”but “Everything everywhere at the same time” could prompt michelle yeoh to a historic conquest and make it the first Asian to win in this category.
The award for best actor will be defined between Austin Butler (“Elvis”), brendan fraser (“The whale”) and Colin Farrel (“The spirits of the island”).
The statuette for best supporting actress seems to be among Angela Bassettfirst superhero star of Marvel to be nominated with “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”, Jamie Lee Curtisand Kerry Condomof “The spirits of the island”.
But there is a category that seems to be resolved.
Ke Huy Quanwho was the child star of “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom”won all the best supporting actor awards on his way to Sunday’s gala, which seems to be the preface to a fantastic comeback.
Angela Basset is ‘Queen Ramonda’ in Wakanda Forever.”
“THE SLAP”
Over the lavish ceremony floats the ghost of “the slap”, the impressive moment in which Will Smith attacked Chris Rock onstage last year for a joke about his wife’s hair loss.
“We are going to acknowledge it, and then we are going to move on to something else”said Oscar executive producer, Molly McNearneyto the media this week.
“The Academy has made it very clear that it does not find it funny and that it would prefer that it not be discussed.. But I guess you can’t pretend it didn’t happen.”Feinberg said.
Organizers were criticized for allowing Smith to continue at the event after the assault, and even letting him receive his best actor statuette.
She was then banned from attending the gala for a decade, meaning she will not present the best actress award this year, a tradition.
For the first time, a “crisis team” will be behind the scenes to respond should something unscripted happen.
“We have worked at the Democratic Party Convention and inauguration ceremonies for various presidents. We take care of the entertainment, the Secret Service, the rest ”the producer of the gala, Glenn Weiss, told AFP.
The goal of your team and the host, Jimmy Kimmelis strictly “keep the ceremony entertaining”.
The presenter of the ceremony Jimmy Kimmel.
BOX OFFICE SUCCESS
Whether people will stay in front of the screen is another question.
Thanks in part to “the slap in the face,” ratings improved last year after record declines, but even then they were nowhere near the good numbers of the 1990s, as awards show interest wanes and fatalists insist on predicting the end of movie theaters.
This year, organizers expect nominations for blockbuster films like “Top Gun: Maverick” and Avatar: The path of water” draw viewers back.
