Eli Glasner, you magnificent bastard. You called it right.
CODA took home the top prize at the 94th annual Academy Awards. The film, featuring a mostly deaf cast, defeated The Power Of The Dog for Best Picture. Turns out it really did have a shot in hell at winning.
One of the stars of CODA, Troy Kotsur, as expected, took home the gong for Best Supporting Actor. Accepting the honour through sign language and an interpreter, he was both gracious and charming, revealing a love of dirty jokes, something this show could’ve used. He dedicated his historic win, as the first hearing impaired male to win an Oscar, to the deaf community and also paid loving tribute to his father, who he declared the “best signer”. Tragically, after being paralyzed because of a terrible car accident, his dad could no longer communicate to him this way. “This is our moment,” Kotsur proclaimed with genuine delight.
CODA also won Best Adapted Screenplay.
As for The Power Of The Dog, the most nominated film of the evening with twelve nominations, it ultimately only took home one gong. Jane Campion, the DGA winner, was named Best Director. She wisely avoided mentioning Venus & Serena.
The biggest winner of the evening was Dune which managed to snag six technical trinkets, three of which were presented on tape delay. The remake was honoured for its sound, visual effects, cinematography, original score, production design and for its editing.
Jessica Chastain was named Best Actress for her sympathetic portrayal of the gay-friendly but otherwise shady evangelist Tammy Faye Baker. Graciously declaring her love for her fellow nominees, she told those in the LGBTQ community that they’re not alone and they’re unconditionally loved. Unlike the sometimes grating Amy Schumer who only seemed concerned about a certain vulnerable population in a country not named Palestine or Yemen, Chastain went the safe route by supporting “innocent civilians around the world”. The Eyes Of Tammy Faye also won for its make-up and hairstyling, one of eight awards pre-taped and inserted into the live broadcast, a bad idea that should be discontinued. Fuck you, ABC.
Before he won Best Actor for playing the father of two tennis greats in King Richard, Will Smith appeared to have started a potential WrestleMania program with Chris Rock. The SNL alumnus got roasty with Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett, making a very funny albeit deeply controversial reference to a certain Demi Moore film. While Jada was seen rolling her eyes, her husband, at first seen smiling and laughing on-camera, ultimately walked on stage and delivered a fiery right hand to the comedian.
Sadly, those watching in Canada did not hear anything that was said afterward. Thankfully, we have Twitter. Rock noted that Smith “just slapped the shit out of me.” Then Smith can be clearly heard ominously warning him, “Keep my wife’s name out of your fucking mouth,” which inspired some audible oooing from the now uncomfortable audience. What a mistake to not let this air uncensored. Leave it to ABC to foolishly simmer down a genuinely electric moment of live TV. Rock sarcastically declared the incident the greatest moment in the history of Television.
During his overlong and rather arrogant teary-eyed acceptance speech, the former Fresh Prince apologized to the academy but not Rock. Sounding very thin-skinned and phony with all his tough-guy talk about being a protector, it was so obviously about the award and nothing else. Vessel of love, my ass.
Ariana DeBose, who dazzled in a red dress, was named Best Supporting Actress, the only prize for Steven Spielberg’s updated West Side Story. Setting the tone for a number of promos, the openly gay star emphasized acceptance for her community. “There is a place for us,” she declared. In a very nice moment, she singled out “divine inspiration” Rita Moreno seen beaming from the audience. Moreno won the Oscar for the same role in the original 60 years earlier.
The critically acclaimed Japanese film Drive My Car won Best International Feature while the concert doc Summer Of Soul, about a forgotten 1969 festival involving top Black talent, was named Best Documentary. Roots drummer Questlove was very moved to the point of temporary speechlessness with his teary-eyed mom watching in equal appreciation.
While Don’t Look Up, Licorice Pizza and Nightmare Alley all struck out, Kenneth Branagh managed to finally win his first Oscar for writing the original script for Belfast, its only win.
Predictably, Encanto was declared Best Animated Feature but in a bit of an upset lost the Best Original Song trophy to the title track from the recent James Bond film No Time To Die. (Scroll down to the bottom for the complete list of winners.)
As for the show itself, it didn’t need three hosts, especially with so much hit and miss material on display, a frequent problem with this deeply insecure award show. Amy Schumer got in three particularly good zingers during her solo monologue following the trio’s more spotty, instantly forgettable opening set. You can’t go wrong goofing on Leo DiCaprio’s love for young broads. “Don’t Look Up reviews” was a sly reference to the apocalyptic satire’s mixed criticial assessments and mistaking the Gyllenhaals for lovers was a cheeky throwback of sorts to SNL’s old bit about the french kissing Osmond siblings.
Wanda Sykes had a couple of good quips during a tour of the new Academy Motion Picture Museum, although upon reflection it seems a little late to go after Harvey Weinstein now that he can’t retaliate against you. It’s hardly brave now. You can say Chris Rock took a cheap shot at Jada (it’s not her fault she’s lost a lot of hair) but by God, it landed and resulted in explosive TV, if you were watching in Australia and Japan, that is. (I also appreciated that he said, “And the winner is…” and noted the shocking lack of masks compared to last year. COVID cases are rising in Los Angeles.) The more political gags and gestures fell flat for all the obvious reasons. It’s fine to support Ukrainian civilians but how about some love for #BDS? And Muslims continually harmed by American foreign policy?
As for the annoying Regina Hall, if a man did that same COVID bit but with women, there’d be feminist thinkpieces for days and weeks on end about the inappropriateness of such antics on Television. Personally, I just thought it was lame and, like a lot of unneeded moments on the show, ate up way too much precious screen time. Just do the award presentations and cut out all the bullshit.
The Top 5 fan lists were a pointless exercise in desperate pandering to young folks who don’t even watch award shows and honestly they didn’t make a lot of sense. Why in the hell is a mostly unseen Johnny Depp flick getting a showcase?
The In Memoriam segment was a bigger disaster. To have a joyous choir singing away a little too happily about meeting dead people in heaven on camera while you couldn’t always read the job descriptions of the deceased workers from the business because the shot was too far away was disrespectful, especially to those with eyesight issues. When Betty White’s name came up, I was dreading a full sing-through of the Golden Girls theme but thankfully, they kept it to an instrumental.
In a world filled with so much dread, how nice was it to see so much delightful cleavage? Titties are back. May they never go away.
Where was Van Morrison? Stop bringing old stars on stage if they’re not well enough to read a prompter.
And for God sakes, someone tell Kevin Costner to speed the fuck up with that presentation already.
Oh, did Sean Penn destroy his Oscars yet?
The complete list of winners:
BEST PICTURE – CODA
BEST DIRECTOR – Jane Campion (THE POWER OF THE DOG)
BEST ACTOR – Will Smith (KING RICHARD)
BEST ACTRESS – Jessica Chastain (THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – Ariana DeBose (WEST SIDE STORY)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – Troy Kotsur (CODA)
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY – BELFAST
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY – CODA
BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE – DRIVE MY CAR
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE – SUMMER OF SOUL
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE – ENCANTO
BEST ORIGINAL SONG – No Time To Die (NO TIME TO DIE)
BEST SOUND – DUNE
BEST COSTUME DESIGN – CRUELLA
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY – DUNE
BEST FILM EDITING – DUNE
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – DUNE
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN – DUNE
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS – DUNE
BEST MAKE-UP & HAIRSTYLING – THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE
BEST ANIMATED SHORT – THE WINDSHIELD WIPER
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT – THE LONG GOOD-BYE
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT – THE QUEEN OF BASKETBALL
Dennis Earl
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Monday, March 28, 2022
2:17 a.m.
THE WRITINGS OF DENNIS EARL 
2022 Oscar Predictions
BEST PICTURE – THE POWER OF THE DOG
It’s not often the motion picture academy selects ten films for the biggest prize of the night but here we are. This year, it’s the usual mix of arthouse fare and crowd pleasers along with a foreign title and a couple of remakes thrown in, as well.
These races usually come down to just two or three possible winners with everybody else just happy to be included in such company. Despite making nearly half a billion dollars during an ongoing series of global crises, Denis Villeneuve’s new version of Dune doesn’t seem like such a sure thing to me. Ditto Spielberg’s updated West Side Story which has the burden of competing with the 1961 original and its ten Oscars.
Forget about Licorice Pizza, Nightmare Alley, Belfast, CODA and King Richard. Eyebrows would be raised if any of them snag the top gong.
A possible dark horse is Drive My Car which has garnered widespread acclaim and could pull a Parasite-type spoiler win. Thanks to its wide availability on Netflix and high praise from viewers, Don’t Look Up could also swoop in and pull a major upset despite some loud critical grumbling that’s also been drowned out by appreciative climate scientists.
But my money’s on The Power Of The Dog. It’s been a long while since a western, a once ubiquitous genre, won Best Picture. Placed on numerous Top Ten lists last year and having already secured dozens of awards and critics’ prizes, it’s the one to beat.
BEST DIRECTOR – Jane Campion (THE POWER OF THE DOG)
In the long, ugly history of the Academy Awards, only seven women have ever been nominated for directing. It wasn’t until Kathryn Bigelow’s victory for The Hurt Locker in 2010 that the 71-year winless slump finally ended. Eleven years later, Chloe Zhao took the prize for Nomadland.
Acclaimed New Zealand filmmaker Jane Campion has already made history by being the first woman to snag a second nomination. Her first was for The Piano nearly 30 years ago. As Roger Ebert reminded us annually, if you win the Director’s Guild of America prize, nine times out of ten, you go on to win the Oscar. Campion won the DGA for her western adaptation The Power Of The Dog, therefore she’ll be securing the golden naked man come Sunday.
BEST ACTOR – Will Smith (KING RICHARD)
In what is shaping up to be a fairly predictable affair all round, the race for Best Actor also appears to be a foregone conclusion. Denzel Washington has already been handsomely rewarded so he’s out. Previous nominees Javier Bardem, Andrew Garfield and Benedict Cumberbatch are all serious longshots. It would be a genuine shock if any of them pulled off an upset. (Then again, who thought Tony Hopkins would unseat Chadwick Boseman last year?)
Once dismissed as as a fluffy, squeaky clean rapper who parlayed his TV-friendly persona into a cushy six-year sitcom gig, Will Smith would ultimately and seamlessly transition into the more lucrative world of feature films. This year marks the 30th anniversary of his first foray into the cinema, the homeless ensemble drama Where The Day Takes You.
Striking out on his two prior trips to the Oscars – first for Ali, the second for The Pursuit Of Happyness – Smith will finally take home the prize for playing the patriarch of Serena & Venus Williams in King Richard. If only Uncle Phil were alive to see it.
BEST ACTRESS – Jessica Chastain (THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE)
Even before the nominations were first announced, my money was on Kristen Stewart based purely on a TV ad. In Spencer, a film about Princess Diana, she transforms into the Princess of Wales not just through a hairstyle change but also vocally. Stewart looks and sounds uncannily like the blond beauty.
But for whatever reason, she’s not seen as the favourite in this category. Neither is Olivia Colman, a surprise winner a few years ago nominated again for the third time in less than five years, the last two consecutively. Penelope Cruz already has a gong herself, as does Nicole Kidman, making all three of them unlikely spoilers.
That leaves Jessica Chastain. Previously recognized without winning as one of the racist housewives in The Help and for the reprehensible Zero Dark Thirty a decade ago, I would not have figured her portrayal of Tammy Faye to be the one to beat. But she did win the SAG. Only seven of those 27 winners failed to go on to win the Oscar. Stewart, my initial guess, could still pull off a victory but it feels very slim at this point. It’s Chastain all the way.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – Ariana DeBose (WEST SIDE STORY)
Some performers don’t need academy recognition to become big stars or at least assure themselves a long career in the business. But a relatively unknown first-time nominee, no matter their age, getting a major push on Oscar night certainly doesn’t hurt their future prospects.
In the competition for Best Supporting Actress, this applies to three of the four first-timers vying for such a breakthrough. That means 87-year-old Judi Dench can sit this one out. She has her gong.
39-year-old Kirsten Dunst has already been a star for nearly 30 years having had the good fortune of starting her career by landing key child roles in Interview With The Vampire and Little Women. A win for her work in The Power Of The Dog would really be just icing on her ever rising cake. But she doesn’t need it.
53-year-old Aunjanue Ellis, who appears in King Richard, already has an extensive list of credits dating back to the mid-90s. But I don’t see her winning here, either. The odds also look slim for 32-year-old Jessie Buckley who will still benefit for making Oscar’s shortlist.
That leaves the youngest nominee, Ariana DeBose, from Spielberg’s West Side Story. Now 31, for the past decade she’s been busy warbling and hoofing it up on Broadway, most notably in Hamilton, after trying out for So You Think You Can Dance, as noted by the always revealing Wikipedia. Reprising the Rita Moreno role from the 1961 original, this will mark the rare occurrence of two actors winning an Oscar for the same part in different eras.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – Troy Kotsur (CODA)
J.K. Simmons is the only nominee this year to have won this category in a previous ceremony. It’s doubtful he’ll repeat for playing the actor who played Fred Mertz on I Love Lucy. Everybody else is up for their own first golden naked man.
I don’t see Ciaran Hinds taking it. Meanwhile, The Power Of The Dog’s Jesse Plemons and Kodi Smit-McPhee will both cancel each other out. That leaves Troy Kotsur. In recent years, no one film has really dominated the Oscars. Instead, the prizes are generously spread around. Most, if not all, of the nominated Best Pictures get some kind of token trinket. Kotsur’s acclaimed performance in CODA, a production mostly featuring deaf performers, will be its sole reward.
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE – ENCANTO
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE – SUMMER OF SOUL
BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE – DRIVE MY CAR
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY – DON’T LOOK UP
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY – THE POWER OF THE DOG
BEST ORIGINAL SONG – Dos Oruguitas (ENCANTO)
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS – SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME
BEST MAKE-UP & HAIRSTYLING – THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE
BEST COSTUME DESIGN – DUNE
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY – THE POWER OF THE DOG
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – THE POWER OF THE DOG
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT – THE DRESS
BEST ANIMATED SHORT – BESTIA
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT – THE QUEEN OF BASKETBALL
BEST FILM EDITING – KING RICHARD
BEST SOUND – DUNE
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN – DUNE
Dennis Earl
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Saturday, March 26, 2022
2:21 a.m.
CORRECTION: CODA is not an all-deaf production as I erroneously asserted. That line has been rewritten for the sake of accuracy. I regret the error.
Dennis Earl
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Saturday, March 26, 2022
7:06 p.m.
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on March 26, 2022 at 2:22 am Leave a Comment