The 93rd Annual Academy Awards (My Thoughts)
 

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The simplicity and intimacy that came to this ceremony because of covid restrictions was actually beautifully juxtaposed with some big surprises that i didn't see coming. I loved the intimate banquet type setting, as someone said, reminded them of the very first ceremony back in 1928. I have to admit that it did cross my mind as to whether or not it was a coincidence that almost all of the winners were actually present at the ceremony and that the nominees who didn't win were there virtually. The absence of an orchestra kept acceptance speeches from being cut short was both a blessing and a curse. I wondered why Joaquin Phoenix and Renee Zellweger presented in their own categories rather than the opposite category as has been the tradition forever. The recurring theme of mentioning how the nominees got started in the business got tedious very quickly and I LOVED the "In Memorium" segment...the music perfectly complimented the shots unlike I've ever seen before. As for the specifics:

BEST UPSET- Anthony Hopkins winning Best Actor for The Father...I was very pleased to see that the academy didn't jump on the Boseman bandwagon like the rest of the award season. Boseman was excellent, but Hopkins was better, not to mention the fact that a second Oscar for Hopkins is long overdue.

WORST UPSET- No contest here...my jaw literally fell to the floor when Glenn Close was AGAIN denied a statue. Yes, I know Hillbilly Elegy was not her best performance, but was Scent of a Woman Al Pacino's best performance or was BUtterfield 8 Elizabeth Taylor's best performance? In my mind, Close should have three Oscars already...II think she should have won for Fatal Attraction, Dangerous Liaisons, and The Wife and how they could not give her the "Lifetime Achievement/Body of Work" award that she so richly deserves is just baffling to me. On the other side of this aggravating coin, at least they didn't twist the knife in Close's back by giving it to Olivia Coleman again and, honestly, if someone other than Close had to win, they gave it to the right nominee.Yuh-Jung Younwas was absolutely amazing in Minari.

BEST ACCEPTANCE SPEECHES: Florian Zeller, Chloe Zhao's Best Director speech, Yuh-Jung Youn (she was hysterical), Tyler Perry (not a fan, but how could you not love that speech?)


MOST SURPRISING SHUT OUT- Not a single statue for The Trial of the Chicago 7...a brilliant piece of filmmaking which, for my money, was 2021's Best Picture, but I knew Nomadland, had that award, but to deny it completely, not even Sorkin's screenplay, though it did lose the screenplay award to the right film.


BEST PRESENTER HIGHLIGHT- Loved when Harrison Ford read the production notes from Blade Runner...you just know everyone was racking their brains trying to figure out which movie he was talking about, at least until he mentioned the name Zora, which probably gave it away for fans of the film.

BEST DRESSED- Amanda seyfried, Angela Bassett, Zendaya, Reese Witherspoon, Regina King, Don Cheadle, Viola Davbis, Renee Zellweger

WORST DRESSED- Leslie Odom, Jr, Laura Dern, Chloe Zhao, Emerald Fannell, Frances McDormand

Re: The 93rd Annual Academy Awards (My Thoughts)
 

Given the way things have been for the past year, I couldn't bring myself to watch it, although I do want to see Nomadland. Maybe this will be better next year.

The thing about Pacino for Scent of a Woman is everyone forgets he was a double nom that year.


As for Glenn Close she was the weakest of the five in the worst film of the group.

Everyone doesn't forget. Are you saying he won for one of his weaker, lazier performances in Scent of a Woman because he was also nominated for Glengarry Glen Ross the same year? If being double nominated is an advantage, why didn't he win for the better work? Being double nominated has happened nine times since the 1980s. In addition to Pacino, Jessica Lange, Holly Hunter, and Jamie Foxx won one of the two while Scarlett Johansson, Cate Blanchett, Julianne Moore, Emma Thompson, and Sigourney Weaver lost in both categories.

Re: The 93rd Annual Academy Awards (My Thoughts)
 

Mixed bag last night. Obviously circumstances forced them to rethink things, and I think they can take some lessons from it. I think the general idea of going back to a relatively normal room, a lot more intimate than the can-fit-a-skyscraper-inside auditorium they normally use, which is how the Oscars were a long time ago, is actually a decent one. I think the cocktail party vibe can work better than the giant spectacle stuff they've been doing for awhile now, too.

I don't think the specifics of it worked as well, but I hope they try more of this in the future. I think it has a lot more potential, can be a lot more fun, and might feel a lot more like a peek-behind-the-curtains. It also helps undercut the (mostly fair) accusations of self-seriousness so obviously given credence by the usual pomp and circumstance.

Because Gene Hackman was better in Unforgiven than everyone, in every category.


As for Scent of a Woman winning...well they weren't going to give Denzel a 2nd Oscar in 5 years or Clint a 3rd Oscar for the night. And RDJ was a druggie and Chaplin didn't perform that well.

Re: The 93rd Annual Academy Awards (My Thoughts)
 

Regarding Denzel, Spencer Tracy should've indicated that the Academy was not averse to giving actors multiple awards within quick succession (especially since they then gave it to Tom Hanks the next two years). Really no other reason to give it to Dunk than legacy win (well, maybe they really did want him to win for Glengarry but still felt like they had to acknowledge Hackman so it's a good compromise, like when Alicia Vikander won for The Danish Girl even when the only role of hers anyone really cared about that year was Ex Machina).

Re: The 93rd Annual Academy Awards (My Thoughts)
 

Watched by less than 10 million people. Ouch.

So are some of the nominees this year, probably... I can see that it's hard for people to get excited about awards for cinema in a year there has barely been any cinema. I know some of them are on streaming but it's not quite the same.

The ceremony is in the middle of the night where I am and I haven't stayed up to watch it for years. In fact, ten years ago I did stay up on Oscar night but wasn't giving it much attention as I was too busy giving birth. Did not call my son Oscar, possibly missed a trick there. :D

That there were even that many points to the level of our societal decay...:D

i don't think Pacino's win for Scent of a Woman had anything to do with him being a double nominee either...my point was that he won for a performance that was far from his best.

Re: The 93rd Annual Academy Awards (My Thoughts)
 

This was the first Oscar ceremony I did not watch in over 20 years.

I was busy with more important matters. Also, I wasn't too excited about the nominees in general.

I am shocked that Trial of the Chicago 7 was denied any awards. Sound of Metal, which is probably my favorite movie of 2020, should have won more than what it did, which were a few technical awards. Riz Ahmed was amazing. Though I have not seen The Father and can't judge whether Hopkins was better. I know for sure that Chadwick Boseman, who is an excellent performer and whose death I consider to be a big loss in the acting community, did not really deserve to win for Ma Rainey, a film I found to be too tedious.

I disagree with the Pacino reference here. He was absolutely amazing in Scent of a Woman and he so deserved to win for that performance. He should have also won it for Serpico in my opinion.

You're certainly entitled to your opinion, but I think he should have won for the first Godfather, Serpico, or even Glengarry Glen Ross