Well, hello everybody! I am writing on this blog again which can only mean one thing: it’s Academy Award time! This year, though, I will not leave you all hanging and I have made it a part of my New Year’s Resolution to write in this blog all year long. I will write about films that come out throughout the year, different movie watching tips, and maybe celebrity gossip…who knows? The blogging world is my oyster.
This award season is an odd one that has sent many academy voters scrambling. Usually the ceremony is at the end of February (a little gift to me since my birthday is February 26!), but this year it will be on February 9th. The nominees will be announced on the 13th of January, which gives voters a short amount of time to watch all of the films. With only 27 days in between the announcement and the ceremony, I know I will not be able to watch all of the films. So what does this mean? It means all of the categories that usually have a low amount of viewers will be seen even less. If a member of the academy only has two hours left, and has to watch either the South Korean foreign film Parasite or the blockbuster hit Joker, which one do you think she will watch? The members will not have time to research the movies to find out that Parasite actually won the Palme d’Or, the highest award at the Cannes Film Festival or that the critics are comparing this film to last years foreign hit Roma. I haven't seen Parasite yet, but I can guarantee it will not get all of the awards it will deserve.
Another big shocker this year is that there will be no host. I cannot say I am not surprised. There have been many controversial stories surrounding the hosts, like the 88th ceremony dubbed OscarsSoWhite which caused Chris Rock to host a very uncomfortable show, or last year’s controversy where old tweets and old standup jokes caused people to claim Kevin Hart was homophobic. This year, the only trending topic from the Golden Globes was Ricky Gervais’ controversial opening monologue in which he made jokes about Epstein’s suicide and pedophiles in Hollywood. He actually ended his speech by saying, “If you do win an award tonight, don't use it as a platform to make a political speech. You're in no position to lecture the public about anything. You know nothing about the real world. Most of you spent less time in school than Greta Thunberg. So if you win, come up, accept your little award, thank your agent, and your God and fuck off, OK?” (If you haven’t watched his opening monologue, watch it! It is hilarious.) In order to make the show less political and less controversial, having no host is a no brainer. Last year’s show may not have been the most memorable, but at least it wasn’t cringeworthy. I think in this uncomfortable political climate that is the most you can ask for. Or you can just be like Rick Gervais and say fuck it, lets make every single person in this room uncomfortable.
There are a lot of really good films with amazing filmmakers this year, with no obvious frontrunner. A lot of familiar faces will most likely make appearances like Scorsese and De Niro and some unfamiliar faces like Taika Waititi and Lulu Wang. There could be some important moments where people of ethnicity are recognized in categories that have been awarded primarily to white people. Films that are sure to pop up in the nominations are Little Women, Parasite, Jojo Rabbit, Joker, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, The Irishman, The Farewell and 1917.
I am excited and I hope you are too. Lets raise a glass to a good award season!
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