Awards seek to top Will Smith’s slap of Chris Rock last year by betting on success of ‘Everything, Everywhere, At The Same Time’
Los Angeles (Special Envoy) – The 95th ceremony of oscar which takes place on the night of this Sunday, the 12th, from 21h (Brasilia time), promises to be the beginning of several changes in the main world film festival: from the consecration of a film whose language has conquered the coveted fans of the Hollywood Academy, i.e. young people (All everywhere at the same time competes for 11 categories), to forming a crisis committee to avoid (or alleviate) embarrassing situations, like Will Smith’s slap in the face of Chris Rock last year.
But the most visible change disrupts a tradition: the red carpet, which has welcomed the arrival of movie stars for six decades, has been replaced by a champagne hue. “I think this decision shows how confident we are that no blood will be shed,” the comedian joked. Jimmy Kimmel, who will once again lead the ceremony. The color change was suggested by creative consultants Lisa Love, contributor to Vogue magazine, and Raúl Àvila, creative director of the Met Gala in New York.
night
According to them, the change will help turn the arrival of the stars into a nocturnal event. For Love, there’s always been a disconnect between the elegant dress code of bow ties and ball gowns and the fact that it’s mid-afternoon in Los Angeles, which is around 3pm local time, when people arrive for be photographed in daylight. “We turned a daytime event into a nighttime event,” Love said. “And it’s more elegant, it’s champagne after all,” added Bill Kramer, CEO of the Hollywood Academy.
The attempt, albeit risky, is yet another measure to regain the audience of the broadcast which, apart from a slight increase last year (5.36 million viewers), has been systematically declining – the negative record remains that of 9, 85 million tuned in in 2021. For many, the Oscars stopped being a must-see Sunday night show and became dangerously real when HBO decided not to change the airing day of the latest episode of its hit series, The Last of Us.
The final episode will air an hour earlier than usual, at 10 pm (Brasilia time), and if the Oscars have advertising money up for grabs (the ceremony costs $56.8 million), the cable channel will not he cares about it. But HBO moved the episode forward to air on Feb. 12 in order not to compete with the Super Bowl. Right decision: that day, the football final had the third largest attendance in history.
Slap
As if external problems weren’t enough, the Hollywood Academy has to worry about internal ones as well. Like the backlash caused by the delay in taking the stand after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at last year’s awards. For this reason, a crisis committee was created with the function of trying to avoid events like this or, at least, to take a more urgent measure – if possible even during the ceremony.
The Academy, however, lives under an eternal razor’s edge. If she celebrates a large number (four) of Asians in the main categories this year, she still doesn’t know what to do with the effect of Andrea Riseborough’s unexpected nomination for best actress. Interpreter of the little seen to Leslieit got its name from many A-list stars (such as Kate Winslet) who flocked around its performance.
When two other Best Actress nominees – Danielle Deadwyler (Until) and Viola Davis (The King Woman) – were snubbed, some seeing it as a reflection of racial prejudice in the film industry. The Academy launched an investigation into Riseborough’s star-studded grassroots campaign, but found no reason to override his appointment.
Source: Terra
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
