And the winner of biggest controversy going into the Oscars is…
For all the accolades, best picture favorite “Nomadland” has delivered one of the few Oscars controversies this Award season — all over its depiction of Amazon.
The Chloé Zhao-directed drama chronicles the struggles of Fern (Frances McDormand), an aging widow who lives out of a van and drives across the American heartland in search of seasonal work. As a member of Amazon’s “camperforce,” Fern often gets “good money” from the temporary work packaging orders at one of the tech giant’s Texas warehouses, where she is seen trading breezy banter with her coworkers.
The retail giant granted permission to the crew to film those scenes on location, leaving “Nomadland” open to suspicions that Zhao would have to put the daily grind inside the warehouse in soft focus.
That depiction also doesn’t quite match up with the dangerous conditions described in the pages of the 2017 nonfiction book by Jessica Bruder of the same name which inspired the film. Amazon continues to be at the center of controversy off screen over the company’s efforts to crush unionization attempts by its workers and alleged unsafe working conditions in its fulfillment centers.
“One could easily come away from the movie having a benign view of the toll Amazon takes on its workers, including the temporary ones,” ProPublica reporter Alec MacGillis wrote in the Los Angeles Times.
Daniel Kaluuya lands supporting actor award for ‘Judas’
Daniel Kaluuya just won the best supporting actor trophy for his galvanizing portrayal of Black Panthers leader Fred Hampton in Shaka King’s “Judas and the Black Messiah.”
Kaluuya was previously nominated for his breakout role in Jordan Peele’s horror-comedy “Get Out.”
In his acceptance speech, Kaluuya said he shared his honor with co-star and fellow nominee LaKeith Stanfield, who portrayed FBI informant William O’Neal.
He also paid tribute to Hampton, who was killed during a police raid in 1969: “What a man. What a man. How blessed we are we lived in a lifetime where he existed.”
‘Another Round,’ a paean to being drunk, wins international feature Oscar
“Another Round,” the charming but bittersweet tale of a group of buddies who start experimenting with low-level drunkenness every day of their lives, won the Oscar for best international feature film.
The dramedy, directed by Thomas Vinterberg and Mads Mikkelsen, was Denmark’s submission in the category.
In his acceptance speech, Vinterberg paid tribute to his late daughter, Ida, who died in a car accident in 2019. Vinterberg appeared to fight back tears as he said he made this movie for her, “as her monument.”
“You’re part of this miracle,” Vinterberg said, later adding: “This one is for you.”
Can the Oscars always be like this?
For years we’ve been subjected to lackluster Oscars host after host (sorry, Ellen and everybody else), and in the wake of 2020 and continuation of its wrath into 2021, the Academy Awards seemed to have finally tweaked its norms and abandoned having a host altogether.
Which, for the record, is the best and right choice.
This year, the broadcast began with Regina King walking in from the pre-show setting to the stage where she did not waste time reminding us that politics and art are not separate entities, but two very important forces that intersect, thank you kindly.
So yes, Regina King is the greatest and all of us should live to make her proud.
And secondly, it’s about time: It’s about time somebody who had something interesting and truthful to say kicked off the Academy Awards. And it’s about time we cut the nonsense of monologues and weird pseudo-roasting and returned to when the Oscars were basically just a fancy lunch.
Because guess what: They’re still interesting! They’re more interesting! The show moves better! Nobody needs to politely clap at bad jokes! Everybody just gets to give their speeches and move on, making room for who’s up next.
For the first time, the Oscars feel like a decent way to spend the evening. And I am living for the steps and tables, and will scream until my throat is sore if we ever return to the way things were.
‘The Father’ wins best adapted screenplay
Christopher Hampton and Florian Zeller won best adapted screenplay for their film “The Father” about a man who refuses all assistance from his daughter as he ages.
At a maskless Oscars, a few actors keep theirs on
As Regina King proudly declared that the Oscars would be a maskless event, a few nominees kept their masks on.
Both Zendaya and Frances McDormand could be seen donning masks.
The nominees are spaced and socially distanced. King said everyone was tested and many are vaccinated. Clearly some attendees aren’t as comfortable as others yet, as they, too, adjust to a new normal indoors.
Best original screenplay goes to Emerald Fennell
Emerald Fennell, the writer of the audacious #MeToo-era revenge thriller “Promising Young Woman,” nabbed the first award of the night: best original screenplay.
You might recognize Fennell from “The Crown.” She plays Camilla Parker Bowles.
The show is off to a strong start!
In the opening minutes of the ceremony, Regina King strode confidently through Union Station in Los Angeles, accompanied by a swanky soundtrack and stylish opening credits. She took the stage and faced the crowd of nominees, who are seated in tiered booths and at cocktail-style tables.
King nodded to the Derek Chauvin verdict, saying in her opening remarks: “I have to be honest, if things had gone differently this past week in Minneapolis, I might have traded my heels for marching boots.”
I’m cautiously optimistic the show will be fun. Here’s why.
It’s been a rough few years for Oscars aficionados. The ratings for the telecast have slumped. The nominees are often overshadowed by streaming TV shows, video games, TikTok clips. The conventional wisdom is that Hollywood’s marquee awards show is edging toward irrelevancy.
But this year, I’m cautiously optimistic that the ceremony could make for some fun viewing — or, at the very least, give folks at home a welcome distraction from the Sunday scaries.
The main reason is that the producers of the show, including the innovative director Steven Soderbergh, have been given greater latitude to experiment with the format. The producers have promised a more intimate event that conjures the “joy of cinema” for pandemic-weary viewers at home.
If tonight’s show channels the effortless cool of Soderbergh’s “Ocean’s Eleven” trilogy, we’re in for an interesting night. But if not — well, there’s always next year.
Best original song nominees get the pre-show treatment and it totally rules
Typically, the best original song nominees are presented over the course of the Oscars broadcast. However, in order to give each performance equal time, songs were featured as part of the pre-show broadcast, with four of the five nominees having been pre-recorded on the Dolby Family Terrace of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.
The fifth? Performed in Iceland, which makes sense considering it was “Húsavík” from “Eurovision: The Story of Fire Saga.”
The thing is, it totally works. Not only is each song and performer free of having to perform under serious time constraints, there’s finally a way for us to find a mainline to the feelings behind each.
Plus, instead of waiting for a live show to inevitably go a little bit wrong, we’ve been given a front row to talent without their raw nerves, which means we’re allowed to just … listen. And, of course, Google where to buy the sweaters worn by the children’s choir in Iceland. (After the Oscars are over, I swear.)
Chloe Zhao’s red carpet look (hopefully) embodies the future of formal
I know the red carpet is a welcome beacon after a year-plus of the absolute opposite, but Chloe Zhao’s Oscars choice has reaffirmed that one day, in a post-lockdown world, the definition of what formal means may finally change.
Clad in Hermes and a perfect white sneaker, the “Nomadland” director made getting dressed up look cool, comfortable and a means to self-express — while avoiding blisters. Made even more perfect by her French braids and minimal makeup, may her look inspired us all to wear what we’d like, especially since it’s impossible not to look incredible doing it.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
