I'd Like to Thank the Academy
I don’t have any fashion sense and find it funny how no matter what a person is wearing on the red carpet, (Feathers! Sparkles! Fully backless! Those EARRINGS that LIPSTICK, a neckline that dips to the belly button! A turtleneck that goes up to the nose!) it is either instantly loved, raved about for days, or completely poo-poo’ed. I don’t have an opinion on what they’re wearing, but I do admit I delight in the glamour. I’m there for the amount of talent in one room. I like to imagine myself there, dream about who I would talk to and what I would say. I’d probably be all tears and red cheeks stating how moved I was by this or that performance, tripping over my words as I often did when I had a celebrity run-in while living in New York. A chance to talk to Wes Anderson? Rub elbows with Kate Winslet? Catch a whiff of Timothee Chalamet!? Swoon.
I’ve watched the Oscars, hell or high water, no matter where I am in the world, every year since I was 15 years old. My dad and I would go to the local theater every Sunday night during that time, a ritual he and I held dear as otherwise we really didn’t see one another much. We lived our own quietly independent lives during the chapter after we lost my mom - he at work and me at school or soccer practice or spending time with friends. We were mostly ships in the night other than our standing date at the movies on Sunday. We’d always sit one seat apart from one another: close enough to reach across and share a bucket of popcorn but a safe distance from one another in case a scene became uncomfortable. We watched the Oscars religiously together each year. We’d pop popcorn and stay up late, making bets on who we thought would win, taking notes on movies we hadn’t seen, laughing along with the host, feeling part of something big. Ever since then it’s been my Super Bowl, my Christmas Eve, dare I say… the best day of the year.
In college, I made it a point to see every one of the best picture nominations each year. This was an expensive hobby at that age, in a time where you actually had to go to (gasp!) the movie theater any time you wanted to watch a new movie. It was so worth it, not only because of the quality of the movies, but because it was such a range of subjects and settings that I would never have come across in my everyday life. It was a rush, to have the list of eight films in hand, finding out where they were playing and when, and if I could squeeze it in to take the city bus out of town to a theater that was playing something, or go to the small independent theater in Madison just down the street from my dorm with a friend who might enjoy this or that type of flick.
When I lived abroad, I found ways to watch on the internet, sometimes a few days late. When I was road tripping in California with my friend Hannah about ten years ago, we couldn’t find anywhere that had a TV but the basement gym of her friends’ condo so we watched the entire ceremony sitting on exercise bikes. Two years ago I was traveling for work on the big night, so I dressed up in my hotel, drank champagne from a plastic cup and watched with equal zeal as I would for any other year. I don’t host or attend Oscar viewing parties - I went to one once and regretted it - too much chatter. I need silence, I need to hear the tear of the envelope as the presenter opens it, I need to hang on every word of every acceptance speech. I need to feel all of my feelings, revel in the grandeur of the night.
For the last many years, Weston and I have participated in an Oscars pool with friends - investing in watching all of the nominees - from Best Picture to Best Sound to Best Animated Short - all categories, all movies. The hardest part for me is the Visual Effects category - it always brings in the type of movie I would not normally see like Planet of the Apes or Alien: Romulus, so it stretches and challenges my comfort zone and I begrudgingly appreciate that. It feels a bit like a game because we have to pay attention to what might be nominated and try to watch some of these before the nominees are officially announced in January so that we have enough time to get each one in before the ceremony in early March. Through the drabness of the winter months, we are dedicated to entertaining ourselves with the best of the best. Of the 49 total films this year, through various avenues, both from our couch and from date night double features, we have so far gotten through 38 of them. We have one week to go. My Oscars spreadsheet comprises multiple data points, carefully detailing other awards won and lost during the last few months’ award season, and the bets are soon to be locked in. It is painful to vote for what we wish wouldn’t win because we have other favorites, but the Academy will speak and the pool will abide. We are happy to be part of this movie nerd pool and to the lead up to this sacred night. One year I ended up in third place and was unreasonably proud of myself. Another year was not so great - ninth place, but the ride itself, as always, as in any great film, was the real reward.
Each year there is a moment that everyone remembers. A slap or a snub, a botched winner announced. Last year there were so many moments, so many meme-able nuggets like the dog from Anatomy of a Fall sitting in a chair like a good boy, even clapping at one point, or Ryan Gosling’s bright pink performance of ‘I’m Just Ken.’ THE memorable moment was the fact that Emma Stone beat Lily Gladstone, who was the first Native American to be nominated for Best Actress. Emma in Poor Things though - what a performance. I love these heightened moments, the tittering in the background, these intricately woven stories. For just a few hours they are the most important stories of my life. Recently they added the spin where during the awarding of Best Actor/Actress/Supporting Actor/Actress they had five winners of that category from the past give speeches directly to the current nominees about their performances. This felt very personal and supportive. The women did a better job at this than the men. I may have shed a tear.
I eagerly anticipate the outcomes this year as much as all other years. There has been a lot of cancelling, a lot of talk of AI interference, a lot of horrible tweets dug up, so my spreadsheet has needed constant updates, asterisks, and loving attention. While The Brutalist and Emilia Perez and Wicked will likely steal most of the categories at the Dolby Theater this year, I will share my favorites in no particular order below, in case anyone wants to catch the buzz.
A Real Pain for it’s brevity to depth ratio
Sing Sing for giving me the feeling of softness and hope
I’m Still Here for a glimpse of a beautiful family’s life and a mother’s impenetrable will
A Complete Unknown for a stunning performance by multiple young actors
Flow for a silent adventure full of big sound and big emotion
The pool abides!