By Alex Smith, Jr.
Sunday night was the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ (AMPAS) 98th Oscar Awards at the Dolby Theatre, in Los Angeles, CA. I have watched the Oscars for decades now. I have found some Oscar programs better than others. I can’t remember any of them being spectacular except maybe the year The Godfather I won best picture-1973.
Other than that, I only have standout moments from various ceremonies such: Sidney Poiter winning best actor (I think I remember that even though I was very young); Issac Hayes musical number of his hit Shaft at the awards (He won); Marlon Brando’s non-acceptance speech by his native American surrogate; A naked man streaking the awards; and more recently the Will Smith slap. These are all iconic Oscar moments.
Last night’s ceremony had none of those type moments, except just maybe Barabara Streisand’s touching tribute to Robert Redford and the show stopping musical number for Sinners with a surprise appearance by Misty Copland. That was special. Other than that, the show was unremarkable overall. But there were a few other high moments.
Michael B. Jordan winning the top actor award was no doubt the high point of the evening. The audience was ecstatic. His Mama was beaming! I believe all the good money was on Leonardo DiCaprio, who was great in One Battle After Another. He has never been better in a role. In fact, the film was chock full of great acting. It would go on to win the Best Picture award.
Jordan looked great in his black Armani Nehru style suit. He rose to the moment. It would have been even better if he had come with some prepared notes. It surprises me that so many do not prepare beforehand. But I won’t pick. Jordan now joins Sidney Poiter, Denzel Washington, Jamie Foxx, Forest Whitaker and Will Smith as one of only six Black men to win in the Best Actor category in the 98 years of the Oscars. Halle Berry is the one Black female actor to win in that category.
Sinners did not win the top prize, which was a disappointment, but in another way it was not. I believe Sinners to be in class by itself therefore it may not be palatable for wider audiences although its impact is unforgettable. Ryan Coogler did prevail and won the Best Original Screen Play award. It would have been a farce if he had not won. Again, he did not have prepared notes either.
Sinners is uniquely written and plows deep into Black culture and the dangerously taunt relationship between Black and white America. How Coogler dared to reach that far down and bring out Sinners with all its multi lays and often frightening and profound symbolic imagery, made me shudder. But that is another story.
I believe the surprise no one saw coming was Autumn Durald Arkapaw winning for Sinners in the best Cinematography category. The film was a tour de force as far as cinematography. WOW! Train Dreams with cinematography by Adolpho Veloso and Frankenstein with cinematography by Dan Laustsen were the only other contenders that I could see winning in that category. All three films were visually stunning.
Sinners was nominated for 16 awards. The most ever in Oscar history. It won 4. (Sinners also won Best Score- Ludwig Goransson). I think the days when a film will win 11 Oscars is over. The last time a film won 11 was The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). Things have changed structurally in Hollywood and with the Oscars, winning so many awards would be quite a feat now.
Add to this is my pet peeve. The Oscars should have never expanded the Best Picture category to 10. It allows for too much mediocrity to slip in. I saw all but 2 of the nominated films, ( I did not see Secret Agent or Sentimental Value), but of 8 I did see, I only thought 5 were Oscar worthy and some of those barely. The Oscars need to go back to 5 nominations, 10 is too many.
But we continue to be in that era of participation awards and giving so many honorary Oscars. I think it has gone too far. It dilutes the honor of winning. The concept of awards is a whole other subject. Let’s not do that now.
Conan O’Brian proved to be lack luster IMO. Jimmy Kimmel is much better as other past host. But then again, I am not a great fan of the opening monologue or of much of the comedy that is written into the show. The comedic banter that continues to go on between the presenters is usually cringe worthy and takes up too much time. Could we have presenters just come out say a word or 2, no more than 15 or 20 seconds then get to the awards?
Sometime doing too much is a good thing, the set for this year’s awards was a little too understated for my taste. For the Oscars, doing too much is allowed. As far as fashion goes only 2 things caught my eye Bryan Coogler’s braids, they were tight in more ways than one AND Lionel Richie. Richie looked fresh out of the box, so much so they gave him a sustained standing ovation. It was the best I have ever seen him look. The overall color palate of the fashions seemed to be firmly rooted in blacks, creams, and beige. It was underwhelming from my perspective.
The In Memorium presentation I sometimes have a lot of issues with this segment of the show but this year it was well done. Streisand’ tribute to Redford was everything! The tribute to Rob Reiner by Billy Crystal was poignant. I had forgotten Reiner had made so many significant films. I also appreciated the segment used several 2 shots so they could fit more people in. That was clever. Robert Redford, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton were all highlighted.
Hollywood, like everything else on the planet is in major flux, the old ways are fading away fast. The stuff that held the grand illusion of Hollywood together is long gone. All that ole star dust It’s probably packed away somewhere in a crate in Jack Nicholson’s attic.
I just had to dump several plaques and awards of someone who had passed. As I looked into the gapping mouth of that dumpster, I was reminded that awards are great for the ego, but all things pass. New gold statues now rest on high shelves and mantles. And the beat goes on.
Alex Smith, Jr. is a graphic designer, visual artist, published author, a producer and a O&A NYC Contributing Editor. He presently serves as the Executive Director of the Thelma Hill Performing Arts Center (THPAC), one of the longest existing dance presenting organizations in the nation. Smith is a long time resident of Brooklyn, NY.
