The goldman in the long shadow “the slap”

The 2023 Oscar weekend begins in a similar way to how it ended last year: the slap that Will Smith presenter Chris Rock missed in 2022 has a particularly loud reverberation that occasionally drowns out the films in the race this year.

The media outrage at the Hollywood star’s overreaction to a dispensable joke about his wife’s hair loss due to illness is raging endlessly ahead of the 95th Oscars gala tomorrow. As a calming pill that could at least work in PR matters, the awarding Oscar Academy announced that one for “all cases” installed a crisis team. You didn’t need one for the nominated films, the 10,000 voting members were spoiled for choice in the best sense of the word. An overview:

The chances for the Austrians: When people in Austria could still feel the relief that the film, which had been overshadowed by the scandal surrounding Florian Teichtmeister “corset” was not nominated for the foreign Oscar, which prevented media simmering forever, she delivered the big surprise: editor Monica Willie (54) was awarded in January for her work on the film “Tar” nominated.

However, a victory for the Tyrolean would be no less amazing, as the most promising candidate has long been the Briton Eddie Hamilton (“Top Gun: Maverick”) and the American Paul Rogers for the favorite film “Everything Everywhere All At Once”.

The second surprise with Austrian participation was the unbelievable ten Oscar chances that the Netflix production “nothing new in the West” fetched. Your leading actor is with Felix Kammerer a Viennese Burgtheater actor who was not nominated himself, but at the age of 27 receives more attention from Hollywood than other actors from Europe have not had in their entire lives. Whether it lasts depends on how many nominations (including best picture) transform the adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque’s novel. It could be difficult.

The streaming thing: Netflix was with “Roma” (2018) the first and most ambitious streaming provider that wanted to conquer the Oscars. For the past five years, however, the Academy has resembled a bouncer who denies Netflix access to the film industry’s most exclusive club – that of the winners in the king’s category “best movie”. As 2022 the deaf tragicomedy “coda” from apple tv succeeded here, a company that markets streaming alone as an additional offer, was actually the hardest slap in the face of the Oscar gala. With “nothing new in the West” Apparently it won’t be anything again – although a Netflix victory in two categories seems to be just a formality for many: “nothing new in the West” is supposed to win the foreign Oscar and “Pinocchio” Dethroned top dog Disney in the animated film category. The great political adaptation of Oscar winner Guillermo del Toro (58) is the Mexican’s animated debut.

The biggest favorite and its socio-political importance: The numerical favourite, the eleven nominated film “Everything Everywhere All At Once”, will probably use his pole position for an overall victory. The work, which we hardly saw in cinemas, is about the owner of a laundromat (Michelle Yeoh, 60) who slides into various science fiction worlds in a cinematically wild ride.

With an almost exclusively Asian ensemble, she combines feminist ideas with the experience of being a migrant in the USA. In this way, the film could catch a sword of Damocles hovering over the Academy. After intensive criticism, the organization had concentrated on putting women and non-white filmmakers in the spotlight, but this year it did not succeed. The discussion drives the closest race of the Oscars:

Blanchett vs Yeoh: While it seems certain that Austin Butler for “elvis” is awarded as best actor, knights Cate Blanchett (53) as a dangerous star conductor in “Tar” and Michelle Yeoh for the trophy for best actress. Yeoh could be the first Asian to win an Oscar here. The question has already been asked whether Blanchett will win a third Oscar (after “Blue Jasmine”, “The Aviator”) need, although for many it offered the more perfect performance. The decision will definitely be judged under one aspect: how heavy socio-political dimensions ultimately weigh.

Everything about the 95th Oscars

• The Academy Awards are awarded in 23 categories in the night from Sunday to Monday in the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles. Voting ended on Tuesday. The presenter of the show in the Dolby Theater is the US comedian Jimmy Kimmel.
• Among the productions with the most nominations are “Everything Everywhere All At Once” (11 Chances) and “Im Westen Nothing New” (10). “The Banshees of Inisherin” (9) and “The Fabelmans” (7) are only among the definite favorites in a few categories, the situation is similar with “Top Gun: Maverick” (6) and “Avatar – The Way of Water”. “ (4), which, as a popular blockbuster, initiated the pandemic-tested cinema.
• Oscars on nachrichten.at: You can find the first analyses, stories and pictures on Monday morning at nachrichten.at