#THEY DESERVE BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR MORE THAN ANY OTHER NOMINEE

[pastlivesfilm]

“ANATOMY OF A FALL” stars Milo Machado-Graner and Swann Arlaud at the 2024 Oscars🖤

[redclercs]

DELICATE✰ CHARLES LECLERC.

xiv. this feels like the calm before the storm.

— the one where the world is caving in.

warnings: cheesy pop culture references, aidan and victoria are back, more articles than usual. mentions of panic attacks, anxiety tics, spelling mistakes in the tweets that i am too lazy to correct, forgive me. 2.3k words (+articles!)

masterlist ✢ next

'Did Timothée Chalamet get y/n y/ln a role in 'Little Women'?'

By Bridget Thomas

As previously reported by various outlets, actress y/n y/ln has been cast as the youngest March sister for yet another remake of "Little Women", expected to be premiered by the end of next year. However, we can't help but wonder, how did y/n manage to get a role alongside actors of such high caliber, such as Meryl Streep and Best Actress Nominee Saoirse Ronan?

Despite the success of movies such as Supercut and The Hating Game, y/n's acting skills cannot even begin to compare to those of her co-stars, she's a romcom actress, and she's supposed to stay that way. But as Ringo Starr once sung: "I get by with a little help from my friends" and y/n is no exception.

Timothée Chalamet, Greta Gerwig's other main muse, has Hollywood eating out of the palm of his hand, and his influence goes a long way. So much so, that he was able to secure Amy's role for new friend (possibly new something else) y/n y/ln.

Right after they were seen mingling at a party in Paris with y/n's boyfriend (probably soon to be ex) Charles Leclerc, y/n got the call that they decided to give her the role.

Don't we all want a boyfriend who uses nepotism to our benefit?

Seriously, though, how does y/n manage to get this heartthrobs to spare a glance her way and do this stuff in her name? Somebody call the Winchester Brothers, we might have a witchcraft case right in front of our eyes.

Click here to go to the next article.

'Victoria Presley: I still miss my best friend, but all she did was use me.'

By Daniel Gomez

After staying away from social media and her job for a month and a half, beauty influencer Victoria Presley is back and she's not afraid of anything. Not even legal repercussions.

Back in July, Victoria received a 'Cease and Desist' letter from none other than former best friend y/n y/ln, demanding she stopped talking about her in public and to news outlets. This sparked the rumors that Presley had been selling her secrets to tabloids and was the one to reveal the engagement secret alongside actress Mia Kim, Aidan Kim's sister.

Victoria immediately removed herself from the narrative, deeply hurt by her ex-bestie's actions. Now, after gathering her thoughts and recovering from being stabbed in the back, she's giving us this exclusive interview.

"I can't help but miss y/n, she was my best friend for so long. But all she did was use me." Victoria is still in disbelief of y/n's actions, after giving her all her love and support. "I let her live in my house for months, and one day she leaves without any explanation. All to meet that Formula One guy."

Victoria has expressed her discontent with y/n's relationship with Charles Leclerc several times, arguing he is one of the main reasons y/n cut all ties with her and not the rumors that she revealed y/n's secrets to tabloids.

"He changed her for worse. Their relationship is so toxic, they breakup and get back together again and again, and they're just looking for ways to use the other's reputation for their benefit."

However, Victoria is certain the relationship won't last much longer, since y/n has her sight set on co-star Timothée Chalamet. "y/n has liked him for a while. When the rumors of his relationship with Kylie Jenner came out, she assured me she could steal him away with a flick of her hand."

Meanwhile, Victoria is focusing on her beauty line and its evergrowing sales. "I'm competing directly with Rare Beauty and Fenty. I'm in the big leagues, the way I deserve to be."

Click here to go to the next article.

'Aidan Kim reveals tracklist for "MIRRORS" and moves the release forward.'

By Paul Dean

Aidan Kim fans won't have to wait until October 5th anymore since their idol has decided to move the release date for his debut album forward by one month.

While we believe this decision was influenced by the news of ex-girlfriend y/n y/ln making her acting comeback in a high category movie, his fans also begged him to 'remind everyone of how awful y/n is' and judging by the titles of his upcoming tracks, we're sure he's leaving no crumbs.

Check out "MIRRORS" tracklist here:

In Your Pocket

All The Things I Hate About You

Him

Cry Me A River

Stabber

Stupid Love Letter

MIRRORS

Round and Round (Star-5 Reprise)

Yours and Mine (Star-5 Reprise)

Blinding Lights (The Weeknd Cover)

No Lie (With Mia Kim)

We can't wait for Aidan's insight on his relationship and breakup to y/n, we're certain the details are juicy! Don't forget to presave "MIRRORS" on Spotify and Apple Music!

Monza, Italy, September 3rd.

1...2...3... deep breath in, 4...5...6, breathe out.

You repeat the process five times until your heart has set in your chest and isn't trying to break free anymore. Until you've stopped squeezing your thighs with your palms and you can keep your eyes open without feeling like the red decoration is stabbing your eyeballs.

It's good that you can manage your anxiety before it turns into panic. You're still embarrassed about The Spain Incident, although neither Charles nor Carlos fault you for it at all. Still, every now and then, their panicked faces flashback in your mind and you feel sorry for them all over again.

You don't want this weekend to turn into The Monza Incident. Not when Charles' contract renewal was announced a few hours ago and he's on Pole Position, this weekend has to be perfect. Or as perfect as possible, for your boyfriend.

Boyfriend.

The weight of the word has multiplied by a thousand in your mind. Silly, when you really think about it. But palpable in a way that has butterflies flying around your stomach every time you think about the word and Charles' smiling face appears in your mind.

He's your boyfriend and you're his girlfriend, and this was a mutual agreement you reached with panic still holding you by the throat, only soothed by Charles' soft lips against your temple and his warm hands rubbing your skin.

You agreed to come to this Grand Prix because it will be the last one for you for a while. Filming for Little Women starts soon, and though they have a couple of races in the States, your schedule can be a little unpredictable. Also, you're hoping to score more roles soon.

You breathe again, deep enough that your lungs ache and lightheadedness threatens to rise through your body. You're overwhelming yourself, again.

According to the world, you’re not skilled enough to be in a movie with Saoirse and Timothée and should give up the role to someone who actually deserves it. Which you won’t do, of course. That someone who deserves it is yourself. It has taken a lot of pep talks in the bathroom mirror to brainwash yourself into believing it, but you’re getting there.

Plus, there are more things to worry about with Victoria back on her bullshit and Aidan's album coming out in two days. There are so many things to fix again, just when you thought you were getting there. Of course the two people that hate you most in the world have to mess with you again.

"Already here?" Carlos asks the second he crosses the door to the Suite. "It's way early."

"Good morning to you too," you let the air out of your already burning lungs and smile at Carlos. "I have nowhere else to be."

You could be at the Paddock Club, mingling with whatever celebrity or rich local is there. Or even visiting McLaren, since Lando offered to 'show you the garage', something Charles didn't like, of course. The secret of your newly earned girlfriend-boyfriend titles is one you try to keep close to your heart.

As if that has worked before.

A wave of anxiety runs down the back of your neck when you remember the tweet you saw this morning about a Deuxmoi tip on Charles and you. What could the exact price be, to reveal your relationship to the world?

"Have you had breakfast? Looks like you're going to throw up," Carlos says, sitting in the sofa opposite yours.

It's at least the fifth time he's told you that during the weekend. You know he does it out of a place of concern, but it still rubs you the wrong way. You also need to look perfect, not like you're going to throw up.

"I had breakfast back at the hotel, it's just the lighting."

"Sure?"

"I'm fine, Carlos. How are you?"

Carlos shrugs, he's not being the center of attention this weekend despite this being another home race for the team. "Good."

"Didn't you have to be at the meeting today?" you question, although it's obvious that by his getting there just now, he didn't.

"Had my PR reminders yesterday. Charles is different."

Of course. He has to know what he's allowed to say about his renewal and what he should not speak on at all.

Your own team advised you not to let yourself be seen at Monza. Mildred would have pulled you out of the plane if it had been up to her, and Walter would have helped her hold you hostage until the weekend was over.

They're both trying to find out about the Deuxmoi pictures too, although you doubt they can reach an agreement of any kind with whoever holds them to stop them from calling People Magazine up.

This whole avoiding being seen thing makes you feel wrong. As if you were doing something bad with Charles instead of just finally letting the love you've felt for him for months show. You hate it.

You're wrong to compare your current situation with your past ones. Aidan was your first really public romantic relationship, but before that, you didn't hide your partners either. Of course you weren't that famous, but even then, you didn't entertain the thought of scurrying around like criminals.

"He'll be fine, y/n," Carlos adds, looking at the way your foot keeps stomping the floor, like you're some kind of hyperactive bunny. "He's on Pole. You can pray for Max's downfall, though, maybe that'll help."

"I don't pray for people's downfall," you click your tongue, crossing your legs to stop the tic.

Karma and all that.

"Maybe you should." Carlos winks at you, and your conversation is finished as Charles leaves his meeting.

You can tell something's off just from the way his shoulders tense, but he smiles at you the moment your eyes meet.

"Everything okay?" you ask before he leans down to reach your height as you sit and pecks your lips.

"Yes, everything's good."

He's lying.

─────────

What was the point of coming to Monza if you're only watching the race through the screens?

You don't think the sun has touched your face at all since you got to the circuit, and you really want to be out there. But you stay put in your seat as the formation lap occurs right outside of the Suite.

It will make no difference, though, Charles is focused on the race, as he should be, rather than whether you're watching him through the TV.

Soon enough you know what will make a difference.

It's some kind of miracle that Charles has managed to regain the P1 position after the disastrous pit stop Ferrari put him through, and maybe Carlos was actually praying for Red Bull's downfall since Max has his very first DNF of the season and Checo can't get past George in P3.

Charles is going to win Monza again.

The decision making tree branches in front of you in a matter of seconds, people at the Suite are already talking excitedly and someone asks if you want to go down, there are four laps left.

You get up from your seat, aware that if life was anything like that videogame you played a couple times on the set of Parisian Valentine with your co-star, the "This action will have consequences" legend would appear on the screen right now.

You follow the Ferrari worker out, but even between the excitement and celebrations, you manage to hear what the PR Manager really thinks of your presence in the Paddock.

"She’s such a PR nightmare,"

She switches to Italian when your eyes fly to her face. And you can only wonder what cruel yet entirely accurate thing she said.

It's worse than a nightmare. It feels like the apocalypse all over again. And the weight of the world is back on your shoulders, feeling like you're messing up what was a weekend out of a dream for Charles.

You flashback to Monaco and the way Mati pulled you out of your head and locked your phone in her purse. You wish she was here more with each passing second. You cannot tear your eyes away from every single tweet speculating about your presence, about your relationship, about your intentions. It's overwhelming.

But Charles' happiness is what matters. He's absolutely ecstatic, even after the mishaps during the interviews where his PR training had to kick in and lead reporters back to Formula 1 related questions.

The thought that maybe you should have tried to make friends with more people occurs to you when you arrive at the celebration in the private club and Charles is dragged away from you. He tries his best to hold on to your hand, but the truth is people want to be with him and not you, so you let him take the spotlight he deserves and enjoy it.

"So, are you and Charles dating, then? Didn't you use to be engaged?"

You half-smile at the girl who just asked you the question, so boldly it takes you aback. But you guess her eyes are so bright from how much alcohol there is in her system, she's bound to be direct with liquid courage running through her veins. She's pretty in that dark hair, dark eyes way that has you momentarily doubting your own looks.

The extra heartbeat that takes you to reply, has her eyes shifting around the room before settling on Charles, who is finally walking back to your side.

Your boyfriend hands you a drink and smiles at the dark-haired girl and her friend, politely. "Are you having a good time?" the question is mostly directed towards you, but both girls jump at the chance of saying they're having the time of their lives and congratulating Charles for such an epic win. But they prompt you to join the conversation a few seconds later, so you're grateful for it either way.

There's a song in Spanish playing on the speakers and Charles is doing his best to sing the words while encouraging you to move to the beat with him. With his arms around you, things feel a little lighter, the whole in your chest that anxiety carved out is slowly filling with the love you feel for him, and the happiness of the day outshines the darkness of the thoughts in the back of your mind.

That is, at least, until the first notes of 'In Your Pocket' replace the previous song, after the DJ announces it's a special request. It's a remix, obviously, so people can dance to it, but a few of them have stopped moving altogether just to be a little less discreet about eyeing you.

"C'est pas amusant," you hear Charles say to one of his friends, who is hiding his mouth behind a tall glass of alcohol, his eyes still betray his enjoyement.

"It's fine," you squeeze Charles' arm, trying your best to smile although you're being put in the spotlight and there's nearly nothing worse than being the butt of a cruel joke. "It's just a song."

You wondered many times what those surrounding Charles thought of you. They didn't know you, after all. His brothers were nice to you when you saw them around the Paddock, and it wasn't like you'd hung around the rest of his friends. Did they mock him when tabloids called him a homewrecker? Or did they believe he'd just embarked on what seemed to be a dead-end relationship?

"I'm sorry, soleil, they're just— they're idiots," Charles adds, his hand reaching for yours. He looks genuinely upset and you can't help but hate whoever requested the song a little more for spoiling Charles' mood rather than for making fun of you.

"Charlie, it's okay, I've been through worse," your reassurance doesn't soothe him, so you squeeze his hand and he presses his lips to your temple. "I'd rather listen to Bad Bunny or something, though."

Charles laughs and pulls you out of the dancefloor, to a more private part of the club where you both can catch your breath and share a few kisses, unafraid of people staring at you.

New York, United States, September 7th.

You know you're in trouble when Mildred calls tells you that you need to be at her office ASAP. She also used that condescending 'I'm the adult' tone that send you back to when you were fifteen and got in trouble with your mother, so it's another indication that she's angry at you.

Of course you know why, the words 'PR nightmare' haven't left your brain in days. And the moment you set foot in New York, Mildred was all over you about every single thing that was being said about the Monza Incident—aka seeing your boyfriend like any normal person would.

"This isn't ideal," Mildred says after a while, she has been explaining the public's perception of you for the past half hour. "It's like you—"

"Like I fucked up?" you cut her off, squeezing your knees to stop from biting your nails.

"We were rebuilding your brand, y/n. People think you waited for things to die a little so you could go public with Charles. Aidan's new album is not helping your case."

If you thought 'In Your Pocket' was bad, nothing compared to the rest of the songs. Some in which he called you a list of things including a homie-hopper, drama starter and said you settled for a 'bum' when you could have had a 'rockstar'.

"How is that my fault?" you don't intend to sound so whiny, but you can't help it. Why are Aidan's actions always your fault somehow?

"People are talking more about how you are dating a Ferrari Driver after spending months saying you weren't, rather than the fact that you landed an incredibly important role."

"We haven't told anyone we're dating,"

Mildred rolls her eyes despite her best efforts to remain professional. "Do you really think that's necessary?"

"What do you suggest we do?" you ask, knowing you won't like the answer.

─── team principal radio: ❝remember when I said it wouldn't take me one month to update delicate and then it took me longer than that? I'M SO SORRY LMAO. also not loving this chapter but i just want it out of my way for now i need it off my drafts, but don't worry this time i'll try for the next not to take me a century. thank you if you're still here, your patience means the world to me i love you all so muuuuch♡❞

✰ paddock club members: @sassyheroneckgiant @flowerchild-96 @fangirlika @shegotboreddsoo @roseamongthorns13 @cissyp @chimchimjiminie16 @saturnsrinqs @roni-midnights @gayyvodka6 @studioreader @lu-morningstar @ferraribabe @reidsworld @feelslikestrawberries @celestialams @missenclod @buendiabebeta @mycenterfold @aces-tattooartist @burningrred @you-bleed-just-toknowyouarealive @rainybabe25 @ru-kru @lazybot @teenagedreams-cl @cool-ultra-nerd @kuskumu @formulakay3 @bisexual-desi @somanyfandomsbruh @icarus-nex @xjval @xoxoloverb @headinthecloudssblog @incoherenciass @bookophiliac @torrie421 @nooshytushie @azxulaa @anonymous8462 @pukklv @bn7921 @be-your-coffee-pot @fdl305 @lovely-blackinnon @landonorizzz

want to join the paddock club? click here!

[thegeneralreturns]

IF I ABSOLUTELY HAD TO RANK THEM: The Academy Award nominees for Best Picture

10. Maestro - With its dialogue gaudily written in a style reminiscent of the Golden Age of Hollywood--keeping all of the cadence and none of the wit--kudos must be given to co-writer, co-producer, director and star Bradley Cooper for making a movie about the first great American conductor of classical music that's utterly fucking excruciating to listen to. And as an actor, he doesn't find a character here, getting lost in an impression and hiding behind prosthesis. He did give one of the best performances of 2023, but it wasn't as Leonard Bernstein, it was as Rocket Raccoon. Though I will say this film is impeccably made, and even though he can't make a connection himself, he did a great job in setting up Carey Mulligan to succeed. She gives one of her best performances as Bernstein's long-suffering wife. Bradley Cooper is a wonderful director, and he's a pretty good actor once he gets out of his own way. But could someone who loves him please tell him to step away from the typewriter?

9. The Holdovers - Da Vine Joy Randolph is the front-runner for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar. And she deserves it, as the rest of The Holdovers can't keep up with her. Alexander Payne's early-seventies boarding school pastiche is all artifice and cliche (most of the time agreeably so, I'll admit), but when Randolph's school cook starts emotionally cratering in a very real, visceral, uncomfortable way, the movie seems to wake up... only to lull itself back to sleep once the camera is off of her. I have often said that one can only review the movie one is given, but, well, I'd have paid the premium price to go see the movie about Da Vine Joy Randolph's Mary. As it stands, I'm glad I caught The Holdovers on Peacock.

8. Poor Things - If Tim Burton suffered from a permanent hard-on, this is the movie he would make. Yorgos Lanthimos' feminist, socialist riff on the Frankenstein story has a lot of ideas and a ton of jokes that land, only for him to vanish up the prolapsed asshole of his own technique. It feels as though we're assaulted on the quarter-hour with iris shots and fish-eye lenses that seem to serve no other purpose than to inform the audience that this film is capital D Directed. I recommend this movie, don't get me wrong. It's smart, it's hilarious, the sets and costumes are impeccable, and Emma Stone gives an all-time belter of a performance. But it's really frustrating to have all this in the hands of a director that's the equivalent of an eight-year-old who wants us to watch him do cannonballs in the pool.

7. American Fiction - Cord Jefferson's American Fiction was sold as a biting satire of the inherent racial prejudices of the American literary industrial complex, from publishers looking for authenticity to the heaps of plaudits delivered by guilty white readers who want to bear witness to black misery without being told how much they suck for that. But I gotta tell ya, I think Jefferson could have gone farther. He could have been a little bit more vicious, went for blood, because what we're left with a satire that doesn't really seem to be mad at anyone. But the human drama and comedy that exists apart from that? That works wonderfully. Jefferson populated his film with real, loveable people that any audience would want to spend more time with. It's only surprising that Sterling K. Brown got nominated for an Oscar if you haven't seen the movie yet. And Jeffrey Wright's transformation into America's brainy, slightly depressed uncle continues apace.

6. Barbie - It was a cultural juggernaut that made all the money in the world, and spawned enough thinkpieces to choke a team of Clydesdales. Did its admittedly lofty ambitions jibe with its tone and approach? Not always. But did its jokes land? Yes, Barbie was the funniest movie of 2023. But I don't think I can say what hasn't already been said... Except America Ferrera was really good. I'm serious, I saw people get all butthurt about her Best Supporting Actress nomination, but these people couldn't reason their way out of a wet paper bag that was open already. And this isn't even about that monologue, either. Ferrera provided an oasis of plausibility in the middle of all this neon pink madness. Never once does she wink at the camera, or dive in and join the scenery chewing. She's funny, but funny in a real way that provides much needed counterweight to the musical numbers and jokes about Skipper dolls with expanding boobs. If it weren't for America Ferrera's work, Barbie would have been caricatures bouncing off of one another, and any weight this movie has is a testament to her skill. She was given a truly thankless task... Or it would have been, if she didn't get that nomination. Good for her.

5. The Zone of Interest - One does not explain Jonathan Glazer's The Zone of Interest, one can only experience it. A man and his family settle down into their new house, only the man is the commandant at Auschwitz, and the twentieth century's greatest evil is happening just beyond the garden wall. We never venture into the camp itself, we never see what goes on, but for one-hundred-and-five minutes, we hear it. This family idyll is constantly underscored by gunshots, screaming, barking dogs, and the ever-present drone of the crematorium. This is one of the most unsettling experiences I've ever had watching a movie... the first time around. I don't think it would work dramatically for a second viewing. For as much mileage as Glazer gets out of his approach, it's still a gimmick. Not a cheap gimmick, mind you. It's a free-range gourmet gimmick from a place that's hard to pronounce, but a gimmick nonetheless.

4. Anatomy of a Fall - I don't know whether to ding Justine Triet's plug for the website didshedoit.com before even the studio's logo at the beginning, or to commend her for it. It tells us what kind of movie we're in for. A man falls from the balcony of his French chalet, and it's determined that it was either suicide, or he was pushed by his wife, and we spend the next two-and-a-half hours going through interrogations, investigations, re-enactments, and a full-blown trial trying to get to the bottom of a question that we were told at the beginning, through the mention of that website, that we weren't getting an answer to. It's only arrogance if Triet can't pull it off, and she very much does, presenting us with information in a way that leads us to question how we got to our conclusions. I'm usually resistant to movies that try to get us into a dialogue with ourselves, but the answers I got from... uh... me, were quite enlightening. I think it's odd that the Palme D'Or went to a simple courtroom movie, but as far as simple courtroom movies go, it's the best I've seen in decades.

3. Oppenheimer - Those who claim that Oppenheimer glorifies the life of the father of the atomic bomb quite frankly haven't seen it. I have never seen a biopic that holds its subject in such lively, blistering contempt as this one does. Cillian Murphy's J. Robert Oppenheimer is a man blundering towards a scientific breakthrough that will irrevocably worsen the world, and the only one who can't see it is him. Christopher Nolan's usual icy disregard for the people at the center of his narrative mazes comes off, in this case, as a kind of deadpan disapproval of a man who, brilliant though he may be, just can't see the train coming. Geniuses are still just men, only their mistakes are an entire magnitude larger, and virtually unfixable.

2. Past Lives - What a wonderful movie this is. A boy and a girl in Korea separate after her parents emigrate to America, only for them to reconnect decades later in New York, after she's married someone else. But the held breaths and things left unsaid aren't just romantic, but encompass the entirety of both their lives. It's not just about lost love, but lost opportunity, and being a stranger to themselves had one other thing gone different. Boy loses girl, and the realm of possibility winnows down to one for both of them. More than what these people say to each other in Celeste Song's marvelous debut, but what they don't say. What they can't admit to themselves. What they think the other can't take. Past Lives is quiet and delicate, but boy is it powerful.

And the Best Picture of the Best Pictures is...

Killers of the Flower Moon - This is a master working at the height of his powers. This is a top-shelf effort from the greatest filmmaker the United States has ever produced, depicting in minute detail the slow-motion genocide of the Osage people for oil money in the 1920s. At the center of this is Leonardo DiCaprio's Ernest Burkhart; a dimwit roped into this evil by his charismatic uncle, played by Robert DeNiro. It is through the lens of Burkhart that most of this story unfolds; a man whose grief and good intentions and convictions melt away once someone stronger and wealthier than he is tells him to do something that violates them. Now, there are some who recoil at this approach, preferring instead to center more on Ernest's Osage wife Mollie (played in a performance for the ages by Lily Gladstone). And I want it known that I'm sympathetic to this view. The movie they want may very well have been a great one, and it may very well have been better than this one (Hey, anything's possible), but it wouldn't have been this movie, which I wouldn't trade for anything. Mollie Burkart is the kind of character that would be the hero in another film, but Martin Scorsese doesn't make movies about heroes. He makes movies about weakness and failure. Hell, his movie about Jesus centered on a hypothetical moment of temptation. If Ernest Burkart hadn't existed, Scorsese would have had to invent him.

[destinyc1020]

Wait is the oscar curse even a real thing? In my mind the only person that was negatively affected by there oscar win was Halle berry but that was more due to rampant anti-blackness in hollywood and directors only seeing her as sex icon rather than a talented and versatile actor.

In general oscars aren't a accurate barometer of whether or not an actor or actress is good or talented while its nice to have acclaim in most cases the best performances of the year tend to be neglected completely at the oscars in addition performances in foreign films are rarely celebrated or even acknowldged. The oscars is about campaigning, releasing your movie at the right time and trying to get your name out there. Like ashton sanders gave one of the best perfomances in moonlight and should have been nominated alongside mahershala ali ( who ended up winning which well deserved) but was neglected entirely.

The Oscar Curse = winning a best (or supporting) actor or actress Oscar, and then never being able to get good roles or doing much of anything of note after the win 🥴

It's just just Halle that has happened to though. I can think of a LOT of actors and actresses that won Oscars pretty soon in their careers, and that became their highlight and they never really got much after that.

I think sometimes the Academy DOES get it right, and other times they don't.... 🤷🏾‍♀️ or, there were two or more deserving roles that year. I mean, most who are nominees usually ARE deserving, but it's just that some were more deserving than others in the fans minds.

I think it's a great honor just to even get nominated (it means your acting peers really felt that you gave the BEST overall performance of the year). Campaigning helps, but I've known of some who won Oscars who barely did any Campaigning 🤷🏾‍♀️

I think over the past 5 years the Academy has really been trying to do better with recognizing foreign films and those of other genres. Of course there's always room for improvement, but they're at least trying now days.

But then, the mainstream ppl complain now that the Oscars have become way too "elitist", and that most ppl aren't seeing all of these "high brow" movies in the theaters anyway. So I guess you can't please everyone? 🤷🏾‍♀️

[bereft-of-frogs]

I did not finish watching all of the Academy Award nominees this year but I made some progress so ahead of the show here are my unsolicited opinions:

Best Picture:

- Top Gun: Maverick - I had a lot of fun and it was so much better than a sequel to a movie from 40 years ago had any right being…but best picture? Really? I will always love plane go fast movie but I’m not sure why it’s up here.

- Women Talking - saw last week, it was OK. It was really well directed and the cinematography and performances were great but the script was terrible. If this wins a writing award I will scream. It felt like it was striving to say something profound but just ended up being really pointless. There are better examples of this genre than this script which literally has the line ‘not all men’ in it.

- Everything Everywhere All At Once - I definitely cried, this would be the popular choice, there is going to be uproar when/if it doesn’t win.

- The Banshees of Inisherin - the more I think about this movie, the more I like it. There’s such a great mythic quality to it, I would be happy if it wins.

- Triangle of Sadness - SO WEIRD. I liked it. Will never stop thinking about that dinner scene. It was so, so weird though 😆

- The Fabelmans - haven’t seen it, won’t be surprised if it wins and everyone is pissed, because my understanding is it’s a movie about making movies and the academy loooooves that

- All Quiet On the Western Front - I liked it but it did feel a little derivative and I think it’s going to be too bleak to win.

- Avatar: The Way of Water - if this wins I will be the one rioting. No I haven’t seen it. No I will not be seeing it. (I might have if I found the time before the awards.) I am one of the people who hated the first movie, no it was not to be rebellious and go against the grain, I just saw it on a tiny screen and was bored out of my mind and believe that if you have to say ‘well you should have seen it in the special format…’ it doesn’t deserve the general award. Technical awards, sure, but not best picture.

- Elvis - god this was so bad. I don’t even hate Baz Luhrmann as much as some people do but this was just all bad. Script was bad, performances were weird and overbearing, the frantic directorial style didn’t lend anything to the story. I feel like they just needed a biopic up here but omg it was terrible and I wish I had not watched it.

- Tár - did not manage to see this one before the show, I wish I had seen this instead of Women Talking but the theater was only showing it at matinee times for some reason. Probably won’t win but is probably way better than some of the others on this list.

International Feature:

- All Quiet on the Western Front - see above. Also I feel like there should be a rule about this, I don’t think movies should be nominated for both best picture and best international feature.

- Argentina, 1985 - this was nice. Pretty classic legal film but it was good and I would not be sad if this one won.

- The Quiet Girl - seeing on Tuesday! Will report back but even having not seen it I want it to win just because it’s in Irish #biased

- Close - didn’t manage to find this one, no idea what it’s about

- Eo - this was playing close to me but there ended up being a blizzard the only day I could go. Love Polish cinema though so I would like to see it eventually.

I don’t have many other thoughts aside from Ke Huy Quan should definitely win best supporting actor.

They’ve probably already announced awards before I posted this, haven’t checked, anyway those are my thoughts on what I managed to get through, hopefully I will do better next year 👍

[mattzerella-sticks]

Some fans saying Jensen deserves an Emmy for the boys.... umm how? Where? He's barely been in a few scenes and none of them were remotely even close to that. I love him and I've thought he was a fantastic actor since early days supernatural but holy fuck. Like without even comparing to the other actors on the show this ain't it. The Emmys themselves are a mess and always ignore so many amazing performances, not to mention how white the majority of the nominees are but this cast and this show deserve some recognition especially this season. Anthony Starr is delivering one of the best performances on tv and I watch a loooot of tv, also Laz this season has been phenomenal as well as Erin, Karen and Colby, the whole cast should get a nom and a win as well as individual noms for some of them. I generally don't pay attention to acting as in I expect everyone performing on my screen to be good and only notice them if they suck but this cast is truly firing on all cylinders especially since they're bolstered by the writing which gives everyone their own arcs and their time to shine. The fact that they're juggling more than 10 characters/ different point of views and everyone has their motivations and goals and weaknesses etc is nothing short of extraordinary, adding to it the fantastic political satire, the humor, the gore etc. Shows can't even do one of these things right. The fact that it's only 8 episodes yet it feels so rich and complete is a testament to their abilities. Rarely do I feel like a show couldn't use a longer season these days bc everything is so rushed and there is rarely any character or relationship development but this is one where I would love more because I adore the show but they're absolutely taking advantage of every minute.

Jensen could definitely win an Emmy for guest appearance in a limited series or drama, if not because of how he's been killing it in this role but also because the man has a special superpower of his own that causes people to become derangedly obsessed with him lol.

But I also agree this show has a lot of top-quality and award-deserving talent, this season especially. I'm pretty sure they're submitting the Herogasm script for screenplay and writing awards - no doubt in my mind. But of acting I can see Laz and Anthony secure the best actor category while Erin takes best actress for her portrayal of Starlight this season. These 3 have been the strongest in terms of the story AND how they've portrayed the characters on screen. For supporting, however, Tomer, Karen, Jessie, and even Chace have good chances of getting noms of the cast.

Sorry to Karl and Jack but it doesn't feel like they've been featured as much as they have previously, and maybe that's because to make room to juggle the narratives of both the Boys and the Seven they needed to take time from them but the show's better for it lol.

Right now they're playing second fiddle to Soldier Boy, but hopefully they get their acts together and move in better directions (Billy and Hughie).

[mygreatadventurehasbegun]

It’s Oscar Night tonight!

I was able to catch up a bit on some of the nominated movies, but sadly didn’t get to check them all off the list (which is kind of ok, because I have no desire to see Avatar, Top Gun or Blonde).

Anyway...here’s my personal ranking of the Best Picture nominees, from best to worst (for me personally).

1. Everything Everywhere All at Once

2. Women Talking

3. All Quiet on the Western Front

4. The Fablemens

5. Tar

6. Elvis

7. Banshees of Inisherin

I really wanted to like Banshees, but honestly...I was so bored.  I may like it more if I watch it a second time, but it felt longer than it’s 1 hour 54 minute runtime. While I didn’t particularly like Elvis, the amount of spectacle at least kept me engaged, and I could be impressed by Austin Butler’s singing. 

For me, Women Talking is the most underrated movie of the year.  I really wish it had gotten more recognition...particularly in score, director and the acting categories...but it’s pretty much a lock to win Best Adapted Screenplay, and rightly so.

Best Supporting Actor

I think this is the only 100% lock in the acting categories tonight.  While Ke Huy Quan didn’t sweep (thanks BAFTA’s...seriously?), he’s been nominated and winning pretty much everything, so I can’t wait to hear his speech, because he’s probably going to make me cry.

Best Supporting Actress

This is probably the toughest one of the night...I honestly don’t know who is going to win.  *And I love that we have an honest-to-God race in three of these categories*  Angela Bassett won the Globe and Critic’s Choice, Kerry Condon won the BAFTA, and Jamie Lee Curtis won the SAG.  It’s really anyone’s guess at this point.  Angela Bassett is probably the least likely of the three, because she lost the momentum she had at the start of awards season.  Some people think Kerry Condon is going to win because of the BAFTA (it’s apparently a better predictor), but actors really like Jamie Lee Curtis and they do make up a large portion of voters.  What I would love to see happen (it’s not going to, but I’d love it), is for those three to split the votes and the award ends up going to Stephanie Hsu, who I believe gave the Best Supporting Actress performance this year...she’s who I would vote for.  Gold Derby is predicting Kerry Condon, but we’ll see...it’s funny, because if they had campaigned Michelle Williams in Supporting instead of Lead Actress, she’d be winning this year.

Best Actor

This is another tight race!  If you go on Gold Derby, you’ll see that Brendon Fraser is behind Austin Butler by about 70 votes (in terms of who is ranked first or second in likelihood to win) so I feel like it’s too close to call.  Austin Butler won the Golden Globe and the BAFTA, while Brendon Fraser won the Critic’s Choice and the SAG...it’s really anyone’s guess which way it’ll go...I wish I had been able to see The Whale before tonight so I could at least have an opinion on who I’d like to win, based on performance!  I kind of want Brendan Fraser to win...but Austin Butler did give a very strong performance, so it would definitely be a deserved win if he does.

Best Actress

Cate Blancett?  Michelle Yeoh?  Another tight race...though I do think the winds have shifted a bit in Michelle Yeoh’s favor (I HOPE BECAUSE I REALLY WANT HER TO WIN).  Did Cate Blanchett give the best performance of her career?  Probably...and in any other year, I’d want her to win her third Oscar...but Michelle Yeoh’s performance 100% deserves that award.  I am totally here for an EEAAO sweep.

We shall see how the night goes!!!

[bargainmatinee]

2022 Academy Awards Ramblings, pt. 1

With the big show tomorrow night, I wanted to share my thoughts on some of the bigger categories. Who I think will win, who should win, and maybe even some others I think were left out completely.

Best Actor: I see it going to Brendan Fraser, but I also wouldn’t be surprised to see Austin Butler take it home. Anyone other than these 2 would be a shock. My own pick would be Colin Farrell. I thought his work in “Banshees of Inisherin” was just magnificent, but I don’t have an issue with ANY of these three winning. Sticking with Fraser for my prediction.

Best Actress: Michelle Yeoh or we riot. No contest for me. I know it’s pretty much a dead heat between her and Cate Blanchett but good lord I thought “Tar” was pretentious Oscar bait. Blanchett was fine in it, but Yeoh deserves this so much more. She should and hopefully will win. Also throwing this out there: the Academy needs to get over it’s aversion to horror flicks. In a just world, Mia Goth would have been nominated for her amazing work in “Pearl.” The end credit sequence alone should have scored her a nomination.

Best Supporting Actor: another no contest. Ke Huy Quan all day long. Brendan Gleeson and Barry Keoghan were both wonderful in “Banshees” but this is Quan’s award. Another miss for the Academy: Pedro Pascal should have been considered for “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent,” as well as Ralph Fiennes for “The Menu.”

Best Supporting Actress: this one is tough to call, probably the tightest of the four acting races. I’m reluctantly going with Jamie Lee Curtis for my prediction to win. Not because I didn’t love her performance (I did) but because Angela Bassett seems to be the slight favorite. In the end I’m sticking with Curtis because she’s Hollywood royalty but also because I’m not sure the Academy is ready to give out an acting award for a Marvel movie. My personal favorite in this category is Kerry Condon, who was the heart and soul of “Banshees.”

So there you go. Next time I’ll rank all the Best Picture nominees, but still have one more to see to have all ten under my belt. See you soon.

[theliterateape]

Is Hashtag Activism a Failure?

by Don Hall

I gave up on the Oscars years ago but, and perhaps it is the removal of a highly cynical spouse that predicates it, I'm gaining interest again. It might be the absolute wealth of really good film being thrown at screens large and small at a torrential rate or just an increased love for film because we were locked out of theaters for a while. Whatever the cause, the result is that for the first time in probably a decade, I'm interested again.

Of course, once the nominees were announced, the grousing began. No women directors were nominated. No black actors in the Best Actor category. No black actors in the Best Actress category. There are just two African Americans among the acting nominees: Angela Bassett in supporting actress for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Bryan Tyree Henry in supporting actor for Causeway. On the other hand, it was a banner year for Asian artists across the board.

What to make of it?

The Oscars are a popularity contest. It is a subjective vote on a subjective matter: film. Was She Said a better movie than Avatar: The Way of Water? Depends on who you ask and what their tastes are but to say that one film deserves the nod because it was a feminist film regardless of taste is silly. Is it weird that Sarah Polley's Women Talking was nominated for Best Picture but she was left out of the Director noms? Maybe except that the entire membership votes on Best Picture but only the director members vote on the other and who are we to dictate what they saw and reacted to? While many found Till to be a moving and remarkable film there were more that found it tedious and underdeveloped. Whaddya gonna do? Subjectivity is a bitch.

A USC Annenberg report found that of the 111 directors hired to make the 100 top-grossing movies last year, just 9% were women. That was down from 12.7% in 2021. At the same time, the number of Black, Asian, Hispanic/Latino and multi-racial and multi-ethnic moviemakers also fell from 27.3% in 2021 to 20.7% in 2022. Women of color accounted for a mere 2.7% of directors of the top 100 movies last year. The declines come as the movie business, and particularly the major studios that call the shots, have been under pressure to provide more opportunities to female artists and people of color in the wake of social justice and advocacy movements such as #MeToo and #OscarsSoWhite.

These hashtag campaigns have absolutely created international awareness of the issues at hand but seem to have backfired in the implementation of change.

Right now, women make up roughly half the workforce (and more than half of the college-educated workforce) but only a fraction of executive teams. For example, in the financial services industry, they constituted 61% of accountants and auditors, 53% of financial managers, and 37% of financial analysts in 2018 but only 12.5% of chief financial officers in Fortune 500 companies.

A Morning Consult poll found that even when respondents expressed support for more women leaders and gender pay equity, they were less likely to support the changes within their own companies. And when asked about hiring more women in leadership roles, 73% of respondents advocated for it in other companies; only 44% said that this was something their own company should do.

It is also clear that the #BlackLivesMatter movement, sparked in 2014 and supercharged in 2020 has largely failed, as well.

Despite an awareness-raising campaign as successful as any in my lifetime, untold millions of dollars in donations, and a position of influence within the progressive criminal-justice-reform coalition, there are just as many police killings as before Black Lives Matter began. Politically, a powerful faction inside the movement sought to elect more radical progressives; Donald Trump and Joe Biden won the next presidential elections. That same faction sought to “defund the police”; police budgets are now rising, and “defund” is unpopular with majorities of every racial group.

Whether or not you think those reforms should have prevailed, they did not. If impact matters more than intent, the criminal-justice-reform movement needs an alternative to #BlackLivesMatter that has better prospects for actually improving real lives. Today, almost every American is aware of police killings as an issue. Awareness has been raised, and returns are diminished.

SOURCE

From the sheer amount of public awareness generated by both the #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo movements, one would think the needle would've moved in the direction of prescribed equity but the needles in both causes have moved in the other direction despite the best efforts of so many in so many different sectors of society. Is it just racism and sexism to blame or is there something more at play?

I think the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag is instructive in finding something more honest than the tried and true boogeymen of bigotry and misogyny. What happened?

First, even in Hollywood, the most left-leaning segment of society, the loudest voices were coming from the smallest cohort. Twitter activism just isn't comprised of a whole lot of people and Black Twitter is only a slice of that grouping. There was a lot of awareness coming from a tiny bunch of voices who thought they were impacting the larger picture. Turns out maybe they weren't.

Second, and I know how tired this sounds, but it was the tone. Condemnation. Shame. Barely contained rage. Strident. These attitudes were merited and necessary to get things started but there was rarely a gear shift to solutions as if by complaining about it loudly and persistently enough, the problems would solve themselves. Unfortunately, that's not how societal change works. That whole hearts and minds strategy pales in comparison to policies and funding.

Finally, once attention became the currency of society, self interest took over and dominated the cause. Viola Davis, in support of her brilliant performance in The Woman King made the claim that any audience member who declines to financially support and see the film in theaters is “supporting the narrative that Black women cannot lead the box office globally." Elizabeth Banks, referring to her remake of Charlie's Angels, stated “If this movie doesn’t make money it reinforces a stereotype in Hollywood that men don’t go see women do action movies.” The larger message was suddenly less Go make more diverse movies and more Go see MY movie or you're the problem.

There seems to be at the heart of the hashtag activism at play from #OscarsSoWhite, #MeToo, and #TimesUp to #BlackLivesMatter the dictate of anti-racist proselytizer Ibram X. Kendi that past discrimination can only be met with present discrimination and that just isn't true nor a winning position.

I loved The Woman King but I went because I wanted to see the film not because of some guilt about supporting black women. If there was, in my opinion, a snub in these Oscar nominations it's the absence of Jordan Peele and NOPE but not because he's black or the movie featured black artists but because I freaking loved that film.

A friend believes that the fruit of the Twitter/TikTok campaign to reform Hollywood will ripen in about a decade as young filmmakers, increasingly diverse, grow into their craft. I hope so because more stories from all angles benefits us all. There is also the notion that, like the flower children of the sixties, they’ll all grow up and become venture capitalists.

There should be no question that the causes of police reform, decreased sexual harassment and assault, and increases in the diversity of voices financed in Hollywood are righteous and needed. What is also needed are approaches that affect real change rather than retweets.

[parkersroses]

it’s golden. | harry styles.

summary: Harry brings you to the Grammy’s and it all ends in a wonderful night. 

pairing: harry styles x fem!reader

word count: 2.5k words

warning(s): all fluff, small mentions of sensual stuff

a/n: (disclaimer: gif belongs to @hers <3) hello! been a while! i’ve been wanting to write something since harry won a grammy award, which i’m unbelievably proud of him. so enjoy this cloud of unedited fluff. reblog and comment if you liked this. buy me a coffee if you’d like to support me further <3

The Grammy Awards had been an anticipating event you both waited for. In your honest opinion, you thought Harry deserved a nomination way back during the success of his first album or even his later One Direction days. 

Nevertheless, you couldn’t be more proud of your lover, having not been nominated once, but thrice. He himself couldn’t believe how Fine Line, a labour of his love and hardwork, was recognized on this scale. Luckily, you were both safely together in the comfort of your own home when the nominations were announced. That day was later filled with a lot of love and celebration for him, with you congratulating him as many times as you could, in many ways you could. 

The buzz about Harry being a Grammy-nominated artist instantly filled the set of ‘Don’t Worry, Darling’, nearly everyone congratulating the supporting lead actor of their film. Although Harry gets very shy whenever someone compliments his success, he still took pride in how his effort and resilience got him to where he was.

The following weeks were filled with preparation and planning, with Harry being announced that he would be opening the event. It was only fitting that he would perform Watermelon Sugar, considering it is now a Grammy nominated single. He had some doubts with the choice of song though. He knew it was a big and popular summer song and it had been playing everywhere since he released the song. Harry knew there would be some people that are just bored and tired of the song already and opted to change it.

However, you managed to talk some sense in him, knowing how award seasons like this can be nerve wracking.

“I’m just saying, it’s been playing around for more than a year. People are probably bored of it,” Harry said as he laid on your shared bed, staring at the ceiling like it was the most fascinating thing ever. 

Finishing up your skincare routine, you looked back at him. “And? If you want to perform it, it shouldn’t really matter if people got tired of it. I still love the song,” you reassured him. 

He lifted his head slightly off his pillow to look at you. “Yeah, but still. Maybe if I performed other songs from the album, people might enjoy the performance more.” He sighed as he plopped his head back on the pillow.

You quickly climbed in the bed, plopping right next to him. Harry grunted as you put your head on his chest and intertwine your legs, instantly wrapping his arms around you. He turned his head to press small kisses on the crown of your head. “Don’t know why I’m worried about it. I’m sorry if I’m being over dramatic about it.” He apologised to you. 

“You know I love your over-dramaticness nonetheless, bubs.” You comforted him, kissing above his heart as you looked up at him. “But you shouldn’t worry so much. If Watermelon Sugar is what you wanna perform, then you should go for it. It’s a Grammy-nominated song anyways. But just remember to have fun. It’s only your first time being nominated and performing there.” 

Harry hummed in reply as he stared into your eyes. Often times, he still finds himself mesmerized by your eyes despite the long years of you being together. “Besides, I’ll be there, in the front row, where you can look at me when you’re nervous.” You smiled at him and he smiled back at the thought of you cheering on him in possibly one of the most important nights of his life. 

Harry leaned up and pressed a kiss on your lips, sighing at mere taste and softness of it. “I’d really love that. Thank you, lovie.” He mumbled into the kiss, breaking away as he smiled gleefully at you. He truly did adore you and the little things you would do for him. You pressed another kiss on his lips, Harry was quick enough to return the action. “Anytime, bubs.” You said.

The week of the Grammys came by quickly, which meant Harry’s nerves only escalated from the day he found out he was performing. He had some costume fittings for the event to do and planning for how the set is going to look. He kept some secrets from you about what he was going to wear for his performance and you were initially upset about it because you enjoy getting a sneak peek into his fashion sense for these types of situations. But Harry constantly assured you that you’ll love it when you see it, although you always love whatever he decides to wear.

For all you know, he’d be wearing a trash bag and you’ll still think he is the sexiest man you ever laid eyes on. 

Eventually, the day of the Grammys finally came. Harry was almost certain that he was going to throw up in his room. He paces back and forth, trying to ease down his nerves. You told him you’d be running a bit late but promised him that you’ll be there before he could sing the first word of the song. Soon enough, it was time to go. He meets up with his band and they all huddle together to say some words of encouragement. It was a big night for all of them. 

About five minutes before he’s supposed to go on stage, he hears a familiar voice calling out to him. He turns around and sees his love running up to him, apologising profusely to those she bumped into. He grins widely and opens his arms wide for you to run into them. He hugs you tight, swaying you both from side to side as his hands feel the satin pink dress you wore. 

You both pull away with wide grins on your faces and you let your hands rest on his bare chest. “Bold choice of the outfit, Mr. Styles,” you tease him. Harry chuckles at you as he presses his forehead against yours. “Told ye you’ll love it, didn’t I?” he says and you hummed in reply. 

“I do. I really love it. Y’look like a rockstar,” you admit as you fix the leather jacket. Someone calls for Harry and it’s time for his time to shine. You pull his face down to your level and give a couple of good luck kisses, not that he needed any luck because he’ll do great no matter what. 

“I love you,” you said lovingly. Harry steals another kiss from you before he parts away. “I love you, too,” He says and winks at you, making your cheeks turn red as you put on your mask.

Just as you said before, you stay through the whole performance, your eyes always focused on him with the energy and charm he always brings into every show. You have to admit that his outfit was really doing things to you. You love how fitting the pants were on Harry’s legs, not to mention how great his ass looks as he danced around on stage. You did not miss the times where his jacket opened slightly and exposed more of his bare chest. Your eyes linger on the chest littered with tattoos you love to trace and give kisses and hickies on it. 

Similarly, Harry couldn’t keep his eyes off of you. The way the pink satin dress you wore hugged every inch of your body. Even behind the mask you were wearing, he knew you were smiling underneath it as you watched him sing. Admittedly, he wasn’t even looking at you because he was nervous; he simply was just admiring how absolutely ravishing you were looking. But that’s a thought he’ll get back to when the night is done. 

As the performance ended, the people around the set applauded. Harry bows down, humbly thanking them and a big smile breaks on his face when he hears your cheers. And it was moments like this where he loves the fact that you are his biggest fan. 

The both of you meet back in his designated room where he is supposed to change his outfit for the main event. He pushes your body gently against the wall as he desperately kisses you. Your arms are around his shoulder as you weave your fingers through his hair. He’s definitely going to get in trouble for that mess soon. His hands travel slowly down your body and stops on your behind, cheekily grabbing a handful. You moan into the kiss and Harry lets his tongue into your mouth. 

“Baby,” you say in between the kisses. “Gotta get you changed,” you giggle as he kisses you; he swears his heart flutters whenever you laugh. “Yeah? Did ya like my performance out there, lovie?” he asks as he lips travel to your cheek and down your neck. 

Harry feels you shiver and you could feel his smirk against your skin. You pull his face away from you and he pouts. “I love it. But you have to change for the main event,” you say and smile at his childish pout. You kiss the tip of his nose which makes him scrunch his face up. “Promise we’ll do this again later,” 

And his eyes widen at the suggestion and he steals a peck from you. “I’m looking forward to that, lovie,” he smirks. 

━

The event was definitely something you didn’t think you’d get to experience. You honestly had to pinch yourself, hoping that was actually Dua Lipa and Taylor Swift that were sitting a few tables away from you. With every category leading up to the ones Harry was nominated, you could feel his hands sweating as they’re intertwined with yours. Harry didn’t mind if he didn’t win, but the thought of actually winning was definitely there in his mind. 

You lift your hands, pull down your mask and press small kisses on the back of his hand, reassuring him always. And he smiles in gratitude at you. 

As they are announcing the nominees for Best Pop Solo Performance, Harry’s hand grips yours tighter and you rub his arm in hopes to ease his nerves. The moment you hear the words ‘Watermelon Sugar’, you jump up from your chair and scream through your mask just as everyone else in the room stands and applaud him. Harry, for one, is in complete utter disbelief that he is the winner. 

He stands from his chair, removing his mask, and gives you the biggest smile and tightest hug. “You did it, baby,” he hears you say in his ear amidst the applause, cheers and his song playing in the background. After giving Jeff a hug, he makes his way towards the stage. He picks up the shiny golden gramophone for a moment and sets it down before giving his speech. As he expresses his thanks and gratitude, you sit there looking up at him with the proudest face. Your heart feels warm knowing how this dream of his was finally a reality. 

His speech nears its end when he makes one last thank you. “And to my love, for always believing in me and always telling me to strive for greatness. You were the first person I shared this album in its entirety and you’ve given me the love and support that is beyond what I deserve. I love you endlessly and this wouldn’t have been possible without you. I feel very honoured to be standing here with all of you so thank you so much,” He thanks the audience again before leaving the stage so he could sit next to you again, completely forgetting about his award on stage which made you giggle. 

The night goes on and the both of you continue to soak in the magical night. At one point, you manage to have a conversation with Taylor Swift and you are surprised that you didn’t pass out. While Harry didn’t win in the other categories he was in, he was still grateful for the achievement and recognition he got. It was a marvelous night, he admits.

It was very late when you got home. You chuck your shoes away as you enter and quickly make your way to the couch where you could rest for a bit. Harry chuckles at you as he closes the door. He leans over you, smiling at your tired state and admiring your figure as your dress rises to your mid-thighs when you lie down. 

“Scoot over, bubs,” he says as he takes off his orange blazer and black boa. He squeezes in beside you, resting his face on your chest while holding you close so you don’t fall off the edge of the couch. He hums as he feels your fingers running through his hair, pressing soft kisses on his head. 

For a moment, he slowly feels himself falling asleep before he hears you gasp from above. “I forgot something!” you exclaim as you pull yourself off from under and rush to the kitchen. You hear Harry whine in protest as you leave him on the couch. “Bubs, I wanna cuddle,” he whines, his face smushed up against the couch as he misses your warmth. 

“One second, H!” you say back to him. He hears you rummaging through something and for a second, he is intrigued by what you have up your sleeve. Harry hears your footsteps coming back and hears you setting down something as it clinks on the coffee table. 

“Bubs, open your eyes!” 

Harry is tempted to just fall asleep right then and there, but he hears the excitement in your voice and sighs against the couch as he opens his eyes. There you are, with the sweetest smile on your face next to a small round chocolate cake on a cake stand. Next to it are some plates, forks and a knife. Harry gets up and sits down next to you. “W-What? Where did you get this?” he says as he smiles at you. 

“I made it for you. Today right before I went to see you. It’s why I was running late before your performance,” you beam at him and Harry looks at you in pure adoration. “I would’ve written something, like ‘Grammy Winner’ or something but that would be mocking you, you know, in case you didn’t win. But now you won and I kinda feel bad tha-” 

Your words are cut off as Harry smashes his lips against yours. You hum in delight as your lips move against each other. Harry breaks away and cups your face in his large hands. They may be rough due to the guitar scars he gets, but they’re where yours belong. 

“I love it, baby. Thank you,” he says sincerely and both of you smile, your eyes and heart holding all the love you had for each other. “I love you too. Anything for my Grammy-winner love,” you say softly as you peck his lips again. “Shall we?” you motion your head towards the cake. Harry agrees as he watches you cutting the cake for the both of you, his smile filled with love and adoration for you. 

And he admits that you are simply the most amazing person he has ever loved. He had the most marvelous and golden night with you. 

[neongoth94]

Oscars 2022

It’s that time of year again where people choose to have needless discourses rather than healthy discussions about what should or shouldn’t be considered the best movies of the year. 

That’s right! It’s the Oscars! A night full of cringe and facepalming!

I know most people don’t care and think it’s all pointless, but I can’t help myself… I watch it every year. And while I don’t believe their nominations should dictate what movies you’re supposed to like, I still appreciate the Oscars for highlighting many films that I think most people would’ve ended up overlooking. 

This year, I actually managed to watch and rank almost all the nominations. Only ones I’ve missed out on was Coming 2 America, Four Good Days, and No Time to Die. 

Anyway, I wanna take some time to ramble and give my thoughts on who or what should win each category. And I’ll be going in the order seen above, starting with…

Actor in a Leading Role 

Andrew Garfield was simply phenomenal in Tick, Tick… Boom. He had a lot to work with for his performance, whether it was with any of the more joyous, emotional, or musical scenes. Benedict Cumberbatch was excellent, too. As was Denzel Washington. Will Smith was fine, though at times, he didn’t have a lot of range to work with. And Javier Bardem as Desi Arnez just felt like a weird casting choice.

Actor in a Supporting Role 

Troy Kotsur in CODA, because his performance felt so genuine and down-to-earth. He was truly the heart and soul of the film. Jesse Plemons and Kodi Smit-McPhee were also great in their respective roles. Ciarán Hinds did fine, but it wasn’t too memorable for me. And J.K. Simmons was unfortunately given little to work with.

Actress in a Leading Role 

Olivia Coleman’s performance in The Lost Daughter was one that I grew to love over time. It’s quiet and subtle, but you can feel the strong emotions that are trying to be suppressed. Honestly, the same could be said for Kristen Stewart’s performance, which was just as outstanding. Penélope Cruz also did very well. Nicole Kidman was fine, even if it was just a Lucille Ball impression. And Jessica Chastain, while entertaining to watch, was perhaps a little over-the-top.

Actress in a Supporting Role 

While I have no complaints about any of the other nominees here, Kirsten Dunst in The Power of the Dog stood out to me the most. The emotional weight of her character was portrayed very well in her performance. Jessie Buckley was also quite great, as it seemed like quite a challenge playing a younger version of Coleman’s character. Ariana DeRose, Judi Dench, and Aunjanue Ellis were also pretty good. Really, I’d have no major complaints if any of these nominees win.

Animated Feature Film 

The Mitchells vs. the Machines absolutely deserve this honor. The fun and relatable charisma of this movie was so impossible for me to resist. Though like always, Disney always has the upper-hand because… well, they’re Disney. Don’t get me wrong, though. Encanto was a great movie, and I wouldn’t mind seeing it win. Luca was fun and cute too. Then there’s Raya and the Last Dragon, which I don’t remember a lot of. And the least likely to win is Flee, which is a shame cause it’s actually a really good movie! But I’ll get more into that later.

Cinematography 

This should definitely go to Dune. The creative technical innovations used to bring this world to life is just incredible. Power of the Dog and The Tragedy of Macbeth were also quite impressive in their own ways, one being more grounded and the other being more stylized. West Side Story and Nightmare Alley were quite spectacular as well, even though it did feel like they had a lot of digital polishing.

Costume Design 

Believe it or not, I’m actually rooting for Cruella! That movie may have been messy, but what a fabulous mess it was! Cyrano, Dune and the other nominations had some good costumes too. But they never really stood out to me compared to similar styles from other films.

Directing 

After thinking long about this one, I may have to go with Jane Campion. Managing to be slow and subtle while tense and brooding, I think she did a masterful job with Power of the Dog. Ryusuke Hamaguchi was just as incredible directing Drive My Car. And Steven Speilberg’s films are always a treat to watch, with West Side Story being no exception. Paul Thomas Anderson did fine with Licorice Pizza, even if the film was rather episodic. And Kenneth Branagh made some interesting stylistic choices for Belfast, some of which worked, while others didn’t.

Documentary (Feature) 

Flee is definitely my favorite here. Thematically relevant to many of today's recent events, the use of animation to hide the identity of a refugee narrator as he tells his story of survival works very well. Ascension is also quite a unique one that I feel is just as relevant, as it deals with productivity and consumerism within different social classes. Attica and Writing with Fire are also well-made documentaries that I can easily recommend if the subjects interest you. And Summer of Soul, while fine, unfortunately did not appeal to me much. Sorry, but I’m just not that into concert films.

Documentary (Short Subject) 

I really found myself enjoying Audible. It was very well-made and had a hopeful message that really resonated with me. The Queen of Basketball was fine, even if a little standard. Three Songs for Benazir was unfortunately quite boring and didn’t really go anywhere. Lead Me Home was awfully exploitative with its subject, focusing more on style over substance. And When We were Bullies was just so fucking pointless and tone-deaf.

Film Editing 

I’m going with Tick, Tick… Boom for this one. It was probably the most playful and unique compared to the other nominations. Dune and Power of the Dog also had good editing. King Richard wasn’t anything that remarkable. And Don’t Look Up?! Why the fuck is that nominated?!

International Feature Film 

The Worst Person in the World is truly the best film in this or any other category! As someone in her late-20s who’s feeling quite lost, I connected with this film so much! Drive My Car, which will be the likely winner, was also quite impactful for me. And as I already said about Flee a few categories ago, I loved it. The Hand of God I liked fine, though I did lose interest during the third act. And Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom was okay, but also pretty dull and predictable. 

Still with me? Don’t worry, we’re over halfway through now…

Makeup and Hairstyling 

It should go to Dune. It not only stood out a lot more to me than the costuming, it also added a lot to each of the characters. The makeup for Coming 2 America was also really well-done, even though I’m only going by the clips I’ve seen. Cruella was fine, but nothing as cool as the costumes. And the prosthetic makeup for The Eyes of Tammy Faye and House of Gucci were just not unconvincing at all. 

Music (Original Score) 

Jonny Greenwood’s score for Power of the Dog was truly the best one. So strange and atmospheric. The other nominations all pretty much did their job well. At worst, Don’t Look Up was probably the least memorable despite its jazzy vibe.

Music (Original Song) 

No Time to Die by Billie Eilish was my favorite here. Though to be honest, they’re all pretty forgettable. 

Production Design 

Tragedy of Macbeth definitely deserves some high marks for its incredible look. While credit could easily be shared with its cinematography, I felt like the design and settings were characters themselves. Nightmare Alley also had an immensely beautiful aesthetic. No complaints about the other nominations, as they each had their own unique mise-en-scène.

Short Film (Animated) 

Bestia was my favorite of this bunch, but due to the controversial subject and extremely graphic scenes, it’s hard for me to really recommend it. And I highly doubt the Academy would be brave enough to choose this one as the winner. I also really liked the darkly comic Affairs of the Art. However, Robin Robin was super adorable, so I can totally see it winning as it’s the most family-friendly. Boxballet didn’t appeal to me much. And The Windshield Wiper was visually outstanding, but WOW that ending was fucking pretentious.

Short Film (Live Action) 

Ala Kachuu: Take and Run might be my favorite here. It made for quite a tense and frustrating thriller. The Long Goodbye was a kind of a surprise, in which after a horrific sequence, Riz Ahmed directly addresses the viewers with some brutal honesty. Both of those shorts were quite shockingly effective in what they were trying to get across. Just as distressing, but far more satirically fun, was Please Hold. As for The Dress, it started off fine enough before devolving into some pointless shock value. And On My Mind just felt clichéd.

Sound 

Dune, just because of the otherworldly nature of the soundscape. The other nominees were fine, but nothing really stood out.

Visual Effects 

Again, Dune really deserves a lot of the technical awards. It’s amazing how seamless the visual effects look, and on such a grand scale too. No Time to Die was also really impressive, at least judging from the clips I’ve seen. And I wouldn’t be too upset if Spider-Man won, cause that de-aging effect on Alfred Molina was really top-notch. Otherwise, it was just a lot of the typical Marvel blue-screen effects, which can also be said for Shang-Chi. But God, why is Free Guy even here?

Writing (Adapted Screenplay) 

Knowing nothing about the original source materials, I’m going with whatever I felt best represented its themes and ideas through both its story and characters. And for me, that was the beautifully moving and the profoundly epic, Drive My Car. 

Writing (Original Screenplay) 

Once again, I’m choosing the screenplay that I felt best showcased what it had to offer. To me, that was The Worst Person in the World, which not only made me laugh, but it also made me stop and think things over. This truly is my absolute favorite out of all the nominations.

And now for the big one…

Best Picture 

Taking into account my own personal taste and what the Academy will likely vote for… The Power of the Dog. It really is a great film that examines that feeling of suppressed longing. And while I wouldn’t hype this up as the best film of the year, it is definitely my favorite of this main category.

Now with that said, let’s go through the other nominees, from my favorite to least favorite…

Drive My Car, a film some would argue is truly the best of the year, which I can agree with in some respects. Nightmare Alley, a Guillermo del Toro movie that I feel will be overlooked as time passes, but is still a fantastically thrilling noir. West Side Story, a grand retelling of the classic musical that Spielberg manages to make fresh. CODA, a sweet and light-hearted story that, even if it doesn’t challenge, still brings a smile. Dune, a first half to a larger story that is hopefully worth the ambition. Licorice Pizza, a fun-fueled Paul Thomas Anderson movie that may not win everyone over due to its episodic structure. Belfast, Kenneth Branagh’s semi-autobiographical feature that, while admirable, doesn’t strike the right emotions. King Richard, a standard sports drama biopic that’s neither good nor bad, simply following the typical formula. And finally, Don’t Look Up, a divisively messy satire with an obvious metaphor that only manages to bring some good performances.

And those are my thoughts. If you actually made it this far, thank you for bearing with me. And remember, these awards technically don’t really matter. You can like whatever movie you like. I just hope people at least take the time to appreciate the hard work that goes into them.

Until next year… Maybe… We’ll see...

[snowydaffodils]

Flustered

3501 words | 2nd Person POV

A Yoon Jeonghan fluff, prompt, how you met, how you (hinted) eventually dated, where you're an actress and he's the other lead actor. Enjoy your new years! 🎉

---

Yoon Jeonghan is very rarely flustered. If anything, he's usually the cause of all the flustering - twelve boys can back you up on that. He'd make fun of your height, poke your cheeks, comment cutesy compliments as you work together, flirt playfully, and make fun of how stupid your character sounds.

Indeed, you accepted this role fully aware of the awfully pure and slow-witted character the scriptwriter had written down. Throughout your years in acting, even if this was your very first lead role, you had never gone easy on the rest of the roles you had received. You live and understand them, think like them, and every single character you've performed have now become a part of you. But of course, the closest character to you now is this easily distracted girl who just blushes all the time.

So for the course of eight months, you've acted with all your might, and this is the you that Jeonghan knew. You weren't exactly innocent and slow-witted just like the character, but a bit of the character influenced your own personal traits. The fun to tease, cute, and adorably likable girl. Just like you, it was his first lead role in a drama, and the first one in Seventeen to land on one, too, even if he wasn't the first one to be in one. He had curiously accepted a side role before, right after his military release, and just as the group were exploring their own careers whilst waiting to reunite again as a whole. That side role, with the help of his previous acting lessons, drowned him into the world of acting once more, and he fell in love with the art of the screen more than he ever did before.

Your first impression on him during the first cast meeting was that he looked heavenly. It was like his cheekbones were sculpted to perfection and no one could tell you otherwise. You were incredibly starstruck and in awe that you stuttered in making your first introductions. It didn't help that he was smooth with his words, too, making you sound incredibly nervous as opposed to him.

"Hi, I'm Jeonghan from Seventeen, and I'll be taking the lead role in this drama. Please take care of me."

"Hi, I'm play, uh, playing the lead gull, I mean g-girl."

Had he smiled politely and continued the conversation like nothing had happened, maybe you wouldn't have been too embarrassed, but also maybe you wouldn't have let your guards down to know and befriend him personally. Instead, he had laughed at you with all the stomach power he had. He never lets you forget that you stuttered so badly as you introduced yourself for the first time the entire day. He even made his own reasons (you wouldn't admit them, but they couldn't have been more true) as to why you stuttered.

"Nervous? I'm super charming, aren't I?" his ego is surely out of bounds as he said that, a smirk donning his lips. "I know, I'm surprised at myself, too sometimes."

You hit him on the arm, your cheeks growing in color. "I'm a big fan of Seventeen, but I didn't realize that you're this cheeky."

He laughed, so genuinely and purely, and you smiled, already warmed up to him. He made friends with you quickly, and from all the behind the scenes footage, he was quick to melt his awkward-i-just-met-you exterior and interacted with you as he would with his members. Jeonghan was this tall, built, and handsome man, and he owned unreal facial features that made everyone wonder if he was indeed human just like everyone else. He was perfect for his role: the cold, sly, and dominating lead in the series. It was the complete opposite of your character, and with his friendliness, it was easy for you to quickly build up chemistry and work well with him, but as you two get closer, the more playful he became.

"You're the love of my life," he recited his lines, cheesy as it is, to which you became shy to and shrank as he got closer and closed his lips to yours.

He was quick to tease your blushes after the director's "Cut!" in each kissing scene, and would tease you easily at other romantic or heart fluttering scenes you had to do.

"Aww, that's cute, you're blushing again! I can hear your heart fluttering," he would say. "Then again, I am charming."

And in each time, you were always caught in his trap, stuck in the moment, and your heart follows his lead, ignoring all the other self-restraining signals your head was screaming about. He'd laugh right after he got a reaction out of you, and the grin he'd give you would linger in your head for the rest of the day.

There was another day when one of his members - Joshua - came to support as a cameo, and it felt like Jeonghan was on booster or something. He introduced you to Joshua, who was sweet, polite, and a perfect gentleman, but then Jeonghan continued to tease you the entire day Joshua was there. He made sure to remind Joshua how cute you were so many times throughout the day. At that point you were actually getting used to Jeonghan's antics, but him teasing you in front of a new person puts you on another level of flustered.

"Hey Josh, meet the love of my life," Jeonghan said, using his scripted lines.

Joshua, while he was nicer than Jeonghan, still played along sometimes. "Then I'll call you member-in-law!" He said.

Your birthday was on a filming day, and he managed to fool you to think that you had hurt his feelings by giving him comments on his acting as per usual (you were sure you weren't saying anything bad, but he kept directing it to be a negative one). He started showing acts of distaste and, at one point, even yelled at you and left the room.

It was heart-wrenching to watch him leave - you never wanted to hurt his feelings, you just wanted to help and support him and the drama entirely. Guilt washed over you quickly, and tears piled in your eyes. The crew was looking at you so judgmentally, and all you wanted to do was go home, lock the doors, and hide under your covers. You didn't know what to do, and some of the crew even went to you to convince you that he just needed to blow off steam and he'll be back and you can apologize when he gets back.

You wanted to scream and rip his hair off when he came back with a cake, singing Happy Birthday like nothing happened. Your tears flowed like a river though, because you genuinely thought that Yoon Jeonghan, this man, was actually angry at you to the point that he put it to display to everyone who was present and even yelled at you.

"Don't cry!" he laughed at you, taking the cream from the cake and swiping your cheeks with his finger. "You'll look ugly. We have to take a picture with this cake!"

You cursed at him for the first time since you've known him, but he only chuckled and patted your back to calm down your sniffles (you glared at his finger until he wiped the cream away first, though). He gave you a friendly hug and you hit him to prove the point that you were upset, and it was a loud slap in the back that everyone was surprised but laughed at. Apparently, a behind-the-scenes camera was on and recording the entire surprise; Jeonghan remembered this and went to the camera to tell on you. He complained really loudly, "Carats, she hit me!" he pointed at you playfully.

You were still sniffling, snots everywhere and you eyes still bawling with tears. "Y-you deserve it!" you screamed.

On the last day of filming, you had laughed everything off, remembering everything that happened during the course of filming and engraving every memory to your heart. It was surely an indescribable experience. The crew had been super nice, and they felt like a second family to you. The cast members became your best friends, including the one and only Yoon Jeonghan. You thanked Jeonghan, the rest of the cast, and the entire crew for all their hard work, hugged your co-stars tightly, and told Jeonghan to stay in contact with you even after it all ended because you'd miss him.

"Hey, but don't be a stranger," you told him. "I think I'm too used to having you around, its gonna be hard to live peacefully, now."

He smiled, pinched your cheeks and said, "Did you think I'm gonna stop just because the drama ended? You should've seen me annoy my members even from the military base."

You rolled your eyes at him, "I wouldn't dare to assume you'd do anything less."

And he kept to his word. Though there hadn't been any opportunities for both of you to meet each other again (variety shows and interview promotions were done during the course of filming), he still contacts you day-to-day, even if only to send a meme he found of you and laugh at you through text.

"You really DO look like you've got a frog in your mouth! Hahahaha!"

This went on through the rest of the year until the Award Shows started to busy every single celebrity available, finally announcing the invites, MCs, performances, and nominees to each award they have. Your drama with Jeonghan had hit it big as fans were so happy to watch both of you interact (also, maybe because Woozi sang the main OST, and Scoups' rap on the OST was fire), and you were invited to almost every single one of them as a nominee for multiple awards.

It was first assumed, then implied, but it was also because he was actually sweet enough to ask you personally, that you were officially his date to every one of the award shows your drama was nominated in. You agreed, not because he was your co-star, but because he was a genuinely nice and fun person to spend time with. You were also very excited, not just because you were nominated, but also because this time you were going to finally present your original and true self to Yoon Jeonghan and the world. The other characters within you screamed in delight as you excitement rose, and you had planned everything out, determined to show that you are not just a simple easily teased girl that Yoon Jeonghan bullies on.

On the very first show you wore a white gown - the top part was gold glitter with a heart neckline, and it corseted your figure, highlighting all the important curves in your body. Down your dress, the fabric flowed in an A-line skirt, transparency growing in a gradient as it reached the bottom, your strapped golden heels visible within your skirt. You put your half your hair into a braid and curled the rest. With curtain-like gold earrings and white diamonds shining out of the strands, Jeonghan was stunned when he saw you for the first time. Your make up was different from what he was used to, and a mature-like pureness aura radiates from you. He didn't know what to say, muted to say the least. He had never seen you like that, and once both of you reached the red carpet, his hand on your back as a gentlemanly support to guide you through the reporters, he noticed how straight you walked, and how you carried yourself so gracefully. The reporters were asking questions, but he left the answering to you as he continued to stay stunned through the red carpet. It was only when you both had finally taken your seats when he finally relaxed and converse normally again.

The minimum movements you emitted, just enough to be polite and to please your audience were not missed by the man, and he observed the details of your interactions to the utmost adoration. Your gracefulness had struck a chord in his heart and he was awed to say the least.

He ended the night with a shy smile and an "Oh, and by the way, you were absolutely beautiful tonight." The sincerity of his tone didn't go unnoticed and you didn't forget to thank him before going separate ways. It was oddly out of character of him to do, but you liked the new side of him you have yet to explore.

The next show, you opted for a bright red designer's gown. This one, fitting to its price tag, created this absolutely stunning silhouette, and while it did not sparkle or glitter, its muted red still create a distinction of you and made you shine. The designed folds in your dress accented your figure even more, and with a looser fabric, the skirt of your dress was made longer so it could trail behind you as you walk. Your hair was gathered up into one straight ponytail, a pretty simple hairdo to gather attention to your striking gown for the night.

Jeonghan didn't recognize you when he first was led to your changing room. You didn't just look like a different person, you feel like one, too. He didn't even realize that he held his breath as he looked at you. The stylist were so proud of their efforts and Jeonghan's reaction had them giggling and teasing him. "She's incredibly beautiful, isn't she?"

He barely managed a "yes" before you could chuckle and said to him, "Well look who's being shy, now."

At this, he returned a laughter of his own. He didn't bother hiding his surprised expression. "You got me. You look incredible."

Your outfit and style of the day, added with your elegance and poise as you conducted yourself in front of the reporters and other celebrities had Jeonghan staring at you for a while, and quite numerous whiles. He absolutely adored you. There was a surging feeling of wholesome pride as he stood beside you, his hand on your back as he escorted you through the venue. Even as he teased you as he answered the reporters' questions, you had retained your poise as you held it within yourself not to be flustered easily by this man. You had a year worth of practice for that.

"Isn't she beautiful? I'm such a fan of hers," Jeonghan whispered to the reporters, his playful grins and chuckles evident as he interacted happily. "She doesn't look like her character now, does she?"

You chuckled along with him, but dragged him to stop him from acting like a fan on the red carpet. He laughed and after a few tries of refusing your urges to move on, eventually let it go and allowed you to pull him forwards. As you moved on, he placed his hand on your back just like how he usually does, as a sign that he was right there walking with you.

The third time though, Jeonghan was speechless. He barely spoke through the course of the night, and his eyes never left you.

You wore a black designer's gown this time, with sequinned patterned Qs coming from your neck down to your knees before the skirt spreads out to hide your silver heels. It was a mermaid gown and it hugged your figure nicely. The skirt was actually more flowy that you thought, but it added a nice touch. You wore silver earrings and diamond hair pieces as you put your hair up in the most elegant updo Jeonghan had ever seen. He was already stunned when he saw you for the first time, but he almost choked when you turned around only for him to realize that your gown was completely backless.

Now, where is he supposed to place his hand again?

His face was flushed and when you turned to finally go out the door, you see his face filled with more red than you've ever seen. While his face was kind of salvaged by the foundation he used, the makeup couldn't help his neck from turning red as well.

"Yoon Jeonghan, are you sick?" you asked aloud, gaining the attention of all staff members present, all their eyes pointed at the man in question. "Or are you actually blushing?"

Your second question snapped him out of his haze (and had many of the stylists and make up artists giggling) as he looked at you for a few seconds, and you were starting to actually worry, before he eventually puts his hand on his forehead, covering his face.

"God, you'll be the death of me. Let's go before I embarrass myself any further."

He was indeed blushing, and his statement confirmed that for you. You laughed, but you can't help but feel you cheeks tinting a little pink from his confession. He linked your arm with his and went out together.

The first few minutes into the red carpet, Jeonghan did his best not to have direct contact with your back. He was blushing the entire time, had to ask the interviewers to repeat themselves a couple of times, and his hand was going to unsure places like your shoulder or your waist, which he was also not confident about, and eventually just lingers a few inches away from your back, like in mid-air. The so-called manner hands.

It wasn't as reassuring as having his hand on your back like the previous times you both had gone through this. His focus was also off as he tried to avoid the contact, and just moved his hand when you moved as well. You sighed and just pulled his hand to slightly slap your back, and you pointed a look at Jeonghan's direction, telling him to stop fidgeting through your eyes.

He blushed.

"Jeonghan, are you not feeling well?" one of the reporters asked.

He seemed to click then and there. His honest self couldn't help himself as he answered, "Oh yeah, she just looks gorgeous tonight, I can't take my eyes off of her."

When he finally comprehended his own words, he fumbled and stuttered. "I-I mean," he tried to reason, but the stars in the reporters' eyes were showing that they heard everything he said, and some of them squealed in delight.

"Why, thank you," you turned to face him, your smile directed for him.

He was stunned - again.

"Oh, let's just go," he said shyly, one of his hands reaching to his neck to feel just how warm he had gotten.

That night, both of you had received a daesang award, but Jeonghan kind of added a few more elements to his acceptance speech.

"Hi, this is Seventeen's Jeonghan. This acting experience was truly incredible and there's so many people who should know that they are the reason for this award. I want to thank Carats, who have always been there for me through thick and thin, and my members who have been watching and supporting me, especially to Joshua who became a cameo, my parents and my family members who had been with me from the very start, the staff members, Pledis, directors, pd-nim, and all the crew members. This is not possible without any of you. And special thanks to," Jeonghan moved his eyes on you, and he didn't know why then and there, your name disappeared from his head and instead replaced with that one line that had caught all the viewers' heart as they watched the drama.

"The love of my life - " he stopped when he realized what he just said, and realized he had kind of just confessed on national TV. "I mean, M-my co-star."

You stood there surprised at how flustered Yoon Jeonghan could be, and stunned that you were the main reason that he was fumbling on the stage and his ears redder than ever. He caught himself before he did anything else and finished his speech nicely.

"Anyways, uh, thank you for this award, I'll work even harder to be a better actor and come back with more for you all. Thankyou!"

It was your turn after him to deliver your speech, and suddenly the trophy on your hands became heavier than it actually was. Jeonghan turned his back to walk back to the spot beside you as you move forward, and you can see a small smile tugging the corners of his lips. When you were brushing against each other before you took the mic, he whispered, just loud for you to hear, and short enough to go unnoticed.

"Yes, that was my confession to you. Will you go out with me?"

All eyes were on you and all lights were on you when you felt like you bit your tongue and couldn't speak.

The MCs were waiting for your speech, and nudged you to start when you seem lost.

"Ah, yes, I mean, no, I mean yes!"

Yoon Jeonghan really knows how to fluster you, even in his most flustering moments.

---

[aliveandfullofjoy]

okay! for some ungodly reason i've finally seen all 8 of this year's best picture nominees, all 20 of this year's nominated performances, and all five directing nominees. because i'm nothing if i don't rank things, here we go!

Best Picture:

Nomadland

Minari

Sound of Metal

The Father

Judas and the Black Messiah

Promising Young Woman

The Trial of the Chicago 7

Mank

i am NOT HERE for #7 or 8, but i either love or like the top six, which is a pretty great average for me. the top two are pretty far out ahead comparatively, but again, really solid group overall.

Best Director:

Chloé Zhao, Nomadland

Lee Isaac Chung, Minari

Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman

Thomas Vinterberg, Another Round

David Fincher, Mank

Zhao's win will be richly deserved. Fincher has no business being nominated. Vinterberg's work is solid, but the film is pretty hollow and will be a wholly unmemorable winner for International Feature (especially with Quo Vadis, Aida? in contention as well -- Jasmila Zbanic would've been a far more deserving international nominee for Director too).

Best Actress:

Frances McDormand, Nomadland

Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman

Viola Davis, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

Andra Day, The United States vs. Billie Holiday

Vanessa Kirby, Pieces of a Woman

I've settled on predicting Viola Davis for the win on Sunday, and I'll be thrilled to see her win a leading Oscar even if her work in Ma Rainey is far from my favorite performance of hers. McDormand is miraculous in Nomadland, and she's remained my personal choice in this category all year. Mulligan is great, walking a real tightrope in her film. Day and Kirby are in very, very bad movies, and while neither of them are bad, neither of them are very good either.

Best Actor:

Anthony Hopkins, The Father

Steven Yeun, Minari

Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal

Gary Oldman, Mank

man, replace fuckin' Gary Oldman with Delroy Lindo and you'd have what might be the best oscar lineup ever?? Oldman is excruciatingly hammy, but the other four are unreal. Ahmed would probably win in any other year, and he's amazing. Yeun does beautifully subtle work; even with the Oscar nomination, I feel like his performance is underrated. Hopkins gives a career-best performance in The Father. he's astonishing, and he seems to be picking up steam to win the whole damn thing at the eleventh hour. however, i won't lie to you: if he wins on Sunday, i'll be just a little disappointed. Chadwick Boseman's stunning final performance in Ma Rainey would be a great performance regardless of his death, but a posthumous Oscar win is a more than fitting tribute to one of the great movie stars of our lifetime, gone far too soon.

Best Supporting Actress:

Youn Yuh-jung, Minari

Olivia Colman, The Father

Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

Amanda Seyfried, Mank

Glenn Close, Hillbilly Elegy

if Youn doesn't win on Sunday, i'll be devastated, lmao. she's so far and away the most deserving choice here. Colman gives a beautiful, complex performance in The Father. Bakalova also gives a complex performance, albeit a very funny one. Seyfried revitalizes her drab film whenever she appears, but it's not much more than that. Close is... the less said about her performance the better.

Best Supporting Actor:

Paul Raci, Sound of Metal

Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah

Lakeith Stanfield, Judas and the Black Messiah

Leslie Odom, Jr., One Night in Miami

Sacha Baron Cohen, The Trial of the Chicago 7

Sacha Baron Cohen's nomination is completely useless, as is his entire film, but otherwise, these are four great performances. are they four great supporting performances? ehhhh. maybe not! Odom is terrific, easily the highlight of Miami. Stanfield is so, so good in Judas, but he's clearly the film's lead. Kaluuya, who will win the Oscar in a walk, is tremendously powerful, a real volcanic performance. Raci is my favorite, though, a wholly honest and lived-in supporting turn from a character actor who's never even flirted with this level of exposure before. his nomination was one of the unlikeliest, but it's one of the very best of the year.

i'll probably post predictions this weekend. excited for this season to finally end tbh, lol.

[theloreofwhatilove]

Joaquin Phoenix Speeches 2020

BAFTAs:

I feel very honoured and privileged to be here tonight. The BAFTAs have always been very supportive of my career and I'm deeply appreciative. But I have to say that I also feel conflicted because so many of my fellow actors that are deserving don't have that same privilege.  

I think that we send a very clear message to people of colour: that you're not welcome here. I think that's the message that we're sending to people that have contributed so much to our medium and our industry and in ways that we benefit from.

I don't think anybody wants a handout or preferential treatment, although that's what we give ourselves every year. I think that people just want to be acknowledged and appreciated and respected for their work.

This is not a self-righteous condemnation because I'm ashamed to say that I'm part of the problem. I have not done everything in my power to ensure that the sets I work on are inclusive. But I think that it's more than just having sets that are multicultural. I think that we have to really do the hard work to truly understand systemic racism.

I think that it is the obligation of the people that have created and perpetuate and benefit from a system of oppression to be the ones that dismantle it. So that's on us.  

Thank you.

SAG:

When I started acting again and going to auditions and getting the final callback, I think many people know what that’s like. And there would be these two other guys that I’d be up against. And we’d always lost to this one kid. No actor would ever say his name because it was too much, but every casting director would whisper “it’s Leonardo, it’s Leonardo”.

Who is this Leonardo? Leo, you’ve been an inspiration to me for the last 25 years. I thank you very very much.

Christian, you commit to your roles in ways that I can only dream of. You never turn in a bad performance. It’s infuriating. I wish you would. Just one time. Just suck once, that’d be great.

Adam, I’ve been watching you the last few years and you0ve just been turning these beautiful, nuanced, incredible, profound performances. I am just so moved by you. You were just devastating in [The Marriage Story] and you should be here.

Taron, where are you? I am so happy for you, wherever you are. Hey. Hey, man. You are so beautiful in this movie and I am so happy for you. And I can’t wait to see what else you do.

And really, I’m standing here on the shoulders of my favorite actor, Heath Ledger.

Golden Globes:

First, I’d like to thank the Hollywood Foreign Press, um, for recognizing and acknowledging the link between animal agriculture and climate change. It’s a very bold move making tonight plant-based, and it really sends a powerful message.

We all know there's no fucking competition between us...I'm inspired by you, I'm your fucking student.

I know people say this but I really do feel honored to be mentioned with you. Some of you I reached out to personally. Some I’m still a little too intimidated by, even though we share the same agent. Hi, Christian (Bale). Uh, you’re not here.

Contrary to popular belief, I don't like to rock the boat, but the boat needs to be fucking rocked. It’s really nice that so many people have come up and sent their well wishes to Australia - but we gotta do better that that. Hopefully we can be unified and actually make some changes. It’s great to vote but sometimes we need to take that responsibility within ourselves. Make changes and sacrifices in our own lives. We don’t have to take private jets to Palm Springs and back, please. I will try to do better and I hope you will too.

Oscars (The Academy):

I’m full of so much gratitude right now. I do not feel elevated above any of my fellow nominees, or anyone in this room, because we share the same love: The love of film. And this form of expression has given me the most extraordinary life. I don’t know what I’d be without it.

But I think the greatest gift that its given me and many of us in this room is the opportunity to use our voice for the voiceless. I’ve been thinking a lot about some of the distressing issues that we are facing collectively and I think at times we feel or are made to feel that we champion different causes. But for me, I see commonality.

I think whether we’re talking about gender and equality or racism or queer rights or indigenous rights or animal rights, we’re talking about the fight against injustice. We’re talking about the fight against the belief that one nation, one people, one race, one gender, or one species has the right to dominate, control and use and exploit another with impunity.

I think that we’ve become very disconnected from the natural world. And many of us, what we’re guilty of is an egocentric world view: the belief that we’re the center of the universe. We go into the natural world and we plunder it for its resources. We feel entitled to artificially inseminate a cow and when she gives birth, we steal her baby, even though her cries of anguish are unmistakable. And then we take her milk that’s intended for her calf and we put it in our coffee and our cereal.

And I think we fear the idea of personal change, because we think we have to sacrifice something, to give something up. But human beings at our best are so inventive and creative and ingenious. And I think that when we use love and compassion as our guiding principles, we can create, develop and implement systems of change that are beneficial to all sentient beings and to the environment.

Now, I have been a scoundrel in my life. I have been a scoundrel, I’ve been selfish, I’ve been cruel at times, hard to work with and ungrateful. But so many of you in this room have given me a second chance. And I think that’s when we’re at our best: When we support each other, not when we cancel each other out for past mistakes, but when we help each other to grow, when we educate each other, when we guide each other toward redemption. That is the best of humanity.

I just... I want to... when he was 17, my brother wrote this lyric: He said “run to the rescue with love and peace will follow”.

Thank you.

[darknessisafriend]

Can I request y/n and Joaquin at the oscars since he just won, please? :) 💕

I LOVE SO MUCH ANON

OMG his speech was to damn beautiful and moving, I’m so proud of him and he and Rooney were just so cute together *_* 

Disclaimer: this is a work of fiction inspired by what we see of these people, I do not claim to know them nor to establish this work as the truth about their personal lives, the realities might be completely different.

River would be so proud

Today was the big day; the day where Joaquin was going to be officially recognized for his work. You knew your boyfriend was going to win, he was receiving so much support from the critics, fellow actors and the internet that you were sure of it; and to be honest, you were probably among his biggest fans and you thought he should have won an Oscar for Gladiator already and even more for Walk the line.  

As for your boyfriend, he didn´t really believe he would win and as the ceremony got closer, his anxiety rose, you knew how uncomfortable he felt and you wished you could take that away; he was pacing in the living room fixing his cufflinks.

“I don't see why I would win when the others did such amazing performances...look at Adam he was so fuckin´ heartbreaking!” he maintained, you stopped him, encircling your arms around his waist.

“Rain was right when she said you had such a strong inner critic.” you smiled as you stood on your toes to kiss his lips, he laughed at your comment and closed again the gap between your mouths, his kiss was tender, loving, you open your mouth to let his tongue in, gently caressing yours; as you ran out of air, you rested your forehead against his, smiling happily.  

“I suddenly feel like staying here tonight...” he flirted against your lips, you chuckled, opening your eyes to look at him tenderly.

“Let’s save that for the after party, it will be even better...” you suggested on the same tone before separating from him, the driver was already waiting outside.  

Joaquin sighed as the car approached the red carpet, it was going to be a long night. Joaquin came out first and walked to the other side of the car to open to you, your eyes met briefly, encouraging each other; as soon as you got out of the car the flashes of the photographs bombarded you, of course they wanted a picture of the Oscars favorite with his date, this was probably the phase you hated the most, for at least 30 minutes you both will have to pose and smile while getting blinded by all those flashes, and you were also uncomfortable with being taken in picture. You felt Joaquin´s hand around your waist, at least you were close to him, you also rested your hand on his back, gently rubbing circles to soothe him as you both posed for more photos.

“I can´t wait for this to be over...” he muttered as you walked towards the entrance of the theatre, you laughed.

“And I can´t wait to sit down, those heels are so damn uncomfortable.” you added smiling at the journalists, you were so used to wear sneakers that heels always became a torture after a few minutes.  

You finally arrived inside and went to your assigned seats which were close the stage, in case Joaquin would win; you sighed pleased to be seated and far from all those flashes. You looked at your boyfriend and entwinned your fingers with his, he gave you a trembling smile, you understood his nervousness.

“It will be alright” you told him, and it was the truth, in any case it will be alright; if he wins his speech will be thoughtful and altruistic as always and if he doesn´t win then nothing will change, not his talent, his career or your love for him. You felt him squeeze your hand in response.

“Thank you, for being here with me.” he cooed looking at you enamored.  

The ceremony finally started and you were having a good time, each presenter was entertaining the performances were truly beautiful and positive, it reminded you of those at the Bafta´s.  

Until it was finally, the moment to announce the winner of the Oscar for Best Actor performance. You felt nervousness built in your chest, you wanted him to win; Joaquin didn´t move, as if he was frozen on his seat in anticipation. Olivia Colman entered on stage, holding the envelop, you actually felt like your heart was going to exploded in your chest as she spoke and made jokes, the suspense was just unbearable.

“And the Oscar goes to...Joaquin Phoenix for Joker.” she finally announced, the pressure suddenly lifted from your chest, you felt like jumping and cheering in the whole room, you excitedly looked at your lover, he couldn’t believe he had actually won, and you knew that secretly he felt blessed by such honor; you gave his arm a squeeze to encourage him as he had to go on stage.

He quickly got up and headed to the micro on stage, he took the famous statuette in his hands, you pinched your lips together, your heart swollen with happiness, gosh you were so proud of him. The audience was clapping and cheering ready to give him a long standing ovation.

“No, stop.” he started, you knew he hated to be praised like that, and standing in front of so many people could only add more to his anxiety right now.

“God I’m full of so much gratitude right now...” he spoke his voice shaking, all the adrenaline pumping through his veins as he acknowledged his fellow nominees.

“But the greatest gift that it’s been giving me, and many of us in this room is the opportunity to use our voice for the voiceless” he paused, his voice slightly trembling with the emotion of the moment, you didn’t know what he planned to say in his speech, he had decided to think about it all by himself and keep it as honest as he could.

“I’ve been thinking a lot about some of the distressing issues that we have been facing collectively and I think at times we feel or may to feel that we champion different causes but for me I see commonality, I think whatever we’re talking about gender inequality or racism or queer rights or indigenous rights or animal rights we’re talking about the fight against injustice...”  you nodded; he was right.

“We’re talking about the fight against the belief that one nation, one people, one race, one gender or one species has the right to dominate, control and use and exploit another with impunity” he continued with conviction, you couldn’t help but join the audience in their applause, he was so right, he always had such peaceful and loving approach, preferring to join forces rather than confront points of views that were in the end similar in their struggle, his speech was truly beautiful, covering so much of the current fights but also praising the beauty of humanity; this was the real Joaquin, always so honest and caring, you couldn’t stop smiling.

Then he paused, his eyes searched the room, there was something more he wanted to add, and somehow you felt his emotions and understood that he was going to talk about his brother River, you knew it was still something very hard to talk about for him.

“I just...I want to...” you felt tears coming to your eyes as he struggled to speak, you could see on the giant screen the tears in his eyes “when...when he was seventeen Riv...my brother wrote this lyric, he said run to the rescue with love and peace will follow; thank you.” he finished on the verge of tears, you blinked yours away, he had managed to say it even though it was very hard for him.

As soon as he disappeared backstage, you got up and headed there to, you couldn´t wait to congratulate him and above all you wanted to hold him in your arms, he had been so brave, so strong to stand for what he believes in but also to talk about his dear brother.

You finally saw him among all the people backstage, he looked lost in his thoughts, until he noticed someone coming in his direction and the second he recognized you, he closed the gap between the two of you, almost collapsing in your arms, he embraced you tightly, your hand went up to caress his curls, you could feel his heart beating fast against your chest.

“I´m so proud of you Joaquin, I´m so happy, you deserve it, truly” you murmured in his ear between the kisses you placed on his jaw.  

“I miss him so much.” he gulped against your skin. You felt his tears wet your skin, he was crying, so you kept holding him in your arms, gently rubbing circles against his back until his cries calmed down, he lifted his head, meeting your eyes, he was so grateful to have you by his side.  

“River would be so proud of you, I´m sure he´s up there celebrating with a big smile on his face” you told your boyfriend, looking at him deep in the eyes, his eyes were wet but full of happiness, and a smile started to form on his lips.

“With all this shit I´m famished now” he joked trying to lighten the mood, drying his cheeks with his palm, you gave him a loving kiss, caressing his cheek.

“Well, that´s great because I´ve heard they made delicious vegan burgers” you winked before taking his hand to head to get them, the both of you happily laughing and eager the continue the night with his family.

Joaquin lovers list:  @oneeightysecond   @arcticmonkais    @amourtiara @sirianfromsixties         @sweetness-doesnt-touch-my-face   @live-love-loki   @lyoongx  @skaravile   @jaylovesbats @niniitha-ah @cumberbitching @dirrtyginger @valentina15                                                                                                               

[doomonfilm]

Results : The 93rd Academy Award Film Nominations (2021)

After weeks and weeks of speculation, rumination over nominees, streaming service deep dives, high-priced rentals and brain-bending predictions, the moment of truth has finally arrived.  This year, despite the ceremonies being split between the Dolby Theater in Hollywood and Union Station in downtown Los Angeles, the presentation was wonderfully cohesive.  Several stars stepped up to preface each award, present the nominees and name the winners, and in-between these moments, Questlove had my dream gig as Academy Awards DJ.  For one of the first public forays in a world creeping closer to a post-COVID-19 reality, the show came off exceptionally smooth and well-presented. 

Cicely Tyson, Ian Holm, Max Von Sydow, Cloris Leachman, Yaphet Koto and many more were recognized in light of their respective passings in 2020 courtesy of Angela Bassett and a moving Stevie Wonder selection, As.  Tyler Perry and the Motion Picture & Television Fund each received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for their long-established efforts, especially those during the COIVD-19 pandemic.  Announcements were made for a Steven Spielberg-directed update of West Side Story, the long-delayed In The Heights and Summer of Soul, the directorial debut of Questlove (who also provided his DJ services for the evening).  The show even had a couple of hilarious moments, including Daniel Kaluuya embarrassing his mother on national TV and a quiz show turned censor’s nightmare involving Questlove, Lil’ Rel Howery, Andra Day, Kaluuya and Glenn Close.  Several of the evening’s awards also allowed for stars and crew to voice their opinions, concerns and wishes about cultural ills, the lack of inclusion and how we should treat our fellow man.

While we all look forward to seeing what surprises each Academy Awards ceremony holds, what we really come for are the awards.  This year, I put in the work more than ever, and even I found myself surprised by some of the evening’s outcomes.  Here are my thoughts on the evening and the winners.

Best Picture

Winner : Nomadland Prediction : Minari

While I’m not surprised that Nomadland took the top award of the night, I am a bit sad that Minari ended up having to walk away almost empty-handed in light of this, especially seeing that Another Round took the Best International Feature award.  Hopefully Minari can find an audience in light of this snub, but despite how bitter I sound, I am happy for the success that Nomadland has found this award’s season. 

Best Director

Winner : Chloé Zhao, Nomadland Prediction : Chloé Zhao, Nomadland

Chloé Zhao has been the belle of the ball this award’s season, and her successful run culminated in a strong showing at this year’s Academy Awards ceremony.  With her next venture being a step into the MCU via The Eternals, let’s see if she can bring her sensibility (and award-winning credibility) into the world of the popcorn flick. 

Best Actor

Winner : Anthony Hopkins, The Father Prediction : Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

As Joaquin Phoenix said so prophetically prior to handing out this award (and I loosely quote), “it’s a shame that only one person can win”.  That being said, as great as Anthony Hopkins was in The Father, it’s amazing to me that this award did not go to Chadwick Boseman.  Some might say that giving it to him posthumously would not be sincere, but cards on the table, Boseman gave a powerhouse performance that deserved continued recognition right up to the top award.  The Academy Awards has a long history of “interesting” choices, and this is one of the most memorable to date.

Best Actress

Winner : Frances McDormand, Nomadland Prediction : Viola Davis, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

After Andra Day upset the balance at the Golden Globes, I had my doubts that the formidable Frances McDormand would garner any awards for Nomadland, despite her stellar track record.  Viola Davis looked like the frontrunner headed into the night, as she was poised to make Oscar history, which further narrowed McDormand's chances.  Once Nomadland won Best Picture, however, it seemed like the wave had shifted, and sure enough, the statue went to McDormand.  This was a monster of a cateogry, and her win was certainly a well-deserved one. 

Best Supporting Actor

Winner : Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah Prediction : Lakeith Stanfield, Judas and the Black Messiah

In one of the most controversial categories leading into the evening, Daniel Kaluuya and Lakeith Stanfield found themselves battling one another in the Best Supporting Actor category, which raised the question of whether or not Judas and the Black Messiah even had a lead.  This was further muddied by what seemed like a sure-thing victory for Chadwick Boseman in the Best Actor category (which ended up being quite the surprise category, to say the least).  With Kaluuya having the momentum coming into the night via a series of previous wins for his role as Fred Hampton, his win on the night was not a surprise victory, and his presence definitely helped make the show a memorable one.

Best Supporting Actress

Winner : Yuh-Jung Youn, Minari Prediction : Yuh-Jung Youn, Minari

In what ended up being my favorite moment of the night, Yuh-Jung Youn helped save Minari from a wholly disappointing showing with her formidable victory in the Best Supporting Actress category.  Her acceptance speech was what the Oscar ceremony is all about, with her sincerity and appreciation being massively sincere, including a wonderful acknowledgement of getting to meet award presenter Brad Pitt.

Original Screenplay

Winner : Promising Young Woman Prediction : Promising Young Woman

Had Promising Young Woman walked away empty-handed, it would have been a pure travesty.  Its subject matter, however, not to mention its unforgiving approach, made it a tough choice for any of the top awards outside of Best Original Screenplay, but in my opinion, it is exactly those same aspects that made it the shoo-in win for this category.  Hollywood has a long way to go before it can be honest about the type of people it supports, but giving a film like this one a spotlight can help make that a reality. 

Adapted Screenplay

Winner : The Father Prediction : The Father

As one of the last films I ended up seeing in my pre-Academy Awards research, I was very curious to see how The Father would end up in regard to successes, and this was one of the categories that felt like a sure thing.  The passion and time spent on this play turned screenplay is evident for anyone who has seen this incredibly moving film, and while its other award of the night was definitely a shockwave of a closer, this award was certainly well-deserved and possibly expected.

Animated Feature

Winner : Soul Prediction : Soul

If there were a sure thing for the evening, this was the category.  Soul was the heavy favorite going into the night, and it did what it set out to do, which was win over everyone who had the pleasure of seeing it, including members of the Academy.

Production Design

Winner : Mank Prediction : News of the World

My curiosity of what kind of showing that Mank would have on the evening kept me in anticipation leading into the show, and while it didn’t garner any of the big awards, I am happy that the work put into capturing a bygone era was rewarded via its technical awards.  This one came as a surprise to me, but it was certainly not a bad choice.

Costume Design

Winner : Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom Prediction : Emma

This award not only stood as a show of inclusion (something that the Academy has had to be aware of in the recent past), but a harbinger of possible results in the top acting awards.  Anytime that a film like Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom starts cleaning up in the tech spots, I start to look at it like a sort of consolation prize, and after the film’s leads not receiving awards for Best Actor or Best Actress, it seemed that this practice is still in effect.

Cinematography

Winner : Erik Messerschmidt, Mank Prediction : Erik Messerschmidt, Mank

As mentioned before, the aspect of Mank that really stood out to me was how David Fincher made his film feel authentically of the era it presents to us.  This immersion was created with the visuals and the sound, but with Sound of Metal being such a standout film centered around auditory stimulus, Mank felt like a longshot for that, but a sure shot for Best Cinematography.

Editing

Winner : Sound of Metal Prediction : The Trial of the Chicago 7

Sound of Metal had a very impressive night, and while it won the award everyone expected it to, seeing it win the Best Editing award as well only stands as a testament to how well put together the film is (no pun intended).

Makeup and Hairstyling

Winner :  Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom Prediction : Pinocchio 

As mentioned in my Best Costume Design thoughts, while this award was well-deserved, it felt like a possible setup for a letdown later on in the evening,  It’s tough to think of an award in terms of what it may mean for a future loss, but that’s the way the award show cookie crumbles.

Sound

Winner : Sound of Metal Prediction : Sound of Metal

If Soul didn’t exist, then this award would’ve been the one that felt like the most obvious choice.  Capturing the world of deafness in film is not only incredibly difficult, but daring as well, as audio is one of the key aspects to creating the immersion needed to appreciate a film, but the sound design of this film brought us into a world many of us may never experience directly, and for that, it deserves to be awarded.

Visual Effects

Winner : Tenet Prediction : Love and Monsters

Tenet couldn’t go empty-handed this awards season, and with much of the competition being on a different cinematic and studio level (outside of Disney’s Mulan), Tenet certainly had the highest profile.  It is cool, however, to see a film (and director) so dedicated to practical and in-camera effects win the highest award in the game.

Score

Winner : Soul Prediction : Mank

In what continuously became the most hilarious occurrence to me from award show to award show, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross once again found themselves playing second banana to Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.  While I have no issues with Soul winning this award, I think time may find that Mank’s incredibly period-authentic original score was overlooked in its brilliance.

Song

Winner : Fight for You (Judas and the Black Messiah) Prediction : Fight for You (Judas and the Black Messiah)

After a disappointing snub at the Golden Globes, it felt like H.E.R. my find herself walking away empty-handed for her standout work in the creation of Fight For You.  The song is not only a strong performance and recording by its own merit, but it captures the spirit and essence of Judas and the Black Messiah in a way that the other nominees fall short of. 

Documentary Feature

Winner : My Octopus Teacher Prediction : Collective

While a compelling film, I find myself baffled at the continued victories that My Octopus Teacher has racked up for the year.  Despite my lack of connection to it, it is impossible to ignore how deep and vast the film’s connection to the populous at large has been, and with an Oscar under its belt (along with the numerous other statues it has collected), it stands to likely grow a bigger and more supportive fanbase. 

International Feature

Winner : Another Round (Denmark) Prediction : Better Days (Hong Kong)

Not only was Minari robbed of wins in both the Best Picture and Best International Feature category, but the film that did win the Best International Feature category felt like a bit of a superficial choice.  With a film about bullying, a film about the failures of the healthcare system and a film about the lack of humanity during war all in the running (and all pitch-perfect films, to boot), a film about a group of entitled alcoholics being a poor influence to kids became leader of the pack.  Categories like this one are a chance to broaden American awareness of international art and culture, but this award feels like one of the bigger missteps of the evening.

Animated Short

Winner : If Anything Happens I Love You Prediction : Genius Loci

While Genius Loci was the more moving piece to me, If Anything Happens I Love You is certainly a film with a nuanced and artistic approach to an American epidemic that is public shootings (a school shooting, in this case).  While my heart feels the loss of this choice, my head is happy that such a moving and heartfelt film may get the chance to touch the lives of a broader audience.

Documentary Short

Winner : Colette Prediction : Do Not Split

First and foremost, all respect to Colette for the story it tells and the spotlight it puts on both its titular figure and the way that people of multiple generations dance around facing the Holocaust head on.  All that being said, Do Not Split was way too important of a film to go unawarded, especially in light of rising violence against members of the Asian-American community.

Live-Action Short

Winner : Two Distant Strangers Prediction : Two Distant Strangers

Definitely one of the categories that got the winner absolutely right.  Sadly, the film becomes more and more relevant with each passing day, with several Police-based shootings having taken place since the George Floyd trail conclusion.  Bravo to Joey Bada$$ and company for making such a brave and bold piece of art.

I ended up predicting of 9 the 23 films correct, which is not nearly as good in comparison to how confident I felt going into the night.  There were lots of surprises throughout the evening, especially in the final stretch, and I’m sure these decisions will be debated heavily for the next few weeks.  Luckily, we’ve got ourselves plenty of months to start taking in the 2021 releases, and with two-thirds of the year left to look forward to, it’ll be fun when we all reconvene to do this again in 2022.