Team Experience Oscar Reax Pt 2: Good Times, Speech Writers, and Noticeable Absences
Wednesday, February 27, 2019 at 6:00PM As is our practice we polled the team and a few friends shortly after the Oscars to get their takes. You already saw part one on joyful and horny moments so here's part two. We hope you'll answer the same questions in the comments.
- Who was having the very best time in the theater?
- Who most needed a speechwriter?
- Without a host who was the MVP guiding you through the night?
- Whose absence did you most feel during the broadcast?
Our answers are after the jump...
WHO WAS HAVING THE VERY BEST TIME IN THE THEATER?
Ginny O'Keefe: Javier Bardem rocking out to Queen made me think of a kid at Disney.
Alfred Soto: Willem Dafoe, serene in the knowledge that he had no chance of winning yet eager to chat.
Matthew Rettenmund (Boy Culture): I would have to guess Gaga, who telegraphed her every emotion as if auditioning for a silent movie.
Seán McGovern: TIE: Alfonso Cuarón's son mugging in the corner of every cut away to the family; every gay seat-filler Living Their Truth.
Chris Feil: We didn't get nearly enough cutaways of him in the crowd, but after the joyousness of the season as a whole, it's hard to imagine Richard E. Grant had less than a swell time.
Jorge Molina: There's no denying that Richard E. Grant is the biggest winner in the entire award season. He was savouring every single moment he was in that theater, shamelessly snapping selfies with every celeb that allowed it, and giving the biggest gasp at idol Barbra Streisand. He won that night. No one will be able to take it away from him.
WHO MOST NEEDED A SPEECHWRITER?
Tim Brayton (Alternate Ending): The Vice make-up team didn't so much need a speechwriter as a choreographer. It felt like they were trying to read names off a list one syllable at a time, and could never figure out whose turn it was.
Ben Miller: Anyone from Bohemian Rhapsody. They had been winning all the guild awards, so they knew that had a shot at getting up on the Oscar stage. You could practically hear the eggshells they were walking on as they tried SO HARD to avoid saying Bryan Singer's name. It shouldn't have been that much of a chore.
Matthew Rettenmund (Boy Culture): Spike Lee's speech was — like his movie — all the right themes, but not well-constructed.
Chris Feil: Apologies to the Skin crew and we understand how an Oscar win could yield unbridled enthusiasm, but their's is not the film we can comfortably take a speech that feels lifted from a drunken frat party.
WITHOUT A HOST WHO WAS THE MVP AT GUIDING YOU THROUGH THE NIGHT?
Abe Fried-Tanzer: She only showed up at the very beginning, but Amy Poehler's comment about commercials being presented during the awards set a fantastic tone for the entire evening.
Lynn Lee: The funny ladies of the evening - Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and Maya Rudolph knocked it out of the park with their opener, and Awkafina grabbed the baton from them, with a nice assist from John Mulaney.
Jorge Molina: Without a host, the literal best and only way to open the show was to bring out Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, and Tina Fey for five minutes. Just standing on stage and bantering with each other. It was perfect.
Matthew Rettenmund (Boy Culture): Seeing Tina, Amy and Maya in the beginning made me long for them as a co-hosting trio. I really did miss a host, as well as an out-of-nowhere montage of, like, dancing in movies, or planes in movies, or times people have said "let's get outta here" in movies.
Chris Feil: Honestly, T'Challa. While Black Panther's wins were earlier in the night, seeing the buoyant superhero vision created by Ryan Coogler and his team throughout the presentation of nominees was such a needed reminder of how much joy the movies can brings us.
Jason Adams: It felt right taking most of my cues from Mahershala Ali's wife Amatus Sami-Karim, especially once I saw her delightfully stone-faced reaction to the screenwriter of her husband's film.
Alfred Soto: The terrific Argentine malbec that my friends and I drank.
WHOSE ABSENCE DID YOU MOST FEEL DURING THE BROADCAST?
Abe Fried-Tanzer: Ryan Coogler was mentioned and complimented by all the Black Panther winners, yet the camera not panning to him the way it has to artists like Guillermo Del Toro and George Miller in the past made it seem like he wasn't even there (red carpet photos confirm he was!).
Chris Feil: Perhaps I got my hopes too high from the conspiracy theories that went around last week, but I was waiting on Whoopi to show up all night and it was never to be.
Ginny O'Keefe: I've been imagining the dinner scene from Hereditary as her ceremony clip and everyone in the audience who hadn't watched their screener with their jaws on the floor.
Ben Miller: Carol Channing, Sandra Locke, Dick Miller, Ricky Jay and Stanley Donen missing from the In Memoriam. I hope the Academy has some ointment for that burn!
Jason Adams: Even though I'm not the biggest fan of A Quiet Place I've come to rely on Emily Blunt & John Krasinski's spot in the sparkly movie star pantheon -- she would've rocked the night's pink template, given support to Bette singing her song and Keegan's nifty umbrella trick, and maybe at some point John could've rubbed beards with Bradley Cooper.
Jorge Molina: The awards momentum that A Star Is Born had earlier in the season.
Matthew Rettenmund (Boy Culture): The absence of most living legends. I prefer years when newcomers are paired with icons of the past. Yes, Barbra Streisand was there, but ... Julia Roberts? Is that the best ya got?
Nathaniel R: I did miss a host, much to my surprise, the evening feeling kind of empty-ish without?! But my answer is Meryl Streep. Even though I tire of those default nominations, her exuberance and warmth and humor in reaction shots were very much missed in that relatively sedate front row!
Seán McGovern: Is it wrong to say a host? If anything it reminded me that so often the host is made to do way too much. If Maya, Tina and Amy appeared even just one more time together that would have made the event feel sewn up.
WE'RE ALMOST DONE, PEOPLE, HOPE YOU'RE HANGIN' IN THERE.
Reader Comments (27)
Sean - I know it wasn't meant in a mean way, but Alfonso Cuarón's son is autistic. He wasn't being goofy.
Is it just me or did all of Hollywood royalty used to show up to the ceremonies, and now...not so much? I remember always seeing everybody at the Oscars, whether they were nominated or presenting or not.
Has Hollywood as a whole cooled on attending the Oscars 'cept for when they're nominated or asked to participate?
Have you heard Olivia Colman's podcast interview with David Tennant, Nathaniel? She namedrops Michelle Pfeiffer loads of times and passes on her sage advice. It's on YouTube.
@Tr - you're right; I've missed Jack Nicholson hanging out in the front row the last few years.
I loved no host. Show kept moving and the presenters were inspired and had fun bits like costume and sound.
The biggest absence felt were the presenters - Where were the film icons? I appreciate diversity and all, but they put on stage every quasi-famous non-white actor .... it became a joke.
There are so many living legends to invite! That said, after the way they treated Liza and Kim Novak, perhaps older actors should stay clear :)
Almost done?!! Where is the frame to frame dissection of the Best Actress presentation?
I'm glad Bardem is happy (and hot again)
Jhills:
Who was having the very best time in the theater? Richard E. Grant, though Gaga is runner-up.
Who most needed a speechwriter? Rami Malek's speech made me think about how lacking it was compared to Tom Hanks's moving acceptance speech when he played a man who died of AIDS in Philadelphia.
Without a host who was the MVP guiding you through the night? The women of Crazy Rich Asians - Michelle, Awkwafina, and Constance all looked great and were nice to see.
Whose absence did you most feel during the broadcast? Ethan Hawke, our rightful Best Actor winner. I did not miss a host at all. I did wish we'd see a few more close-ups of Katharine Ross and Sam Elliott, though.
Like most I miss the legendary Movie Stars! That's what I want when I tune in NOT Serena Williams, this ain't Wimbledon!
Watching clips of older ceremonies it did seem like the entire industry turned out for them. You would see a multitude of stars who weren't nominated in attendance, now if they aren't nominated its a ghost town....or perhaps the showrunners just don't think they are worth showing. Heaven knows it would be just another wrongheaded decision from an organization that now seems to specialize in them.
Didn't miss a host at all. Tina Fey and her compatriots were a great open and set the ball rolling, if they had inserted a few more sets like that in random spots to center the show that would have been okay. But I've found the host, unless they are an uber professional who understands the gig like Johnny Carson, get in the way and pull focus with foolish pranks and inanity.
I love how people keep mentioning Serena like she went up there multiple times.
No host was great. If people want to see 80year old movie stars, since Julia Roberts wasn't good enough, Google is your friend!
Matthew Rettenmund is so fucking annoying.
There were 3 living legends at the Oscars ;-
One was relegated to a 5 second cameo. Ladies and Gentleman ;- Cicely Tyson. It would have been nice if Cicely and Julia presented Best Picture. I am sick of seeing the Governor General honorees not getting a moment on the main telecast.
Barbra Steisand only introduced the clip for Blackkklansman. Someone of her stature should have been presenting a major award.
And the Divine Miss M - who beautifully sang a rather boring song .
Why didn't we get to see Barbra and Bette on stage TOGETHER???
This was bordering on blasphemy!!!
Who was having the very best time in the theater?
Regina King's mother. Her daughter won, got a standing O, gave an amazing speech--at the top of the night. All gravy after that.
Who most needed a speechwriter?
Peter Farrelly. Both times.
Without a host who was the MVP guiding you through the night?
Chris Evans's arm. (It'll never get old.)
Whose absence did you most feel during the broadcast?
Rachel, during Olivia's speech
I missed a decent montage of the year’s films. Stop overdubbing the audio from one film over video of others. Relax with the editing. Let it breathe. And I missed a better song from Mary poppins. And people sho know what they are doing with the in memoriam.
Having the best time: Richard E. Grant & all 3 of the ladies from "The Favourite". Coleman, Stone, and Weisz seemed breezy, fun, and fun to watch all awards season.
Speechwriter: Vice Make-up team who were in dire need. They will never live down how bad they were.
Spirit guide for the night: Usually Meryl Streep guides me (and many others) but this year I was under the influence of Melissa McCarthy. I was a home version of her rabbit puppet. (only I drank more wine than the rabbit)
I missed Emily Blunt and Cher who I thought would be there, because they were great in films this year and who would pass up a chance to invite them? (silly me)
Queen got lots of screen time but not 1 clip of Mamma Mia 2 ? shame.
I'm glad Bardem is happy (and hot again) and a Woody Allen supporter.
Close spends Christmas eve with persons who would work with Spacey after his disgrace. Colman for the moral fans, Close for the basic cred among "actressexuals". I never thought I'd see the day where that word has nagative/cringe connotations, but here we are.
Barbra Streisand contacted the producers and requested that she present the clip for Blackkklansman because she liked the film so much. And her interaction with Spike was one of the highlights of the show. Why relegate her to presenting an award when it's not what she wanted to do?
Who was having the very best time in the theater?
I loved watching Jennifer Hudson nod in agreement with Lady Gaga’s inspiring acceptance speech. If you can have fun watching people succeed, you’re a step ahead of the rest.
Who most needed a speechwriter?
Those makeup people for VICE, what the...?
Without a host who was the MVP guiding you through the night?
the false hope that Glenn’s name would finally be called. And btw, ALFRED! I LOVE a good Argentine Malbec.
Whose absence did you most feel during the broadcast?
I miss the likes of Leo D., George Clooney, Kate Winslet, Reese Witherspoon, ya know, that whole group…with the EXCEPTION of Matthew McConaughey
Jess -- i missed them too. they were so weirdly light on superstars this year despite all that noise about "frances mcdormand" isn't famous enough to present. Um.... she's more famous than a lot of the people who presented!!!!
Did I miss a host? Not so much. But what I did miss were Hollywood legends and icons. Yeah, kind of lackluster in that respect. Sad.
Javier finally made me remember why everyone thinks he is hot.
So Julia Roberts (looking like she did by the way) isn’t enough to present Best Picture? Julia F’in Roberts? Okay, then.
Sean Penn, Will Smith, Tom Cruise, Denzel Washington, and international movie star Michele Obama have done it before. But Julia Roberts isn’t big enough or legend enough?
BD - I agree. People here at TFE have wanted an actress to present Best Picture by herself for years. Julia does so, and it gets so much criticism. It's odd.
I hope she presents Best Picture at least five more times in the future. She's a legend.
Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez given great seats - they did so much for the film world in 2019...lol. I missed the film clips of historical ceremonies, arrivals and previous winners. I think the Academy wants to be American Idol. And why did they have to break tradition and double up the previous year's acting winners as presenters? Enjoyed the three ladies presenting, but that honor belonged to Sam Rockwell. Ditto Theron/Craig, robbing Janney of her honor.