The Razzies, the annual roundup of the year’s worst movies and performances, handed out their non-prizes over the weekend.
Melissa McCarthy “won” in the lead actress category for her turns in the puppet noir “The Happytime Murders” and the back-to-school comedy “Life of the Party.” Let’s just say that neither movie killed it on Rotten Tomatoes.
But don’t feel too bad. McCarthy is up for an Oscar tonight for her widely acclaimed portrayal of cantankerous literary forger Lee Israel in “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”
The best actress Oscar is most likely going to Glenn Close (“The Wife) or maybe, just maybe, Lady Gaga (“A Star Is Born”) — but McCarthy’s nod could help her land more substantive dramatic roles.
Speaking of talent, our culture writer Daniel is basically an Oscars encyclopedia and so I made him recount the best picture winners of the last 40598 years. He did it in under a minute!
In what I can only hope is a preview of the award ceremony itself, the Oscar red carpet is perfectly extra this year. (Translation: it’s actually fun.) Gemma Chan showed up in an electric pink piece by Maison Valentino, while Best Actress nominee Glenn Close appeared in a perfect amount of Carolina Herrera gold. Meanwhile, Angela Bassett blessed us with a one-sleeved fuchsia gown by Reem Acra, and Kacey Musgraves was a vision in pink tulle. Me? I’m wearing overalls. And I assume every actor I just named is a little bit jealous.
Best drama of the night not having to do with movies goes to The New York Times and Vanity Fair.
It all started on Thursday, when The Times’ styles section published a story entitled “It Was the Hottest Oscar Night Party. What Happened?” detailing how Vanity Fair’s exclusive Oscars party had lost some of its luster.
“Stars still care about being photographed as they walk in. But the hysterical frenzy that once surrounded the event has been fading for some time, at least among top celebrities, three longtime publicists said in interviews,” The Times declared.
The story raised a few eyebrows in the media world but did not have gain all that much attention until Friday, when Choire Sicha, editors of the Times’ styles section, tweeted that the paper had been disinvited from covering the Vanity Fair party.
“Just got word that Vanity Fair has disinvited The New York Times from covering their annual Oscars party,” Sicha wrote. “They said it ‘feels like the Times has already run their coverage of the VF party this year,’ they said. I guess we did!”
That, of course, triggered plenty of coverage in the entertainment press. Director Ava DuVernay came to Vanity Fair’s defense, tweeting: “This is the magazine and editor who put @LenaWaithe on a solo cover and invited a beautiful array of black and brown people last year. We had a helluva time. Funny how now it’s suddenly “lost its luster.” Luster for some. Closed doors now open for others.”
The Times, however, is far from the first to claim that the party had become a bit less exclusive. President Donald Trump made a similar claim… back in 2014.
Melissa McCarthy opted for a sleek black-and-white jumpsuit featuring a floor-length cape in arguably one of her best red carpet looks to date.
McCarthy is up for best actress in a leading role for her portrayal of lesbian writer-turned-criminal Lee Israel in “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”
Who’s up for a bet?
Alex Donohue, industry analyst at US-Bookies.com, sent in the current odds for some the big awards.
“Roma” is the favorite for best picture at 5/2, followed by “Green Book” and “Bohemian Rhapsody” at 14/1, and “The Favourite” and “Black Panther” at 16/1 and 25/1, respectively.
Rami Malek leads the best actor running at 7/2 for his turn as Freddie Mercury in “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Christian Bale, who played Dick Cheney in “Vice,” is second-closest at 16/1. The rest of the pack is a ways behind: Bradley Cooper at 40/1, Viggo Mortensen at 50/1, and Willem Dafoe with the longshot 100/1.
Glenn Close’s performance in “The Wife” is the favorite for best actress at 13/2, followed by Olivia Colman for “The Favourite” at 16/1, followed by Lady Gaga at 40/1, Yalitza Aparicio and Melissa McCarthy both at 66/1.
Alfonso Cuarón (“Roma”) is the odds on favorite for best director, followed by Spike Lee (“BlacKkKlansman”) at 25/1, Yorgos Lanthimos (“The Favorite”) at 33/1, and Pawel Pawlikowski (“Cold War”) and Adam McKay (“Vice”) at 40/1/
Some of the biggest favorites come from the supporting actor/actress categories. Mahershala Ali is a heavy, heavy favorite for his performance in “Green Book” at 1/12, which is a 92 percent implied probability. Regina King is the strong favorite for her role in “If Beale Street Could Talk,” at 1/4, and implied probability of 80 percent.
Three of Hollywood’s rising young stars didn’t get nominated this year.
After they all starred together in the Oscar-winning and nostalgia-inducing “Lady Bird,” Saoirse Ronan, Lucas Hedges, and Timothée Chalamet were all snubbed for their respective roles in their latest movies.
If you remember, last year and the year before, they were all up for Oscars at some point. Saoirse for “Lady Bird” and Timmy for “Call Me By Your Name” in 2018, and Lucas for “Manchester by the Sea” in 2017.
But nobody bought their latest Oscar bait. Saoirse starred in the panned “Mary Queen of Scots”; Timmy was in mediocre “Beautiful Boy,” and Lucas was in “Ben is Back” and “Boy Erased.” (Try saying Beautiful Boy Ben is Back Boy Erased five-times fast).
Don’t despair though, the three young stars have lots ahead of them. Timmy and Saoirse will be reunited in Greta Gerwig’s upcoming adaption of “Little Women” and Hedges has two new movies coming up this year.
“Green Book” was one of the most divisive, hotly debated movies of 2018, as my colleague Ethan Sacks explains here. But it’s entirely possible the Oscars will open and close with honors for the interracial road trip comedy.
Mahershala Ali, who co-stars as real-life black pianist Don Shirley, is poised to nab the first award of the night: best supporting actor. And then, roughly three hours later and just before the credits roll, “Green Book” could take home the best picture prize.
In other words: Get your hot takes ready, America!
No, she herself is not nominated for tonight’s best picture award. But she should be.
The race for best picture is wide-open this year. Oscar oddsmakers seem to favor “Roma” and “Green Book,” but any of the other six contenders could easily stage upsets.
We pooled our team of trusty live-bloggers for their best picture predictions.
Jason Abbruzzese picks “Bohemian Rhapsody” and says: “I feel like this is the safe vote for academy members who got the message that it shouldn’t go to ‘Green Book’ but didn’t want to vote for ‘Roma.'”
Daniel Arkin also picks “Roma,” which he calls “a testament to Alfonso Cuarón’s vision and Netflix’s marketing muscle.”
Ryan Beckler picks “Roma,” because “it *seems* to be the statistical favorite.”
Anna Brand picks “Green Book,” even though she never saw it because “it looks like a movie I would hate, the way I hate ‘Three Billboards,’ which did not win best picture, but won more than it should have, imo.”
Anne T. Donahue: “The Favourite,” because it’s “one of the only nominees I saw, and one of the only ones I need to.”
Demi Douglas picks “Black Panther” because that’s her winner “at heart.” But, she adds, a victory is “#doubtful.”
Janelle Griffith picks “BlacKkKlansman” and says: “I think that maybe the Oscar will go to Spike [Lee] to make up for “Do the Right Thing” being snubbed decades ago.”
Nicholas Jacobino picks “Green Book” because he thinks Oscar voters responded to the relationship at the center of the movie.
Ben Kesslen picks “Roma” and says: “I think it’s gonna sweep.”
Ethan Sacks also picks “Roma” and observes: “In a wide-open year, the best-directed film of 2018 is also the safest pick.”
“Pose” Star Billy Porter just shut down the red carpet in an one of a kind tuxedo ball gown. The black and white ensemble, designed by Christian Siriano, features a tuxedo jacket paired with a velvet train that is guaranteed to turn heads. Porter is no stranger to taking a risk on the red carpet. The actor also stole the show at the Golden Globes with a fuchsia cape.
Director Spike Lee paid homage to Prince Rogers Nelson by wearing a custom-made gold, diamond and opal necklace in the form of the symbol the singer adopted as his name.
“I Know In My Hearts Of 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜’s My Brother Prince Is Watching Tonight, Singin’ “IT’S GONNA BE A BEAUTIFUL NIGHT’,” reads a photo of Lee posted on his official Instagram.
The necklace was made by jewelry designer Amedeo Scognamiglio, who said it took weeks to make the necklace in Italy. Scognamiglio described the piece in an Instagram post as “a powerful, precious, symbolic, mystical homage” to Lee’s “great” and “unforgettable friend” Prince.
Lee was a close friend of the singer, who died in 2016 at 57.
Lee, whose film “BlacKkKlansman” is up for best film at Sunday’s ceremony, paired the necklace with an all-purple suit and gold Jordans made by Tinker Hatfield. The sneakers were commissioned by his “main man” Michael Jordan, Lee said in an Instagram video this weekend.
In a nod to Radio Raheem, a character from his 1989 film “Do the Right Thing,” Lee also wore four-finger rings that read “love” and “hate.”
As anticipation builds of what a host-less Oscars will look like, rumors are swirling that Whoopi Goldberg is going to surprise us all and host the show.
It all started when Peter Knegt tweeted his theory on Tuesday.
Whoopi has been absent from her role as co-host of “The View” for the week, she said she was open to hosting last month, and she’s the only person set to present who has hosted the show before.
Whoopi hosted the Oscars in 1994, 1996, 1999, and 2002 — and it’s hard to imagine anyone would be upset to see the beloved EGOT-winner take center stage.
Whoopi said on “The View” she thinks a host-less show is “a dumb idea” and that “people need someone to take them through things.”
According to “The View,” Whoopi has been sick all week. But maybe instead of listening to Meghan McCain and Joy Behar fight, she’s been practicing her opening monologue.
Whoopi Goldberg’s absence from The View (she’s sick, they say) since the day after they announced her as an Oscar presenter+the fact that she’s the only previous Oscar host listed as a presenter+she openly said on The View in January that she’d be up for hosting=???
— Peter Knegt (@peterknegt) February 20, 2019
We’ve got ‘The Favourite,’ but no favorite, a year of historic firsts (potentially…) and, oh yeah, no host! Ahead of the big event, here’s a guide to some of the key storylines that might give shape to the most unpredictable Oscars in years.
Read our full analysis here.