11 hours ago, DRW50 said:

There are valid points, but I would say a number of people did go after the Academy for nominating Ana de Armas. The main difference is she has cachet in Hollywood, so they aren't going to scapegoat her.

Well and also Ana was nominated in a few precursors, which makes her Oscar nod feel a bit more predestined. At least the objections to her are focused more on the merits of her performance. These awards have become so predictable that people do feel somewhat entitled to “slots,” as Frances Fisher’s message referenced. But this writer is right that the Academy could have easily gone for another Olivia Colman performance in Andrea’s place. The Academy does have a history of ignoring great work from black actresses, but the scapegoating from people who should know better (as well as a handful of grifters who like to pick at our country’s open wounds re: race by focusing on trivia like this) does no one any good. It sad that Andrea’s work would be tainted in this way.

There’s of course this from Variety’s piece:

Follow the money.

Edited January 28, 20232 yr by Faulkner

@DRW50 @Vee

Interesting stuff. Most people who responded don’t believe she’ll have her nomination suspended and certainly don’t support a suspension (in contrast to Variety’s clickbait header). One person suggests a black actress like Viola Davis wouldn’t have gotten away with such tactics.

4 hours ago, Faulkner said:

Interesting stuff. Most people who responded don’t believe she’ll have her nomination suspended and certainly don’t support a suspension (in contrast to Variety’s clickbait header). One person suggests a black actress like Viola Davis wouldn’t have gotten away with such tactics.

They're probably right, but it just points out how hollow the Academy is when black actresses have to meet such high standards yet are lucky to ever even get a nomination. This whole thing has been another ugly example of how we should leave the Oscars to the past.

On 1/30/2023 at 5:01 PM, DRW50 said:

They're probably right, but it just points out how hollow the Academy is when black actresses have to meet such high standards yet are lucky to ever even get a nomination. This whole thing has been another ugly example of how we should leave the Oscars to the past.

 

Andrea Riseborough’s first interview about her nomination and the brouhaha swirling around it:

 

BAFTA Film Award winners 

BEST FILM
ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT Malte Grunert

DIRECTOR
ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT Edward Berger

LEADING ACTRESS
CATE BLANCHETT Tár

LEADING ACTOR
AUSTIN BUTLER Elvis

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN Martin McDonagh, Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
KERRY CONDON The Banshees of Inisherin

SUPPORTING ACTOR
BARRY KEOGHAN The Banshees of Inisherin

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER or DIRECTOR
AFTERSUN Charlotte Wells (Writer/Director)

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN Martin McDonagh

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson, Ian Stokell

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT Edward Berger, Malte Grunert

ANIMATED FILM
GUILLERMO DEL TORO’S PINOCCHIO Guillermo del Toro, Mark Gustafson, Gary Ungar, Alex Bulkley

DOCUMENTARY
NAVALNY Daniel Roher, Diane Becker, Shane Boris, Melanie Miller, Odessa Rae

CINEMATOGRAPHY
ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT James Friend

EDITING
EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE Paul Rogers

PRODUCTION DESIGN
BABYLON Florencia Martin, Anthony Carlino

ORIGINAL SCORE
ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT Volker Bertelmann

COSTUME DESIGN
ELVIS Catherine Martin

SOUND
ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT Lars Ginzsel, Frank Kruse, Viktor Prášil, Markus Stemler

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER Richard Baneham, Daniel Barrett, Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon

MAKE UP & HAIR
ELVIS Jason Baird, Mark Coulier, Louise Coulston, Shane Thomas

CASTING
ELVIS Nikki Barrett, Denise Chamian

Oh lord. The latest in trending topics and meme fodder:

Technically it was a musical performance by Ariana DeBose, but it was a performance so gormless, so busy, so deeply and unsettlingly confusing, that to give it a name would only serve to minimise it. Angela Bassett Did the Thing came as the middle part of DeBose’s medley celebrating women. The first part was a full-bore rendition of Sisters are Doin’ It For Themselves; in itself an orgy of spinning and twirling and flung chairs, performed by DuBose in the manner of someone desperately trying to spook a horse.

The full verse is, somehow, even worse:

 

@Vee I needed the laugh. My favorite part, aside from the death stares, is DeBose dramatically overpronouncing "Hong Chau" in a questionable manner in lieu of actually having anything to say about her. 

2 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

@Vee I needed the laugh. My favorite part, aside from the death stares, is DeBose dramatically overpronouncing "Hong Chau" in a questionable manner in lieu of actually having anything to say about her. 

I like how she clearly has no idea who some of the more serious documentary, etc. or local nominees are but just hurls vague rah-rah platitudes at them anyway. From the hilarious Guardian piece:

First, by this point DeBose is audibly out of breath, because she’s singing and dancing and trying to fit several lines of awkward syntax into a legitimately dreadful song. But, my God, the woman is going for it. Lesser mortals would have given up by now, but Ariana DeBose is pushing through like a true hero. Second, Electric Malady is a moving and poignant documentary about a horrifying medical condition. But also, what a slay.

Also: "Good luck to you, Katy Brand!"

LMAO I wasn’t following the commentary but saw headlines saying Ariana’s opener was getting criticized. I expected it to be a bunch of anti-woke folk not wanting to see a Afro-Latina rapping at their precious BAFTAs. I didn’t expect her performance to be such a spectacular trainwreck. She’ll be better known for this than her Oscar-winning role.

Edited February 21, 20232 yr by Faulkner

Wow, that was pretty funny! LOL

 

Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (Everything Everywhere All at Once) won the Directors Guild, so EEAAO now takes the lead for in the Best Picture race. 

Here's more of the full performance. I did not realize just how long the very awkward name part went on. That probably helped contribute to how out of breath she was. 

Interview with the producer. 

https://variety.com/2023/tv/global/ariana-debose-rap-baftas-carey-mulligan-1235529343/

 

Quote

 

The Bafta Awards have come under fire, after all the winners at its film ceremony on Sunday were white.

The prestigious British event had a diverse set of nominees, with people belonging to ethnic minorities taking almost 40% of acting shortlist slots. But that did not translate into wins, with the 49 victors across all categories being white.

 

Bafta Awards face backlash over all-white winners