Oscars Post Mortem, or A Night at the Oppie-ra

As you all can see, I liked the title of my Oscar Predictions post so much, that I am using it again.

Big Winners

"Oppenheimer"

Cillian Murphy, Christopher Nolen

Hollywood's biggest night, the Academy Awards came off smoothly on Sunday night.  A smartly produced telecast that went off without any apparent glitches.  Jimmy Kimmel was a smart and funny host, and the big winner of the night was, as expected, "Oppenheimer", winning seven Awards including Best Picture, Director, Actor, and Supporting Actor.   "Poor Things" was next with four Awards, including the big surprise of the night, Emma Stone winning for Best Actress.

Some random thoughts and observations from The Grandstander on the show and the Awards themselves.

• As noted above, Jimmy Kimmel was great as the host.  Funny monologue and he kept the traffic moving.  Couldn't ask for more.
• The show started at 7:00 this year (or actually about six or seven minutes after 7:00) which meant it was all over by 10:30 in the East.  What took them so long to come up with that idea?
• Loved the idea of the four acting awards being presented  by five previous winners of the Award in question, although some of the dialog written for those actors was a bit cheesy. 
• I thought that the best speeches of the night were given by Cord Jefferson (Adapted Screenplay, American Fiction), Jonathon Glazer (Best International Film, Zone of Interest), Mstyslav Chernov (Best Documentary, 20 Days in Mariupol), and Cillian Murphy (Actor, Oppenheimer).
• I can't remember what award they were presenting, but the presentation of the night went to the team of Emily Blount and Ryan Gosling.
• The In Memoriam portion was awful.  Why couldn't they show those being honored on a full screen?  For at least half of the honorees, you couldn't see who they were.
• Did you catch the pissed off look on Annette Bening's face when Stone was called for Best Leading Actress?  It was delicious.  And why wasn't Warren Beatty with her in the audience.
• Fashion Statements:  (1) Best look of the night: Men not wearing ties.  I love that look. (2) Lots of pretty dresses on the ladies, but none stand out as being "the best of the night" for me. (3) A clearcut winner for Worst Dress of the Night - the one worn by Ariana Grande, and there wasn't even a close second to it.

• Again, don't remember what he was presenting, but John Mullaney's summary of Field of Dreams was a classic.
• I thought that the award for Best Costume Design should have gone to Oppenheimer, solely because of the hat that Cillian Murphy wore.  I want one.
• As usual, there is always one big movie that comes away empty handed.  This year it was Killers of the Flower Moon, 10 nominations, 0 wins, followed by Barbie with 1 win for 7 nominations.
• The tweet read by Kimmel from Orange Julius Caesar that Kimmel read near the end of the show.  I know that will drive the MAGA-lydites nuts, but as I heard someone on the air say today: Don't ever get into a pissing contest with a professional comedian; you'll lose every time.

As for my predictions....

Best……	Predicted Winner	Actual winner	For Whom I Would Vote
Picture	Oppenheimer	Oppenheimer	Oppenheimer
Lead Actor	Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer	Cillian Murphy	Cillian Murphy
Lead Actress	Lily Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon	Emma Stone, Poor Things	Emma Stone, Poor Things
Supporting Actor	Robert Downey Jr., Oppenheimer	Robert Downey Jr	Robert Downey Jr
Supporting  Actress	Da’Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers	Da’Vine Joy Randolph	Da’Vine Joy Randolph
Director	Christopher Nolen, Oppenheimer	Christopher Nolen	Christopher Nolen
Original Screenplay	Maestro	Anatomy of a Fall	The Holdovers
Adapted Screenplay	American Fiction	American Fiction	Oppenheimer

The record will show that I went 6-2, but I like to give myself a 6.5-1.5 record since I had listed that "I would have voted for" Emma Stone.   Let us hope that Pirates pitchers can do so well throughout the upcoming season.

As I do every year, I close with a picture of the four winning actors.

Downy, Randolph, Stone, Murphy

See you all at the movies!!