Oh, what a night.
Clean-Sweep For CODA!
With hindsight, many will come to agree the late-surging runaway Best Picture favorite deserved more nominations at the 94th Academy Awards than the three it garnered.
However, those behind the Apple TV+ original that grew from Sundance sale to an immortalized beast of family-friendly entertainment are doing everything but complaining amid taking home the Oscar gold three-fold.
“This is dedicated to the deaf community, the ‘CODA’ community and the disabled community,” Best Supporting Actor winner Troy Kotsur said in American Sign Language during his acceptance speech. “This is our moment.”
As was the film itself. Written and directed by Adapted Screenplay recipient Sian Heder (pictured above), who Kotsur called, per West Side Story nominee Steven Spielberg’s book, “the definition of the best director – the best communicator,” the coming-of-age “dramedy” follows the plight of the lone-hearing member (Emilia Jones) – a “CODA,” or ‘child of deaf adults’ – of a non-hearing family.
Throughout, Ruby Rossi’s music scholarship aspirations are routinely upstaged by her commitment to being her fishermen father and brother’s wake-up call, deckhand and interpreter. It’s a feel-good frenzy that will have one crying more tears of joy than they thought possible. Think Captain Fantastic-meets-Pitch Perfect; a “Good Will Signing” where non-convention meets sung-competition.
The Fresh Prince of Dead Air
Oh, what a fight.
Even The Godfather – with director Francis Ford Coppola and actors Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro in attendance to commemorate the classic’s 50th anniversary – was not safe from suffering per the ripple effect of the “smack seen ‘round the world.”
When comedian presenter Chris Rock delivered a ‘GI Jane 2’ joke at the expense of actress Jada Pinkett-Smith, the eventual Best Actor victor and Pinkett-Smith’s husband, Will, laughed at first. However, after gauging the reaction of his Alopecia-stricken wife, the King Richard star subsequently marched onstage and delivered a slap to his one-time friend that’s still reverberating from the Oscar-gold coast to the office water cooler.
Perhaps too jaw-dropping to be believed at first, the US telecast’s disruptive censoring of Smith’s expletive-laden, repeated exclamations upon returning to his seat – coupled with the days of apology dissection in the aftermath – served as proof-positive evidence: this was no-setup. Everyone involved had gone completely off script; so much so, the Academy couldn’t even scramble in time to prevent itself from being made the subject of media ethics course lessons for years to come.
Mere minutes later, Smith tearfully accepted an Oscar many contend he shouldn’t have been on-hand to receive.
“Things unfolded in a way we could not have anticipated,” The Academy stated on Wednesday. “While we would like to clarify that Mr. Smith was asked to leave the ceremony and refused, we also recognize we could have handled the situation differently.”
Multiple sources would soon refute the claim that Smith was formally asked to vacate the premises, as producer Will Packer would later reveal in an exclusive with ABC News LAPD was on standby ready to arrest Smith before Rock dismissed every opportunity to press charges.
Smith could potentially face suspension or expulsion for his actions. The Academy will review the incident and report back with their final determination on April 18.
A Monday-monologuing Jimmy Kimmel later called Smith’s win “historic in that it was the first acceptance speech in which the winner apologized to the Academy before he thanked them.”
In his speech, Smith commended fellow nominee Denzel Washington, who advised, “in your highest moments; be careful; that’s when the devil comes for you!” He also likened himself to his screen character – “the crazy father” and “protector” of Tennis stars Serena and Venus Williams. Smith noted “art imitates life” and “love makes you do crazy things.”
The next day, he elaborated in an Instagram statement: “Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive. My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable. I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong.”
“Jokes at my expense are a part of the job,” he added, “but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be.”
Additional Celebrity Reactions
“That meant the world to me (Smith accosting Rock). And maybe the world might not like how it went down, but for me, it was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. That’s what your husband is supposed to do, right? Protect you,” comedian Tiffany Haddish told PEOPLE.
“Comedians don’t have a medical chart for everyone in the audience,” tweeted Rock’s close friend and frequent co-star David Spade, who also told Page Six at the Vanity Fair Oscars party that Smith’s attack “set a dangerous precedent.”
Tim Allen tweeted about that exact fear now growing within the stand-up comedy scene: “It’s not ok to come up on stage and hit a dude cause you don’t like the humor. It’s not ok at a Comedy Club, concert hall or hosting some cheeseball award show. Chris Rock is a stand up comedian and a standup guy who carried on. I think I would have run.”
In his Tonight Show monologue the following night, Jimmy Fallon surmised, “America may be divided, but it was kind of nice for all of us to come together and say, ‘holy crap’ at the same time.”
Similarly, Queen & Slim and Murder Mystery 2 actress Jodie Turner-Smith assessed, via Twitter, that she has “secondhand embarrassment for all involved.”
Lastly, comedian Whitney Cummings perhaps said it best, regarding the pitfalls of hysteria and overreaction: “I mean, it’s amazing that twitter attacking comedians for making jokes here about last night don’t see that they’re doing the same s–t Will did last night. When people take jokes literally, society is just over.”
Rock’s Last Laugh
According to The Hollywood Reporter, ticket sales for Chris Rock’s stand-up comedy tour have skyrocketed over the past few days. Variety reported the minimum ticket price has risen from $46 to $341.
“..I’m still kind of processing what happened, so at some point I’ll talk about that s***,” Rock said during his sold-out Boston Wilbur Theater set Wednesday night. “And it’ll be serious and it’ll be funny, but right now I’m going to tell some jokes.”
With an off-day on Saturday, speculation had begun that Rock could make an appearance at his former Saturday Night Live stomping grounds this weekend. Though Wednesday’s comments likely rule this out, he will address the drama in large eventually; and we can’t wait to see it.
