Mt. A students discuss the films that have received Oscar buzz this year
There has been no shortage of buildup for one of Hollywood’s most anticipated events of the year. Few can resist the temptation to tune into the Academy Awards and contribute to the banter about who will win and what cringe-worthy moment will go down in history.
How can we help it? Buzz surrounding which big celebrity will step in as the host this year has been a hot topic in the media. If you haven’t a clue what I am talking about, Kevin Hart had been confirmed as the host for the evening, but he stepped down from the acclaimed gig after several homophobic tweets he made between 2009 and 2011 resurfaced.
Gabrielle Gagnon, a fourth-year PPE student, volunteered Emma Watson to fill the role. “She’s a huge advocate, and uses her fame for good,” she said. “She’s already super accomplished, and she would bring freshness and youth to the institution that is characterized by older white males”.
If you decide to opt for watching instead of reading during this upcoming reading week, here are some suggestions from Mt. A students on which films might be in the running for an Oscar.
When Brock O’Brien, a fourth-year sociology student, had time away from the football field this last year, he was able to visit the theatre to see Avengers: Infinity War and Black Panther. On his predictions for the films at the Oscars, O’Brien said, “The visuals were standout features for both films, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see either of them in the visual effects category.” Black Panther made a whopping $1.35 billion at the box office, which a pretty good indicator for how it was received by the public.
Fourth-year English student Alexa Mutch said “A Star is Born is definitely on my watch list!” The star-studded cast includes Lady Gaga, Dave Chappelle, Sam Elliott and of course Bradley Cooper, who starred in, wrote for, directed and produced the film. While Cooper is no rookie when it comes to the Academy Awards, this will be his first time attending the event wearing several hats for his backstage contributions to the film.
Another newcomer to the directing scene is John Krasinski, who also starred in, wrote for and directed the highly praised horror/thriller film A Quiet Place. Given the response this film received by the public and critics, the film was only nominated for Best Original Score at the Golden Globes. Let’s hope the Oscar buzz for this film will be less quiet, as the originality of Krasinski’s piece proved that less is certainly more in the case of his innovative film.
One cannot talk about the Academy Awards without discussing the reputation the award show has of creating some of the most iconic, cringe-worthy, hilarious or heartwarming moments that flood our newsfeeds for weeks following the night, from Ellen Degeneres’ celebrity-packed selfie in 2014 to Chrissy Teigen’s face becoming a widely used meme in 2016. Gagnon mentioned that her favourite Oscars moment was when the public rallied behind Leonardo DiCaprio to finally win his long overdue first Oscar in 2016. “We get to see such famous people interact in ways that make them much more relatable,” she said on the role of social media and viral moments at the Oscars. What’s more relatable than a casual Best Motion Picture award mix-up, right?
As fun as it is to toy with the hypothetical fates of these films at the Academy Awards, the nominations will be announced by the time you read this article, so I’ll let the Academy members do their job. Of course, if you were too busy doing productive things this winter break, first, I applaud you, and second, I will remind you that there is still time for you to transform yourself into a movie critic.
Mark your calendars folks: Jan. 22 is the night!
