On March 23, 2003, as the remainder of the world watched televised photos of captives and corpses recognized as American troopers, limos carrying high-fashion-clad celebrities rolled up outdoors what was then often called the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles.
The United States had invaded Iraq simply three days earlier than, and, till that morning, there was nonetheless the likelihood that the Oscars wouldn’t go on.
As A-listers like Nicole Kidman, Halle Berry and Steve Martin — the host — had been herded by way of metallic detectors amid a big regulation enforcement presence, a couple of blocks away, cops holding golf equipment confronted off with demonstrators making an attempt to get nearer to the theater (none did).
This 12 months, one other conflict is within the headlines because the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences mounts one other Oscars. So far, nearly nobody has spoken out at precursor awards reveals, nevertheless it was very totally different in 2003.
“It felt weird to dress up and go to this thing while our fellow Americans were all overseas about to get involved in something that was very dangerous,” the director Chris Sanders recalled in a current interview. Sanders was nominated that 12 months for greatest animated characteristic movie for guiding and writing “Lilo & Stitch” with Dean DeBlois.
In the weeks main as much as the ceremony, greater than 100 performers, together with Matt Damon, Jessica Lange, Helen Hunt, George Clooney and Danny Glover, signed a letter urging President George W. Bush to not assault Iraq. The day earlier than, the actors Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins, and the Oscar-nominated director Pedro Almodóvar, had been amongst hundreds who marched in Hollywood to protest the conflict.
And hours after the conflict began, a number of presenters, together with Cate Blanchett and Jim Carrey, bowed out, citing security issues and respect for navy households. Peter Jackson, whose movie “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” was nominated for greatest image, additionally determined to skip the present.
“It was a little bit of ‘Are they going to happen?’” Sanders stated. “And if they do, who will show up?”
The Academy Awards, which might be handed out for the 96th 12 months on Sunday, have by no means been canceled outright. During the pandemic, they happened partly remotely, with some nominees and presenters showing from hubs in London and Paris. During World War II, after an preliminary cancellation, the Oscars went on as scheduled, however with formal apparel banned and the ceremony labeled a “dinner” fairly than a “banquet.”
In 2003, the present’s broadcaster, ABC, pleaded with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to take an analogous course, however the academy refused, partly as a result of the Kodak Theater wouldn’t be obtainable later. Instead, the academy determined to carry the ceremony as deliberate however with a couple of modifications: Arriving nominees and their visitors wouldn’t parade alongside a crimson carpet — a primary — and as an alternative can be requested to put on darker colours and extra subdued outfits.
Sanders stated he knew “Lilo & Stitch” was a protracted shot to win. “We were up against Miyazaki, for ‘Spirited Away,’” he stated. But different nominees needed to grapple with whether or not to deal with the conflict in the event that they gained.
“Stars used to be more reticent about saying anything that might alienate ticket buyers,” stated Jules Dixon-Green, a professor on the University of North Carolina who teaches a course on leisure public relations. “But as social media platforms have become more vibrant and robust, celebrities are realizing that people are really looking for authentic points of view from the people they admire, respect and follow.”
In 2003, the front-runner going into the night was “Chicago,” with 13 nominations, together with greatest image, greatest director for Rob Marshall and greatest actress and supporting actress for Renée Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Martin Scorsese’s historic crime story “Gangs of New York” was scorching on its heels with 10 nominations, and the psychological drama “The Hours” had 9, together with greatest actress for Nicole Kidman’s fake-nose-assisted flip as the author Virginia Woolf.
The first award of the night time went to “Spirited Away.” The filmmaker, Hayao Miyazaki, was not in attendance and supplied no clarification on the time. In a 2009 interview with The Los Angeles Times, he stated he had boycotted the awards due to the invasion.
“I didn’t want to visit a country that was bombing Iraq,” he stated. “At the time, my producer shut me up and did not allow me to say that, but I don’t see him around today.”
The first winner to confer with the conflict was Chris Cooper, who gained greatest supporting actor for his efficiency as a near-toothless orchid thief in “Adaptation.”
“In light of all the trouble in this world, I wish us peace,” he stated.
Then issues went off the rails.
After Zeta-Jones, who was almost 9 months pregnant, gained for her efficiency because the villainous vaudevillian Velma Kelly in “Chicago,” Michael Moore went onstage to simply accept greatest documentary for “Bowling for Columbine.”
With the opposite documentary nominees becoming a member of him onstage, he stated that they had been making a joint assertion: “We are against this war,” he declared and was met with a refrain of loud boos. (“Music, music!” the Oscars broadcast director, Louis J. Horvitz, was heard yelling.)
“It was so sweet backstage,” Steve Martin stated a couple of minutes later. “You should have seen it. The Teamsters are helping Michael Moore into the trunk of his limo.”
And then got here one of many largest shocks of the night time: Halle Berry introduced that Adrien Brody had gained greatest actor for his efficiency as an unlikely Holocaust survivor in Roman Polanski’s “The Pianist,” beating out Nicolas Cage, Michael Caine, Daniel Day-Lewis and Jack Nicholson.
An exuberant Brody — who, at 29, grew to become the youngest actor ever to win the class — walked onstage in a daze, kissed a shocked Berry (she later stated the episode made her uncomfortable) and used his speech to attraction for peace and the secure return of American troopers.
“Whether you believe in Allah or God, may he watch over you, and pray for a peaceful and swift resolution to this war,” he stated.
A couple of minutes later, the most effective actress award went to Kidman, who in accepting her award, requested: “Why do you come to the Academy Awards when the world is in such turmoil? Because art is important.”
Momentum appeared to be choosing up for a “Pianist” best-picture upset after Brody gained greatest actor and Ronald Harwood gained greatest tailored screenplay for the movie. Then Polanski, who has not returned to the United States since fleeing whereas awaiting sentencing for statutory rape, was named greatest director over the favorites, Marshall and Scorsese.
The night time concluded as anticipated, although, with “Chicago” successful its sixth statuette, for greatest image, making it the primary musical to win since “Oliver!” (1968).
Ratings for the ceremony, which lasted three and a half hours and was the primary Academy Awards to be broadcast in high-definition, confirmed it drew 33 million viewers, making it the least-watched and lowest-rated televised Oscar ceremony to that time. A big variety of viewers had tuned into protection of the Iraq War as an alternative.
The references to Iraq pervading the night time had been in marked distinction to the awards reveals to this point this season, when — after two years wherein the conflict in Ukraine was acknowledged at almost each ceremony — the battle between Israel and Hamas has gone largely unmentioned.
“It’s too fraught,” a studio govt instructed The New York Times’s awards season columnist, Kyle Buchanan, final week. “People are worried about their careers.”
Outside the United States, nonetheless, actors and filmmakers have been extra outspoken. At the BAFTA awards final month in London, the producer James Wilson, accepting the prize for greatest movie not within the English language for his Holocaust movie, “The Zone of Interest,” urged an finish to “selective empathy,” drawing parallels between his movie and Israel’s bombing and invasion of the Gaza Strip in current months.
It’s unlikely, Dixon-Green stated, that we’ll see such daring rhetoric on the Oscars on Sunday. But she stated she anticipated at the least one winner to confer with both the conflict or the election.
“There’s just something different about Oscar night,” she stated. “The winners — even if it’s just a brief mention or two — feel a responsibility to say something about whatever is happening in our country or world.”
Source: www.nytimes.com