The Sunday Mail
IT might seem like a lifetime ago, but it was only a few months back that the Academy Awards were something to be cherished and revered.
I, for one, used them as a barometer by which all award shows — be it Grammys, Namas or Zimas — were measured.
I did not really care if there were no live performances or drama from the likes of Kanye West, there was always something refreshing and satisfying about Oscars.
They were the height of excellence in film, the equivalent of a Nobel or Pulitzer for movies.
Sadly though, as the award show prepares to go live on air in the early hours of tomorrow morning, a large dark cloud hovers over the entire matter.
Instead of the traditional “will he or won’t he (Leonardo DiCaprio) debate”, Best Picture, Best Visual Effects, who was wearing what and what was wearing who debates, all everyone wants to know is just how many actors of colour will actually show up.
That the #Oscarssowhite movement will be the focal point of tomorrow morning’s proceedings is guaranteed.
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Science’s effort to placate everyone has blown up in their faces. In an attempt to combat the racial discrepancies in their voting process and membership imbalance, AMPAS introduced a few new measures to their membership and voting.
These included a proposal to double the number of women and coloured people, introduce 10-year limits to voting, which can be revoked if one is not active in film for a specified period of time, and stricter monitoring on voting and membership.
Sadly these proposals did not come soon enough to repair the damage the last two editions of discrimination have done.
The measures were created in haste and not only have they angered the already fully-privileged members, but it also appears they were not done with the full consent and knowledge of most members.
Apparently, another war is on the horizon as some AMPAS members want to protect their membership and privileges and have since called these new measures unconstitutional. More on that, in the weeks to come.
Anyway, there is very little I can say that has not been said, sung or written before and so I will finish this week’s instalment by giving you my run-down of Oscar picks and predictions.
First prediction: host Chris Rock, surrounded by a sea of white people, will probably try to ease the tension in the room by making an abnormal amount of racial jokes.
No one does racial humour like Chris Rock. I hope to God that he stays away from Bill Cosby.
Given that #Oscarssowhite has crossed the racial divide, there are some black actors and actresses who are going to show up and my money is on Idris Alba.
As far as Oscar picks go; Leonardo DiCaprio should finally win the big one and there is going to be a camera shot of BFF Kate Winslet as she cries herself a river throughout his entire acceptance speech.
“Inside Out” should take Best Animated Feature Film, while the Academy corrects the Golden Globes’ huge mistake and awards “Mad Max: Fury Road” the Best Visual Effects statuette.
No offence to the other ladies in the Best Supporting Actress category, but if Jennifer Jason Leigh does not win that award then whatever little credibility the Oscars might have left prior to the show will disappear.
It is one of the few categories I have actually sat down and watched every film to compare the performances, over and over again, and none of the aforementioned ladies stood out or stole the show like Jen did.
The Best Picture category is arguably one of the tightest races in recent history and I will not dare go out on a limb on this one.
Sadly these proposals did not come soon enough to repair the damage the last two editions of discrimination have done. The measures were created in haste and not only have they angered the already fully-privileged members, but it also appears they were not done with the full consent and knowledge of most members
