CHRIS ROCK AT THE OSCARS — 2022

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Hold my beer.

Chris Rock deserves a fucking medal for how he comported himself at the Oscars after Will Smith walked on stage and slapped the defenseless Chris Rock on live television.

Chris Rock — professional.

Will Smith — amateur.

I interviewed Chris Rock once. He was great. But the lesson I learned from him tonight was priceless.

Such grace is rare, very rare.

 

Respect Lion.

 

As for for the narcissist Will Smith, if it were you or me, we'd be in handcuffs down at the pokey for a day or three, and fired from whatever job we had that provided entrée into the event.

 

As a film critic, I vow to never watch, much less review, another Will Smith movie.

 

 

Here's what the Academy had to say after its investigation into Will Smith's unprovoked attack on Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars.

 

Open Letter to Our Academy Family

The 94th Oscars were meant to be a celebration of the many individuals in our community who did incredible work this past year; however, those moments were overshadowed by the unacceptable and harmful behavior we saw Mr. Smith exhibit on stage.
 
During our telecast, we did not adequately address the situation in the room. For this, we are sorry. This was an opportunity for us to set an example for our guests, viewers and our Academy family around the world, and we fell short — unprepared for the unprecedented. 
 
Today, the Board of Governors convened a meeting to discuss how best to respond to Will Smith's actions at the Oscars, in addition to accepting his resignation. The Board has decided, for a period of 10 years from April 8, 2022, Mr. Smith shall not be permitted to attend any Academy events or programs, in person or virtually, including but not limited to the Academy Awards.
 
We want to express our deep gratitude to Mr. Rock for maintaining his composure under extraordinary circumstances. We also want to thank our hosts, nominees, presenters and winners for their poise and grace during our telecast.
 
This action we are taking today in response to Will Smith's behavior is a step toward a larger goal of protecting the safety of our performers and guests, and restoring trust in the Academy. We also hope this can begin a time of healing and restoration for all involved and impacted. 

Thank you,

 

David Rubin           Dawn Hudson

President                CEO

Groupthink doesn't live here, critical thought does.

This ad-free website is dedicated to Agnès Varda and to Luis Buñuel.

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FOCUS ON CANNES 2019: PORT AUTHORITY —DANIELLE LESSOVITZ

"On the steps outside New York City’s dizzying central bus station, Port Authority, a girl named Wye vogues with her siblings. Paul, a young drifter, watches her — transfixed by her beauty. After he seeks her out, an intense love soon blossoms. Wye introduces him to the ballroom community, an underground LGBTQ subculture, and to her house, a self-selected chosen family. But when Paul discovers Wye is trans, he is forced to confront his feelings for her and the social forces that seek to rupture their bond."

"Danielle Lessovitz is a San Francisco-born writer/director in film and advertising. She is based in New York City and works internationally in countries such as Italy, Ecuador, Brazil, and China. Trained in documentary film at Northwestern's prestigious Annenberg School of Communications she discovered a passion in screenwriting and directing through her documentary work. Her most recent screenwriting effort, Mobile Homes, which she cowrote with Vladimir de Fontenay, premiered in the Directors' Fortnight section at Cannes 2017."

"She is currently embarking on her directorial debut Port Authority which has been awarded grants by the Torino Film Lab, France's CNC Cinema du Monde and New York Council of the Arts. Martin Scorsese will Executive Produce the film along with Sophie Mas + Lourenço St' Anna. Producers are Rodrigo Teixeira from RT Features, Virginie Lacombe from Madeliene Film and Zachary Kislevitz."   

Get cool rewards when you click on the button to pledge your support through Patreon. Thanks a bunch pal!

The 2017 Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) Nominations

"The Shape of Water" Leads with eight nods.

Here is the full list of nominations from the Online Film Critics Society. Winners will be announced on December 28th.

Best Picture
Call Me By Your Name
Dunkirk
The Florida Project
Get Out
A Ghost Story
Lady Bird
mother!
Phantom Thread
The Shape of Water
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Best Director
Paul Thomas Anderson – Phantom Thread
Greta Gerwig – Lady Bird
Christopher Nolan – Dunkirk
Jordan Peele – Get Out
Guillermo del Toro – The Shape of Water

Best Actor
Timothée Chalamet – Call Me By Your Name
James Franco – The Disaster Artist
Daniel Kaluuya – Get Out
Gary Oldman – Darkest Hour
Robert Pattinson – Good Time

Best Actress
Sally Hawkins – The Shape of Water
Cynthia Nixon – A Quiet Passion
Frances McDormand – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Margot Robbie – I, Tonya
Saoirse Ronan – Lady Bird

Best Supporting Actor
Armie Hammer – Call Me By Your Name
Richard Jenkins – The Shape of Water
Sam Rockwell – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Patrick Stewart – Logan
Michael Stuhlbarg – Call Me By Your Name

Best Supporting Actress
Mary J. Blige – Mudbound
Tiffany Haddish – Girls Trip
Holly Hunter – The Big Sick
Allison Janney – I, Tonya
Laurie Metcalf – Lady Bird

Best Ensemble
Get Out
Mudbound
Lady Bird
The Post
The Shape of Water
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Breakout Star
Timothée Chalamet – Call Me By Your Name
Tiffany Haddish – Girls Trip
Daniel Kaluuya – Get Out
Dafne Keen – Logan
Brooklynn Prince – The Florida Project

Best Original Screenplay
Jordan Peele – Get Out
Greta Gerwig – Lady Bird
Paul Thomas Anderson – Phantom Thread
Guillermo del Toro and Vanessa Taylor – The Shape of Water
Martin McDonagh – Three Billboards

Best Adapted Screenplay
Sofia Coppola – The Beguiled
James Ivory – Call Me By Your Name
Scott Nestadter and Micheal Weber – The Disaster Artist
James Gray – Lost City of Z
Aaron Sorkin – Molly’s Game

Best Editing
Paul Machliss and Jonathan Amos – Baby Driver
Lee Smith – Dunkirk
Ben Safdie and Ronald Bronstein – Good Time
Tatiana S Riegel – I, Tonya
Sidney Wolinsky – The Shape of Water

Best Cinematography
Roger Deakins – Blade Runner 2049
Hoyte van Hoytema – Dunkirk
Darius Khondji – Lost City of Z
Rachel Morrison – Mudbound
Dan Laustsen – The Shape of Water

Best Animated Feature
Coco
The Breadwinner
In This Corner Of The World
The LEGO Batman Movie
Loving Vincent

Best Foreign Film
BPM (Beats Per Minute)
First They Killed My Father
Nocturama
Raw
The Square
Thelma

Best Documentary
Dawson City: Frozen Time
Ex Libris: The New York Public Library
Faces Places
Jane
The Work

Memorial Award
Jonathan Demme
John Hurt
Bill Paxton
George A. Romero
Harry Dean Stanton

Lifetime Achievement Award
Willem Dafoe
Daniel Day-Lewis
Roger Deakins
Christopher Plummer
Agnes Varda