The Oscars took place this Sunday, and many film lovers were left with a sour taste in their mouth.
2018 was a phenomenal year for film, yet the nominations for best picture were lackluster, to say the least. Critically acclaimed movies like “Hereditary,” “Paddington 2” and “Burning” were absent from the nominations.
“Green Book,” a movie based on the “unlikely friendship” formed between a white bodyguard and gay African-American Dr. Shirley, was met with controversy early into its run in theaters.
In an interview with Shadow and Act, the family of the real-life Dr. Shirley, called the film a “symphony of lies.” The film portrays Dr. Shirley as having a shoddy relationship with his family, when in reality, Dr. Shirley had a strong bond with his brothers.
“Green Book” is another tale of the “white savior” which is all-too-much, not true. Spike Lee, director of the Oscar-winning film “BlacKkKlansman,” expressed his opinion on the film’s win for best picture. “I thought I was courtside at the Garden and the ref made a bad call,” Lee stated in a press conference following the awards show. “It wasn’t my cup-of-tea.”
Many Twitter users were displeased with this film’s win. Mark Harris, a journalist with Vulture wrote in a tweet: “Remember when Green Book won Best Picture? Man, that choice did not age well.”
Someone even went as far to edit the Wikipedia for the film, saying the film was written by “Serial Liar and Islamophobe Nick Vallelonga” and “Sexual Harasser Peter Farrelly” shortly after the win.
Another film that was the center of controversy even before it wrapped filming was “Bohemian Rhapsody.” It took home awards for film editing, sound mixing, sound editing and actor in a leading role.
Rami Malek took home the Oscar for Actor in a Leading Role, and he was criticized for not commenting on the Bryan Singer scandal.
Bryan Singer was removed as director of “Bohemian Rhapsody” after allegations of sexual assault were revealed. Bryan Singer was accused of statutory rape by four men.
However, since over half of production had been done by the time Bryan Singer was removed, he was still given the title of director (much to the dismay of the public).
Bryan Singer is still set to direct the upcoming movie “Red Sonja” with an estimated paycheck of $10 million.
The night was not all upsetting wins though. Critically acclaimed movie “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” took home the Oscar for Animated Feature, dethroning Disney from its 11-year winning streak.
“Shallow” from “A Star is Born” took home Best Original Song which was to be expected. Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper performed the song earlier in the night and was rewarded with thunderous applause.
Olivia Colman took home Actress in A Leading Role for her performance in “The Favourite” and gave an amazing speech. She thanked Yorgos Lanthimos for giving her the opportunity to star in the film.
She singled out fellow nominee Glenn Close, “You’ve been my ideal for so long and this is not how I wanted it to be.”
One can only hope that next year The Academy chooses less bland, controversial movies in favor of more outstanding, unique films.
Borap was dope