Phillip James Brannon plays President Lincoln. Honestly, in a post-Hamilton world, it's not even notable that the white president is played by a black actor. And if given the opportunity, I would go back to see Titus Burgess play Mary for a very limited 3-week run. Betty Gilpin was so good at the physical comedy and the high-octane yelling (and the cockney scene) but Titus is going to blow the roof off that cabaret.
This Oscars season has been a wild ride. It was only in the last few weeks that a real front-runner emerged. There were probably up to six nominees that had the lead at some point this month. Notably, the most nominated movie (an inexplicable 13!) Emilia Perez no longer stands a chance thanks to the stunningly vitriolic comments from its star Karla Sofia Gascon. I'm not hosting an Oscars watch party this year because my friend Chelsey beat me to the punch, and she has rented out a bar so it's getting serious. I will be attempting to bring the least transportable thing possible: ice cubes, molded in the shape of the Oscars statue. I've spent the last several days making ice. Hopefully they don't all melt by the time I get there.
Best Picture
Best Director
Will Win: Sean Baker, Anora
Honorable Mention: Brady Corbet, The Brutalist
Best Actress
Will Win: Demi Moore, The Substance
Should Win: Mikey Madison, Anora
Best Actor
Will Win: Timothee Chalamet, A Complete Unknown
Should Win: Colman Domingo, Sing Sing
Best Supporting Actress
Will Win/Should Win: Zoe Saldana, Emilia Perez
Best Supporting Actor
Will Win/Should Win: Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain
Best Adapted Screenplay
Will Win: Conclave
Should Win: Sing Sing
Best Original Screenplay
Will Win/Should Win: Anora
Honorable Mention: A Real Pain
Best Cinematography
Will Win/Should Win: The Brutalist
Best Costume Design
Will Win/Should Win: Wicked
Best Film Editing
Will Win: Conclave
Should Win: Anora
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Will Win: The Substance
Should Win: A Different Man
Probably the tightest Makeup and Hairstyling category there's ever been, with all 5 nominees featuring especially distinctive makeup.
Best Score
Will Win/Should Win: The Brutalist
Best Song
Will Win: The Journey, The Six Triple Eight
What better time to finally honor Diane Warren than right now to deny the win to Emilia Perez, a musical without any good songs or really any melody to speak of.
Best Sound
Will Win: Wicked
Best Visual Effects
Will Win/Should Win: Dune: Part Two
Best Animated Feature
Will Win/Should Win: The Wild Robot
Best Documentary Feature
Will Win: No Other Land
Best International Film
Will Win: I'm Still Here
I haven't gotten a chance to see The Seed of the Sacred Fig, which I suspect would've been my pick if for no other reason the enormous sacrifice that Mohammad Rasoulof made for his important art.
Best Animated Short
Will Win: Magic Candies
Best Documentary Short
Will Win: The Only Girl in the Orchestra
Should Win: Incident
Best Live Action Short
Will Win/Should Win: A Lien
Results: 15/23 was good enough for third place at Chelsey's wonderful Oscars party at Halyards. Loved being able to celebrate the Oscars with a few dozen other movie lovers who hooted and hollered throughout the ceremony. Lots of people happy with the Anora sweep, and pleasantly surprised by Mikey Madison. Conan O'Brien killed it as expected--give that man a show! The opening Oz medley was brilliant. And lots of moments to bring tears to your eyes: LA montage, No Other Land, Zoe Saldana, Paul Tazewell, etc. Most of the speeches were great, shoutout to Kieran Culkin. Adrien Brody droned on too long and there was some weird mansplaining in the Animated Short category. Weird that they chose to sing 3 Bond songs but couldn't find time for the actual Best Song nominees. And who would've guessed we'd get two songs from the Wiz?! And Queen Latifah, who doesn't really sing much anymore.
