By John H. Foote It has now been reported Will Smith and his wife were asked to leave the Academy Awards ceremony after he slapped Chris Rock and he refused to do so. Obviously knowing he was about to win the Oscar as Best Actor weighed on his decision to leave. But this goes deeper.…
By John H. Foote So much Oscar history was made last night yet all anyone is talking about is the slap heard round the word, the one WiIl Smith delivered to comedian Chris Rock, who Smith felt had insulted his wife, Jada Pinkett. On one hand, good for Smith for defending his wife, but should…
By John H. Foote Are we part of the trouble with the Oscars? We critics, writers, and bloggers start talking Oscar at TIFF, which is kind of the unofficial beginning of Oscar season, and do not let up until the night of the awards. And then wake up the next morning, bitch about who did…
By John H. Foote By the time the Oscars roll around, it is an anti-climatic event. The glut of award shows since years end, the constant writing from bloggers (including me) since TIFF has worn me down and I just want the whole thing over with. Surprises are rare, they just do not really happen…
By John H. Foote The collective gasps heard around North America at nearly 6 a.m. the morning of the announcement of the Academy Award nominations were just. Lady Gaga, winner of the coveted New York Film Critics Circle award as Best Actress, had been snubbed for an Oscar nomination. GOOD GOD!!!!! The diminutive pop icon…
By John H. Foote The stories of the epic temper tantrums of former hairdresser, lover to Barbra Streisand and movie mogul Jon Peters are the stuff of legend, and witnesses attest, absolutely true. Peters had a ferocious, volatile, hair trigger temper that could be unleashed at any given time though he was called on it…
By John H. Foote The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences made another bone head move this week. In their attempt to shorten the show, they have decided to not broadcast the awarding of several awards, believing the time cut will help keep the show to a more manageable length. I for one oppose…
By John H. Foote Admittedly I breathed a huge sigh of relief when Kristen Stewart was nominated for Best Actress for her haunting performance as Princess Diana in Spencer, a performance actually better than the film it is in, one that elevates the film to a greater level. After emerging from film festivals in Venice…
By John H. Foote Every year there are inevitable snubs among the Academy Award nominations, which I suppose is inevitable given there are just five nominees for each category other than Best Picture, which has 10. I remember gasping out loud when Amy Adams was ignored for her magical work in Arrival (2017), an absolute…
By John H. Foote Spider Man: No Way Home swung into theatres just before Christmas and altered the entire Oscar landscape with rave reviews, the kind of adulation resulting in Best Picture attention. No one was more surprised than me, because this is the umpteenth version of Spider Man we have had, the first that…