With two “strong” Iranian presences on the red carpet but also a couple of excellent absences, the wars in the Middle East after the US and Israeli raids on Iran are the elephant in the room at the Oscars: a great event which – as with the fires in Los Angeles last year – highlights the contrast between the gravity of the international situation and the celebratory nature of the awards.
Presences and absences
On the blood-red catwalk this year preceding the ceremony (live on ABC and in Italy on Rai), the dissident director Jafar Panahi of «A simple accident» and the documentarians of «Scratch the rock», Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni. However, due to visa and travel ban reasons, Sara Shahverdi, the midwife on a motorcycle at the center of the documentary, is absent, as is the Palestinian actor Motaz Malhees, protagonist of “The Voice of Hind Rajab” by Kawthar ibn Haniyya, in the running for Best Foreign Film. “They don’t allow me to enter the US because I’m Palestinian,” he announced. “It hurts, but they won’t stop our story.”
The protests planned. O’Brien conductor
Protests have been scheduled today both for and against the raids. As for Conan O’Brien, the host of Night of the Stars, finding the balance between light tones and awareness of reality is part of his role. “We’re working on it,” he said, evoking his predecessor Johnny Carson’s Oscar jokes when the Iran hostage crisis was underway: “I always try to walk a fine line between entertaining the audience and acknowledging the realities around us,” he said at a press conference.
Twenty years ago the show during the invasion of Iraq
It’s been over 20 years since the Oscars show last went on with the United States on the verge of going to war in the Middle East. In 2003, the ceremony at the then Kodak Theater was held three days after US troops invaded Iraq, raising security concerns around Hollywood’s biggest soirée. This time, with tensions caused not only by Iran but also by the shooting at a university in Virginia and an attack on a synagogue in Michigan, the measures will be even stricter, even if so far there are no credible threats against the night of stars. However, a security perimeter of over a kilometer is being set up around the Dolby. Federal and local agencies, collaborating with the Joint Terrorism Task Force, are monitoring social media and collecting information to prevent any security risks with Swat units of the Los Angeles Police Department, anti-bomb squads and sharpshooters.
The specialized unit for major events
In recent years the department has created a specialized unit for the management of large events and today a much greater number of officers are employed at the Oscars than in the past, explained LAPD captain Mike Bland: “Security is higher than in previous years not only due to the current events, but also due to what has happened in recent years,” he declared. Although federal and local agencies do not make public all the details of the measures taken, sources told the Los Angeles Times that even the air around the event has been constantly monitored for days for possible dangers, including the presence of radiation.
The only certainty? The figurine for Jessie Buckley
The statuettes for actors at the 98th Oscars remain among the most uncertain of the season. The only prediction that seems written in Hollywood by now, and on which veteran journalists of the ceremony feel ready to bet, is that for best leading actress.
After victories at the Critics Choice, Golden Globes, Bafta and Actor Awards, Jessie Buckley appears headed towards an Oscar for “Hamnet – In the Name of His Son”. Many considered the game already won after the first screening of Chloé Zhao’s film at the Telluride Film Festival in August. The terrible reviews and disappointing takings of the new film in which Buckley is the protagonist, «The Bride!», did not have time to undermine its momentum: the film directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal was released when voting was already closed. On paper, Emma Stone for «Bugonia», Renate Reinsve for «Sentimental Value», Kate Hudson for «Song Sung Blue» and Rose Byrne for «If I Only Could I Would Kick You» seem to have little chance.
The race for the male protagonist is much more uncertain. After the victories at the Critics Choice and the Golden Globes, the path seemed clear for Timothée Chalamet, already nominated in the past for «Call Me by Your Name» and «A Complete Unknown». However, subsequent awards have reshuffled the cards. Chalamet lost at the Baftas to Robert Aramayo for «I Swear», a film which however is not in the running for the Oscars. At the Actor Awards he was beaten by Michael B. Jordan for «Sinners», a victory that completely reopened the competition. Jordan, who in Ryan Coogler’s film plays two twins attacked by vampires in 1930s Louisiana, now seems to have a slight advantage over Chalamet and the other candidates: Leonardo DiCaprio for “One Battle After Another”, Ethan Hawke for “Blue Moon” and the Brazilian Wagner Moura for “The Secret Agent”.
In the running for best supporting role, Jacob Elordi (“Frankenstein”) won at the Critics Choice; Benicio Del Toro (“One battle after another”); Stellan Skarsgård (“Sentimental Value”); Delroy Lindo (“Sinners”); Sean Penn (“A Battle”). On the female side, Elle Fanning and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas («Sentimental Value») compete; Amy Madigan (“Weapons”); Wunmi Mosaku (“Sinners”); Teyana Taylor (“A Battle”).