OT: Oscars
Will Smith gets 5-game suspension. Chris Rock fined $10,000.
On another note, out of genuine curiosity, anyone see and love any of the nominated/ winning films? Busy with work and two kids under 3, I've seen far too few films this past year, but would like to check out a couple. Any favorites/ must sees?
March 28th, 2022 at 10:31 AM ^
Philly is pretty well-known for raising a bunch of ill-tempered jerks with attitude.
March 28th, 2022 at 10:58 AM ^
Sorry..I edited my initial comment...but yeah Philly is known for being a pretty 'rough urban area'...
March 28th, 2022 at 11:04 AM ^
Yeah, but Philly has plenty of nice places that aren't remotely dangerous.
I'm reminded of some tools I knew in California that bragged about living in "Oaktown." They didn't get specific, of course, because they lived in Rockridge or in the hills.
March 28th, 2022 at 12:56 PM ^
They booed Santa Claus?
March 28th, 2022 at 10:16 AM ^
I'm in the camp that a lot of things these days are scripted, but I don't think this was. It was censored in the US, but not in other countries which means it was not expected. Denzel Washington and Tyler Perry had a private conversation with him after it happened off screen. People around Will Smith looked genuinely shocked. I don't think it was fake
March 28th, 2022 at 10:40 AM ^
It wasn't fake. Chis Rock was thrown completely off guard by it. He could barely finish his award presentation and flubbed his lines a couple of times. He was happy to get off the stage.
March 28th, 2022 at 12:26 PM ^
No fucking way. Watch the uncensored version, and then watch Will Smith's acceptance speech. Why the fuck would Will actually hit and then yell profanities at Chris Rock on what was supposed to be the "greatest moment in his career". That was career suicide, and guess what? Nobody fucking cares that he won Best Actor now...we're all talking about the slap and cringey as fuck acceptance speech.
There's just no damn way it was scripted.
I thought it was too.
The slap seemed very Hollywood. I mean you should be able to drop Chris Rock with a cheap shot.
The temper tantrum afterwards told a different story. Very self important.
I'm stunned....was that really, real?
Chris Rock didn't get knocked back and didn't hav any swelling on his face. He didn't even reach of to his face...which I think is an instinctual reaction.
OTOH...his anger and emotions seemed beyond real from the audience and during his acceptance speech...and given Jada's health condition and facial reaction I can't see it being anything but real.
But they are actors...so, I'm leaning towards publicity stunt on this one...and damn its effective.
I like movies but honestly I view the Oscars like my neighbor getting an oil change on their certified pre-owned Honda Accord. I know it happens once a year but I feel no desire to watch it happen.
I don’t remember the last time I watched the Oscars, or any of these award shows for that matter. It’s essentially one giant circle jerk for the most vile, out of touch people on this planet. Another way to feed their massive egos and help fill the voidness in their lives that money couldn’t buy.
...for the most vile, out of touch people on this planet.
If this is how you feel about the harmless dopes who make movies, you should prolly turn the channel anytime Vlad Putin is mentioned in the near future. You're welcome in advance.
March 28th, 2022 at 10:41 AM ^
They aren't the most vile people on the planet.
But they are the most out of touch.
March 28th, 2022 at 12:45 PM ^
"... one giant circle jerk for the most vile, out of touch people on this planet. Another way to feed their massive egos and help fill the voidness in their lives that money couldn’t buy."
Boy, there's a screamingly obvious example I could use, but ...
+1 for a great analogy. Fits my opinion of the Kentucky Derby, the Indy 500, and New Year's Rockin' Eve.
The best quote about the Oscars I ever heard came from an episode of "The West Wing" when Press Secretary C.J. Cregg had a complication with the annual Thanksgiving turkey pardon:
C.J.: "They sent me two turkeys. The most photo-friendly of the two gets a Presidential pardon and a full life at a children's zoo. The runner-up gets eaten."
President Bartlet: "If the Oscars were like that, I'd watch."
Typical hollywood hypocrisy. Preaching love, tolerance and all inclusiveness...until someone says something that upsets you and then the gloves are off.
And then all of the Hollywood elites in the crowd give the guy..errr abuser...an ovation when he wins best actor. You can't make this shit up.
This isn't limited to "Hollywood elites." Anyone who participates in a group is subject to the pull to conform to the mores of the group. We all think we're immune to it and it's the other guy who is weak, but it's human nature. Some may be more susceptible than others but we all do it.
My favorite Oscar was the Grouch 
Dude caught a lot of shit, but in retrospect, I agree with many of his takes.
March 28th, 2022 at 11:04 AM ^
I nominate
The whole situation was weird. Will Smith literally laughed at the joke. It’s like he seen Jada upset and then decided to play tough guy. Rock handled it about as well as you could. Hair loss jokes are apparently off the table now as well. Are we still allowed to joke about Shaq and Kevin Hart about their height?
As for the films, I’m usually a year behind when it comes to Best Picture nominees. Nightmare Alley is the only one I’ve seen so far. It was alright. Pretty cool atmosphere, especially at the start, but it’s too long for it’s own good for my taste. If you’re going to run more than 2 hours then every minute past that 2 hour mark better be worth it.
March 28th, 2022 at 10:25 AM ^
In isolation (ignoring all the other interesting aspects of last night's event) I think alopecia jokes are inappropriate. Doesn't matter if she's "out" about it. It's a big deal for some people who have it (for example, young women).
March 28th, 2022 at 11:05 AM ^
Like millions of others, I'd still be completely unaware of his wife's condition if Will hadn't publicized it
March 28th, 2022 at 11:24 AM ^
Male pattern baldness - A laugh out loud riot.
Alopecia - Must be defended with violence.
Especially if your wife develops RBF after you are caught laughing about it. It was revenge of Will Smiths ego. You cant defend someone on words already spoken you can only get back at them.
March 28th, 2022 at 11:25 AM ^
It’s not cancer and not a terminal illness. It’s hair loss, plain and simple. Does it deserve a reaction like that from Will?? No. Was it a good joke from Rock??? No
March 28th, 2022 at 12:34 PM ^
We don't even know if Rock knew about her alopecia. Women can have shaved heads for no reason whatsoever...it's 2022.
Even if he did...it was, at worst, a mildly tasteless joke. We've heard far worse jokes at award ceremonies. It's not even clear if Rock wrote the joke or it was written by somebody else and given to him.
March 28th, 2022 at 11:04 AM ^
I've been mostly bald for a decade, and I find it to be amusing and easy to poke fun about. Joking about someone's physical appearance is a comedian's stock and trade and people in the industry know this better than most. Rock wasn't going after Jada personally and everyone in the crowd knew it, including Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith. When you can't laugh at yourself and get out of shape over a comedian plying their craft, you might be an asshole. Personally, I think the whole thing being an attention-getting setup is the simplest explanation, with Will and Jada being a couple of assholes coming in second.
They got a lot of people talking about the Oscars who haven't watched in at least a decade. I'm going with pre-planned. It looked very WWE. Smith trained hard for his role in Ali, he knows how to throw a punch. He's a lot bigger than Rock. If he wanted to hit him, Rock wouldn't have been left standing.
Wait, are you saying the WWE isn't real?!?
I wonder if Brad Davison was watching the Oscars and then started singing "Varsity" as soon as (self-edited) he saw the slap.
I don’t like conflating this with the Howard thing. Two black men slapped people when they shouldn’t have, but different people in different situations. We don’t talk about Bruno.
You sound as thin-skinned as Will Smith himself. Race has nothing to do with this, yet you injected it right in there nicely.
March 28th, 2022 at 11:18 AM ^
No. I realized my original wording was a bad look/poor choice on my part after reading West Quad's observation.
As for 'Bruno', I have no idea his reference. I'm assuming he's referring to Bruno Mars and something he's done and not Bluto on Popeye?
March 28th, 2022 at 12:23 PM ^
I thought your comment was fine, but then again what makes people upset is totally subjective.
Also, like you, I have no idea what the Bruno reference is. Perhaps the movie Bruno?
March 28th, 2022 at 12:34 PM ^
It's from the Disney movie Encanto.
March 28th, 2022 at 11:27 AM ^
I think an UGHH and an eye roll is the only thing you need. Especially playing the race card. Booo this man!!
The awards show, highlighted not by award presentations or musical numbers but by the mutual attack of Chris Rock and Will Smith, seemed very unglamorous and disorganized. It has hit a new low. Thankfully, it only occurs once a year. Bring back the Golden Globes!
I must say that watching the end of the M-Q hockey game while DVRing the beginning of the awards was a great decision for me! Much more entertaining and exciting! Go Blue!
March 28th, 2022 at 10:47 AM ^
The Oscars were even more chaotic than the end of M - Q-Pac hockey.
I'm surprised Will Smith didn't get a 5 minute major.
Just saw the YouTube replay:
Either Chris Rock can take a hit/slap without getting phased (and Will Smith doesn't hit/slap hard), or this was all choreographed... including the emotional verbal outburst from Smith in the seats just afterwards.
Whichever it is, I still feel zero inclination to watch the show.
This was 100% staged. Anyone who thinks this was "off the cuff" forgot that nobody has watched these awards shows for 5+ years, but this will pull people back in. All they needed to do was give the plebes a little bit of violence!
March 28th, 2022 at 10:03 AM ^
So if this will pull people back in, should we expect this type of incident to happen next year? Doubt it's going to do anything to the ratings in future years.
March 28th, 2022 at 10:48 AM ^
If they are going to start punching Hollywood actors in the mouth every year, I have a list.
March 28th, 2022 at 11:06 AM ^
And I would actually watch that!
are you also in the Earth is flat side?
Will Smith and Juwan Howard to star in next Bad Boys movie.
Slap Boys for Life!!!
If it was anyone who weighed more than 90 lbs, Smith wouldn't have hit them.
Wisconsin's AD is going to write a letter about how they are, in his mind, completely blameless in this case and that they demand swift action from the Academy on this matter.
Ugh, there's gonna be so many takes about this and it's gonna be exhausting.