For Your Consideration

Prepare for your Oscar Watch Party

Photo by tommao wang on Unsplash

Hi there!

How’s everyone doing? Hope this NYC spring weather is helping, even if it does only last for 24 hours. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and you can almost forget the bombs are raining down in Iran.

If you’re anything like me, you might be alternating between getting carpal tunnel from scrolling the non-stop news feed and pining after Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy’s hair in “Love Story”; so it might be time for escapism. It’s been too nice to stay inside catching up on the films you missed this year, but that doesn’t mean you won’t get sucked into the 98th Academy Awards this Sunday, March 15. Even if you haven’t seen any of the films, the Oscars are less about movies at this point and more about yelling at the screen when someone you rooted for loses. It’s a sport. Conan O’Brien is hosting for the second year in a row, and he was funny last year; yet, the bar for good hosts is very low.

Let’s get into it.

How to Watch

This is historically the hardest part of the Oscar Watch Party for us. Usually, we miss the first hour trying to figure out how to watch the show. But this year feels a little easier. The ceremony kicks off Sunday at 7 pm EST/4 pm PST on ABC (which no one would have unless you have cable), but this year we’ll be able to stream it on Hulu. They claim that no matter what Hulu subscription you have, you’ll be able to watch it live. (The red carpet pre-show starts at 3:30 pm, and will be hosted by Amelia Dimoldenberg, the host of “Chicken Shop Date,” which is an excellent YouTube celebrity interview show.)

Photo by James A. Molnar on Unsplash

Print a Ballot

Half the fun of the Oscars is filling out a ballot and rooting for your favorite stars, even if you haven’t seen half the films. Usually, we get our free printable ballots from Vanity Fair, but this year, we may try something different. Rotten Tomatoes has one that includes the Tomatometer and Audience scores alongside the nominees, which will give a bit more context for films you haven’t seen. In our house, our high-stakes betting puts it all on the line, with the winner getting the chance to choose every movie we’ll watch at home through April. The competition is fierce.

Photo by Nihal Demirci on Unsplash

Talking Points

Need discussion points during the commercial breaks? Feel free to discuss Timothee Chalamet’s interview with Matthew McConaughey, where he said he didn’t want to work in art forms that no one cares about anymore, like ballet and opera. The backlash was instant, but the votes were already cast, so it won’t be the reason he loses the Oscar. He grew up at the ballet because his sister, mother, and grandmother all danced there, and attended LaGuardia High School, where those art forms are alive and well, so personally, I don’t think he was saying he didn’t care about that, but that as a culture we don’t support those art forms as much as we should. What do you think? Discuss.

Predictions

Rose Byrne was a revelation in If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You, one of my favorite movies of the year, but she’ll be hard-pressed to beat Jessie Buckley in Hamnet, who made my entire theater weep loudly in public by the end of the film. The other race I’m interested in is the Best Supporting Actor race from One Battle After Another. For me, Benecio del Toro was the best and most memorable part of the movie with his “one little beer” adlib, but how will he beat Sean Penn, who created a completely new antagonist? I predict Hamnet will win best adapted screenplay because both the book and film were brilliant and very different. Besides that, I predict a Sinners sweep, but would I prefer more challenging films like The Secret Agent or Train Dreams to win big? Yes, but it’s unlikely.

Illustration by Sam Whitney/The New York Times

The Snubs: Required Reading

Of course, many of your favorites won’t win. That’s par for the course. Author Sloane Crossley wrote a great essay in the NY Times today about “snubbing season” and the strange fixation we have on who didn’t get nominated. She talks about how in a culture that can’t concentrate, it’s easier to talk about the negative space, and the performative conversation is an extension of fandom. She writes, “[L]et’s enjoy what’s left of this season of anodyne outrage, this inconsequential possessiveness over millionaires whom we do not know.” The snubs are almost as exciting as the wins for us peons in the audience whose careers and financial stability don’t ride on the nominations. What she calls “the emotional parade televised” is a major part of watching the show. It should be an honor just to be nominated, but we all know that’s not true.

What are your predictions? Comment below!