Okay, so where am I? 

It’s been a light red carpet season. I’ve only done two—the Grammys and now today at the Academy Awards. Nothing is better that than when your feet hit that Oscars burgundy carpet. Your imagination soars and you can’t help by daydream of carrying a thirteen-and-a-half-inch tall, eight-and-a-half pound golden statuette.

In good news for the Academy, the telecast drew a 7.7 rating for the ever-valuable demographic adults 18-49 and 29.6 million overall viewers. That’s up from a 6.8 rating and 26.5 million last year, or an increase of 12%. In bad news, this year was the second smallest audience ever for an Oscars telecast.

I am very unhappy to report that my agent has been M.I.A. once again as hope and pray one of my four scripts or two (yet unpublished) books find a way to be developed into a real movie. Alas, no movie this year, but I did pick up a sweet gig writing NHL and Los Angeles Kings columns this past year (no help from my agent, thank you!).

So for the eighth straight year, here’s my first-hand view of the happenings backstage at the 91st Academy Awards:

BACKSTAGE INTERVIEW WITH:
Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

Rami Malek: Wait a second. Let’s hold on. Am I one of the last ones here? Well, I just want to say thank you guys for being here. And I will say this: I don’t think critically the decision on this film was unanimous, but I do appreciate everything you guys had to write. As a kid, I read criticism of film, and I learned so much from it. So no matter what, I still do very much appreciate you. Thank you.

Q: I don’t know how I can follow that. Congratulations, first of all, and I know you’ve heard that a lot tonight. But I have to ask, please explain to us and describe for us when you first got this role and what happened exactly at that moment and when did this role become a reality for you? When did it really hit you that you’re playing Freddie Mercury?

Mike Baker / ©A.M.P.A.S.

RM: I really got blessed. Last night Mr. Spielberg, he had his daughter come up to me and say, hey, make sure you say hi to Rami Malek. It would mean a lot to me and it would mean a lot to him. So I had a seminal moment in my life where I knew some auteurs could influence my life. Since then, I’m about to begin Season 4 of Mr. Robot with Sam Esmail. And in the middle of the second, no, the third season, while we were working on that, I got a call from Graham King and Dennis O’Sullivan to meet them in Los Angeles, and they were fans of Mr. Robot. And I don’t know how they thought a young man who felt so alienated, profoundly alienated, with such social anxiety could ever play Freddie Mercury. But the one thing that was beautiful about it was I started to discover that in this audacious, present, communicative, powerful human being there was a sense of loneliness and a sense of anxiety, and I could relate the two together. So I thank them for discovering that in me, but I do have to thank so many great auteurs who have brought me to the point where I felt confident in my work. And Spike Lee is one of them. Alfonso Cuarón is one of them. Paul Thomas Anderson is one of them. Sam Esmail is definitely one of them. The list goes on. But it was the confidence that they all imbued in me to be able to think that I could take on this challenge. Then , well, that’s a long story. And Tom Hanks. Let’s not forget Tom Hanks.

Q: Allow me on behalf of all the Arab world to say congratulations. We’re so happy that you won with the participation of three nominees this year from the Arab world. You have the trophy.I read that you grew up loving Umm Kulthum and Omar Sharif and there’s plenty of Arab young talents growing up now loving Rami Malek. If it’s not too much to ask, can we get your answer? What would you say to these guys or ladies, in Arabic, if possible?

RM: Well, I will begin by saying [speaks Arabic.] I would say that as a young man, my sister was born in Egypt. I think when I grew up as a kid, I wanted part of me felt like I need to shed some of that. I wanted to I didn’t feel like I fit in. I definitely felt like the outsider. And as I got older, I realized just how beautiful my heritage and my tradition is, and the wealth of culture and magic and music and film and just pure art that comes out of the Middle East. And now I’m so privileged to represent it. And to anyone from there, and for that matter the entire world, we all got a shot at this. We really do.

Q: You gave a beautiful speech in which it seems like it talks a lot about what happened tonight. There was a lot of inclusion it seems, a lot of films that have been talking about that aspect, and I wonder how much in that respect that this Oscar of yours now fits into that and reflects that.

RM: It’s a political question, and I appreciate it, but…

Q: No, no. I mean, I’m talking about the inclusion of the films.

RM: Yeah. I will say, look, I mean, I grew up in a world where I never thought I was going to play the lead on Mr. Robot because I never saw anyone in a lead role that looked like me. I never thought that I could possibly play Freddie Mercury until I realized his name was Farrokh Bulsara, and that is the most powerful message that was sent to me from the beginning. That was the motivation that allowed me to say, oh, I can do this. And that man steps on stage and he moves people in a way that no one else does, and he has ability to look everyone in the eye and see them for who they are. And that’s because he was struggling to identify himself. And all of that passion and virtue and everything burning inside of him allowed him to look to everybody else and say, hey, I see you. Not right here in the front; I see you there in the back. I see all of you, I will play to all of you, and together we will transcend. Because it’s not about being from one place or looking like one thing, one race. Any of that. We are all human beings. And forgive me for this, but collectively we are all the champions.

Q: Rami, I just was wondering after you finished shooting the film, how did you feel about your own performance? Did you know that it was special and that it might end up in an Academy Award?

RM: I’ve got to say, being on that stage, I think I may have I don’t know how I looked on that stage, but I never thought this would happen in my life. The one thing I can say about this as an actor, and there are so many of us who only dream of one thing. And perhaps it’s not this; it’s just getting a job. So the fact that I have this in my hand right now is beyond excuse me any expectation that myself or perhaps my family could have ever had. And I’ll just say that. I mean, this has been a tough battle, and I think you all know about it, and the fact that I’m here celebrating with you is proof that a lot of things can be overcome, and that anything is possible. And tonight I’m celebrating with all of you. And anyone who has a dream, it can happen. Thank you.

BACKSTAGE INTERVIEW WITH:
Olivia Colman, The Favourite
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

Q: Your speech touched me and was hilarious. Frankly, how much of that was prepared?


Olivia Colman: None of it. And I’ve just been told I completely forgot Melissa and Yalitza as well, so but, you know, it’s not an everyday occurrence. So I don’t know how anyone is composed and remembers everything because it’s a very weird situation. But to those two beautiful women I forgot to say thank you to.

Mike Baker / ©A.M.P.A.S.

Q: Congratulations. Massive congratulations on the win. Where are you going to put your Oscar statue at? Where is it going to go?


OC: In bed with me, between me and my husband. He doesn’t know yet.

Q: I knew you were one of the great actors as soon as I saw you in TYRANNOSAUR years ago. How do you go about finding the tragic and the absurd and vice versa, because that is what you do so beautifully in this role? It’s hilarious and shattering.


OC: Well, that is lovely of you. No, that is a lovely thing for you to say. Thank you very much. I don’t know.

Q: So, first of all, Broad Church is not coming back; right?


OC: No, we’ve done three. That’s it. Sorry.

Q: That’s it. Okay. Were you expecting this at all, because the reaction


OC: No.

Q: both here at the ceremony was you were completely blind sided.


OC: Yeah.

Q: Blind sided by it. So how does it feel, like, to do this?


OC: I have no idea. I could not tell you what I’m feeling. Next year, I might I’ll be able to put it into words, but I don’t know what to do with myself at the moment.

Q: What prepared you for this role?


OC: The script was amazing, and then you just do what’s written down, I think. Without the writers, without words, we are just bumbling around, miming. So if the script is good, it’s all there. I think.

Q: How old are your kids, and are they watching or not?


OC: They are watching, because they are here.

Q: So they are in a hotel room watching it, or…


OC: No, we borrowed my agent’s house.

Q: And how old are they?


OC: 13, 11, and 3. There was a gap. I had to persuade my husband for a few years.

Q: What would Queen Anne say to you right now?


OC: Have some cake. Blue cake. Eat too much blue cake. If you had seen the film, it makes sense. It wasn’t just a weird things to say.

BACKSTAGE INTERVIEW WITH:
Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role

Q: How sweet was it to have your mom there in the front row with you? Obviously, you gave much praise to her during your acceptance speech. What did it mean to you to have her there tonight?

Regina King: It’s hard to, like, put it in words really quickly. I feel like kind of like one of those full circle moments because so much of the character Sharon Rivers was mapped or inspired by my mother and my grandmother. So to have her there, my family was there, my sister, Reina, my son, Ian, were there. They are both here tonight. And it goes by so fast, and you want to thank so many people, and your mind just goes blank. And, you know, my mom was like the lighthouse right there. And…mmm, just everything.

Mike Baker / ©A.M.P.A.S.

Q: how was it to get to say those words and play somebody who believed, you know, to the depth of their soul

RK: Yes.

Q: About love?

RK: Love. Persevering. I mean, If Beale Street Could Talk is a beautiful film, a beautiful novel before it was thank you before it was a film you might be clapping for somebody else, but I’m going to take that. Thank you. And where we are to your point, where we are right now, I think that’s it’s a film that is breaks through a lot of the sections that are exist right now. You know, love is that thing that pushes us through trauma. You know, this is an urban tragedy, but tragedy is a is something that is experienced no matter what sex you are, no matter what race you are; and love and support is usually what pushes us through, which gets us to the other side. So I think this film is so needed right now because we need a lot of help getting through the other side and seeing how how much we are alike. We are different in a lot of ways. Absolutely. Our circumstances are so different; but it’s to the core, to the core, we are really a lot alike.

Q: Four hundred years ago this year in 1619, the first slaves were brought to Jamestown. Talk to me a little bit about what it means to stand here today winning your first Academy Award, the same place where, you know, Hattie McDaniel, and so many others who may have been discounted?

RK: Well, I mean, it’s I mean, I think it kind of piggybacks on what we were just saying in the last question: That it means so much for me personally, because you guys aren’t able to witness this, but the love and support and the lifting up that I have received on my journey as an actor in just this last five months, how many people have been rooting for me, and it has not just been black people; although, you know, the black family has always lifted me. But it’s just a reminder of when Hattie McDaniel won. She didn’t win just because black people voted for her. She won because she gave an amazing performance. And especially then, the Academy was was not as reflective as it is now. We are still trying to get more reflective, still trying to get there. But I feel like I’ve had so many women that have paved the way, are paving the way, and I feel like I walk in their light, and I also am creating my own light. And there are young women that will walk in the light that I’m continuing to shine and expand from those women before me. You know, I’m blessed and highly favored.

Q: So I’m thinking about that very climactic scene when you confronted you and Emily Rios

RK: Yes.


Q: …and it’s such a visceral and emotionally raw scene. So I wanted to ask you, What particular source did you draw from to portray such emotion?

RK: You know, all of us, we just pulled on being women, and we have all been in if we have not experienced a violation on that level firsthand, we have lifted a sister up through that. And that, you know, even all the way from when the abuelitas came in and escorted her off, that was something that was universal. Every woman that had something to do with this production, the understanding and the need to make sure that it was very clear in the story that we all knew that she was raped. It wasn’t Fonny, but she was raped. And we hold each other up through a secret that shouldn’t be a secret. So often, that’s the beautiful thing about the Me Too Movement, and the Me Too Movement has I think have gone has gone even beyond that with creating opportunities for women to find their voice even beyond just being violated sexually, but being marginalized, being violated. When you have put in the work to be at the table and being denied a seat at the table, this movement has allowed us and has inspired us to say no, I am supposed to have a seat at that table. So that energy was going on throughout the production of that film of this film. Barry supported that and lifted it up as well. And that’s the thing. When you have men and women working together, pretty amazing things happen.

Q: If Beale Street Could Talk was a very important part of American literature before this movie. What do you think James Baldwin would say right now and feel about this win and about the movie?

RK: I think one word, something that he would say often, amen.

BACKSTAGE INTERVIEW WITH:
Mahershala Ali, Green Book
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

Q: And your other movie won, too, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.


Mahershala Ali: Yes. Spider-Verse.

Q: This film is about people changing each other, or they’re changing because of what they go through. How did this film change you? Could you put that into words? I meant the making of it, obviously.

MA: Well, I never it was the first time that I had that kind of responsibility. I’ve always been very fortunate to contribute to stories in a more limited way, and this was the first time in which there was a good degree of the time I was at work in there all day every day, you know, or all day during the week, you know. And so to to shoulder that, to shoulder more responsibility than I’ve been accustomed to shouldering, to have to play a character that had attributes that were very different from my own; so, therefore, I had to let certain things go that were in my personality in order to to take on and embrace other attributes that that man had. It was it was constantly sort of having sort of negotiating and finding my way to locking into a truth and finding his essence, you know. And so I was really just grateful for failing and succeeding at times and just fishing through it all, digging and excavating, and collaborating with Viggo. So I’m sure I didn’t answer your question. But, you know, it was it was difficult and beautiful and very grateful to have gone on the journey.

Mike Baker / ©A.M.P.A.S.

Q: What is going on? It’s your second Oscar for a supporting role. How do you feel about it?

MA: I feel very fortunate. I feel fortunate to have been nominated. Any of those gentlemen could have been up here and would be, obviously, deserving of being up here. They did wonderful work, beautiful work, work that inspired me. So to be the one that was chosen to get to hold this trophy again, it’s not something that I take lightly. It’s not something I take for granted. If anything, it makes me aware, more aware of all the people that have really contributed to my life, from childhood to my team that works on my behalf and is always looking to take advantage of the best opportunities, the opportunities that are fit for me. And so I’m I’m very grateful. The first one helped me get Green Book, you know. I don’t think if I had won I wasn’t just getting offers like that, you know; and so to to get an Oscar for Moonlight, it changes your profile. It changes it gets you in other rooms, and it shines a light on your work; and then suddenly you could have been around for 15, 20 years and suddenly people notice you; and so I’m really grateful for that, because I’ve been wanting to work and expand and stretch. I have been wanting to stretch my legs for a really long time, and this was the first time I got to stretch my legs.

Q: You kind of touched on what I was going to ask you a little bit about the failing and succeeding. And then I just wanted to know what was your thinking when you after Moonlight the time that it takes to come to now. Did you ever feel that failing and succeeding from, like, Moonlight to now, or did some things that you thought would happen since Moonlight didn’t happen? Can you speak to those things?

MA: My life is has changed tremendously since in two years. My daughter just had her second birthday two days ago, you know; and I was busy in that time, you know, working. But I think when I say success and failing, I think of them as the same thing, in that as long as you walk away having been improved, having learned from the experience, that it’s all an education, you know. And and so there’s things that I try in my work where I personally watch, and I feel like it worked; or sometime I feel like it doesn’t, it didn’t work. And and I try not to be too hard on myself, but I got to just go for it, and take chances and commit and see how things turn out all with the goal of improving, and growing, and being stretched, and also just making a contribution. I just want to feel like I’m being productive with my time on this earth, you know; and because I just don’t take that for granted. And so I will continue to fail, and I’ll hopefully continue to succeed; and, but I and continue to make my best efforts, and to do the best work that I could possibly do, and be the best person I can be.


NOTES ON THE SCORECARD:

Past Media Guy Oscars Backstage Columns: 2018 – 2017 – 2016 – 2015 – 2014 – 2013 – 2012

The Big Four — Oscar-winners Rami Malek, Olivia Colman, Regina King, Mahershala Ali pose in the Press Room with their Oscar for Achievement in acting:

Getty Images / Rick Rowell

Jennifer Lopez outs the finishing touches on her makeup backstage.

Maya Rudolph, Tina Fey, and Amy Poehler goof around backstage.

Lady Gaga sips champagne as Bradley Cooper looks on.

Instead of breaking the rules, I took a portrait in front of the step and repeat the day before the Sunday telecast:

I met five-time Academy Award nominee Amy Adams – what a delight:

Q: Does the Adapted Screenplay win makes up for the Do the Right Thing loss at the 1990 Oscars and the Academy overlooking it for a Best Picture nomination (Driving Miss Daisy won Best Picture the year).

Spike Lee: “I’m snake bit. Every time somebody is driving somebody, I lose – but they changed the seating arrangement!”

©A.M.P.A.S.

Rami Malek celebrates with the bubbly:

That Julia Roberts Smile:

©A.M.P.A.S.

James Bond and the Atomic Blonde:

©A.M.P.A.S.

Captain America discusses the weather with JLo:

©A.M.P.A.S.

The post Backstage at the Oscars: 2019 appeared first on Media Guy Struggles.

9Oscars winner Allison Janney and Gary Oldman during Saturday rehearsals.

Best Picture
Green Book
Media Guy Thoughts: The outrage police will be patrolling Twitter when this one wins. A Green Book win could set the Oscars back a few years. All of the so-called progress that occurred with the Shape of Water, Moonlight, and 12 Years A Slave victories might be destroyed. The hate Green Book has generated throughout awards season is might be enough to break Twitter when Peter “I flashed Cameron Diaz” Farrelly and Nick “Muslims celebrated on 9/11” Vallelonga get on the Dolby Theatre stage to accept their award.


Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Glenn Close, The Wife
Media Guy Thoughts: How she didn’t win for Fatal Attraction will never be explained.  No other actress has ever been nominated seven times without a win. This is her seventh nom. The Academy doesn’t like those kind of streaks.

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody
Media Guy Thoughts: At all of the Oscars events where actual voters are present, I spoke with about 40 (out of 50) who said they voted for Malek. In other words, in a sample of this size, it’s as close to a lock as possible.

Amy Adams and I have six Oscars noms and two Emmy wins, combined

Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Mahershala Ali, Green Book
Media Guy Thoughts: Two wins in three years sounds about right.

Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk
Media Guy Thoughts: She was the critical darling taking the Big Three (New York Film Critics Circle, Los Angeles Film Critics Association and National Society of Film Critics), plus she’s adored and respected. Ask one hundred critics and you will be hard-pressed to find anything but a positive story about King.

Directing
Alfonso Cuarón, Roma
Media Guy Thoughts: They won’t give him Best Picture, but he will take this and also honors for Foreign Language Film.

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
Spike Lee, BlacKkKlansman
Media Guy Thoughts: Spike won’t win the directing honors (at least he can’t say it’s a white thing) so this is the shot to get him his Oscar. Get ready for the drama.

The Oscars Swag Bag

What’s in the 2019 Oscars Swag Bag? Win or lose, all of the nominees are gifted swag bags filled with luxury travel packages, world-class beauty products, fine art, jewelry and even the opportunity
to give back to charities.

The “Everyone Wins” nominee gift bags were crafted by Lash Fary, founder of Distinctive Assets, who says “Every human being, regardless of career or fame, appreciates a great gift. While our ‘Everyone Wins’ Gift Bag is certainly not given based on need, it is put together with a profound sense of gratitude for the incredible performances these talented individuals gave all of us this year.”

Here are some of the highlights:

One of a kind custom stained glass portrait created by glass master and artist John Thoman.

Pure Organic Maple Syrup and Glamour Gourmet Gift Set: gourmet maple products with recipes.

Millianna’s interpretation of pop culture and fashion is infused with inspiration from historical eras such as Elizabethan England and various art movements. The company employs women from the World Relief Spokane Refugee Organization to make their pieces which provides the women with meaningful work while they resettle in the US.

Nominees (and a guest) can enjoy a luxury small-ship adventure with International Expeditions. Choose one of four: an adventure to Iceland, the Galapagos, the Amazon or Costa Rica and Panama.

Proceeds from every Love Is Stronger Than Hate merchandise purchases will provide hope and healing to communities impacted by tragedy through the Stars of HOPE therapeutic arts program and the New York Says Thank You Foundation.

The post Oscars Week 2019: My Picks appeared first on Media Guy Struggles.

It’s the last Sunday in February which can only mean that I’m walking the Academy Red Carpet (which is actually a burgundy shade) of the Academy Awards®, snapping pictures with my new Canon 70D and trolling backstage looking for juicy quotes and pictures for this annual report.

Before I go much further, let it noted at my picks were correct to the tune of eight for nine. And, if Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty had their way, I would have been nine for nine. Regardless that makes me 45 out of 53 in the last six years!

So, in case you missed it, La La Land joins the Hillary Clinton, the Cleveland Indians, Atlanta Falcons, and the Golden State Warriors in the list of sure winners who clutched defeat from the jaws of victory over the last year.

Without further droning on, here’s my take on the happenings backstage at the 89th Academy Awards:

BACKSTAGE INTERVIEW WITH:
Emma Stone, La La Land
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

Q. I just wonder how will you celebrate tonight and who will you call first after the show?

A. My mom for sure. And I’m going to go out with a bunch of my friends and dance and drink champagne. That’s pretty much the only plan.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Emma Stone backstage at the 2017 Oscars.

Q. What does it mean to you as one of the ones who dreamed to have won this award for playing this role that mimics what so many people in this city go through to get to the point of where you are standing right now?

A. Well, it’s I guess surreal is probably the only way to describe it.  It was ‑‑ I mean, to play this ‑‑ this woman, I knew this ‑‑ I’ve lived here for 13 years.  I moved when I was 15 to start auditioning, and I knew what it felt like to go on audition after audition. So I mean anything like this was pretty inconceivable in a ‑‑ you know, in a realistic context. So right now, it still feels ‑‑ I had a really creepy little moment backstage ‑‑ not to change the subject ‑‑ but I was just like looking down at it, like it was my newborn child. This is a statue of a naked man. Very creepy staring at it. So hopefully I will look at a newborn child differently. But I mean it’s, yeah, it’s incredibly surreal. I don’t have the benefit of hindsight yet. Sorry if that’s a terrible answer.  Turned it into a naked man story.

Q. How are you doing? You know it’s a dream you have to get an Oscar. Did you ever dream like that? And what is the dream when they announce you as the Best Picture, La La Land, and it didn’t win?

A. Okay.  So yes, of course.  I’m an actor.  I’ve always dreamt of this kind of thing, but again, not in a realistic context.  And for that, I fucking love Moonlight. God, I love Moonlight so much. I was so excited for Moonlight. And of course, you know, it was an amazing thing to hear La La Land.  I think we all would have loved to win Best Picture, but we are so excited for Moonlight. I think it’s one of the best films of all time. So I was pretty beside myself. I also was holding my Best Actress in a Leading Role card that entire time. So, whatever story ‑‑ I don’t mean to start stuff, but whatever story that was, I had that card. So I’m not sure what happened. And I really wanted to talk to you guys first. Congratulations Moonlight.  Hell, yeah.

Q. Could you just speak a little bit to what the atmosphere was like after that nightmare?  I think the atmosphere in here was crazy.

A. I think everyone’s in a state of confusion still.  Excitement, but confusion. So there’s no real ‑‑ I don’t really have a gauge of the atmosphere quite yet. I need to, you know, check in.  But I think everyone is just so excited, so excited for Moonlight. It’s such an incredible film.

Q. How much does an Oscar cost in terms of sacrifice and discipline?

A. Oh, my God. Is that measurable? I don’t ‑‑ I don’t know. I guess it depends on the Oscar. For ‑‑ in my life, I have been beyond lucky with the people around me, with the friends and family that I have and the people that have lifted me up throughout my life. So in terms of sacrifice, those people are all sitting back in a room right now and I get to go celebrate with them, and it’s felt like the most joyous thing. So, I mean, being a creative person does not feel like a ‑‑ like a sacrifice to me.  It’s the great joy of my life. And so, I mean, I don’t know if that’s a, you know, a good answer to that question, but I’ve been very lucky in terms of that.

Q. I’m just wondering as a performer, as someone who’s been in Hollywood, you’ve experienced many things before. Are you able to give us sort of a word picture of what it was like?  I timed it by the way, two minutes and 30 seconds La La Land was Best Picture of the year. What was it like on stage when you first thought you won, you didn’t win? I know you are taking it in good stride and everything.

A. Again, I don’t know if this is a measurable question? Is that the craziest Oscar moment of all time? Cool. We made history tonight. Craziest moment. And again, I mean, I don’t ‑‑ I don’t even know what to say. I think I’m still on such a buzzy train backstage that I was, you know, on another planet already. So this has all just felt like another planet.  But again, God I love Moonlight. I’m so excited. So, it’s, you know ‑‑ I think it’s an incredible outcome, but very ‑‑ a very strange happening for Oscar history.

Q. My question is do you feel like owing Emma Watson a drink or dinner to thank her for turning down the role?

A. Oh, my God, you know what?  She’s doing great. She’s the coolest. She’s Belle. I mean I think it’s all ‑‑ right? It’s all good. I think she’s amazing.

Q. Being on the top of the world right now, what does it humble you?

A. Well, you know, we had a nice little jarry moment that’s just, you know, it’s very ‑‑ it feels like real life. But everything kind of feels like real life.  Like this is an incredible, incredible honor. And you know, and in many ways game changing for me, personally, but it’s also just still me. And again, back to the people that I love, nothing changes when I go home.  Nothing is going to change at all. So I don’t know that there’s a humbling moment. It’s just already like feels ridiculous.  In the best way.

BACKSTAGE INTERVIEW WITH:
Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

credit: Mike Baker / ©A.M.P.A.S.

Q. Congratulations on your win tonight.  I’m really curious. What did you like about making this in Boston and, Casey, you returning there to make this film there?

A. Well, I like to work there because I know it so well and it still feels like home, so that’s sort of a bonus of getting to work on a movie that is in Boston. There’s also a certain familiarity that helps the work, I think. But, you know, Kenny [Kenneth Lonergan] writes with such incredible authenticity and specificity that it really was on the page, the whole feel of the place and the characters and everything. So I could have been from anywhere else and I think I would have got it.

Q. You said something along the lines of you wished you had something meaningful to say. You said something fairly meaningful yesterday at the Independent Spirit Awards, but we were led to believe that this was going to be a very political Oscars, but it didn’t quite turn out that way. So why do you think that was?

A. Why was it that there weren’t that many people who made remarks that were political? I think there were quite a few people who made some ‑‑ said some things that were sort of about their current global political situation and they’re also about ‑‑ you know, but were from a point of view of artists and they spoke about the importance of arts and so forth. I don’t know why
more people didn’t. It doesn’t entirely seem like an inappropriate place given the state of things. It seems like this is just as fine a platform as any to make some remarks so long they are respectful and positive. Personally, I didn’t say anything because my head was completely blank, the shock of winning the award and the terror of having a microphone in front of you and all of those faces staring at you. So if I said I wish I had something meaningful to say, that was my inside voice coming out. I wasn’t even aware that I actually said that out loud. I didn’t thank my children, which is something that I’ll probably never ever live down. About three seconds after I made it backstage, my phone rang and my son said, “You didn’t even mention us.”  And my heart just sank. So, you know, that probably would have been the most meaningful thing I could have said and I failed.

Q. During your speech they took a shot of your brother, Ben, in the front and it looked like he was having tears in his eyes and started to tear up so I was wondering what it was like accepting the award in front of him and sort of a group of your loved ones, just the group right there?

A. It was very moving, and I include Kenny in that group of loved ones. And, obviously, my brother, to have him there, yeah, it was a nice moment. I wasn’t sure if he was just ‑‑ I saw those tears and I thought maybe I’m just not making a good speech and he was really disappointed. But I think he was probably touched, and I think that we are ‑‑ I mean, not to brag or anything, but I think we’re the only two brothers to win Academy Awards, ever.

Q. From almost the first major showing of this film, you were predicted to win this award, and I’m sure that that whole ride has been kind of crazy.  But how has it changed your expectation for what you could do as an artist?  How has it fed your future thoughts for where you’re going?

A. It’s only just reinforced the idea that I had going into it which was if you want to have a good performance or do good work, really, then you’d better work with good directors and good material because, let’s face it, that’s really what a good performance is, 90 percent of it. And this man is the best.

Q. We really enjoyed that brotherly moment between you and Ben, the great hug. What did he say to you before you took the stage or did he give you any advice before coming into this evening?

A. No, he didn’t. He didn’t actually say anything. He just hugged me. A lot of people have been giving me some grief for not thanking him in the past, but in a friendly way. He may have said “Have fun” or something.  It was really insightful, it was, “Be yourself.” You know, what is there really to say? I think that he has given me ‑‑ I’ve learned a lot from him because he’s been through a lot in this business and ups and downs and been under‑appreciated and, I don’t know, and then it’s been proven how great he is. So I definitely have had ‑‑ it’s been an advantage to be able to watch someone you love and you know so well go try to navigate the very tricky, rocky, sometimes hateful waters of being famous. And so I have learned a lot from him. But in that moment, I don’t think he said anything at all.

BACKSTAGE INTERVIEW WITH:
Mahershala Ali, Moonlight
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

credit: Michael Yada / ©A.M.P.A.S.

Q. Good evening. Over here. Congratulations.  Wow.  I guess we should have known that Moonlight was going to be the Best Picture when you walked away with the first Oscar of the evening. That was a good sign. You are the first Muslim actor to win an Oscar. This says a lot at this particular time in our history.  Could you speak to that, please?

A. Well, regardless of one’s theology or however you see life or relate to worshipping God, as an artist my job is the same and it’s to tell the truth, and try to connect with these characters and these people as honestly and as deeply as possible.  And so one’s spiritual practice I don’t ‑‑ I don’t necessarily feel like it’s as relevant unless it gives you a way into having more empathy for these people that you have to advocate for. So, but I’m ‑‑ I’m proud to own that. And I embrace that, you know.  But, again, I’m just an artist who feels blessed to have had the opportunities that I have had and try to do the most with every opportunity that’s come my way.

Q. The material is so personal to Tarell and Barry. How much pressure did you feel to get it right?

A. I think I always want to walk away from any project feeling like the writer, director was pleased with what I had to offer. And considering the personal nature of this project, I think that there was a heightened sense of ‑‑ there was a need that felt a little heightened to me to ‑‑ to get it truthful where they could walk away and feel ‑‑ feel like I really contributed to their film and didn’t screw it up considering that, you know, I was playing someone who had a ‑‑ who played a ‑‑ who had an extraordinary impact on Tarell’s life, and I’m actually glad I didn’t know till later more the details of that ‑‑ of Blue or Juan’s contribution to Tarell’s life, but it did.  It added a layer of pressure.

Q. First off, kind of what went through your head when you read the script to begin with because it was such a beautiful film? And, two, I obviously have to ask you about the Best Picture and kind of what went through your head hearing La La Land and then hearing Moonlight after all?

A. Well, I sincerely say that when I read the script, look, I don’t get to read everything, because there’s things that I’m just not remotely right for, you know.  Ryan Gosling and I read different scripts.  It’s just what it is, right? But in terms of the ‑‑ as far as the scripts that I’ve read in my 17 years of doing it professionally, Moonlight was the best thing that I’ve ‑‑ that has ever come across my desk. And that character for the time that he’s ‑‑ that he was on the page really spoke to my heart, and I felt like I could ‑‑ I could hear him, I could sort of envision his presence, and I could ‑‑ I really had a ‑‑ I had a real sense of who that person was, enough to start the journey. And I really wanted to be a part of that project, and I’m just so fortunate that it ‑‑ that Idris and David Oyelowo left me a job. You know, very, very kind of them.  So yeah, and then the second part of your question, you know, Moonlight ‑‑ excuse me, La La Land has done so well and it’s resonated with so many people, especially in this time when people need a sense of buoyancy in their life and need some hope and light. So that film has really impacted people sort of in that ‑‑ in a different ‑‑ in a very different way than Moonlight. And so when they ‑‑ when they ‑‑ when their name was read, I wasn’t surprised. And I am really happy for them. It’s a group of some extraordinary people in front of the camera and behind the camera.  So I was really happy for them. And then when I did see security or people coming out on stage and their moment was being disrupted in some way, I got really worried.  nd then when they said, you know, Moonlight was ‑‑ Jordan Horowitz said, Moonlight, you guys have won, it just threw me a bit because ‑‑ it threw me more than a bit, but, you know, I just didn’t ‑‑ I didn’t want to go up there and take anything from somebody, you know, and it’s very hard to feel joy in a moment like that, you know. But because somebody else just in front of them.  So, but I feel very fortunate to ‑‑ for all of us to have walked away with the Best Picture award. It’s pretty remarkable.

Q. And as home base for House of Cards, I have to ask you, what do you think your former boss, Frank Underwood, would have to say about your win tonight and about the way the whole thing ended this evening?

credit: Mike Baker / ©A.M.P.A.S.

A. “Bah humbug.”  No. Kevin, he’s been really supportive. I think it’s a film that ‑‑ that he really loved, and he’s told me. So, and they’ve been ‑‑ House of Cards is the reason I’m here, you know.  I’ve been working to that point 12 years, very steady employment for the most part, and then was finally able to be on something that ‑‑ that really resonated with people in a way that honestly was a real shift in ‑‑ in the culture.  House of Cards was the first binge‑watched show that was ever binge watched, and so to be a part of that and that being something that feels really authentic for our culture and a real option in how we view and absorb and embrace content, that was that show. And so that’s the reason I’ve been able to put certain things together and even have this moment because of the ‑‑ the four years I spent on House of Cards.

Q. Congratulations. I want to say congratulations. Remy Danton in House of Cards, Cottonmouth, Luke Cage, and now Moonlight, you seem to have very eclectic taste when it comes to picking your roles. Do you ‑‑ are you working on a project that you could share with us?  It will stay between you and us.

A. Well, there’s a project called Alita: Battle Angel that Robert Rodriguez is directing and James Cameron did in Austin. And I’m really excited about that.  I actually play two parts in that film. So ‑‑ so that ‑‑ that was a blast, and I literally wrapped that maybe two weeks ago. But then after that, I’m going to start something in a couple of months, you know, and just honestly excited to read scripts and to have meetings and hopefully work with some more extraordinarily talented people like Barry Jenkins and Tarell Alvin McCraney, and this wonderful cast and crew of Moonlight and Hidden Figures, you know. So I just feel very, very blessed to have had this award season and this experience.

Q. So then, therefore, what is next for you? And also, who are some of your role models that you have idolized and you have patterned yourself after?

A. Okay. You don’t play. You ask those heavy questions. So as far as what’s next, I think I’m going to try this way. I’m going to just look for material that I am inspired by and that I respond to and just try to do my best work, you know, and keep it about the work, working with great directors and writers and other extraordinary talented actors, because, you know, you want to be around people who are better than you and who can lift you up where you have raise your game.  And I want to be inspired and just improve and do work that makes me uncomfortable, that scares me because anytime you get into the unknown, you get into that fearful space, that’s when you’re in new territory and you have the greatest opportunity to grow and improve as a talent or as an actor, an artist, and as a human being.  So I don’t really ‑‑ it’s very difficult to separate them for me, you know? So that’s how I would like to approach moving forward.  And I think you asked me about who inspired me?  Well, look, you know, we could talk about it till I’m some version of blue in the face, but the diversity topic, it’s very real in that when I was growing up ‑‑ I’m 43 years old, I was born in 1974, and there weren’t a lot of people on TV, you know, and there weren’t a lot of films. It was a big deal when ‑‑ when Billy Dee Williams was in Star Wars, like that was a big deal in my house and in my family, and it was somebody who was in the story that I could kind of attach to and say, Oh, wow, we’re present as well.  But for me, that person has always been Denzel Washington because, one, he’s just so damn talented; but, then, two, to see someone who comes from your tribe, so to speak, play at the level of all the other great ones and do it so well and be able to have ‑‑ articulate his voice and his talent in a way that was on par with the very best and he looks like you, too. You know what I mean, in that like, wow, there’s somebody who could be an uncle of mine. Like, those are things that ‑‑ that play in your mind as you ‑‑ as you move forward, you know. And also what I love about Denzel is not that he’s a great black actor, he’s a great actor. And I’ve never ‑‑ I’ve never looked at myself as a black actor. I’m an actor who happens to be African American, but I just want an opportunity to respond to material and bring whatever ‑‑ whatever I bring to it in some unique fashion, and that’s it. But basically short story long, Denzel.

BACKSTAGE INTERVIEW WITH:
Viola Davis, Fences
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role

credit: Robert Gladden / ©A.M.P.A.S.

Q. You talked about how much your parents have supported you, and I’m just curious if there’s anything that they said to you when you were growing up that you kept with you and that you pass onto others.

A. That they loved me.  And my mom always said, “I knew the difference between an accountant and an actor,” but she was always okay with it.  You know, someone told me years ago, they said, “You have the best parents.”  I said, “I do?” And they said, “Yeah, because they’re okay with just letting you fly. They’re not stage parents.” And I think that’s the biggest gift my parents gave to me is to kind of allow me to live my own life. They weren’t living their dreams through me. So, yeah.

Q. How did playing Rose challenge you?

A. Everything about Rose challenged me. Rose just kind of seemingly just being sometimes at peace with being in the background was hard to play. Rose getting to a place of forgiveness was hard to play. I never hit it when I ‑‑ that last scene when I did 114 performances on stage, I didn’t understand the last speech when she said, you know, “I gave up my life to make him bigger.” I didn’t get that.  But what Rose has taught me is a lot of what my mom has taught me: That my mom has lived a really hard life, but she still has an abundance of love. And that’s the thing, you know.  That’s the thing about life. You go through it, and you ‑‑ just terrible things happen to you, beautiful things happen to you, and then you try to just stand up every day, but that’s not the point. The point is feeling all those things but still connecting to people, still being able to love people. And that was the best thing about playing Rose because I’m not there yet. Even at 51, sometimes I just kind of live in my anger.

Q. What would your TV alter ego Annalise Keating from How To Get Away With Murder might say about your Oscar win?

A. Oh, she would most definitely say, “I deserve this.” And then she would have some vodka. And in that we are very similar.

Q. I’ve heard about you. I’ve heard about August Wilson. I’ve heard about your parents. I’ve heard about the everyman. I want to know what Viola Davis ‑‑ not the black woman, not the woman ‑‑ but Viola, what are you feeling right now? What is going through your head right now? What is your experience?

credit: Mike Baker / ©A.M.P.A.S.

A. It’s easier to ask the alter ego. I feel good. You know, it’s not my style to just kind of wake up and go, “Oh, I’m an Oscar winner. Oh, my gosh, let me go for a run.”  You know. I’m good with it.  I’ll have some mac and cheese, and I’ll go back to washing my daughter’s hair tomorrow night.  But this is the first time in my life that I’ve stepped back ‑‑ and I’m going to try not to cry now. All of a sudden.  Be cheesy.  And I can’t believe my life. You know, I mean, my sister is here somewhere, and I grew up in poverty. You know, I grew up in apartments that were condemned and rat‑infested, and I just always sort of wanted to be somebody.  And I just wanted to be good at something. And so this is sort of like the miracle of God, of dreaming big and just hoping that it sticks and it lands, and it did. Who knew?  So I’m overwhelmed. Yeah.

Q. You said you wanted to be good at something.  You’re absolutely fantastic at it.  You completely tore me apart with your performance, and I absolutely love the film. What I want to know is what moment was it during those performances on stage when you started back in 2010 that you and Denzel said, “Maybe we should make a film out of this. Maybe we could do that.”

A. There was no moment, one moment on the stage. It’s the whole, every moment on the stage. The thing that I love about August Wilson is that he let’s people of color speak, and a lot of times I’m offered narratives where people will say a whole lot of things are happening in this scene, but it’s just not on the page. There’s no words. There’s no journey.  There’s no full realization of who we are. There’s no boldness. There’s no taking risks for being anything different. I love every moment of this film is about the beauty of just living and breathing and being human. And not didactic, not being a walking social message. They do that with us a lot, as people of color. Audiences love us when we represent something.  I just want to represent me, living, breathing, failing, getting up in the morning, dying, forgiveness. August was the inspiration. You know, and Denzel decided he was going to do the movie from the moment he was given the script. He just said, “Let me do the play first.” So that’s it.

Q. I’m very excited about your production company, JuVee Productions.  So tell me what you love about being a black woman.

A. Everything. I love my history. I love the fact I can go back and look at so many different stories of women that have gone before me who seemingly should not have survived, and they did.  And I love my skin. I love my voice. I love my history. Sometimes I don’t love being the spokesperson all the time, but so be it. That’s the way that goes, right? But at 51, I ‑‑ I’m ‑‑ I’m sort of loving me.

Q. What makes a great story?

A. What makes a great story? What makes a great story most definitely is fully realized characters, great writing, definitely, where you can ‑‑ where a character is introduced to you from the very beginning and they go on a journey that’s unexpected, and then they arrive someplace completely different from where they started. What makes a great story is the element of surprise.  And what makes a great story absolutely is if it has a central event that helps people connect to a part of themselves.  And in that, Fences had it all.  Because that’s what it’s about, right? You want to connect when you go and ‑‑ I mean, sometimes you want to eat the buttered popcorn and the Milk Duds and the Sour Patch Kids. I do that a lot too, and Diet Coke. But more often you want to be shifted in some way in your thinking in your feeling about who you are in the world, you know. That’s ‑‑ that would be a great story, yeah.

ACCEPTANCE SPEECH:
Damien Chazelle, La La Land
Directing

credit: Mike Baker / ©A.M.P.A.S.

Thank you so much. This is such an honor. I just want to first thank my fellow nominees. I was absolutely honored and floored to be in your company this year. So, Barry, Kenny, Mel, Denis—like, my eyes are searching, but I know you’re here somewhere. Just thank you for what incredible filmmakers you are and for inspiring me with your work every day. I want to thank the people who helped me make this movie. My crew, my team, everyone at Lionsgate for taking a chance on it. Ryan and Emma, for bringing it to life. John, for acting alongside them and now doing me very proud here on the stage. Thank you, John. And I want to thank Justin, who I’ve known since we were both 17, 18, I think. Justin, thank you for riding with me on this and carrying this dream forward and for never giving up. Thank you. I want to thank my family—my parents are in the crowd, my sister Anna—thank you for always believing in me. And finally, I want to thank Olivia, my love, sitting there. This was a movie about love, and I was lucky enough to fall in love while making it. And it means the world to me that you’re here sharing this with me. Thank you. Thank you so much.

NOTES ON THE SCORECARD:


Past Media Guy Oscars Backstage Columns: 2016 – 2015 – 2014 – 2013 – 2012

The Big Four — Oscar-winners Ali, Stone, Davis, and Affleck pose backstage with their Oscar for Achievement in acting:

credit: Mike Baker / ©A.M.P.A.S.

Charlize Theron and those amazing earrings:

Sting almost smiled:

The happiest couple I saw — Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux:

Note for the 90th Academy Awards: It’s not over until the fat lady sings:

Finally, my favorites from the red carpet:

The calm before the storm…

Leslie Mann’s flirting…

Tanna’s co-directors and stars…

The effervescence of Moana’s Auli’i Cravalho,…

At some point, I sneaked across the red carpet to the Oscars’ step and repeat… What a rush… I feel like I robbed a bank!:

Terrance Howard steals a kiss from Kirsten Dunst…

The moment I had with Brie Larson…

Matt Damon, ready to take on Jimmy Kimmel…

The PDA from Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban…

The moment I had with Felicity Jones…

The wow-factor supplied by Taraji P. Hensen…

And my #1 favorite: Justin Timberlake…

With that, I’ll see you next year on the red carpet with an update from my new agent — because the current one didn’t even pick up my call this year!

The post Backstage at the Oscars: 2017 appeared first on Media Guy Struggles.