Last night’s 94th Annual Academy Awards was certainly something!
It’s no secret that the Oscars have been on the decline for some time now. After reporting a record-low for Oscars viewership in 2021, many film fans were expecting the 2022 Academy Awards to play out in typical boring fashion. After not featuring a host for three consecutive years, this year’s Oscars ceremony made up for it by having three hosts: Amy Schumer, Regina Hall, and Wanda Sykes. The live Oscars broadcast on ABC kicked off with the typical awkward jokes and monologues we’ve all come to expect, and everything seemed to be proceeding as usual…
Until it wasn’t.
In a shocking moment of aggression, Will Smith stormed onto stage during the live Oscars presentation and slapped Chris Rock across the face while the actor/comedian was presenting. The surprising assault arose after Chris Rock made a “G.I. Jane” joke about Jada Pinkett-Smith’s hair loss (which is due to a condition know as alopecia). The joke caused Will Smith to rise out of the audience and walk up onto stage, slapping Chris Rock hard across the face.
In the stunned silence that followed, Will Smith shouted, “Keep my wife’s name out of your f*&%#*g mouth!!”
The exchange from the Oscars can be seen below:
Will Smith Hits Chris Rock At Oscars
While the joke might have been uncalled for, it certainly didn’t condone the aggression and violence displayed by Smith. Going after someone’s medical condition is a low blow, and while Smith wanted to stand up for his wife, there are certainly better ways to handle the situation. Many are already taking to social media to express their opinions, but there’s no arguing the fact that the confrontation took away from the moment when Smith stepped back up on stage to receive his first Academy Award just a few minutes later.
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Will Smith took the Best Actor statue for his performance in King Richard, and in a tear-filled acceptance speech he took a brief moment to apologize to the Academy (though not to Chris Rock). He also spoke about defending one’s family, alluding to a comparison between himself and Richard Williams, who he portrayed in the movie. According to reports, Chris Rock was approached by LAPD after the show but has declined to press charges against the actor.
OSCARS 2022: WINNERS AND HIGHLIGHTS
Aside from that historically low moment, there were a few other historical marks this year at the Oscars!
Jane Campion won the Best Director award for her film The Power of The Dog, marking the first time that women took back-to-back Oscars wins in the category. Troy Kotsur took the award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in CODA, which was the first time an Oscar has ever been awarded to a deaf actor in the category. The Power of the Dog had the most awards with 12 nominations, followed by Dune (10), West Side Story (7), Belfast (7), King Richard (6),  Don’t Look Up (4), Drive My Car (4), and Nightmare Alley (4).
In a controversial move, the Academy cut 8 awards from their live broadcast to boost ratings. These categories were Sound, Editing, Makeup/Hairstyling, Original Score, Production Design, Documentary Short, Animated Short, and Live-Action Short…and though they didn’t receive the spotlight in the live broadcast, we are highlighted the nominations and winners for ALL CATEGORIES below.
FULL LIST OF OSCARS WINNERS AND NOMINATIONS
Best Picture:
- “CODA” — Winner
- “Belfast”
- “Don’t Look Up”
- “Drive My Car”
- “Dune”
- “King Richard”
- “Licorice Pizza”
- “Nightmare Alley”
- “The Power of the Dog”
- “West Side Story”
Actor In a Leading Role:
- Will Smith, “King Richard” — Winner
- Benedict Cumberbatch, “The Power of the Dog”
- Andrew Garfield, “tick, tick…BOOM!”
- Denzel Washington, “The Tragedy of Macbeth”
- Javier Bardem, “Being the Ricardos”
Actress In A Leading Role:
- Jessica Chastain, “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” — Winner
- Kristen Stewart, “Spencer”
- Olivia Colman, “The Lost Daughter”
- Penélope Cruz, “Parallel Mothers”
- Nicole Kidman, “Being the Ricardos”
Animated Feature Film:
- “Encanto” — Winner
- “Flee”
- “Luca”
- “The Mitchells vs. the Machines”
- “Raya and the Last Dragon”
Cinematography:
- “Dune,” Greig Fraser — Winner
- “Nightmare Alley,” Dan Laustsen
- “The Power of the Dog,” Ari Wegner
- “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” Bruno Delbonnel
- “West Side Story,” Janusz Kaminski
Directing:
- Jane Campion, “The Power of the Dog” — Winner
- Paul Thomas Anderson, “Licorice Pizza”
- Kenneth Branagh, “Belfast”
- Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, “Drive My Car”
- Steven Spielberg, “West Side Story”
Documentary Feature:
- “Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)” — Winner
- “Ascension”
- “Attica”
- “Flee”
- “Writing with Fire”
Documentary Short Subject:
- “The Queen of Basketball” — Winner
- “Audible”
- “Lead Me Home”
- “Three Songs for Benazir”
- “When We Were Bullies”
International Feature Film:
- “Drive My Car” (Japan) — Winner
- “Flee” (Denmark)
- “The Hand of God” (Italy)
- “Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom” (Bhutan)
- “The Worst Person in the World” (Norway)
Original Song:
- “No Time To Die” from “No Time to Die,” music and lyric by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell — Winner
- “Be Alive” from “King Richard,” music and lyric by DIXSON and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter
- “Dos Oruguitas” from “Encanto,” music and lyric by Lin-Manuel Miranda
- “Down To Joy” from “Belfast,” music and lyric by Van Morrison
- “Somehow You Do” from “Four Good Days,” music and lyric by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell
Production Design:
- “Dune,” Production Design: Patrice Vermette; Set Decoration: Zsuzsanna Sipos — Winner
- “Nightmare Alley,” Production Design: Tamara Deverell; Set Decoration: Shane Vieau
- “The Power of the Dog,” Production Design: Grant Major; Set Decoration: Amber Richards
- “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” Production Design: Stefan Dechant; Set Decoration: Nancy Haigh
- “West Side Story,” Production Design: Adam Stockhausen; Set Decoration: Rena DeAngelo
Visual Effects:
- “Dune,” Paul Lambert, Tristan Myles, Brian Connor and Gerd Nefzer — Winner
- “Free Guy,” Swen Gillberg, Bryan Grill, Nikos Kalaitzidis and Dan Sudick
- “No Time to Die,” Charlie Noble, Joel Green, Jonathan Fawkner and Chris Corbould
- “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” Charlie Noble, Joel Green, Jonathan Fawkner and Chris Corbould
- “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” Kelly Port, Chris Waegner, Scott Edelstein and Dan Sudick
Makeup and Hairstyling:
- “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” Linda Dowds, Stephanie Ingram and Justin Raleigh — Winner
- “Coming 2 America,” Mike Marino, Stacey Morris and Carla Farmer
- “Cruella,” Nadia Stacey, Naomi Donne and Julia Vernon
- “Dune,” Donald Mowat, Love Larson and Eva von Bahr
- “House of Gucci,” Göran Lundström, Anna Carin Lock and Frederic Aspiras
Film Editing:
- “Dune,” Joe Walker — Winner
- “Don’t Look Up,” Hank Corwin
- “King Richard,” Pamela Martin
- “The Power of the Dog,” Peter Sciberras
- “tick, tick…BOOM!” Myron Kerstein and Andrew Weisblum
Actor In A Supporting Role:
- Troy Kotsur, “CODA” — Winner
- Ciarán Hinds, “Belfast”
- Jesse Plemons, “The Power of the Dog”
- J.K. Simmons, “Being the Ricardos”
- Kodi Smit-McPhee, “The Power of the Dog”
Actress In A Supporting Role:
- Ariana DeBose, “West Side Story” — Winner
- Jessie Buckley, “The Lost Daughter”
- Judi Dench, “Belfast”
- Kirsten Dunst, “The Power of the Dog”
- Aunjanue Ellis, “King Richard”
Live Action Short Film:
- “The Long Goodbye” — Winner
- “Ala Kachuu – Take and Run”
- “The Dress”
- “On My Mind”
- “Please Hold”
Animated Short Film:
- “The Windshield Wiper” — Winner
- “Affairs of the Art”
- “Bestia”
- “Boxballet”
- “Robin Robin”
Original Screenplay:
- “Belfast” (Kenneth Branagh) — Winner
- “Don’t Look Up” (Screenplay by Adam McKay and story by Adam McKay and David Sirota)
- “King Richard” (Zach Baylin)
- “Licorice Pizza” (Paul Thomas Anderson)
- “The Worst Person in the World” (Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier)
Adapted Screenplay:
- Siân Heder, “CODA” — Winner
- Jane Campion, “The Power of the Dog”
- Maggie Gyllenhaal, “The Lost Daughter”
- Ryûsuke Hamaguchi and Takamasa Oe, “Drive My Car”
- Eric Roth, Jon Spaihts and Denis Villeneuve, “Dune”
Original Score:
- “Dune,” Hans Zimmer — Winner
- “Don’t Look Up,” Nicholas Britell
- “Encanto,” Germaine Franco
- “Parallel Mothers,” Alberto Iglesias
- “The Power of the Dog,” Jonny Greenwood
Sound:
- “Dune,” Mac Ruth, Mark Mangini, Theo Green, Doug Hemphill and Ron Bartlett — Winner
- “Belfast,” Denise Yarde, Simon Chase, James Mather and Niv Adiri
- “No Time to Die,” Simon Hayes, Oliver Tarney, James Harrison, Paul Massey and Mark Taylor
- “The Power of the Dog,” Richard Flynn, Robert Mackenzie and Tara Webb
- “West Side Story,” Tod A. Maitland, Gary Rydstrom, Brian Chumney, Andy Nelson and Shawn Murphy
Costume Design:
- “Cruella,” Jenny Beavan — Winner
- “Cyrano,” Massimo Cantini Parrini and Jacqueline Durran
- “Dune,” Jacqueline West and Robert Morgan
- “Nightmare Alley,” Luis Sequeira
- “West Side Story,” Paul Tazewell
What were your thoughts on the Oscars this year? What is your favorite Oscars memory? Who are your early picks for next year’s Oscars ceremony? Let us know all your Oscars thoughts and theories over on social media!
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