China Daily Global Edition (USA)
Rocket Oscars to mix haul fun, commercial Trump references satellites
HOLLYWOOD—The 89th Academy Awards kicked off with Justin Timberlake dancing China’s down biggestthe Dolby manufacturerTheatre aisles,of carrier Jimmy rockets Kimmel will mocking soon begin Mattto develop Damon the and next-generationa standing ovation Long for March the 8 “highly medium-lift overrated” carrier Meryl rocket Streep.to meet the Timberlake’sdemands of ebullient commercialsong launchCan’t Stop service,the accordingFeeling, fromto a seniorthe animated manager. film Trolls, was an Li early Tongyu,cue that head the of Oscars carrier rocket would steer developmenttoward festivenessat the China instead Academyof heavy-handedof Launch Vehicle Technology, politics. told China Daily Protests,that the boycottsLong Marchand rallies 8 will swirledhave a ahead modularof Sunday design and night’s will Oscars.use enginesBut host that Kimmel, have been usedin his by openingthe Long monologue, March 5 and Long Marchquickly acknowledged7, both new rocketsthat he developed“was not thatby the guy” academy.to heal a divided America.
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Listing some of her credits, if everything goes well, its Kimmel said Streep has maiden flight will take place “phoned it in for over 50 by the end of 2018.” films”. He led a standing
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The host then predicted Trump was sure to tweet about the night’s awards at 5 am “during his bowel movements”.
As expected, the night’s first winner was Mahershala Ali for best supporting actor. The Moonlight co-star glowed on the stage as he informed that crowd that he and his wife, Amatus SamiKarim, welcomed a daughter four days earlier. He thanked his wife for “being such a soldier through the process”.
Most expect another day of sun for Damien Chazelle’s celebrated musical LaLa Land, up for a record-tying 14 nominations. A best picture upset, while unlikely, isn’t out of the question, though. Barry Jenkins’ eight-times nominated Moonlight on Saturday took best feature at the Film Independent Spirit Awards, where LaLaLand wasn’t eligible.
The other films up for best picture were Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival, Denzel Washington’s Fences, Mel Gibson’s Hacksaw Ridge, David Mackenzie’s Hell or High Water, Theodore Melfi’s Hidden Figures, Kenneth Lonergan’s Manchester by the Sea and Garth Davis’ Lion.
The “Oscars So White” crisis of the last two years was largely quelled this season by a diverse slate of nominees, thanks to films like Moonlight, Fences and Hidden Figures.
A record six black actors were nominated. For the first time, a person of color was nominated in each acting category. And four of the five best documentary nominees were also directed by black filmmakers.
The nominees follow the efforts by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Cheryl Boone Isaacs to diversify the membership of the largely white, older and male film academy. In June, the academy added 683 new members: 46 percent of them were female; 41 percent were nonwhite; and they pulled from 59 countries.
The academy is hoping to improve on last year’s telecast. The Chris Rock-hosted show drew 34.4 million viewers, an eight-year low.
Politics have taken the spotlight ahead of Hollywood’s big night. On Friday, the United Talent Agency, forgoing its usual Oscar party, instead held a rally protesting Trump over immigration. “We will not tolerate chaos and ineptitude and warmongering,” Jodie Foster told attendees.
The signees included the Iranian director Asghar Farhadi, whose TheSalesman is favored to win him his second foreignlanguage Oscar. He isn’t attending the awards in protest of Trump’s proposed travel ban of seven predominantly Muslim nations, including Iran.
US immigration authorities were also barring entry to a 21-year-old Syrian cinematographer who worked on the documentary short nominee TheWhiteHelmets, about the nation’s civil war.