By Nathaniel R
The complete list of presenters is in for the 95th Academy Awards. They are… Riz Ahmed (best live action short 2021), Halle Bailey (the new Little Mermaid), Halle Berry (best actress 2001), Antonio Banderas, Elizabeth Banks, Emily Blunt, Jessica Chastain (best actress 2021), John Cho, Glenn Close (perennial bridesmaid and future Honorary Oscar recipient obviously you don't need to be psychic to know that), Jennifer Connelly (best supporting actress 2001), Paul Dano, Ariana DeBose (best supporting actress 2021), Cara Delevingne, and Harrison Ford. And that's not all...
We'll also get Andrew Garfield, Hugh Grant, Danai Gurira, Salma Hayek Pinault, Kate Hudson, Samuel L. Jackson (recent Honorary Oscar recipient), Dwayne Johnson, Michael B. Jordan, Mindy Kaling, Nicole Kidman (best actress 2002), Troy Kotsur (best supporting actor 2021), Eva Longoria, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Andie MacDowell, Jonathan Majors, Melissa McCarthy, Janelle Monáe, Elizabeth Olsen, Deepika Padukone, Pedro Pascal, Florence Pugh, Questlove (best documentary 2021), Zoe Saldaña, John Travolta, Sigourney Weaver and Donnie Yen.
It’s a curious mix and, as ever, it's weirdly less big-screen related than it should be with a lot of people who are more television oriented (Delevingne, Louise-Dreyfus, Kaling, Longoria, etc…). Nothing against them mind you (in some cases we’re fans) but this is the Oscars, so shouldn’t it be movie stars?
As ever the list is short on classic stars – and though we hate to admit it as it means we’re getting up there in years too… the “senior” stars are now essentially 1980s icons. So at least we’re getting Close (a perennial of course), Ford (great choice), Travolta (who the producers are weirdly obsessed with), and Weaver (great choice) … Why it’s always Travolta? Mix it up a little, producers!
Also why not beg Meryl Streep to show? It would be fun to see her at a ceremony where she wasn’t involved, to just acknowledge that she’s an actual celebrity and not just a perennial nominee.
One thing we would die to see on the Oscar stage that would surely be a moment… is some random shout-out to an entire lineup from years past. (In short, celebrate the history and tradition rather than be weird about the past by pretending it doesn’t exist!) For example, since Will Smith can’t present Best Actress this year there’s an unexpected opportunity to do something different.
Wouldn't it have been awesome, for example, to have a mini tribute to the Best Actress nominees of, let’s say, 1987.
Imagine them all onstage: Holly Hunter, Glenn Close, and Sally Kirkland, reading the nominees aloud while "Mary Louise" Streep blows a kiss and hands the envelope to Cher to open since she won in that all-timer of a Best Actress lineup.
If 1987 is too “old” for today’s history-averse producers, it’d even be thrilling to see like a 5th anniversary shout out to the actresses of 2018 and have Yalitza Aparacio, Glenn Close, Lady Gaga, and Melissa McCarthy read the nominees with Olivia Colman tasked with opening the envelope.
Just imagine it. Bliss.
What presenters do you long to see that the Academy would never invite?