Backstage and in the Audience at the Oscars

by Murtada Elfadl

One of the most indelible images we saw on sunday night was Tom hanks and Charlize Theron leading the audience in a chant of "Up, Up" to bring back the Parasite crew to finish their best picture acceptance speeches. But there were many other moments backstage and in the audience that we weren't captured by the TV cameras. Here are a few:

Margot Robbie chatting with Colin Jost and Scarlett Johansson...

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At the Oscars, times are changing.

Please welcome guest contributor Mark Blankenship, who you've previously heard from as a guest panelist on the Smackdown...

Even while getting rightfully criticized by presenters who mocked the mostly-white acting line-up and the all-male slate of directors, the Academy still managed to deliver an Oscar ceremony this year that was full of historically inclusive winners. All of those victories are exciting on their own, and some even point to larger trends that suggest there's hope for this awards body yet. If the patterns hold, then the Oscars just might become prizes for all artists, no matter who they are.

For instance, Parasite's historic Best Picture triumph is even more encouraging when you consider it alongside Moonlight's win (about queer black men and boys)...

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Oscar Night's Top Five Presenters

by Camila Henriques

One of the challenges of a hostless Oscar ceremony is having a presenter list capable of holding the show together. For film fanatics even that isn't enough. We crave the legendary movie stars as presenters (fewer and fewer each year) and moments like Julie Andrews following Lady Gaga’s tribute to “The Sound of Music” back in 2015 or Olivia de Havilland introducing the Family Album back in 2003. Those two still give us chills. Unfortunately, the Academy Awards this year were lacking in the legendary star department. Nevertheless, the show had truly memorable bits, and a couple of future host possibilities that the Board of Governors should take note of. With that in mind, here’s a top 5 presenters/duos list for the 92nd Oscars:

Honorable mentions: Steve Martin and Chris Rock reminding us that hey, there’s still former hosts the Academy could call, Salma Hayek holding the best Oscar in the house (Oscar Isaac, that is), and Diane Keaton and Keanu Reeves giving us Something’s Gotta Give nostalgia...

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New Oscar trivia from the Hollywoods big night

by Nathaniel R

A FEW FIRSTS!

• Laura Dern became the first person in her highly acclaimed family to win the Oscar and is now (3/1) in her nomination/win stats. Her mother Diane Ladd (3/0) and father Bruce Dern (2/0), who she name checked as her heroes in her speech have never won. 
• Parasite became the first South Korean film to win ANY Oscars and it won 4 of them. The individual wins from Bong Joon Ho, Kwak Sin-ae, and Han Jin Won are the first times any Asian has won Best Picture or a writing category...

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How Do You Watch the Oscars?

by Eric Blume

It's about time for High Holy Night, and as most of you reading this are serious cinephiles, we all know that HOW you watch the Oscar show is crucial.  Everyone has their own individual idea of what makes the show the most fun to watch.

Personally, I can't watch the show with too many people in the room.  I like to hear the show and don't need twenty opinions at every moment.  I've found the magic number for the gathering is somewhere around six or so:  people who are passionate and committed filmgoers, but also really smart, funny people who know just when to say that special bon mot that makes the watching so much better... 

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