This year’s Oscar chose violence, starting the award show with one of their most controversial decisions yet.
The first award at the Oscars typically differs from year to year, with either Best Supporting Actor/Actress kicking things off. This year, like last, they went with Best Supporting Actress, which had Stephanie Hsu and Jamie Lee Curtis for Everything Everywhere All at Once, Angela Bassett for Black Panther II, Hong Chau for The Whale, and Kerry Condon for The Banshee of Inisherin.
Bassett and Condon were considered favorites for the award with Vulture, IndieWire, Rolling Stones, The New York Times, and LA Times all predicting either of the two would take home the award.
Many predict the Oscars by tracking the award season and, yes, there’s an understanding that The Academy enjoys making bold and sometimes “different” decisions, like the decision to omit Viola Davis and Danielle Deadwyler from the Best Actress category for their roles in The Woman King and Till respectively despite both being constant features throughout this award season.
Nonetheless, Condon was awarded the BAFTA while Bassett won the Golden Globe and it almost felt certain that the battle was between the two veteran actresses. However, in a shocking turn, the academy went with Jamie Lee Curtis, daughter of Academy Award nominees Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh.
Fans instantly took to social media to express their shock, revealing that Curtis was the last person they thought would bag the gold, with them putting Hsu and Chau above her as well.
Curtis and Hsu starred alongside one another in the most awarded movie by the academy, Everything Everywhere All at Once, but Hsu’s performance was much more memorable than what Curtis gave. Hsu delivered what was undeniably one of the most raw and moving performances of recent years. Jobu Tupaki was a layered and emotionally complex “villain” that many children of immigrants could heavily relate to. She was breathtaking, heartbreaking, and vulnerable.
Although Curtis’ role was necessary for the plot, she wasn’t a name that stuck with you when you walked out of the cinema after watching the A24 movie. Even Raccaccoonie drew more attention than Curtis’ character.
Yes, it is indeed a shock (to some) that this is Curtis’ first ever Academy Award considering her years in the field and with a movie like Knives Out in her catalog, but if this was their way of redeeming themselves for years of snubbing her then it was the wrong award to do so because the same case can be said for Bassett.
In 1994 the New York born actress was nominated for playing Tina Turner in What’s Love Got to Do with It, but the prize ultimately went to Holly Hunter for her role in The Piano. Bassett has had an incredibly impactful big screen career and her performance as Queen Romanda was a clear sign of the power the actress holds, yet she has zero Academy Awards to her name.
No one will ever understand why The Academy makes half the decisions they do, but that won’t stop people from being shocked when things like this happen.
