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Black Actors Have Historic Night at Academy Awards
By Bruce Britt, Special to BET.com
Posted Feb. 28, 2005 --
www.bet.com/Entertainment/oscar2005.htm
HOLLYWOOD - “It’s a great night tonight!,” host Chris Rock chuckled Sunday in that sandpaper howl of his at the 77th Academy Awards. “We have four Black nominees! It’s like the Def Oscar Jam!”
Well, not quite. Russell Simmons’ Def Jam crew would never put on a show as sedate as Sunday’s Oscars gala, but Rock’s point was well-taken. Forget blockbusters; this year’s Academy Awards presentation was a “Blackbuster,” featuring the highest concentration of nominated African-American talent in the Academy’s history, including bids for Don Cheadle, Sophie Okenedo and two nominations for Jamie Foxx.
Some notable Black presenters and guests were also on hand, including Halle Berry, Sean “P. Diddy” Combs, Samuel L. Jackson and a rakish-looking Prince. Whoopi Goldberg was the sole featured commentator in a filmed tribute to Johnny Carson. Meanwhile, Jay-Z, Spike Lee and Oprah Winfrey were spotted in the wings, observing the spectacle like royalty.
Oh, and Beyoncé sang … and sang ... and sang.
Not one, not two, but an unprecedented three songs during Sunday’s event. Though she comported herself well on “Believe” (from “Polar Express”) and “Learn to be Lonely” (from “The Phantom of the Opera”), the Destiny’s Child diva delivered her most impressive performance during the classical-tinged ballad, “Vois Sur Ton Chemin (Look To Your Path).” Singing in a flawless French accent with subtle R&B undertones, Knowles solidified her stature as the hip-hop age Diana Ross.
As expected, Jamie Foxx nabbed the Best Actor award for his masterful performance in the Ray Charles biopic, “Ray.” Accepting his trophy, Foxx led the Oscar audience in a rendition of the call-and-response chant from Charles' 1959 hit "What'd I Say." Then the comic-turned-actor delivered the most moving speech of the night, urging the audience to “give it up” for Ray Charles and recalling the night Oprah introduced him to a pioneering Black actor.
“Sidney Poitier said to me, ‘I saw you once, and I looked in your eyes and there was connection,” Foxx recalled, performing a spot-on impersonation of the first African American to win an Oscar. “And (Poitier) says, ‘I give to you responsibility.’ So I’m taking that responsibility tonight.”
Foxx choked back tears as he remembered his late grandmother, who raised him as a child and supported his acting career.
"She talks to me in my dreams," Foxx said, his voice faltering with emotion. "And I can't wait to go to sleep tonight, because we've got a lot to talk about."
Foxx also received a best supporting actor bid for his role in the hit man thriller “Collateral,” but Morgan Freeman took the prize for his portrayal of a world-wise former boxer in the Clint Eastwood tearjerker, “Million Dollar Baby.” The award was Freeman’s first Oscar win and his fourth nomination.
The wins for Freeman and Foxx made it only the second time Blacks won two of the four acting prizes (the previous time being 2002 nods for Denzel Washington for “Training Day” and Halle Berry for “Monster’s Ball.”
"It means that Hollywood is continuing to make history," Freeman said backstage. "We're evolving with the rest of the world."
While Don Cheadle and Sophie Okenedo failed to nab their respective Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress nods for “Hotel Rwanda,” their nominations alone were viewed as a triumph since the limited-release film wasn’t one of the most widely viewed movies of the year. Indeed, their performances were so powerful, the Academy simply could not have ignored them.
So the good news Sunday night is that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences came correct and gave respect. The bad news is that the actual ceremony itself was anti-climactic. Faced with tumbling ratings, no huge hit movies among top nominees, and a Federal Communications Commission eager to assess fines after Janet Jackson’s 2004 Super Bowl performance, Oscar organizers were faced with a near-impossible challenge -- create a parent-approved show with an injection of digital-age freakiness.
Producers hoped the presence of first-time host Rock might boost ratings, particularly among younger viewers weaned on the much racier MTV Video Music Awards (indeed, Rock’s wild-card hosting turns at MTV award shows probably netted him the Oscar gig).
It was a brilliant move. Rock is so righteously unpredictable, you dare not touch the remote for fear you’ll miss something. You can bet many viewers tuned in Sunday just to see if Rock would cut Hollywood’s elite down to size.
Unfortunately, viewers hoping for some MTV-style jonin’ were probably sorely disappointed. After delivering a serviceably funny opening monologue in which he invoked the names of relative lightweights like Nicole Kidman and Cuba Gooding, Jr., Rock pretty much stuck to the sanitized script. He wasn’t whack; he just never caught fire.
Rock entered the theater Sunday to a standing ovation -- a clear show of support after weeks of media attacks. When a conservative Internet blogger called attention to an Entertainment Weekly interview where Rock commented that few heterosexual men cared about the Oscars, the right-wing media implied Rock was a homophobe. Rumors spread that the Academy was ditching Rock for a more politically correct host.
But the smear campaign eventually sputtered. Judging from the adoring response Rock received Sunday, it downright backfired.
As we like to say in the ‘hood: “Don’t hate.”
source:
www.bet.com/Entertainment/oscar2005.htm
By Bruce Britt, Special to BET.com
Posted Feb. 28, 2005 --
www.bet.com/Entertainment/oscar2005.htm
HOLLYWOOD - “It’s a great night tonight!,” host Chris Rock chuckled Sunday in that sandpaper howl of his at the 77th Academy Awards. “We have four Black nominees! It’s like the Def Oscar Jam!”
Well, not quite. Russell Simmons’ Def Jam crew would never put on a show as sedate as Sunday’s Oscars gala, but Rock’s point was well-taken. Forget blockbusters; this year’s Academy Awards presentation was a “Blackbuster,” featuring the highest concentration of nominated African-American talent in the Academy’s history, including bids for Don Cheadle, Sophie Okenedo and two nominations for Jamie Foxx.
Some notable Black presenters and guests were also on hand, including Halle Berry, Sean “P. Diddy” Combs, Samuel L. Jackson and a rakish-looking Prince. Whoopi Goldberg was the sole featured commentator in a filmed tribute to Johnny Carson. Meanwhile, Jay-Z, Spike Lee and Oprah Winfrey were spotted in the wings, observing the spectacle like royalty.
Oh, and Beyoncé sang … and sang ... and sang.
Not one, not two, but an unprecedented three songs during Sunday’s event. Though she comported herself well on “Believe” (from “Polar Express”) and “Learn to be Lonely” (from “The Phantom of the Opera”), the Destiny’s Child diva delivered her most impressive performance during the classical-tinged ballad, “Vois Sur Ton Chemin (Look To Your Path).” Singing in a flawless French accent with subtle R&B undertones, Knowles solidified her stature as the hip-hop age Diana Ross.
As expected, Jamie Foxx nabbed the Best Actor award for his masterful performance in the Ray Charles biopic, “Ray.” Accepting his trophy, Foxx led the Oscar audience in a rendition of the call-and-response chant from Charles' 1959 hit "What'd I Say." Then the comic-turned-actor delivered the most moving speech of the night, urging the audience to “give it up” for Ray Charles and recalling the night Oprah introduced him to a pioneering Black actor.
“Sidney Poitier said to me, ‘I saw you once, and I looked in your eyes and there was connection,” Foxx recalled, performing a spot-on impersonation of the first African American to win an Oscar. “And (Poitier) says, ‘I give to you responsibility.’ So I’m taking that responsibility tonight.”
Foxx choked back tears as he remembered his late grandmother, who raised him as a child and supported his acting career.
"She talks to me in my dreams," Foxx said, his voice faltering with emotion. "And I can't wait to go to sleep tonight, because we've got a lot to talk about."
Foxx also received a best supporting actor bid for his role in the hit man thriller “Collateral,” but Morgan Freeman took the prize for his portrayal of a world-wise former boxer in the Clint Eastwood tearjerker, “Million Dollar Baby.” The award was Freeman’s first Oscar win and his fourth nomination.
The wins for Freeman and Foxx made it only the second time Blacks won two of the four acting prizes (the previous time being 2002 nods for Denzel Washington for “Training Day” and Halle Berry for “Monster’s Ball.”
"It means that Hollywood is continuing to make history," Freeman said backstage. "We're evolving with the rest of the world."
While Don Cheadle and Sophie Okenedo failed to nab their respective Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress nods for “Hotel Rwanda,” their nominations alone were viewed as a triumph since the limited-release film wasn’t one of the most widely viewed movies of the year. Indeed, their performances were so powerful, the Academy simply could not have ignored them.
So the good news Sunday night is that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences came correct and gave respect. The bad news is that the actual ceremony itself was anti-climactic. Faced with tumbling ratings, no huge hit movies among top nominees, and a Federal Communications Commission eager to assess fines after Janet Jackson’s 2004 Super Bowl performance, Oscar organizers were faced with a near-impossible challenge -- create a parent-approved show with an injection of digital-age freakiness.
Producers hoped the presence of first-time host Rock might boost ratings, particularly among younger viewers weaned on the much racier MTV Video Music Awards (indeed, Rock’s wild-card hosting turns at MTV award shows probably netted him the Oscar gig).
It was a brilliant move. Rock is so righteously unpredictable, you dare not touch the remote for fear you’ll miss something. You can bet many viewers tuned in Sunday just to see if Rock would cut Hollywood’s elite down to size.
Unfortunately, viewers hoping for some MTV-style jonin’ were probably sorely disappointed. After delivering a serviceably funny opening monologue in which he invoked the names of relative lightweights like Nicole Kidman and Cuba Gooding, Jr., Rock pretty much stuck to the sanitized script. He wasn’t whack; he just never caught fire.
Rock entered the theater Sunday to a standing ovation -- a clear show of support after weeks of media attacks. When a conservative Internet blogger called attention to an Entertainment Weekly interview where Rock commented that few heterosexual men cared about the Oscars, the right-wing media implied Rock was a homophobe. Rumors spread that the Academy was ditching Rock for a more politically correct host.
But the smear campaign eventually sputtered. Judging from the adoring response Rock received Sunday, it downright backfired.
As we like to say in the ‘hood: “Don’t hate.”
source:
www.bet.com/Entertainment/oscar2005.htm
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