HOLLYWOOD’S glitterati will descend on LA tonight to celebrate the Oscars – but TV host and film critic Jonathan Ross reckons this year’s nominees are worthy rather than popular.
Big-budget crowd pleasers have been sidelined for contenders such as The Brutalist — a slow-burning immigrant saga — and musical Emilia Perez with Zoe Saldana, about a cartel boss who transitions to live as a woman.
Jonathan, who is hosting ITV1’s live coverage of the ceremony, believes the Academy’s voters have decided to show “how smart we are” instead of backing box office hits.
He said: “It seems a bit odd to me, some of the choices. Emilia Perez, I thought was kind of OK, but I didn’t think the tunes were very good.
“And then you’ve got Wicked, which, once again, I wasn’t a huge fan of but it couldn’t be more popular. And the songs are amazing.
“The Brutalist, I enjoyed. But sometimes I do feel people who vote in the Academy — and they have broadened the range of who get to do that — see this as an opportunity to show to the world that what they make is important rather than popular.
“Last year’s Oscars were a triumph for populist film-making.
“This year, it seems they’ve gone back to saying, ‘Look how serious we are. Look how smart we are’.”
Recalling how he lost interest in The Brutalist, starring Adrien Brody, part way through, Jonathan said: “The first half I thought was great, I enjoyed it. But unfortunately they made me come back in after the intermission. It’s three and a half hours long!
“Why are they rewarding that? There are some good performances but I personally didn’t think it was that spectacular.”
This is the first Oscars ceremony since devastating wildfires in Los Angeles claimed at least 29 lives. Big stars such as Jeff Bridges, Mel Gibson and Anna Faris saw their homes destroyed.
But Jonathan predicts it won’t dampen the party atmosphere. He said: “I think it will make it feel more celebratory because there’s an element of survival and endurance.
“It’s like Covid. There was a sense of bonding, like we all just went through something pretty horrible and we are lucky we’re still here, so let’s make the most of it.
“Obviously, they’ll mention what’s happened. There’ll be moments of reflection, as there should be.
“But I think, overall, it’ll be like, ‘OK, we’re still here. We are still doing our job. We’re still lucky. We’re still making entertainment and art that the world wants to watch’.”
For Jonathan, the real magic of the Oscars is as much in the unpredictability as the winners.
He said with a laugh: “Even if it’s just a moment of someone being very, very emotional or someone getting something slightly wrong. One of our favourite moments of re- cent years was when they read out the wrong name for the Best Picture.
“I remember that there was just panic in the room.
“So fingers crossed at least a few people make terrible, terrible mistakes!”
One person he is hoping has the night of her life is Demi Moore. She has been nominated for Best Actress for her role in horror movie The Substance, in which she plays Elizabeth Sparkle, a fading celebrity who takes a new drug to help reclaim her youth.
It is the first time the 62-year-old has been nominated for an Oscar, and after winning that category at the Golden Globes held in January, Demi is now a favourite to triumph again tonight.
But Jonathan believes the actress has been a victim of snobbery despite being a box office hit for more than three decades. He said: “I would love Demi Moore to get the award.
“She’s delivered so many great performances over the years. She’s another one of those actors who, because they were in very big commercial films, often wasn’t given the chance to show what she could do,
“But also, even when she did, it was undervalued, because they thought of these films as ‘popcorn’.
“There definitely used to be snobbery towards her. Maybe not so much now they’ve broadened the voting pool but there certainly used to be.”
‘Ego clash’
He added: “One of the finest performances I’ve seen on screen in the last six years was Toni Collette in Hereditary. It didn’t get a nomination, partly because it’s a straightforward horror film and there used to be a real bias against that kind of cinema.
“That’s one of the interesting things about Demi getting the nod, because it is essentially a body horror movie.
“Horror and comedy used to get overlooked all the time because they were seen as, not trash exactly, but disposable.
"But I am very thrilled because they’re my favourite kind of genre. So I’m thrilled for many reasons that Demi’s up there and she’s the one I’m really rooting for.”
Recalling the only time he interviewed the Hollywood star, Jonathan added: “That was a long time ago, in the early Nineties.
“We were in LA and I was doing a live show for Channel 4. On the same show was Sharon Stone. Basic Instinct had just come out and we were told by publicists that their trailers should be far apart.
“I don’t know why, but I think it was in case there’s any ego clash.”
The UK’s finest are among those fighting it out for a gong tonight.
Cynthia Erivo is up for Best Actress for her role as Elphaba in Wicked; Ralph Fiennes is nominated for Best Actor for Conclave; and Elton John earned a nod for Best Original Song from his documentary, Never Too Late. But Jonathan reckons it might be a mixed night for the British.
Jonathan said: “Elton John might get it because he is well loved.
“He’s written so many great songs, and sometimes you get Oscars being given to people just because they feel like they deserve it for their career as well as that particular piece of work.
"I think Ralph Fiennes is in with a very good chance of winning. He’s always tremendous.
“But I don’t think Cynthia will get it because even though I think it is a good performance, somehow the film failed to connect with the voters.”
And of Wallace & Gromit’s first nomination for 15 years, Jonathan said: “I am so excited and pleased because those films are masterpieces.
“It is just unfortunate for them they’re in a year where there’s another animated film which is as good, if not better, than any other — Inside Out 2.”
He added of the movie, about teenager Riley’s emotions: “That is just amazing scripting, amazing emotional connection, incredibly truthful and honest about that difficult period in people’s lives.
"I suspect that is going to be the winner.” With Hollywood’s finest gathered under the one roof, Amazon bosses may well be scouting for the next James Bond after the streaming giant took charge of the franchise.
And 007 fan Jonathan has strong views on who should play the spy.
He said: “I can exclusively reveal that, due to a tennis injury, I’ve had to turn down the role.
“I think Aaron Taylor Johnson’s in with a very good shout. Paul Mescal would be pretty good.
“I wonder whether they’re going to go for the pin-up, the hunk, the suave guy or somebody with a bit of grit. I would like to see a more sensitive Bond.
“I’d like Timothee Chalamet. A little slender boy who we all want to look after!”
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