Earlier today, Hugh Jackman issued a heartfelt plea to The Academy Of Motion Pictures Arts And Sciences: Please don’t validate or encourage Ryan Reynolds.
Jackman performed his comedic begging on social media today, as part of a post that was ostensibly about saving himself—ahead of a year of filming alongside Reynolds on the upcoming Deadpool movie—from the insufferability of “Oscar-nominated performer Ryan Reynolds.” The real reason, of course, was to give a shout-out to Reynolds and the rest of the cast and crew of last year’s Spirited, with the movie’s song “Good Afternoon” having apparently been shortlisted for Oscars consideration.
Per Billboard, here’s Jackman: “Ryan Reynolds getting a nomination in the best song category would make the next year of my life insufferable.” Jackman went on to add: “It would be a problem.”
Of course, given that he and Reynolds are actually buddies—and that Spirited’s music was co-written by Jackman’s Greatest Showman pals Benj Pasek and Justin Paul—it’s not hard to read between the happy lines. “Don’t get me wrong,” Jackman said, “I loved Spirited. It’s a great movie, we had a blast, the entire family watched it. I love Will [Ferrell], I love Octavia [Spencer]. Obviously I did The Greatest Showman with Benj [Pasek] and Justin [Paul] — they’re incredible and I love their music … And ‘Good Afternoon,’ by the way, the song ‘Good Afternoon’? I laughed the entire way through, it is absolutely brilliant.”
(As Billboard notes, there’s no actual way that Reynolds would personally get listed as a nominee for “Good Afternoon,” since that category doesn’t recognize performers; writers Khiyon Hursey, Sukari Jones, Benj Pasek, Justin Paul and Mark Sonnenblick would get the nod instead.)
Other songwriters on the Best Song shortlist this year include Taylor Swift, The Weeknd, Lady Gaga, and Rihanna. The actual nominations will roll out on January 24, ahead of the Oscars themselves on March 12.