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Oscars 2021: Anthony Hopkins Pays Tribute to Chadwick Boseman

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1:03 AM PDT 4/26/2021

by


Abid Rahman

The 83-year-old Welsh star, the oldest winner of an acting prize, said he “did not expect to get this award.”

Anthony Hopkins woke up on Monday a double Oscar winner, a surprise to many, including the Welsh actor himself.

In a brief video posted to his Instagram, The Father star, who is currently in his native Wales, acknowledged his win and gave the acceptance speech he wasn’t able to on Sunday evening and he made a point of paying tribute to fellow best actor nominee, the late Chadwick Boseman.

“Good morning, here I am in my homeland of Wales and at 83-years-of-age I did not expect to get this award. I really didn’t,” Hopkins said, with the beautiful Welsh countryside as a backdrop.

“I am grateful to the Academy and thank you. I want to pay tribute to Chadwick Boseman who was taken from us far too early, and again, thank you all very much. I really did not expect this, so I feel very privileged and honored. Thank you,” he added.

Much of the surprise at Hopkins’ win was down to the strong field for this year’s best actor prize. Boseman was the heavy favorite to win for his final film role as Levee in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. 

Hopkins’ absence from Sunday’s ceremony was due to him visiting Wales. Given his age and the ongoing pandemic, his absence perhaps wouldn’t have caused too much controversy if the show’s producers had not switched the best actor presentation to last, in place of the more traditional best picture announcement to wrap the show.

Speculation on social media was rife that the switcheroo had been done in the event of an emotional win for Boseman. Late on Sunday, there was some social media backlash aimed at the producers for building the hype for a possible Boseman win.

At 83, Hopkins became the oldest person ever to win an acting Oscar and it was his second Academy Award from six nominations and follows his 1991 best actor prize for Silence of the Lambs.

For his performance as Anthony, an aging patriarch struggling with dementia in Florian Zeller’s The Father, Hopkins also won a BAFTA for best actor.



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Entertainment

Oscars will allow remote location in Europe

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Oscars producer Steven Soderbergh
Photo: Amy Sussman (Getty Images)

After a year that’s seen the Hollywood Awards Machine struggle desperately to portray its participants as Glittering Gods, even as our collective desire to be Sweatpants Trolls has swept through film and television elites, one group has seemed most bullheadedly dedicated to keeping up the lie: The Academy Of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences. Earlier this month, we reported on the Oscar-granting body’s efforts to keep up so-called “standards” by requiring attendees to this year’s show to show up in person, dress like fancy people, and talk about themselves in terms beyond their latest ideas for which snack chips to dip into what flavor goo to stave off existential ennui. Now, though, the Oscars producers—including director Steven Soderbergh—have relented on at least one of the realities of COVID-world, acknowledging that international attendees might not necessarily want to load themselves into metal tubes filled with aspirated spit in order to fly to Los Angeles to pick up a statue.

This is per Variety, which reports that, while plans for the big event—scheduled for April 25—are still being kept fairly quiet, there will be at least one event space in London where nominees can gather in order to participate in this year’s Oscar’s. And while other venues are reportedly being pursued in other European countries, the basic thrust is still the same: We’re doing this thing in person, dammit, for whatever definition of “in person” we can swing. So, for instance, all musical performances will reportedly be done live in L.A., all participants are expected to test themselves with Academy-provided kits and bubble-up ahead of showing up at the event, and—possibly—they might even try to rig a system where the nominees in question are rotated into the theater proper when it’s their turn to have their categories announced. All of which sounds a lot harder than just letting Jason Sudeikis wear his damn sweatshirt, but, hey, to each incarnation of entertainment industry snobbery their own, we guess.

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2021 Oscars Nominations: Snubs and Surprises for Daniel Kaluuya, Lakeith Stanfield and Jodie Foster

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Plenty of history was made when the Academy Award nominations were announced Monday morning, but it just wouldn’t be the Oscars without a few swerves and head-scratching omissions. Below, the Projectionist surveys the biggest surprises and most high-profile snubs.

When two men or two women colead an Oscar contender, you can bet that savvy strategists will position one as a lead and one as a supporting role in a bid to spread the wealth and get them both nominated. That was the original plan for “Judas and the Black Messiah,” where Lakeith Stanfield was deemed the lead, mostly so he could get out of the way of Daniel Kaluuya, who’s been racking up supporting-actor wins all seasons. But in a big surprise, Stanfield picked up more votes in the supporting-actor category, so both men earned their nominations there. It does beg the question, though: If Stanfield and Kaluuya are both supporting actors, then who exactly is this movie supposed to be about?

Though “The Trial of the Chicago 7” is one of the most nominated Oscar contenders and Aaron Sorkin picked up a nomination for his screenplay, he was left out of the best-director lineup entirely as “Another Round” director Thomas Vinterberg nabbed the spot most expected would go to Sorkin. Still, plenty of history was made in that category: The “Nomadland” director Chloé Zhao became the first Chinese woman and first woman of color to be nominated for best director, and alongside “Promising Young Woman” filmmaker Emerald Fennell, this is the first time in Oscar history that two women were nominated in the best-director category at the same time.

At the Screen Actors Guild, a majority of the group’s nominations for the top ensemble award went to Black-led dramas. In the end, though, none of those three SAG nominees — “Da 5 Bloods,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and “One Night in Miami” — made Oscar’s best-picture cut, and only the late-breaking contender “Judas and the Black Messiah” earned a nomination. And while the acting races were filled with diverse nominees — six of the 20 acting slots went to Black performers, a record — the critics’ favorite Delroy Lindo from “Da 5 Bloods” still landed outside the best-actor final five.

When Jodie Foster was announced as the winner of the supporting-actress Golden Globe for her role as a tough lawyer in “The Mauritanian,” the actress appeared utterly shocked, since she hailed from a much lower-profile contender than her fellow nominees. The win certainly coaxed more Oscar voters to check out her film than normally would have, but in the end, it wasn’t enough: Foster became the rare supporting-actress contender whose Golden Globe win couldn’t even earn her an Oscar nomination.

One of the most rapturously reviewed contenders of the year ran no longer than a half-hour: Pedro Almodóvar made his English-language debut with “The Human Voice,” a live-action short starring Tilda Swinton. Most pundits assumed it was the front-runner in its category, but the insular shorts branch snubbed it entirely, perhaps resenting that some big-name stars could swamp a category that’s usually filled by up-and-comers.

Few documentaries had the buzz of “Boys State,” Apple’s well-received movie about teenage boys navigating political campaigns over the course of a long weekend. But the documentary branch often bristles when it comes to high-profile contenders: Hotly tipped movies like “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” “Apollo 11,” and “Three Identical Strangers” were all snubbed in years past, and now “Boys State” can join their spurned ranks. (At least the movie itself imparts several lessons on how to bounce back from a politically motivated defeat.)

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Entertainment

Oscars 2021 Shortlist for Makeup, Visuals, Music, Doc, International

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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the shortlists for nine categories for the upcoming Oscars. The categories and number of films include documentary feature (15), documentary short subject (10), international feature (15), makeup and hairstyling (10), original score (15), original song (15), animated short film (10), live action short film (10) and visual effects (10).

The shortlist voting concluded on Feb. 5, and the remaining will move on to the official phase one voting, which will take place on March 5-9. The Oscar nominations will be announced on March 15, with the show scheduled to take place on April 25.

The full lists are below with snubs and surprises:

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Fifteen films will advance in the documentary feature category out of 238 films eligible films. Members of the documentary branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.

  • “76 Days” (MTV Documentary Films) – directed by Weixi Chen, Hao Wu, Anonymous
  • “All In: The Fight for Democracy” (Amazon Studios) – directed by Lisa Cortes, Liz Garbus
  • “Boys State” (Apple TV Plus) – directed by Amanda McBaine, Jesse Moss
  • “Collective” (Magnolia Pictures and Participant) – directed by Alexander Nanau
  • “Crip Camp” (Netflix) – directed by James Lebrecht, Nicole Newnham
  • “Dick Johnson Is Dead” (Netflix) – directed by Kirsten Johnson
  • “Gunda” (Neon) – directed by Viktor Kosakovskiy
  • “MLK/FBI” (IFC Films) – directed by Sam Pollard
  • “The Mole Agent” (Gravitas Ventures) – directed by Maite Alberdi
  • “My Octopus Teacher” (Netflix) – directed by Pippa Ehrlich, James Reed
  • “Notturno” (Neon) – directed by Gianfranco Rosi
  • “The Painter and the Thief” (Neon) – directed by Benjamin Ree
  • “Time” (Amazon Studios) – directed by Garrett Bradley
  • “The Truffle Hunters” (Sony Pictures Classics) – directed by Michael Dweck, Gregory Kershaw
  • “Welcome to Chechnya” (HBO) – directed by David France

PREDICTION TALLY: 11/15
With 238 documentaries submitted, the category presented itself as fairly standard, with no egregious entries or surprises. However, the amount of entries warrants the Academy to consider expanding this lineup from five to ten nominees if large submissions like this continue. Eight of the 15 are helmed by female filmmakers which is incredibly encouraging with Asian, Black, Latinx and the disability community also represented. Very proud of the branch with many of these choices. Dawn Porter delivered a one-two punch this year with “John Lewis: Good Trouble” and “The Way I See It,” both of which failed to make the respective shortlist. Alex Gibney, Ophelia Harutyunyan and Suzanne Hillinger’s teamwork on “Totally Under Control” was also shut out.

SNUB: “Totally Under Control” (Neon) and “The Way I See It” (Focus Features)

SURPRISE: None?

INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM

Fifteen films will advance to the next round of voting in the international feature film category. Films from 93 countries were eligible in the category, the most in Oscars history. Academy members from all branches were invited to participate in the preliminary round of voting and must have met a minimum viewing requirement to be eligible to vote in the category. In the nominations round, Academy members from all branches are invited to opt in to participate and must view all 15 shortlisted films to vote.

  • “Another Round” (Denmark) – directed Thomas Vinterberg
  • “Better Days” (Hong Kong) – directed by Derek Tsang
  • “Charlatan” (Czech Republic) – directed by Agnieszka Holland
  • “Collective” (Romania) – directed by Alexander Nanau
  • “Dear Comrades!” (Russia) – directed by
  • “I’m No Longer Here” (Mexico) – directed by Fernando Frias
  • “Hope” (Norway) – directed by Maria Sødahl
  • “La Llorona” (Guatemala) – directed by Jayro Bustamante
  • “The Mole Agent” (Chile) – directed by Maite Alberdi
  • “Night of the Kings” (Ivory Coast) – Philippe Lacôte
  • “Quo Vadis, Aida?” (Bosnia and Herzegovina) – directed by Jasmila Žbanić
  • “Sun Children” (Iran) – directed by Majid Majidi
  • “Two of Us” (France) – directed by Filippo Meneghetti
  • “A Sun” (Taiwan) – directed by Chung Mong-hong
  • “The Man Who Sold His Skin” (Tunisia) – directed by Kaouther Ben Hania

PREDICTION TALLY: 12/15
This was a close race. There was chatter about “The Man Who Sold His Skin” doing very well with Academy members, but also concerns that not enough would see it. Guess I was wrong there, but all the usual suspects are still in the running. Spain is usually one of the default choices and with the power of Netflix behind it, I thought it would have a fighting chance. Despite playing film festivals, Poland also missed out on making the shortlist this year.

SNUB: “The Endless Trench” (Spain) and “Never Gonna Snow Again” (Poland)

SURPRISE: “Better Days” (Hong Kong) and “The Man Who Sold His Skin” (Tunisia)

MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING

  • “Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn” (Warner Bros)
  • “Emma” (Focus Features)
  • “The Glorias” (Roadside Attractions and LD Entertainment)
  • “Hillbilly Elegy” (Netflix)
  • “Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey” (Netflix)
  • “The Little Things” (Warner Bros)
  • “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” (Netflix)
  • “Mank” (Netflix)
  • “One Night in Miami” (Amazon Studios)
  • “Pinocchio” (Roadside Attractions)

PREDICTION TALLY: 5/10
Netflix dominated here with four films in the running, but their tentpole film “The Trial of the Chicago 7” missing out could be an early warning signal, though it’s nearly impossible to read into the shortlist. “The Glorias” is one of those entries that when you see it on the list, you feel stupid for not predicting it considering they have three different women playing Gloria Steinem at different points in her life. The inclusion of “Birds of Prey” is a pleasant surprise, considering that it seems Warner Bros. didn’t put much effort behind it (omitting it from its FYC site). The big misses here are Emerald Fennell’s “Promising Young Woman,” which looked like a potential winner, and Lee Daniels’ “The United States vs. Billie Holiday,” both of which made the Critics Choice lineup earlier this week. “The Prom” was also left off.  The frontrunner here seems to be “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.”

SNUB: “Promising Young Woman” and “The United States vs. Billie Holiday”

SURPRISE: “Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn” and “The Glorias”

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)

Fifteen scores will advance in the original score category for the 93rd Academy Awards, out of 136 eligible scores. Members of the music branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.

  • “Ammonite” (Neon) – Dustin O’Halloran, Volker Bertelmann
  • “Blizzard of Souls” (Film Movement) – Lolita Ritmanis
  • “Da 5 Bloods” (Netflix) – Terence Blanchard
  • “The Invisible Man” (Universal Pictures) – Benjamin Wallfisch
  • “Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey” (Netflix) – John Debney
  • “The Life Ahead (La Vita Davanti a Se)” (Netflix) – Gabriel Yared
  • “The Little Things” (Warner Bros) – Thomas Newman
  • “Mank” (Netflix) – Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
  • “The Midnight Sky” (Netflix) – Alexandre Desplat
  • “Minari” (A24) – Emile Mosseri
  • “Mulan” (Walt Disney Pictures) – Henry Gregson-Williams
  • “News of the World” (Universal Pictures) – James Newton Howard
  • “Soul” (Pixar) – Jon Batiste, Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
  • “Tenet” (Warner Bros) – Ludwig Göransson
  • “The Trial of the Chicago 7” (Netflix) – Daniel Pemberton

PREDICTION TALLY: 12/15
One woman made this shortlist, and it wasn’t the one we expected. Lolita Ritmanis makes the cut for the international feature “Blizzard of Souls,” which didn’t make its respective lineup. Tamar-kali, who delivered great work in “Shirley,” will be sitting this one out, as will “Emma” co-composers Isobel Waller-Bridge and David Schweitzer. Familiarity and legacy typically work well with the music branch, which helped surprise inclusions like John Debney and Thomas Newman. But that didn’t help Elliot Goldenthal for “The Glorias” unfortunately. Another ding for “Promising Young Woman” and “Wolfwalkers,” which I thought would make an appearance. Amen and hallelujah for Terence Blanchard, Emile Mosseri, Daniel Pemberton and especially Benjamin Wallfisch.

SNUB: “Shirley” and “Wolfwalkers”

SURPRISE: “Blizzard of Souls” and “Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey”

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)

Fifteen songs will advance in the original song category out of 105 eligible songs. Members of the music branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.

  • “Turntables” from “All In: The Fight for Democracy” (Amazon Studios)
  • “See What You’ve Done” from “Belly of the Beast” (Independent Lens)
  • “Wuhan Flu” from “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan” (Amazon Studios)
  • “Husavik” from “Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga” (Netflix)
  • “Never Break” from “Giving Voice” (Netflix)
  • “Make It Work” from “Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey” (Netflix)
  • “Fight For You” from “Judas and the Black Messiah” (Warner Bros)
  • “lo Sì (Seen)” from “The Life Ahead (La Vita Davanti a Se)” (Netflix)
  • “Rain Song” from “Minari” (A24)
  • “Show Me Your Soul” from “Mr. Soul!” (Shoes in the Bed Productions)
  • “Loyal Brave True” from “Mulan” (Walt Disney Pictures)
  • “Free” from “The One and Only Ivan” (Disney Plus)
  • “Speak Now” from “One Night in Miami” (Amazon Studios)
  • “Green” from “Sound of Metal” (Amazon Studios)
  • “Hear My Voice” from “The Trial of the Chicago 7” (Netflix)

PREDICTION TALLY: 9/15
This category offers several exclusions that are surprising to see. The magic for “Over the Moon” wasn’t able to crack the lineup, nor the sincerity of “Onward.” Andra Day’s possibility of a double Oscar nomination has now ended with both of her songs failing to make the list, despite a Golden Globe nomination — which by the way, she can still win. There are two songs from Diane Warren from “The Life Ahead” and “The One and Only Ivan,” and Abraham Marder can also be a double nominee as he wrote the song for “Sound of Metal” and was also a co-writer with his brother, Darius Marder, and director Derek Cianfrance on the screenplay. Good on the Academy for the shout out for the song from “Mr. Soul!” but shame for not shortlisting it for documentary feature.

SNUB: “Onward” (“Carried Me With You”), “Over the Moon” (“Rocket To the Moon”), “Tenet” (“The Plan”) and “The United States vs. Billie Holiday” (“Tigress & Tweed”)

SURPRISE: “Mr. Soul!” (“Show Me Your Soul”) and “Sound of Metal” (“Green”)

VISUAL EFFECTS

Ten films remain in the running in the visual effects category for the 93rd Academy Awards. The visual effects branch executive committee determined the shortlist. All members of the visual effects branch will be invited virtually to view 10-minute excerpts from each of the shortlisted films on March 6. Following the screenings, members will vote to nominate five films for final Oscars consideration.

  • “Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn” (Warner Bros)
  • “Bloodshot” (Sony Pictures)
  • “Love and Monsters” (Paramount Pictures)
  • “Mank” (Netflix)
  • “The Midnight Sky” (Netflix)
  • “Mulan” (Walt Disney Pictures)
  • “The One and Only Ivan” (Disney Plus)
  • “Soul” (Pixar)
  • “Tenet” (Warner Bros)
  • “Welcome to Chechnya” (HBO)

PREDICTION TALLY: 5/10 with alternate
This was a slaughterhouse of top-tier contenders. Apple TV Plus seemed like a shoo-in with “Greyhound,” as did Universal Pictures’ “The Invisible Man” and Paramount Pictures’ “Sonic the Hedgehog.” All failed to make the lineup in place of shock admissions like Lionsgate’s “Bloodshot” and Paramount’s “Love and Monsters.” “The One and Only Ivan” had a strong day, while “Soul” could be another one of the animated films that typically make the shortlist but fails to make it on nomination day. This year could present a different outcome for it as it may have the goods to go the way of “Kubo and the Two Strings.”

SNUB: “Greyhound,” “The Invisible Man” and “Sonic the Hedgehog”

SURPRISE: “Bloodshot,” “Love and Monsters” and “The One and Only Ivan”

ANIMATED SHORT FILM

Ten films will advance in the Animated Short Film category, with 96 films qualifying in the category. Members of the short films and feature animation branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.

The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:

  • “Burrow”
  • “Genius Loci”
  • “If Anything Happens I Love You”
  • “Kapaemahu”
  • “Opera”
  • “Out”
  • “The Snail and the Whale”
  • “To Gerard”
  • “Traces”
  • “Yes-People”

DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT

Ten films will advance in the documentary short subject category for the 93rd Academy Awards out of 114 films that qualified. Members of the documentary branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.

The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:

  • “Abortion Helpline, This Is Lisa”
  • “Call Center Blues”
  • “Colette”
  • “A Concerto Is a Conversation”
  • “Do Not Split”
  • “Hunger Ward”
  • “Hysterical Girl”
  • “A Love Song for Latasha”
  • “The Speed Cubers”
  • “What Would Sophia Loren Do?”

LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM

Ten films will advance in the live action short film category for the 93rd Academy Awards out of 174 qualifying films. Members of the short films and feature animation branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.

The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:

  • “Bittu”
  • “Da Yie”
  • “Feeling Through”
  • “The Human Voice”
  • “The Kicksled Choir”
  • “The Letter Room”
  • “The Present”
  • “Two Distant Strangers”
  • “The Van”
  • “White Eye”

Academy Awards Predictions (All Categories)

 



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