The red carpet is champagne-colored this year. But why was it red in the first place?
Moments on the red carpet as celebrities arrive
From CNN’s Alli Rosenbloom
The scene on the red carpet tonight is filled with arriving celebrities, applause and excitement ahead of the 95th Academy Awards.
It included:
Actor Harry Shum appeared to be dancing as fans chanted for him.
Jamie Lee Curtis waving to crowds.
Actress Ariana Debose taking selfies with fans.
Model Winnie Harlowe’s team fixing her dress on the carpet as she posed for pictures.
Singer-songwriter Lenny Kravitz arriving to roaring applause.
Florence Pugh going up to fans taking selfies with their cameras. Pugh saying “Hi” to Ashley Graham as they passed each other.
Angela Bassett arrives on the red carpet
Angela Bassett wowed on the red carpet with a purple ensemble.
Bassett is nominated for best supporting actress for her role as Queen Ramonda in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”
In an interview with E!’s Laverne Cox, Bassett said she was wearing Moschino by Jeremy Scott. The color was purposeful for the woman who played the Queen of Wakanda.
“It’s royal purple,” Bassett said. “The color of royalty, bringing it to the carpet.”
She also reflected on how this awards season feels compared to 30 years ago, when she was nominated for her role as Tina Turner in “What’s Love Got to Do With It?”
“Love and support compounded,” she said. “Compounded, compounded, compounded. I’ve felt it with me this entire journey. It’s been wonderful.”
Angela Bassett’s supporting actress nomination makes Oscars history
From CNN’s Lisa Respers France
Angela Bassett’s powerful performance as Queen Ramonda in the “Black Panther” sequel “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” earned her a best supporting actress nomination for the 95th Academy Awards.
While it was not her first nomination (Bassett received a best actress nomination for her portrayal of Tina Turner in 1993’s biopic “What’s Love Got to Do With It?”), the news did mark a few firsts: The nod made her the first person of color, the first woman and the first Marvel Studios actor to be nominated for a performance in a comic book adaptation.
“This morning is a little extra special in the Bassett Vance household with news of my Oscar nomination,” Bassett said in a statement to CNN. “What has drawn me to each of the women I’ve portrayed throughout my career is their strength, compassion, resilience, and power. Wakanda Forever’s Queen Ramonda is a character that touched my spirit because she is a mother and a leader who must care for her grieving nation as much as she cares for her family in mourning. Ramonda is a love letter that reflects and acknowledges what we women do everyday.”
Earlier this month, Bassett took home a Golden Globe for the same role.
Jimmy Kimmel will host Oscars for the third time
From CNN’s Lisa Respers France
Jimmy Kimmel will return to host the Academy Awards for a third time, according to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In a recent interview ahead of the big night, Kimmel said he’s ready for anything.
“Being invited to host the Oscars for a third time is either a great honor or a trap,” Kimmel said jokingly in a statement. “Either way, I am grateful to the Academy for asking me so quickly after everyone good said no.”
As for what we can expect from Kimmel this year?
He said it’s simple – he’ll tell jokes.
“I don’t have a lot of talents, so there’s not a huge number of areas for me to draw from outside of telling jokes,” he said. “I mean, I am pretty good at drawing cartoons, so I guess I could sit down and do caricatures of the stars?”
“The best advice I got about hosting the Oscars was from Billy Crystal, who told me, ‘Play to the room,’” Kimmel added. “You always have to be conscious of the audience at home and make sure they understand what’s going on, but you also want to get laughs in the room — and if you don’t get that, it’s not going to play well for people watching on TV.”
Kimmel previously helmed the ceremony in 2017 and 2018. His last foray into hosting the awards show was memorable for the infamous “La La Land” and “Moonlight” Best Picture mix-up.
Lady Gaga will perform after all
From CNN’s Lisa Respers France
Rihanna isn’t the only superstar singer who will be performing at the Oscars.
According to ABC, Lady Gaga will be singing her “Top Gun: Maverick” theme song “Hold My Hand.”
Variety was the first to report that despite earlier reports that Gaga would be skipping the awards show because of being busy with her starring role in “Joker: Folie à Deux,” the Oscar-winning singer (for best original song in 2019 for her hit “Shallow” with Bradley Cooper” from “A Star Is Born”) will be taking to the stage on Hollywood’s biggest night.
The other best original song nominees, Rihanna (“Lift Me Up” from “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”), Sofia Carson and Diane Warren (“Applause” from “Tell It Like a Woman”), Stephanie Hsu, David Byrne and Son Lux (“This Is a Life” from “Everything Everywhere All at Once”) and Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava (“Naatu Naatu” from “RRR”) are also expected to perform, according to Variety.
Despite notable movies, Academy faces criticism for failure to nominate any women directors
From CNN’s Lisa Respers France
In a year that saw many critically acclaimed films helmed by female directors, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has take heat for failing to nominate any women in the directing category.
“Women Talking” was nominated in the best picture category, but its director Sarah Polley was shut out.
Other notable names ignored by the Academy: Charlotte Wells for her work on “Aftersun,” Maria Schrader for “She Said,” Gina Prince-Bythewood for “The Woman King” and Domee Shi, director of the animated Pixar film “Turning Red.”
Read more:
Inside the making of an Oscar statuette
From CNN Digital’s Visuals Team
It’s one of the most famous trophies in the world.
The Oscar statuette has been honoring the best in film since 1929. But its production — and materials — have changed over the years.
Photographer Christopher Payne went behind the scenes to see how each statuette is made.
“For me what was interesting was seeing this distinctive shape, that we all know and love and recognize, in its various forms leading up to the finished product,” Payne said.
Read more here.
Daniel Kwan wants you “to be gracious and kind” whether “Everything Everywhere All at Once” wins or not
From CNN’s Lisa Respers France
It may be a favorite to take best film this year, but one of the directors of “Everything Everywhere All at Once” is beseeching fans to show some grace, regardless of the outcome.
Daniel Kwan, who along with Daniel Scheinert is nominated in the best director category for the film, posted a series of tweets Saturday on his verified Twitter account which began:
“It has been exactly one year since our film premiered at SXSW. I tried (and failed) to sum up all of my feelings in a far too sincere instagram post you can go and find if you’re curious (or bored).”
“I’m probably going to take a break from social media for after tomorrow,” he tweeted. “The last thing I ask of any fans of our film is to be gracious and kind tomorrow, especially if we don’t pick up awards that you might have felt we deserved.”
While noting that he loves “every one of the films we are up against for different reasons” he added:
“More importantly, I have grown to love the people behind each of the films as I have gotten to know them this year. I already have everything I could ever want, and there is no need to be angry on our behalf.”
Kwan also took a playful swipe at the critics who have been less supportive.
“P.S. to the people who hate the film with their entire being: I’m sorry we ruined cinema for you forever,” he tweeted. “I hope we can make it up to you on the next one <3."
The red carpet is champagne-colored this year. But why was it red in the first place?
From CNN’s Thomas Page
The red carpet is ancient – literally.
The first reference dates back to 458 BC when Greek playwright Aeschylus wrote of a crimson-embroidered path laid by Clytemnestra for her husband Agamemnon to follow on his return from war.
Nice gesture? Far from it. Both had been having affairs, but Clytemnestra didn’t take kindly to her husband bringing his lover back with him. Also, Agamemnon had sacrificed their daughter in a deal with the gods.
The red carpet led into their home, and to Agamemnon being murdered, either by his wife or her lover (accounts vary).
So, the red carpet has bloodthirsty origins. To learn more about how it became adopted by Hollywood, watch the video or read the story on CNN Style.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/entertainment/live-news/oscars-2023/index.html