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Three hosts, plenty of history-making awards and one shocking slap: so goes the story of the undeniably chaotic 94th annual Academy Awards. Largely returning to its pre-pandemic form at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles after last year’s sized-down show, the 2022 ceremony aired on Sunday night and brought a protracted and strange award season to a messy finish. In an attempt to attract more eyeballs to the festivities after record-low ratings, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences instituted a variety of controversial changes for this year’s telecast ― adding two fan-voted races and demoting eight below-the-line and short film categories to a preshow presentation — which drew significant ire within the industry. But it was the unexpected moments that will surely cause all the conversation, most notably Will Smith smacking presenter Chris Rock on stage over a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith moments before winning the Best Actor trophy.
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Even if you planned on watching this year’s Golden Globes ― the precipitous drop in ratings over the past decade might suggest otherwise ― you couldn’t. After a scandal and COVID-plagued year, the 79th annual ceremony wasn’t televised or livestreamed on Sunday night. There was no red carpet, host, A-list presenter or even a single celebrity in sight. Instead, winners were announced on social media throughout the evening, as the event thrown by the beleaguered Hollywood Foreign Press Association dispensed with the trappings of a traditional awards show altogether.
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West Side Story is "an American masterpiece," says Ivo van Hove, director of the latest Broadway revival, which opened February 20, 2020 on Broadway. Van Hove hopes his vision will show the musical in "all its cruelty and devastation, but also all the beauty and all the hope." The Tony-award winning Belgian director of The Crucible (2016) and A View from the Bridge (2015) has scaled back from the original production, keeping the stage bare and the story "raw." He focuses on the cultural differences between the characters and the violent world they live in.
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The 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards were held Sunday night, as stars from across the TV industry vied to take home the coveted award. Cedric the Entertainer hosted the show, which was broadcast live from Los Angeles on CBS and Paramount+. Apple TV+'s "Ted Lasso" came into the night with the most nominations with 13 and took home four awards. Netflix's "The Crown" received 11 nominations and ended up with the biggest haul of the night with seven wins. Debbie Allen received the 2021 Governor's Award. Jean Smart received the award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her role on HBO's "Hacks." Kate Winslet, who worked alongside Smart in "Mare of Easttown," another HBO production, was given the award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or Movie.
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Josephine Baker is best-known for her celebrated song and dance career that spanned five decades. But she is also famous for being a spy for the French resistance during World War II. As the story goes, Nazi guards were so star-struck by Baker that they let her slip across the border without trouble — little knowing that she was smuggling secrets written in invisible ink on her sheet music. After the war, Baker was awarded the French Legion of Honor for her service.
