10 things we want to see at the Oscars

Every year, the lead-up to the Oscars seems more dramatic and contested than last year. And finally, we’re almost on the front porch of the 2023 Academy Awards.

While we can’t predict everything that will happen on the night (no one could have predicted last year’s slapstick), we can take a look at who’s nominated and take a detailed look at what happened during the rest of the awards season.

With 11 Oscar nominations, Everything Everywhere Simultaneously absolutely dominated this year, sweeping the Golden Globes, the SAG Awards, the GALECA Dorian Film Awards and our hearts, so there could be quite a few speeches from YYYY club. With nine nominations each, The Banshees of Inisherin and All quiet on the Western Front could also have a strong night. First-time acting nominees dominated the nominations this year, so we could see some emotional wins.

Unfortunately, this year’s Oscars have seriously overlooked Black talent – something we hope to see addressed on stage this year. It’s one of a list of things we’d like to see, actually.

Here’s what we’d like to see at the 95th Oscars.

1. No slap jokes

It’s been a year since Will Smith slapped Chris Rock on stage at the Oscars, and the cultural debate surrounding it is long dead. Even the discussion immediately following the slap was exhausting and over-the-top, overshadowing the real winners of last year’s Academy Awards. Bringing it back to this year’s ceremony would just be reopening a stale can of worms. After all, both involved have already said their piece: Smith accepted his ban from the Academy, and Rock just discussed the incident in a stand-up special. Now can we all just let it go? — Belen Edwards, Entertainment Journalist

2. Jimmy Kimmel resists the temptation to upstage award winners

Jimmy Kimmel is hosting the Oscars this year, and if the late-night host could hold back any irreverent, self-serving bits on stage as the award winners are having their moment, that would be great. Kimmel was widely criticized for ruining Quinta Brunson’s winning moment at last year’s Emmys, when she won outstanding writing for a comedy series for her work on Abbott Elementarypilot episode of. As Brunson accepted her award, Kimmel was dragged onto the stage by comedian Will Arnett and lay at Brunson’s feet throughout her acceptance speech. Kimmel apologized to Brunson on his own show, and hopefully the host learned that stealing someone’s moment and making it all about you is no joke. — Shannon Connellan, UK Editorial

3. Someone calling for the shutdown of Black women

Remember when Janelle Monae put an #OscarsSoWhite reference in her opening number? Or when Natalie Portman vociferously called out the 2018 Golden Globes “all-male nominees” for Best Director — live from the stage as a presenter? Even 2003 host Steve Martin gently mocked the narrow restrictions and double standards(Opens in a new tab) around age, body type and sexual orientation for bona fide movie stars. But this year, just like the Jordan Peele saga No, Many films starring and directed by black women have been critically acclaimed but received zero Oscar nominations — from Gina Princewood-Bythe’s The Female Kingwhich should have been Oscar bait from top to bottom, in gut-wrenching reflections on motherhood, race and violence Up to and Saint Omer. Someone the Academy does shine a spotlight on we should definitely note exactly who he ignored. — Caitlin Welsh, Australia Publisher

4. The show runs on time

Every year, I hope the Oscars run a three-hour show, and every year, I’m disappointed.

Hosting skits and performances inflates the ceremony to the point of insanity when all I really want to do is see who takes home the gold. There’s one great thing about the Oscars being over, though: We can all complain about it together. — IS

5. Angela Bassett says “I did the thing” if she wins

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Star Angela Bassett is nominated for Best Supporting Actress, and if she wins it will be Marvel’s first acting Oscar. Having won a Golden Globe for her flawless performance as Queen Ramonda, she is up against Kerry Condon, who won the BAFTA for The Banshees of InisherinJamie Lee Curtis, who won the SAG for Everything Everywhere Simultaneouslyfellow YYYY star Stephanie Hsu, and The whale‘small Hong Chow. But if Bassett wins, we’ll be crossing our fingers for an acceptance speech that includes a nod to Ariana DeBose’s now-famous BAFTA rap. — SC

6. ‘Naatu Naatu’ dominates the Oscar scene

Performances by Best Original Song nominees are often successful, but this year’s Oscars have the chance to deliver a truly iconic number thanks to RRRsmash “Naatu Naatu.” Composed by MM Keeravani and lyrics by Chandrabose, the infectious Telugu song accompanies a spirited dance between RRRIt stars (Ram Charan and NT Rama Rao Jr.) and a host of British colonists. “Naatu Naatu” will be performed live at the Oscars by its original singers Rahul Sipliganj and Kaala Bhairava, along with LA-based dancers. Seeing the hook step and choreography of “Naatu Naatu” on the Oscars stage is a surefire way to get the audience off their seats — and go down in history as one of the best performances of an original song to date. — IS

7. Tiny eyes on all statues

It’s an easy win, Oscar. Getting some googly eyes out of Everything Everywhere Simultaneously the coveted golden statue heads would just dominate, thank you. — SC

8. Rihanna wraps up her Super Bowl performance

Yes, she will be there and perform her nominated song Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, “Lift me up”. It will be his first live performance — there was no room for the track in her blockbuster Super Bowl appearance, where she commanded the stage Smash Bros.-style with no elaborate dance moves or acrobatics. Only Ms. Fenty knows if this was a purely artistic choice or if her range of motion was limited by the pregnancy she announced on the night, but she sent a message either way: all you need is a microphone. Rihanna might shine in a bare-back performance a la Lady Gaga, but it’s also possible the Academy will pull out all the stops and put on an epic performance that doubles as a tribute to the late Panther himself, Chadwick Boseman. Lord knows they need to. — CW

9. Every prize brought on stage by a donkey

In a trend we didn’t see coming, donkeys have taken center stage this awards season. From Martin McDonagh’s The Banshees of Inisherin at Ruben Östlund’s Triangle of Sorrow and Jerzy Skolimowski EOdonkeys have, as Mashable’s Belen Edwards writes, marked moments of unforgettable tragedy on our screens:

“With their soulful eyes and adventurous demeanor, donkeys make the perfect gentle figures for McDonagh, Östlund and Skolimowski to place at the center of the chaos and pain of their films — and not just because they’re adorable.”

So, why not give our mature, horsey, equine friends a moment of unbridled victory after all that dramatized misery? I humbly request that every Academy Award be carried on stage by a donkey during this year’s ceremony, and that the backstage jockey include a top-of-the-line load of carrots, apples, and turnips. — SC

10. Whoever presents the best animated short for laughs while reading “My Year of Dicks”

Riz Ahmed and Allison Williams had to stifle giggles naming these shorts at the announcement ceremony, and let’s be real here: it’s a great title. I’m looking at the list of presenters right now and, in turn, my predictions for who is likely to present this award AND have a good chance of breaking through: Hugh Grant, Samuel L. Jackson, Melissa McCarthy. End of list. — CW

Honorable mention/nomination: Cate Blanchett conducts the Oscars orchestra

Tár star Cate Blanchett is nominated for Best Actress for her performance as Lydia Tarr, the lauded principal conductor of a major German orchestra who is accused of sexual abuse. Blanchett is nominated alongside Michelle Yeoh for Everything Everywhere SimultaneouslyMichelle Williams for The FabelmansAna de Armas for Blondeand Andrea Riseborough for To Leslie. Would he be fit to conduct the Oscars orchestra? Uncertain. But you I know Blanchett would never play anyone. — SC

The 95th Academy Awards will take place on March 12 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. Here’s how to watch the Oscars and here are all the candidates.