THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS
Arts & Entertainment Film/TV pg 15 | Trends pg 19 | Jazz pg 20
March 31, 2022 - April 6, 2022 • 15
Pg. 18 Your Stars
An Oscars to be remembered
Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith during the live ABC telecast of the 94th Oscars at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles, on Sunday, March 27, 2022 (Richard Harbaugh / A.M.P.A.S. photo)
By MARGRIRA Special to the AmNews The Oscars came roaring back after two years of COVID-19 lockdown under the direction of uberproducer Will Packer and from the very start, he promised us a memorable show, jump-starting the excitement when he engaged three female comedians to host—Regina Hall, Amy Schumer, and Wanda Sykes—who kept the show moving using their own comedic stamp.
The big winner of the night was the little indie film “Coda” (Apple) which consisted of a mostly deaf cast and won the best picture which surprised some insiders who suggested that the quality of the film was just a few bars away from a made-for-television movie. It also won the adapted screenplay prize for its writer-director, Sian Heder, and the supporting actor award for Troy Kotsur. There is an opportunity to read the screenplay courtesy of Indie Film Hustle. But nothing moved the eve-
ning as much as the “slap” heard around the world—literally when Oscar winner Will Smith slapped comic Chris Rock after he made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith’s, bald head. Smith later went on to accept his Oscar for Best Actor in a dramatic speech for the Best Picture nominated film, “King Richard.” Tears flowing, Smith apologized to the Academy. “Richard Williams was a fierce defender of his family,” Smith said in a tearful speech following
Ariana DeBose poses backstage with the Oscar for Actress in a Supporting Role during the live ABC telecast of the 94th Oscars at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles, on Sunday, March 27, 2022. (Michael Baker / A.M.P.A.S. photo)
his win for portraying the Williams sisters’ father in “King Richard.” “In this time of my life, in this moment, I am overwhelmed by what God is calling on me to do and be in this world. “I know to do what we do, you’ve got to be able to take abuse,” he said. “You gotta be able to have people talk crazy about you. In this business, you gotta be able to have people disrespecting you, and you gotta smile, and you gotta pretend like that’s OK. … I want to apologize to the Acade-
my; I want to apologize to all my fellow nominees.” Later in the evening—via Twitter immediately following the telecast—the Academy said it “does not condone violence of any form” and made the point that the night is to celebrate the winners who “deserve this moment of recognition from their peers and movie lovers around the world.” The LAPD confirmed that Rock declined to file a police report about the slapping, offering in a statement, See OSCARS on page 17
An Oscar first: Afro Latina Ariana DeBose wins Best-Supporting for ‘West Side Story’ By MARGRIRA Special to the AmNews Sometimes, you have to ask yourself the hard questions, like are there significant changes in Hollywood around the issues of racism particularly when it centers on the Latino and Afro-Latino communities. I use as an example Ariana DeBose’s Oscar win for Best Supporting Actress playing the role of Anita in “West Side Story.” Imagine, it was 60 years ago that legend Rita Moreno became the first Latina to win an Oscar (1962), for that same role of Anita. Together, they are the first pair of women
ever to accomplish this. DeBose, who identifies as “Afro Latina,” is also an openly queer woman, and is now the first to win for her acting, and the only to be nominated. Just 31, DeBose joins a very small list of Latina women who’ve been nominated for acting awards at the Oscars, including four for Best Actress and less than a dozen for Best Supporting Actress. In her acceptance speech, DeBose was quick to point out the facts about the world. “Even in this weary world that we live in, dreams do come true,” said DeBose. “To anybody who has ever questioned your identity…I
promise you this, there is indeed a place for us.” DeBose has appeared in LinManuel Miranda’s “Hamilton” and Netflix’s ensemble “The Prom.” Here is what Ariana DeBose had to share about winning her first Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in ”West Side Story.”
was in the ensemble of “Hamilton,” mind you, as an ensemble member, I had a role that barely spoke. All I did was dance. But I chose at some point to try for more and, to be frank, it wasn’t met with, you know, thunderous applause. Some folks kind of looked at me like I was crazy, and I had to choose to believe that I was deserving of more and go and AmNews: You started your train to be better. And, honestly, career as a dancer on Broadway. just choosing, choosing myself How did you get here? and choosing to believe that I was Ariana DeBose: A lot of hard worthy and do the work, that’s work, a lot of determination, a how this happened. This is magic, lot of active choices to take my but it’s magic that did not come rejections as redirections. I was without effort. just saying, you know when I AmNews: The win is histor-
ic. You won this Oscar for playing the same role [Anita] that Rita Moreno won for as well. A full-circle moment? DeBose: I see it as a historical moment. It’s a layer on a layer on a layer, and I think this is the first time that a female role has been honored twice, but I think it’s really important to note that our Anita, as well, shares a name. They are different women, you know. Her Anita is iconic and legendary and will always be, and now mine has been shown light upon in this way, and I’m very proud of that because I set out to create 60 See OSCAR FIRST on page 21
