Let the Oscar Race Begin
CO-EDITORS-IN-CHIEF
Cynthia Littleton
There are 137 days until March 12, 2023, the night of the 95th Academy Awards. And as many questions loom, among them: Can the Academy rebound after Will Smith turned the most prestigious celebration of cinema into a bad reality show last year? How will Bill Kramer, the new CEO of the Academy, put his stamp on the ceremony? Will Tom Cruise introduce Lady Gaga before she brings the house down with a performance of “Hold My Hand” from “Top Gun: Maverick”? And crucially: Will viewers tune in?
With a spirit of hustle and optimism on the campaign trail, it’s starting to feel like the old days again. For the first time since the pandemic, movie premieres and screenings are back in full force, as directors and actors crisscross between Los Angeles and New York (maybe even with a stop in the Hamptons) for handshaking with voters. The only difference is the bottles of Purell.
We’re marking the annual kickoff of awards season with a cover subject who knows plenty about the Oscars. Hugh Jackman got rave reviews when he hosted the Academy Awards in 2009, and he returned
Ramin Setoodeh
to the ceremony in 2013 as a best actor nominee for “Les Misérables” (where he couldn’t resist taking the stage for a performance with his cast). His grand sense of showmanship fits the Oscar stage beautifully — and makes his role in “The Son” a startling departure. In Florian Zeller’s new drama, Jackman plays a dad trying to rescue his teenage boy from a crippling depression. It’s a stripped-down and brave performance by Jackman — one that changed him as both an actor and a man.
Watching familiar stars reinvent themselves is one of the pleasures of this time of year. Another is watching the sparks fly as new talent emerges. This week, Clayton Davis profiles Danielle Deadwyler, whose career will never be the same after playing Mamie Till in Chinonye Chukwu’s historical drama “Till.” That film will surely be at the top of many voters’ screener piles between now and March, but we haven’t seen everything yet: “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” and “Avatar: The Way of Water” lie ahead. It’s a wide-open race — exactly the kind that’s the most fun to cover every step of the way.