The flashing cameras, the glittering gowns, the emotional speeches thanking managers, spouses, and baristas who always got the coffee order just right, it’s all part of the grand performance that is the Academy Awards.
Every year, the Oscars roll around, and actors pretend to be just so happy for the person who took home the golden statuette instead of them. Cue the tight-lipped smiles and aggressive clapping.
But beneath the glitz, there’s an undercurrent of skepticism. Some actors and directors are perhaps tired of the relentless campaigning and the endless interviews. Hence, they have openly dismissed the Oscars as a meaningless affair. And leading this group of disillusioned Hollywood veterans are none other than Bradley Cooper and Woody Allen.
Bradley Cooper’s not-so-starry-eyed view on the Oscars
Bradley Cooper is a man who can do it all, act, direct, sing with Lady Gaga, and somehow make The Hangover look stylish. But one thing he’s not particularly impressed by? The Oscars. Back in 2020, Cooper, who had been through the awards season whirlwind with A Star Is Born, called the whole thing a test of “ego, vanity, and insecurity.”
Essentially, it’s Hollywood’s Hunger Games, just with more designer suits and fewer actual deaths. While talking to Anthony Ramos for Interview Magazine, Cooper revealed how he truly felt about the Oscars. He said,
That awards season stuff is a real test. It’s set up to foster that mentality. It’s quite a thing to work through, and it’s completely devoid of artistic creation. It’s not why you sacrifice everything to create art, and yet you spend so much time being a part of it if you’re, in quotes, “lucky enough to be a part of it.” It’s ultimately a great thing because it really does make you face ego, vanity, and insecurity. It’s very interesting and utterly meaningless.
Cooper pointed out the absurdity of it all, the campaigning, the forced smiles, the endless speculation about who will win Best Picture, and whether the Academy will get it right for once.
For someone who has spent decades honing his craft, the idea of reducing artistic passion to a golden trophy and a teary-eyed speech seemed, well, kind of silly. And yet, there’s no escaping it. Once you’re in the game, you have to play.
Of course, this hasn’t stopped Cooper from continuing to get nominated. The Academy clearly enjoys keeping him on the invite list, even if he’s not entirely sold on the meaningful achievement thing. Perhaps one day, he’ll finally take home a trophy, if only to use it as a paperweight.
Woody Allen’s long-running boycott and jazz gig excuse
While Bradley Cooper has merely questioned the importance of the Oscars, Woody Allen straight-up ignored them. With 21 nominations and three wins, you’d think Allen would have at least shown up once or twice.
But no. Instead, he had better things to do, like playing the clarinet at a New York pub every Monday night according to the Independent. Yes, you read that right. The night he won for Annie Hall, Allen was too busy performing jazz to attend. Later in an interview (via Independent) he said,
When you see who wins those things or doesn’t win them, you can see how meaningless this Oscar thing is.
You have to admire the commitment. Most people would at least send a representative to awkwardly accept the award on their behalf. But Allen? Nope. The man simply did not care. Given some of the Academy’s more questionable decisions over the years, he may have had a point.
Ironically, the one time Allen did show up at the Oscars was in 2002, not to accept an award, but to pay tribute to New York after 9/11. So, while golden statues didn’t move him, his love for his city did. Go figure.
And so, Hollywood marches on, with its awards season glitz and its inevitable debates over whether the Oscars still matter. Some stars will cry with joy when they win, while others will roll their eyes and play jazz instead. As for the rest of us? We’ll keep watching, if only for the dramatic speeches, the red-carpet chaos, and the occasional on-stage slap. Ah, the magic of cinema.
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