And the Winner Is…
Appreciating the art of a great Hollywood acceptance speech.
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Whats the point of the Golden Globes?
But is the reverse also true?
Can giving a bad acceptance speechloseyou an Oscar?
On one level, its an impossible question to answer.
Theres no way of knowing for sure why a given contender lost.
And history hasnt supplied an excess of examples.
Unlike, say,opening monologues, its rare that you see a truly terrible acceptance speech.
But thats not the same thing.
(Besides, weve since seen what happens whenDeBose tries a big swingat an awards ceremony.)
Nevertheless, its an intriguing query.
The most recent example came from punditMatt Neglia, who pinpointed a speech from just last year.
But wait, hadnt Joaquin Phoenix expressedsimilar sentimentsduring hisJokercampaign?
That was different, Neglia told me.
Phoenix took his shots but always in the context of everyone, including himself, needing to do better.
Perhaps Blanchett, who already had two Oscars, was trying to signal that she didnt need a third.
Or maybe she was just tired after four months of nonstop campaigning.
Regardless, though she would later win the BAFTA, Yeoh took home the Oscar*.
A studio publicist offered another example from a ceremony that wasnt televised.
But still 13 minutes!
People didnt really want to give her another award after that, the publicist said.
This is a good man, he said about the future convicted sex criminal.
People dont know that, but hes done a lot of good things in life.
Go write an article about that,New Yorker, he said, adding a malevolent growl.
Even putting aside the Weinstein of it all, the speech was also excruciatingly long.
Gere spoke for four-and-a-half minutes, an eternity by todays dont-you-dare-go-past-11:30 ethos.
(By contrast,Jack Nicholsons Valium-aided speechfor best actor in a drama lasted a mere two minutes.)
The first minute was vamping, as the actor explained that he hadnt expected to win.
Still, the guy had won the Globe and been nominated at SAG.
One insider told Biskind they thought Geres toadyish Globes speech had cost him the nomination.
Of course, that insider wasScott Rudin.
*This post originally misstated Cate Blanchetts awards record at the 2023 precursor.
