“It’s becoming a giant industry and it’s crushing it and it’s growing exponentially. After A.I., it’s the fastest growing tech sector…” – Ori Inbar, CEO and Co-Founder of AWE
The Augmented World Expo USA 2024, had its 15th anniversary this month, sharing the latest in AR, XR and spatial computing innovations. It’s the longest running and largest event focused on Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality (XR) in the world. The annual three day event outgrew the Santa Clara Convention Center where the annual event took place for its first fourteen years, relocating to its new home in Long Beach Convention Center, attracting more than 6,000 attendees, 300 exhibitors and 575 speakers.
CEO and Co-founder, Ori Inbar, for the first time in its AWE opening keynote history, entered through the convention floor onto the stage wearing a XR headset (Vision Pro) headset, showing all types of mixed reality and face filters that was shown from his headset directly onto the screen entertaining his AWE audience.
LEARNING FROM XR’S PAST TO CREATE THE FUTURE
During his keynote, he summarized the state of XR and went through a brief XR history lesson from the beginnings from 1963, with a photo of Hugo Gernsback, the father of science fiction, wearing a type of headworn device that looks like a transister radio with two antennas on it, then five years later, in 1968 with a photo of the first working demo of a head-mounted display created by Ivan Sadland, along with the first keyboard mouse and 2D screen.
Hugo Gernsback, the father of science fiction, wearing a type of headworn device in 1963. Courtesy of AWE.
“If we want spatial computing to one day replace 2D computing we all have to become history buffs”, Inbar stresses to the crowd.
For those who unfamiliar with what “spatial computing” means, Wikipedia defines it as follows:
Spatial computing is any of various human–computer interaction techniques that are perceived by users as taking place in the real world, in and around their natural bodies and physical environments, instead of constrained to and perceptually behind computer screens.
For me the essense of spatial computing is very simple and I quote Ivan (Sadland), “The image of an object changes in the same way the real object changes with similar motions of the head”. Inbar continues, “Head computing imitating real life…that’s a concept I would bet my career on…because humans are biologically spatial and so should computing.”
In conjunction to its annual Auggie Awards, AWE had its inauguration and induction ceremony celebrating the first 101 members of the of the XR Hall of fame—a new platform dedicated to honoring the pioneers whose monumental contributions have shaped and propelled the XR industry forward, including Palmer Luckey, the founder of Oculus VR and designer of the Oculus Rift . It also featured an XR museum showcassing over 80 vintage AR and VR devices, including the Gernsback headworn device.
THE FUTURE OF XR INDUSTRY: THE TIME IS NOW
According to ARtillery Intelligence, a research and analyst firm for the business of spatial computing, the XRP market today this year is a $35 billion market. In 2027, it’s expected to double to $70 billion. “It’s becoming a giant industry and it’s crushing it and it’s growing exponentially. After AI, it’s the fastest growing tech sector.” says Inbar.
“Big Tech are all in a tight race to lead the market and it’s rearranging. Each player is retrenching in it to its strengths: software, hardware, operating system, infrastructure…doubling down or opening up and partnering, partnering, partnering. This is good for the market and it’s great for customers.”
According to Inbar, AR penetration has been stagnant around the 30%, but active usage is on the rise and VR adoption is growing where it really matters with the new generation; one in four teenagers are playing in VR.
Almost every single Fortune 1000 company has adopted XR. Enterprise revenue is now over 70% of the XR market. Fortune 1000 companies made its presence at AWE this week. All are participating in AWE’s new enterprise focus program which is ironically called “Focus” with custom export tours, roundtables, networking and really getting business done”, according to Inbar.
“Investments are picking up. Anderson Horwitz, probably the most influential VC in the world is bullish about XR.”, Inbar says. The partner at the firm recently posted this: “We believe AR/VR is among the most underrated markets today”. “Quest has a similar sales trajectory to the iPhone…the time is now” …
“On the Quest store, more than 40 developers have earned over $10 million each”, Inbar continued “amd what’s attractive about XR is that the most popular experiences on the Quest store did it with small teams and no funding.” He cites “Gorilla Tag”, “Penguin Paradise”, and “NoClip” were built with no funding and with one or two people. In addition, games are no longer developed exclusively for XR. Many iOS and Android developers are shifting to spatial with an estimate of over 2 million XR developers in the world.
As an attendee who has been going to the AWE conferences since the very beginnings, never did I have any doubt that VR, AR, MR, XR didn’t have a future. I’m really looking forward to another fifteen years that XR has to offer.
As I was shifting through the RSA Conference 2024 program guide, with it’s impressive comprehensive five day agenda, there was an enormous amount of activities going on to easily fill anyone’s calendar as an attendee for the week. 33 keynote presentations given on two stages in the West and South Stages at the Moscone Center, 650 speakers across 425 sessions, the Expo floors in the South and North Halls had over 600 exhibitors.
As I glanced into the program’s “keynote” section, I noticed one that immediately caught my eye entitled “A Conversation with Actor, Comedian, and Writer, Jason Sudeikis, hosted by RSAC Chairman, Hugh Thompson. It read…
BELIEVE. The Ted Lasso Way has put smiles on the faces of millions worldwide, and maybe made us all a little kinder. A little more focused on teamwork and collaboration. A little more aware of the power of community, and the importance of mental health needs. And a lot more aware of the impact of an inspiring leader. Join this keynote as Jason Sudeikis shares insights, laughs, and inspiration.
As a huge fan of the show, I was curious to know how much knowledge the four-time Emmy Award Winner Jason Sudeikis had in the Cybersecurity field. As I entered Moscone West Hall and tried to find a seat, I discovered that most of the capacity crowd also probably wanted to know, as well.
The Executive chair of RSAC and host Hugh Thompson introduced Sudeikis to the much appreciative crowd at Moscone West, and immediately asked Sudeikis what inspired him to be an actor and performer.
“I saw Beverly Hills Cop when I was nine years old… it was very motivational to me and I knew that’s what I wanted … to be a black cop from Detroit.”, Sudeikis replied.
From that moment on, you knew it was going to be a fun-filled afternoon with plenty of laughs with the always very playful Thompson, as host.
BE CURIOUS – NOT JUDGEMENTAL
In a few minutes after the introduction, the lights were further darkened to show a clip from the episode, “Diamond Dogs”, from Season One/Episode 8 of Ted Lasso. They played the infamous darts scene that contained the famous Lasso quote “Be curious, not judgmental”, which perhaps may be one of the most representative quotes based on Ted Lasso’s character reportoire, that easily can be applied practically everywhere in so many different situations. Thompson asked Sudeikis what he wanted people to take away from that scene.
“I just wanted to be cheering for the good guys…like the fact that people have taken and used that in commencement speeches… and I think even some political speeches”, Sudeikis explained...“I’m not sure what politics exactly…that monologue spilled out of me in 1/2 hour… I’m sure everybody has versions of this I know people speak about it a lot in the arts…”
Hopefully, to many of the conference attendees, they can bring this idea of “be curious, not judgemental”, when dealing with others. They should never “judge” whether someone has the means to effect change by contribution, but rather be “curious” having the power to apply and transform change for the better. With the advent of A.I. already now being a major force in Cybersecurity technology, it helps to not be judgemental.
A conversation with Actor, Comedian and Writer, Jason Sudeikis hosted by Hugh Thompson at the RSAConference2024. Photo by Marcus Siu
ALL ABOUT NETWORKING:
At the very beginning of the RSA conference, Thompson encouraged all attendees in the audience to go out an meet new people in the giant RSAC community where people could learn and feed off each other. He presented a hypothetical scenario in the “mean streets” of San Francisco during lunchtime to Sudeikis to the audience: If he was in line at a taco truck stand and would want to connect with a person right next to him, what would be his top five “icebreakers”?
Though Sudeikis didn’t come up with five all together, he and the audience certainly did have alot fun listening to his brainstorming answers.
“Well, I think I’d go “rub bellies” and ask what taco you getting?” “Have you been to this taco truck before?” “You know where the hot spots are?” Or if they are wearing a badge maybe ask them something about that…the big laminates…I don’t know what information is on there but” Sudeikis continued, “I don’t speak “curious”, to know… I mean this is “Playground 101″, I’d ask them their name OK?”
In the middle of Sudeikis’ rant, Thompson asked if tapping a person was okay…
“I think tapping someone might feel a little aggressive. (audience laughs) It depends on the line…if it’s proper like the way like Germans line up, like right behind each other and very rigid (audience laughs) …but if it’s a little “loosey-goosey” and I don’t know, you know, then maybe, yeah”.
Sudeikis then playfully voice acts out two characters in line.
“I apologize for my own hunger because of my tummy.”
“Sorry to hear that…oh, I didn’t hear your stomach.”
“Oh, OK, well it was actually my butt.”
The audience roared with laughter.
“So much of this stuff though is really just about hitting the playing TV Upbeat like your kids… you hit the balloon over to them and you see if they hit it back.“
“Number five would be, “have you seen anything on television that you’ve enjoyed recently?” as Sudeikis glances into the crowd and says “They are all looking for recommendations, and they can always go on “Rotten Tomatoes” but let me ask you perfect strangers.”, Sudeikis explained.
“This is great…which would be great if the answer was “Perfect Strangers”?”
THE ADMINISTER OF LAUGHTER
When Thompson asked Sudeikis, what role humor plays when battling, stress, depression, or burnout, Sudeikis credits his ten year experience on Saturday Night Live, which he was a both a writer and featured performer, as well as various TV projects, shows, and movies.
He highly credited his grandmother during his upbringing, Loretta Wendt, (also mother of Actor George Wendt) who was a volunteer at the Little Company of Mary Hospital in the Southside of Chicago, for teaching him how important humor was to healing.
“It’s always really moving and compelling to me what good medicine laughter is and being an administer of such things or at least a vessel, these projects has always really knocked my socks off and it was something about my grandmother, Loretta Wendt, she worked it, did a lot of work “, Sudeikis continued, “A big part of it was all about how important humor was to healing and I do believe that in between laughter, sleeping and crying are the three best medicines that you’re not going to give any money to a pharmaceutical company. There’s a fourth one too, the love and appreciation and execution of the arts…”
Of course, Thompson couldn’t resist pitching his own “brilliant” idea to Sudeikis for kicking the Emyy Award show into the next level by introducing a new character into the series and possibly leading up to the season finale for Ted Lasso. The concept of a mildly bald, suave, (but not to suave) cybersecurity character from some exotic background like Jamaica or the Carribean, who stalks down a hacker somehow didn’t quite make a very convincing pitch, even with Thompson’s impressive background in the Cybersecurity field.
“Would anyone believe that a character like that really existed…as a person?”, Sudeikis questioned.
So it became pretty obvious after the interview was over that the very delightful Jason Sudeikis didn’t have much to say about the very latest in cybersecurity trends at the RSA Conference, but to give him some due credit, his alter ego Ted Lasso certainly didn’t know much about European soccer (futbal) in his first season, either…and look what can happen. In any case, it couldn’t have been a more fun-filled entertaining afternoon for the RSA conference attendees.
20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL
directed, produced and filmed by MSTYSLAV CHERNOV. Courtesy of PBS
When watching the evening news every night on television with its almost repetitive nature of headlines covering yet another senseless mass killing somewhere in the U.S, I often hear criticism from others claiming there is hardly any media coverage in other parts of the world whose acts are even more tragic and horrific.
This is true, especially in those countries that do not represent human rights and whose brutal leaders do not want the “truth” to be exposed, especially when they are hiding possible war crimes. Such is the case in Ukraine, with the Russian invasion of the city of Mariupol.
The public takes it for granted that media covers just about everything with the utmost detail in the free world, but in reality, they have very little knowledge of what types of obstacles that journalists are up against in many corners of the world. Media certainly has its limitations with communications and can possibly spread misinformation or even disinformation that follows a propaganda agenda.
This is why director Mstyslav Chernov made “20 Days of Mariupol”.
“20 Days of Mariupol” is one of those rare films that shows the challenges that war-journalists have to face. Chernov, who also produced and shot the film, gives us a humanistic, yet non-sympathetic first person perspective of the ongoing crisis span during the first twenty days of the Russia-Ukraine war that your nightly news cannot possibly summarize, even if they had all of the footage sent to them on a timely basis each night for the broadcast.
Chernov had forty minutes of his footage published on television, but still had a good thirty hours of unused footage that would be used for the source of his documentary, which won the Audience Award for World Cinema Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival nearly a year ago.
“I wanted to do more with that because the scale was so huge and you can’t really show that with news pieces”, Chernov continues, “We live in age of not just misinformation but misinterpretation…to persist that misinterpretation we need much more context for better understanding in the audience.”
“That’s where documentary films are becoming to be so important that they they give more than just one or two minute news pieces which can be overwhelming, but still you see them and you forget”, Cerno explained. “I kept meeting people who escaped from Mariupol who carried this city within them, but the city was did not exist anymore, so the city was just there in in their hearts. Making this film was also a way to to preserve it as it was being bombed and destroyed, but still existed. It was the way to preserve Mariupol in history, as well”.
20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL directed, produced and filmed by MSTYSLAV CHERNOV. Courtesy of PBS
Along with Chernov, the film documents his AP (Associated Press) team of Ukrainian journalists trapped in the besieged city of Mariupol as they struggle to continue their work documenting atrocities of the Russian invasion. As the only international reporters who remain in the city, they capture what later become defining images of the war: dying children, mass graves, the bombing of a maternity hospital, and more.
The film also draws on Chernov’s daily news dispatches and personal footage of his own country at war. It offers a vivid, harrowing account of civilians caught in the siege, as well as a window into what it’s like to report from a conflict zone, and the impact of such journalism around the globe.
Chernov also serves as the narrator of the film and in spite of its subject matter, he does so in a calm fashionable manner. This was done after he realized he was imposing his emotions to the audience on the first take. His team agreed that his narration should sound like he would in a normal conversation, regardless of what was on screen. His narration reminds me of how Werner Herzog would narrate as an effective storyteller in his films, and it worked extremely well for this documentary.
Chernov initially emerged in 2008 as a fine arts photographer shooting in as many as forty different countries and winning awards all around the world. In 2013, he became the President of the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers (UAPF) and eventually started documentary multi-format (photo/video/text) working in journalism for the Associated Press, as well as being a war correspondent covering international conflicts and novelist known for his coverage of the Revolution of Dignity, War in Donbas, the downing of flight MH17, Syrian civil war, and the Battle of Mosul in Iraq.
He recently received the Pulitzer Prize for his work, shared with Evgeniy Maloletka, Vasilisa Stepanenko, and Lori Hinnant, for the Ukraine coverage. In addition, “20 Days of Mariupol” had just been selected last week as one of the fifteen shortlisted films to be elgible for the Academy Award for Documentary Feature film, as well as being shortlisted for International Feature film representing the country of Ukraine.
Unlike most documentaries, it is free to stream and accessible to everyone on YouTube above. It is also available on the PBS app. and is also available on DVD. Regardless of its bleak nature, this is essential viewing for everyone.
(L-R) Rick Goldsmith interviews Director Mstyslav Chernov at a screening of “20 Days of Mariupol” in San Francisco. Photo by Marcus Siu.
September 29th marks a very sad day for the remaining one million loyal Netflix DVD subscribers including myself. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, the company announced earlier this year to pull the plug and close its DVD rental operations.
Needless to say, the DVD rental business for the company had been dwindling down ever since its streaming services became the primary choice for its subscribers all over the world and disrupted the video and movie industry.
To give you an idea, Netflix’s DVD revenue totaled $60 million for the first six months of 2023. In comparison, Netflix’s streaming revenue in the United States for the same period reached $6.5 billion. In 2022, the DVD business generated $145.7 million, down 20% year-over-year, which represented just 0.5% of its total revenue. That’s just half of one percent!
In their early beginnings in 1998, they couldn’t have chosen a more opportune time to get into the DVD rental business. DVD’s were at the beginning of their popularity. It also was the perfect format to ship and mail off to millions of customers due to its light weight and size. They wouldn’t have been very profitable during the days of VHS and Beta. Could you imagine Netflix stuffings bulky VHS or Beta tapes in the mail to make it in the video rental business to try to make a profit?
Instead of wasting time and gas and driving back and forth to rent and return the movies to brick and mortar video stores, customers only had to deal with their mailboxes with Netflix. They also had the luxury of returning it anytime, without any late fee to any mailbox. To many customers who are habitually late in returning their DVD rentals, it was a blessing.
Netflix was the primary reason why Blockbuster Video went out of business in 2010, along with the many independent mom and pop video stores that was virtually in nearly every neighborhood.
Nowadays, it’s unfathomable to even think that people actually made special trips back and forth to a video store just to rent and return a video.
As a Netflix subscriber, I had two gripes. There was no way to filter down movie titles that were only available in blu-ray when searching thru their inventory. The other issue that I had was trying to figure out what version of the movie that I would get if there was a title that had been released multiple times, I wouldn’t be able to tell which version of the movie I would get. Customer service was useless with those issues.
But, overall, I will miss this wonderful service.
Netflix not only changed our lives forever with the good old “red envelope” rental subscription for a good ten to fifteen years, but also with the introduction of their streaming services in 2007 it changed the world and the way we watched movies.
But is that a good thing?
Sure there are lots of great popular shows that are currently streaming on Netflix, but unfortunately the number of streaming titles in their catalog are very limited and cannot compete with the number of titles in the Netflix DVD catalog. Netflix streams about 4,000 titles at any given time, but during the peak of DVD rentals ten years ago, there were as many as 100,000 titles to choose from when DVD rental subscription peaked with over 20 million subscribers before streaming was even an option.
With their former DVD subscription, it was great to be able to search their vast inventory ranging from not just blockbuster feature films, but TV shows, documentaries, foreign films, and even music performances and videos. In addition, I loved being able to watch the extras and bonus features that were included on the DVD’s.
After mailing over five billion DVD’s and Blu-ray’s envelopes since 1998, Netflix has come to the end of an era for DVD rentals, but it certainly has been a great twenty five year run for Netflix and its appreciative customers, such as myself. It was a major part of my life.
In the future, I hope Netflix will realize that there is a demand for their own titles that should be released to home media. I do see some hope as “The Irishman” did get a release on the Criterion label, but would love to see more Netflix releases, such as “Squid Game” get a release, as well.
If they decide against releasing their movies to retail, they could at least compromise and have more special supplements streamable, like they did for “The Irishman”, with a Q&A session. I still want to know how certain movies were made along with a behind the scenes featurette, and watch interviews and commentaries with the filmmakers.
Now with my Netflix DVD subscription coming to an end, I may be forced to change my viewing habits and subscribe to their streaming services, but I know I will absolutely miss seeing Netflix’s red envelope in my mailbox every few days.
You could feel the sheer excitement in the air surrounding San Francisco’s Moscone Center where exhibitor’s and attendees convened at the 2023 Game Developer’s Conference. It recently happened a few weeks ago from March 20th thru the 24th when the Games Developer’s Conference tied its pre-pandemic record of 28,000 attendees in San Francisco that was set in 2019, more than doubling the number of in-person attendees from last year at San Francisco’s Moscone Convention Center.
It was all about the return of the “in-person” experience, having the strong desire and necessity of connecting with one another. Whether it was at one of the many numerous and inspiring sessions that was going on all week, or in one of the populated halls on the expo floor with some of the biggest names in the gaming world, or at a social mixer networking party with peers and leaders in the games industry; everyone seemed eager to seek and discover connections and to gain insight within their craft.
It seemed as though the conference hadn’t missed a beat since the pandemic.
For those who are unfamiliar with GDC, The Game Developers Conference® (GDC) is the world’s largest professional game industry event with market-defining content for programmers, artists, producers, game designers, audio professionals, business decision-makers, and others involved in the development of interactive games and immersive experiences. It also is the world’s largest and longest-running event serving professionals dedicated to the art and science of making games
All in all, GDC 2023 featured more than 1,000 speakers and 700+ sessions, workshops, roundtable discussions and networking opportunities. 330+ exhibitors were present to display their newest technologies, programs and services on the GDC Expo Floor, including industry leaders like Amazon Web Services, Adobe, Discord, Google, NEXON and more.
It was also a space for attendees to play and connect with the developers behind new and exciting independent games, including the finalists from the Independent Games Festival (IGF) and the alt.ctrl.GDC exhibit that is home to games that use alternative controllers like toaster ovens, giant oversized hats and others.
When you walk in the entrance on the South Side, some of the biggest name in gaming with attendees waiting in line for a demo as soon as they entered the hall, including Meta and Sony. Unity and Unreal were to the left of them and had even bigger booths with lots of play space. In fact, many of the companies were not signing anyone up for demos because they filled up within the first hour after the expo opened. Sign ups were available the next morning, as soon as they opened at 10 am, but filled up quickly. What I noticed this year compared to previous years is that there are more companies are using VR/AR/MR/XR and smart glasses for immersive gaming.
WELCOME TO THE METAWORLD
At the Meta booth, they had four demos, including Demeo, Ironman, Among Us, and a Mixed Reality Fencing Prototype which is the one I participated in. I requested the demo that would make use of the Meta Quest Pro, their flagship VR goggles. Unfortunately, Meta was having some wi-fi or battery issues and it took awhile to fix, but when it worked, I had a blast in my ten minute slot sword fighting against my opponent on the other side of the wall.
My opponent quickly got up to ten points, and just when I thought it was over, I was quick to go for another ten rounds. I was able to come out victorious. Ironically, after meeting my opponent, I found out he used to fence in Finland. Not sure if I should try the real thing next time I’m in Europe.
A swordfight at the Meta booth. The player on the left actually won, even thought the player on the right was an experience fencer.
A Meta rep also was roaming around the booth and touting their new Meta-Ray Ban glasses. She had me put them on and told me that they can capture what you are seeing in real time. Meta’s first generation of smart glasses have built-in cameras, open-ear audio, and seamless social sharing. Sort of a POV for the user that is sharable to others.
I can imagine that people may not have rush out and shoot with their smartphones any longer, if they wanted to capture something spontaneously by the touch of their finger. I immediately thought that this would be a great way to monitor the world around us and share our experiences together, as it doesn’t necessarily need to be for game sharing purposes. Perhaps, it could cut down on crime, since we might all be wearing these on a daily basis?
NReal booth demos the Air Glasses at GDC2023. Photo by Marcus Siu
AUGMENTED REALITYISJUST NREAL
Another company that I was happy to see having a nice booth at the Expo Hall was Nreal. I was first introduced to them at the Augmented World Expo in Santa Clara in 2019 and wrote about them with their impressive augmented reality technology. This time, they were demonstrated their latest “Air” AR Glasses on laptops and smartphones, which reminds me of Google Glass, but has much better promise.
My first impression with these ultra-lightweight Nreal Air glasses, which could easily be confused as regular fashion sunglasses, is an amazing 201″ spatial display that gets casted from your device, whether it’s streaming from a game on the cloud, a compatible smartphone, or a iMac.
It has Micro-OLED panels and it is just has an amazing immersive display. As I put them on, I was looking at floating apps and browsers that I could select with my mouse, and be transported watching videos. Imagine watching Netflix or having a big screen for cloud gaming on the big screen anywhere you go.
A glimpse at the Pico Booth at GDC 2023. Photo by Marcus Siu.
META’S MAIN COMPETITOR?
If there is a Meta competitor on the Expo floor, it would probably be Pico from China who made their debut at GDC. They had a nice booth showing the evolution of their hardware products over they years, much displayed like it would be at a VR museum, if there was one.
The release of their Pico 4 was getting some buzz on the floor, but didn’t get any official announcement when it would actually be released. This is probably due to the fact that their parent company, Bytedance, also owns TikTok, is still trying to settle with the Senate hearings.
What a great time to be a game developer! Here are a slideshow of a few scenes from the Expo floor.
originally published on https://mlsentertainment.wordpress.com/2023/04/21/the-2023-game-developers-conference-future-glimpse-of-the-latest-spectacles/
It’s been nearly a year since Will Smith infamously slapped Oscar host Chris Rock live onstage at last year’s Academy Awards telecast after cracking a “G.I. Jane” joke aimed at Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. It was indeed a surreal moment as the audience watched Smith laugh initially then turn to his wife who was fuming from the inside, got up from his chair to approach the stage and strike Rock.
Most of the audience thought that it was just “part of the act”, but when Smith returned to his seat and shouted expletives at Rock, they realized it was not.
Though the “teary eyed” and emotional Smith was allowed to return onstage to accept his Best Actor Oscar for “King Richard” after the incident, the Academy of Motion Pictures Sciences (AMPAS) decided a few weeks later that Smith would be barred from attending any Oscar ceremonies for the next ten years.
Months later, Apple TV announced a new movie called “Emancipation” to be released in late Fall starring Will Smith. At first, I thought it was about his documentary regarding his “freedom” from the Academy not having to attend the Oscars for the next ten years. Last weekend, Chris Rock premiered his Netflix special called “Selective Outrage”. “I rooted for Will Smith my whole life,” he said. “The other day, I watched “Emancipation” just so I could watch him getting whipped.”
All kidding aside, it’s a shame that had happened. It was one step forward for diversity, but two steps back. Or is it?
Sure, you can make a case there should have been at least more than two African-American nominees list this year for the acting categories. Viola Davis in “The Woman King” and Danielle Deadwyler in “Till” come to mind. You can also make a case that their directors from those films, Gina Prince Bythewood or even Chinonye Chukwu should have made the list in their category, even in a very competitive field.
Regardless of these omissions, the Academy is seems to be doing a formidable job of accomplishing its goals of diversifying the Academy since the #OscarsSoWhite movement eight years ago. They are clearly doing its best to continue its efforts in representing all groups, not just African-American filmmakers. If you look at this years nominations, it’s clearly diverse.
With four nominations, more Asian performers were recognized by the Academy in 2023 than in any single year in its history. In addition, Malaysian “Everything Everywhere All At Once” star Michelle Yeoh is only the second Asian best actress nominee in 95 years of Oscars history, with a strong chance of becoming the first winner.
After the embarrassing “Slap Heard Around The World” Oscars telecast like last year, we need a bit of comic relief. You can certainly bet our host for this year’s Oscars, Tonight Show’s own Jimmy Kimmel will prepare a lot of material that should keep us comfortably and uncomfortably laughing during the telecast. I can’t imagine a better host to open up the show and look forward to his monologue.
OSCAR PREDICTIONS
This may be the most difficult year in predicting the Oscars ever, but here are my predictions for the 95th Annual Academy Awards.
BEST PICTURE:
Exactly a year ago, when this “mind bending” independent film “Everything Everywhere All at Once” had it’s World Premiere at the South by Southwest Film Festival on March 11th, 2022. Since that time, the film went on to become A24’s highest grossing film ever. It was re-released three times due to it’s popularity, including a one-night only at IMAX, and its re-release on January 27th thanks to a resurgence of interest for its leading eleven Academy Award nominations. It has won the top prizes from the Director’s Guild, Producer’s Guild, the Writer’s Guild, and won a record-breaking four awards at the Screen Actor’s Guild Awards. Though it lost at the BAFTA’s to “All Quiet on the Western Front”, the British Academy Awards, there is too much momentum for this film to lose at this year’s Oscars.
Everything Everywhere All at Once with Oscar nominees, Stephanie Hsu, Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of A24.
BEST ACTOR:
After watching Brendan Fraser in his heart-wrenching performance in “The Whale” as a 600 pound recluse, I was certain that was getting the Oscar. Fraser just recently won at the SAG awards, so we know at least a majority of actors loved his performance. However, the Academy didn’t embrace “The Whale” as much as they did “Elvis” with its eight nominations. “The Whale” was nominated for three awards, but wasn’t nominated as Best Picture or even screenplay.
I still keep changing my tune on my prediction for Best Actor even as I write, as picking Elvis starts to make more sense. The Academy loves bio-pics, and it’s rare to have an actor be able to portray someone as iconic as Elvis. Jamie Foxx played Ray Charles, Rami Malek played Freddie Mercury, and Renée Zellweger played Judy Garland and they all won the Oscar.
The extreme dedication of Butler for three years of his life is exemplary. As a method actor, he not only acted as Elvis, but embodied himself in his role as “The King”. He looked, sang and danced like him by watching tapes and films of him when production was down during COVID. He needed to be able to discern how Elvis talked and walked during certain periods of his career since they needed to shoot scenes out of sequence. He put posters and photos all over his wall during the shutdown when his co-star Tom Hanks, who played the Colonel caught COVID-19.
Even after the movie was done, he could not let go of Elvis, even as he went about promoting his film. He was Elvis 24/7 and still could not leave the King. He didn’t even see his family for three years because he was so focused on his role. What a hound dog!
This will be a tight race, but I think the “King” will live on.
AUSTIN BUTLER as Elvis in Warner Bros. Pictures’ drama “ELVIS,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
BEST ACTRESS:
Another difficult category to predict is Best Actress, which is really a race between the two-time Oscar winner, Cate Blanchett and Michelle Yeoh. Even on a fair playing field, I probably would have leaned for Cate Blanchett for her performance as Lydia Tár, one of the most extraordinary performances that she has ever done, if not the best.
She has proven she can play just about anything, including Spazzatura, the monkey in “Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio”. If there is a sequel to “Everything Everywhere All at Once”, the Daniels may want her to play a googly eyed rock, and she may get another nomination.
However, Michelle Yeoh, who gets her second Oscar nomination for “Everything Everywhere All at Once” since “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”, even with her hot dog fingers, can still just beat anyone up against her…and not just the music exit prompters at the Golden Globes. She is well loved not just in Hollywood, but globally, and the Academy would probably want to honor her the award, rather than give Blanchett a third.
She would also be a fitting tribute to honor the first Asian Best Actress Oscar winner as she has made a tremendous contribution to World Cinema during her lifetime. It would be fitting and iconic.
Maybe the U.S. mint she will issue her own coin one day.
Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh) is an average Chinese mother who reluctantly becomes a superhero, jumping alternate worlds and absorbing powers to fight an evil villain. A24
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:
When Ke Huy Quan stopped getting roles after being a formidable child star working in movies such as Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom alongside with Harrison Ford with Steven Spielberg directing, and a cult timeless movie classic called “The Goonies”, Quan believed the best was over. He stopped getting roles and decided to stop acting and work behind the scenes, notably with Wong Kar Wai as an assistant director. Nearly broke, he told his agent that he needed to work and found a role that he really wanted. The real life story of Quan is inspirational to any actor who was once in the spotlight and wants to return to it.
If there is any category that is the “sure thing”, this is it. He has won nearly every “Best Supporting Actor” award, with the exception of the BAFTA, in which Barry Keoghan won for his role in “The Banshees of the Inisherin”. I highly doubt Keoghan will repeat on American turf.
Hollywood loves a comeback story. Ke Huy Quan is the real deal.
Ke Huy Quan in EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE. ALLYSON RIGGS / A24 / COURTESY EVERETT COLLECTION
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
This could be the category that will be most difficult to predict. Early in the Awards season, Angela Bassett was the frontrunner for “Black Panther – Wakanda Forever”. She won the Golden Globe and Critics Choice Award. However, the momentum shifted. Just recently, Jamie Lee Curtis won the SAG award and Kerry Condon won the BAFTA. I have a feeling that the Academy will split votes between Curtis and Bassett more in recognition for their life work as veteran actors and the Academy would still like to honor “The Banshees of the Inisherin” as an Oscar winner. This is the only possible category that it could potentially win. Condon most likely will take the award, and deservedly so.
One real mystery remains, however. Now that Will Smith is barred from the Oscars, who will present the Best Actress award to this years recipient?
MLS Entertainment’s Oscar Predictions:
Best Picture: “Everything Everywhere All at Once” Best Actor: Austin Butler, “Elvis” Best Actress: Michelle Yeoh, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” Best Supporting Actor: Ke Huy Quan “Everything Everywhere All at Once” Best Supporting Actress: Kerry Condon “The Banshees of Inisherin” Best Director: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” Best Adapted Screenplay: Sarah Polley “Women Talking ” Best Original Screenplay: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” Best Cinematography: “All Quiet on the Western Front” Best Costume Design: “Elvis” Best Film Editing: “Everything Everywhere All at Once” Best Makeup and Hairstyling: “The Whale” Best Music (Original Score): “All Quiet on the Western Front” Best Music (Original Song): “Naatu Naatu” Best Production Design: “All Quiet on the Western Front” Best Sound: “Top Gun Maverick” Best Visual Effects: “Avatar: The Way of Water” Best Animated Feature Film: “Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio” Best Foreign Language Film: “All Quiet on the Western Front” Best Documentary (Feature): “Navalny” Best Documentary (Short Subject): “Elephant Whisperers” Best Short Film (Animated): “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse” Best Short Film (Live Action): “An Irish Goodbye”
originally published on https://wordpress.com/post/mlsentertainment.wordpress.com/8262
