Page 37 - Seniorstoday March 2024 Issue

Films
Scandals &
Controversies UnLtd
Deepa Gahlot lists the Top 10 scandals around the Oscars
Every year, the Academy Awards are
watched by millions of people around the
world, as the most powerful and glamorous
industry honours its own. The awards
function is an entertainment show by itself,
and the host has to balance, wit, respect
for peers and the occasional scandal which
makes the all the difference between a
classy event and a fireworks show. If John
Cena had not walked naked on stage to
present the Best Costume Designer Award,
to remind viewers of that year when, in
1974, a streaker ran across the stage as
David Niven was speaking, the 2024
Oscars would just have lacked some sizzle.
A pick of 10 scandals and controversies
over the years:
A bribery charge came about early in
Oscar history. Mary Pickford’s first adult
role in Coquette was widely panned. So,
she invited the five members of the Board
of Judges to have tea at her legendary
Beverly Hills estate called Pickford. So
SENIORS TODAY | ISSUE #57 | MARCH 2024
Image courtesy – ndtv.com
dazzled were they that she was named Best
Actress at the 1928–29 Academy Awards.
The ensuing protests led to a change in
the rules, so that all Academy members
could vote for the winner, instead of a five-
member panel.
What is a grand ceremony without a
gaffe or two? Frank Capra was a three-
time Best Director winner, yet a mistake
caused him much humiliation. In 1933,
when announcing the Best Director winner,
presenter Will Rogers called “Frank” to
the stage, without mentioning a last name,
seemingly unaware that both Frank Capra
and Frank Lloyd were nominated for the
award. Capra excitedly walked to the stage
Image courtesy – ocars.org
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