The war in Ukraine dominated the news circles and provoked statements of solidarity from members of the film and television industry in anticipation of the Oscars. Over the years, politics and the Oscars went hand in hand, and war was often part of the scene, from World War II – when real statuettes were made of plaster due to metal deficiencies – to Vietnam, a turbulent period that on several occasions spilled on the show. However, during the television era, three events stand out: the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968, the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan in 1981, and the start of the Iraq war in 2003. In the first two cases, the awards were postponed for a while and discussed in 2003. (The Oscars were delayed once again due to a flood in 1938.) A look back at each of these events and the impact they had on the ceremony.
1968: The assassination of the king
The killing of the civil rights icon on April 4 took place days before the ceremony, with several of those to appear – including Sidney Poitier, Louis Armstrong and Diahann Carroll – planning to attend King’s funeral on April 9. this day. after the show. (Poitier starred in two of the nominations for best film of that year, “In the Heat of the Night” and “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.”) Because there was no way to get there on time, the Academy postponed the ceremony from April 8 to April 10 and canceled the Governors Ball. The then president of the organization, Gregory Peck, started the TV show paying tribute to King.
1981: Reagan is shot
Reagan was actually scheduled to open the ceremony with a section filmed in the White House on the global reach of Oscars and films. Many of those present at the awards were particularly shocked to know Reagan from his time as an actor and president of the Screen Actors Guild. The producers scattered and eventually chose to postpone the awards by one day (Johnny Carson was the host that year), with veteran writer Buzz Kohan, who worked on the show, remembering 25 years later in the Hollywood Reporter, “Strange, It was Reagan himself who set the tone, telling doctors in the operating room, “Please tell me you are all Republicans.” “We understood if the man who was shot could make a joke about it, he had given us permission to do the same.” “This old saying ‘The show has to go on’ seemed relatively insignificant,” Carson said on the show, adding that the president was in “excellent condition” and that it was his “expressed desire” for the producers to use the tape. its introduction. that did. “Film is forever,” Reagan said, echoing the theme of the series that year, adding to the laughter, “I’ve been trapped in a movie myself forever.”
2003: The invasion of Iraq
The United States invaded Iraq a few days before the broadcast, sparking a debate over whether to postpone the awards. On the eve of the awards, Oscar producer Gill Kates told the Los Angeles Times: “Of the 11 shows I have produced, it is the most difficult I have ever done.” The Times described the days before the awards as “one of the strangest and most stressful weeks in Oscar history”. The show went on, but the red carpet was removed along with the makeshift stand for fans to watch the stars arrive. An additional controversy ensued during the show, when Michael Moore accepted the Oscar for Best Documentary for “Bowling for Columbine.” Moore denounced the war – calling President George W. Bush a “fictitious president” and saying, “Shame on you, Mr. Bush,” to the chagrin of the crowd and causing the director to rush off the stage. Fifteen years later, receiving a life distinction at the Critics’ Choice Awards, Moore took the opportunity to conclude his speech, which he concluded by encouraging people to “take a camera and fight for power, to hear the your voice and stop this irrational war “.
