Plus: This Year’s Biggest Snubs
I have interviewed Oscar insider and current Turner Classic Movies co-host Dave Karger five times in 14 years, and it is always a pleasure. I enjoy talking to him about the winners — and the snubs.
This time, I was even more excited that he has finally published a book about — what else? — the Oscars. In 50 Oscar Nights (via TCM and Running Press), he talks to past winners —actors, directors, musicians, singers, composers, and others — across 60 years.
Here these artists reflect on their winning work and recount all the details of how they got ready, how
they felt when they heard their name and got up on stage to accept their award, what they wore, how
the entire experience impacted their life, and more.
Some interviews bring to light fun stories—like why Hilary Swank decided to celebrate her Academy
Award at the Astro Burger in West Hollywood—or insight into the work—as Elton John explains why he was convinced he won his Best Original Song award for the wrong tune. Other interviews illuminate why for some honorees, such as Julia Roberts, John Legend, and Octavia Spencer, the day remains a life
highlight to be treasured, while for Marlee Matlin, Mira Sorvino, and Barry Jenkins, complex emotions
cloud what most think would be a purely celebratory moment.
I had a chance to chat with Karger through Zoom a few weeks ago. Below are edited excerpts.
On the book 50 Oscar Nights:
Well, I was given the opportunity to write one of the Turner Classic Movies branded books. There are about three or four each year … And when they came to me and asked if I was interested in writing one, naturally I knew it had to be about the Oscars somehow, because that’s been my professional focus for 25 years now. And I thought it would be a fun concept to interview 50 Oscar winners from 60 years ago until five years ago and get them to tell me the stories of what they remember about that day: the highs, the lows, everything in between.
My goal was always to include actors and actresses, as well as some filmmakers and some musicians, singers, and composers. I have to give full credit to my editor, Cindy Sipala at Running Press, my publisher, because it was her idea to also include five or six of what we call “below-the-line” people. So there are costume designers, production designers, sound designers, short-documentary filmmakers… and I think some of those stories are among the best and most interesting in the whole book.
On the most exciting interview(s):
Meryl Streep, no question. I mean, she was the top of my wish list from day one. She wasn’t easy to get — not because I don’t think she was interested in doing it, but she’s just so busy. So I really had to be very persistent to get her. I’m sure her publicist was so sick of me by the end of this process, but I don’t care, because it was so worth it!
For anyone in the book who has more than one Oscar, I let them pick which year they wanted to talk about. And she, much to my delight, wanted to talk about Sophie’s Choice, which was the first time that she ever won a Best Actress Oscar. And I think that’s the best performance by anybody in any movie ever. I was so happy that that’s the one that she wanted to talk about. And God, she had a lot of great stories. So that was very exciting.
And then there were about 15 out of the 50 people in the book that I had never interviewed before. I had never interviewed Mel Brooks. I had never interviewed Rita Moreno or John Legend. So it was really fun to get to meet some of those people for the first time.
On the most surprising answer to where they keep their Oscars:
Wasn’t that bizarre, how many people kept in their closets? Halle Berry’s answer was really surprising, that she kept it in … her bedroom, because it’s like an intimate thing for her and a very personal achievement. Of course, I loved Emma Thompson’s answer that she keeps her two Oscars in her in her bathroom, so that her friends can see them when they go to the bathroom. I love that!
On his favorite Oscar speech:
Well, again, the answer is Halle Berry. …She was very funny in our interview. She said — and she’s kind of right — that by the end of her speech, she was rambling and thanking the same people twice. And it was hilarious. But the first half of her speech and her reaction to winning [was such a historic moment], because it wasn’t a sure thing that she was going to win. She was up against Sissy Spacek for In the Bedroom. She won for Monster’s Ball… back in 2002. … Of course, she was the first Black actress ever to win Best Actress, and it was just such an emotional thing for her. So I just love watching that speech, and I’m so happy that she told her story in the book.
On his favorite Oscars moment:
Hmm. Wow, that’s a good question. You know, when Hilary Swank won her first Oscar for Boys Don’t Cry, I thought that was a real watershed moment, because it spoke to a growing understanding about LGBTQ+ issues in the industry, in the culture at large.… This was an actress who had made $3,000 for playing this part in a very small independent film, and it competed with, you know, films from huge studios and ended up winning a major Oscar. I was actually in the room when she won that year, and … it just felt very special.
Of course, [there have] been… steps forward and steps back in the LGBTQ+ movement since then. But that [kind of elation that I felt for her] was just something that I’ll never forget… having gotten to know her a little bit in the run-up to the Oscars.
On this year’s biggest snubs:
Well, if you look at the 10 movies that were nominated for Best Picture, it’s a really great group of films≤ because it’s blockbusters along with some midsize films and then some foreign-language films. I really was a fan of All of Us Strangers, and I was hoping that that was going to get nominated in at least some category. I kind of lost hope that Andrew Scott could get nominated, just because Best Actor was so crowded. But I was hopeful that the screenplay would be nominated, and it wasn’t…
Everyone of course was talking about Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig not being nominated, and I’m sure they both came in sixth place. I hesitate to use the word “snub,” because Barbie got eight nominations, so obviously there’s a lot of affection in the Academy for Barbie, but you have to remember that in each category, the voters rank their choices on a preferential ballot. So they have a number one choice, a number two, a number three, and so on. And I’m sure that Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie were on hundreds and hundreds of ballots, but they were likely most people’s number three or number four choice. And in order to get a nomination, you have to be the number one or two choice of not necessarily everybody but a small, devoted group. And I just don’t think that the two of them had that going for them.
It is exciting that two performers, two LGBTQ+ performers are nominated for playing LGBTQ roles: Coleman Domingo and Jodie Foster. That’s never happened, and [now] this happened twice in the same year. So that’s very exciting.
I love Saltburn. That was in my personal top 10 of the year. And it had a chance, I think, for Original Screenplay mostly, especially because Emerald Fennell, the writer, won an Oscar for her last movie [Promising Young Woman]. I just wonder if [Saltburn]was, like, too daring for some… I loved it!
Filled with more than 150 photos of red-carpet moments, emotional acceptances, and after-party play, 50 Oscar Nights is both a stunning record of cinema glamour and a must-read for any movie lover.
Available at anywhere books are sold.
The 96th annual Academy Awards will be televised on ABC on Sunday, March 10.
