Sacha Baron Cohen banned from the Oscars
In its ongoing effort to eliminate everything remotely fun or exciting from the Oscars, the Academy bans Sacha Baron Cohen from attending.
The Academy Of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has pulled actor Sacha Baron Cohen‘s tickets from the 84th Academy Awards. This means he is banned from attending the Oscars even though he is one of the stars from Hugo, Paramount’s 11 nominated Best Picture contenders. “Unless they’re assured that nothing entertaining is going to happen on the Red Carpet, the Academy is not admitting Sacha Baron Cohen to the show,” an insider just told me. The reason is that rumors reached the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences that Baron Cohen would be strolling the Red Carpet in full costume as his character in the upcoming Paramount film The Dictator as a publicity stunt. (Deadline)
Name a few other things you wish the Academy would ban. I’ll go first: Bruce Vilanch.
UPDATE: “We haven’t banned him,” an Academy spokesperson tells The Hollywood Reporter. “We’re just waiting to hear what he’s going to do.”
Still, the Academy is making it clear that Cohen is not welcome to use the red carpet as a platform for a promotional stunt for his upcoming movie The Dictator, and other sources say the threat of booting him became more substantial on Wednesday.
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This will make for even better promo for the Dictator. Well done, AMPAS.
Poor Sacha! I hope Banksy paints him a billboard.
Oh sooo Bruce Vilanche. That mop haired monstrosity doesn’t even know what funny or entertaining writing is. My guess is that he has some seriously high resolution video of the academy board doing some very adventurous things in very public places… sex things. How else would you explain his never ending completely undeserved employment by them.
Also, any and all Twilight people. But that’s more of a personal preference.
That’s childish. Couldn’t they have just told him he’s not allowed to come in character? If he didn’t comply (I suspect he would), it would be easy enough to escort him off the property.
Fair enough if you ask me. It’s not like he’ll be lacking for opportunities for self-promotion and his new film has nothing whatsoever to do with Hugo or the other represented movies which deserve to retain the focus.
Cheap and tacky does not equate to ‘fun’ or exciting’ – and even if it did, it’s their party and they can cry if they want to. Cohen can do his schtick at the MTV awards later in the year when it might be more appropriate.
I’m actually more surprised that Cohen would come dressed as The Dictator for the Oscars. Talk about zero tact.
Hopefully this was just a rumor and nothing else, so Cohen can attend in support of the film that’s actually up for awards.
Oh and they should ban Justin Bieber if they haven’t already.
Dear Tom Sherak
By now you should realize that it’s exactly the Academy itself that makes it a total laughing stock.
I would have loved him to come ! He’s a great, risky guy. What a bunch of idiots !
I would go with Nik: I’d ban any “young star” from presenting any of the awards, specially if they REALLY dont deserve it. That means: Miley Cyrus and beiber and kristen stewart NO, Daniel Radcliffe and Asa Butterfield YEAH
Botox.
Written speeches/names lists.
I’ve been watching old clips, and speeches were much shorter and improvised without needing to cut them off with music. There were also more winners that didn’t attend the show. I’d love to see that once, an absent big winner.
Every year people complain that the reasons the rating are low is because the movies that are nominated haven’t made money, I personally think that’s bs, but ok, however the ratings for the Oscars might be a little better if say the Academy allowed the show to be a little fun. I’m not saying turn it into the Nick Awards and slime people, although….., but would it kill them to have a little fun like the muppets performing or this?
“Any Twilight people.”
So you’re saying that Anna Kendrick should be banned from the Oscars? Yikes.
I think anyone who does something unprofessional should be banned. Twilight cast, Justin Bieber etc. can go if they behave.
Also how is SBC dressing up in character any different than the crap that Ben Stiller has been doing the last couple of years and you know he will do this year?
I’d like to ban the folks who make the decisions about what should be cut – and what should be IN an Oscar show. The two Best Song nominees won’t be performed – and I have to admit, I was kind of looking forward to the Muppets. Yet we have time for a Cirque de Soleil performance?
http://www.themarysue.com/cirque-do-soleil-muppets-oscars/
As for Sacha Baron Cohen, the folks at Oscar are deluding themselves if they think that controversy is not a prime reason for tuning into the show each year.
Ban The Artist from winning Best Picture.
Well considering that Anna Kendrick is an Oscar nominee not for Twilight, I think you know I wasn’t talking about her M1.
Also, it’s called a joke. You can’t buy a sense of humor but you sure can stay quiet when you know someone is just kidding.
Lighten up.
So he says he might wear a costume and they ban him from the Oscars?
Ooh, sorry girls!
Bunch of cunts.
@slim: sorry, I actually didn’t realize you were kidding, nor did it sound like you were kidding to me.
Also, LOL @ allieways. Expected but funny. Is The Artist really that bad?
Banning Anna Kendrick would be fine, but let’s face it, she’s already forgettable in every film she’s in, she might as well go to the Oscars because we’ll already forget her by the time it’s done.
They should ban everyone from the documentary branch for snubbing The Interrupters, Project Nim, Tabloid, and Senna.
WTF? I will never understand people. Everyone thinks the walking shitball called Ricky Gervais is great and should host award shows but Sacha Baron Cohen gets banned from the Oscars when he’s one of the stars of one of the nominated films.
Now I’m pissed. The guy is freakin’ talented. You know he’s going to end up winning a goddamn Oscar someday. Maybe soon. And they’re pulling this? MORONS!
To me, the awards are basically a forgone boring conclusion but that’s a pattern of the last few years. It comes down to the Meryl Davis and Viola Streep category. Besides that, there doesn’t seem to be any surprises. Marty Vs. Micha… maybe. But really the rest, I could easily ban that from my Sunday.
i guess that also means no more swan dresses
What are they afraid of? Publicity? Maybe too many people tuning in? Perhaps they don’t want the dignity of the event turned into a sideshow? [sneezes]
…James Franco
You’re throwing a party…spent a lot of time planning it, putting everything together. You just want to make sure it’s perfect. There’s a reason you’re throwing this party of course. Maybe it’s a wedding or a sweet 16. Of course the party is about the person you’re throwing it for. Then you hear a rumor that someone might try to upstage the party with an act that doesn’t sound very appealing and might make those at the party uncomfortable.
Yes, it might be fun to have this person at the party, but this person has a reputation for upstaging events.
What do you do? Well, of course, you make sure that they don’t come to the party.
Ban the orchestra from cutting off the four winning actors/actresses and director. Cut everyone else off, but let them say what they want for as long as they want.
@Mike B.
There is no way. NO WAY any one actor can upstage the party that is the Oscars. They’re banning him on the off chance that he might show up in character. Think it through. Think about the maximum amount of damage a costumed guest could do. It’s next to nothing. If he started shit on the red carpet then they could always just not let him in to the theater. In the theater what could he do that Billy Crystal and/or security couldn’t handle? Seriously, I’d be happy to hear scenarios that would justify banning someone who hasn’t done anything yet.
@rAr
Thank Greer Garson for that rule – she spoke for over 5 and a half minutes when she won for Mrs Miniver (when she thanked “all the little people”)
If they still forbid showing movie trailers as advertising during the Oscars, then I guess it makes sense not to have anyone promoting an upcoming movie.
But, if that’s the rule, then let’s extend it to the intros for presenters. No one enters the stage as “the star of the upcoming” anything.
As for things I would ban, how about no more blowing two-handed kisses from the audience if someone on stage says your name? If you get caught blowing a two-handed kiss, one of the seat fillers is really security (like on a plane), and he escorts you from the building.
@RyanB
One-handed kisses are okay though right?
Well…I guess. But they better mean it.
First they snub Harry Potter’s last film from the BP race, then the Advetures of Tin Tin out of the Oscar for Best Animation, and now this just because of his Saddam Hussein character or alter ego.
What’s next only 2 nominations for each category?
“Everyone thinks the walking shitball called Ricky Gervais is great and should host award shows but Sacha Baron Cohen gets banned from the Oscars when he’s one of the stars of one of the nominated films.”
They banned him because he was surely going to pull a Borat-esque stunt with his new movie. He probably refuse to comply with a behavioural code, hence the banning.
Ban:
- Animated characters from presenting awards
- All music played during the nominations announcements and during the acceptance speeches
I realize this isn’t a terribly serious journalistic site, but to post something like this with no source is still irresponsible. There is no link to where you got this, let alone an actual AMPAS press release (which doesn’t exist). It’s just really sloppy work. Citation is important, even in blogging.
[redundant link removed -- and it's the wrong link ~ Ryan]
Thanks Luci. I had posted this with a citation to Deadline.com, but that link disappeared when I changed the formatting. I’ll fix it.
In my opinion, if they want people to start tuning in again, they need to drop some of the prestige and allow zany shit to happen. The nominees can remain as prestigious as they want, but allow the show to be crazy/controversial/whatever.
“The nominees can remain as prestigious as they want, but allow the show to be crazy/controversial/whatever.’
Exactly. They’ve lost the blockbuster crowd and the highbrows by their choice in nominations and perceived frontrunners. The rest of us will tune in for whatever scraps we can eke out. They don’t need to turn the show into a wake. Hope SBC gets thru security and streaks across stage…during Best Song.
I disagree. I’d rather they be more inclusive with their nominees and keep the show classy. Whenever they try and experiment with their choice of host or zany antics, the show suffers. I like my Oscars classy, and they should stay that way. I can’t wait to watch the show this year mostly because of Billy Crystal. Knowing he’s hosting means I can relax about the winners and just enjoy the show. All these other years have been train wrecks.
Russell Brand
Sacha not banned after all…
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/oscars-sacha-baron-cohen-not-banned-the-dictator-293929
^
“We haven’t banned him,” an Academy spokesperson tells The Hollywood Reporter. “We’re just waiting to hear what he’s going to do.”
That’s a policy I can understand.
What would be a really cool thing to do is Martin Scorsese ask everyone iinvolved with his film, including himself, to not attend the awards show. That would really deliver a blow to the stiffs of the Academy.
The best thing of this year`s Oscar will be the reactions here in Awards Daily when the ratings come out on monday/tuesday.
i`ll laugh so hard when I read it.
This is already the less anticipated Oscar I`ve ever seen since I started watching it in 1999. There seem to be no major appeal to the ceremony in 2012.
In AD, I think there`s a clear indication of this. Just take a look at the number of comments in this site`s posts in the past week. I may be wrong. Just an opinion.
http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2012/02/22/unleashed-disastrous-year-for-oscar-nominees
By Ryan Chang
Unleashed
“Although I’ve never seen eye-to-eye with The Academy Awards, this year is truly a disaster.
Not only do the nominees fail to reflect the opinion of the average American moviegoer, but the critics as well.
This year brought a loving cult following for “Drive” and acclaim for the bold, explicit and extremely well made “Shame,” yet neither received any real nominations. This year, there are nine best picture nominees, but why? They didn’t pick any films the general public liked; they picked the safe, Oscar-begging movies the public avoids.
Instead of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2,” “Shame,” “Drive,” “Bridesmaids” or even “Crazy, Stupid, Love,” which people were surprised by and really enjoyed, we get films like “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.” We get movies like “War Horse” and “Hugo,” productions that feel like they were made just for Oscars.
Ryan Gosling and Michael Fassbender gave three incredible performances this year. Not only were they great performances, but they were on levels the Academy should have appreciated. They both were great in big, popular Hollywood movies (“Crazy, Stupid, Love” for Gosling, “X-Men: First Class” for Fassbender). They both gave fantastic performances in well-made smart movies (Gosling in “The Ides of March,” Fassbender in “A Dangerous Method”). They both gave some of the best performances in recent memory in beautiful and creative art films (Gosling in “Drive,” Fassbender in “Shame”). Yet both actors were snubbed on ridiculous levels this year and received no nominations. Instead, we get yet another uninspired Meryl Streep nomination for a movie no one will see, “The Iron Lady,” along with all the other Hollywood elitists, including George Clooney and Brad Pitt.
Hollywood and the Academy have gotten so caught up in congratulating themselves that they have forgotten why people watch movies: for escapism and good story-telling, not political opinions and how they represent current events. (I’m looking at you, “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.”)
If these were really the best films of the year, the art of filmmaking would be dead.”
Heaven forbid that a wonderful and original talent such as Sacha Baron Cohen do something wonderful or original at the Oscars.
My power is immense.
@Rob Y
Russell Brand is talented too. I’m keeping my eye on you. *stink-eyes Rob*
About that article. I gotta back up the Gosling thing. I finally watched Crazy Stupid Love last night. That kid had an amazing year. Not only is he not nominated, which is stupid. He probably isn’t presenting either. (Anyone know if he’s available?) That’s a missed opportunity to keep people interested. He did have fans passionate enough to Occupy People Magazine. It just seems like everything or everyone who represented 2011 at the movies to me, got by the Academy somehow.
Sorry, but I’m with the beleaguered Academy on this one. Cohen’s schtick goes a long long way off a short sidewalk. Bruce Villanch, on the other hand, needs to be slapped with a PRO (permanent restraining order) and sent to Antarctica when it comes time to put together the Oscar show.
So?
Oscar ratings should come out around 10AM-ish ET Monday (preliminary overnights) and about 8 hours later, the final numbers. Lowest-rated Oscars ever was 2008 (18.7 rating, 29 share, 32m viewers…see what happens, AMPAS, when you honor the loop job Coen Brothers?)
Last year: 24.6/37. A 4m viewer drop from 2010, even with Inception and TS3 in the BP mix. So I choose to look at that as a sickout, as it were, over the dubious choices AMPAS made in calendar year 09.
Who cares? Don’t we need this kind of shtick to keep us awake? If THEY keep doing what THEY want, maybe one day they won’t have the same platform they’ve always had to subject us to their limitations. Besides, nobody banned Macy Gray from the Grammys when she had her album date on her dress.
Ryan Chang can take a hike. I’m so sick of this I-hate-Oscar rage year in and year out. Ok! you hate the Oscars, why are you still keeping up with them? If you hate the Oscars, don’t watch boo. No one gives a sh*t about your tired, through and delayed rants. Girl, bye.
“Ryan Chang is a senior at Eisenhower High School and a member of Yakima Herald-Republic’s Unleashed journalism program for high school students.”
SClub88Official,
Did you seriously quote a high school newspaper? You just made me go off on a high school student SMH
This is so stupid. Sacha is the most brilliant living comedian as far as I’m concerned. I would have loved to see him add some fun to the Oscars. It’s not about publicity for the Dictator, it’s about the fun of having Sacha’s new character there. He did it all the time with his previous characters.
Yeah, Ryan Chang’s a bit of a stunare if he thinks Hugo was made solely to win Oscars. And if Crazy, Stupid, Love got a best picture nod I’d…well, I’d bitch about it a lot. 2011 was a mess because there was a huge collection of good/very good movies that either divided audiences or provoked effusive praise and criticism. The Artist, as we know, will win because it’s the safe, easy choice that received next to no overt damning while being easy enough to swallow.
Heh. I personally think it would be fun if somebody would come on the red carpet in character. It would be even more fun if they stay in character through the rest of the show, and if they’re a nominee they would accept the Oscar and give a speech in character.
Anyways, I don’t see how this is any worse than Trey Parker and Matt Stone cross-dressing on the red carpet eleven years ago. (Gosh, has it already been that long?)
Yet, they’re ok promoting Botox and funbag implants?
Talking about the ban of movie trailers during the telecast…
Where I come from, there is a significant delay from the broadcast on TV. During the breaks they sometimes have breaking news feeds which feature the results. On top of that, you have to avoid all media for the day – it’s not easy.
I first have to get home from work alive, not glance at anybody on the train, where most are reading a newspaper which generally has the winners on the front, not listen to any conversations, not pick up the phone when I get home…
Oscar day is hell and I love it!
“Yet, they’re ok promoting botox and funbag implants?”
A funny observation of an alarming standard.
[The Academy] is just waiting to hear what he’s going to do.
While the board of governors is waiting, they could always console themselves with old clips of Roberto Benigni.
– [The Academy] is just waiting to hear what he’s going to do.
– While the board of governors is waiting, they could always console themselves with old clips of Roberto Benigni.
aha!
I knew there must be some reason for me to be awake at 3 a.m.
All the comments tonight have been enjoyable. Everyone’s gallows humor is in fine form.
Anyone know the status on the Queen film with SBC? I cannot see it on imdb but then again I don’t have imdbpro.
funny thing is 95% of the presenters are promoting their new films. But Sacha CAN’T. Lol
by the way, the thought of having BOTH Sacha Baron Cohen (The Dictator) and Roberto Begnini (the new Allen’s) at the ceremony or even nominated is simply awesome hehehe
“’Unless they’re assured that nothing entertaining is going to happen on the Red Carpet, the Academy is not admitting Sacha Baron Cohen to the show,’” an insider just told me.”
That sounds like the Oscars to me.
ajnrules – don’t forget parker and stone recently came out and said they were also on acid at the oscars, haha.
Yet, they’re ok promoting Botox and funbag implants?
They shouldn’t be called funbags unless they have a prize. Like a whistle or tiny yo-yo.
I don’t get what they could possibly have against the promotion of a film…during an award show…for films. The oscars really have become something with zero percent interest in relation to its subject.