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Frank Oz Is ‘Embarassed’ By The ‘Phoniness’ Of The Oscars

Home / Stars / Frank Oz Is ‘Embarassed’ By The ‘Phoniness’ Of The Oscars

By Kristin Myers on March 30, 2022 at 5:00 AM PDT

Actor, filmmaker, and puppeteer Frank Oz has been a staple in the entertainment industry for as long as anyone can remember.

He has performed the Muppet characters like Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear. He has been Cookie Monster, Bert, and Grover on Sesame Street. He is also known for voicing Yoda in many different “Star Wars” projects.

The “In & Out” director recently took to Twitter to give his thoughts on the Oscars.

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Frank Oz Is ‘Embarrassed’ By The Oscars’ ‘Desperate Attempt To Get More Viewers’

On Sunday, “The Little Shop of Horrors” director commented on the infamous slap around the world, saying, “At last! Something real at the Oscars!”

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On Monday, he followed it up by tweeting, “Why am I so taken by something so whacky and trivial as this odd Oscar moment? Why will I continue to be fascinated by it for days when I know it doesn’t compare to the importance of what’s happening in our country and in Ukraine and in other wars around the world? I don’t know.”

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It seemed like he was giving the matter some serious thought, because he later tweeted, “After being a member for 30 years I’m embarrassed to be associated with the Oscars telecast. Not because of ‘The Slap’ but because of the phoniness of the show. All I sense is a desperate attempt to get more viewers by any means possible, not a show about the love of making movies.”

Fans Have Mixed Feelings About Frank Oz’s Twitter Messages

CODA
Twitter

“So you didn’t like the diversity?” one follower asked. “Because that was the main difference bro.”

The Deaf ensemble film “CODA” picked up all of its three nominations: Best Picture, Adapted Screenplay, and Supporting Actor. This made Troy Kotsur the first Deaf male actor and the second Deaf actor to win an Oscar after “CODA” costar Marlee Matlin won for “Children of a Lesser God” in 1987.

‘I love diversity, but not when they just throw people in the mix to be able to say, ‘See, we're diverse’,” another user replied. “But overall, I want the Oscars to showcase the best of the best where everyone has their day in the spotlight & to make it about films & the art of filmmaking again.”

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Will Smith
MEGA

“I think the main problem is, outside of the animated or technical categories, nominees are movies which don't have wide releases,” another wrote. “Reflection is important, and nominating obscure movies diminishes that. People can't cheer for what they don't know.”

“They don’t have wide releases b/c studios don’t give them one,” another shared. “They’ve been crowded out of theaters by Disney properties. If you wanted to see West Side Story in a theater you had 2 weeks to see it before Spider-Man came out and was given 80% of screens.”

“I've heard a lot of members don't even watch the movies, they just vote based on what their friends or family like, which seems like ... a problem,” another noted.

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“Yup. @TheAcademy needs a mechanism like the Tonys – if you haven’t seen the movie you can’t vote for it,” another added.

“Hans Zimmerman won an award off camera,” another wrote. “That ain’t right.” On Sunday night, the “Dune” composer won his second Oscar after composing scores for more than 200 movies. His first win was for “The Lion King” in 1994.

“He wasn’t even invited,” another wrote. “Celebrated his win at home.”

It’s true. Zimmerman tweeted a photo showing him still in his bathrobe, holding the statuette, writing, “It's 2am in Amsterdam, and my daughter Zoë woke me up to go to the hotel bar. Wow!”

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