The 96th annual Academy Awards took place on Sunday night—and critically acclaimed horror author Stephen King has weighed in with comments on social media.
"Every year there will be lots of buzz and speculation about the Academy Awards, and every year when they're over the reviews will be uniformly terrible. Rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat," he posted to X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday.
At the time of writing it had been viewed 254,100 times.
The Context
Jimmy Kimmel hosted the ceremony this year and many viewers enjoyed his performance, with his joke about Donald Trump going down well with the audience.
The biggest surprise of the night was Emma Stone winning Best Actress for Poor Things. Throughout the awards season, it had been a race between her and Lily Gladstone, for Killers of the Flower Moon.
The other winners included Cillian Murphy, who won Best Actor for Oppenheimer, which also took the Best Picture gong. Robert Downey Jr. was named Best Supporting Actor for Oppenheimer and Da'Vine Joy Randolph won Best Supporting Actress for The Holdovers.
Ryan Gosling stole the show when he performed the hit "I'm Just Ken" from the movie Barbie. The performance included cameos from the song's writer, Mark Ronson, the other 'Kens' from the movie such as Ncuti Gatwa, Simu Liu, Scott Evans and Kingsley Ben-Adir. Guns 'N' Roses guitarist Slash also appeared during the number.
Billie Eilish also had a great night as she got a standing ovation after she performed What Was I Made For? from Barbie.
What We Know
From entertainment to politics, King often posts his opinions on various topics on social media—and Sunday night was no different.
The author was watching the awards show from home and he tweeted about the event twice during the evening. As well as his previous tweet, he also told his followers that he was enjoying the show.
"It's been a really good show so far," he posted on the night.
At the time of writing, it had been viewed 272,400 times.
It’s been a really good show so far.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) March 11, 2024
Views
Newsweek emailed a spokesperson for King for comment on Monday.
People took to the comments of both of the author's posts to agree with his statements. Many agreed that reviews would be disappointing and expressed their love for the awards night.
"Ah, the Academy Awards - where speculation thrives like mold in a damp basement and reviews are as predictable as a toddler's tantrum in a candy store. It's like watching Groundhog Day but with fancier outfits and more disappointed celebrities. Yes, rinse, repeat, and wonder if anyone will ever truly understand the enigma wrapped in a golden statue that is Oscar night," one person wrote.
"I love watching the show itself. The gowns, the corny jokes, the big production numbers, crying speeches— occasional slaps and other nonsense. I don't expect my favorite films to win, but I'm happy when they do," said another.
"HOLY HELL, a post from the king I actually agree with! Nice!" someone else commented.
A fourth person added: "A good year for film."
Others said they were no longer interested in the awards show, with some adding that they no longer feel special.
"Once the only time you saw movie stars being themselves was at the Oscars. They avoided talk shows and movie magazines were usually studio-fabricated. But now you can't avoid movie stars—they're on the cover of every magazine, etc. This makes the Oscars less special," a different X user posted to the platform.
"I stopped watching award shows decades ago. Maybe I'm just overly sensitive to overpaid people stroking egos and wearing clothes/jewelry that cost more than my house. Perhaps I'm jealous. Perhaps not. Either way, I enjoy films/TV, but don't GAF about some award show," said another.
"Gee and there has been such a lot of low quality stuff coming out recently Mr King... what are the chances of The Dark Tower as a series one day...? The film was just not good enough to do the books any Justice, I recently found The Wind through the Keyhole and really enjoyed it!" someone else wrote.
A fourth added: "I only watch it for the fashion lol."
Update 03/11/2024 at 2:16 a.m. ET. This article was updated with additional information.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Billie is a Newsweek Pop Culture and Entertainment Reporter based in London, U.K. She reports on film and TV, trending ... Read more
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