The Oscars are next weekend. Final voting opened yesterday and closes on Tuesday. Despite not being a frontrunner—TIFF’s Peoples’ Choice award will not align with Best Picture this year—Taika Waititi is still campaigning for Jojo Rabbit. Last night he made an appearance at the 92nd Street Y, along with Jojo producer Carthew Neal, in New York for a Q&A following a screening of the film. Do you watch the 92nd Street Y interviews? They’re routinely great. Recently, the cast of Schitt’s Creek did one, and John Mulaney’s appearance with the Sack Lunch Bunch was super fun. I can’t wait to see Taika’s Q&A. You know it will be great.
Taika’s best shot at the Oscars is Best Adapted Screenplay, though Greta Gerwig and Little Women are favored in that category. Not being a frontrunner, though, has left Taika free to play during Oscar season. He shows up at every event loose and relatively amiable and clearly not taking things too seriously. I have always thought it would be most fun to be a nominee knowing you won’t win. You get invited to all the parties, you’re in all the rooms witnessing all the moments, but there is zero pressure, you can just enjoy the moment. Taika Waititi’s 2020 Oscar season is reinforcing this belief.
This isn’t the first time Taika has been an Oscar nominee, he was previously nominated for Best Live Action Short in 2005, when he pretended to be asleep as his name was read out during his category, but this is the highest profile he’s ever been during Oscar season. So what has Taika been doing with his increased profile this year? Mostly fanboying Bong Joon-ho (who wouldn’t?) and delivering Fashion. His Fashion this award season has mostly been muted/neutral but patterned. There is a lot of grey, dark blue, and black, but everything is plaid or velvet or brocade. Since there isn’t much of a reason to pick Taika for your Oscar pool, let’s make an Oscar Fashion Pool and guess what Taika will wear to the Oscars. Do you think he’ll wear dark/velvet, light/plaid, or bright/pattern?
