By the end, the months-long run-up to the Oscars can seem like a death march for the weary nominees, not to mention the “teams” around them, the marketers behind the elaborate campaigns, and the awards media that covers it all like it’s Biden vs. Trump. This year, with the late-March show and onerous Covid protocols, it’s even worse. When I was at The Hollywood Reporter, a few of us vented with an annual feature called Awards Season Awards, which chronicled the absurdities of the billion-dollar Oscars Industrial Complex.
Alas, that franchise died when I left a couple years ago, so I’m reviving it here as Oscar Week officially kicks off in L.A. So enjoy these 22 categories, all of which are presented here live and in full—unlike the winners on the actual show.
