‘Tis the season for celebrity endorsements. And while screening rooms have been packed with famous hosts and moderators to draw in voters, a few are sharing their feelings on social media as well.
Supporting actress contender Ariana Grande got the surprise of her lifetime when none other Barbra Streisand herself sang the Wicked: For Good’s star’s praises on Instagram.
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“Ariana is a young woman with an amazing talent. She has a beautiful voice like no one else, and so much more,” wrote Streisand. “She can act, she can dance, she can be funny! She’s also sweet, kind and thoughtful. I’m very proud of you Ariana and thanks for singing with me on my album.”
Streisand added a postscript: “P.S. you were wonderful on Saturday Night Live and looked so pretty @arianagrande!”
Grande’s stunned reaction was clear from the comments, which started with a single all caps “WHAT” followed by a more effusive, amply punctuated response. “Barbra !!!!!!!! what !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🥹🥺 oh my goodness, thank you so much for this kindest surprise today! you made my day, my year, my life! 🥹
this means so much, coming from you. i just love you so. i miss you and i hope i get to hug you soon… all my love and appreciation. thank you.”
Agreed Ben Platt: “It’s like where does one go from here,” he wrote in the comments. “Two legends,” echoed Rebel Wilson.
And then there’s the champion of all champions, Oprah herself. She interviewed Song Sung Blue stars Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson for her podcast, and has been (ahem) singing their praises ever since. “It’s SO GOOD! SO GOOD! SO GOOD!” she posted on Instagram (just try not sing that line from the Neil Diamond song.) “Kate Hudson was born for this role,” she said.
Reba McEntire, who had hosted a screening with Jackman and Hudson, also shared her love for the film. “We had so much fun at the screening of #SongSungBlue last night! Icing on the cake was getting to meet @thehughjackman and @katehudson in person,” she said. “Thanks so much to the @songsungbluefilm family for the Super Hospitality! The film is incredible! I can’t wait for everybody to see it! We laughed, we cried, and we sang along with all wonderful @neildiamond music. Congratulations to all!”
Francis Ford Coppola threw his considerable support behind Sinners, with a lengthy two-part post praising Ryan Coogler‘s filmmaking.
“Something this enormous, this personal, this epic and this outrageous cannot be ignored,” he wrote. “I always use as the key to my reaction to a film whether or not I was invited into a life or experience I could never know any other way. SINNERS is that; a historical epic, a horror film, a blues music extravaganza; an undiluted honest African-American perspective, the ultimate true vampire story (slavery) with an uncovering of years of thinking about cinema all in one gargantuan artistic composition. To SEE this work is to be immersed in so many levels of so many things, through the eyes and soul of such a natural-born talent that it defies description or definition: a talent that just IS and will only continue to evolve through the coming years.”
He continued, calling out three other films that are also in the conversation: One Battle After Another, Frankenstein, and Sinners. “I certainly realize I’ve seen three (3) films that are somebody’s favorites, ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER, FRANKENSTEIN and SINNERS, and as promised saw ONE BATTLE again and think it’s wonderful and so which is my favorite. I guess for different reasons, all three (which is why I’m not in charge of anything!) They’re as different as can be, all made by those of top-notch artistry so I’ll shut up.”
The Bear’s Jon Bernthal believes in Train Dreams. “This movie is as beautiful as it gets,” the Emmy-winning actor wrote on Instagram. “Makes me believe in the whole darn thing. It’s on Netflix. Clint Bentley tells the truth. Check it out y’all.”
“Absolutely love this film,” wrote Natalie Portman about Left-Handed Girl, which was short-listed for International Feature. “Go watch it if you haven’t already!”
Count Hideo Kojima among the millions who are obsessed with Netflix’s massive hit KPop Demon Hunters. “I casually started watching KPop Demon Hunters, got completely hooked, and ended up crying my eyes out by the end,” the video game legend posted. “It was so, so good.”
And then there’s Charli XCX, who has been an avid movie watcher, screening films both old and new — at least according to her Letterboxd account. And while she’ll often watch more than one film a day, she only bestows hearts on some of them — and five-star reviews on even fewer. So while she’s catching up on old classics as varied as Matilda and Wild at Heart, she definitely has a few five-star favorites this award season. Among them: The Voice of Hind Rajab, Pillion, Nouvelle Vague, Bugonia, and Marty Supreme.
For context, Academy members do have to adhere to clear rules when it comes to sharing praise on social media, per AMPAS rules. They may not state “voting decisions, preferences or strategies,” or “encourage or discourage members to vote for any motion picture, performance, or achievement.” The rules were enacted following the 2023 campaign which featured high-profile endorsements of Michelle Yeoh and Andrea Riseborough.
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