Lived It

Snack: The Oscars is the grand final for pop culture nerds

Episode Summary

Our favourite, funniest, and most iconic moments from the Oscars before this year’s ceremony in this episode with Alexei Toliopoulos and Gen Fricker. (Adele Dazeem eat your heart out.)

Episode Notes

Our favourite, funniest, and most iconic moments from the Oscars before this year’s ceremony in this episode with Alexei Toliopoulos and Gen Fricker. (Adele Dazeem eat your heart out.)

Tell us your John Travoltified name at @netflixanz on Instagram and Twitter, or tag #thebigfilmbuffet.

Episode Transcription

Alexei Toliopoulos:

It's me little Alexei Toliopoulos welcoming you to the Big Film Buffet, snack edition. Gen Fricker, we are here, and 'tis the season to be jolly because it's award season, baby. The glitz and glamour of Hollywood.

Gen Fricker:

It is. A galaxy of stars as I've said repeatedly. I love award season. It's my favourite season.

Alexei Toliopoulos:

It is the greatest time of year. We're talking about the Oscars. We're talking about the Globes. We're talking Sags. We're talking GG's. We're talking it all. Award season encompasses all and celebrates everything, that matters to me, which is movies.

Gen Fricker:

The only thing that matters, movies and fame. You know what I feel like this year, it's been weird with award seasons, obviously because of the pandemic. So we haven't gotten the full award show fantasy. You know what I mean? It's not in the big theatres. You don't have the big red carpet and the red carpet interviews and the glam bot and all of that stuff. You're watching these award nominated actors and actresses just sitting on their couch at home in terrible lighting. But it makes me think about like the Oscars of yore, of yesteryear.

Alexei Toliopoulos:

Oh, absolutely. And I would say let's put it on the record right now, dude, you and I are officially Oscars nerds. We nerd out for this stuff. We go gaga for them.

Gen Fricker:

Yes.

Alexei Toliopoulos:

Lady Gaga, of course, Oscar winner, best original song for Shallow, for the film, A Star is Born. We are like bonafide Oscars nerds. Gen, share your credibility. What are your Oscars creds?

Gen Fricker:

I mean, for me, I started washing The Oscars as a child. I remember my dad would watch it with me, but then he would turn around one day and was like, "You know it doesn't matter?" And I was like, "Shut up dad." But I usually have an Oscars party. I'll have a Golden Globes party. Drink a bit of champagne. Watch the thing. I love the discourse around it all. I love it because yeah, my dad's kind of right, it doesn't matter. But on the other hand it matters a lot to me because I love movies.

Alexei Toliopoulos:

Absolutely. Like this is it. This is sports night. This is everything. This is like the most honest I'm going to be is on this podcast. Outward perspective, I'm like, "It doesn't matter. Okay. Movies speak for themselves. They don't need awards." But truly I'm spending day in, day out, like researching Oscars buzz. I used to go on Oscars buzz websites when I was like 13 years old. That's how I'd use the internet.

Gen Fricker:

Oh my God.

Alexei Toliopoulos:

Is like finding these deep dark circles of Oscar buzz websites, where they be going, like, "Guys, keep your eyes out for Revolutionary Road it could be a big ticket winner this year at the Oscars. We're talking actor, actress, screenplay director." When you're an Oscars nerd, there's so many movies that have this Oscar buzz that just go nowhere. They end up getting no awards. Maybe they get one acting award. But those are like movies that are ingrained in my head. Like Captains Corelli's Mandolin. I've never seen that movie. I don't think I ever plan to. It got no Oscars but because of the buzz, when I was a kid, I'll never forget it.

Gen Fricker:

Yep. Yep. Yep. For me, that movie was adaptation, but then I ended up seeing it and loving it. But I just remember watching a whole year of adaptation winning everything. And I was like, "I have no connection to this, but good for them."

Alexei Toliopoulos:

Mm-hmm (affirmative). I'm feeling proud of them. You start having the teams that you're going for. The big one for me, like in my most recent lifetime, is the iconic battle between Lala Land and Moonlight. As a film critic, doing press about the Oscars and because I was someone that openly liked La La Land, I was being pitted against like my friends, because I'm like, "I think Moonlight's a masterpiece too," but just because I'm the guy that liked La La Land, I had to be up against it. And seeing that magic moment of fricking Faye Dunaway, Warren Beatty, the stars of Bonnie and Clyde reunite. And not Bonnie and Clyde 03, we're talking about the OG Bonnie and Clyde. Not Hope and Bee. We're talking Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, okay?

Gen Fricker:

Oh my God. I wasn't sure how you're going to get it working, but you did. And it was beautiful.

Alexei Toliopoulos:

But when we saw that moment where they get the card and they're staring at it, I'm like something's fricking up. And then I love it when that producer goes, "La La Land, we didn't win. It's Moonlight. You guys won it," showing the card. I'm like, "Oh my God." Goosebumps popping out of my skin. I'm going crazy. I'm standing and I'm spinning.

Gen Fricker:

Again, I feel like we're not going to get that moment this year because of Zoom. Because those moments are so iconic because it is the veil lifting a bit on the artifice, on the performance of fame, on all of that stuff. And then when you see their human side, you're like, "Oh my God, this is an industry that is all about perfection and selling a story and stuff." And when you get those little glimpses, you're like, "Oh my God." Then on the flip side you have things like new Zoom ones. And you're just like, "Oh yeah, no, they're just in their houses as well."

Alexei Toliopoulos:

What are some of your favourite Oscar moments from days of yore?

Gen Fricker:

Obviously that Moonlight one was pretty incredible. She got a lot of guff about it. But Anne Hathaway accepting her best actress, Oscar for Les Miserables, I enjoyed watching her win an Oscar and her reaction to it.

Alexei Toliopoulos:

It was borderline iconic, okay? Borderline.

Gen Fricker:

Yes. And just the production of her dress as well. It would be so heavy. You'd be so sweaty. And you've just got to give off this elegance. I love things like that. What about you? What's an iconic Oscar moment for you?

Alexei Toliopoulos:

There's too many. All of them are rushing to my head right now. Let me list them off. Number one, I love Joe Pesci,'s acceptance speech for Goodfellas, where he says, "It's an honour and a privilege. Thank you." And then walks off. That's a hectic moment. I love it. It's so good. It's short and snappy. On the flip side, Matthew McConaughey's acceptance speech for Dallas Buyers Club. He absolutely goes off king. I watched that on the weekly basis. It's an inspirational tome for me. It helps me get through the week.

Alexei Toliopoulos:

When he's like, "I'm my hero in five years. And you know what, when I'm in five, years' time, my hero you ask me, am I my hero yet? No. Okay. My hero once again is me in five years. Because I got to be chase on something. My dad's up in heaven, steering a big old pot of gumbo and he's dancing with the Miller Light." I love every moment of that Oscar speech that he does. He calls one of his kids, Mr. Stone. Every part of it, just is so powerful for me and so weird and so delightful. And then he ends it off, "Just keep living. All right. All right. All right. All right." And to that I say amen.

Gen Fricker:

That is truly iconic. Yes, absolutely. I completely forgot about it until you told me. But I'm going to go back and watch it because that is so good.

Alexei Toliopoulos:

Number three, which actually might be number one best Oscars moment ever. And maybe my favourite two minutes of humankind, reality on earth ever spent is John Travolta, Adele Dazeem. when he's trying to say Idina Menzel, but he's getting all wrapped up in the emotion of being on stage, presenting the Oscar. And he goes, "The wickedly talented one and only, Adele Dazeem." Come on, dude. That's my best minute of life. And I wasn't even there. I was watching it on TV and I'm like. "This rocks. John Travolta is my idol and my hero." And seeing him do that, completely bonkers.

Gen Fricker:

Yeah. Absolutely going off pissed. That would be so much production. You know what I mean? It would have had to shown up for a run through a sound check, whatever. He'd literally have the script on a prompter in front of him.

Alexei Toliopoulos:

The teleprompter.

Gen Fricker:

And he's stuffing it up. Oh, producer. Michael is waving furiously at us. What do you have for us?

Michael:

I found an Adele Dazeem name generator.

Gen Fricker:

Ooh.

Michael:

Would you like to find out what your own personal John Travoltafied Adele Dazeemafied name is?

Gen Fricker:

Absolutely. Yes. More than anything in the whole world.

Michael:

So this comes from slate.com. Alexei Toliopoulos, type your name in right now. And the Oscar goes to Ameli Tazomus.

Gen Fricker:

Yes! Oh my God.

Alexei Toliopoulos:

Well, it's an honour. It's a privilege. Thank you so much. I couldn't be more proud of this moment.

Gen Fricker:

Wait, wait, wait. Do me! Do me! Do me!

Michael:

The wickedly talented Glenn Fisher.

Gen Fricker:

It's truly an honour. Thank you so much. I just want to thank my team. God, Matthew McConaughey. Thank you so much. This is one Oscar's moment I was not born at the time I don't think. I missed it, but I've heard a lot about it. Marlon Brando's speech at The Oscars.

Alexei Toliopoulos:

Oh my gosh. Allow me to go off king once again.

Gen Fricker:

Please.

Alexei Toliopoulos:

This is not in my era either. I was not born yet. But I'm a man who was lost in different generations. This is Marlon Brando, of course, winning an Oscar for the iconic and wickedly talented Don Vito Corleone from The Godfather. But he did not show up. It's a highly contentious moment in Oscar's history, extremely controversial. He sent an actress in his stead, her name's Sacheen Littlefeather. And she accepted the Oscar on his behalf. Hang on a tick. Wait a second. No, she didn't. She actually declined the Oscar on his behalf because it was a statement against Hollywood's treatment and representation of Indigenous Americans in films, particularly westerns. And it is one of the most iconic boulders, exciting best moments in Oscar's history. And we know you're up there in heaven right now, listening to us Marlon and thank you so much.

Gen Fricker:

And he's saying, "Whoa."

Alexei Toliopoulos:

It's grand final night for movie nerds. I just get still so swept up in it all. It's movie magic.

Gen Fricker:

Obviously the experience of watching a movie is rewarding in itself. You know what I mean? But you think about the reality of it. It's two hours of your life, often more now. So to see it reflected in a big kind of global occasion where you're really aware that there are a lot of other people who feel similarly with you about these films, reminds us that we're not alone. That film is a collective experience. Also, every music performance at the Oscar makes me cry. Every single one.

Alexei Toliopoulos:

Oh really? Always, right?

Gen Fricker:

Yeah. I mean, obviously we were talking about Lady Gaga with Bradley Cooper.

Alexei Toliopoulos:

Amazing. One of the greatest productions of all time.

Gen Fricker:

Wild. But one of my favourite music performances is Spur Song from Coco with Miguel. Oh man, that whole movie makes me cry, but that song makes me cry so much.

Alexei Toliopoulos:

I want to give a huge shout out to my favourite music performance. I'm of course talking about It's Hard out There For a Pimp, Three 6 Mafia. The film, the hustle and flow that won an Oscar and I could not believe it. It blew my mind. I was a young teenager going like, "What the heck an Oscar song can be freaking cool?"

Gen Fricker:

Yeah.

Alexei Toliopoulos:

"And pimpded?"

Gen Fricker:

I love that it won that year as well.

Alexei Toliopoulos:

I still remember John Stewart hosting the Oscars going Three 6 Mafia won an Oscar before Martin Scorsese ever did. One of the great improvised riffs at The Oscars

Gen Fricker:

Darlings, we simply must go to our gown fittings and get ready for our award season. We cannot delay anymore. Thank you so much for listening. If you like The Big Film Buffet, please find us on Apple. Subscribe. Leave us a cute little review. Alexei, thank you and goodnight.

Alexei Toliopoulos:

Gen, I'll see you at The Oscars, baby.

Gen Fricker:

See you on the red carpet, darling.

Alexei Toliopoulos:

I just remember one of my first Oscars memories was my mom watching it with me and her friends. And when Harrison Ford came on screen presenting an award. She's like, "Oh my God, I want his shoes under my bed."

Gen Fricker:

Oh my goodness.

Alexei Toliopoulos:

Isn't that like such an old school horny little way to say something?

Gen Fricker:

Oh my God Mrs. Toliopoulos, she's a bit blue. Goodness me. Shoes under my bed.

Alexei Toliopoulos:

Well, she's a Ms. now, Mr. Ford, if you're listening.

Gen Fricker:

Ooh, la, la.