A Surreal Oscar Year, 20 Years Later

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A Surreal Oscar Year, 20 Years Later

To say the vibes at the 2003 Oscars were weird is to put it far too lightly. The US invasion of Iraq had begun just days earlier, resulting in what the ABC hosts claimed was a more “somber” red carpet. Roman Polanski, who fled the US decades before due to reconsideration of his statutory rape plea deal, was nominated for best director and widely expected to win. Michael Moore famously earned some scattered but very loud boos for his anti-war comments; Jennifer Garner presented alongside Mickey Mouse; and a montage of Oscar winners included Kathy Bates turning her Oscar over and kissing its ass. 

To watch the awards 20 years later, as the hosts of Little Gold Men did this week, is to find even more moments that nobody seemed to even register as strange at the time. Harvey Weinstein in a prime aisle seat, celebrating his work on three of the five best-picture nominees; host Steve Martin’s series of gay jokes, including one about the “Gay Mafia” that is a rabbit hole all its own; Adrien Brody’s now infamous kiss for Halle Berry; the introduction of presenter Ben Affleck as an “Oscar-winning Daredevil.” The past is always another country, but past Oscars—a capsule of not just that moment in time, but the years of Oscar history that came before it—can feel like another world entirely.

On Little Gold Men this week, hosts David Canfield, Rebecca Ford, Richard Lawson, and Katey Rich are joined by This Had Oscar Buzz cohosts Joe Reid and Chris Feil to look back at the 2003 Oscars, the speeches that stood the test of time (here’s to you, Nicole Kidman), and how badly they all wish the Oscars would bring back their love of montages and tributes. For more context on the 2003 race and the strange role played by The Hours, read David Canfield’s story about how a battle of egos between Weinstein and Scott Rudin pushed Kidman to victory—by a nose. 

The Scandal and the Glory of the 2003 Oscars

On this week’s Little Gold Men podcast, a look back at an awards show that made history for the right and wrong reasons.

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