The 94th Academy Awards ceremony was yesterday.
In Japan, "Drive My Car" was nominated in four categories, and its award in the International Feature Film category has been in the limelight and widely reported.
The Academy Awards are the most influential of the many film awards, with the Academy members involved in film production voting for Best Picture and Best Director.
The Academy Awards ceremony is also a major event at this time of year, with numerous movie stars and famous directors in attendance.
At such a festive event, there was an incident in which Will Smith, who won the Best Actor Award this time, slapped Chris Rock.
The cause was that Chris Rock, who took the stage as a presenter for the Documentary Award, made a joke making fun of the shaved head of Will Smith's wife, who is battling alopecia.
Will Smith took offense to this and slapped Chris Rock while he was presenting the award.
It happened during a live broadcast, and some people watching thought it was part of the production.
I saw the Reuters video of Will Smith, who walked up to Chris Rock, who was moderating, and gave him a slap, then went back to his seat and shouted abuse at Chris Rock, using a banned term (it was silent because it was a banned term, so it is unclear what exactly he was saying).
There seems to be a wide range of opinions on this incident.
For my part, I wish Will Smith had been a little more mature in his response, but I think it is natural for him to protest when someone makes fun of his wife who is fighting an illness in public (the whole world is watching the broadcast). It is understandable that a husband would want to give him at least a slap in the face.
Whether or not they actually take action is another matter, however.
The Academy Association, which presides over the Academy Awards, apparently tweeted that it "does not condone violence of any kind," which is quite ironic since they have made so many movies with violence as a story.
Now, "CODA," which won the Best Picture Oscar at this year's Academy Awards, is a film I am interested in.
I would like to go see it since it is now being released in Japan.
