Chadwick Boseman NFT artwork for Oscar nominees backfires after best-actor shocker
Oscar swag-bag tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman, the favorite for the best actor award, turned sour for many viewers after Anthony Hopkins instead received the statuette for his work in “The Father.”
Boseman, who died last August at age 43 and garnered a posthumous nomination for his work in Netflix’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” was strongly favored to win coming into Sunday’s ceremony. He had already won a Golden Globe, Critics Choice award and Screen Actors Guild award for the role and many pundits predicted a deserved victory.
The tea leaves seemed easy to read, particularly after producers shifted the best actor win to the last award of the night.
Meanwhile, prior to Sunday’s Oscars it was announced that Academy Award nominees would receive a one-of-a-kind digital artwork created by artist Andre Oshea, redeemable by an NFT – a non-fungible token.
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When Hopkins’ name was announced, many on social media expressed shock and outrage at what they considered to be manipulation by the Oscars organizers. In reality, it might be poor planning and proof that organizers don’t know who’s going to win before the envelope is opened.
“Putting a Chadwick Boseman NFT in the gift bag, as well as restructuring the traditional order of the ceremony so to end on Best Actor, seemingly to have a moment for Chadwick, all reeks of the Academy trying to capitalise on a tragedy in order to get ratings,” @harrietnking tweeted.
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The artist’s NFT of the late actor, according to a press release, is a “celebration of Black creativity in cinema and art, and a salute to Boseman’s undeniable cross-generational influence as the first superhero of African descent Black Panther.”
Contributing: Bill Keveney
