Oscar Review: “Pirates 25” Wins Best Picture

By Elizabeth Elliott

The podcast of the 133^rd Academy Awards surprised the nation last Sunday when Pirates of the Caribbean 25: The Poop Deck, upset The Levee to win the Oscar for Best Picture.  The Levee, a period romance about the doomed love affair between a looter and a police officer in Hurricane Katrina-era New Orleans, had been the favorite take home the statuette.

This ceremony was the first in history to be hosted by a cryogenically frozen head.  Billy Crystal’s preserved cranium brought out many belly laughs from the celebrities present.  Another highlight was the In Memoriam reel, which remembered the recent losses of Jake Gyllenhaal, Elijah Wood, and Natalie Portman.

Later in the night Taylor Lautner, 69, was presented the Academy Honorary Award “in recognition of his extraordinary body of work, and his remarkable accomplishments as an artist and as a human.” After his breakout role in Twilight (2008), Lautner acted in long string of critically acclaimed films, including The Young Gandhi (2017), Josef and Magda (2035) and Texts from Tripoli (2051).  A winner of a record 10 Oscars over his career, Lautner cried when the audience gave him a standing ovation for his lifetime achievements.

Other awards won included Apple Paltrow for Best Actress, Jenkins Clooney for Best Actor, and Christopher Nolan for Best Director. Despite previous hype, iTunes reported that the podcast of this ceremony was the lowest downloaded since 2053.