Original post: Those complaints about boring Oscar ceremonies that have become commonplace in recent years were batted away during the March 27 ceremony by actor Will Smith, who would go on to win the Best Actor award for King Richard — a victory predicted by Matt Campbell, artistic director of the Denver Film Festival, which screened it last November. Smith smacked comedian Chris Rock after Rock made a G.I. Jane joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, who says alopecia has caused her to suffer hair loss, then yelled at Rock to "keep my wife's name out of your fucking mouth."
Denver-based journalist and former Bernie Sanders advisor David Sirota, who seemingly tweets about anything and everything, has thus far avoided weighing in on the Slap Heard ’Round the World despite being (Hamilton reference) in the room where it happened. Sirota was nominated for a Best Original Screenplay Oscar after earning a story credit for Don't Look Up, an allegory about the climate crisis he co-conceived with director Adam McKay that's become one of the most-viewed movies on Netflix ever. And although he and McKay fell short in the category to Kenneth Branagh, who was rewarded for his semi-autobiographical flick Belfast, Sirota definitely isn't in mourning. Indeed, he appears to have had the time of his life.
Sirota predicted to Westword that Don't Look Up would be divisive, and that definitely proved to be the case. The notices it received were decidedly mixed, as co-host Amy Schumer noted in a gag early on in the broadcast: "Don't Look Up is nominated," she said. "I guess the Academy members don't look up reviews!"
Countering such naysayers didn't become a full-time job for Sirota; in recent weeks, he formally rebranded his Daily Poster investigative website as The Lever. He also managed to merge at least a couple of his interests by sharing content like the following tweet, in which he noted that he and Bradley Cooper, who was nominated as a producer on Nightmare Alley, played on the same Little League team together:
Nonetheless, the final Oscar predictions episode of the Vanity Fair podcast Little Gold Men made note of Sirota's Twitter commentaries as a reason that Don't Look Up actually had a chance to win the best original screenplay Academy Award, since they might appeal to voters who despise critics.There are two 2022 #Oscar nominees on the 1985 East Abington Little League team - Bradley Cooper (2nd row, third in from right) and the @DailyPoster's @DavidSirota (bottom row, 2nd in from left).
— The Lever (@LeverNews) February 11, 2022
Has one little league team ever produced 2 Academy Award nominees in the same year? pic.twitter.com/FTN8KztO9N
Before the show got underway, Sirota tweeted: "Hey seriously — whatever happens at the #Oscars, thank you to everyone who made this movie possible & used it to amplify the climate alarm. And thank you to everyone who picked me up, dusted me off and got me back on my feet when I was in such a dark place two years ago. Onward."
He also sent out photos like this one, in which he's seen posing with his wife, state legislator Emily Sirota.
— David Sirota (@davidsirota) March 27, 2022After the hoopla was over, Sirota picked up his Twitter pic pace at after-parties. Here's one example — his loved ones posing with actor Benedict Cumberbatch.
Not that he was always behind the camera. Sirota managed to share frames with a slew of notables, including director Steven Spielberg, actors Timothée Chalamet and J.K. Simmons and many others, as seen in the following collage, sent during the wee hours of March 28.My mom, brother in law and sister in law with Dr. Strange pic.twitter.com/VNPzGpUmx1
— David Sirota (@davidsirota) March 28, 2022
Thus far, Sirota hasn't sent out a photo of himself with Will Smith. But that's probably for the best.had the best weekend ever, and all to further promote a film sounding an urgent alarm about the climate crisis…what a fun and productive time at #Oscars pic.twitter.com/OKBxlHEs8d
— David Sirota (@davidsirota) March 28, 2022
