Brett Cooper — I Sat Through The Oscars So You Don’t Have To | Episode 152

All right, guys. I was not even sure if I wanted to do an episode on this subject, but I watched the Oscars last night and it was possibly the most boring evening of my life. And because it was so boring, I felt like I needed to make something of it. I was like, I did not just waste 3 hours of my life to not make any content, to just be posting on my Instagram stories. Because even though it was boring, I do have thoughts about why it was boring and where we should go from here.

Because yes, there is always some sort of meaning we can extract from these big social events. So, what you need to know is that this show was completely meh. What did I watch? Like it was relatively apolitical, much to the disappointment of thirsty journalists and conservative commentators everywhere who were sitting ready to watch, ready to be outraged about everything. But it also wasn't entertaining. Nothing about it was fun.

Like these are professional entertainers. They are being awarded for being the best in the business and yet I struggled I was I was painfully struggled to squeeze out a chuckle at various points of the show. But more than anything, and this is really what I want to talk about today, is that I think it showed how far behind Hollywood is in the entire media and entertainment landscape and why they are still struggling every day to relate to my generation.

Now, before we dive into all of that and I tell you what I actually did think was kind of funny, I want to thank you guys so much for subscribing to the channel and if you enjoyed this video, please leave a like and remember to ring that notification bell so you always stay up to date on our uploads. And if you want to see behind the scenes content, everything from baby cows being born to me taking my husband to Costco for the first time, then make sure you check out cooperconfidential.com.

That is our subscription platform that we built from the ground up for you guys and that is where all of that BTS fun stuff happens. Diving into this, I just have to say I think my vlogs are far more entertaining than what we saw last night, Sunday night on our televisions. All right, so before we get into my whole take about what I think Conan O'Brien was trying to communicate throughout the entire performance and what jokes he kept going back to, I do just want to give you my overview thoughts.

And number one, and I think this might be the most important one, we desperately must cut back the time allotted to the presenters. I mean, it was painful. [screaming] It was painful. You have like all of these award-winning actors and actresses and they're on stage and it's just like I was sitting there on the couch like, "Oh my god, like please get off the screen." Because it just wasn't funny and yet they were so desperately attempting to be funny.

It would be one thing if they just all got on stage and it was very meaningful and nice and sincere and they moved on. But, most of them were trying to do like bits and trying to be funny and it just fell flat every single time. Some of them were also just way too long. Like, they were introducing a new category, a new category for casting directors, which is really nice and they wanted to give it the time that it deserved and I respected that.

But, they had an actor from every single movie that a casting director was being nominated for and every actor on stage then spent like 3 minutes talking about the casting director was nominated. So, by the time we got to the fifth movie, we're like, "Oh my god, it's been like 10 minutes of talking about these casting directors and I'm so excited that you're nominated. Like, it's great that it's a new category, but like I've got a baby to put to bed.

We've got, you know, the big five categories that haven't even started yet and we're sitting here talking about this still?" It was just too much. Like, the only one that I actually thought was funny was this little bit that Anne Hathaway and Anna Wintour did when they presented together. They were doing, I think, the costume and makeup awards and they did like a little Devil Wears Prada bit because Anne Hathaway is starring in Devil Wears Prada 2 that's coming out this year and obviously it's connected to Anna Wintour and it is insane to me.

Like, this should be red flag warning sign that Anna Wintour has better comedic timing than the professional actors and actresses. And she didn't even say anything. All she did was just do her Anna Wintour looking across the audience, judged. She put her sunglasses on at the right moment. She said a funny line. That was it. And it was funnier than anything anybody else did. Seriously, just have to say. Everyone else was way too rehearsed.

They were way too excited about the jokes they were going to be reading on the teleprompter. It was stiff. The timing and pacing was just terrible. Not it. All right, SO THAT IS MY NUMBER one complaint. I was over the presenters. Now, number two, like I said in the intro, there was an obvious lack of political pandering. Like, Conan took kind of a couple shots, but it was like softball and Conan's never really like the most political of like the late night guys.

They were comparatively mild compared to the things that, you know, a Jimmy Kimmel or a Jimmy Fallon usually says. And most of the people who won those big five awards like, you know, best picture, best screenplay, best actor, best actress, they thanked their mamas and God or producers, which in their mind is the same thing as God, I'm sure. But that was essentially it. No Iran, no ice, no Trump, nothing. Just producers and their mothers.

Now, what I did think was interesting though is that while that big five category, they steered clear of that, the people winning in the lesser categories, I feel really bad saying lesser, I don't know a better way to describe that, but the categories that are not the big five, it was them that had the most pandering. Like I don't know if they were trying to, you know, pay their dues or create some viral moment or whatever it was, but they were the ones doing most of the talking.

Like for example, K-Pop Demon Hunters, which and I don't want to say that this was a smaller film, but again, it's not just one of the big five awards, but they won for best animated picture. And the creator of K-Pop Demon Hunters got on stage to celebrate winning as a Korean and apologize to Koreans everywhere that it took so long for someone who looks like them to win an award of THIS CALIBER. LIKE, LADY, KOREANS HAVE WON BEFORE.

Asians have won plenty of times. Like didn't you forget that back in 2020, the movie Parasite swept the Oscars? Honestly, swept every single award show. It was a Korean film, Korean director, producer. He won best director, I believe. Like did you just forget that? Are you so self-important that you think you're the first Korean who's ever done anything and you're paving the way for Asians everywhere? Like seriously, like pipe down.

It is nauseating. And then, on top of that, and this might have been my favorite or, you know, worst, least favorite political moment of the entire show, but you had the team from the best live action short film. And they got on stage and oh my god, it was like the political rain descended down from the heavens and they were talking about how it was so amazing that their queer short film won and how it was produced by all women and it was so amazing.

And then this is just like karma maybe or something, but they had taken up a lot of their time on stage talking about how queer it was and how amazing it was, and how it was all women. And then the one guy on stage really wanted to like edge his way in to like make a comment, and it was right on the heels of the woman saying that it was like a woman produced film. And they shut down the lights, and the microphone started descending from the stage.

Like the moment that the man wanted to start speaking, they cut over to Conan. And so Conan was just standing there, and he was watching, and he was like, "Oh, I don't know. They're still kind of talking." And this man, this man was like, "I'M NOT LEAVING. I AIN'T LEAVING. I HAVE A POLITICAL thing I want to say." And so the Oscars, they literally like slowly fade back over to him. The lights went back on. The microphone slowly came back on the stage.

And I was like, "Okay, you know, is he going to say something really profound? Does he want to, you know, did somebody die? Is there like an emotional thing that he really wants to get across?" No. This man, after all of this time, it's like 35 seconds of awkwardness. He gets in front of the microphone, and he turns around, and he lists off the genealogy of all of the other women on stage and his own genealogy to celebrate how diverse the crew is on this short film.

>> [applause] >> We spent all of this time We We raised the microphone back up for that? Like seriously, get off the stage. Goodbye. Nobody cares that you're a Polish-American immigrant winning it like Seriously, it is just snooze fest. Get off stage. And then you had the winner of Best Documentary. They They made a lot of political statements as well. They were talking about Putin. It really seemed more like they were talking about Trump.

But you know what? I give them a pass because obviously it's a documentary. It was a political documentary that they made about Russian politics. So if they want to talk about Putin, if they want to talk about Trump, that's more in their lane. That's their prerogative to do so. Anyway, even though I'm complaining about those things, that was basically it. Like in the grand scheme of the night, in the grand scheme of the red carpet, that was basically all.

Very apolitical, boring. Sorry to say, I'm not really outraged. I'm like a fun of people, but like I'm not outraged. I'm not like morally concerned about them right now. Like it's just it was a nothing burger. Which is probably good because I think The New York Times will actually be outraged enough for all of us, because guys, even before the Oscars took place, they released an article telling actors to go out on stage and not be complicit and to go off on Trump, TO GO YELL AT TRUMP.

GUYS, they released this article 3 days ago, the day before the Oscars. It had not happened yet. They had nothing to be angry about. For all we knew, every single actor was going to get on stage, talk about Iran, ice, whatever it is, and they were preemptively saying, "IT'S NOT POLITICAL ENOUGH." WHAT OTHER PLANET are you living on? Anyway, I just want to read you an excerpt from this because it is seriously so crazy.

But, the headline reads, "Oscar winners, will you be complicit?" Like seriously, get a grip. Anyway, but anyway, just listen to this because it seriously is like we live on two different planets. All right, so this author writes, "Actors are used to saying things other people have written for them, but right now it matters a lot whether they can find the right words themselves. Opportunism is contagious, but so is courage.

The question is not whether actors should become politicians, but whether citizens who happen to be very visible will at a decisive moment refuse to play the role that every authoritarian leader assigns them, decorative proof that all is well. On a night when the world is watching, a few clear words will not save the republic, but their absence may HELP END IT." I MEAN, GUYS, LIKE WHEN HAVE WE ever had celebrities shut up?

When have celebrities ever not found the words and only stuck to the script? Like, what delusional reality are you living in? Like, did you preemptively hear that people were not going to be making political statements? Was there some sort of memo that went out that we are not privy to? I don't understand writing this article and it not being satire. Somebody commented and said, "I was just thinking, you know what the Oscars have been missing for the last decade?

Insane political rants from people living in a fantasy world. Kudos to the New York Times on calling Hollywood out. Would hate to see them miss this opportunity." Another person said, "100% facts. The New York Times is worried that Hollywood isn't leftist enough. Is that even possible? Actors must be wisening up if reporters have to beg them to act out in public." True. Again, very little politics. The third point that I want to make, and I know I'm like doing all of these asides.

I didn't expect to rant this much, but I it just kind of the power came into me and now I just have a lot to talk about. And then I'll actually get into what I have to say about Conan. But the last thing I'll say is that I watched the Oscars and I did not watch any of the films. Like usually I've seen one or two, and I will say like a decade ago, eight to 10 years ago, guys, I watched every single film. I was still an actor in the union at that point.

I would get all of the screeners. I would watch all of them. My friends and I would have Oscar parties with like specially made little hors d'oeuvres and appetizers that were kind of linked and had names that were in line with all the different movies. I knew who the directors were. I even knew like producers and writers, and we would have like polls and prizes and games and all that stuff. And this year I was like, "Okay, Marty Supreme Christmas Day."

Like that was essentially all I knew. I knew about Sinners just because of the BAFTA Awards, everybody being upset at the racist remarks made about Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo. And so the point I'm making is that I had no skin in the game. But I will say I do think it's interesting that the film won battle after another, swept all of the major awards. Because just from my perspective, like outside looking in, on social media, it was clear that Marty Supreme and Sinners had the biggest Oscar campaigns.

Like they were putting money behind getting these films nominated, getting them in front of all of the audiences. Like you were either in like two camps, Marty Supreme or Sinners, like they were going to sweep the awards. And then you had this dark horse, One Battle After Another. I had not even heard of the film until last night. I, hand on the Bible, did not know that Leonardo DiCaprio was nominated for Best Actor UNTIL HIS FACE POPPED UP ON SCREEN.

Like that is how disconnected I am. And so honestly it does make me happy that they won because I think that means that it was actually a good film cuz they were not, you know, spending millions and millions of dollars on social media campaigns. Like I guess people in the Academy actually thought it was a good film, so that's great. But my not knowing about it, I don't know if that says more about me or it says more about the relevance of Hollywood, which now brings me to the main point that I want to talk about in regards to Conan and his hosting and what I think the message of the entire Oscars show was.

Because in my opinion, I don't know if you guys felt this, but there was a very obvious through line that Conan O'Brien as the host kept coming back to. And that fact was that the world is changing and Hollywood is totally disconnected and that they have very quickly fallen behind. Which, shock of the century, like can't believe they finally got it. They finally realized that. But that's what he kept hammering into.

And honestly, the parts of the show when Conan brought all of that up were actually the funniest to me because they felt honest. They were kind of self-deprecating. They were self-aware, which in my opinion makes for the best comedy. Like that's, you know, what I enjoy. And you know, like so for example, I just want to go through a couple of these, but right out of the gate in his opening monologue, Conan joked about how next year some AI robot was going to be hosting the Oscars.

And you know, obviously, he might not be wrong. AI was a big topic of discussion throughout the night. And then immediately from there, he jumped into a roast of the Netflix CEO who's attending the Oscars for the first time. And I have to say, I literally was cackling out loud. This was the hardest that I laughed in the entire show. Just watch this whole little interaction. >> Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos is here. And this is exciting.

It's his first time in a theater. And that's it. >> [applause] >> THIS IS WHAT THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT. WHY ARE THEY ALL TOGETHER ENJOYING THEMSELVES? THEY SHOULD BE HOME ALONE. WHERE I CAN MONITOR THAT. >> LIKE THAT WAS SO SIMPLE. I DON'T know if you guys find that as funny as I do, but like it was 20 seconds and it was funny. It's funny because it's true. That man, Mr. Netflix, whatever his name is, his platform, he lives rent-free in Hollywood's minds whether they are trying to figure out how to fight him and fight his influence or whether they're pushing everybody to get on board and to innovate so that they can all be in the age of streaming.

Like do be there. Like that was the basis of Timothy's opera and ballet comments before everybody decided to take them out of context and decided that it was like the worst atrocity. That's the thing that everybody has been talking about. And to his credit, Mr. Netflix, you know, took the jokes like a champ. I'm honestly I'm that he was even at the show or even invited to begin with cuz I feel like that might not be his crowd based on how everybody seems to feel about streaming in Hollywood.

But again, it just shows how much things are changing. Now, another big change that Conan referenced throughout the show is that starting in 2029, the Oscars are going to be officially and exclusively streaming right here on YouTube. Hello, my fellow YouTubers. This is where the Oscars are going to be taking place. And this is part of the Academy's and honestly, Hollywood at large, their push to finally join us in the age of streaming and social media.

Now, this is happening in 2029. Will they be 9 years too late? Probably. They should have done this in like 2022, but at least they're doing it. And Conan had a skit ready to go just for that. >> Starting in 2029, did you know this? Instead of ABC, the Oscars are going to air solely on YouTube. Yeah, it's the future. Yes, big change. Some people are worried this will change how the Oscars are viewed. But I've been assured that they will no big deal.

>> James Woods for BEAM PRO TACTICAL FLASHLIGHTS. Up to 2,500 lumens of brightness packed immediately packed into a handheld flashlight. The same flashlight that killed Vin Rod. >> [applause] >> Sorry about that, but like I said, I don't think this is going to change the Oscars at all. I think this is a >> Have you been injured in a tactical flashlight related incident? You may be eligible for compensation. Don't let big tactical flashlight get the better of you.

>> [laughter] >> Again, it's funny because it's real. That's the world that we live in. I mean, you guys are going to get interrupted by an ad in the next few seconds, I'm sure. And this is where Hollywood is going whether you love it or hate it. And that was a joke that everybody could partake in because everybody in that industry, everybody in the world at large, is thinking about these changes. And I personally chuckled because I am a sucker for James Woods just like I am also a sucker for Cozy Earth pajamas.

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Stop guessing and start testing with Jevity today. And anyway, moving on from my perfectly timed ad read and Jane Lynch content, that skit with her was quickly followed by another one sort of about the same thing with audiences wanting vertical content and short-form content and how there should be a whole production company that re-edits big movies like Casablanca into minute-size vertical clips for scrolling, which is honestly not a bad idea.

If you want Gen Z to see the great films, put them on Tik Tok. Great idea. Money maker. There right there. Anyway, from there Conan did another one making fun of modern attention spans and what Hollywood should do to actually reach people. And guys, you will never believe what vernacular he used. Just watch. >> Of course, we here at the Oscars are always trying to figure out ways to reach a younger demographic. And I've been assured this next segment will do just that.

When you're host mastering the Oscars and low tenuously trying to rizz up the younger demographic by going [music] brain rot mode, and even though you're unk coded with a bunch of fame pilled NPCs, you're still S-tier [music] level or a farming 6'7. Well, >> I mean, guys, the clubicular lexicon officially made its way to Hollywood. It was only a matter of time. Somebody commented and said Conan dropping mogging and jester maxing in the Oscars monologue is the clearest sign yet that the timeline has officially won.

Now, even though that was a bunch of mumbo jumbo on screen that he just read, I did appreciate that he called all of the actors and actresses like fame pilled NPCs. Like that might be the most honest thing we got out of the entire show. So, I did appreciate that. Like now that I've laid it all out for you, like do you guys see like the throughline here? Like it was somewhat mocking audiences and like poking fun at Gen Z, sure, but in a lot of ways, like to me, this is why I'm bringing it up, it did feel like Conan was kind of reading the room of Hollywood and almost preparing this whole group for the future and acknowledging how society feels about that, which in a lot of ways is not great.

And I also think it's not just about Hollywood at large. Like we already know that the Oscars themselves are feeling the pressure of these changing landscapes and the lessening relevance because last year they switched from doing just the show on ABC and cable to putting it on YouTube for streaming and obviously the next step in 2029 is YouTube. But that one decision in 2025 to put it on Hulu boosted their views to almost double their all-time low, which was back in 2021.

And the CEO of the Academy came out and he said that they did this very openly because viewership habits had changed. He also said that they needed to change how they were viewing success. He said, "We have to think about the metric for success differently as our viewing habits change." Citing plans to include the night of linear and digital ratings as well as a 7-day ratings number and social media engagement. Quote, "The days of just saying how many people watched the show on linear TV night of has evolved and that's good."

Now, it's funny that they said this in 2025 because again, this changed in 2016. I don't even know how long ago, but those metrics have been changing for a long time. So, they're a little bit late here, but at least they're finally catching up. And so yes, this does mean that they are changing how they are distributing the show. Again, they're putting it on streaming. They're going to have it on YouTube, which will definitely help in the algorithm and people clipping it out and that sort of thing.

But I'm sure it also changes how they are producing the show. Because rather than focusing on one long linear performance, at least in my opinion last night, it felt like they were trying to produce a series of these short viral moments. Almost like a really like a worst version of SNL. Like the presenter skits were awkward. They were obviously not organic and in previous years, I felt like they were a little more organic.

The skits were all digital. They were pre-recorded. They weren't like gags on stage. Like they even had Leonardo DiCaprio making meme faces on the spot. It was the most chuggy boomer attempt at like viral content. Somebody commented and said, "Pretending to be self-awareness maxing can't save you from cringe maxing and bad Hollywood writer maxing." Which is very true. Anyway, the point is it felt like everything about it was tailored towards social media, whether it was the production or the commentary.

And you know, credit where credit is due because while the ratings night of were not actually that high, they did perform it better than the Super Bowl on social media. So, that is at least something. But here's the thing, guys. Even though they did all the skits and they wrote all of the quote-unquote jokes, those views on social media were not because of Conan's skits or the presenters and their comedy. Like I literally had to spend an hour this morning Googling to find all of those videos to show you.

It was people talking about Timothy Chalamet. That is why the Oscars were talked about is because everybody that I saw now granted I might have a very Timothy tailored algorithm right now, but every post that I saw was about Timothy. It was Timothy versus Michael B. Jordan and who was going to win best actor or Timothy versus the opera and ballet. Like literally every single person on the red carpet was asked about the controversy.

Like that took the place of politics on Sunday night. It was not ice and Trump. It was what do you think about Timothy and the opera and ballet? Like the self-importance with so many of these people was nauseating. Like they were coming up to the microphone and going, "Oh, Timmy. Oh, Timothy, why did you do that? Oh, I I bet you didn't know that was going to go viral. Maybe think better next time." Like as if you haven't tripped up and said something that you regret.

As if something that you've said hasn't been taken out of context. As if that will not happen to you in the age of social media because like I said in that episode, the mob is just waiting with baited breath for something to clip and to get angry about. So, you might be mocking Timothy, but it might be your time in just a couple of weeks. As a short aside here, I do want to say that the best part of this entire controversy in my opinion was the People magazine was on the red carpet and they asked a bunch of these loudmouths of important celebrities if they had a favorite opera or ballet.

And some of these people like squeaked out the Nutcracker or Swan Lake, but most of them could not come up with anything. They had no ballet, no opera. Therefore, proving Timothy Chalamet's point. And so, while poor Timothy Chalamet did not win best actor last night on like Marty Supreme did not win a single award, so I feel bad for him in that regard. Might actually be the Kardashian curse. Maybe we can talk about that in another episode.

So, while that did not happen, it might not have been his best night. We do need to acknowledge that Timothy Chalamet single-handedly just made ballet and opera relevant again and he also gave the Oscars the social media ratings boost that they have been desperately trying to achieve for years. So, just because of that, somebody needs to give him an honorary Oscar cuz we know that is all the man wants. I'm about to go head over to my mom's house because she just texted and said that a baby is being born.

So, let's go. All right, so my mom [music] is going down to check on her right now. Taking a peek. This is Donald, by the way. Donald Trump.