Jimmy Kimmel is hosting the 96thAcademy Awards, and is doing a pretty good job of it. One of his best bits of the night came when he wanted to supposedly honor the infamous nude streaker 50 years ago, at the 46th Academy Awards, who emerged from the curtains behind David Niven. As such,John Cenaappeared behind the stage, shirtless and peaking out, having second thoughts about imitating the streaker.
“This is a classy event,” said Cena, telling Kimmel that he “should be ashamed” of himself for even thinking of the idea. Kimmel relented, but gave him the envelopefor Best Costume Designinstead, a harsh irony for a naked man to present.And Cena was indeed very, very naked, side-stepping from stage left with only the oversized envelope to cover his genitals like some Hollywood Adam.
It all worked out very well; while the ceremony cut to snippets of the nominees, Kimmel draped a curtain around Cena, toga-like, and he was there to announce the winner for Best Costume Design: Holly Waddington forPoor Things. you may watch our interview with Waddington for the film below:
Poor Things and Holly Waddington Sweep Up the Design Awards
Poor Things
Poor Things is a sci-fi romance film from The Lobster director Yorgos Lanthimos. The story focuses on the bizarre and fantastical world of Bella Baxter after a scientist named Dr. Godwin Baxter brings her back to life. The film is based on the 1992 novel of the same name by Alasdair Gray.
Holly Waddington’s costumes forPoor Thingswere arguably the most gorgeous of the year, combining Victorian elegance with Gothic melodrama and even steampunk fantasy. She spoke with MovieWeb about her close collaborations with director Yorgos Lanthimos and star Emma Stone:
“The book isset in the late 1800s. The script, Tony had a date, I think it was 1886. I went off on a mission. I didn’t need to be at all slavish to the period. I could have explored it in any way that I had wanted. That was kind of the theme of the job description. I did start with thelate Victorian period. I was looking at all the different shapes of that decade. This brief period, when the shoulders do go massive, it’s called the Leg of Mutton sleeve. I had slightly avoided that, because I was just interested in an earlier period where the skirts were very interesting.”
Related:25 Gangster Movies With the Best Costume Design
“But the boss [Lanthimos] said, ‘Actually, I think you’ll miss it. I think we’re missing a trick. We need to do the sleeves.’ It very much came from him. Let’s just go for these sleeves and really embrace them. It’s very interesting. You don’t see them often in film because it’s striking.”
She continued, articulating the specific design for Stone’s character (who has the brain of an infant in an adult’s body).
“I was thinking she’s like a child. She’s getting dressed by Mrs. Prim [Vicki Pepperdine]. I’ve observed with my own kids, they tend to lose their clothes quite quickly. They’re often in a state of half-dressed. They’re often not wearing their pants, or not wearing their skirts, things often get taken off. I was playing with that idea. It also just looked really good. I had this fittingwith Emma Stone. We met up in Athens to work out what we were doing with the wardrobe. I wanted her input. I had six big suitcases full of shapes, ideas, and things to try on. We had a day of dressing up.”
“It just seemed to work for the character to have these little shorts, but it’s definitely a pair of knickers and not a miniskirt,” continued Waddington. “She’s kind of getting herself dressed when she goes off to Lisbon. She has this blue traveling costume. But when she has the siesta with Duncan [Mark Ruffalo], and then comes out again in Lisbon, she doesn’t bother to put the skirt on. She just doesn’t know that you should put a skirt on. She just steps out into the streets in her knickers.”
One could say that John Cena was just as exposed and naked as Emma Stone in half ofPoor Things, but that would minimize the extremely funny and risky performance from Stone. Either way, we’re grateful for Cena and Stone alike. you may watchPoor Thingsthrough the link below and check out the trailer:
