When it comes to cringey musical tributes, nobody does it better than the Oscars. And while that chorus line of tuxedoed 007s pirouetting around the stage during the Academy’s James Bond extravaganza wasn’t quite as jaw-droppingly awkward as some previous song-and-dance fiascos — at least Rob Lowe didn’t turn up to tango with Snow White — there was one small but uncomfortable moment you might have missed.
AI Illustration from WordPress, Bezosillustration of Jeff Bezos styled as the Bond villain Blofeld, illustration by scott anderson
The whole reason the Academy decided to devote six full minutes of the ceremony to Bond music was that Broccoli and Wilson were the recipients of this year’s honorary Irving G. Thalberg Oscar, an accolade bestowed upon them in November at the Governors Awards to celebrate the half-siblings’ 30 years of unwavering stewardship over the spy franchise they inherited in 1995 from their father, legendary Bond producer Albert “Cubby” Broccoli. “Let me tell you, they don’t just produce Bond movies,” one-time Bond Girl Halle Berry gushed about Broccoli and Wilson in her introduction from the podium, “they were the heart and soul of this franchise for decades.”
