The audience at the 73rd Motion Picture Sound Editors Golden Reel Awards got a kick out of Patton Oswalt‘s cracks regarding Timothée Chalamet‘s controversial remarks about ballet and opera.
Hosting the MPSE ceremony Sunday in Los Angeles for the fourth straight year, Oswalt kicked off the festivities that celebrated sound design. The comedian’s monologue began with quips that called attention to the ongoing debate surrounding Chalamet having told Matthew McConaughey last month during a Variety and CNN town hall that he would not want to be involved in an art form that “no one cares about” and is struggling to stay alive, citing ballet and opera as examples.
“Thank God we’re here to celebrate achievement in sound editing and not watching ballet or the opera,” Oswalt said. He added with a laugh, “Thank God we are actually watching something that deserves to be alive.”
The jokes led to plenty of laughter from the audience, in addition to some groans. The host then noted, “He said it after they were done voting. He’s fine. He’s safe.”
Although Chalamet made his incendiary remarks to Interstellar co-star McConaughey at the University of Texas at Austin on Feb. 24, clips of this particular segment did not make the rounds on social media until Thursday, the day that Oscar voting closed. Chalamet is a nominee for the best actor Academy Award for his lead role in Marty Supreme heading into this Sunday’s Oscar ceremony.
“I don’t want to be working in ballet or opera or things where it’s like, ‘Hey, keep this thing alive, even though no one cares about this anymore,’” the actor said at the time. “All respect to the ballet and opera people out there. I just lost 14 cents in viewership. I just took shots for no reason.”
Responding to the comments was the Royal Ballet and Opera, with its team telling The Hollywood Reporter in a statement that “millions of people around the world continue to enjoy and engage” with both art forms.
Among the projects honored at the MPSE event were Sirat, Sinners, Frankenstein and Zootopia 2. Oswalt’s monologue featured other topical remarks, including a reference to President Donald Trump‘s name having been added to the facade of the Kennedy Center.
“It’s great to be here at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre — or any theater that Trump hasn’t stuck his name on,” the Goat voice star said about the ceremony’s L.A. venue.
Oswalt also referenced the L.A.-based restaurant chain Zankou Chicken — known for serving Armenian and Lebanese cuisine — when mentioning the U.S. and Israel’s recent attacks on Iran: “Rumor has it that if Iran wins, this place is going to be renamed the Zankou Chicken Center for the Recording Arts.” The host continued, “That one might have been too soon.”
