LOS ANGELES — “CODA,” a heartwarming, low-budget film released by a global tech giant far better known for smartphones than cinema, won the best picture award at the 94th Academy Awards on Sunday night, a watershed moment not only for the Oscars but for the film industry as a whole.
And Will Smith, one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, slapped comedian Chris Rock across the face onstage in front of millions of viewers over a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith — then went on to win the lead actor prize for his performance in “King Richard.”
Suffice to say, the 2022 Oscars will be one for the history books. And not for the reasons the academy — or Hollywood at large — may have hoped.
