The official line-up for Hollywood's biggest night of 2023 was solidified this morning as the nominees for the 95th annual Academy Awards were announced at last.
And one film stood head and shoulders above the rest when it came to making a surprise impression. No, not Top Gun: Maverick being nominated for Best Picture, though that too was a bit of a shock.
Nope, it was one of the Best Animated Short nominees that had everyone talking--no small feat for a 15-minute cartoon. But when a film has a title like My Year of Dicks, it's not really the size of the film that matters.
Yes, that's the actual title of one of the animated shorts, and actor Riz Ahmed's announcement of it has the internet so giggly--not to mention thirsty--that they might as well cancel the Oscars ceremony, because it's most memorable moment already happened.
\u201cRiz Ahmed saying "MY YEAR OF DICKS" because we all woke up at 5:20am for these #OscarNominations2023\u201d— Jarett Wieselman (@Jarett Wieselman) 1674567809
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the entire room full of big Hollywood names and the journalists who cover them erupted into laughter that continued through the announcement of the next Best Animated Short selection, An Ostrich Told Me The World Is Fake And I Think I Believe It.
Quick question--what on Earth is going on in the Best Animated Short Oscar category this year?
Anyway, the hilarity was not lost on Ahmed, who definitely put some hilarious oomph on the word "dicks," as befits an actor of his caliber--he was nominated for Best Actor in 2021 for Sound of Metal and won one last year for Best Live Action Short Film.
The absurdity also did not escape his co-presenter Allison Williams, who quipped, "No comment" before moving on the next category of nominations, Best Supporting Actor, which sadly did not contain any film titles pertaining to dicks. And is the poorer for it, frankly!
But it was Twitter who really got the giggles about Ahmed's delivery, as you might expect.
\u201cRiz Ahmed saying \u201cMy Year of Dicks\u201d has already won Best Picture at the Oscars\u201d— Joey Nolfi (@Joey Nolfi) 1674575791
\u201cHonestly homophobic that we didn't get to see Riz Ahmed's handsome face when he spoke the words \u201cMy Year of Dicks\u201d during the Oscar nominations.\u201d— Web Behrens (@Web Behrens) 1674569804
\u201cFor everyone else who wants an audio loop of Riz Ahmed saying \u201cMy Year of Dicks\u201d you are welcome. #OscarNominations2023\u201d— Joseph Lamour \ud83c\udded\ud83c\uddf9\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 (@Joseph Lamour \ud83c\udded\ud83c\uddf9\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08) 1674568764
\u201cRiz Ahmed just said "My Year of Dicks" so this is already the best awards season ever\u201d— Cody Dericks @ Sundance (@Cody Dericks @ Sundance) 1674567497
\u201cRiz Ahmed just said \u201cmy year of dicks\u201d live we are so blessed\u201d— Rafa Sales Ross (@Rafa Sales Ross) 1674567503
\u201cFor everyone else who wants an audio loop of Riz Ahmed saying \u201cMy Year of Dicks\u201d you are welcome. #OscarNominations2023\u201d— Joseph Lamour \ud83c\udded\ud83c\uddf9\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 (@Joseph Lamour \ud83c\udded\ud83c\uddf9\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08) 1674568764
\u201ccommence most people finding out that the writer of MOANA and RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET has an Oscar-nominated short called MY YEAR OF DICKS\u201d— Sam Adams (@Sam Adams) 1674567746
\u201cRiz Ahmed breaking while announcing 'My Year of Dicks' Oscar nomination will be more entertaining than the entirety of the Oscars ceremony\u201d— lonE skuM (@lonE skuM) 1674567612
\u201cHearing Riz Ahmed say MY YEAR OF DICKS has set my day off perfectly\u201d— Michelle Collins (@Michelle Collins) 1674567592
Of course there's more to My Year Of Dicks than giggles about its title. It just got nominated for an Oscar, after all.
Directed by Sara Gunnarsdottir, the film is an adaptation of Pamela Ribon's book Notes to Boys: And Other Things I Shouldn’t Share in Public and centers on a teen girl's quest to lose her virginity in the 1990s.
It's been compared to Superbad and Dazed and Confused and should win every Oscars category simply on the basis of its name alone.
Vote accordingly, Academy.
