This year’sBest Actress contest at the Academy Awards was full of narratives, but maybe none were as notable or layered as Demi Moore. Firstly, that her risky role inan obscure body horrorhad propelled her back to the podium after years in B-picture wilderness, but also that horror was getting recognition at all. However, looking at the rest of the nominees, another story emerged.
In The Substance, for which Moore was nominated, she is an aging starlet who injects herself with a chemical that allows her to generate a younger body (played by Margaret Qualley). Qualley’s version replaces her at her old TV gig, and they split their time being awake, where Moore’s version quickly grows jealous of her younger counterpart.
This was put under the spotlight at the Academy Awards where Mikey Madison, 36 years Moore’s junior (but with a notable resemblance, more so even than Qualley) was the front-runner for her titular role as Anora. Madison eventually won, andeveryone made the joke that it was like The Substance in real life. But Moore has revealed she didn’t take the loss to heart, and fully expected it.
“I Didn’t Feel Gutted”
“I leaned over and whispered to my manager, ‘I think it’s going to Mikey,’”Moore said to Time. “I don’t know why I knew, but I did. I was so centered and calm. I didn’t feel gutted. I didn’t feel any of those kinds of things. I just trusted, and am in trust of, whatever is going to unfold.”
This gut feeling might have been based on something more than a sixth sense. Madison was the heavy favourite for the prize having already swept a bunch of the major awards in the run-up to the Oscars, building significant momentum alongside Anora itself. That also went on to win Best Picture, plus Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Film Editing. Since Sean Baker produced, wrote, directed, and edited the movie, he also became the first person to win four Oscars for the same movie in the same night.
Moore has always been consistently gracious through the season, congratulating Madison on her social media the night after the Oscars in a post thanking fans for their support. Hopefully we’ll see her back at the Oscars in the future, and we’ll see horror get more of a look in next time.
