We’re only four days into 2023, and the flame war between besties Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman is back on.
At issue is the fact that the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has put on its Best Song short list “Good Afternoon,” a song from the Ryan Reynolds/Will Ferrell Christmas musical Spirited that is streaming on Apple TV+.
“I really, really wanted to send out a positive message for the beginning of the year, but recent events have made that impossible,” Jackman begins.
“Don’t get me wrong, I love Spirited. It’s a great movie … I love Will and Octavia [Spencer] … and … the song ‘Good Afternoon,’ I laughed the entire way through, it is absolutely brilliant.”
He continues, “However, I just heard the Academy has short-listed ‘Good Afternoon’ … Now, Ryan Reynolds getting a nomination in the Best Song category will make the next year of my life insufferable.”
The Tony winner and Music Man veteran adds, “I mean, I have to spend a year with him shooting Wolverine and Deadpool [Deadpool 3]. And trust me. It would be impossible. It would be a problem.”
Jackman closed with recapping everything he liked about Spirited, before pleading with the Academy, “Please, please, from the bottom of my heart, do not validate Ryan Reynolds in this way.”
For the record, one of the first “likes” of the post came from Reynolds himself.
This year’s Oscar nominations will be announced Tuesday, January 24.
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