Adrien Brody at the Oscars has - One record. Two nominations. Two wins. And 0 speeches prepared (we assume so this time as he was not reading from a paper). His win for The Brutalist at the 97th Academy Awards saw him maintain a streak and break a record set on March 4, 1943, at the Ambassador Hotel. And no, we are not talking about his two wins from two nominations spaced 22 years apart. Yes, he has an undefeated streak, but he kept one more aspect intact. Brody repeated what he did in 2003 and what Guillermo Del Toro and Bette Midler have done in acceptance speeches at various other award shows. 

As Adrien Brody spoke to the Dolby Theater, audiences may have been expecting a disappointed-looking John Lithgow. That is what host Conan O'Brien’s opening monologue’s “Housekeeping Rules” had as a plan to counter long speeches. Instead, as per the traditional way, the orchestra did their bit in the fourth minute of his acceptance speech.

Brody, unperturbed, continued talking but directed his words to the orchestra. He said, “Please, please, please. I'm wrapping up. I will wrap up. Please turn the music off. I've done this before. Thank you.”

As the audience applauded, his next sentence seemingly acknowledged that this was his second shot at accepting this particular award. Brody said, “It's not my first rodeo, but I will be brief. I will not be egregious. Thank you.”

To be fair to the orchestra, the Lead Actor Oscar winner's address went on for quite a while. It crossed the five-minute mark (5:36) and became the longest verifiable one, eclipsing Greer Garson's speech in 1943. There is some Oscar history! Perhaps Brody should write these down and time them. But we know why he does not as he revealed the reason in 2003.   

22 years back, Brody’s win in The Pianist came as a surprise as he beat out Jack Nicholson and Daniel Day-Lewis. That may have been the reason he kissed the presenter, who returned the gesture at this year's red carpet. After the initial thank yous, Brody said, "I haven't really written a speech because every time I wrote a speech for the past one of these things I didn't win." Midway through his speech as the orchestra began to play him off, he said, “Wait one second. One second, please, one second. Cut it out, cut it out. I get one shot at this. I'm sorry. I didn't say more than five names I don't think, but…”

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It seems like not writing speeches is lucky for the actor. And he even kept firm on not writing one, despite being the overwhelming favorite ahead of the ceremony. 

But wait, this time around, too, a case could be made about Brody not being prepared. Yeah, he was chewing on gum as he made his way to the stage, only to stop and throw it to his partner. The gum was not caught. Add that to Brody's collection of unique Oscar moments. 

Orchestras playing off winners at the Oscars, the Globes and even the Tony Awards is a regular thing to get the winners to say a quick thank you. While Brody asked the musicians to pause, there are others who have used this very tactic. A few have even continued to speak over the music. 

Remember the 2018 Golden Globe Awards when Guillermo Del Toro took to the stage to accept the Globe for directing The Shape of Water. 90 seconds into his speech as he was played off, he said, “Lower the music. One sec. It's taken 25 years. Give me a minute.” 

At the 2017 Tony Awards, Bette Midler, who won for Hello, Dolly! tried to speak over the music before she paused an simply asked the orchestra to “shut that cr– off.”

At the Oscars in 1997, Cuba Gooding Jr. did not bother to ask for a break in the music as he continued his speech by yelling over it. Pawel Pawlikowski did not quite yell 10 years back, but spoke above the music.

There is that fine line between a concise and encompassing acceptance speech and the prospect of award shows extending. Deep into the third hour, Brody's speech may have led to a feeling of the audiences wanting him to wrap it up as they needed to head home. To be fair to them, the actor did speak for a while with the music coming in just towards the end of the fourth minute, i.e. he had much more time to speak than any of the other names in this story.

However, there is two things to consider here. The speeches are a moment of celebration and acknowledgment that come again for very few people. Also, the move of Hollywood’s biggest night to 4 pm will ensure that there are not too many late nights on the West Coast. 

What were your thoughts on Brody's words to the orchestra?

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