Recently, during a Judd Apatow-hosted night at Largo in Los Angeles, surprise guest Chris Rock showed up to discuss some material he might use when he hosts the Oscars on February 28.
The comedian explained why he wasn’t abandoning the ceremony, considered how Martin Luther King might react to the issue if he were alive and riffed on the absurdity of one particular boycott.
Mr. Rock has an impressive arsenal of material to hone between now and the ceremony. He had sharp bits about actresses earning less than their male counterparts and why actresses shouldn’t be upset that they keep getting asked about what they’re wearing on Oscar night.
He suggested some ways to create a more diverse pool of nominees and shared a story about what he once told President Obama about Hollywood. He went deep on how fantastic some black actors who have won Oscars really are. He suggested some words that should be banned from the ceremony.
During the Q&A, Mr. Rock, when pressed by Mr. Apatow, had some amusing things to say about Sean Penn’s encounter with El Chapo, what winning an Oscar might do to Leonardo DiCaprio, a potential acceptance speech for the movie Spotlight, a scenario where Straight Outta Compton would have gotten more recognition and The Hateful Eight’s place in Quentin Tarantino’s filmography.