Last summer’s smash box office hit “Oppenheimer” stole the show at Sunday evening’s annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles, and no one appeared happier than Hollywood conservative James Woods.
While the film’s actors, director and technical staff were bringing home award after award and thanking those who got them there, Woods went ignored.
That was until his friend and producer Chuck Roven gave him a shoutout on stage for helping make the movie a reality.
Woods set the wheels in motion on the film years ago, and some who saw it in theaters last summer had to pull out their phones to double-check that the James Woods credited in the film as an executive producer was the same James Woods, 76, who is now known for his thoughtful political commentary.
It was indeed the same Woods who attended Sunday’s ceremony.
What a fantastic night!!! #Oscars #Oppenheimer pic.twitter.com/BVNNRjRZCH
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) March 11, 2024
As the film was cementing its legacy, Roven thanked Woods for giving him a book that he later passed on to director Christopher Nolan:
Congratulations!!! pic.twitter.com/u2XrwR6YWL
— Anthony Masella Jr (@OurtownFLAcom) March 11, 2024
Woods returned the favor on social media by thanking Roven — not only for the shoutout, but also for seeing the same potential in the book as he did.
Woods also celebrated the success of “Oppenheimer.”
Chuck Roven has been my best friend forever, and sharing this experience and this night with him is the pinnacle. Four years ago we three forged a bond to get #Oppenheimer made, and it was so moving that he acknowledged David and me tonight. Bravo, Chuck, and thank you. pic.twitter.com/HYGKpzVJV9
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) March 11, 2024
Woods is more or less a pariah now in far-left Hollywood, thanks to his conservative political views.
But none of that changes the fact that Nolan’s award-winning film might not have been made or nominated Sunday had it not been for one of Hollywood’s few outspoken conservatives.
Woods made moves years ago to make the 2005 book “American Prometheus” a silver-screen reality.
The book offers an in-depth analysis of the Manhattan Project and the man behind it from authors Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin, and Nolan based his script on it.
Are you a fan of James Woods?
As The Hollywood Reporter noted, Woods was not directly involved in the production of Nolan’s “Oppenheimer.”
But the outlet highlighted how he will forever be attached to the project:
“Woods, it turns out, is pals with businessman J. David Wargo, a onetime Discovery board member and longtime Trinity Project buff. Back in 2015, Wargo bought the rights to the Oppenheimer biography American Prometheus but couldn’t find a home for it in Hollywood, so he turned to Woods for help.
“Woods took it to another pal, producer Chuck Roven — the two have known each other since Roven’s late wife, Dawn Steel, greenlighted True Believer (1989) — and Roven brought the book to Nolan, who based his movie on its text.”
The rest is history.
“Oppenheimer” won awards on Sunday for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Cinematography, Best Original Score and Best Editing.
In total, the film was nominated for 13 awards.
