A possible Taylor Swift appearance at the Oscars tied to Toy Story 5, alongside a shot at a Best Picture breakthrough for Project Hail Mary, is fueling big Oscar-season talk—especially around what the Academy will reward and what it has been leaning away from
When people start talking about the Oscars, they usually begin with the films. This time the conversation keeps circling back to Taylor Swift—and not just as a name on a poster, but as a possible presence on a night where one win can tilt everything.
The scenario on everyone’s mind is simple: a newly married (maybe pregnant) Taylor Swift showing up at the Oscars with Travis Kelce as she wins. The film-world connective tissue is Toy Story 5. with the hope that her new song from it could become a major Oscar moment—possibly even her first Oscar. The expectation isn’t subtle: if she arrives alongside Kelce while winning, people say, Oscar ratings could soar.
Swift’s new song is already circulating. including through a YouTube link embedded in the discussion of the idea: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDU4GB1PTxc. The song was also played by Swift at the Toy Story 5 Premiere in Los Angeles. and she reportedly performed a duet with Randy Newman. with another embedded video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60ZUS6l13a4.
That buzz sits on top of a separate milestone: Swift became the youngest songwriter (female) inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame. The induction was introduced by Steven Spielberg, with a third embedded video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QG0d57fHNJ8.
In this Oscar mix, the hope doesn’t stop at music. There’s also the question of whether Toy Story 5 could even reach the Best Picture conversation. The argument here is that animated features have landed in the modern-era Best Picture slot only twice—2009–2010—during a period when there were 10 nominees. The films then were Up and Toy Story 3.
Now the dream is described as harder to reach. With the Academy’s newer lineup described as “mostly international voters,” the piece says it’s difficult to imagine the voting body putting down enough top votes for an animated movie “no matter how successful it is.”
The tone shifts from movie logistics to cultural frustration after that premiere talk. The piece describes film-goer reactions on X as mostly positive to mixed. It then frames Toy Story 5 with harsh skepticism. including a claim that the film has become “decidedly feminized. ” and a “cautionary tale” aimed at young viewers—about how cell phones are destroying their lives—followed by the blunt assertion “Fact check true.”.
Yet even in that criticism. the story insists there’s something in the film’s pitch beyond the usual contender path. The concern is that the message revolves around replacing toys with technology. but it’s presented as a slight elevation above the typical Oscar-race template. Either way. the song is positioned as the swing factor: it’s described as a “major player in the Oscar race” and something expected to boost Toy Story 5’s profile and box office.
The optimism also has a fan-counting logic built in. The piece suggests Swift’s “Swiftie fanbase will show up,” boosting Oscar ratings, “whether that still matters to anyone or not.”
But the discussion quickly turns more political, and the politics don’t arrive as subtle subtext. It says Swift “has taken a side politically,” and then describes the broader atmosphere where harassment is expected. It further claims that “for the most part” her music remains universally beloved.
The piece then moves into a chain of examples tying Hollywood to ideological conflict. referencing Jimmy Kimmel’s night monologue as a recurring ritual in which Kimmel is said to give “Two Minutes of Hate” to his audience. alongside a mention of Kimmel being “last seen” celebrating Spencer Pratt losing the election in Los Angeles and offering help to leave the city.
It also references Jerry Seinfeld. Gwyneth Paltrow. and Helen Mirren as “persecuted by the mob” for their low-key support of Israel. The argument continues by citing Jonathan Glazer suggesting Israel was the “Zone of Interest” with its war in Gaza. and then adding a critique aimed at the film industry’s understanding.
The through-line, as presented here, is that politics still defines the film industry and the Oscars. Project Hail Mary is framed as one of the few bright spots that. in the piece’s view. “dared to make a film anyone could go watch.” The writer says they don’t expect new Academy voters to embrace it as they should.
Even so. the piece insists Project Hail Mary is sitting in a real position of strength: it says most people who cover the Oscars don’t care. and that those people who don’t align ideologically become “villains” in the eyes of the culture the piece describes as dominant. In that framing, Project Hail Mary becomes “the frontrunner right now.”.
The piece brings in its podcast connection too. It says the podcast discussed what “the ‘woke movie’ would be that might win Best Picture. ” and then lays out a claim: since 2020. two movies have managed to win without being what the piece calls “woke”—meaning movies rooted more in “identity hierarchy. ” where identity matters more than the universal story.
Then comes a long, year-by-year sketch of the Oscars in the Trump eras. It begins with 2008: Barack Obama becomes the first Black President of the United States. described as changing the world and creating a culture-wide “high” from making history with “firsts.” The sequence then rolls forward through specific Oscar outcomes:.
– 2009: “first woman to win Picture” and “Director” are referenced as part of the period’s shift. – 2010: “A movie about a King with a stutter.”
– 2011: “The Artist”—a movie about a fading silent-film star. – 2012: “Argo,” with a note that Ben Affleck gets snubbed for Director and sweeps the season. – 2013: “12 Years a Slave. ” described as the first film by a Black director to win Best Picture and the first film about slavery to win since Gone with the Wind; Alfonso Cuaron is described as making history as the first Mexican to win Best Picture. – 2014: “Birdman”—the first Mexican director to win Best Picture and Best Director.
It references “OscarsSoWhite” and then continues:
– 2015: “Spotlight wins just two Oscars. and Inarritu wins his second Oscar.” – 2016: “Moonlight defeats La La Land. ” described as the first year of the Trump presidency; the piece says La La Land was deemed “racist” and that activists like Mark Duplass and Rod Lurie encouraged voters to choose Moonlight. – 2017: “The Shape of Water defeats Three Billboards Outside Ebbing. Missouri. ” described as having been deemed “racist. ” and Guillermo
Del Toro and the final three of “Three Amigos” are said to win Picture and Director. – 2018: “Green Book’s success” is described as triggering conflict between activists about racism and homophobia versus others who see it as a warm-hearted friendship story; Green Book wins and Alfonso Cuaron wins his second Best Director Oscar. – 2019: “Parasite spares the Academy negative headlines” by becoming the first International Feature—or first South Korean film—to win. – 2020:
“Trump loses election as Nomadland sweeps the COVID-crippled season. ” handing the win to the first woman of color—Chloé Zhao—for Picture and Director. – 2021: “CODA becomes the first streaming film to win Best Picture,” described as the first film with a predominantly deaf cast. – 2022: “Everything Everywhere All At Once” becomes the first film with a predominantly Asian cast to win. beating “Top Gun Maverick. ” described as the movie everyone went to
see and helped save Hollywood. – 2023: “Oppenheimer wins.” – 2024: “Anora wins.”.
The sequence continues with a prediction the piece labels as part of that era’s claim: “2024–Trump wins again,” followed by “One Battle After Another becomes the Peak Woke masterpiece that speaks to the emotional turmoil within the ruling class.”
At that point, the piece states that “the Academy added about 3,000 new members” who are described as “mostly international, non-white, and non-male,” and argues this changed voting toward something the writer calls a “hive mind.”
It then ties the mood of the industry to “high-status influencers of the Left,” including Jimmy Kimmel and Bradley Whitford, and ends that segment with a sharp claim: “KEEP OUT.”
From there. Project Hail Mary is placed next to a marketing idea the piece calls “Disclosure Day.” It says Disclosure Day is predicted to “open soft” in the US. It adds a sharp distinction: it is “not an event movie. ” not for everybody. not described as “woke” or a preaching political movie. and “more than Hollywood has successfully alienated millions of people. ” including those who voted for Trump.
The writer acknowledges that even someone like Steven Spielberg is “isn’t overtly political. ” but says Hollywood turned entertainment into something like a church where viewers “worship and absolve ourselves of our sins.” It then leans into a broader belief: churches and totalitarian societies make for bad movies. and argues that subversive or interesting storytelling needs a freer culture.
The article’s final pitch is direct and personal: Hollywood and the Oscars “will have a chance this year” with Project Hail Mary and Taylor Swift to lower the drawbridge and drop the politics for once.
Then the piece turns to what it explicitly calls “fake” predictions. adding a warning that it won’t even include last year’s predictions because the writer says they were “so awash in denial.” The predictions are described as “based in no kind of reality. ” and the writer asks readers to take them “with a grain of salt — like a whole beach full.”.
The fake Best Picture picks are listed as:
– Project Hail Mary
– The Odyssey
– Wild Horse Nine
– Dune Part Three
– Fjord
– The Black Ball
– The Adventures of Cliff Booth
– Behemoth
– No One cares
For Director, the listed picks are:
– Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Project Hail Mary
– Christopher Nolan, The Odyssey
– Christian Mungiu, Fjord
– David Fincher, The Adventures of Cliff Booth
– Javier Ambrossi, Javier Calvo, the Black Ball
For Actress, the listed picks are:
– Julianne Moore, No One Cares
– Renata Reinsve, Fjord
– Michelle Williams, A Place in Hell
– Sandra Huller, Fatherland
– Cynthia Erivo, Prima Facie
For Actor, the listed picks are:
– Ryan Gosling, Project Hail Mary
– Tom Cruise, Digger
– Sebastian Stan, Fjord
– John Malkovich, Wild Horse Nine
– Jaafar Jackson, Michael
After that, the piece ends, saying: “And that’s about it for today. And that’s enough for today.”
Taylor Swift Oscars 2027 Travis Kelce Toy Story 5 Songwriter’s Hall of Fame Project Hail Mary Best Picture Ryan Gosling Academy voters