In an opening monologue in which he slammed the IFC channel and the ending of “Tár,” host Hasan Minhaj reserved his most stinging jokes for an online entertainment industry website.
“I can’t wait to hear about all these jokes on Deadline,” Minhaj cracked at the beginning of the 38th Film Independant Spirit Awards.
The “Daily Show” comedian continued, “There’s nothing I love more than dog s— clickbait journalism. I love how you guys make every headline sound like porn.”
He asked, “Seriously, how did we let Deadline become the most important website in our industry? It has the web layout of a Craigslist ad and it governs our lives. They literally ran a story about how Steven Spielberg doesn’t have an idea right now. You think I’m kidding? ‘Breaking news out of Berlin.’”
Minhaj was also in an amusingly sour mood over the decision by longtime Spirit Award broadcaster IFC to give up rights to the program. This year the show is streaming live on YouTube and IMDb.
“We’re doing this totally ‘independent,’” he said. “We don’t even have a distributor. The Independent Film Channel didn’t want the Independent Film Awards. Take that in. IFC did not renew their contract. Let me reiterate how bad this is — The Independent Film Channel did not want the Independent Film Awards.”
And regarding Todd Field’s “Tar,” which received seven Film Independent Spirit nominations (along with six Academy Award nominations), Minhaj cracked that the film was about “how the worst thing that can happen to a white woman is having to work with Asians.” (Cate Blanchett’s lead character is employed in the Philippines at the movie’s conclusion.)