Why was the cast of CODA at the White House?
by Ana Walia | Thu, 24 Mar 2022 11:48:23 GMT
The cast of CODA at the White House! Image Source: THR

CODA visits the White House!

On a Tuesday afternoon, the cast of CODA visited the White House as the President of the United States, Joe Biden, and first lady Dr. Jill Biden, who watched their movie and were extremely moved by the concept of it, invited the entire cast to meet them personally.

The President and the first lady wanted the cast of CODA to meet with the White House Domestic Policy Council and Office of Public Engagement to discuss the inclusion, access, and employment of Deaf Americans as well as meeting them personally to learn about their experience and much more.

The cast of CODA, including Troy Kotsur, Marlee Matlin, Emilia Jones, and Daniel Durant, attended an event scheduled at D.C.’s Gallaudet University and conducted an interactive question and answer session with the students, along with meeting the university President, Roberta Cordano. D.C.’s Gallaudet University is a research university for students who are either deaf or hard of hearing. Troy Kotsur and Daniel Durant are alums of the university, while Marlee Matlin is one of the honorary trustees.

The students of the university were interested in knowing how the movie was made and how much the success and attention of the world towards their movie meant to them.

After attending the event at the university, the quartet headed towards the White House, where they were given a tour of the house. The actors noticed that at the entrance hall, the Marine Band performed "You’re All I Need to Get By," a song that featured in the movie. Troy Kotsur, Marlee Matlin, and Daniel Durant, who are deaf, placed their hands on the piano to feel the vibration of the music as Emilia Jones sang along with the band.The moment was captured by Marlee's interpreter. 

Dr. Jill Biden walked the cast into the Oval Office, where they posed with President Joe Biden for a quick picture and mentioned that they were received very warmly by the President. Actress Marlee Matlin said that she was blown away by the reactions of the President and first lady when they started telling the cast how much they enjoyed their movie. The Bidens went on to explain to the cast that they were touched by the themes of their movie, which were family and authenticity.

According to sources, the President and the first lady arranged the screening of the movie for the White House staff members who loved the movie, and some of them ended up crying as they watched it as well. The team’s White House visit comes ahead of the 94th Academy Awards, which is to be conducted on March 27th, 2022, and CODA is one of the front-runners to win awards at the ceremony.

Troy Kotsur has been nominated for his portrayal of Frank Rossi in the movie under the category of Best Supporting Actor. Troy has been highly appreciated for his art and has already won awards at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, British Academy Film Awards, and Critics’ Choice Movie Awards. In his most recent interview, the actor mentioned that his father described him as a risk-taker, and he is exactly that because if he had not taken risks in his life, he wouldn’t have been here where he is today.

Troy also mentioned that he is grateful for being a part of the movie that has started the talk about the deaf community, and he feels elated that he was a part of it. He also appreciated the entire cast of the movie by mentioning that every one of them had performed their best to look their best on-screen and that was evident when they saw the reaction of the audience.

The producers of the movie recently received honor of Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding producer of theatrical motion pictures, at the Producers Guild Awards where Philippe Rousselet and Fabrice Gianfermi mentioned that the movie is really special to everyone who was involved in the making and added that when such movie with great story and is appreciated by the peers especially during a time when the world lacks humanity, it gives people hope that there are better days to come.  

CODA has also won the award for Best Adapted Screenplay at the BAFTAs, the Writers Guild of America Awards, and the Best Ensemble at the SAG Awards. Writer and director Sian Heder is also extremely proud of the way the audience has accepted the movie and feels happy to see the cast being honored with the awards they truly deserve

Do you think CODA is going to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards in 2022?

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