President Joe Biden has praised the movie CODA after the film was shown in the White House theater.
Oscar winner Marlee Matlin, who stars in the coming-of-age story, tweeted an image of the CODA cast inside the screening room—and revealed what Joe and Jill Biden thought of the film.
The presidential endorsement for CODA comes ahead of Sunday’s Oscar ceremony, where the film is up for three awards including best picture. The movie is about a child of deaf adults, or CODA, played by Emilia Jones. It’s available to watch on streaming service Apple TV+ now. The Oscars will air on ABC.
Jill and Joe Biden’s thoughts on ‘CODA’
The image that Matlin posted on social media shows her with co-stars Daniel Durant, Troy Kotsur and Jones in the White House screening room.
Matlin told her followers she was “blown away” to find out that the president and first lady “loved CODA” and its “theme of family authenticity.” The cast members were also told that the White House staff “cried when they watched the film.”
The White House Family Theater, as the screening room is known, has been a fixture in the building since 1942 when it was converted from a cloakroom. It seats 42 people and has hosted various screening events over the years, as well as being privately used by presidential families.
In March 2010, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg attended a screening of their HBO World War II drama The Pacific with President Barack Obama. During Donald Trump‘s term in office, the first movie screened in the theater was Pixar‘s Finding Dory in January 2017—but his press team denied that he had watched the film at a time when Americans were protesting his travel ban.
‘CODA’ at the Oscars
The four actors who visited the White House play the family at the heart of CODA. Parents Jackie and Frank Rossi (played by Matlin and Kotsur) are deaf, as is their son Leo (Durant). The story follows their daughter Ruby (Jones) and her decision to go to music college to pursue her dreams despite fears of abandoning her parents.
Kotsur has been nominated for a slew of awards for his performance, winning several. At Sunday’s Academy Awards he is nominated for best supporting actor. The movie is also up for best picture and best adapted screenplay for writer-director Siân Heder.
Sunday’s Oscars will be hosted by Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes. The coverage gets underway on ABC at 6:30 p.m. ET, 3:30 p.m. PT on March 27.
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