‘Anatomy of a Fall’ dog star Messi gets a seat at the 2024 Oscars

nypost.com:

the 2024 Oscars. The border collie captured hearts during the promotional lead up to the Academy Awards, which took place Sunday, March 10 on ABC (at the new time of 7 p.m.), hosted by Jimmy Kimmel.

Kimmel gave the pooch a shout-out during his opening monologue. Pointing to the dog in the audience, who was politely sitting on a chair, Kimmel said, “Even though he’s a dog, may have given the performance of the year in ‘Anatomy of a Fall.’ I haven’t seen a French actor eat vomit like that since Gerard Depardieu.”Originally, it was reported that Messi would not attend the ceremony, but he ended up sitting still in a chair, looking well-behaved with nary a bark.

Dog trainer Laura Martin told The Hollywood Reporter, “There were a few interviews in France. but what we’ve been experiencing here in America — with the attention to this dog and his acting — it’s beyond anything we anticipated.

It’s probably the maximum that you can accomplish in this field.”“The big moment was with Billie Eilish, who bonded with Messi for almost 10 minutes,” said Martin. “They were hugging and petting and they really had a vibe.