LOS ANGELES — Local musician Terence Blanchard had a message of hope for the city at the 91st Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday.
"NOLA: This will make us stronger."
The St. Augustine High School alumnus and composer for the score of the hit film "BlacKkKlansman" didn't say his short-but-sweet message out loud, though.
Instead, he wore his heart on his shoes with a colorful pairs of designer sneakers on the Red Carpet.
Blanchard, of course, is referring to the 'NOLA No-call," the blatantly missed passed interference call against Saints wide receiver Tommylee Lewis by Rams' cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman in the dying minutes of the NFC Championship game in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Jan. 20.
Yes, that one.
If that call or a helmet-to-helmet call had been made, the Saints would have almost certainly run the game clock out, kicked a field goal, and gone to Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta.
Blanchard, like most New Orleans natives, clearly has not forgotten that isn't how things turned out. But instead of staying angry, he decided to use his appearance at the award ceremony to preach a more hopeful message.
The New Orleanian is hoping to take home the award for "Best Original Score" tonight for BlacKkKlansman. The film is also nominated for a list of other awards, including "Best Picture" of the year.
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Blanchard recently won "Best Instrumental Composition" at the Grammys earlier this month for his work on the song "Blood and Soil" from the soundtrack of the film.