Parasite nearly swept the Oscars. Courtesy of Neon Entertainment.
I was happy to see so many movies I loved this year nominated across so many different categories. Not every year is like this. It was a strong class of Best Picture nominees this year. It was a fun, eclectic group of films.
Before I dive into the Oscar ceremony, I’d like to share a few of my favorite moments from the red carpet.
Billy Porter asked Janelle Monáe about her role in the movie Harriet. He said, “What do you feel is the most important takeaway from the movie?”
She said, “I think the important takeaway is to listen to black women. When we are in positions of leadership, when we have your support, we can do the unthinkable, we can do the impossible.”
Lin-Manuell Miranda revealed he is writing four new songs for The Little Mermaid live action movie. He also said that Andrew Garfield will be playing RENT creator Jonathan Larson in Miranda’s directorial debut, an adaptation of Larson’s autobiographical musical Tick, Tick…Boom. He also mentioned that HBO has acquired the rights to the Sundance documentary Siempre Luis about the work of his father. (Oh, and if you haven’t heard yet, Disney is releasing Hamilton to theaters on Oct 15, 2021. Mark your calendars! I smell a Best Picture contender.). About his father, Miranda says “I’m the slacker.” Hard to believe.
Lilly Aldridge interviewed Renée Zellweger, asking her what drew her to the role of Judy Garland. Zellweger said, “I didn’t know so much about the circumstances of her life and her early life...and this film was an opportunity to sort of contextualize those circumstances, to sort of subvert the notion that her life was tragic. When you look at what she overcame again and agsin, her tenacity, that she was able to give on such high levels and perform on such high levels for such a sustained period of time, she’s heroic.”
Aldridge asked her how it felt singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and if she was nervous doing it.
Zellweger replied, “Sure. Oh gosh, yeah. Sure. But by the time we filmed that, we had been working at the Hackney Empire with all the actors who play the audience for a week. And we shared stories about Judy and what her legacy meant to each of us and how she touched each of us personally. And so, in that momemt, that was sort of like the confluence of all of that love that we had sort of been throwing around about Judy. And it was very moving to think about her singing that song in her younger days as a child. And then later on in her life how she’s still singing about hope but that it’s a more courageous hope. It just moved me tremendously.”
The ceremony opened with Janelle Monáe dressed as Mr. Rogers and singing the theme song. She then burst out into a more lively number with back up dancers including clowns, pimps, and others. She made references to films that had been snubbed, including Midsommar, Dolemite Is My Name, Us, and Hustlers.
Steve Martin and Chris Rock delivered the opening monologue. Rock said he loved the first season of The Irishman. He also said Cynthia Erivo did such a good job hiding all the black people in Harriet, the Academy got her to hide all the black nominees. They wrapped up by saying, “Well, we’ve had a great time not hosting tonight.”
Regina King presented Best Supporting Actor. For the acting categories, they did a neat thing this year, where they showed an extended montage of scenes of the different films blended together. It showed the way that some of the performances complemented and spoke to each other. It was really very cool. Brad Pitt won for Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood. It was his second Oscar win. In his speech, he told Tarantino, “I love the ethos you gave Cliff Booth. Look for the best in people.” He also told the audience “.Give a little love to our stunt coordinators and stunt crews. “
Beanie Feldstein introduced Mindy Kaling who presented the animated film awards. Toy Story 4 won Best Animated Feature Film. So I did not have to walk around my house smashing things. Seriously, though, Pixar did an amazing job on this film. Dreamworks did an equally amazing job on How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. I’m glad one of them got to take home the Oscar.
Jonas Rivera said, “Toy Story 4 is a love letter to our families.”
Josh Cooley said, “We want to thank the movie going audience so much, especially those who grew up with Toy Story. We hope that your adventures with Woody and Buzz made growing up a little bit easier.”
Hair Love won Best Animated Short Film. It was the first nomination and win for the filmmakers.
Producer Karen Rupert Toliver said, “There were so many filmmakers that worked so hard on this and it was a labor of love. And it was because we have a firm belief that representation matters deeply. Especially in cartoons. Because in cartoons, that’s when we first see our movies and that’s how we shape our lives and think about the world.”
Director Matthew A. Cherry called for the Crown Act, a bill first passed in California last year to protect Black people from hair discrimination, to be enacted nationally. DeAndre Arnold, a teenager from Texas who refused to cut his locs to be allowed to walk at graduation, was a special guest of the filmmakers.
Josh Gad introduced Idina Menzel and a cast of Elsas voice-over artists from around the globe singing “Into the Unknown.”
Kelly Marie Tran introduced Diane Keaton and Keanu Reeves who presented Best Original Screenplay. Parasite won. This was the first ever Oscar for South Korea. This win made me so happy. I could breathe a little easier knowing at least Parasite got something. Little did I know.
Timothée Chalamet and Natalie Portman presented Best Adapted Screenplay. Portman’s dress supposedly featured the names of snubbed female directors.
Taika Waititi won for Jojo Rabbit. It was his first Oscar win. He is the first indigenous director to ever win an Oscar. This also made me very happy. I love Taika. If you haven’t seen any of his films, you’re in for a treat. I was glad to see Jojo Rabbit pick up an award.
Shia LaBeouf & Zack Gottsagen presented the award for Best Live Action Short. This was a special treat for fans of The Peanut Butter Falcon. It was heart warming to hear the cheers for the duo as they took the stage. The Neighbors’ Window won. I had been rooting for the more intense A Sister, but I enjoyed The Neighbors’ Window. I think it’s one my father would have liked too. It’s like a modern day O. Henry story.
Comedians Maya Rudlolph and Kristen Wiig showed off their acting chops while presenting the award for Best Production Design. Once Upon a Time...In Hollywood won. Which I can’t really argue with. In addition to recreating Hollywood in the ‘70s (people actually tried to walk into the fake store fronts), all the fake movie posters and magazine covers they had to mock up for Leo’s character were pretty awesome. I liked the MAD Magazine cover quite a bit myself.
Little Women won Best Costume Design. I was disappointed by this. I was hoping Jojo Rabbit would take this one.
Chrissy Metz performed “I’m Standing With You” from the movie Breakthrough.
There was a brief montage on documentaries.
Mark Ruffalo presented the documentary awards. Four of the nominated films in the Best Documentary Feature category were directed or co-directed by women. American Factory won Best Documentary Feature. It was the first win for all three filmmakers. Julia Reichert was similarly eloquent as she was at the Spirit Awards talking about the plight of workers.
Learning to Skateboard in a War Zone (If You’re a Girl) won Best Documentary Short. Director Carol Dysinger said Frank Capra handed her a student Academy Award in 1977. She also said this movie is her love letter to the brave girls of Afghanistan.
Mahershala Ali presented the award for Best Supporting Actress to Laura Dern. It was her first Oscar win and her third nomination. She said, “Some say, 'Never meet your heroes.' I say if you're really blessed, you get them as your parents. I share this with my acting hero, my legends, Diane Ladd and Bruce Dern.”
Anthony Ramos introduced Lin-Manuel Miranda who presented a music montage of memorable Oscar-winning songs. The montage ended with a live performance of Eminem performing “Lose Yourself” live. This was an awesome surprise as Em originally opted not to perform his hit song in 2003 when it was nominated (and won!). “Lose Yourself” was the first hip-hop song to win an Oscar.
Oscar Isaac and Salma Hayek presented the sound editing and mixing awards. Ford v Ferrari won Best Sound Editing. This made me happy. I was so glad to see Ford v Ferrari get some recognition. Donald Sylvester mentioned that it was probably the last film made by 20th Century Fox (sadly). He also gave a shout out to director James Mangold and said he should have been nominated for Best Director. I agree.
1917 won Best Sound Mixing. Although I wasn’t rooting for 1917 in this category, it’s nice that this is one of the few awards the movie walked away with. I like that this is a year where the love was spread around to several different films. 1917 was a good movie and it deserves recognition.
Randy Newman performed “I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away” from Toy Story 4.
Utkarsh Ambudkar from Brittany Runs a Marathon did an improv rap recapping the first half of the ceremony. It was impressive!
Will Ferrel and Jullia Louis Dreyfus sp? presented Best Cinematography. They thought the cinematographer did the catering and fetched the actors and brought them to the set in golf carts. Roger Deakins won for 1917. It was his second win and fifteenth nomination. (What a prestigious career!). He gave a humble speech for such an accomplished man.
Will and Julia also presented the award for Best Film Editing, agreeing that film editors were the worst and had cut out all their best work. Ford v Ferrari won which made me happy. Andrew Buckland said, “James Mangold, it’s my great, great pleasure to have sat and watched you become one of the best directors in this business in the last fifteen years.”
David Rubin, the president of the academy, talked about the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures and introduced Tom Hanks. Hanks talked further about the museum and claimed he was putting up drywall for it earlier that morning. He made the announcement that the museum would open its doors on on December 14.
Zazie Beetz introduced the orchestra and the conductor and then introduced Cynthia Erivo who performed “Stand Up” from Harriet.
James Corden and Rebel Wilson came out in poor looking cat costumes and said that they more than anyone understood the importance of good visual effects before presenting the award for Best Visual Effects to 1917. Before reading the name of the winner, they both batted the microphone with their paws for a while.
Ray Romano and Sandra Oh presented the award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling to Bombshell. Which is pretty undeniable. Kazu Hiro thanked his mentor, makeup legend Rick Baker. He said, “We would like to give our heartfelt thanks to Charlize Theron. You’re amazing. You’re an amazing actor and producer. And your compassion, love, and care made this film possible. And because of your bravery and passion, we are able to set a new bar in the makeup industry and create a new way to tell stories.”
There was a montage of foreign/international films with voice-over by Penelope Cruz. “We all ask ourselves the same questions. And sometimes the answer could be hidden in a film that represents our global language of cinema.” Cruz then presented the award for Best International Film to Parasite. This was South Korea’s first nomination and win in this category, South Korea’s second ever Oscar win. (After winning Best Original Screenplay earlier in the evening.) I was so happy Parasite won. Bong Joon-ho expressed gratitude at being the first recipient of the award under the new category title.
Elton John performed “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” from Rocketman.
Taika Waititi took a moment to acknowledge our Native American ancestors before recapping the Governors Awards recipients. He said, “The academy would like to acknowledge that tonight we have gathered on the ancestral lands of the Tongva, the Tataviam, and the Chumash. We acknowledge them as the first peoples of this land on which the motion pictures community lives and works.”
Gal Gadot, Sigourney Weaver, and Brie Larson came out to present the music awards. “All women are superrheroes. For first time, a female conductor will be conducting best original scores.” Maestra Elmear No-one conducted a Best Original Score medley. Joker won Best Original Score. It was Hildur Guðnadóttir’s first nomination and win. She said, “To the girls, to the women, to the mothers, to the daughters who hear the music bubbling within, please speak up. We need to hear your voices.”
Elton John won Best Original Song. I was so happy for Rocketman to win in the only category it was nominated.
Spike Lee presented Best Director to Bong Joon-ho for Parasite. This was an upset. After the Golden Globes, Sam Mendes was favored to win, especially since 1917 was favored to win Best Picture. Joon-Ho said, “I thought I was done for the day and ready to relax. He quoted Scorsese “The most personal is the most creative.”
Steven Spielberg somberly introduced the In Memoriam segment. Singer Billie Eilish sang “Yesterday” as tribute was paid to stars including Kobe Bryant, Rip Torn, Terry Jones, Agnes Varda, Danny Aiello, Buck Henry, Robert Forester, Robert Evans, Peter Mayhew, Doris Day, Rutger Hauer, John Witherspoon, Peter Fonda, John Singleton, and Kirk Douglas.
George McKay introduced Olivia Coleman who presented Best Actor to Joaquin Phoenix for Joker. It was his first Oscar and fourth nomination. He said, “We share the same love, the love of film, and this form of expression has given me the most extraordinary life. I don’t know what I’d be without it.” He went on to speak about how all the celebrity causes are really the fight against injustice. He also talked about how we have become disconnected from the natural world.
Rami Malek presented Best Actress to Renée Zellweger for Judy. It was her second Oscar win and her fourth nomination. She said, “Our heroes unite us, the best among us who inspires us to find the best in ourselves. They unite us. When we look to our heroes, we agree…When we celebrate our heroes, we’re reminded of who we are.”
Jane Fonda presented Best Picture to Parasite. It was a major upset and a pleasant surprise. 1917 had been the front runner. Parasite is the first non-English speaking film to win Best Picture. As a lover of foreign films, this is so exciting. Plus, I’m always happy when the movie I’m rooting for wins. Parasite was my #1 movie this year so I’m excited it took home the gold. This is such a 180 from Green Card’s win last year.
That’s a wrap on this year’s awards season. I’ll be posting early contenders for next year’s Oscars soon. To stay in the know, sign up for the newsletter and like the Facebook page.