The road to this year's Oscar ceremony was paved with controversy, exclusion and poor judgment. There is no need to go back over the largely self-inflicted wounds by the Academy but producers, Glenn Weiss and Donna Gigliotti did manage to pull off a fairly entertaining show despite the many obstacles they faced. With no host and the goal to keep the telecast under three hours failing to happen, The Oscars was still quite a lively and glittering affair.
The idea of having Queen and Adam Lambert kick off the ceremony with a tribute to the movie, "Bohemian Rhapsody" was highly unusual and surprising for the typically staid Oscars but it was great seeing these stars rock out and singing along to "We Will Rock You" and "We Are The Champions" with the band. It was also wise to have "SNL" vets, Maya Rudolph, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler (who really would have all made terrific hosts) to help set the tone of a hostless event by presenting the first award. This trio of funny ladies perfectly found the humor in the controversies surrounding the show and their witty banter helped move the event forward. And you can always count on Melissa McCarthy to do something outrageous whenever she shows up. While presenting Best Costume Design with Brian Tyree Henry, they both hilariously came out wearing a mash-up of all of the designs from the nominated films.
The inventive pairing (Helen Mirren and Jason Momoa was one of my favorites) and inclusive line-up of presenters (which also featured non-actors, Serena Williams, Trevor Noah and Congressman, John Lewis) was very inspired. But it was the musical numbers of the nominated songs (which ironically were going to be drastically cut from the program) that delivered some truly magical moments to the show. Jennifer Hudson brought dramatic flair with her performance and her dress during "I'll Fight" from "RBG"; nominees, Dave Rawlings and Gillian Welch did a low-key but charming version of their song, "When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings" from "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs" and Bette Midler soothed with a lovely rendition of the "Mary Poppins Returns" number. But it was Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper who simply rose from their seats in the audience to do an intimate and touching performance of "Shallow" that was the highlight of the evening. The couple brought the searing chemistry they had displayed on screen in their nominated work in "A Star Is Born" right on to the stage.
And about those winners? It was great to see such a diverse selection and it was a very rare case when all of the Best Picture nominees each took home at least one award. People of color and women fared very well this year with costume designer, Ruth Carter and production designer, Hannah Beachler were both honored for their work in "Black Panther" and became the first African-American women to win in their categories. Women were some of the big winners as directors and producers in Best Documentary, Best Documentary Short, Best Animated Short and Best Live-Action Short. Now we just need to have more women nominated in some of the major technical categories. In one of the least surprising victories, Alfonso Cuarón took home three trophies for his moving and poetic drama, "Roma" with Best Cinematography, Director and Foreign-Language Film. And while I'm thrilled that Olivia Colman received a well-deserved win for her role in "The Favourite", I am still unsettled by the fact that Glenn Close still does not have a Best Actress Oscar.
"Green Book" was named the Best Picture of 2018 and the reaction to this win was swift and harsh. Some have dismissed this controversial film as nothing more than a racial flip of "Driving Miss Daisy" while others have proclaimed this to be the worst selection since "Crash" inexplicably took the prize back in 2004, beating the still revered, "Brokeback Mountain". Now, out of the eight Best Picture nominees, "Green Book" would definitely not have been my pick (that would have been "The Favourite") but I completely understand why this happened. I think that due to the troubling and scary times we are facing, people were drawn to and comforted by the uplifting ideas of this feel-good movie.
We know it's hard to get an over ninety year old to change it's old-fashioned way of thinking but the Academy Awards is at least making the effort. We just have to be a little more patient and understanding. I believe it will eventually come around.
Here is the complete list of winners of the 2019 Academy Awards:
Best Picture: "Green Book"
Best Director: Alfonso Cuarón, "Roma"
Best Adapted Screenplay: Charlie Wachtel & David Rabinowitz and Kevin Willmott & Spike Lee, "BlacKkKlansman"
Best Original Screenplay: Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie and Peter Farrelly, "Green Book"
Best Actress: Olivia Colman, "The Favourite"
Best Actor: Rami Malek, "Bohemian Rhapsody"
Best Supporting Actress: Regina King, "If Beale Street Could Talk"
Best Supporting Actor: Mahershala Ali, "Green Book"
Best Cinematography: Alfonso Cuarón, "Roma"
Best Film Editing: John Ottman, "Bohemian Rhapsody"
Best Foreign Language Film: "Roma" (Mexico)
Best Documentary Feature: "Free Solo"
Best Documentary Short Subject: "Period. End Of Sentence"
Best Animated Feature Film: "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse"
Best Animated Short Film: "Bao"
Best Production Design: Hannah Beachler, Production Design and Jay Hart, Set Decoration, "Black Panther"
Best Costume Design: Ruth Carter, "Black Panther"
Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Greg Cannom, Kate Biscoe and Patricia DeHaney, "Vice"
Best Original Song: "Shallow" from "A Star Is Born" Music and Lyric by Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando and Andrew Wyatt
Best Original Score: Ludwig Goransson, "Black Panther"
Best Live Action Short Film: "Skin"
Best Sound Mixing: Paul Massey, Tim Cavagin and John Casali, "Bohemian Rhapsody"
Best Sound Editing: John Warhurst and Nina Hartstone, "Bohemian Rhapsody"
Best Visual Effects: Paul Lambert, Ian Hunter, Tristan Myles and J.D. Schwalm, "First Man"
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