Award Season: OSCARS
Controversy began back in December when the Oscars announced there would be no host after dropping Kevin Hart due to previous allegations against him. This was a shock but a lot of people speculated that the show could go on despite not having one main presenter. In fact on the night I think The Academy did a fantastic job in getting Amy Poehler, Tina Fey and Maya Rudolph to "open" the show. The three women gave a brief speech on the expectations of the nights, including a few gags to get the spectators laughing and disclosing that they are not the hosts of the night and were there to announce the winner of the Actress in a Supporting Role category. Nevertheless the women did an amazing job.
The next spark of debate before the award night was The Academy announcing their plan to award some of the categories during the ad-breaks. This sparked outrage across the world, and rightly agreeing, saying how it took the limelight away from some of the categories and to those nominated. Those industry specialists' hard work and the celebration of being nominated to then potentially be shunned into being presented during an ad-break would certainly feel like a slap in the face; to which I was glad to see on the night that the Academy had abolished that plan and allowed all the awards to be celebrated live. Seeing some of the lesser recognised categories being shown live allows the audience to see and understand that there is more to the movies than just the star studded names featured on poster adverts and trailers.
In my opinion the whole night was better than the expectations leading up to it. The show opened with Queen and Adam Lambert performing 'We Will Rock You' and 'We Are The Champions'. Despite a good performance many critiqued the song choices; I personally felt that the performance wasn't amazing, they could have chosen different Queen songs, but it was a good opener to the night.
Following on from Queen's rendition there were quite a few amazing performances throughout the night. Keegan-Michael Key flying down from the ceiling of the Dolby Theatre with umbrella in hand, yes Mary Poppins style, introduced the viewers to a performance of 'The Place Where Lost Things Go' from Mary Poppins Returns sung by Bette Middler. It was a beautiful version and I think Middler displayed the emotions of the song very pure and lullaby-esque. Plus everyone got to see Richard E. Grant fan-girl.
I think it would be impossible to not discuss Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper's performance of 'Shallow' from A Star Is Born on the night. What an amazing performance that portrayed the true art of putting on a performance. Lady Gaga's vocals were amazing, as always, and it was really interesting to see Cooper's vocals live, and the pairs vocals go so well together. And let's put aside the accusations of romance between the two, the song and film are beautiful and the two stars are both artists at the end of the day. They know how to put on a show.
There were also so many highlights to the night. Melissa McCarthy and Brian Tyree Henry came out to present best costume design in what was an amalgamation of those nominated inspired outfits. McCarthy was wearing an outfit inspired by The Favourite with nods to Queen Anne's pet rabbits grazing along the train of her dress; and likewise Henry had makeup in the style of Black Panther with a very regal attire similar to McCarthy's Favourite style. Despite backlash that the outfits received from designers I thought it was a comical nod towards costume design in film presented by comical actors.
The most important and pure moment of the night, for me, goes to Olivia Colman winning the award for Actress in a Leading Role. Upon the announcement of her name being called out, Colman goes into a state of shock, receiving praises from her husband, Emma Stone and director Yorgos Lanthimos. It is a moment of pure adoration for such a lovely human being. What made the moment so special was seeing her reaction on stage holding her Oscar and being speechless in front of a standing ovation. Her speech was made even funnier as she tried to focus on who to thank, and who she might forget to thank, and how she was interrupted by the tele-prompter telling her to wrap up, to which she blew a raspberry causing an eruption of laughter throughout the theatre. Making fun of herself as well as the enjoyment and experience of working on a film that put her in a category nominated alongside Glenn Close and Lady Gaga Olivia Colman truly deserved the award and the best moment of the night in my opinion.
What did you think of The Academy Awards? Leave a comment down below if they lived up to your expectations or if there were moments that you liked or didn't like. In my opinion I think the Academy saved themselves from the onslaught of criticism if they were to go ahead with awards in the ad-breaks, but I think overall with all the different presenters the lack of a host was not too prominent and could go unscathed in future ceremonies.
Enjoy.
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2019 OSCAR Awards:
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role:
Christian Bale - Vice
Bradley Cooper - A Star Is Born
Willem Dafoe - At Eternity's Gate
Rami Malek - Bohemian Rhapsody - WINNER
Viggo Mortensen - Green Book
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role:
Mahershala Ali - Green Book - WINNER
Adam Driver - BlackKklansman
Sam Elliott - A Star Is Born
Richard E. Grant - Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Sam Rockwell - Vice
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role:
Yalitza Aparicio - Roma
Glenn Close - The Wife
Olivia Colman - The Favourite - WINNER
Lady Gaga - A Star Is Born
Melissa McCarthy - Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role:
Amy Adams - Vice
Marina de Tavira - Roma
Regina King - If Beale Street Could Talk - WINNER
Emma Stone - The Favourite
Rachel Weisz - The Favourite
Best Animated Feature Film:
Incredibles 2
Isle of Dogs
Mirai
Ralph Breaks The Internet
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse - WINNER
Achievement in Cinematography:
Łukasz Żal - Cold War
Robbie Ryan - The Favourite
Caleb Deschanel - Never Look Away
Alfonso Cuarón - Roma - WINNER
Matthew Libatique - A Star Is Born
Achievement in Costume Design:
Mary Gophers - The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Ruth Carter - Black Panther - WINNER
Sandy Powell - The Favourite
Sandy Powell - Mary Poppins Returns
Alexandra Byrne - Mary Queen of Scots
Achievement in Directing:
Spike Lee - BlackKklansman
Paweł Pawlikowski - Cold War
Yorgos Lanthimos - The Favourite
Alfonso Cuarón - Roma - WINNER
Adam McKay - Vice
Best Documentary Feature:
Free Solo - WINNER
Hale County This Morning, This Evening
Minding The Gap
Of Fathers And Sons
RBG
Best Documentary Short Subject:
Black Sheep
End Game
Lifeboat
A Night At The Garden
Period. End of Sentence. - WINNER
Achievement in Film Editing:
Barry Alexander Brown - BlackKklansman
John Ottman - Bohemian Rhapsody - WINNER
Yorgos Mavropsaridis - The Favourite
Patrick J. Don Vito - Green Book
Hank Corwin - Vice
Best Foreign Language Film:
Capernaum
Cold War
Never Look Away
Roma - WINNER
Shoplifters
Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling:
Göran Lundström and Pamela Goldhammer - Border
Jenny Shircore, Marc Pilcher and Jessica Brooks - Mary Queen of Scots
Greg Cannom, Kate Biscoe and Patricia Delaney - Vice - WINNER
Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score):
Ludwig Goransson - Black Panther - WINNER
Terence Blanchard - BlackKklansman
Nicholas Brittle - If Beale Street Could Talk
Alexandre Desalt - Isle of Dogs
Marc Shaiman - Mary Poppins Returns
Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song):
"All The Stars" from Black Panther
"I'll Fight" from RBG
"The Place Where Lost Things Go" from Mary Poppins Returns
"Shallow" from A Star Is Born - WINNER
"When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings" from The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Best Motion Picture:
Black Panther
BlackKklansman
Bohemian Rhapsody
The Favourite
Green Book - WINNER
Roma
A Star Is Born
Vice
Achievement in Production Design:
Hannah Beachler and Jay Heart - Black Panther - WINNER
Fiona Crombie and Alice Felton - The Favourite
Nathan Crowley and Kathy Lucas - First Man
John Myhre and Gordon Sim - Mary Poppins Returns
Eugenio Caballero and Bárbara Enríquez - Roma
Best Animated Short Film:
Animal Behaviour
Bao - WINNER
Late Afternoon
One Small Step
Weekends
Best Live Action Short Film:
Detainment
Fauve
Marguerite
Mother
Skin - WINNER
Achievement in Sound Editing:
Black Panther
Bohemian Rhapsody - WINNER
First Man
A Quiet Place
Roma
Achievement in Sound Mixing:
Black Panther
Bohemian Rhapsody - WINNER
First Man
Roma
A Star Is Born
Achievement in Visual Effects:
Avengers: Infinity War
Christopher Robin
First Man - WINNER
Ready Player One
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Adapted Screenplay:
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
BlackKklansman - WINNER
Can You Ever Forgive Me?
If Beale Street Could Talk
A Star Is Born
Original Screenplay:
The Favourite
First Reformed
Green Book - WINNER
Roma
Vice
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