Chlo茅 Zhao鈥檚 鈥淣omadland,鈥� a wistful portrait of itinerant lives on open roads across the American West, won best picture Sunday at the 93rd Academy Awards, where the China-born Zhao became the first woman of
In the biggest surprise of a socially distanced Oscar ceremony held during the pandemic, best actor went to Anthony Hopkins for his performance in the dementia drama 鈥淭he Father." The award had been widely expected to go to Chadwick Boseman for his final performance in 鈥淢a Rainey鈥檚 Black Bottom.鈥� The night鈥檚 last award, it ended the ceremony on a down note, particularly since Hopkins wasn鈥檛 in attendance.
Hours later, Hopkins made a belated victory speech from his Welsh homeland and paid tribute to Boseman, who he said was "taken from us far too early."
The 鈥淣omadland鈥� victory, while widely expected, nevertheless capped the extraordinary rise of Zhao, a lyrical filmmaker whose winning film is just her third, and which 鈥� with a budget less than $5 million and featuring a cast populated by non-professional actors 鈥� ranks as one of the most modest-sized movies to win Hollywood鈥檚 top
A plain-spoken meditation on solitude, grief and grit, 鈥淣omadland鈥� stuck a chord in a pandemic-ravaged year. It made for an unlikely Oscar champ: A film about people who gravitate to the margins took
鈥淚 have always found goodness in the people I鈥檝e met everywhere I went in the world,鈥� said Zhao when accepting best director, which Kathryn Bigelow ("The Hurt Locker") was the only previous woman to win. 鈥淭his is for anyone who has the faith and the courage to hold on to the goodness in themselves and to hold on the goodness in other no matter how difficult it is to do that.鈥�
With a howl, 鈥淣omadland鈥� star Frances McDormand implored people to seek out her film and others on the big screen. Released by the Disney-owned Searchlight Pictures, 鈥淣omadland鈥� premiered at a drive in and debuted in
鈥淧lease watch our movie on the largest screen possible," McDormand said. 鈥淎nd one day very, very soon, take everyone you know into a
Soon after, McDormand won best actress, too 鈥� her third such win. Only Katharine Hepburn, a four-time winner, has won best actress more times.
The most ambitious award show held during the pandemic, the Oscars rolled out a red carpet and tried to restored some glamour to a grim year. For the first time ever, this year's nominees were overwhelmingly seen in the home during a pandemic year that forced
More women and more actors of
The ceremony 鈥� fashioned as a movie of its own and styled as a laid back party 鈥� kicked off with opening credits and a slinky Regina King entrance, as the camera followed the actress and 鈥淥ne Night in Miami鈥� director in one take as she strode with an Oscar in hand into Los Angeles鈥� Union Station and onto the stage. Inside the transit hub (trains kept running), nominees sat at cozy, lamp-lit tables around an intimate
鈥淚t has been quite a year and we are still smack dab in the middle of it,鈥� King said.
Daniel Kaluuya won best supporting actor for 鈥淛udas and the Black Messiah.鈥� The win for the 32-year-old British actor who was previously nominated for 鈥淕et Out,鈥� was widely expected. Kaluuya won for his fiery performance as the Black Panther leader Fred Hampton, whom Kaluuya thanked for showing him 鈥渉ow to love myself.鈥�
鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to celebrate life, man. We鈥檙e breathing. We鈥檙e walking. It鈥檚 incredible. My mum met my dad, they had sex. It鈥檚 amazing. I鈥檓 here. I鈥檓 so happy to be alive," Kaluuya said, while cameras caught his mother's confused reaction.
With the awards capping a year of national reckoning on race and coming days after Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted for killing George Floyd, police brutality was on the minds of many attendees. King said that if the verdict had been different, she might have traded her heels for marching boots.
Travon Free, co-director of the live-action short winner 鈥淭wo Perfect Strangers,鈥� wore a suit jacket lined with the names of those killed by police. His film dramatizes police brutality as an inescapable time loop like a tragic 鈥淕roundhog鈥檚 Day" for Black Americans.
Best supporting actress went to Youn Yuh-jung for the matriarch of Lee Isaac Chung鈥檚 tender Korean-American family drama 鈥淢inari.鈥� The 73-year-old Youn, a well-known actress in her native South Korea, is the first Asian actress to win an Oscar since 1957 and the second in history. She accepted the award from Brad Pitt, an executive producer on 鈥淢inari.鈥� 鈥淢r. Brad Pitt, finally," said Youn. 鈥淣ice to meet you.鈥�
Hairstylists Mia Neal and Jamika Wilson of 鈥淢a Rainey鈥檚 Black Bottom鈥� became the first Black women to win in makeup and hairstyling. Ann Roth, at 89 one of the oldest Oscar winners ever, also won for the film鈥檚 costume design.
The night鈥檚 first award went to Emerald Fennell, the writer-director of the provocative revenge thriller 鈥淧romising Young Woman,鈥� for best screenplay. Fennell, winning for her feature debut, is the first woman win solo in the category since Diablo Cody (鈥淛uno鈥�) in 2007.
The telecast, produced by a team led by filmmaker Steven Soderbergh, moved out of the awards' usual home, the Dolby Theatre, for Union Station. With Zoom ruled out for nominees, the telecast included satellite feeds from around the world. Performances of the song nominees were pre-taped and aired during the preshow.
Pixar notched its 11th best animated feature Oscar with 鈥淪oul,鈥� the studio鈥檚 first feature with a Black protagonist. Peter Docter鈥檚 film, about a about middle-school music teacher (Jamie Foxx), was one of the few big-budget movies in the running at the Academy Awards. (It also won best score, making Jon Batiste the second Black composer win the award, which he shared with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.) Another was Christopher Nolan's 鈥淭enet,鈥� which last September attempted to resuscitate moviegoing during the pandemic. It took best visual effects.
David Fincher's 鈥淢ank," a lavishly crafted drama of 1940s Hollywood made for Netflix, came in the lead nominee with 10 nods and went home with awards for cinematography and for production design. Netflix led all studios with seven Oscars but again 鈥� after close calls with 鈥淭he Irishman" and 鈥淩oma," again missed out on the top award.
"My Octopus Teacher,鈥� a film that found a passionate following on Netflix, won best documentary. Danish director Thomas Vinterberg鈥檚 鈥淎nother Round鈥� won best international film, an award he dedicated to his daughter, Ida, who in 2019 was killed in a car crash at age 19.
The red carpet was back Sunday, minus the throngs of onlookers and with socially distanced interviews. Casual wear, the academy warned nominees early on, was a no-no. Stars, limited to a plus-one, went without their usual battalions of publicists.
But even a good show may not be enough to save the Oscars from an expected ratings slide. Award show ratings have cratered during the pandemic, and this year's nominees 鈥� many of them smaller, lower-budget dramas 鈥� won't come close to the drawing power of past Oscar heavyweights like 鈥淭itanic鈥� or 鈥淏lack Panther.鈥�
Sunday's pandemic-delayed Oscars bring to a close the longest awards season ever 鈥� one that turned the season's industrial complex of cocktail parties and screenings virtual. Eligibility was extended into February of this year, and for the first time, a theatrical run wasn't a requirement of nominees. Some films 鈥� like 鈥淪ound of Metal鈥� 鈥� premiered all the way back in September 2019. The biggest ticket-seller of the best picture nominees was 鈥淧romising Young Woman,鈥� with $6.4 million in box office.
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For complete coverage of this year鈥檚 Oscars, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/academy-awards
Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
