LOS ANGELES, CA — Perhaps it was fitting that a film about race relations in America pulled off an upset win for Best Picture on the same night that the Oscars delivered its most diverse cast of winners.
For the first time in 30 years, the biggest night in Hollywood kicked off Sunday evening without a host, but the night quickly proved entertaining, brisk, and notably historic. Just a couple years after the Oscars faced criticism for its lack of diversity, the 91st Academy Awards saw more black artists win than ever before. It was a night of both records and upsets.
“Black Panther” made history. “Roma” auteur Alfonso Cuaron dominated with three Oscars including Best Director for the foreign language film. Black actors swept the supporting actor and actress categories, and Spike Lee won his first Oscar after years of nominations.
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But the night ended with surprises in the top categories. “Green Book” unexpectedly took home the Oscars’ top prize for Best Picture, and Olivia Colman beat out the favorite Glenn Close for Best Actress.
“Green Book,” the depiction of the friendship that blossoms between a black master pianist and the gruff New York bouncer he hires as his bodyguard for a tour of the 1960s Deep South, also won Oscars for best supporting actor for Mahershala Ali and original screenplay for Brian Currie, Nick Vallelonga and Peter Farrelly, who also directed the film.
“The whole story is about love,” Farrelly said as he helped accept the best-picture prize at the Dolby Theatre. “It’s about loving each other despite our differences, and finding out the truth about who we are. We’re the same people.”
The Ceremony opened with a medley of Queen’s greatest hits with Adam Lambert performing lead vocals.
The opening number proved prophetic as Rami Malek took home the first major award of the night, the Best Actor Oscar for his performance as Freddie Mercury in “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
“I may not have been the obvious choice, but I guess it worked out,” he joked.
“Thank you, Queen, thank you guys for allowing me to be the tiniest part of your phenomenal, extraordinary legacy. I am forever in your debt,” he said. “Listen, we made a film about a gay man, an immigrant who lived his life just unapologetically himself, and the fact that I am celebrating him and this story with you tonight is proof that we’re longing for stories like this.”
“Bohemian Rhapsody” won four Oscars on the night, also earning prizes for sound editing for John Warhurst and Nina Hartstone; sound mixing for the trio of Paul Massey, Tim Cavagin and John Casali; and film editing by John Ottman.
The first major upset of the night came towards the end of the ceremony with Colman winning for “The Favourite.” She beat out top contender Close, star of “The Wife,” and the most nominated actress never to win an Oscar.
The win for Colman, 45, for her portrayal of 18th Century British Queen Anne was a bit of a surprise, since Close had swept most of the pre-Oscar awards shows. But it was Colman who collected the Academy Award, and her shock was evident.
“It’s genuinely quite stressful. This is hilarious. I got an Oscar,” Colman joked through a stream of tears. “My kids are at home and watching, or if you’re not, well, kind of, well done. But I sort of hope you are. This is not going to happen again.”
She also addressed her competitor and idol, who broke her own record for the most nominations without a win.
“Glenn Close you have been my idol for so long, and this is not how I wanted it to be, and I think you are amazing,” Colman added. “I love you very much.”
A montage from the year’s biggest movies followed Queen’s performance, and from there, the audience was treated to an unusually brisk award ceremony.
Comedians Tina Fey, Maya Rudolph and Amy Poehler took the stage hand-in-hand and wasted no time in addressing the elephant in the star-studded room – the confusing series of missteps and controversies leading to an Oscars ceremony without a host.
“We are not your hosts, but we are going to stand here a little too long so that the people who get USA Today tomorrow will think that we hosted,” quipped Fey.
“So just a quick update for everybody in case you’re confused. There is no host tonight. There won’t be a popular movie category and Mexico is not paying for the wall,” deadpanned Rudolph.
To the naked eye, it might look like the Academy’s effort to come back from last year’s all-time ratings low was off to an inauspicious start. Controversies and missteps led to the first Oscars telecast without a host in 30 years. And the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences confused everyone with a series announcements, reversals and do-overs from the abandoned popular Film category to firing of host Kevin Hart after the comedian refused to apologize for years-old homophobic tweets.
It’s been an unpredictable year for the Oscars and that, in itself, could have been its saving grace. Often criticized for being too predictable, the 91st Academy Awards were anything but.
The night had barely begun when “Blank Panther” made Oscar history. With wins in Costume Design and Production Design, Ruth E. Carter and Hannah Beachler became the first African American women to win in their categories.
Lee, the outspoken filmmaker who’s been nominated five times over the course of decades without notching a win, finally took home an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay with “BlacKkKlansman.”
Cuaron singlehandedly dominated the awards, winning three times for his black-and-white story “Roma,” which follows a domestic worker for a well-to-do Mexican family in the 1970s. In addition to winning in the directing category, he won for Best Cinematography and Best Foreign-Language Film.
“I want to thank the Academy for recognizing a film centered around an indigenous woman,” he said, noting there are millions of such workers in the world “without work rights” — “a character that has historically been relegated in the background in cinema.”
“As artists our job is to look where others don’t. This responsibility becomes much more important in times when we are being encouraged to look away,” Cuaron said.
In keeping with producers’ vow to keep the night moving at a quick pace, the first award of the night, the award for Best Supporting Actress was quickly given to Regina King for her role in “If Beale Street Could Talk.”
King beat out six-time nominee Amy Adams to score the win.
“I am an example of what it looks like when support and love is poured into someone,” a tearful King said while thanking her mother, who she brought to the show.
Speaking to reporters at the Dolby Theatre, the 48-year-old actress said it’s particularly resonant because the film itself is about love and persevering and is “so needed right now.”
“It’s a beautiful film … I think it’s a film that breaks through a lot of the sections that exist right now,” King said. “Love is that thing that pushes us through trauma.”
It’s a reminder, she said, that “our circumstances are so different, but to the core we’re really a lot alike.”
The urban tragedy centers on an accusation of rape, and King said that is a nearly universal story.
“If we have not experienced a violation like that firsthand, we have lifted a sister up,” she said.
It was important throughout, King said, to be clear that the character had been raped, though the lead character had been falsely accused as the perpetrator.
She called rape “a secret that shouldn’t be a secret.”
Ali took home his second Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in just three years. The “Green Book” star won the same prize three years ago for “Moonlight.”
He was honored Sunday for his portrayal of Don Shirley, a black master pianist who is accompanied by a gruff, white New York bouncer/bodyguard on a tour of the 1960s Deep South in “Green Book.”
“I want to thank Dr. Shirley for — I was just trying to capture his essence,” the 45-year-old Ali said. “Trying to capture Dr. Shirley’s essence pushed me to my ends, which is a reflection of the person he was and the life that he lived, and I thank him. I thank my partner Viggo (Mortensen) — extraordinary work. (Director) Peter Farrelly, thank you for your leadership and your guidance and for also giving us space, like, really giving us space to work it out and coming in and tweaking. Really appreciate it. Love you.
“… I want to dedicate this to my grandmother, who has been in my ear my entire life, telling me that if at first I don’t succeed, try, try again. That I can do anything I put my mind to — always, always pushing me to think positively, and I know that I would not be here without her. She has gotten me over the hump every step of the way.”
Documentary filmmakers Rayka Zehtabchi and Melissa Berton took home their Best Documentary Short Subject Oscar for “Period. End of Sentence,” and drew cheers for their unusual subject matter.
“I am not crying because I am on my period or anything,” said Rayka Zehtabchi. “I can’t believe a film about menstruation just won an Oscar.”
Zehtabchi and Berton credited students and girls around the world who inspired their film with their fight for equality.
“A period should end a sentence, not a girl’s education,” Berton said.
The Academy Award for Best Original Song went to Lady Gaga and Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando and Andrew Wyatt for their song “Shallow” in “A Star Is Born.” The singer used her acceptance speech as a chance to encourage struggling artists.
“If you are at home and you are sitting on your couch, and you are watching this right now, all I have to say is that this is hard work. I have worked hard for a long time. And it’s not about winning. But what it’s about is not giving up. If you have a dream, fight for it,” she said. “And it’s not about how many times you get rejected, or you fall down and are beaten up. It’s about how many times you stand up and are brave and you keep on going.”
The Complete List Of Winners:
Best Picture
“Green Book,” Jim Burke, Charles B. Wessler, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly and Nick Vallelonga
Best Director
Alfonso Cuaron, “Roma”
Best Actress
Olivia Colman, “The Favourite”
Best Actor
Rami Malek, “Bohemian Rhapsody”
Best Supporting Actress
Regina King for “If Beale Street Could Talk.”
Best Supporting Actor
Mahershala Ali, “Green Book”
Best Cinematography
“Roma,” Alfonso Cuaron
Best Original Screenplay
“Green Book,” Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie and Peter Farrelly
Best Adapted Screenplay
“BlacKkKlansman” Spike Lee, Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz and Kevin Willmott
Best Original Song
“Shallow” from “A Star Is Born,” music and lyric by Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando and Andrew Wyatt
Best Foreign Language Film
“Roma” (Mexico)
Best Documentary Feature
“Free Solo.” Filmmakers Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, Evan Hayes and Shannon Dill
Best Makeup and Hair Styling
Greg Cannom, Kate Biscoe and Patricia DeHaneyfor “Vice.”
Best Costume Design
Ruth Carter for “Black Panther.”
Best Production Design
“Black Panther” Production designer Hannah Beachler and Jay Hart
Best Sound Editing
“Bohemian Rhapsody,” John Warhurst and Nina Hartstone
Best Sound Mixing
“Bohemian Rhapsody,” Paul Massey, Tim Cavagin and John Casali
Best Film Editing
“Bohemian Rhapsody,” John Ottman
Best Animated Feature Film
“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller
Best Animated Short Film
“Bao,” Domee Shi and Becky Neiman-Cobb
Best Documentary Short Subject
“Period. End of Sentence.,” Rayka Zehtabchi and Melissa Berton
Best Visual Effects
“First Man,” Paul Lambert Ian Hunter, Tristan Myles and J.D. Schwalm
Best Live Action Short Film
“Skin,” Guy Nattiv and Jaime Ray Newman
Best Original Score
“Black Panther,” Ludwig Goransson
The Complete List of Nominees:
Best Picture
Best Actress
Best Actor
Best Director
Best Supporting Actress
Best Supporting Actor
Best Animated Feature Film
Best Animated Short Film
Best Original Song
Best Original Screenplay
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Foreign Language Film
Best Documentary Feature
Best Documentary Short Subject
Best Cinematography
Best Visual Effects
Best Production Design
Best Film Editing
Best Original Score
Best Costume Design
Best Makeup and Hair Styling
Best Sound Editing
Best Sound Mixing
Best Live Action Short Film
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City News Service contributed to this report.