Diversity takes home the gold at the Oscars
Award season reached its climax on Feb. 24 as Hollywood brought together A-List actors to celebrate the 91st Academy Awards. It was another big year for the movies, but only a few can win the golden statue.
Over the years, the Academy Awards have been known as “Hollywood’s Biggest Night” but it was not on the watchlist for everyone. However, filled with first-time winners and surprises galore, this year had an increased viewership.
This year, Hollywood celebrated the Oscars by breaking tradition as it was hosted by no one. For the first time in 30 years, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences could not find a master of ceremonies to lead the show. However, that did not stop the presenters to award the gold and crack a few jokes.
One of the highlights included Lady Gaga snagging her first for Best Original Song, singing “Shallow” from “A Star is Born” alongside her co-star Bradley Cooper.
Olivia Coleman won her first award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance as Queen Anne in “The Favourite,” beating seven-time nominated actress Glenn Close. Critically-acclaimed director and writer Spike Lee won his first Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for his film, “BlacKkKlansman.”
It was also a big night for Marvel Studios’ visual masterpiece, “Black Panther.” The film was nominated for six awards, including Best Picture. The cast and crew took home three: Best Costume Design, Best Production Design and Best Original Score. “Black Panther” was the first Marvel film in history to win at the Academy Awards. With accolades like these, they will leave fans screaming “WAKANDA FOREVER!”
In the animation category, Sony Pictures took home the gold for their film “Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse,” becoming the first non-Disney animated film in almost a decade to win the prestigious best animated film award. For popular films such as “Brave,” “Ratatouille” and “Zootopia,” Disney and Pixar have taken home the award. This year’s competition appeared to be no match for Disney’s “Ralph Breaks the Internet” and “Incredibles 2.”
“Spiderman” broke Disney’s streak and started a new era through their comic-book style and 3D animation. However, for Disney, victory was still theirs for “Black Panther” and their project “Bao”, which won Best Animated Short Film.
The biggest surprise came at the end when Julia Roberts came out to announce the winner for Best Picture. In preparation for the Academy Awards, fans speculated the award would go to “Bohemian Rhapsody.” The biographical film tells the true story of the life and career of Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of Queen. It was one of the leading winners out of all the films nominated, taking home four Academy Awards. Most of them were technical, such as editing and sound, but Rami Malek carried the legacy winning Best Actor in a Lead Role. Sadly, “Bohemian Rhapsody” fell short of winning Best Picture.
Instead, the award went to “Green Book,” which tells the true story of a New York bouncer who works as a driver for an African-American pianist. Though the film has dealt with controversy over the representation of Dr. Donald Shirley, “Green Book” came out on top. Marhershela Ali won for Best Supporting Actor for portraying his character. In addition, the film took home Best Original Screenplay, bringing the untold true story to life.
