The Oscars 2019: The Action, The Upsets, The Winners!

The 2019 Oscars have arrived, and Roe McDermott has all the winners, losers, speeches and surprises of the night!

THE OPENING

In 2009, Adam Lambert auditioned for American Idol by singing Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and ‘We Will Rock You’ Five years later, he embarked on an American tour with Brian May and Roger Taylor, in a move May described as “the closest that you’ll ever get to see Queen as it was in our golden days.” This year Lambert performed a medley of Queen hits, including ‘We Will Rock You’ and ‘We Are The Champions’ as the opening act to the 91st Academy Awards. The performance was notable for several reasons; of course, the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody is nominated for several awards, including Best Picture, but also the performance marked a new kind of opening for the Oscars, which usually begins with a monologue from the show’s host. But this year, thanks to Kevin Hart’s inability to apologise, the award show decided to eschew having a host altogether.

Or did it?

After the Queen/Lambert performance, Maya Rudolph, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler appeared onscreen – but they were quick to dispel any confusion, with Rudolph getting the audience up to speed, announcing “We are not your hosts tonight, there will not be a popular movie category, and Mexico will not be paying for the wall.”

The three actresses continued to assert that they were definitely NOT the hosts, but did give a sample of what kind of jokes a typical host would have made, saying “Chadwick Boseman, Wakanda plans you got later?” and assuring A Star Is Born actor and director Bradley Cooper “Don’t worry Bradley, after four kids, I too have peed myself at the Grammys.”

It would be easy to say that the actresses were the hosts we need, but don’t deserve – but frankly, not having a host kept the usually obscenely long show to a much quicker, more enjoyable pace.

FIRST AWARDS

And it was off to a great start with the Best Supporting Actress category. This award went – unsurprisingly and utterly deservedly – to Regina King, for her beautiful performance in Barry Jenkins’ If Beale Street Could Talk. King is only the sixth Black woman to have won an Oscar, following in the footsteps of Hattie McDaniel, Whoopi Goldberg, Halle Berry, Octavia Spencer, Viola Davis, and the actress was tearful as she accepted her award. She paid homage to the writer of If Beale Street Could Talk, saying “To be standing her, representing one of the greatest artists of all time, James Baldwin, is slightly surreal.” She then thanked her mother, her fellow nominees and “sisters in art”, and all who supported her, saying “I’m an example of what it looks like when love and support is poured into someone.”

Melissa McCarthy and If Beale Street Could Talk actor Brian Tyree Henry (who should have been nominated for Best Supporting Actor) won laughs as they came onstage to present the award for Best Costume. In a nod to The Favourite, the actors waddled onstage wearing huge bustles, ruffled collars and holding a plush bunny rabbit puppet, which McCarthy waggled hilariously throughout her deadpan speech, before using it open the envelope and announce the winner, which went to Black Panther costume designer and legend Ruth E. Carter.

Carter has more than thirty years of movie experience and two Oscar nominations for her work, on Malcolm X and Amistad, and got a huge round of applause when she took her award saying “This has been a long time coming!” before thanking one of the night’s nominated directors. “Spike Lee, thank you for my start, I hope this makes you proud.” Black Panther is the first superhero film to win Best Costume Design, and Carter has been vocal and fascinating about her approach to designing for the citizens of Wakanda, saying in interviews that she aimed to respect both tradition and modernity, and to “show the world the beauty of tribal dress and move that forward in a more modernistic way.” Her speech was a beautiful ode to Black excellence onscreen, both characters and costuming, saying “Marvel may have made Black Panther a superhero, but through costume design, we turned him into an African King.” She continued, saying “Thank you to the Academy for honouring African royalty and the empowering way women can look onscreen.”

After Alfonso Cuaron was awarded Best Cinematography for Roma, Hannah Belcher became the first Black woman to be nominated for and win Best Production Design for Black Panther. Belcher gave an emotional, rousing speech, saying “I did my best. And my best was good enough!”

SONGS AND UPSETS

It was then time for one of the nominated songs to be performed. Game Of Thrones actress Emilia Clarke introduced (a somewhat pitchy) Jennifer Hudson, who sang ‘I’ll Fight’ from the documentary RBG, about the iconic Supreme Court Justice. Clarke paid homage to Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s lifelong fight against gender discrimination, saying “Khaleesi’s got nothing on her. Justice Ginsburg, if you ever need the dragons – call me.”

Javier Bardem and Angela Bassett presented the award for Best Foreign Language Film, with Bardem giving a moving and subtly political address – all delivered in Spanish. “There are no borders or walls that can restrain ingenuity and talent,” said the actor. “In any region of any continent, there are always great stories that move us. Tonight we celebrate the importance and excellence of the cultures and languages of different countries.” Bassett also remarked on how Roma in particular has broken down the often heavily guarded boundaries that separate foreign language films from receiving multiple awards, acknowledging that this year, “foreign language films are not just recognised in this category, but in almost every category.” And indeed, Roma did win Best Foreign Language Film – we hope Alfonso Cuaron has enough speeches prepared for the night.

Keegan Michael Key challenged Melissa McCarthy for Most Whimsical Entrance, flying in from an umbrella to introduce the next musical performance; Bette Midler singing ‘Where The Lost Things Go’ from Mary Poppins Returns.

One of the first truly arguable wins of the night went to Best Editing for Bohemian Rhapsody. Admittedly, John Ottman had a difficult job after now disgraced Bryan Singer left the film during production, leaving the crew scrambling, but a clip that went viral on Twitter last week showed how frenetic and occasionally incomprehensible the editing was, featuring almost 90 cuts in a 3 minute scene. Singer, incidentally, went without mention in any acceptance speeches.

Mahershala Ali won his second Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in Green Book. Ali played the classical and jazz pianist and composer Don Shirley, who toured throughout the Deep South in the 1960s. Green Book has been controversial due to its inaccuracy, White Saviour tropes and controversy surrounding co-star Viggo Mortensen’s use of the N-word during a press conference as well as writer Nick Vallelonga’s Islamaphobic tweets, and allegations that director Peter Farrelly exposed himself to actrsses such as Cameron Diaz. But Ali’s performance has been praised, and his win was expected. Accepting his award, Ali said “Trying to capture the essence of Dr. Shirley pushed me to my limits, which was a reflection of the person that he was and the life that he lived.” As well as thanking his co-star Viggo Mortensen, director Peter Farrelly and his wife, Ali dedicated his award to his grandmother “who has been in my ear my entire life, telling me that if I don’t succeed, try try again.” Ali is the second Black actor to have won two Oscars for acting, alongside Denzel Washington.

SHORTS AND ANIMATION

Because sometimes, all is right with the world, the superb and irresistible Spider-Man: Into The Spiderverse won Best Animated Feature, and the filmmakers gave an endearing speech, focusing on their desire to represent all children. “When a child turns and says ‘he looks like me’ or ‘he speaks Spanish like me, we’ve already won.” They also spoke to their young audience directly, calling upon them to use their own powers, saying “We see you. You are powerful. This world needs you. So please, we’re counting on you.”

Wayne’s World stars Dana Carvey and Mike Myers reunited onstage to introduce Bohemian Rhapsody, having of course given a somewhat iconic performance of the titular track onscreen. Ocean’s 8 star Awkwafina and comedian John Mulaney presented Best Animated Short Film to Pixar’s Bao, the gorgeous short about a mother and her moving relationship with a dumpling. Domee Shi and Becky Neiman-Cobb took to the stage, with Shi dedicating her award to “all the nerdy girls who hide behind your sketchbooks, don’t be afraid to come out and show your work to the world.”

Women were on a roll, as Rayka Zehtabchi and Melissa Berton won Best Documentary Short for their film, Period. End of Sentence. The film charts the mission of women in a rural village in India, where women hope to make feminine hygiene supplies easily available and end the stigma surrounding menstruation, which often results in girls having to drop out of school. The women were hilarious and overjoyed, with Zehtabchi tearfully announcing “I’m not crying because I’m on my period or anything, I just can’t believe a film about menstruation just won an Oscar!” Berton ended her speech with a call to destigmatise menstruation everywhere, saying “A period should end a sentence, not a girl’s education.”

After First Man won best Visual Effects, Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga took to the stage to give a beautiful rendition of ‘Shallow’ from A Star Is Born. Cooper was particularly impressive given the pressure of singing live in front of all of Hollywood – hopefully the warm reaction to his performance will somewhat compensate for him not receiving a Best Director nod. (Probably not.)

Best Live Action Short went to Skin, a film that addresses racism and white supremacy. Directors Guy Nattiv and Jaime Ray Newman took to the stage, Nattiv announcing “My grandparents are Holocaust survivors. The bigotry that they experienced in the Holocaust, we see that everywhere today. In America, in Europe. This film is about... teaching your kids a better way.”

CONTROVERSIES AND CALLS TO ACTION

Best Original Screenplay went to Green Book writers Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly – a controversial win, but the mood was soon lifted when presented Samuel L. Jackson to present Best Adapted Screenplay to his friend Spike Lee for Blackkklansman. Co-writers Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz and Kevin Willmott joined the director onstage, but it was Lee’s moment as he said “Before the world tonight, I give praise to our ancestors who helped to build this country. We all connect with our ancestors, we will have love and wisdom regained, we will regain our humanity, it will be a powerful moment.” He then urged the audience to vote in the 2020 U.S. Presidential election, saying “Let’s all mobilise, let’s all be on the right side of history. Do the right thing! You know I had to get that in there!”

Black Panther continued to rake in awards, winning Best Original Score, and while Nicholas Britell could have felt hard done by for his work on If Beale Street Could Talk being overlooked, at this stage it was clear Barry Jenkins’ masterful film was going to be shamefully under-awarded this year. Lady Gaga unsurprisingly got to go onstage and accept her award for Best Original Song for ‘Shallow’, thanking co-star and director Bradley Cooper, saying “There was not a single person on the planet who could have sang this song with me, thank you. Thank you for believing in me, in us.” She then tearfully dedicated her award to young creatives, telling them “This is hard work. I’ve worked hard for a long time. It’s not about winning, it’s about not giving up…If you have a dream, fight for it.”

THE BIG ONES

As the night crept to a close, Rami Malek was awarded Best Actor for his performance as Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody – a win that was predicted, if not fully deserved. (We’re still annoyed that Ethan Hawke wasn’t nominated for First Reformed, and no, we won’t get over it.) But Malek was charming and gracious in victory, saying “I may not have been the obvious choice, but I guess it worked out?” He then thanked the band Queen, “for allowing me to be the tiniest part of your extraordinary legacy. I am forever in your debt.” Malek then dedicated his award to “to anyone struggling with your identity, anyone struggling to find a voice –we made a film about a gay man, an immigrant who lived his life as unapologetically himself. People are hungry for these stories. I’m the son of immigrants from Egypt, I’m first-generation American. My story is being written right now. I could not be more grateful.”

Congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis then took to the stage to introduce Green Book, and the Black politician said he well remembered the time in American history when “Black men and women treated like second-class citizens; beaten and sometimes killed for the crime of trying to live their lives with dignity. Our nation bears the scars of that time, as do I.”

But before Best Picture was announced, it was time for Best Actress, and it was a surprise win for Olivia Coleman. Glenn Close had been tipped as the favourite to win for her role in The Wife (and her role in Hollywood, forever), but Coleman’s recent successes at the Golden Globes brought more attention to her sublimely funny and deceptively deep performance as the mercurial Queen Anne in The Favourite. Coleman’s speech was humble and overwhelmed and hilariously endearing, as she started with “It’s genuinely quite stressful. This is hilarious. I’ve got an Oscar! If I forget anyone, I’m going to find you later and give you a massive snog!” She thanked director Yorgos Lanthimos and co-stars Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz before also mentioning a fellow nominee, saying apologetically “Glenn Close, you have been my idol for so long, and this is not how I wanted it to be, and I love you so much!” Coleman then emotionally thanked her family, saying “This is not going to happen again. And to any little girl who practicing their speech in the mirror, you never know!” As she left the stage, still beaming, she started randomly thanking every celebrity around her, becoming all of us as she exclaimed “Lady Gaga!” We would yell if we saw Lady Gaga, too.

Alfonso Cuaron then won Best Director, reappearing onstage to quip “Being here doesn’t get old!” The director, who also won in 2014 for Gravity, said “I want to thank the Academy for recognising a film about an immigrant woman - one of the 70 million people around the world without workers’ rights”. He described Roma as a film that brings to the fore the sort of character more often relegated to the background in films, “at a time when we are being encouraged to look away.” Interestingly, Cuaron’s win marks the fifth time in six years a Mexican director has won the award. Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu winning in 2015 and 2016 for Birdman and The Revenant respectively, and Guillermo del Toro won last year for The Shape of Water.

And then it happened. The unthinkable, yet inevitable. The embarrassment I had been dreading. White Saviour film Green Book won Best Picture, which will undoubtedly go down as one of the worst calls in Oscar history. Crash, Shakespeare In Love – come back, all is forgiven. Driving Miss Daisy – yeah, hold Green Book’s beer.

Director Peter Farrelly took to the stage, saying “The whole story is about love, it’s about loving each other, despite our differences, and finding out the truth about who we are, we’re the same people.”

If we’re all the same, allow me to speak for everyone: Green Book should not have won, it’ll go down as an historically bad call, but the slightly quicker awards show runtime was appreciated.

Best Picture: Green Book
Best Director: Alfonso Cuaron, Roma
Best Actress: Olivia Coleman, 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 Original Song: ‘Shallow’, A Star Is Born
Best Original Screenplay: Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly, Green Book
Best Adapted Screenplay: Spike Lee, Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott, Blackkklansman
Best Documentary Feature: Free Solo
Best Make-Up and Hairstyling: Greg Cannom, Kate Biscoe, Patricia Dehaney, Vice
Best Costume Design: Ruth E. Carter, Black Panther
Best Production Design: Hannah Beachler, Jay Hart, Black Panther
Best Cinematography: Alfonso Cuaron, Roma
Best Sound Editing: John Warhurst, Nina Hartstone, Bohemian Rhapsody
Best Sound Mixing: Paul Massey, Tim Cavagin, John Casali, Bohemian Rhapsody
Best Foreign Language Film: Roma
Best Editing: John Ottman, Bohemian Rhapsody
Best Animated Feature: Spider-Man: Into The Spiderverse
Best Animated Short Film: Bao
Best Documentary Short: Period. End Of Sentence.
Best Visual Effects: Paul Lambert, Ian Hunter, Tristan Myles and J.D. Schwalm, First Man
Best Score: Ludwig Goransson, Black Panther