After a movie year often light on crowds, the Academy Awards named an unabashed crowd-pleaser, the deaf family drama B次元官网网址淐ODA,B次元官网网址� best picture Sunday, handing HollywoodB次元官网网址檚 top award to a streaming service for the first time in a ceremony that saw the greatest drama when Will Smith strode onstage and slapped Chris Rock.
Sian HederB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淐ODA,B次元官网网址� which first premiered at a virtual Sundance Film Festival in winter 2021, started out as an underdog but gradually emerged as the OscarsB次元官网网址� feel-good favourite. It also had one very deep-pocketed backer in Apple TV+, which scored its first best picture Academy Award on Sunday, less than three years after launching the service.
It also handed another near-miss defeat to Netflix, the veteran streamer that for years has tried vainly to score best picture. Its best chance, Jane CampionB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淭he Power of the Dog,B次元官网网址� came in with a leading 12 nominations. It won one, for CampionB次元官网网址檚 direction.
But B次元官网网址淐ODAB次元官网网址� rode a wave of goodwill driven by its cast including Marlee Matlin, Troy Kotsur, Emilia Jones and Daniel Durant. ItB次元官网网址檚 the first film with a largely deaf cast to win best picture. B次元官网网址淐ODAB次元官网网址� managed that despite being one of the least-nominated films with only three coming into Sunday. Not since 1932B次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淕rand HotelB次元官网网址� has a movie won best picture with fewer than four nods.
Kotsur also won best supporting actor to become the first male deaf actor to win an Oscar, and only the second deaf actor to do so, joining his castmate and B次元官网网址淐ODAB次元官网网址� co-star Matlin.
B次元官网网址淭his is for the Deaf community, the CODA community and the disabled community,B次元官网网址� said Kotsur, signing from the stage. B次元官网网址淭his is our moment.B次元官网网址�
But most were talking about another moment. After Rock as a presenter joked to Jada Pinkett Smith that he was looking forward to a sequel to B次元官网网址淕.I. Jane,B次元官网网址� Will Smith stood up from his seat near the stage, strode up to Rock and smacked him. After sitting back down, Smith shouted at Rock to B次元官网网址渒eep my wifeB次元官网网址檚 name out of your (expletive) mouth.B次元官网网址� When Rock, who joked about Jada Pinkett Smith while hosting the Oscars in 2016, protested that it was just a B次元官网网址淕I JaneB次元官网网址� joke, Smith repeated the same line.
B次元官网网址淭hat was the greatest night in the history of television,B次元官网网址� Rock said, before awkwardly returning to presenting best documentary, which went to QuestloveB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淪ummer of Soul (B次元官网网址r When the Revolution Was Not Televised).B次元官网网址�
The moment shocked the Dolby Theatre audience and viewers at home. At the commercial break, presenter Daniel Kaluuya came up to hug Smith, and Denzel Washington escorted him to the side of the stage. The two talked and hugged and Tyler Perry came over to talk as well.
Smith, who plays Venus and Serena WilliamsB次元官网网址� father in B次元官网网址淜ing Richard,B次元官网网址� later in the show won best actor, his first Oscar. It meant Smith again took the stage shortly after what seemed likely to be one of the most infamous moments in Academy Awards history.
SmithB次元官网网址檚 acceptance speech vacillated between defense and apology.
B次元官网网址淩ichard Williams was a fierce defender of his family,B次元官网网址� Smith said in his first remarks. He continued: B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 being called on in my life to love people and to protect people and to be a river to my people.B次元官网网址�
Smith shared what Washington told him: B次元官网网址淎t your highest moment, be careful because thatB次元官网网址檚 when the devil comes for you.B次元官网网址�
Ultimately, Smith apologized to the academy and to his fellow nominees.
B次元官网网址淎rt imitates life. I look like the crazy fatherB次元官网网址� said Smith. B次元官网网址淏ut love will make you do crazy things.B次元官网网址�
Up until that moment, the show had been running fairly smoothly. Ariana DeBose became the first Afro-Latina to win an Academy Award for supporting actress. Jane Campion won the Oscar best director for B次元官网网址淭he Power of the Dog,B次元官网网址� her open-plains psychodrama that twisted and upended western conventions.
Campion, who had been the first woman ever twice nominated in the category (previously for 1993B次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淭he PianoB次元官网网址�), is only the third woman to win best director. ItB次元官网网址檚 also the first time the directing award has ever gone to women in back-to-back years, after B次元官网网址淣omadlandB次元官网网址� filmmaker Chloe Zhao won last year.
Best actress went to Jessica Chastain, who also won her first Oscar. Chastain won for her empathetic portrayal of the televangelist Tammy Faye in B次元官网网址淭he Eyes of Tammy Faye,B次元官网网址� a movie she also produced. The award was presented by Anthony Hopkins, who last year was absent when he surprisingly won best actor in that ceremonyB次元官网网址檚 final award.
After record-low ratings and a pandemic-marred 2021 show, producers this year turned to one of the biggest stars around B次元官网网址� Beyonce虂 B次元官网网址� to kick off an Oscars intended to revive the awardsB次元官网网址� place in pop culture. After an introduction from Venus and Serena Williams, Beyonce虂 performed her B次元官网网址淜ing RichardB次元官网网址� nominated song, B次元官网网址淏e Alive,B次元官网网址� in an elaborately choreographed performance from a lime-colored, open-air stage in Compton, where the Williams sisters grew up.
Hosts Wanda Sykes, Amy Schumer and Regina Hall then began the telecast from the Dolby Theatre.
B次元官网网址淎ll right, we are here at the Oscars,B次元官网网址� began Hall. Sykes finished: B次元官网网址淲here movie lovers unite and watch TV.B次元官网网址�
Sykes, Schumer and Hall breezily joked through prominent Hollywood issues like pay equity B次元官网网址� they said three female hosts were B次元官网网址渃heaper than one manB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� the Lady Gaga drama that Sykes called B次元官网网址淗ouse of Random Accents,B次元官网网址� the state of the Golden Globes (now relegated to the memoriam package, said Sykes) and Leonardo DiCaprioB次元官网网址檚 girlfriends. Their most pointed political point came at the end of their routine, in which they promised a great night and then alluded to FloridaB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淒onB次元官网网址檛 Say GayB次元官网网址� bill.
B次元官网网址淎nd for you people in Florida, weB次元官网网址檙e going to have a gay night,B次元官网网址� said Sykes.
The first broadcast award went, fittingly, to Ariana DeBose, who became the first openly LGBTQ actor and first Latina to win best supporting actress. Her win came 60 years after Rita Moreno won for the same role in the 1961 original B次元官网网址淲est Side Story.B次元官网网址� DeBose thanked Moreno for leading the way for B次元官网网址渢ons of Anitas like me.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淵ou see an openly queer woman of color, an Afro-Latina, who found her strength and life through art. And that is, I think, what weB次元官网网址檙e here to celebrate,B次元官网网址� said DeBose. B次元官网网址淪o if anyone has ever questioned your identity or you find yourself living in the gray spaces, I promise you this B次元官网网址� there is indeed a place for us.B次元官网网址�
Later, Kotsur became the first male deaf actor to ever win an acting Oscar, and joined his B次元官网网址淐ODAB次元官网网址� costar Marlee Matlin at the only deaf actors to win an Academy Award. He received a standing ovation while many in the Dolby gave the Deaf clap, waving both hands in the air.
B次元官网网址淓ncanto,B次元官网网址� the Disney hit propelled by its chart-topping soundtrack, won best animated film. Lin-Manuel Miranda, who penned the filmB次元官网网址檚 hit songs, missed the ceremony after his wife tested positive for COVID-19. Ryusuke HamaguchiB次元官网网址檚 three-hour Japanese drama B次元官网网址淒rive My Car,B次元官网网址� one of the yearB次元官网网址檚 most acclaimed films, won for best international film.
After two years of pandemic, and beneath a warm California sun Sunday, the Hollywood rite of glamour again got into swing, with a jammed red carpet and a COVID-tested audience.
To help regain the cultural spotlight, the Oscars leaned heavily on musical performances (Billie Eilish, Reba McEntire), film anniversaries (B次元官网网址淭he Godfather,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淧ulp Fiction,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淲hite Men CanB次元官网网址檛 JumpB次元官网网址�) and as many mentions of the B次元官网网址淓ncantoB次元官网网址� breakout song, B次元官网网址淲e DonB次元官网网址檛 Talk About Bruno,B次元官网网址� as possible. That made for an often buoyant ceremony that put less focus on the pandemic. The Ukrainian-born Mila Kunis led a 30-second moment of silence for Ukraine. Some stars, like Sean Penn, had lobbied the academy to have Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speak at the ceremony
Aside from a few blue ribbons spotted on the red carpet, politics were seldom center stage. The Oscars instead doubled down on razzle dazzle, and the movies as an escape. Producers brought in the likes of BTS and Tony Hawk to rope in more viewers. Some things worked better than others. Fan favorite rankings, as voted on by Twitter users B次元官网网址� in a moment unlikely to be remember as an Oscar highpoint B次元官网网址� honored Zack SnyderB次元官网网址檚 version of B次元官网网址淛ustice League.B次元官网网址�
Feel-good movies also fared well. Sian HederB次元官网网址檚 family drama B次元官网网址淐ODA,B次元官网网址� a coming-of-age film about the hearing daughter of a deaf family, won for best adapted screenplay. Kenneth BranaghB次元官网网址檚 autobiographical B次元官网网址淏elfast,B次元官网网址� an affectionate family drama bathed in nostalgia and shot in black-and-white, took best original screenplay.
Eilish and her brother Finneas, won for their Bond theme to B次元官网网址淣o Time to Die,B次元官网网址� a song that was released before the pandemic began. The film was subsequently delayed several times.
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The Academy Awards got underway Sunday off-camera, with the first eight awards on the night being handed out at the Dolby Theatre before the start of the ABC telecast. The Dolby was largely full in time for the 7 p.m. EDT pre-show, dubbed the B次元官网网址済olden hourB次元官网网址� by the academy. Speeches were later edited into the broadcast.
B次元官网网址淒uneB次元官网网址� got out to an early lead in those early awards, and it kept it through the night. The biggest blockbusters of this yearB次元官网网址檚 10 best-picture nominees, B次元官网网址淒uneB次元官网网址� won for production design, cinematography, editing, visual effects, sound and Hans ZimmerB次元官网网址檚 score. Though itB次元官网网址檚 not favored in the top awards, B次元官网网址淒uneB次元官网网址� was widely expected to clean up in the technical categories.
Greig FraserB次元官网网址檚 cinematography win denied one chance for Oscar history. Some had been rooting for Ari Wenger, who lensed Jane CampionB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淭he Power of the Dog,B次元官网网址� to become the first woman to win best cinematography, the sole Oscar category that has never been won by a woman in the Academy AwardsB次元官网网址� nine decade-plus history
Best makeup and hairstyling went to Linda Dowds, Stephanie Ingram and Justin Raleigh for B次元官网网址淭he Eyes of Tammy Faye.B次元官网网址� That filmB次元官网网址檚 star and producer, Jessica Chastain, had been among the many academy members who thought all the awards should have been handed out live during the broadcast. Chastain hugged each winner as they took the stage.
B次元官网网址淚 just hope that each and every day on set everyone takes a moment to just look around and look at all those talented people who work hard,B次元官网网址� said Dowds, the make-up artist.
B次元官网网址淭he Queen of Basketball,B次元官网网址� about the basketball great Lusia Harris, took best short documentary film. Its executive producers include Steph Curry and Shaquille OB次元官网网址橬eal. Best animated short went to B次元官网网址淭he Windshield Wiper,B次元官网网址� while B次元官网网址淭he Long Goodbye,B次元官网网址� a blistering fictional short starring Riz Ahmed, took best fiction short.
B次元官网网址淭his is for everyone who feels like theyB次元官网网址檙e stuck in No ManB次元官网网址檚 Land,B次元官网网址� said Ahmed. B次元官网网址淵ouB次元官网网址檙e not alone. WeB次元官网网址檒l meet you there.B次元官网网址�
Behind this yearB次元官网网址檚 telecast changes was alarm over the Oscars fast-falling ratings. While drops have been common to all major network award shows, last yearB次元官网网址檚 show attracted only about 10 million viewers, less than half of the 23.6 million the year before. A decade ago, it was closer to 40 million.
NetflixB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淭he Power of the Dog,B次元官网网址� CampionB次元官网网址檚 gothic western, came in with a leading 12 nominations and a good chance of snagging the top award. But all the momentum is with Sian HederB次元官网网址檚 deaf family drama B次元官网网址淐ODA,B次元官网网址� which, despite boasting just three nods, is considered the favorite. A win would be a triumph for Apple TV+, which acquired the movie out of the Sundance Film Festival last year and has spent big promoting it to academy members.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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