As the film wins best picture, filmmaker also named best director, the first woman of color to win in the category.
Chloe Zhao made a great movie and then she made history.
In winning best director for “Nomadland,” the film also named best picture, Zhao became only the second woman in the 93-year history of the Oscars and the first woman of color to win in the category. That’s a stunning indictment of Hollywood’s past — but a bright ray of hope for the future.
“I have always found goodness in the people I met everywhere I went in the world,” said Zhao. “So this is for anyone who has the faith and the courage to hold onto the goodness and themselves, and ... in each other.” It was just one of the many poignant moments of the night.
Other than mild upsets in the screenplay categories (“The Father” for adapted screenplay, “Promising Young Woman” for original screenplay) and some of the technical contests, the first wave of major awards offered few legitimate surprises as the night progressed in typically, um, deliberate fashion and we heard the names of favorites or co-favorites such as Daniel Kaluuya (supporting actor), Yuh-Jung Youn (supporting actress) and “Soul” (animated feature). Many of the early acceptance speeches ran long but were often deeply moving, e.g., when “Another Round” won for best international feature and director Thomas Vinterberg paid heart-rending tribute to his late daughter Ida, 19, who was killed in a car crash in Paris when Vinterberg was just four days into shooting the film.
Then there was Daniel Kaluuya, who won best supporting actor for his portrayal of Black Panther Illinois party chairman Fred Hampton in “Judas and the Black Messiah.” Kaluuya delivered a timely and powerful speech and talked about how he’s been inspired by Hampton and others to be a better man — but he ended on an hilariously celebratory note when he talked about how life is so incredible and said: “My mom met my dad, they had sex, it’s amazing, I’m here!,” as we cut to shot of Kaluuya’s mother and sister in London, with sis putting her hands in her face as mom wondered what the heck her son just said.
One can picture the first four texts from mom:
Daniel.
Daniel?
Daniel!
DANIEL!!!!!
Prior to the handing out of the trophies, Regina King took the stage at Union Station in downtown Los Angeles and said: “I have to be honest: If things had gone differently this past week in Minneapolis, I might have traded my heels in for marching boots. Now I know that a lot you people at home want to reach for your remote when you feel Hollywood is preaching to you, but as a mother of a Black son, I know the fear that so many live with, and no amount of fame or fortune changes that. But tonight, we are here to celebrate.”
Beautifully said.
But the first highlight of the night didn’t even take place during the actual ceremony — it happened early on in the preshow titled “Oscars: Into the Spotlight,” when Molly Sanden and a kids’ choir in the fairy-tale colorful fishing village of Husavik, Iceland, sang “Husavik” from “Eurovision Song Contest,” which was lip-synced by Rachel McAdams in the wacky comedy film but actually worked quite beautifully as a performance number that would have brought down the house had there been a house to bring down.
So, we had Husavik kids in Huvasik wearing fuzzy Husavik sweaters singing background on “Husavik” and it was the most Husavik thing ever and made me want to go whale watching in Husavik.
In fact, all five nominated songs were beautifully rendered remote, elaborately orchestrated production numbers — as opposed to years past, when the songs were scattered throughout the ceremony and were often underwhelming miscalculations that only served to lengthen the proceedings. It was a particularly strong year for best song, but hard to argue against the winner: “Fight for You” from “Judas and the Black Messiah.”
Overall, the relatively muted, red carpet procession featuring only nominees and presenters and a small gathering of press, and the low-key pre-show hosted by Ariana DeBose and Lil Rel Howery, struck the right tone for an Oscars that wanted to celebrate the glitz and glamour of Hollywood without coming across as tone-deaf. There was the usual amount of “You’re fabulous,” “No YOU’RE fabulous” gushing among celebs praising each other’s praise-worthy work and plenty of happy-to-be-here observations from actors and filmmakers who were out and about for maybe the first time since early last year.
Another pre-show highlight: while Lil Rel Howery was talking to Angela Bassett (62), we saw separate glimpses of Rita Moreno (89) and Zendaya (24) on the red carpet.
Talk about your generational trifecta.
A second-half highlight of the show came when acclaimed South Korean actress Yuh-Jung Youn, 73, won (and deserved to win) best supporting actress for her scene-stealing work in the lovely and moving “Minari,” and she charmed the night with a funny and endearing acceptance speech in which she said she isn’t a better actor than her fellow nominees: “I’m just luckier.”
Something for every Oscar winner — and for that matter every trophy winner ever — to keep in mind.
from Chicago Sun-Times - All https://ift.tt/3tRY537
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