The ceremony was hosted by Ricky Gervais for the fifth time, and I thought he was hysterical, outrageous, and irreverent as always, which is exactly how he should have been. I just found out that the Oscars are going host-less again this year and it's such a pity. Not that the Academy would ever dare hire Mr. Gervais...
A lot of the wins were predictable, like those for
Chernobyl or
Fleabag, but a few were surprises. I was very happy to see
Parasite (Foreign Language Picture) and
Missing Link (Animated Picture) triumph. The latter deserved it also for being the only original entry in the list.
I was glad that Tarantino won for his script for
Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood, because it certainly deserved it. Same for Elton John and Bernie Taupin's win for Original Song, the first trophy they EVER won for something they did together -- if you can believe it!
Annette Bening looked like a goddess, Gwyneth Paltrow looked ready to party (at the Playboy Mansion -- felt trashy, honestly), Olivia Colman looked genuinely surprised to have won and was adorable as always, Glenn Close looked regal, and Cate Blanchett was positively radiant.
Ellen DeGeneres gave a nice speech peppered with funny jokes like only she can. Tom Hanks, the other honored guest of the night, even got emotional onstage when addressing his family. Very sweet.
I jumped with joy when Awkwafina won for her great performance in
The Farewell, and the same goes for Taron Egerton in
Rocketman, Brad Pitt in
Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood, Renée Zellweger in
Judy, and Joaquin Phoenix in
Joker. They were all fantastic, as I'm sure is Laura Dern in
Marriage Story, since she always does top notch work.
Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood ended up the big winner of the night with 3 awards when it won Best Picture, but its competition in the Comedy (barely?) category was much weaker than the heftier titles found among the Dramas.
Speaking of which,
1917's upsets give it a boost at the upcoming Oscars, having won for Best Picture and Director. I thought that both would have gone to
The Irishman instead, solidifying Netflix's chokehold on the industry. That movie instead went home empty ended.
A few winners rightfully decided to bring attention to current events, like Russell Crowe (climate change's apocalyptic infernos ravaging Australia), Patricia Arquette (climate change, voting in 2020, the crisis with Iran), and Michelle Williams (elections and a woman's right to choose).
Speaking of speeches, I'm glad Renée Zellweger, who had been absent from the stage for many years, enjoyed a triumphant return; and I hope Joaquin Phoenix, a fantastic actor, has moved on from his "weird" phase and is now back to dazzle us with his talent full time; but what were they thinking when they got onstage??! Ms. Zellweger seemed to think she was having a fireside chat with old friends, what with those long pauses and a bit of reminiscing. Mr. Phoenix perhaps thought that given the glorious reviews for his craft, could hold court, and behaved more like he was on a talk show, with plenty of time for getting sidetracked with random musings. For a while it looked like both of them were just going to completely ignore the rising background music and never leave the stage.
In conclusion, hats off to Hildur Guðnadóttir for being the first female solo composer to ever take home the prize for Best Score for
Joker, and a question, "What's with all the fracking tinted glasses?!?" (see Patricia Arquette, Elton John, Bernie Taupin, Harvey Keitel, and others??)
Here is the full list of winners and nominees.
Best Motion Picture - Drama
1917
Joker
Marriage Story
The Irishman
The Two Popes
Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Once Upon a Time ...in Hollywood
Dolemite Is My Name
Jojo Rabbit
Knives Out
Rocketman
Best Motion Picture - Animated
Missing Link
Frozen II
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
The Lion King
Toy Story 4
Best Motion Picture - Foreign Language
Gisaengchung
Dolor y gloria
Les misérables
Portrait de la jeune fille en feu
The Farewell
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama
Joaquin Phoenix, Joker
Adam Driver,
Marriage Story
Antonio Banderas,
Dolor y gloria
Christian Bale,
Ford v Ferrari
Jonathan Pryce,
The Two Popes
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama
Renée Zellweger, Judy
Charlize Theron,
Bombshell
Cynthia Erivo,
Harriet
Saoirse Ronan,
Little Women
Scarlett Johansson,
Marriage Story
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Taron Egerton, Rocketman
Daniel Craig,
Knives Out
Eddie Murphy,
Dolemite Is My Name
Leonardo DiCaprio,
Once Upon a Time ...in Hollywood
Roman Griffin Davis,
Jojo Rabbit
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Awkwafina, The Farewell
Ana de Armas,
Knives Out
Beanie Feldstein,
Booksmart
Cate Blanchett,
Where'd You Go, Bernadette
Emma Thompson,
Late Night
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time ...in Hollywood
Al Pacino,
The Irishman
Anthony Hopkins,
The Two Popes
Joe Pesci,
The Irishman
Tom Hanks,
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Laura Dern, Marriage Story
Annette Bening,
The Report
Jennifer Lopez,
Hustlers
Kathy Bates,
Richard Jewell
Margot Robbie,
Bombshell
Best Director - Motion Picture
Sam Mendes, 1917
Bong Joon Ho,
Gisaengchung
Martin Scorsese,
The Irishman
Quentin Tarantino,
Once Upon a Time ...in Hollywood
Todd Phillips,
Joker
Best Screenplay - Motion Picture
Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time ...in Hollywood
Bong Joon Ho,
Gisaengchung
Noah Baumbach,
Marriage Story
Steven Zaillian,
The Irishman
Anthony McCarten,
The Two Popes
Best Original Song - Motion Picture
Elton John, Bernie Taupin, "I'm Gonna Love Me Again" Rocketman
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Taylor Swift, "Beautiful Ghosts"
Cats
Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez, "Into the Unknown"
Frozen II
Joshuah Brian Campbell, Cynthia Erivo, "Stand Up"
Harriet
Labrinth, Ilya Salmanzadeh, Beyoncé, "Spirit"
The Lion King
Best Original Score - Motion Picture
Hildur Guðnadóttir, Joker
Thomas Newman,
1917
Alexandre Desplat,
Little Women
Randy Newman,
Marriage Story
Daniel Pemberton,
Motherless Brooklyn
Best Television Series - Drama
Succession
Big Little Lies
Killing Eve
The Crown
The Morning Show
Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy
Fleabag
Barry
The Kominsky Method
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
The Politician
Best Television Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Chernobyl
Catch-22
Fosse/Verdon
The Loudest Voice
Unbelievable
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama
Brian Cox, Succession
Billy Porter,
Pose
Kit Harington,
Game of Thrones
Rami Malek,
Mr. Robot
Tobias Menzies,
The Crown
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama
Olivia Colman, The Crown
Jennifer Aniston,
The Morning Show
Jodie Comer,
Killing Eve
Nicole Kidman,
Big Little Lies
Reese Witherspoon,
The Morning Show
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy
Ramy Youssef, Ramy
Ben Platt,
The Politician
Bill Hader,
Barry
Michael Douglas,
The Kominsky Method
Paul Rudd,
Living with Yourself
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy
Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Fleabag
Christina Applegate,
Dead to Me
Kirsten Dunst,
On Becoming a God in Central Florida
Natasha Lyonne,
Russian Doll
Rachel Brosnahan,
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
Russell Crowe, The Loudest Voice
Christopher Abbott,
Catch-22
Jared Harris,
Chernobyl
Sacha Baron Cohen,
The Spy
Sam Rockwell,
Fosse/Verdon
Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
Michelle Williams, Fosse/Verdon
Helen Mirren,
Catherine the Great
Joey King,
The Act
Kaitlyn Dever,
Unbelievable
Merritt Wever,
Unbelievable
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Stellan Skarsgård, Chernobyl
Alan Arkin,
The Kominsky Method
Andrew Scott,
Fleabag
Henry Winkler,
Barry
Kieran Culkin,
Succession
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Patricia Arquette, The Act
Emily Watson,
Chernobyl
Helena Bonham Carter,
The Crown
Meryl Streep,
Big Little Lies
Toni Collette,
Unbelievable
Cecil B. DeMille Award
Tom Hanks
Carol Burnett Award
Ellen DeGeneres
