OSCARS START WITH #METOO
On gender issues, host Kimmel says ‘world is watching’
Oscars host Jimmy Kimmel mentions the 2018 nominees, last year’s envelope mix-up and the #MeToo movement — saying Oscar is the type of man “we need more of in this town” — during the opening of the 90th Annual Academy Awards show Sunday in Hollywood, Calif. Top winners included Gary Oldman for best actor, Frances McDormand for best actress and “The Shape of Water” for best picture.
LOS ANGELES — The 90th Academy Awards brought the most tumultuous awards season in recent memory to a close Sunday with a ceremony that confronted the postHarvey Weinstein era and carried a palpable sense of change, of a Hollywood seeking to be a more inclusive movie business.
“The Shape of Water” won best picture. The award was presented in a special reprise by Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty.
“Get Out” won for original screenplay, a historic moment for writer-director Jordan Peele, the first African-American writer to win in the category.
Peele said he stopped writing “20 times,” skeptical the movie would ever get made. “But I kept coming back to it because I knew if someone would let me make this movie, that people would hear it and people would see it,” Peele said. “So I want to dedicate this to all the people who raised my voice and let me make this movie.”
Frances McDormand took the top actress category for “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.” Accepting the award, she said, “I’ve got some things to say,” highlighting her fellow female filmmakers.
Gary Oldman won best actor for “Darkest Hour.”
Guillermo del Toro’s monster fable “The Shape of Water,” which came in with a leading 13 nods, took best production design, best score and best director for del Toro. He became the third Mexican-born filmmaker to win the award.
“Call Me By Your Name” won for adapted screenplay, making writer James Ivory, 89, the oldest winner in history.
Host Jimmy Kimmel got the Oscars underway Sunday at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles with an opening monologue that mixed Weinstein punchlines with earnest comments about reforming gender equality in Hollywood. And of course, Kimmel — returning to the scene of the flub — dove straight into material about last year’s infamous best-picture mix-up.
“I do want to mention, this year, when you hear your name called, don’t get up right away,” Kimmel said. “Give us a minute.”
But while Kimmel spent a few moments on the fiasco known as Envelopegate, he expended far more minutes frankly and soberly discussing the parade of sexual harassment allegations that have coursed through the movie business in the wake of the revelations regarding Weinstein. He also spoke straightforwardly about the industry’s poor record on female directors and equal pay.
“We can’t let bad behavior slide anymore,” Kimmel said. “The world is watching us.”
Gesturing to a giant statue on the stage, he praised Oscar for keeping “his hands where you can see them.” But Kimmel introduced the broadcast as “a night for positivity,” and cited, among other things, the box-office sensation of “Black Panther.”
“I remember a time when the major studios didn’t believe a woman or a minority could open a superhero movie — and the reason I remember that time is because it was March of last year,” Kimmel said.
Sam Rockwell (“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”) won best supporting actor. Rockwell dedicated his award to his late friend and fellow New York actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, who died in 2014. “For my buddy, Phil Hoffman,” said Rockwell, raising his Oscar.
Kimmel, with stopwatch in hand, also emphasized keeping acceptance speeches short. He promised the shortest speech would win a Jet Ski. Go long, and winners might get Lakeith Stansfield screaming “Get out!” as the actor briefly reprised his character from “Get Out” on stage.
Best documentary went to Netflix’s “Icarus,” Bryan Fogel’s investigation into doping in sports, aided by Grigory Rodchenkov, head of the Russian anti-doping laboratory. It’s the first feature film Oscar for Netflix. “At least now we know Putin didn’t rig this election,” Kimmel said.
In another topical moment, Pakistan-born comedian Kumail Nanjiani joined Kenyan-born Lupita Nyong’o to salute the socalled Dreamers — immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children. “Dreams are the foundation of Hollywood and dreams are the foundation of America. And, so, to all the Dreamers out there, we stand with you,” Nanjiani said.
“Dear Basketball” by Glen Keane and Kobe Bryant won for animated short.
The ceremony was the crescendo of one of Hollywood’s most turbulent awards seasons — one that saw cascading allegations of sexual harassment topple movie moguls, upended Oscar campaigns and new movements launched to improve gender equality throughout the industry.
No Golden Globes-style fashion protest was held by organizers of Time’s Up, the initiative begun by several hundred prominent women in entertainment to combat sexual harassment. Their goals go beyond red carpets, organizers said in the lead-up to the Oscars. “We did the dress code thing and now we’re doing the work,” #MeToo founder Tarana Burke said on the red carpet.
But the movement made the red carpet a more serious place. Ryan Seacrest typically gets the most sought-after interviews, but on Oscars night he had a lot of idle time. Some key nominees and stars did not stop for the host of E!’s Oscars red carpet show. Timothee Chalamet, Margot Robbie and others walked past him, as did Oscar winner Viola Davis. There was speculation that stars would avoid Seacrest because of sexual harassment allegations levied against him by a former employee. E! said it investigated the claims and found insufficient evidence.
In all, it’s been an unusually lengthy and unpredictable awards season.