Our all-time favourite Oscars
James Croot looks at some of the Academy Awards’ most memorable moments.
Next month’s ceremony marks the 90th time the Academy Awards have been handed out. Hollywood’s big night certainly hasn’t been short of compelling, controversial and crazy moments since the first Oscars were announced on March 16, 1929, at a private dinner held at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.
Stuff has trawled through the awards’ history to pick out our favourite moments.
Return of the King’s sweep
Everyone thought Sir Peter Jackson’s towering Tolkien trilogy hadn’t really received the recognition it deserved before the release of the final chapter.
But even he couldn’t have imagined in his wildest dreams that the 2004 ceremony would become a procession as The Return of the King tied Titanic and Ben Hur‘ s record in taking home 11 Oscars.
Anna Paquin’s breathless win
Nobody really expected the Wellington schoolgirl and The Piano star to win the 1994 award for Best Supporting actress, when she was up against Holly Hunter, Emma Thompson, Rosie Perez and Winona Ryder, least of all the young lady herself.
So when she arrived at the podium she was reduced to a breathless, speechless bag of nerves, endearing herself to both the gathered crowd and millions of viewers around the world.
Keisha meets Johnny Depp
When the young Whale Rider actress learned she was off to the 2004 Oscars, she expressed only one wish – to meet her hero Johnny Depp.
Thanks to America’s ABC network, her dream came true, ‘‘It’s so great to meet you. Congratulations on everything ... I just think you’re just amazing,’’ Depp murmured, shaking her hand.
Taika snoozes
He might have missed out on the Oscars this time around, but Taika Waititi nearly stole the show with his brief onscreen performance at the 2005 ceremony.
Nominated for Best Live Action Short Film, the camera caught the Two Cars, One Night director supposedly napping as his name was read out.
The Streaker
The 46th Academy Awards in 1974 had a chaotic conclusion to almost rival last year’s envelope mix-up.
Just as David Niven was introducing Elizabeth Taylor as the Best Picture announcer, a streaker raced across the stage giving the audience a two-fingered peace sign. Composing himself, Niven eventually quipped, ‘‘isn’t it fascinating to think that probably the only laugh that man will ever get in life is by stripping off and showing his shortcomings?’’
The Mix-Up
Just even everyone thought last year’s ceremony was a triumph, Best Picture co-presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway were handed the wrong envelope (a duplicate of the Best Actress one).
Initially, Beatty just looked befuddled and passed the buck to Dunaway who decided to run with it – reading out La La Land as the winner. After the briefest of celebrations, chaos ensued and it was left to La La Land producer Jordan Horowitz to tell the world that the real winner was Moonlight.
Marlon’s stand-in
Marlon Brando seemed a shoe-in to take home the 1973 Oscar for Best Actor thanks to his role as Don Corleone in The Godfather.
Perhaps sensing this, he decided to protest what he saw as the terrible portrayal of American Indian’s onscreen by sending activist Sacheen Littlefeather up on stage in his stead.
To increase the shock value, she then proceeded to tell everyone that he was refusing the gong.
Palance’s push-ups
Few Oscar celebrations (well maybe Roberto Benigni and Cuba Gooding Jr) rival the reception 73-year-old Jack Palance gave to winning Best Supporting Actor in 1992 for City Slickers.
In a display of strange machismo, he decided he just had to display his one-armed push-up prowess.
Will Rogers’ frank admission
Warren and Faye’s 2017 gaffe wasn’t the first time there’s been a mix-up.
Back at the sixth Academy Awards in 1934, his call to ‘‘Come up and get it, Frank!’’ when announcing Best Director, led to the awful situation of Frank Capra bounding towards the stage when in fact Frank Lloyd had won for his work on Cavalcade.
Samuel L swears
Anna Paquin was also involved in another memorable Oscar moment a year after her 1994 win.
When she announced that Martin Landau had won Best Supporting Actor for Ed Wood, his fellow nominee Samuel L Jackson couldn’t hide his displeasure at the result.
The 90th Academy Awards will be broadcast live on the afternoon of Monday, March 5, on Sky Movies Premiere. Stuff will be live blogging the event, including red carpet coverage, from late Monday morning.