The Oscars are now on their 90th year of giving out awards for achievement in filmmaking, and each year it seems that the ceremony becomes more elaborate. Despite that, many people are disappointed in the Oscars, because they’re not making as much progress in diversity. As Hollywood becomes increasingly diverse, with more women, people of color, and members of the LGBT+ community becoming involved in every filmmaking process, the Oscars are still dominated by white men. Many recipients this year caused controversy, so I have compiled a list of the real winners of the 90th Annual Academy Awards.
Best Speech: Kazuhiro Tsuji, winner of Best Hairstyling and Makeup, thanked his cat during his acceptance speech. I like to imagine that his cat was at home in front of the television waiting to see Tsuji win his award.
Best Dressed: Viola Davis was a presenter at the ceremony, and she can be described in one word: stunning!
Best Animated Feature: This is one that the Academy got right. Coco is a wonderful film, and it made me ugly-sob at the movie theater—a feat achieved by very few movies.
Lifetime Achievement Award: As Jimmy Kimmel said, we should all congratulate Oscar. After 90 years in the industry, he has managed to stay relevant without starring in a single film. As scandal after scandal rocks Hollywood, Oscar stays courteous, quiet, and uninvolved in controversies.
Best Supporting Actor: Allison Janney took home the statue for best supporting actress, but she couldn’t have done it without her fabulous costar, Little Man the bird. Based on interviews with Lavona Golden, Allison Janney and Little Man had great chemistry in I, Tonya. Janney says that he was one of her favorite costars.
Best Presenter: Alongside the fabulous Oscar Isaac, Mark Hamill, and Kelly Marie Tran, BB-8 presented a few awards during the ceremony. Even though he wasn’t able to wear a tuxedo, he still looked dashing on stage. I’m rooting for him as next year’s host.
Best Leading Actor: Doug Jones, the man behind the scales in The Shape of Water didn’t score a nomination for playing the lead male role in the movie. Perhaps this stems from the fact that he didn’t speak a single word of dialogue, or the fact that he was playing a fish-man hybrid. Regardless, Doug Jones is a very talented actor. Few would recognize his face, but chances are you’ve watched a movie starring Jones without even realizing it. A great actor is able to immerse themselves in a role, and Doug Jones becomes his characters so fully that he is unrecognizable in nearly every movie he has acted in.
Best Picture: Despite the fact that it was only released a few weeks ago, and not even eligible for the 2018 awards season, Black Panther was one of the most talked about films of the night. The cast stole the spotlight on the red carpet, and star Lupita Nyong’o was one of the ceremony’s best presenters. Black Panther has been a massive box office hit, and an inspiration to many. Hopefully, the film will be one of the nominees in the 2019 Oscar Awards.