Oscars 2021: Viewers tune into wokest Academy Awards
Wokest Oscars ever! Presenter Regina King hails Derek Chauvin verdict, winner Mia Neal dedicates her speech to black trans women and Chadwick Boseman fans slam Academy Awards for anti-climax after he loses out to Anthony Hopkins for Best Actor
- Regina King kicked off the night by celebrating Derek Chauvin’s conviction for murdering George Floyd
- Director Travon Free turned his Oscars acceptance speech into a condemnation of police killings
- Earlier, as he walked the red carpet, Free also made a political statement, showing off the inside of his jacket which was emblazoned with the names of black people killed by police
- Sergio Lopez-Rivera, Mia Neal and Jamika Wilson also spoke about identity politics as they accepted an award
- Even the winner of the Best Actor gong caused upset when Anthony Hopkins beat Chadwick Boseman
Viewers tuned into the what they have described as the wokest, most bizarre Oscars awards ceremony in the Academy Awards’ history on Sunday night.
From guests hailing the Derek Chauvin guilty verdict to political statements on the red carpet, together with strict social distancing rules and a pared-down list of attendees, the show – long called out for its usual lack of diversity – was unlike anything Oscars fans have seen before.
Actress Regina King kicked off the night at the Los Angeles’ Union Station by celebrating Derek Chauvin’s conviction for murdering George Floyd during her opening monologue.
The 50-year-old said: ‘It has been quite a year, and we are still smack dab in the middle of it. We are mourning the loss of so many.
‘And I have to be honest, if things had gone differently this past week in Minneapolis, I may have traded in my heels for marching boots.’
The audience of just 170 people were vocal in their support for her, as she continued: ‘Now, I know that a lot of you people at home want to reach for your remote when you feel like 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 okay?’
Actress Regina King kicked off the night at the Los Angeles’ Union Station by celebrating Derek Chauvin’s conviction for murdering George Floyd during her opening monologue
Sergio Lopez-Rivera, Mia Neal, and Jamika Wilson spoke about identity politics as they accepted the award for Oscar for Best Hair and Makeup
Director Travon Free turned his Oscars acceptance speech into a condemnation of police killings during the 93rd Academy Awards on Sunday night. Earlier, as he walked the red carpet, Free also made a political statement, showing off the inside of his jacket which was emblazoned with the names of black people killed by police, including Philando Castile, Tamir Rice, Rayshard Brooks and Daunte Wright
The 35-year-old (left) won Best Live Action Short along with co-director Martin Desmond Roe (right) for their drama Two Distant Strangers
Sunday night’s Oscars – widely condemned as the most boring in history – ended with further upset after Anthony Hopkins beat Chadwick Boseman to win Best Actor
Last Monday, a Minneapolis jury found Chauvin guilty of second-degree manslaughter, third-degree murder and second-degree unintentional murder over the May 2020 death of unarmed black man, George Floyd.
Meanwhile, Sergio Lopez-Rivera, Mia Neal, and Jamika Wilson also spoke about identity politics as they accepted the award for Oscar for Best Hair and Makeup.
Neal and Wilson are the first two black women to win the award, with Neal speaking out about breaking barriers as she took to the podium.
‘I want to say thank you to our ancestors who put the work in. Who were denied but never gave up. And I also stand here, as we break this glass ceiling with so much excitement for the future,’ she stated to cheers from the crowd.
‘Because I can picture black trans women standing up here, Asian and Latina sisters, and indigenous women. And it won’t be unusual or groundbreaking one day, it will just be normal’.
Director Travon Free turned his Oscars acceptance speech into a condemnation of police killings.
The 35-year-old won Best Live Action Short along with co-director Martin Desmond Roe for their drama Two Distant Strangers – a 29 minute movie that examines the deaths of black Americans during encounters with police.
‘Today, the police will kill three people,’ Free stated as he took to the stage to accept his award. ‘Tomorrow, the police will kill three people. And the day after that, the police will kill three people. Because on average, the police in America every day kill three people. Which amounts to about 1,000 people a year. ‘
He continued: ‘Those people happen to be disproportionately black people. I just ask that you please not be indifferent. Please don’t be indifferent to our pain.
Regina King struts her stuff at Union Station in Los Angeles following the Oscars ceremony, wearing a Louis Vuitton gown sewn with 62,000 sequins, 3,900 crystals
Angela Bassett stuns in a red, floor-length Alberta Ferretti gown, topped by puffed-out sleeves and a trailing cape in the shape of a giant bow
Yuh-Jung Youn, winner of best supporting actress for Minari, Daniel Kaluuya, winner of best supporting actor for Judas and the Black Messiah, and Frances McDormand, winner of best actress for Nomadland, laugh outside the Oscars press room
Yuh-Jung Youn poses alongside her best supporting actress Oscar as the award is engraved for her
Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed (center), who won the best documentary Oscar for My Octopus Teacher, posed with their award following the ceremony on Sunday night
Actor Daniel Kaluuya, who won best supporting actor for Judas and the Black Messiah, poses alongside musicians Dernst Emile II, H.E.R., and Tiara Thomas who won the Oscar for best original song which featured in the film
Stars of the film Minari, including Oscar winner Youn Yuh-jung, relax after the award ceremony in Los Angeles on Sunday
Stars wait to have their Oscars engraved following Sunday night’s ceremony at Union Station in Los Angeles
Earlier, as he walked the red carpet, Free also made a political statement, showing off the inside of his jacket which was emblazoned with the names of black people killed by police, including Philando Castile, Tamir Rice, Rayshard Brooks and Daunte Wright.
Even the winner of the Best Actor gong at the awards show – widely condemned as the most boring in history – caused upset.
The night ended when acting legend Anthony Hopkins beat the late great Chadwick Boseman.
Hopkins, 83, won the coveted gong for his role in The Father, becoming the oldest person ever to win an acting Oscar.
Sunday’s gong is the second Academy Award for the British icon, who first won 29 years ago for his role as Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of The Lambs.
Hopkins has since been nominated a five further times, but he was not expected to take home this year’s award. Boseman – who died of colon cancer aged just 43 last August – was widely tipped to win a posthumous award for his role in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.
The Best Actor category was the last award of the night, and Hopkin’s win caused upset on social media. Boseman is pictured in four of his different film roles
The Academy Awards usually ends with the Best Picture award being announced, but this year it was decided that Best Actor would be the last award of the night.
Many speculated that was because Boseman would be announced as the winner, and the awards show would end with a tribute to his illustrious career.
When that did not happen, Hopkin’s win caused upset on social media. Dozens blasted that it was ‘the worst TV ending since Game of Thrones’.
To make matters worse, Hopkins skipped the awards ceremony – which was held in Los Angeles’ Union Station – and did not deliver an acceptance speech.
One Twitter user commented: ‘It was the wokest most diverse oscars ever! Imagine that…’
Another added: ‘I probably agree with a number of the political pronouncements at the Oscars tonight, and it’s great to have diverse winners. But the contest to insert the wokest statements into acceptance speeches only serves the speaker. Would a planned segment have had more impact?’
Elsewhere, indie film Nomadland scooped three awards, including Best Picture.
The movie only made $2.5 million at the box office and is the lowest-grossing Best Picture winner in Academy Award history.
However, its two other wins also helped make Oscars history.
Chloe Zhao won Best Director for her work on the film, becoming the first woman of color and the second woman ever to win the coveted award.
Nomadland scooped three awards, including Best Picture. The movie only made $2.5 million at the box office and is the lowest-grossing Best Picture winner in Academy Award history
McDormand, 63, howled as Nomadland won Best Picture. The cry – which mimicked a wolf – was a meaningful tribute to Michael Wolf Snyder, the film’s sound mixer, who tragically died by suicide last month at the age of 35
Chloe Zhao won Best Director for her work on Nomadland, becoming the first woman of color and the second woman ever to win the coveted award
The Academy Awards has celebrated its ‘most diverse’ ceremony in its 93 year history. Youn Yuh-jung (left) became the first Korean national to win Best Supporting Actress. Daniel Kaluuya (right) became the sixth ever black man to win Best Supporting Actor after he scooped the Oscar for his role in Judas and the Black Messiah
Meanwhile, Frances McDormand won Best Actress for Nomadland, picking up her third Best Actress Oscar.
She is only the fourth woman to have won three or more Academy Awards for acting, joining Katharine Hepburn, Ingrid Bergman and Meryl Streep in that illustrious category.
McDormand, 63, howled as Nomadland won Best Picture. The cry – which mimicked a wolf – was a meaningful tribute to Michael Wolf Snyder, the film’s sound mixer, who tragically died by suicide last month at the age of 35.
Meanwhile, the 93rd Academy Awards still managed to be the ‘most diverse’ in history, with a number of winners who were BIPOC (black indigenous and people of color).
In addition to Zhao becoming the first woman of color to win Best Director, Youn Yuh-jung became the first Korean national to win Best Supporting Actress for her role in Minari.
Daniel Kaluuya became the sixth ever black man to win Best Supporting Actor after he scooped the Oscar for his role in Judas and the Black Messiah.
It is also the first time two female directors have ever been nominated in the Best Director category, with Zhao (Nomadland) and Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman) both receiving nods. Only five women have ever been nominated in the category before.
————————————————————————————————————————————————————
‘It looks like a Starbucks’: Elton John pokes fun at Oscars set as he hosts star-studded online viewing party while Leslie Jones roasts winners for VERY long speeches after rule-change
Elton John lead stars poking fun at 93rd Academy Awards on Sunday night, which looked a little different this year due to the COVID-19 restrictions.
The ceremony was held at Union Station, the main railway station in Los Angeles, and the unique production and unusual setting sparked some amusing comments from celebrities watching at home.
Speaking from his first-ever virtual fundraiser for the Elton John Aids Foundation, usually held in West Hollywood, the Rocket Man singer quipped: ‘The Oscar ceremony looks like it’s coming from a Starbucks somewhere.’
Later, when speaking with husband David Furnish, a flummoxed Elton added: ‘I still can’t get over the set.’
Twitter and SNL star Leslie Jones did not hold back, as she is known for, giving her opinion on the event.
Leslie, 53, filmed her reaction as Mank’s Erik Messerschmidt said he would like to split his trophy for Best Cinematography into ‘five pieces.’
‘But we really hope that you don’t cut it into five pieces because, Lord have mercy,’ Leslie said in her video.
‘Everybody done got up there and said about 17 minutes of a f*****g speech. It’s already in the Alcoholics-Anonymous-and-we-gonna-roast-each-other f*****g building. And you motherf*****s look scared as f**k.’
She went on, ‘Don’t get up there and do a three-hour speech. So no, you shouldn’t be able to cut it into five parts. Thank God and move on, son!’
The Academy Awards was dramatically scaled down this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the ceremony held at Los Angeles’ Union Station. Just 170 guests were in attendance, and the red carpet was downsized. Elton John joked that it looked as if the ceremony was being held in ‘a Starbucks’
Hilarious: Elton John quipped that the Oscars ‘looked like a Starbucks’ as he hosted his own star-studded virtual party for the Elton John AIDS Foundation (pictured above)
Going to be a long night! SNL star Leslie Jones was not impressed with the overly long speeches