‘Moonlight’ wins in unprecedented upset during a night of many firsts
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Presenter Warren Beatty and host Jimmy Kimmel try to explain to the audience how the wrong envelope for best picture was read on stage during the Academy Awards telecast on Feb. 26. In background are “Moonlight” writer/director Barry Jenkins, left and “La La Land” producer Jordan Horowitz embracing.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Presenter Warren Beatty tries to explain to the audience how the wrong envelope for best picture was read onstage during the Academy Awards telecast on Feb. 26.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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“La La Land” producer Jordan Horowitz holds up the winner card for best picture. His film had been read as the winner, but the actual winner was “Moonlight.”
(Kevin Winter / Getty Images)
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The audience at the Dolby Theatre is stunned after the best picture award is mistakenly announced as “La La Land” instead of “Moonlight” during the 89th Academy Awards.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Presenter Warren Beatty and host Jimmy Kimmel try to explain to the audience how the wrong envelope for best picture was read onstage during the Academy Awards telecast on Feb. 26. At right are “Moonlight” writer/director Barry Jenkins, left, and “La La Land” producer Jordan Horowitz embracing.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Warren Beatty attempts to explain how “La La Land” was mistakenly announced as the best picture winner instead of “Moonlight.” (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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“La La Land” producer Jordan Horowitz, with Warren Beatty and host Jimmy Kimmel, after the mistaken annoucement that “La La Land” had won. “Moonlight” was the actual best picture winner.
(Kevin Winter / Getty Images)
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Fred Berger, foreground center, and the cast of “La La Land” mistakenly accept the award for best picture at the Oscars.
(Chris Pizzello / Invision / Associated Press)
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Accountants for Price Waterhouse Coopers take the correct envelope onto the stage after the best-picture mixup.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Barry Jenkins holds up a best picture Oscar for “Moonlight.” (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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From left, “Moonlight” writer/director Barry Jenkins, and producers Adele Romanski and Jeremy Kleiner accept the Oscar for best picture during the Academy Awards telecast on Feb. 26.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Janelle Monae reacts onstage after “Moonlight” won for best picture during the Academy Awards telecast on Feb. 26.
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“La La Land” producer Fred Berger, left, congratulates actor Mahershala Ali onstage after it was announced that “Moonlight” won for best picture.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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“Moonlight” actor Ashton Sanders is stunned after the movie won for best picture during the Academy Awards telecast on Feb. 26.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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“Moonlight” writer/director Barry Jenkins holds the Oscar for best picture during the Academy Awards telecast on Feb. 26.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Mahershala Ali and Ryan Gosling backstage after it was announced that “Moonlight” won for best picture during the Academy Awards telecast on Feb. 26.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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“Moonlight” actors Andre Holland, left, and Ashton Sanders backstage during the Academy Awards telecast on Feb. 26.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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“Moonlight” actors Andre Holland, left, and Ashton Sanders backstage during the Academy Awards telecast on Feb. 26.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Barry Jenkins, center, and the cast and crew of “Moonlight,” which won the Oscar for best picture.
(Chris Pizzello / Invision / Associated Press)
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Trevante Rhodes hugs Mahershala Ali after “Moonlight” was correctly identified as the winner of best picture.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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The cast and crew of “Moonlight” receives their best picture award after a chaotic mixup.
(Mark Ralston / AFP/Getty Images)
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Presenter Faye Dunaway backstage at the Academy Awards.
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Ryan Gosling learns that his film, “La La Land,” did not win the best picture Oscar.
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Producer Ezra Edelman takes a photo of his statue as it is being engraved after winning for his documentary, “OJ: Made in America.”
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Presenters Michael J. Fox (left) and Seth Rogen (right) flank John Gilbert (center), who won a film editing Oscar for “Hacksaw Ridge.”
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Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones, Dan Lemmon and Robert Legato pose with their visual effects Oscars for “The Jungle Book.”
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Presenters Kate McKinnon (left) and Jason Bateman (right) flank Christopher Nelson, Giorgio Gregorian and Alessandro Bertolazzi, who won Oscars for makeup and hairstyling.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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“La La Land” star Emma Stone on stage with Leonardo DiCaprio after she won the Oscar for lead actress.
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Casey Affleck after he won lead actor for “Manchester by the Sea” during the telecast of the 89th Academy Awards.
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Damien Chazelle accepts the award for best director for “La La Land” from Halle Berry.
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Host Jimmy Kimmel tweets that “#Merylsayshi” at President Trump.
(Chris Pizzello / Invision / Associated Press)
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John Legend performs during the telecast of the 89th Academy Awards.
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Surprised tourists brought to the Oscars chat with celebrities in the front row.
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Mahershala Ali, right, hands his Oscar to a tourist named Gary who was brought into the theater with others as a surprise.
(Chris Pizzello / Invision / Associated Press)
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Denzel Washington, center right, “marries” an engaged couple during a surprise visit of a Hollywood tour bus group during the telecast of the 89th Academy Awards.
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Sting performs.
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Engineer and astronaut Anousheh Ansari, right, and former NASA scientist Firouz Naderi with the award for best foreign language film for “The Salesman.” They accepted on behalf of director Asghar Farhadi.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Charlize Theron, left, and Shirley MacLaine.
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Mahershala Ali, left, and Viola Davis, winners for best supporting actor and actress.
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Viola Davis accepts the Oscar for supporting actress during the telecast of the 89th Academy Awards.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Viola Davis, winner of the award for best supporting actress, kisses Julius Tennon.
(Chris Pizzello / Invision / Associated Press)
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Dwayne Johnson sings a bit of “You’re Welcome” from “Moana” during the Oscars telecast.
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Kevin O’Connell, left, and Andy Wright accept the award for best sound mixing for “Hacksaw Ridge.”
(Chris Pizzello / Invision / Associated Press)
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Janelle Monae, Katherine Johnson, Taraji P. Henson and Octavia Spencer.
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Lin-Manuel Miranda raps during the telecast of the 89th Academy Awards.
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Auli’i Cravalho sings “How Far I’ll Go” from “Moana” during the telecast of the 89th Academy Awards.
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Producer Caroline Waterlow and director Ezra Edelman, winners for best documentary feature.
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Mahershala Ali wins for best supporting actor.
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Alicia Vikander, left, presents Mahershala Ali with the award for best supporting actor.
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Host Jimmy Kimmel
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Host Jimmy Kimmel
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Justin Timberlake performs to open the show.
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Justin Timberlake performs during the telecast of the 89th Academy Awards.
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Scarlett Johansson and date Joe Machota of CAA arrive at the 89th Academy Awards.
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Mayor Eric Garcetti makes an L.A. hand signal.
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Justin Timberalke and Jessica Biel arrive at the Oscars.
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Halle Berry on the red carpet.
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Sunny Pawar of “Lion” during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards.
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Chef Wolfgang Puck presents Oscars cuisine during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards.
In one of the most surprising upsets and shocking moments in Oscar history, the poetic coming-of-age drama “Moonlight” took home the top prize for best picture at the 89th Academy Awards, beating out the heavily favored “La La Land,” which was actually announced as the winner.
The win for “Moonlight” came in a chaotic and confused moment that played out live in front of an audience of millions, as presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway initially presented the evening’s final award to “La La Land,” only to have one of the film’s producers announce that “Moonlight” had, in fact, won.
Backstage, the crew and the show’s producers were stunned when the “La La Land” producers took the stage and began to give their thank-you speeches. “Oh my God, he got the wrong envelope,” said a stage hand in the wings. When “La La Land” producer Jordan Horowitz revealed the mistake — “this is not a joke, ‘Moonlight’ won” — the audience in the Dolby Theatre erupted in gasps. First-time host Jimmy Kimmel tried to deflect the moment with a reference to the crowning of the wrong Miss Universe in 2015, joking, “I blame Steve Harvey for this.”
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Coming into the night with eight nominations, “Moonlight” earned three prizes in all. The story of a poor gay African American boy growing up in Miami, the film, with a budget of well under $5 million, had been considered an underdog throughout this year’s awards season.
“All you people out there who feel like there’s no mirror for you, that your life is not reflected … we have your back,” director Barry Jenkins said, accepting the award for best adapted screenplay for the film alongside Tarell Alvin McCraney, who wrote the play on which the film was based.
Mahershala Ali also won the supporting actor prize for his role in the film as a drug dealer who takes the fatherless boy under his wing.
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Three-time nominee Viola Davis also earned her first Oscar, taking home the supporting actress award for her performance in Denzel Washington’s screen adaptation of August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Fences.” Her win, combined with “Moonlight’s” multiple wins, contributed to a record-breaking number of awards given to black actors and filmmakers just one year after the #OscarsSoWhite controversy. In a separate first, Ali was the first Muslim actor ever to win an Oscar.
Though “Moonlight” came away the big winner, Oscar voters spread their love around to a wide variety of films, acknowledging what many have seen as a strong field of nominees.
“Moonlight” won the best picture Oscar after a botched announcement threw the ceremony into chaos.
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A love letter to Hollywood that gave a modern twist to a throwback genre, Damien Chazelle’s “La La Land” did have a strong showing, though not the sweep many predicted. In the end, it won six awards out of 14 nominations. At 32, Chazelle became the youngest person ever to win the Oscar for directing, while Emma Stone took home the lead actress award for her turn as an aspiring actress who falls in love with a jazz pianist played by Ryan Gosling.
In one of the most closely watched races, Casey Affleck won the lead actor prize for his turn as a man coping with unbearable grief in “Manchester by the Sea,” edging out two-time Oscar winner Denzel Washington, who some had expected to earn the award for his fiery performance in the drama “Fences.”
Even one-time Hollywood pariah Mel Gibson earned a measure of redemption. Though his bloody World War II epic “Hacksaw Ridge” was passed over for best picture and he failed to win for directing, his film picked up two awards for editing and sound mixing.
Throughout this year’s awards season, the conversation on red carpets and in cocktail parties has been dominated as much by political issues as by the ups and downs of the Oscar horse race, and in the weeks leading up to the show, many wondered to what extent the largely left-leaning film industry would use the occasion to further stake out its opposition to President Trump.
As expected, Kimmel aimed numerous barbs at Trump throughout the night, though for the most part his digs came off as more lighthearted than caustic.
Referencing Trump’s ongoing war with the media, Kimmel wryly announced, “If you work for anything with Times in the name, even if it’s Medieval Times, we’re gonna have to ask you to leave the building. We have no tolerance for fake news here. Fake tans we love, though.”
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Anticipating the president’s reaction to the evening’s proceedings, Kimmel predicted, “Some of you will get to give a speech that President Trump will tweet about in all caps during his 5 a.m. bowel movement.”
Still, in a nod to the country’s deep divisions — and Hollywood’s need to reach audiences on both ends of the political spectrum — Kimmel took a moment amid the irreverence to turn serious.
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Emma Stone with her Oscar for lead actress for “La La Land.”
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Casey Affleck with his Oscar for lead actor for “Manchester by the Sea.”
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Tarell Alvin McCraney, left, and Barry Jenkins won the Oscar for adapted screenplay for “Moonlight.”
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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“Fences” star Viola Davis hoists her award for supporting actress backstage in the photo room at the 89th Academy Awards on Feb. 26 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Mahershala Ali won the Oscar for supporting actor for “Moonlight.”
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Kenneth Lonergan won original screenplay for “Manchester by the Sea.”
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Linus Sandgren won the Oscar for cinematography for “La La Land.”
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Joanna Natasegara and Orlando Von Einsiedel won the Oscar for documentary short with “The White Helmets.”
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Alan Barillaro, left, and Marc Sondheimer won the Oscar for animated short film for “Piper.”
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Bryon Howard, from left, Rich Moore and Clark Spencer won the Oscar for animated feature for “Zootopia.”
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Sylvain Bellemare with his Oscar for sound editing for “Arrival.”
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Sylvain Bellemare with their Oscars for documentary feature for “O.J.: Made in America.”
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Ezra Edelman and Caroline Waterlow, with presenter Katherine Johnson, who won Oscars for documentary feature for “O.J.: Made in America.”
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Kristof Deak and Anna Udvardy won the Oscar for live-action short film for “Sing.”
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
“I’m not the man to unite this country, but it can be done,” he said. “There are millions and millions of people watching right now, and if every one of you took a minute to reach out to one person you disagree with, someone you like, and have a positive, considerate conversation — not as liberals or conservatives, as Americans — if we could all do that, we can make America great again.”
One of the night’s most charged political moments came when the Iranian film “The Salesman” won the award for foreign language film. The film’s director, Asghar Farhadi, declined to attend the awards to protest the Trump administration’s travel ban, so Anousheh Ansari, the first Iranian and first Muslim woman in space, and Firouz Naderi, former director of Solar Systems Exploration at NASA, read a speech on his behalf.
“Dividing the world into the ‘us’ and ‘our enemies’ categories creates fear — a deceitful justification for aggression and war,” Farhadi wrote. “These wars prevent democracy and human rights in countries which have themselves been victims of aggression.”
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But while the show was run through with political messages — a number of celebrities wore blue ribbons showing their support for the American Civil Liberties Union — the overall spirit was mostly upbeat and celebratory, giving the sense of a film industry looking to provide the nation and itself with some moments of relief amid so much political rancor.
Indeed, whenever the proceedings threatened to turn overly serious, Kimmel quickly leavened the mood, whether by dropping snacks on the crowd via miniature parachutes or bringing a group of starstruck tourists into the Dolby Theatre to take selfies with the likes of Denzel Washington, Nicole Kidman and Ryan Gosling.
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Emma Stone.
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Meryl Streep and Don Gummer.
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Busy Philipps and Michelle Williams.
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Brie Larson and Alex Greenwald.
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Scarlett Johansson and date.
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Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.
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Seth Rogen and Lauren Miller.
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Jeff Bridges and Susan Geston.
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Janelle Mona.
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Salma Hayek.
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Taraji P. Henson.
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Chrissy Teigen and John Legend.
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Isabelle Huppert and Barry Jenkins.
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Felicity Jones.
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Taraji P. Henson and Jackie Chan.
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Matt Damon and Andrew Garfield. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Hailee Steinfeld, Dev Patel and Sunny Pawar. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Ashton Sanders and Jharrel Jerome. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Hailee Steinfeld. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Chef Wolfgang Puck presents Oscars cuisine during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards.
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Mahershala Ali.
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Denzel Washington and wife Pauletta.
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Octavia Spencer during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards.
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Blanca Blanco.
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Ryan Gosling during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Brie Larson during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Susan Geston and Jeff Bridges.
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Halle Berry during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Sofia Carson attends the 89th Academy Awards.
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Casey Affleck during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Matt Damon and wife Luciana Barroso during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Lucas Hedges and his mom, Susan Titman, during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards.
Dev Patel and mom Anita Patel during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Sunny Pawar of “Lion” during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards.
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Kate Arrington and Michael Shannon.
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Ruth Negga during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Naomie Harris during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards.
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Zuri Hall during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards.
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Director Orlando von Einsiedel and producer Joanna Natasegara attend the 89th Academy Awards.
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Ryan Seacrest during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards.
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Auli’i Cravalho during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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From “Fences,” actors Jovan Adepo, Russell Hornsby, Saniyya Sidney, Stephen Henderson and Mykelti Williamson during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Pharrell Williams and Mimi Valdes during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Charlize Theron during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Andrew Garfield during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Octavia Spencer during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Jackie Chan.
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Olivia Hamilton and director Damien Chazelle.
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Kenneth Lonergan and J. Smith-Cameron.
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Mel Gibson and Rosalind Ross on the red carpet. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Charlize Theron during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Nicole Kidman and husband Keith Urban.
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LaTanya Richardson and Samuel L. Jackson.
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Matt Damon and wife, Luciana Barroso, during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards.
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Michael J. Fox and Tracy Pollan during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Cara Speller.
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Jerry O’Connell attends the 89th Academy Awards.
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Mohen Leo and guest.
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Louise Roe, left, and Stacy London attend the 89th Academy Awards.
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Remi Greeley, left, Raul Peck and Herbert Peck during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards.
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Film editor Spencer Averick attends the 89th Academy Awards.
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Lei Katz and Andy Wright during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards.
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Luke Bracey attends the 89th Academy Awards.
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Director Marcel Mettelsiefen attends the 89th Academy Awards.
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Aldis Hodge.
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Producer Stephen Ellis attends the 89th Academy Awards.
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Hannes Holm and guest.
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Toshio Suzuki, left, and Michael Dudok de Wit.
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Sofia Boutella attends the 89th Academy Awards.
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Love Larson and Eva von Bahr.
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Cinematographer Dan Krauss attends the 89th Academy Awards.
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Darby Stanchfield during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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TV personalities Debbie Matenopoulos and Louis Aguirre.
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Mica Levi, nominee for original score for “Jackie.”
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TV personality Debbie Matenopoulos.
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John Savage.
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Actor Glen Powell.
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Olivia Culpo.
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Trudie Styler, left, Sting, J. Ralph and guest.
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Teresa Palmer during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Shohreh Aghdashloo.
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Bradford Young and guest during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards.
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Hailee Steinfeld.
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Joe Walker and guest.
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Dakota Johnson during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Viggo Mortensen during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Actor-screenwriter Taylor Sheridan and Nicole Sheridan.
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Lin-Manuel Miranda with his mother, Luz Towns-Miranda.
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Nancy O’Dell during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Louise Roe during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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David Oyelowo during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Olivia Culpo during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Allison Schroeder during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Cynthia Erivo.
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Hailee Steinfeld.
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Vince Vaughn.
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Jharrel Jerome.
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Kirsten Dunst.
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Ava DuVernay.
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Ginnifer Goodwin during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Ashton Sanders during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Emma Roberts during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Karlie Kloss during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Riz Ahmed.
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Miranda July and Mike Mills during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Tarell Alvin McCraney during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Gael Garcia Bernal during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Janelle Monae during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Michelle Williams, left, and Busy Philipps during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards.
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Terrence Howard and Mira Pak during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Leslie Mann and husband Judd Apatow during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards.
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Trevante Rhodes, left, Alex R. Hibbert and Ashton Sanders during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards.
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Denis Villeneuve and wife Tanya Lapointe during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Seth Rogen and Lauren Miller.
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Dakota Johnson during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Glen Powell during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Aldis Hodge.
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Viola Davis and husband Julius Tennon during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Halle Berry during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Alicia Vikander.
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Alicia Vikander during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Dawn Hudson during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Giuliana Rancic during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Harvey Weinstein and Georgina Chapman.
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Lauren Hashian and Dwayne Johnson during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Jeremy Renner.
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Ava DuVernay during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Robin Roberts.
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Salma Hayek.
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Jim Parsons.
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Alex Greenwald and Brie Larson.
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Jamie Dornan and Amelia Warner.
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Priyanka Chopra during the arrivals at the 89th Academy Awards. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
After two consecutive years of back-to-back #OscarsSoWhite controversies spurred the academy to take dramatic steps to shift the demographics of its overwhelmingly white and male membership, the night served as an opportunity for the film industry to showcase diversity.
Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs, who helped spearhead changes aimed at doubling the number of women and minorities in the academy’s ranks by 2020, said that the film industry was “becoming more inclusive and diverse with each passing day,” adding, “Tonight is proof art has no borders, art has no single language and art does not belong to a single faith.”
In his opening monologue, Kimmel pointedly credited Trump’s rise with helping to take the heat off of Hollywood when it comes to issues of discrimination.
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“I want to say thank you to President Trump,” he said. “I mean, remember last year when it seemed like the Oscars were racist?”
In another example of the academy’s expanded inclusiveness — and the latest sign of the blurring of the boundaries between film and television — the 7½ hour “O.J.: Made in America,” which ran in theaters and aired on ABC and ESPN, won the Oscar for documentary feature.
But amid the evening’s many firsts and despite the evident political fissures between Hollywood and the current administration, the night returned again and again to the power of movies and the importance of storytelling.
“There’s one place that all the people with the greatest potential are gathered, and that’s the graveyard,” Davis said, delivering one of the evening’s most impassioned acceptance speeches. “People ask me all the time: What kind of stories do you want to tell, Viola? And I say, exhume those bodies. Exhume those stories. The stories of the people who dreamed big and never saw those dreams come to fruition, people who fell in love and lost.”
Josh Rottenberg covers the film business for the Los Angeles Times. He was part of the team that was named a 2022 Pulitzer Prize finalist in breaking news for covering the tragic shooting on the set of the film “Rust.” He co-wrote the 2021 Times investigation into the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. that led NBC to pull the Golden Globe Awards off the air while the organization underwent major reforms. A graduate of Harvard University, he has also written about the entertainment industry for the New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, Fast Company and other publications.
