By Kieran Press-Reynolds
For the first time in 30 years, the Academy Awards ceremony ran without a host. However, that certainly did not stop it from entertaining.
We laughed as Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Maya Rudolph mocked the Fyre Festival. We cheered as Spike Lee finally received his first non-honorary Oscar and delivered a riveting call-to-action. We teared up in happiness as Olivia Colman won an Oscar and choked out one of the most endearingly awkward speeches of all time.
In comparison to previous years, this Oscars had one of the most diverse cast of nominations ever.
The most awards of the night went to “Bohemian Rhapsody,” which took Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Film Editing and Best Actor. The latter went to Rami Malek, who played Freddie Mercury in the film and became the first Egyptian ever to win the award.
“Green Book,” “Roma” and “Black Panther” each received three awards. Most notably, Best Picture went to “Green Book,” which stirred some controversy as it was seen as one of the least diverse picks. The Los Angeles Times immediately published an article arguing that “Green Book” is the worst Best Picture winner since “Crash.”
However, “Roma” was not completely disregarded as Alfonso Cuarón went home with Best Director. The film also won Best Foreign Language Film and Best Cinematography.
“Black Panther” won Best Original Score, Best Production Design and Best Costume Design.
Notable individual winners include Olivia Colman for Best Actress in “The Favourite,” Mahershala Ali for Best Supporting Actor in “Green Book” and Regina King for Best Supporting Actress in “If Beale Street Could Talk.” Lady Gaga took home an Oscar for Best Original Song, dazzling the Academy with “Shallow” from “A Star Is Born.”
Acclaimed director Spike Lee finally received his first non-honorary Oscar, winning Best Adapted Screenplay for “BlacKkKlansman.”
In the end, this year’s Oscars ceremony was surprisingly pleasant.
