92nd Academy Awards in Review
Cast and crew of Parasite celebrating the Best Picture win.
That’s a wrap on the ninety second Academy Awards ceremony, and what a night it has been! Parasite changed history, becoming the first foreign-language film to ever win Best Picture. Bong Joon-ho also won for Best Director, as well as Best Original Screenplay (alongside cowriter Han Jin-won), and the film went on to win the much-expected Best International Feature Film category too. Otherwise, most of the evening was incredibly predictable, in a nice enough way. Joaquin Phoenix took home his first Academy Award (much to his own chagrin) for Joker, while Renée Zellweger completed her successful comeback with her first Best Actress win for Judy (she previously won Best Supporting Actress for Cold Mountain). Brad Pitt and Laura Dern achieved their legacy wins after far too long (for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Marriage Story respectively); it’s about time!
The show ran host-less again for the second year, this time on purpose (rather than scrambling to find a willing host in time). Host shmost. Who needs them? No one needs that when you can start the show off with a a fiery introduction by superstar Janelle Monáe, who turns her rendition of “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” by Fred Rogers into a film-based version of her vocal acrobatic exercise “Come Alive”. Her performance included backup dancers clad in 2019’s most recognizable images, ranging from Academy included works (Joker, Little Women), and the snubbed (Midsommar, Dolemite is my Name). Monáe celebrated people of all circles, and was the fitting person to begin a show that received yet another dose of backlash for being culturally insensitive in its performance categories, and gender biased in other groups including Best Director (when will they ever learn?).
Janelle Monáe performing “Come Alive”.
Most of the presenters utilized this sans-host occasion rather well. Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Will Ferrell were a hilarious duo that wrongfully introduced the cinematography category (as they cherished the catering on film sets), and hatefully welcomed the editing nominees (claiming they were both cut out of the Best Picture films). You had James Corden and Rebel Wilson accepting their Cats fate by dressing up as their hideous characters from the maligned film, only to present the category that Tom Hooper’s dud was meant to claim (only in his mind): Best Visual Effects. Then, we had some speed bumps. Maya Rudolph and Kristen Wiig went on for too long with their acting joke (for a production design category? Okay…), only to start to obnoxiously sing for too long to introduce the Best Costume Design nominees (again, not even song related). These two, who are usually hilarious, missed the mark this time for me.
Steve Martin and Chris Rock were hilarious as former hosts being “[demoted]” to just presenters; that is, until Rock went a bit too far and vulgar by stating that the Best Director category was lacking “vaginas” (such a delicate issue that represents a serious problem, perhaps, shouldn’t have been resorted to a shock gag of this nature). Otherwise, most of the presenters knew their limits, and partook in one of the Academy’s smoother ceremonies in recent memory. Aside from a few hiccups (I don’t really know what was going on with Diane Keaton), the actual ceremony was much less painful than usual. Thank goodness. For once.
Joaquin Phoenix winning Best Actor for Joker.
The Best Original Song performances were all noteworthy for different reasons. Randy Newman’s “I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away” was more reserved, but it was classy nonetheless. Having a group of Elsa’s voice actresses from across the world joining Idina Menzel for “Into the Unknown” was a fantastic idea that elevated what could have been a solo domination (which we already got when Menzel performed “Let it Go” a number of years ago). On that front, Chrissy Metz stunned the entire room with her delivery of “I’m Standing With You”, sung even better than the recording version found in Breakthrough. We were also graced with Sir Elton John doing what he does best: banging those ivories. He ultimately went home with the Oscar, for “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again”. The performance of the night goes to Cynthia Erivo, who was frankly the only performer that could keep up with Janelle Monáe from earlier. Her live performance of “Stand Up” was a virtuoso piece for the ages; it’s too bad it wasn’t paired with a win. Eminem showed up with a surprise “Lose Yourself” performance, for who knows what reason (maybe it’s to promote that new album of his?). Honorable mentions go to Billie Eilish (whose cover of “Yesterday” soothed the In Memorium section of the awards), and Utkarsh Ambudkar (who slapped together an Oscars recap rap with bars based on the just-announced winners).
As for the remainder of the wins, the Best Picture nominees got spread out, as per usual. Little Women secured a win for Best Costume Design, Ford v Ferrari won for its sound editing and editing (convenient much?). Taika Waititi won for Best Adapted Screenplay (Jojo Rabbit’s only win). Hollywood won an additional award for Production Design, and Joker secured its Original Score win for Hildur Gudnadóttir. Aside from that, we have 1917, which went home much more empty handed than anticipated, yet it still did rather well with three wins (Cinematography [make that two wins for Sir Roger Deakins now], Sound Mixing, and Visual Effects). Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman is the only Best Picture nominated film to go home empty handed this year.
Renée Zellweger winning Best Actress for Judy.
We ended on a bit of a more serious note, with Joaquin Phoenix using his time to discuss the urgency of the fight for universal balance and unity (he started his time by trying to quiet down the applauding crowd and the championing orchestra, as he wanted to be heard). He also left a beautiful tribute to late brother River Phoenix. Renée Zellweger followed by comparing Judy Garland’s legacy with how film can tell stories for the unheard, and bring everyone together on equal ground (she was much more optimistic in her approach). Aside from that, the Oscars didn’t get too political this year. We had fitting shifts (a maestra conducting an orchestra that played pieces from all of the Original Score nominees, for instance), and a focus on being straight to the point. Each category had fitting videos, whether it was screenplays being read out loud, or the CGI layers found in a special effects project window.
With everything taken into account, this year’s Academy Awards weren’t too shabby. They were highly predictable in ways, and pleasantly surprising in others. The ceremony itself didn’t linger in the uncomfortable or annoying territory for too long. There wasn’t too much padding that felt unnecessary. Even though it still ran over time (around twenty minutes this time, which isn’t the worst), it felt less of a chore than it has lately. Overall, the Academy Awards of 2020 weren’t half bad. Could have done without the intention of cutting the Parasite crew’s acceptances short at the end of the night; we were running over time already, what gives? We’re in full support of the entire crowd begging for the lights to come back on, for Parasite to celebrate and be celebrated furthermore.
BEST PICTURE
Ford v Ferrari
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit
Joker
Little Women
Marriage Story
1917
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
*Parasite* WINNER
DIRECTING
The Irishman: Martin Scorsese
Joker: Todd Phillips
1917: Sam Mendes
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: Quentin Tarantino
*Parasite: Bong Joon-ho* WINNER
LEADING ACTRESS
Harriet: Cynthia Erivo
Marriage Story: Scarlett Johansson
Little Women: Saorise Ronan
Bombshell: Charlize Theron
*Judy: Renée Zellweger* WINNER
LEADING ACTOR
Pain and Glory: Antonio Banderas
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: Leonardo DiCaprio
Marriage Story: Adam Driver
*Joker: Joaquin Phoenix* WINNER
The Two Popes: Jonathan Pryce
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Richard Jewell: Kathy Bates
*Marriage Story: Laura Dern* WINNER
Jojo Rabbit: Scarlett Johansson
Little Women: Florence Pugh
Bombshell: Margot Robbie
SUPPORTING ACTOR
A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood: Tom Hanks
The Two Popes: Anthony Hopkins
The Irishman: Al Pacino
The Irishman: Joe Pesci
*Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: Brad Pitt* WINNER
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Knives Out: Rian Johnson
Marriage Story: Noah Baumbach
1917: Sam Mendes & Krysty Wilson-Cairns
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: Quentin Tarantino
*Parasite: Bong Joon-ho, Han Jin-won* WINNER
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Irishman: Steven Zaillian
*Jojo Rabbit: Taika Waititi* WINNER
Joker: Todd Phillips & Scott Silver
Little Women: Greta Gerwig
The Two Popes: Anthony McCarten
INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM
Corpus Christi: Poland
Honeyland: North Macedonia
Les Misérables: France
Pain and Glory: Spain
*Parasite: South Korea* WINNER
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
*American Factory* WINNER
The Cave
The Edge of Democracy
For Sama
Honeyland
ANIMATED FEATURE
How to Train your Dragon: The Hidden World
I Lost my Body
Klaus
Missing Link
*Toy Story 4* WINNER
LIVE ACTION SHORT
Brotherhood
Nefta Football Club
*The Neighbor’s Window* WINNER
Saria
A Sister
DOCUMENTARY SHORT
In the Absence
*Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl)* WINNER
Life Overtakes Me
St. Louis Superman
Walk Run Cha-Cha
ANIMATED SHORT
Dcera (Daughter)
*Hair Love* WINNER
Kitbull
Memorable
Sister
ORIGINAL SCORE
*Joker: Hildur Gudnadóttir* WINNER
Little Women: Alexandre Desplat
Marriage Story: Randy Newman
1917: Thomas Newman
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: John Williams
ORIGINAL SONG
Toy Story 4: “I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away”, Randy Newman
*Rocketman: “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again”, Elton John, Bernie Taupin* WINNER
Breakthrough: “I’m Standing With You”, Diane Warren
Frozen II: “Into the Unknown”, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez
Harriet: “Stand Up”, Joshuah Brian Campbell, Cynthia Erivo
CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Irishman: Rodrigo Prieto
Joker: Lawrence Sher
The Lighthouse: Jarin Blaschke
*1917: Roger Deakins* WINNER
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: Robert Richardson
FILM EDITING
*Ford v Ferrari: Michael McCusker, Andrew Buckland* WINNER
The Irishman: Thelma Schoonmaker
Jojo Rabbit: Tom Eagles
Joker: Jeff Groth
Parasite: Yang Jinmo
PRODUCTION DESIGN
The Irishman: Production: Bob Shaw, Set: Regina Graves
Jojo Rabbit: Production: Ra Vincent, Set: Nora Sopková
1917: Production: Dennis Gassner, Set: Lee Sandales
*Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: Production: Barbara Ling, Set: Nancy Haigh* WINNER
Parasite: Production: Lee Ha-jun, Set: Cho Won Woo
VISUAL EFFECTS
Avengers: Endgame: Dan DeLeeuw, Russell Earl, Matt Aitken, Dan Sudick
The Irishman: Pablo Helman, Leandro Estebecorena, Nelson Sepulveda-Fauser, Stephane Grabli
The Lion King: Robert Legato, Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones, Elliot Newman
*1917: Guillaume Rocheron, Greg Butler, Dominic Tuohy* WINNER
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: Roger Guyett, Neal Scanlan, Patrick Tubach, Dominic Tuohy
COSTUME DESIGN
The Irishman: Sandy Powell, Christopher Peterson
Jojo Rabbit: Mayes C. Rubeo
Joker: Mark Bridges
*Little Women: Jacqueline Durran* WINNER
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: Arianne Phillips
MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
*Bombshell: Kazu Hiro, Anne Morgan, Vivian Baker* WINNER
Joker: Nicki Ledermann, Kay Georgiou
Judy: Jeremy Woodhead
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil: Paul Gooch, Arjen Tuiten, David White
1917: Naomi Donne, Tristan Versluis, Rebecca Cole
SOUND EDITING
*Ford v Ferrari: Donald Sylvester* WINNER
Joker: Alan Robert Murray
1917: Oliver Tarney, Rachel Tate
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: Wylie Stateman
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: Matthew Wood, David Acord
SOUND MIXING
Ad Astra: Gary Rydstrom, Tom Johnson, Mark Ulano
Ford v Ferrari: Paul Massey, David Giammarco, Steven A. Morrow
Joker: Tom Ozanich, Dean Zupancic, Tod Maitland
*1917: Mark Taylor, Stuart Wilson* WINNER
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: Michael Minkler, Christian P. Minkler, Mark Ulano
Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.