Hollywood handed out its top awards Sunday night at the Academy Awards, during a contested and chaotic Oscars ceremony. The night was already under criticism for handing out many of the craft awards for Editing and Score during the 4 o’clock hour when many stars were still on the red carpet, before the broadcast started (those awards were then edited into the live broadcast, seeming to save all of 2 minutes total). Things took a turn for the weird when Will Smith, moments before winning best actor, took the stage to slap Chris Rock for making a joke about wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair loss due to alopecia.
The evening brought to an end one of the longest awards seasons thus far, which usually kicks off in early September with the Venice and Toronto international film festivals. But many of the top winners of the night, including best picture winner “CODA” and best documentary winner “Summer of Soul," have been on the campaign trail since Sundance 2021. Finally, Hollywood’s brightest stars can take a break from the red carpet, and film fans can move on to a new crop of contenders soon.
Speaking of “CODA,” the little indie that took the night’s top award, it became the first film that debuted at Sundance to win best picture. Apple took a $25 million gamble acquiring the film at the festival, and it paid off as “CODA,” written and directed by Sian Heder, is the first best picture winner from a streamer. It also won best adapted screenplay for Heder and best supporting actor for Troy Kotsur, the first deaf man to win the award. Stream this heartwarming family film on Apple TV+.
Best actor went to Will Smith for his portrayal of Venus and Serena’s dad, Richard Williams, in “King Richard,” which is available to stream on HBO Max. Jessica Chastain also earned her first Oscar for her decadelong passion project “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” playing embattled televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker. That film also won the prize for best makeup and hairstyling, for transforming Chastain into Bakker’s signature makeup looks. “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” is streaming on HBO Max.
Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” remake took home only one prize Sunday night, for best supporting actress Ariana DeBose, in the role of Anita. Rita Moreno also won best supporting actress in 1962 for the same role in the original film. Stream “West Side Story” on Disney+ and HBO Max.
Netflix’s power player “The Power of the Dog” took home only one Oscar: best director for Jane Campion. Campion is only the third female director to win best director, after Chloe Zhao won last year for “Nomadland” and Kathryn Bigelow won in 2010 for “The Hurt Locker.” Stream Campion’s mysterious and beautiful Western on Netflix.
Oft-nominated actor/director/writer Kenneth Branagh took home his first Oscar, for best original screenplay. “Belfast,” his cinematic memoir of his childhood in Northern Ireland during The Troubles, is available to rent on all major digital platforms.
The Roots’ Amir “Questlove” Thompson made his directorial debut with the documentary “Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Would Not Be Televised)” and won the best documentary Oscar to boot. Thompson unearthed a wealth of footage from the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival that had been lost for 50 years and brought it to life on screen. Party with this incredible piece of work on Hulu.
Surprising no parents, “Encanto” won best animated feature (available on Disney+, but youalready knew that), and since they didn’t nominate “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” for Best Original Song, Billie Eilish and brother Finneas swooped in to pick up that statue for their Bond theme, “No Time To Die.” Rent the latest Bond adventure on all digital platforms. Also on Disney+ is best costume winner “Cruella” (designed by Jenny Beavan).
Best international feature went to Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Drive My Car,” a meditative marvel musing on love, grief, human connection, and “Uncle Vanya.” Take this vintage Saab for a spin on HBO Max.
Finally, Denis Villeneuve’s sprawling adaptation of Frank Herbert’s “Dune” swept the technical and craft awards, taking home Oscars for cinematography (Greig Fraser), editing (Joe Walker), score (Hans Zimmer), production design (Patrice Vermette and Zsuzsanna Sipos), sound (Mac Ruth, Mark Mangini, Theo Green, Doug Hemphill and Ron Bartlett) and visual effects (Paul Lambert, Tristan Myles, Brian Connor and Gerd Nefzer). Stream the epic adventure of sandworms and spice on HBO Max.
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