So there we go! It all seemed so staid this year given the fact that just 12 months ago we were still gasping over envelope-gate and the fact that a tiny-budgeted film about the life of a black gay man won the Oscar for best picture.
But still, despite some seeing it as the “safe” option, The Shape of Water is hardly Oscarbait. It’s a film about a mute woman, an older gay man and a black woman working together to help save an aquatic creature in the 60s. Oh and it features an interspecies sex scene. Not exactly a Lasse Hallström joint huh?
The acting categories were a lot more predictable but as many have already said, all four actors are great, just maybe not in those roles?
The ceremony itself was mixed. There were less desperate attempts to go viral but Kimmel was nothing more then reliable. It was also, despite what they might want you to think, a poor year for female winners with just six women taking home Oscars.
There’ll be more post-show analysis coming soon but for now, this is your lot. Happy Oscars!
Guillermo del Toro has the best picture Oscar, and the card to prove it’s no mix-up. Photograph: Eric McCandless/Getty Images
Here are some backstage quotes from the big winners:
“I am so proud to be a part of a time that’s the beginning of a movement, where I feel like the best films of every genre are being brought to me by black directors” – Jordan Peele
“I have to be at a table read for Mom at 10am tomorrow, so I’m going back to work” – Allison Janney
“I can’t say what it would be like to win an Oscar in any other year, but to win it for playing Winston makes it doubly special. It’s been an unforgettable experience” – Gary Oldman
“I think every time we (Mexico) can demonstrate in any form, sports, science, art or culture, what we bring to the world discourse is extremely important. When we do it, it’s important to remember where we’re from, and honoring your roots and your country” – Guillermo del Toro
There were a number of regrettable snubs in tonight’s In Memoriam section including The Texas Chainsaw Massacre director Tobe Hooper and Batman star Adam West:
So the folks at the Hollywood Reporter did the math and The Shape of Water is the highest-grossing best picture winner for five years, despite having made less than $60m domestically.
I Love Frances, but does she not watch her own movies? Inclusion?? Uh. The people of color in Three Billboards were tokens. And yes- TAKE A LOOK. How many women of color do you see? Mm hmm #oscars
Frances McDormand's speech and call for an "inclusion rider" may have carried more weight to me if Three Billboards featured any significant diverse actors and/or characters other than her instead of only having a few minor roles who were treated as props and punchlines.
Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez Photograph: Mike Blake/Reuters
So this is pretty big, yet buried, news. Tonight, Robert Lopez won an Oscar for co-writing best original song Remember Me from Coco which means he is now a double EGOT.
An EGOT is someone who has won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony. According to Entertainment Weekly, he is the first person to ever manage it twice. There are only 12 people who have managed it once.
Guillermo del Toro is being interviewed by E! right now, before he heads to the afterparties. “It took so much effort not to think about this moment for weeks and months and then, in that moment, you go blank,” he says.
Kimmel was solid but, given the fact that every major US awards show has been hosted by a white man in the past 12 months, next year, the Academy needs to shake it up.
Twitter has decided who they should pick:
You: Why aren’t Tiffany Haddish and Maya Rudolph hosting the Oscars
Me, an intellectual: Why aren’t Tiffany Haddish and Maya Rudolph running the country
Comments (…)
Sign in or create your Guardian account to join the discussion