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Parasite Makes History at Oscars
"Parasite" won the best picture Oscar Sunday night, becoming the first foreign-language film to take home the biggest honor in film.
Bong Joon Ho's class satire has been one of the season's darlings, despite failing to garner any Academy Award nominations for its cast.
Bong's acumen in creating his tale of a grifter family that insinuates itself into the lives of a wealthy family has been widely recognized.
The film won four Oscars on Sunday, including best director for Bong.
The Dolby Theatre erupted in raucous applause after the win was announced.
Best Actress
Renee Zellwegger has won the best actress Academy Award for her portrayal of Judy Garland in the tumultuous final year of her life.
It is Zellweger's second Oscar; she won the supporting actress award in 2004 for "Cold Mountain.''
The actress has enjoyed front-runner status throughout awards season, picking up top Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild honors last month.
Zellweger undertook the huge challenge of playing the beloved star by focusing on every aspect of Garland, including her voice, hair, makeup and stage presence.
Best Supporting Actress
Laura Dern's turn as a steely divorce attorney in "Marriage Story" made the case with Oscar jurors, who completed her awards season sweep of best supporting actress honors.
Dern's win Sunday came nearly three decades after her first Academy Award nomination, as lead actress in 1992 for "Rambling Rose." She received a supporting actress nod in 2015 for "Wild," and has earned Emmys and a wealth of critics' honors over the years.
"Some say, never meet your heroes. I say if you're really blessed, you get them as your parents,'' an emotional Dern said in accepting the trophy. "I share this with my acting legends, my heroes, Diane Ladd and Bruce Dern. You've got game. I love you.''
Dern also paid tribute to "Marriage Story" filmmaker Noah Baumbach. His film detailing a marriage's end is about love and breaching divisions in the home and family and, hopefully, for all ``in the name of the planet,'' Dern said.
In a reflection of Dern's across-the-board respect, her awards for ``Marriage Story'' ranged from the mainstream Oscars and British Academy awards to critics' laurels, and prompted an Independent Spirit awards musical tribute Saturday. The versatile actress also was on screen last year in ``Little Women,'' anchoring family life as Marmee for the film that garnered six Oscar bids, and has proved her commercial chops with the ``Jurassic'' franchise.
Feature-length documentary: 'American Factory'
The Oscar for best feature-length documentary has gone to "American Factory," the first documentary released by Barack and Michelle Obama's production company.
"American Factory" beat out "For Sama," "Honeyland,'' "The Cave,'' and "The Edge of Democracy.''
The Netflix film is about an Ohio auto glass factory that is run by a Chinese investor. It explores many issues, including the rights of workers, globalization and automation.
The Fuyao plant, bought by Chinese industrialist Cao Dewang, employs about 2,200 American and 200 Chinese workers. The film gives a close-up look at how the cultures adjust to one another. Tensions rise when the factory doesn't initially meet production goals, culminating in a bitter fight over the right to unionize.
The name of the Obamas' company, Higher Ground, flashes by in the opening credits, but the Obamas themselves aren't mentioned anywhere. Neither is President Donald Trump.
Best supporting actor: Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt won his first acting Oscar on Sunday night, claiming the supporting actor trophy for "Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood.''
Pitt beat out an iconic group that included Tom Hanks, Anthony Hopkins and Al Pacino.
He was honored for his role as Clint Booth, a stunt double for Leonard DiCaprio's actor character in the film about the Manson family murders that shot at locations in Hollywood near the Dolby Theatre, where Pitt accepted the first award of the evening.
"I'm a bit gobsmacked,'' Pitt told the crowd before dedicating the victory "to my kids who color everything I do.''
Pitt previously earned a best picture trophy for producing "12 Years a Slave" in 2014. His Oscar resume includes four acting nods and three for producing.
Pitt exuded charm and bon homie as a heavy favorite throughout this awards season, giving funny speeches while collecting trophies at the Golden Globes and SAG Awards. Even co-star Margot Robbie was humorous in serving as his proxy at the BAFTAs.
Original screenplay
"Parasite" is the winner of the best original screenplay Academy Award, delivering Bong Joon Ho his first Oscar.
The South Korean writer-director held the Oscar up and said to the audience "Thank you, great honor.'' He dedicated the win to his country.
He shares the honor with Han Jin Won, who paid thanks to the Korean film industry.
A no host affair
As it did last year, the annual Dolby Theatre ceremony kicked off without a host. Janelle Monae opened the show entering a Mister Rogers set and singing ``A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.'' Singing to the front row, Monae dropped her bowler hat on the head of Tom Hanks, who was nominated for his performance as Fred Rogers. A medley continued with Billy Porter joining in, as Monae segued into her song "Come Alive."
I'm so proud to be standing here as a black queer artist telling stories," said Monae. "Happy Black History Month."
Two former Oscar hosts, Chris Rock and Steve Martin, dropped in to supply an opening monologue. Martin called it "an incredible demotion." Martin noted that something was missing from this year's directing nominees. "Vaginas!" Rock replied.
Fittingly for a sped up Oscar race (this year's awards are being held several weeks earlier), a movie about a mad dash has risen to the top of the heap. After winning nearly every major precursor award, Sam Mendes' "1917," about a pair of British soldiers sent with an urgent message to deliver through recently-held enemy territory, is the favorite for best picture. Thanks to its technical dazzle, the seemingly one-continuous-shot ``1917'' is also likely to come away with the most awards Sunday, even without any acting nominations.
Although the acting favorites -- including Joaquin Phoenix, Renee Zellweger and Laura Dern -- all appear to be all-but-certain locks, there's still the potential for a history-making upset. Momentum has swung behind Bong Joon Ho's South Korean thriller "Parasite," and some believe it has a chance to become the first non-English language film to win best picture.
Such a win would be a watershed moment for the Academy Awards, which has long been content to relegate international films to their own category. But in an effort to diversify its largely white and male membership, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has inducted more overseas members in recent years. And just about no one has a bad word to say about the widely praised class satire ``Parasite,'' the Palme d'Or winner at last year's Cannes Film Festival and the first foreign language film to win top honors from the Screen Actors Guild Awards.
"Regardless of the outcome, I think the door has been opened,'' Bong said on the red carpet. ``I think as long as we continue this effort, the door will just open wider and wider.''
ABC, which is broadcasting the show live, is hoping a widely watched field of nominees _ including the $1 billion-grossing "Joker,'' up for a leading 11 awards - will help viewership. Last year's show garnered 29.6 million viewers, a 12% uptick.
This year's Oscars comes amid a streaming overhaul throughout Hollywood. Hurrying to catch up to Netflix and Amazon, most of the major studios are prepping or have already launched their own streaming services, as have new entrants like Apple. Netflix comes into the Oscars with a leading 24 nominations thanks to ``The Irishman,'' ``Marriage Story,'' "The Two Popes'' and the likely best documentary winner, ``American Factory.''
But despite spending heavily through awards season, Netflix may go home with only a few awards. The streamer is still seeking its first best picture win after Alfonso Cuaron's ``Roma'' came up just shy last year.
Instead, this year's Oscar favorites are largely movies released widely in theaters. They also predominantly feature male characters and come from male directors.
After a year in which women made significant gains behind the camera, no female directors were nominated for best director. The acting categories are also the least diverse since the fallout of (hash)OscarsSoWhite pushed the academy to remake its membership. Cynthia Erivo (``Harriet'') is the only actor of color nominated. Those results, which have been a topic in speeches through awards season, stand in contrast to research that suggests the most popular movies star more people of color than ever before.
Ticket sales slumped about 4% last year despite Walt Disney Co.'s record $13 billion in worldwide box office. Disney, which acquired 20th Century Fox last spring, accounted for an overwhelming 38% of domestic ticket sales. Yet Disney, aside from owning the network the Oscars are broadcast on, will likely play a minor role at the Academy Awards.
And while Democratic candidates are vying for the presidency and votes are still being counted in Iowa, former President Barack Obama may well notch another win. The first film from his and Michelle Obama's production company, "American Factory," is favored to win best documentary.
February 10, 2020 at 10:57AM
