Academy Awards Make History with Diverse Wins and Memorable Performances

Posted on Feb 25, 2019

Rami Malek, Olivia Colman, Regina King and Mahershala Ali at the 91st Annual Academy Awards

The 91^st annual Academy Awards will go down in the history books for a number of reasons. For the first time in 30 years there was no host. “Green Book” took the best picture crown when just about everyone predicted that “Roma” would win. Olivia Colman scored the best actress award against all odds, when again, everyone thought Glenn Close was going to win, as she had swept every other industry honor leading up to the big night.

Rami Malek had done the same, and was awarded the best actor trophy for portraying Queen’s Freddie Mercury in “Bohemian Rhapsody,” a film that a small but very vocal group of critics hated.

The two best supporting acting winners –Mahershala Ali and Regina King– were African-American and two black women, Ruth E. Carter and Hannah Beachler won costume design and production design statuettes, both for “Black Panther,” making them the first women of color to win in those categories.

Spike Lee nabbed his first-ever Oscar in the adapted screenplay category for co-writing “BlacKkKlansman.” He jumped into the arms of presenter Samuel L Jackson as he took the stage.

Alfonso Cuarón became the first person to ever win best director and best cinematography for the same film, “Roma,” which was first released in theaters before streaming on Netflix.

But the moment most people will remember most fondly is Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga’s intimate performance at the piano of “Shallow,” which won best original song. The two stars of “A Star Is Born” finished off the performance cheek to cheek on the piano bench, looking lovingly at each other. They received a standing ovation.

The road to the Oscars was filled with controversy, beginning with a quickly-nixed plan announced last summer to award a most popular film statuette. Then came the debacle with host Kevin Hart. Then there was the plan to perform only two of the five nominated songs, another concept that was quickly nixed – although only four were actually performed. The missteps culminated with the announcement that four awards including those for cinematography and makeup would be presented during commercial breaks, yet another plan that was reversed after loud outcry from prominent members of the Academy.

After all this, it was pleasantly surprising that the show went off without a hitch.

It started on a high note with Adam Lambert fronting Queen, with original members Brian May and Roger Taylor in the opening number with a medley of their hits “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions” getting the crowd on its feet. No stranger to the classic songs, Lambert has been touring with Queen since 2011.

In lieu of a host, the musical numbers played an important role. Actor Keegan-Michael Key descended from the rafters of Hollywood’s Dolby Theater with a Mary Poppins-style umbrella in hand to introduce Bette Midler’s performance of “The Place Where Lost Things Go” from “Mary Poppins Returns.” Jennifer Hudson performed Diane Warren’s “I”ll Fight” from the documentary “RBG” about Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Gillian Welch and David Rawlings dueted on “When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings” from “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.”

The ratings slide was stemmed from last year, but it was still the second lowest rated Academy Awards in history, with a little less than 30 million viewers tuning in to the three hour and 20 minute program.

Here are the winners:

Best Picture

Winner: Green Book

Best Director

Winner: Alfonso Cuaron, Roma

Best Actress

Winner: Olivia Colman, The Favourite

Best Actor

Winner: Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody

Best Supporting Actress

Winner: Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk 
Best Supporting Actor

Winner: Mahershala Ali, Green Book

Best Original Song

Winner: Shallow — A Star Is Born

Best Original Score

Winner: Black Panther — Ludwig Goransson
Best Adapted Screenplay

Winner: BlacKkKlansman — Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott and Spike Lee

Best Original Screenplay

Winner: Green Book — Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly
Best Live Action Short Film

Winner: Skin

Best Visual Effects

Winner: First Man

Best Documentary — Short Subject

Winner: Period. End of Sentence
Best Animated Short Film

Winner: Bao
Best Animated Feature Film

Winner: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Best Film Editing

Winner: Bohemian Rhapsody

Best Foreign Language Film

Winner: Roma — Mexico

Best Sound Mixing

Winner: Bohemian Rhapsody

Best Sound Editing

Winner: Bohemian Rhapsody

Best Cinematography

Winner: Roma

Best Production Design

Winner: Black Panther
Best Costume Design

Winner: Black Panther

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Winner: Vice

Best Documentary — Feature

Winner: Free Solo