Sunday night’s Oscars – widely condemned as the most boring in history – ended with further upset after Anthony Hopkins beat Chadwick Boseman to win Best Actor.
Hopkins, 83, won the coveted gong for his role in The Father, becoming the oldest person ever to win an acting Oscar.
It is the second Academy Award for the British icon, who first won 30 years ago for his role as Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of The Lambs.
Hopkins has since been nominated a five further times, but he was not expected to take home this year’s award. Boseman – who died of colon cancer aged just 43 last August – was widely tipped to win a posthumous award for his role in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.
The Academy Awards usually ends with the Best Picture award being announced, but this year it was decided that Best Actor would be the last award of the night.
Many theorized that was because Boseman would be announced as the winner, and the awards show would end with a tribute to his illustrious career.
When that did not happen, Hopkin’s win caused upset on social media. Dozens blasted that it was ‘the worst TV ending since Game of Thrones’.
To make matters worse, Hopkins skipped the awards ceremony – which was held in Los Angeles’ Union Station – and did not deliver an acceptance speech.
Sunday night’s Oscars – widely condemned as the most boring in history – ended with further upset after Anthony Hopkins beat Chadwick Boseman to win Best Actor
The Best Actor category was the last award of the night, and Hopkin’s win caused upset on social media. Boseman is pictured in four of his different film roles
Elsewhere, indie film Nomadland scooped three awards, including Best Picture.
The movie only made $2.5 million at the box office and is the lowest-grossing Best Picture winner in Academy Award history.
However, its two other wins also helped make Oscars history.
Chloe Zhao won Best Director for her work on the film, becoming the first woman of color and the second woman ever to win the coveted award.
Meanwhile, Frances McDormand won Best Actress for Nomadland, picking up her third Best Actress Oscar.
She is only the fourth woman to have won three or more Academy Awards for acting, joining Katharine Hepburn, Ingrid Bergman and Meryl Streep in that illustrious category.
McDormand, 63, howled as Nomadland won Best Picture. The cry – which mimicked a wolf – was a meaningful tribute to Michael Wolf Snyder, the film’s sound mixer, who tragically died by suicide last month at the age of 35.
Nomadland scooped three awards, including Best Picture. The movie only made $2.5 million at the box office and is the lowest-grossing Best Picture winner in Academy Award history
McDormand, 63, howled as Nomadland won Best Picture. The cry – which mimicked a wolf – was a meaningful tribute to Michael Wolf Snyder, the film’s sound mixer, who tragically died by suicide last month at the age of 35
Chloe Zhao won Best Director for her work on Nomadland, becoming the first woman of color and the second woman ever to win the coveted award
The Academy Awards was dramatically scaled down this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the ceremony held at Los Angeles’ Union Station.
Just 170 guests were in attendance, and the red carpet was downsized. One social media user stated that it was ‘a train wreck inside a literal train station’.
Elton John joked that it looked as if the ceremony was being held in ‘a Starbucks’.
However, the 93rd Academy Awards still managed to be the ‘most diverse’ in history, with a number of BIPOC winners.
In addition to Zhao becoming the first woman of color to win Best Director, Youn Yuh-jung became the first Korean national to win Best Supporting Actress for her role in Minari.
Daniel Kaluuya became the sixth ever black man to win Best Supporting Actor after he scooped the Oscar for his role in Judas and the Black Messiah.
The Academy Awards was dramatically scaled down this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the ceremony held at Los Angeles’ Union Station. Just 170 guests were in attendance, and the red carpet was downsized. Elton John joked that it looked as if the ceremony was being held in ‘a Starbucks’
The Academy Awards has celebrated its ‘most diverse’ ceremony in its 93 year history. Youn Yuh-jung (left) became the first Korean national to win Best Supporting Actress. Daniel Kaluuya (right) became the sixth ever black man to win Best Supporting Actor after he scooped the Oscar for his role in Judas and the Black Messiah
The Oscars gets political: Travon Free calls out cop killings, Regina King lauds Derek Chauvin’s murder conviction and winners look forward to ‘black trans women’ being nominated in the future
Director Travon Free turned his Oscars acceptance speech into a condemnation of police killings during the 93rd Academy Awards on Sunday night.
The 35-year-old won Best Live Action Short along with co-director Martin Desmond Roe for their drama Two Distant Strangers – a 29 minute movie that examines the deaths of black Americans during encounters with police.
‘Today, the police will kill three people,’ Free stated as he took to the stage to accept his award.
‘Tomorrow, the police will kill three people. And the day after that, the police will kill three people. Because on average, the police in America every day kill three people. Which amounts to about 1,000 people a year. ‘
He continued: ‘Those people happen to be disproportionately black people. I just ask that you please not be indifferent. Please don’t be indifferent to our pain,’ Free continued.
Earlier, as he walked the red carpet, Free also made a political statement, showing off the inside of his blazer which was emblazoned with the names of black people killed by police, including Philando Castile, Tamir Rice, Rayshard Brooks and Daunte Wright.
Director Travon Free turned his Oscars acceptance speech into a condemnation of police killings during the 93rd Academy Awards on Sunday night
The 35-year-old (left) won Best Live Action Short along with co-director Martin Desmond Roe (right) for their drama Two Distant Strangers
Free wasn’t the only star at the show to make a political statement.
Actress Regina King kicked off the night by hailing Derek Chauvin’s conviction for murdering George Floyd during her opening monologue.
The 50-year-old actress took to the stage at the glitzy ceremony in Los Angeles’ Union Station stating: ‘It has been quite a year, and we are still smack dab in the middle of it. We are mourning the loss of so many.
‘And I have to be honest, if things had gone differently this past week in Minneapolis, I may have traded in my heels for marching boots.’
King’s comments prompted vocal agreement among the 170 people who were sitting in the audience.
Actress Regina King kicked off the 93rd Academy Awards Sunday night by hailing Derek Chauvin ‘s guilty verdict for murdering George Floyd
Last week, Derek Chauvin was convicted of second degree murder over the May 2020 death of black man, George Floyd
The actress continued: ‘Now, I know that a lot of you people at home want to reach for your remote when you feel like Hollywood is preaching to you. But as a mother of a black son, I know the fear that so many live with, and no amount of fame or fortune changes. That okay?’
The crowd responding with a loud applause, seeming to confirm their support for King’s commentary.
Last Monday, a Minneapolis jury found Chauvin guilty of second-degree manslaughter, third-degree murder and second-degree unintentional murder over the May 2020 death of unarmed black man, George Floyd.
Meanwhile, Sergio Lopez-Rivera, Mia Neal, and Jamika Wilson also spoke about identity politics as they accepted the award for Oscar for Best Hair and Makeup.
Neal and Wilson are the first two black women to win the award, with Neal speaking out about breaking barriers as she took to the podium.
Mia Neal, Jamika Wilson and Sergio Lopez-Rivera, winners of the award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
‘I want to say thank you to our ancestors who put the work in. Who were denied but never gave up. And I also stand here, as we break this glass ceiling with so much excitement for the future,’ she stated to cheers from the crowd.
‘Because I can picture black trans women standing up here, Asian and Latina sisters, and indigenous women. And it won’t be unusual or groundbreaking one day, it will just be normal’.
This year’s Academy Awards have been hailed as ‘the most diverse’ in history, with a record number of nominees who are BIPOC (black, indigenous and people of color).
Nine of the 20 acting nominees this year are actors of color and it is the first time in history that the best actor category isn’t majority white.
Nominations in the Best Actor in a Leading Role category included Steven Yeun (Minari) who is the first Asian American to receive a nod; Chadwick Boseman (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) who received a posthumous nomination; and Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal) who is the first Muslim actor to be given a nod in the category.
It is also the first time two female directors have ever been nominated in the Best Director category, with Chloé Zhao (Nomadland) and Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman) both receiving nods. Only five women have ever been nominated in the category before.
Zhao is also the first woman of color to ever be nominated for best director.
93RD ACADEMY AWARDS WINNERS
Best Picture
The Father
Judas and the Black Messiah
Mank
Minari
Nomadland – WINNER
Promising Young Woman
Sound of Metal
The Trial of the Chicago 7
Best Picture: The Trial of the Chicago 7 is one of the eight films nominated
Best Actress in a Leading Role
Viola Davis – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Andra Day – The United States vs Billie Holiday
Vanessa Kirby – Pieces of a Woman
Frances McDormand – Nomadland – WINNER
Carey Mulligan – Promising Young Woman
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Maria Bakalova – Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Glenn Close – Hillbilly Elegy
Olivia Colman – The Father
Amanda Seyfried – Mank
Youn Yuh-jung – Minari – WINNER
Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Olivia Colman is up for her role in The Father
Best Music (Original Score)
Da 5 Bloods
Mank
Minari
News of the World
Soul – WINNER
Best Animated Short Film
Burrow
Genius Loci
If Anything Happens I Love You – WINNER
Opera
Yes-People
Best Live Action Short Film
Feeling Through
The Letter Room
The Present
Two Distant Strangers – WINNER
White Eye
Best International Feature Film
Another Round – WINNER
Better Days
Collective
The Man Who Sold His Skin
Quo Vadis, Aida?
Best Sound: Greyhound – a war film starring Tom Hanks – is up for the gong
Best Sound
Greyhound
Mank
News of the World
Soul
Sound of Metal – WINNER
Best Cinematography
Judas and the Black Messiah
Mank – WINNER
News of the World
Nomadland
The Trial of the Chicago 7
Best Music (Original Song)
H.E.R. – Fight for You – Judas and the Black Messiah – WINNER
Hear My Voice – The Trial of the Chicago 7
Husavik – Eurovision Song Contest
Io Si (Seen) – The Life Ahead
Speak Now – One Night in Miami…
Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is vying for the award
Best Director
Thomas Vinterberg – Another Round
David Fincher – Mank
Lee Isaac Chung – Minari
Chloé Zhao – Nomadland – WINNER
Emerald Fennell – Promising Young Woman
Best Actor in a Leading Role
Riz Ahmed – Sound of Metal
Anthony Hopkins – The Father – WINNER
Chadwick Boseman – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Gary Oldman – Mank
Steven Yeun – Minari
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Sacha Baron Cohen – The Trial of the Chicago 7
Daniel Kaluuya – Judas and the Black Messiah – WINNER
Leslie Odom, Jr. – One Night in Miami…
Paul Raci – Sound of Metal
Lakeith Stanfield – Judas and the Black Messiah
Best Animated Feature Film
Onward
Over the Moon
A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon
Soul – WINNER
Wolfwalkers
Best Animated Feature Film: A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon is nominated
Best Costume Design
Emma
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom – WINNER
Mank
Mulan
Pinnochio
Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
The Father – WINNER
Nomadland
One Night in Miami…
The White Tiger
Best Writing (Original Screenplay)
Emerald Fennell – Promising Young Woman – WINNER
Shaka King and Will Berson – Judas and the Black Messiah
Lee Isaac Chung – Minari
Darius Marder and Abraham Marder – Sound of Metal
Aaron Sorkin – The Trial of the Chicago 7
Best Documentary Feature
Collective
Crip Camp
The Mole Agent
My Octopus Teacher – WINNER
Time
Best Writing (Original Screenplay): Judas and the Black Messiah is up for the gong
Best Documentary Short Subject
Colette – WINNER
A Concerto Is a Conversation
Do Not Split
Hunger Ward
A Love Song for Latasha
Best Film Editing
The Father
Nomadland
Promising Young Woman
Sound of Metal – WINNER
The Trial of the Chicago 7
Best Production Design
The Father
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Mank – WINNER
News of the World
Tenet
Best Visual Effects
Love and Monsters
The Midnight Sky
Mulan
The One and Only Ivan
Tenet – WINNER
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Emma
Hillbilly Elegy
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom – WINNER
Mank
Pinocchio