Tom Cottingham
Features Editor
The hit musical La La Land seemed to have everything Hollywood desires: great acting, great singing and great production. It was on track to win the “Best Picture” award, and it did, until the biggest fail in Oscars’ history happened in front of millions of viewers.
As the cast and crew for La La Land rushed on stage for the award, mass confusion arose. After producer Marc Platt finished his speech, unaware of the mistake, Fred Berger finished off the speeches by calmly saying into the microphone “We lost by the way. But you know…” and finished off the speech anyway.
The 89th Academy Awards gave “Best Picture” to the drama Moonlight after an error with the envelope. Not only was the film the first with an all-black cast and the second LGBTQ+-related film to win “Best Picture,” but it also won for “Best Adapted Screenplay” and “Best Supporting Actor” with Mahershala Ali.
La La Land still won big with its 14 nominations. Emma Stone ran away with “Best Actress,” the song “City of Stars” won for “Best Original Song” and the film itself won four more awards for “Best Director,” “Best Cinematography,” “Best Original Score” and “Best Director.”
Casey Aflack ran away with the “Best Actor” award for his performance in the drama Manchester by the Sea. Another “give-me” included the award for “Best Documentary Feature” which was presented to ESPN’s documentary O.J.: Made in America. The documentary also broke the record for the longest film to be awarded an Oscar, clocking at a seven-hours, 47 minute runtime. This is also ESPN’s first Academy Award.
Comedian Jimmy Kimmel made his debut as a host for the Oscars. Kimmel was able to drive the crowd into high spirits. He spoke of the divided country and how we should talk to each other person-to-person, not conservative-to-liberal. He did, however, jab a few lines towards President Trump.
“See, it’s so easy to reach out and heal. And I want to say, maybe this is not a popular thing to say, but I want to say thank you to President Trump. I mean, remember last year when it seemed like the Oscars were racist? That’s gone, thanks to him!” Kimmel joked.
Disney’s Zootopia won for “Best Animated Featured Film.” During his speech, co-director Rich Moore thanked the audience who embraced the film for its focus on equality. “This story of tolerance is more powerful than fear of the other,” said Moore.
Some more surprises happened during the award show besides the malfunction at the end. For example, the supervillain movie Suicide Squad won the award for “Best Makeup.” Critics bombed the film for not having enough humor or wasting a talented cast, but the film still received one Oscar.
With the 89th Academy Awards coming to close, this one will be remembered for the cry for equality and the biggest “d’oh!” in Oscars history.
cottintf14@bonaventure.edu
image credit: Metro.us
