Owen Maier ‘20
The 92nd Annual Academy Awards took place in early February at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood. Against Oscars tradition, there was not one single host of the ceremony. Instead, many different presenters and entertainers spoke, including Will Ferrell, Mindy Kaling, Chris Rock, and Lin-Manuel Miranda. On the minds of many celebrities attending the event was the lack of representation in the awards for African-American women, as the only person of color to be nominated for acting was Cynthia Erivo for her role in Harriet. On the subject, Erivo told the BBC that being nominated for the award was “bittersweet” and that “I want to make sure it doesn’t look like this every single time.” Renee Zellweger ended up winning best leading actress for her portrayal of Judy Garland in Judy.
These Oscars made history with the Best Picture winner Parasite, a South Korean film directed by Bong Joon Ho. Parasite became the first foreign film to win the coveted award. The film, which focuses on class struggles, was bemoaned later by President Trump in a campaign rally in Colorado, who said, “What…was that all about? We’ve got enough problems with South Korea with trade, on top of it they give them the best movie of the year?” Other films that had buzz to win Best Picture included 1917, a World War I film that landed Roger Deakins (known for filming Fargo, No Country for Old Men, and The Shawshank Redemption) the Oscar for Best Cinematography, Quentin Tarantino’s love letter Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and Joker.
The controversial Joker did, however, land Joaquin Phoenix an Oscar for Best Leading Actor for his committed role as the titular character. The film was criticized for allegedly siding with the villain, while proponents pointed to the narrative’s ability to give the antagonist relatability and the social issues it addressed. Phoenix took the award over the likes of Adam Driver in Marriage Story and Leonardo DiCaprio in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. While DiCaprio did not take home an Oscar, his co-star Brad Pitt won Best Supporting Actor over such veterans as Al Pacino and Joe Pesci for their roles in Scorcese’s The Irishman. Both The Irishman and Marriage Story debuted on the popular streaming service, Netflix. In the latter, Laura Dern took home Best Supporting Actress for her role as a divorce attorney for Scarlett Johannson’s character.