The 90th Annual Academy Awards were held in 2018, to honour the films made in the year gone by, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
The Oscars this year was diverse as compared to the previous ones. The director for the Best Picture, for example, was Mexican. The Best Director was African-American and the year was also an upliftment for women. It was a wonderful year for everyone included.
The show proceeded to be one of the best of its kind. There were certain moments that took the positions of key highlights. Some of them were when – The Silent Child screenwriter and star Rachel Shenton signed her Oscars acceptance speech when she won in the Best Live Action Short Film category.
There was the time when James Ivory became the oldest recipient ever to receive an Oscar. At the age of 89, Ivory took the Oscar for best adapted screenplay for Call Me by Your Name.
Frances McDormand won the 2018 Oscar for Best Actress for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. She commanded all of the women nominated to stand up, saying, “If I could have all the women stand up with me in this moment. Look around, everybody, look around, ladies and gentlemen, because we all have stories to tell, and we all have projects we need to finance.”
She continued with, “I have two words to leave with you tonight: ‘inclusion rider”. An ‘inclusion rider’ is a clause in an actor’s contract that requires the cast and crew be diverse in order to retain the actor. That’s kind of a brave thing to say on such a big stage.
Stone went on to pull the same stunt as Natalie Portman during the Golden Globes. Stone decided to point out what most of the nominees for best director had in common, saying, “These four men and Greta Gerwig created their own masterpieces.”
And a lot other moments that carried forward.
The Best Picture was bagged by Shape of Water. This movie, as weird as the concept would seem, was much more than what was shown on the screen. It was about love. It focused on how everyone deserves love, no matter who they are, where they’re from or what their shape is. Every being deserves love and this is exactly what the movie said.
My personal favourite in the nominee list was a sweet little movie called Call Me By Your Name. Starring Armie Hammer and Timothee Chalamet. It is set in a quaint Italian town, about a young boy and his journey in the discovery of himself. It is a beautifully shot movie that teaches you a lot about the struggles of sexuality and growing age.
Coco won the Best Animated Picture and I couldn’t agree more. A lovely movie based on Mexican rituals. It is about death, but the portrayal is so lively, you’d want to stay in the death realm for a while longer. A film about music and the connection one has to it.
The oscars outdo themselves pretty much every year. This years’ was a great rendition to the concept of awards and recognition. It’s lovely seeing how well they appreciate and bring everyone together tied to one art platform of – filmmaking!
More power to every ambitious filmmaker who strives to make it big. The Red Sparrow will always have your back and support the art put forward!
