Oscars Recap – A Historical Night

In case you missed the Oscars last night, couldn’t dedicate three hours in front of your television or only care about the highlights I’m here for you. If you continue reading you’ll find everything you missed from last night’s Academy Awards ceremony.

It’s the morning after the Oscars and it’s Monday. I get it, you’re on the go. You’re busy with school and work so here’s a highlight reel. Do I have to put a spoiler warning?

Janelle Monae opened the ceremonies with a tribute to A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood and then went into a musical number featuring dancers dressed in costumes from movies such as Midsommar, Little Women, 1917, and Rocketman.

Steve Martin and Chris Rock came out shortly after and even though the Oscars didn’t have a host this year…it sure seemed like the two of them were hosting. Not that I minded at all, it was a great monologue.

Brad Pitt took home the first award of the night and opted for a very sentimental speech closing with “Once upon a time in Hollywood, ain’t that the truth.”

The first performance of the night was Idina Menzel singing “Into the Unknown” from Frozen 2 and she was joined by other Elsa voice actors from several different countries who all sang in their native language.

When it came time for Maya Rudolph and Kristen Wiig to present, they took a comedic and even a musical approach. Almost everyone was laughing. I was laughing, my roommates were laughing. Billie Eilish was not.

Not long after, Idina Menzel became a meme. No, John Travolta did not mispronounce her name. She just made a disgusted looking face during Eminem’s surprise performance. Speaking which, Lin-Manuel Miranda made a lovely speech towards the importance of music in film and then Eminem just came out of the floor to perform “Lose Yourself”. People were confused but just about everyone was singing along.

Cynthia Erivo performed the Oscar nominated song “Stand Up” from the movie Harriett where she played the titular character. She absolutely wowed the crowd.

James Corden and Rebel Wilson truly shocked us all when they came out on the stage wearing cat costumes. Who better than the two of them to poke fun at the Cats reviews by commenting on the visual effects before presenting that award?

Parasite became the first film to win the award for Best International Feature Film under the category’s new name. It was formerly known as Foreign Language Film.

Elton John performed the Oscar-nominated song “I’m Gonna Love Me Again” from Rocketman (sadly without Taron Egerton). He absolutely nailed the performance, as he does every other one and the audience was loving it just as much as I did. He and Bernie Taupin also took home the Oscar for Best Original Song.

Brie Larson, Sigourney Weaver, and Gal Gadot came out to introduce the first female to lead the orchestra in Oscar history. The first and hopefully not the last!

Bong Joon-Ho took home the Oscar for best director and made sure to thank the people who helped him along his journey, specifically Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino.

Joaquin Phoenix became the second person to win an Oscar for playing the Joker after Heath Ledger posthumously won the award.

Renée Zellweger, an icon, won the Oscar for her role as Judy Garland, another icon. Sadly Judy never won an Oscar in her life but as Renée said, her legacy is being carried on through this film and this award.

Last but not least, Parasite took home the Oscar for Best Picture. It also became the first film not in the English language to win this award.

I didn’t cover all of the awards won, so here is a list of all of them

List of winners

Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Brad Pitt for Once Upon A Time in Hollywood

Best Animated Feature Film – Toy Story 4

Best Animated Short Film – Hair Love

Best Original Screenplay – Parasite

Best Adapted Screenplay – Jojo Rabbit

Best Live Action Short Film – The Neighbors’ Window

Best Production Design – Once Upon A Time in Hollywood

Best Costume Design – Jacqueline Duran for Little Women

Best Documentary Feature – American Factory

Best Short Documentary – Learning to Skateboard in A Warzone (If You’re A Girl)

Best Supporting Actress – Laura Dern for Marriage Story

Achievement in Sound Editing – Ford v Ferrari

Achievement in Sound Mixing – 1917

Best Cinematography – 1917

Best Film Editing – Ford v Ferrari

Best Visual Effects – 1917

Best Makeup and Hairstyling – Bombshell

Best International Feature Film – Parasite

Best Original Score – Joker

Best Original Song – “I’m Gonna Love Me Again” Elton John and Bernie Taupin

Best Director – Bong Joon-Ho for Parasite

Best Actor – Joaquin Phoenix for Joker

Best Actress – Renée Zellweger for Judy

Best Film – Parasite